The Lich's Master

Chapter 14: Hunted

The smell of smoke and ash filled his nostrils. Kyle dashed past the last few trees in his path, and immediately looked downhill, to where the pillar of smoke was rising from.

His heart sank as the view stretched before him. His wooden house was no more. The last few remaining logs were still burning hot, and ash had covered the ground around the ruined house. A group of people were standing there, watching the last few dying flames as they consumed what was left of the house.

“No…” Kyle whispered, his mind in chaos. Why? Why would anyone come and burn his house down? He’d never hurt anyone, not willingly. He’d left the players well alone ever since he’d gotten stuck in this game, and with the exception of that dumb Knight, they hadn’t even been aware of his presence.

So then why? Why would they do this?

Why would they destroy his home?

He collapsed on his knees as he pressed his hand against his mouth. He couldn’t scream, he couldn’t yell at them. He couldn’t take that chance, but damn did he want to release his grief and anger.

“Man, this was boring!” The wind carried their voices to him with ease. “Why wouldn’t he come when we burnt his lair down?” It was a man’s voice. A young man, though Kyle wasn’t sure which one of the three men it belonged to.

The only woman in the group shrugged. Her armour seemed somewhat familiar to Kyle, like he’d seen it somewhere before. Was it one of the premium store armours? He wasn’t sure, his mind was in too much of a mess to tell right now.

“He was here last time I came!” Someone shouted. “He killed me without even looking at me. The ground just broke beneath my feet, and I died!”

Kyle scowled. He knew that voice! Oh, he knew it all too well. “I will kill you,” He hissed silently as his gaze focused on the idiot Knight who had been plaguing him these last several days now. “Oh, you will pay.”

“It’s more likely that you stepped on a trap.” The woman bluntly said. “Anyways, where else did you say you came across this boss? Was it the woods by the elven orchards?” She brushed past the Knight. “Let’s check that place. If he’s not there either, you’ve wasted a huge chunk of my time.”

“I never said I could always find him!” The Knight protested.

“Do I look like I care?” The woman snapped back. “I’m a professional player, I have no time for idle, fruitless endeavours like these, not before I’m far enough ahead of everyone else.” She snapped her fingers. “Come on, hurry it up!”

Her words helped Kyle snap out of his daze as well, as he realised they would be coming his way. Drawing a sharp breath, he turned his back on the hill, and dashed towards the trees. He couldn’t let them find Cacophus and his cave!

His mad dash soon ended as he reached the cave entrance. There were a few skeletons working outside, carrying wooden branches, logs, and twigs inside. He thought about telling them to go and hide inside, but immediately decided otherwise. There was a good chance they wouldn’t really be able to understand him, and he had not a moment to waste.

He ran through the narrow tunnels and pushed the doors to Cacophus’ room open in a hurry.

“OH, YOU ARE BACK. DID THE ELVES ACCEPT THE-“

“Tell your minions to hide inside the caves, quick!” Kyle shouted, cutting the Lich’s words off. He pointed at the entrance. “A group of humans are on their way, they’re looking for me, and one of them is the Knight who nearly defeated you. Tell the skeletons outside to come back inside.” He paused to catch his breath. “They’re looking for me, they already burnt my house down.” It pained him to speak those words.

He expected the Lich to mostly ignore his warning, but instead, his green glowing eyes turned crimson.

“THEY BURNT DOWN YOU HOUSE?” Cacophus’ voice echoed in his mind so loudly that Kyle had to hold onto somewhere to keep his balance. “THEY ARE HUNTING YOU? HOW DARE THEY?!” The Lich rose into the air, a dark, deep mist surrounding him.

“I WILL MAKE THEM PAY!”

Kyle’s eyes widened as he realised just what was happening. Cacophus was about to leave his cave and step out into the open. What would that mean from a mechanical perspective for the game? Was he about to become a world boss?

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. “No, no!” He shouted and ran to the door to try and stop Cacophus. “Look, if you go and kill them, they’ll just come back even angrier! Killing them solves nothing, and I really don’t want more people to mark me as their enemy, ok?”

“BUT THEY DESTROYED YOUR HOME!”

Kyle gritted his teeth. “Yes, but we can rebuild that!” He insisted. “I can’t rebuild you if you’re killed, and I’m pretty sure I can’t rebuild myself either.” Of course, that wasn’t something he wanted to test out. “So, no killing. Now tell your skeletons and the like to hide. I don’t want them coming across this cave.”