A Bored Lich

Kilot, the bait, lay trapped within the crowd as the hunter waited for more prey to fall into their trap. Doevm was certain of it; what to do about it however, that was another question entirely.

He didn't dare force his way through the crowd for the same reason he had rushed to open his father's legacy. At this stage of the "game", information was too valuable. Acting thoughtlessly would be like digging his own grave, although it was alluring. The lack of information was very persuasive to that point.

The crowd was awestruck, but not panicked. They didn't point or shout: "Murderer! That's the one!" Even if there were witnesses, it wasn't as if Doevm could call them over one by one for interrogation.

The remaining lead, one he could inconsequentially pursue, became the scene of the incident, the smoldering ruins of Kilot's forge. As Doevm turned his back on Kilot's weak figure, he could only hope that his theory was right and, if he was right, that he'd find the answer before the hunter ran out of patience.

…

Patiently, the assailant strode down the street, sending ripples through the calm floodwater. His emotionless eyes were locked on the distant crowd. He didn't rush nor did he relax, holding the triggers of both crossbows hidden up his sleeves with professionally restrained bloodlust. 'I'm a friend, here to help,' he thought, repeatedly shifting his facial expression to match the "healer" that served as his cover for getting within striking distance.

A good assassin blended in with the crowd, only revealed after his strike. A great assassin was never seen. Given the sudden circumstances, he had to settle for good.

Eliminate the target. Vanish. Nothing more, nothing less.

…

Doevm hid behind a half-destroyed wall, pulling Frey with him. "Let me know if anyone so much as twitches," he said.

Frey nodded and held out his hand. Doevm wordlessly handed a dagger over to Frey, who then peaked the blade around the wall's corner, holding it at an angle where he could monitor the crowd without needing to stick his head out.

Doevm then picked up a piece of burnt wood turned charcoal. His centuries of writing displayed itself in one smooth motion as he drew a perfect circle, quickly followed by twelve tick marks along its circumference. The sun sat on the left, the moon on the right, and the river of time flowed between them.

Doevm placed his right palm on the center of his drawing and willed for a burst of mana to surge through his body, which then infused with his drawing. As he pulled his right hand away, an ethereal image of his drawing pulled back with it, staying within a inches from his palm. His eyes lit up a soft blue along with it.

Doevm glanced at Frey, whose expression remained the same. "Anything?" he asked.

Frey pulled away from the corner and shook his head. "I didn't see…What are you doing?"

Frey suddenly cursed as Doevm used his right hand to poke him in the eyes.

"Keep your voice down," Doevm hissed.

Frey rubbed his eyes and raised a fist, but as he opened his eyes, which emanated blue light, he froze. Around him, above him, and beneath him were an ethereal copy of Kilot's forge, before it was destroyed. "You could have warned me," Frey said.

"Yes." Doevm gave no further explanation as he rotated his right wrist, subsequently rotating the spell circle clockwise.

The ethereal copy of Kilot's forge suddenly expanded and collapsed, the ethereal outline now matching with the real-world copy as if time had repeated itself. Doevm then rotated his wrist counter-clockwise and the ethereal forge reassembled itself, except this time he followed the source of the cracks to two mana-dense stones.

Doevm recognized both of them as powerstones, yet the brightest of one outshone the other. An array of six, faintly glowing necklaces lay on a table on the other side of the forge.

Everything else was inconsequential because, moving the dial back to its original position, Doevm only noticed one of the powerstones and one of the necklaces move in position.

Frey's initial silence seemed to shift into nervousness as he peaked around the corner. "Can everyone else see this?" he asked.

"No," Doevm said. "Although if someone had sensed it…nevermind."

Frey lowered his head. Although it seemed as if he and Kilot could barely stand each other, it seemed as though an unspoken respect had developed behind their mutual hatred of one another. How else could Frey get so worked up despite experiencing countless life-and-death scenarios?

Frey tapped his foot incessantly. "This....this time…This time..." he muttered under his breath.

Doevm tried to ignore Frey, but a moment later he found himself kneeling in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, stay with me."

Frey seemed to snap out of it. "I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it."

Doevm didn't care, nor did he have the time, to ask a follow up question as he turned back to the two brightest sources of light amongst the ethereal forge.

Frey followed Doevm's gaze. "What are those?"

'Powerstones?' Doevm guessed. 'Did the earthquake cause them to go off? Was it really that simple? That would explain why there was no follow up attack, and why Kilot wasn't killed. He probably had enough time to put on some kind of defense that absorbed most of the explosion. It's the most likely possibility but…'

"Doevm?" Frey asked. "What are those two dots?"

"Sorry," Doevm said. "Powerstones. They're for enchanting swords, armor, artifacts, and lastly books."

"Books?"

"Just look," Doevm said, pointing at the brighter of the two stones. "One of them had more energy than it could handle. It's no wonder it exploded like that. It's a wonder Kilot survived."

Frey stroked his chin. "So he just made a mistake?"

Doevm paused as, although he had come to the same conclusion, hearing it out loud made it seem far less plausible. "So you think Kilot would take a huge risk and make a mistake just because he wants to make us good gear?"

Frey's eyes went wide. "That old geezer would never do either of those things!"

…

Adrenaline took control of his heartbeat as he sloshed down the street. He took in a deep breath of the smoky air, which still carried slight hints of blood. The crowd began to take notice of him. They beckoned him closer, but there was still someone in his way. She had her back turned to him. He bit the inside of his lip and maintained his stride, needing to get a lot closer because of her presence.