In preparation for his next manipulation the Viceroy spent some quality time with his spellbooks and did his best to shut out the noise that filtered in from beyond his tower room. He took one of the well-worn books from his collection and with the patience of an undead terror with no sense of hurry … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 23

When the sun rose over Maelonbourg and Fanolania it found two countries that had been upended with a violent and traumatic event. In the great nation of Fanolania there was widespread alarm that bordered on panic at the wholly unexpected assault on the private residence of the King that had transformed the opulent palace to … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 22

The Viceroy had some longstanding defensive spells already in place, so it was just a matter of brushing up on some of his more terrifying offensive magic. It was well after midnight when he was ready to make his move, and he did so in spectacular style. Still in his original form the lich crept … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 21

Along the way to the capital of Fanolania the Viceroy conducted a number of tests to see how well prepared the people of this land were for magical attacks. It was dismaying to discover that the clergy in Fanolania were better prepared than their counterparts in Forkanza, a peninsula right across a small sea from … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 20

The Viceroy flitted around the town all night long waiting for the people he was spying upon to arise and resume their journey. He was quite fed up with trying to understand what was being said and so he contented himself with seeing what he could learn just by watching. As it turned out he … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 19

Malindra awoke from her sleep with a sudden awareness that she didn’t know for certain where those bedeviling adventurers were. She hadn’t any easy way to locate them either unless one of the humans in the group was asleep. The uncertainty put the night hag almost instantly into a foul mood. The Viceroy, however, knew … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 18

Malindra wasted no time upon returning to her so-called home in finding Jorwan and in her most demanding tone said, “Bring me the laziest scullery maid in the entire hobgoblin brood. Now.” The Viceroy retreated up to his tower room to focus on his own schemes for the time being while the night hag went … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 17

This wasn’t on the agenda for the evening’s festivities when the Marquis had decided to celebrate the achievements of his most popular recurring guests; a band of thrill seekers from the nearby Fanolanian town of Jivet-au-Marruse. They weren’t anything like their generous host. But then again the Marquis was a unique man in a region … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 16

The Viceroy had discovered more than he had bargained for and in a relatively short period of time. Here on out he wouldn’t need to be anywhere near Zedem Malroy in order to get information from him as long as the gnome didn’t do anything to raise an alarm. The lich commanded the gnome via … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 15

Malindra retreated down the spiral stairs and the Viceroy used his new staff to push the trapdoor down with a loud thud. He then used his staff to push open the upper trapdoor in his room and walked up the steps to the open top of the tower. The sun had not yet come up … Continue reading The Gopher King: Chapter 14