It was out of pure instinct, sadly honed by experience, that made Eulisses jump back, avoiding the swiftly drawn blade of his opponent by a hair’s breadth. The thick broadsword had intricate runes inscribed upon it, that would let it cut through undead flesh and bone like butter. Not that he would give the man any chance to demonstrate. Firing of a quick spell he had grown to love in his time as a fugitive, Eulisses coated the ground in front of him with Grease, hoping to trip his opponent and gain the precious few seconds he would need to cast something actually threatening.

Alas, the man swiftly strode through the treacherous terrain, as if he wasn’t on slippery ground, and closed the distance between him and Eulisses. Starting to panic, the undead wizard made his spell fizzle and barely failed to avoid the sword stroke, having a bit of his right shoulder bone sheared off in the process.

Luckily for him, the man overswung and allowed Eulisses to grab his arm, before he could raise the blade again. That would spell the man’s end, as Eulisses let lightning flow through his fingertips and into his opponent. The man let out a scream of pain that was quickly stifled, as his body began to convulse in reaction to the electricity coursing through its veins.

Eulisses knew his Shocking Grasp to not be deadly, but he finally gained precious seconds he needed to concentrate on casting a higher tier spell and ending this encounter for good. Just as the man managed to recollect himself and overcame the stunning effect of Eulisses’ spell, the undead wizard was ready as well and ominously pointed his finger at him, unleashing the gathered arcane energies. That was the last of him, as the man dropped down on the mossy ground, his life already snuffed out.

Eulisses let out the breath he didn’t know he held while staring at his defeated opponent.

That was way too close for comfort. He almost managed to cleave me in two. I don’t want to find out what happens to me, if my soul anchor is being split that way. It is times like these that make me question whether it would have been better to craft a more conventional phylactery - if there can be such a thing - to bind myself to. Not needing to feed on other souls to sustain the enchantments is a clear plus, though.

Eulisses bent down over the corpse, rummaging through its pockets, hoping to find some clues about his enemies.

Damn Addia inquisitors won’t act alone, not if I am their target. It would be naive to think this one hasn’t been here for me, so there have to be others. I was lucky to catch him alone actually, was he scouting the area?

He didn’t manage to get any clues about the number or whereabouts of his opponents from the man. He had half a mind to kick the corpse to let out his frustration.

How in blazes are they even managing to track me down this fast anyway? It has barely been two weeks since I had taken up residence here, and the wards are supposed to protect me from divination attempts. The only other explanation would be that Addia herself is focusing on me, and that’s a line of though I don’t want to go down.

Eulisses left the corpse alone and approached the spring at the centre of the clearing. Crystal clean water sprung forth from a lone rock and many different flowers and herbs bloomed at the shores to the small pond that formed around it. He spotted his target among them, the half-transparent violet leaves that gave the plant its name stood out even among the field of colours in front of him. He took out a little garden shovel and began to dig up the plant, taking care not to damage the roots, as he needed the ghost nettle intact.

Even if the goddess of life herself has it out for me, soon, that will no longer be a problem. With this, I finally have everything I need. Even Addia herself wouldn't be able to locate me, if I can simply hop in and out of my own pocket realm, where no one can gain entry if I don’t grant it!

Stowing his harvest away, Eulisses swiftly made for his tower, rushing through the underbrush with no care for his clothes’ tearing.

It won’t be long until the other Inquisitors notice the absence of the man. Not longer than the end of day, I’m sure. If I’m lucky, they’ll stay together then in fear of being picked off one by one. Even so, I won’t have more than a few days before they’ll discover my tower. Should I relocate? I have everything I need to finish the project now, but if they interrupt the ritual, hm …

Eulisses contemplated whether it was worth it to take the risk now. Frankly, he had enough of constantly needing to relocate whenever the inquisitors tracked him down. The journey back to his residence went down without any interruption and by the time he arrived back at his tower, he had made up his mind. He was as prepared as he could be, and would see this project through lest he be finally free of the inquisitors hounding him.

While entering through his wards, Eulisses caught the sight of a lone wyvern on a spur a short distance off, eying him.

Back so soon? I don’t have time to deal with them now. No matter, the wards will hold. I just hope they won’t alert the inquisitors and draw them here ahead of time.

Ignoring the animal, he entered his tower and went up to the second floor. He took out the ghostnettle and put it on his workbench. Taking a look at the cadaver on the adjacent table, Eulisses came up with an idea.

I should put up some tangible defenses, just to be sure. I still have some animated armors that I … acquired from my old friend back at the acadamy. Still, should I put this sack of flesh here to use as well? It has cost a fortune to have a permanent Reduce spell cast upon a dead hydra, but I have learnt all I could about its regenerative properties. I would need a live subject to learn more and it would make for a nice flesh golem still - that settles it then: I’ll activate and bolster my defensive forces!

Having made up his mind on the matter, Eulisses scuffled towards one of the bookshelves, rummaging through its contents.

Right, I’ll need some scrolls for this. I still think I have one somewhere around here - ah! There it is!

Having found the parchment he was looking for, Eulisses made back for the workbench with the miniaturized hydra corpse on it. He unfurled the scroll and let free the captured arcane energies, focusing them on the cadaver in front of him. It twitched, before it raised itself and awkwardly tumbled down from the table. Miniaturized it may be, but it still was taller by a head when compared to Eulisses, once it drew itself up to its full height.

“Go down and guard the entrance of the tower against any humanoid intruder.” Eulisses ordered the hydra-flesh golem, which seemed to understand, for it began to slowly plod down the stairs to the first floor.

Eulisses however, overtook it, as he still had to activate his enchanted armors, and the control crystal was situated on the same floor as them. He hastily activated it, a ghostly light began to form and shine through the visors of their full plate helmets as in confirmation. Having put up all the defenses he had, Eulisses rushed back to his study, in part because of the timer the inquisitors put him on, but also because he couldn’t fully rein in his excitement about finally starting the ritual.

But he wouldn’t falter at these last moments due to being too hasty. Everything has been prepared meticulously and he would make no mistakes in putting it all together. He locked away any doubts he might have had in his mind. No, he would succeed, without question!