from this?”

Novir nodded. “With help. He was on display in the throne room of Aranor by the new king. An unknown wizard and the necromancer Areon reincarnated him as undead. Lord Voth had his vengeance and reclaimed the throne, the room now perpetually covered in ice, the kingdom ruled by a prime minister because Lord Voth seems to have interests elsewhere.”

Denir added, “All that he touches dies, for the power of the grave is the only thing flowing in his veins. Aranor is now called the Kingdom without a King, though it technically has one.”

“Is he bound to the necromancer?”

“That is unknown. He appears to have his freedom and voluntarily works with the other Lords of Fear. Together for several years now, we saw them meddling in many kingdoms on quite a few worlds. Sometimes they work alone, in which case it can be harder to determine whether they cause something, but they are unmistakable when together.”

Anna asked, “Who was the wizard who freed Lord Voth along with the necromancer?”

“There are many rumors about this, but no one is certain.”

“Is it safe to believe that this person is the one who has the master Orb of Dominion?”

Denir replied, “No, though it may well be. We could find out if we let them succeed in their journey, but we cannot allow that.”

Anna agreed but said nothing. These Lords of Fear sounded like the evil version of themselves, but without quests binding them. Did they always work for the same person, doing missions? Were they genuinely bound or only by a promise? The difference mattered because the latter can always be broken. Maybe these Lords of Fear weren’t as well understood as the Ellorian Champions. Perhaps there was more to them. Now she was curious but doubted they would sit down and chat about it all. How could they get information directly from the lords?

“What is happening now?” she asked.

Denir answered, “Our second attempt at recovering the orb failed because our men recognized the Lords of Fear and knew they could not possibly beat them. When the dwarves and other enthralled arrived, they gave the orb to Lord Voth, then went with them. They and the rest of our captured forces are heading toward Ortham, a large city in the Kingdom of Gisla to the north. It has a portal to other worlds. We cannot be certain this is their goal, but we suspect it is.”

Novir interjected, “Our contacts in the city have confirmed that the lords arrived on this planet via this gate some days prior to all of this. There was strong suspicion about it, but it only seemed known after we learned their identity at Bolin Hill.”

“Wait,” started Ryan, “how could an undead knight just walk through? Isn’t either side guarded? Wouldn’t someone see him and stop him? Or did people try to get killed?”

Denir answered, “We can easily identify most undead because of their appearance. However, Lord Voth does not look undead. Being frozen in ice killed and preserved him. Once raised from the dead, he does not decay, which is common of undead, as you know. Their bodies remain as they were at the moment of reanimation, likely by the design of the forces used to raise them. Otherwise, they would continue to fall apart and the problem of their existence would soon resolve itself as they become a pile of bones.”

“Good point,” admitted Ryan, then added apologetically, “Eriana and Soliander likely knew that, but I forget that sort of thing.”

Cocking an eyebrow about that, Novir said, “They arrived and walked away, as the others give no casual observer reason to be concerned. But people noticed the cold from Lord Voth, and his startling blue eyes, rumored to be made of ice. Guards followed, and eventually he walked on grass that died under his feet. Between that and his healthy appearance, and the known description of the others, the Lords of Fear were identified even before we contacted Ortham to ask.”

“Is it known in Ortham that they are returning to the city and have the orb?”

“Yes,” Novir answered. “We consulted with them on this and agreed that the path from the city gates to the portal must be evacuated, but it is unknown how successful they will be. The population likely doesn’t understand the danger. We must assume the lords intend to hold the orb aloft and ensnare anyone who sees it.”

“The guy controlling the master orb has to be watching through it, though, right?”

“Yes. We are assuming he is keeping close watch on matters as they unfold.”

Matt remarked, “I assume those in Ortham can close the gate.”

Desir replied, “Yes, and they have left it open until the last moment, if needed. We are on friendly enough terms with Gisla Kingdom, at least on this front. Our plan is that all of you will arrive before then so that closing the portal is unnecessary. It takes some effort to reopen it, though perhaps less so if you will help, Soliander.”

Matt said, “Of course. Is this the only portal they can use?”

“No, but it seems the likely one. As you know, travel between worlds requires more power than most can afford or wield, if they are wizards. We do not know if Lord Garian has such power, but maybe not. We expect they are attempting to leave the planet this way. They must be stopped, the orb taken away, preferably destroyed.”

Novir said. “As the king knows nothing of your quest, you can expect no real help from the kingdom, sadly, as our king has issued orders to not interfere with the lords. And no one should be told who you are. Only those in this room know the truth.”

“We understand,” Ryan said, but Anna thought he said it unconvincingly. These men were risking their lives to free their king and kingdom, and their understanding of the gravity of the situation needed to be conveyed better. She was going to say something when the king’s guardsman spoke first.

Novir added,

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