Unq’Rul was recovering his power. It took a lot out of him to turn so many beings at a time. Seems being a lich didn’t make him infallible power wise. He just now got a mental contact from Ruk’Kesh. It had found two beings wandering his halls. They had walked right into the middle of Ruk’Kesh’s throne room. Now that was an oddity. Unq’Rul could not imagine what being much less two different ones, willing to walk about the halls of undead. Much less seemingly fearlessly. The two beings disappeared before Ruk’Kesh could engage them. As if the had teleported out suddenly. Unq’Rul did not believe they had. And yet even the ghost he had on patrol could not detect the beings that were moving about.

With a sigh that rattled in his rotted chest Unq’Rul figured it was up to himself to find out what was going on. After all these two beings were able to fool the senses of his creations. The last thing Unq’Rul needed at this juncture was someone meddling in his soon to be complete victory. The remaining orc hold outs were being worn down day by day. The only reason there was a halt in combat, was Unq’Rul needed to recover his power after a week of solid hunting. While the new lich did not require physical rest, his magic pool, while expanded once he merged with the human, was not infinite. So the war had come to a stand still for now. Unq’Rul hated the thought of wasting even a single orc.

He was also working on a new magic. He could feel instinctually that there were more variations of undead he was able to create. Giving his army more diversity. He was not looking for his army to be too predictable. He wanted to send them forth as an unstoppable force, collecting even more lives for conversion. The only downside to his new powers, was he had to use newly dead bodies. He felt that as he grew in his abilities, he would be able to use older corpses. But he was just not there yet. Or he would have ignored the orcs altogether and just used the masses of dead corpses that littered the world at large. After all, there were many stronger things laying beneath the earth. Just begging to be resurrected. Some were even calling out to the lich to be raised. Twisted evil things in life. Wanting revenge upon the living in death.

Unq’Rul felt he was a few days away from being ready to finish his current goal. But now he might have to push that goal back. He may have to use more power to deal with his new intruders.

Unq’Rul roused his corporeal form. It had decayed even further by now. His skin was like old rotten leather draped over yellowing bones. Yet his bones were not becoming brittle. They were becoming stronger slowly. Even the rotting flesh was hardening into a suit of armor covering his bones. His smile was a rotten evil thing. His lips hanging loose from parts of his mouth. His orc fangs sticking out more prominently from his twisting grin. His nose was gone now, just a bit of cartilage left sticking out. His left eye was gone, just a red orb of fire left behind. His right eye was still holding on, but just barely. It had no skin around it anymore, having tighten to his skull and pulling back. So, he could see the entire orb, which also glowed red at the center. Unq’Rul debated just pulling the thing out, but he felt it gave him a more startling visage. He could imagine the fright he would give the humans once they saw him coming with his army at his back.

But before any of that, he had intruders to hunt and deal with. He hoped they would not waste much of his recovering power. With a grunt and his anger suddenly flaring at the thought of the new delays this would cause he burst forth from his dimensional laboratory. He made his way to the throne room. He was able to move unhindered by gliding above the floor. It was an innate talent he discovered a few days ago. No longer did he need to move like the insects of the world do. He was above all that now. Literally. His mind enough to move his body about as he so chose. It did not even cost him the use of his magic, being an innate skill.

Once the lich entered the throne room, Ruk’Kesh was again seated keeping watch from his central seat. Unq’Rul once again considered getting rid of the massive orc. While creating a high ghoul was an achievement, the bastard needed to eat, and eat a lot. Unq’Rul had had to send his troops out to hunt for meat just to keep the massive orc from destroying the few living orcs left. While Unq’Rul had control over the ghoul, there was a limit. Starvation allowed the high ghoul to ignore commands. It’s need to feed overriding any and all other commands. So, he now had a pile of animal bodies in the corner, ready to be feasted on whenever it required.

The lich looked around with his magic sight. He could now see into a new spectrum. One that allowed him to see all living things as beacons of white light. There was naught to see, but there was a smell. Something he had never come across before. Faint. It was a scent of smoke. Acidic. Sulphur? The lich followed the scent, it led deeper into the mountain… towards the living orcs. The lich growled low. Something had come and was looking to cause him trouble. He would not let his larder be plundered. These beings… without his permission… strutted through HIS domain! Giving themselves license to go where they pleased. Do as they wish. In HIS house. No. That would not stand. He would make them pay. He would devour their hearts. He would pull them limb from limb.

How dare they!

With a thought the lich flew toward the domiciles of the living orcs. He would stop these things from taking his treasures. The high ghoul orc king, given his orders mentally, followed in the liches wake. Feeding off his master’s anger. Knowing it would soon enjoy tearing into an enemy. Bleeding it… feasting. The ghoul even bounded forward, overtaking his master. It was going to be the first to revel in this hunt.

As his master’s anger grew, the ghoul’s lust for killing grew. It’s strength becoming almost palpable. You could feel its power wafting off of it as it bound through the halls. But it must not touch the living orcs. Only the interlopers. It could have its way with them to its hearts content. Muscles bulged, froth forming at it’s mouth, the ghoul become an unstoppable juggernaut of viciousness and coming death. Followed closely by true death, seething with anger.