03/10/2026: Exethanter the Lich

On the floor of the Great Hall, Biblo is confronted by the arcanaloth, Neferon. “Exethanter, the lich, wants to see me?” The dragonborn gulps and regards the creature who stands before him.

Some sort of infernal, Biblo guesses, looks jackal-like. With tawny fur, a bushy tail and a foxy face, Neferon’s odd, coppery eyes have horizontal slits for pupils. They are jagged, like a lightning bolt. He regards Biblo with an inscrutable expression.

”What does the lich want of me?” Biblo wears a worried expression.

”I cannot say.”

A bang can be heard somewhere in the direction of the dining hall.

”Does he mean me harm?”

Neferon cocks his head to one side, considering. “You are in his library without his express permission. I cannot say if he means harm to you, but he will likely not be pleased with you.”

From somewhere overhead, there is the sound of combat, followed by an explosion.

”Mr Biblo, you have told me that you are here alone, with no companions. Yet, above in the gallery, came the distinct sounds of fighting. Coincidence or are these your associates?”

Bashfully, Biblo mumbles his ready lie, “I got here first. My friends joined me afterward.”

From somewhere above, there is the sound of crockery smashing, and a mumbled curse echoes in the vastness of the Great Hall. Biblo clocks this as Ratrick’s voice: he’s dropped something in the dining room, or so it sounds like.

 The arcanaloth’s strange eyes narrow at the dragonborn as both look up in the direction of the door on the crumbling balcony above them. It is open, and shadows move within.

⚔ 

In the dining hall above, Ratrick swears. The jug of water he just sluiced down his front to extinguish the remaining smolder beneath his robes has slipped from his paws to shatter upon the marble floor.

⚔

As Zilk enters the chapel, the twin doors on the east wall fly open. Another pair of nothics present themselves to the rogue. They seem, to Zilk, less curious, more aggressive. Indeed, each creature draws out weapons, and they flood Zilk’s mind with visions of extreme violence surrounding a terrifying, skeletal figure that communicates vast age and infirmity. 

Guardians. This explains the two mummified corpses that rest at the foot of the chapel’s small altar.

Zilk yanks at the door on the north wall. At first, it will not open, then the rotten lock gives way. The door swings outward, allowing the rogue to dart through.

The bugbear finds himself in a musty bedroom. As his eyes adjust to the darkness, he can see someone reclining in an elegant, if threadbare, bed. The overwhelming smell of incense and age oppresses Zilk.

A creaky, aggrieved voice calls to him as it rolls stiffly and in stages to a sitting position, “Neferon! Late again with my tea.”

The head spins completely backward on its neck to regard Zilk, who stands in the doorway. The skull-like visage, dry skin stretched in tatters over visible bone, shakes vigorously, displacing the horned crown it has jammed upon its hooded head. Its eye sockets each contain a pale green point of light that is growing larger and more fiery by the second.

“You’re not Neferon!” it accuses him.  The lich. Zilk thinks fast.

“Um…that’s right. I’m not Neferon. I thought you said my name, Nefzilkeron, which you must admit sounds a lot like the name ‘Neferon.’” Zilk prays that his deception is successful.

The lich rises from bed and crosses the floor rapidly, belying any notion that the creature is in any way enfeebled.

“Well, Nefzilkeron, what is it that you are doing in my Library?”

“Uh, you can call me Zilk for short, if you want,” The bugbear sidles back toward the open door but the lich slams it with a Prestidigitation spell. “Um, we knocked, hoping to ask for directions. You see, we are on our way to Vallaki and must have taken a wrong turn…”

“I’ll say,” mutters the lich, the flames in his eyes pinpoints. He approaches Zilk, snuffling, entering the bugbear’s personal space. “If you were looking for Vallaki, you have gone badly wrong. Do you know, in fact, where you are?” The lich draws itself up to its full height, only just past Zilk’s elbow, but the bugbear is nonetheless very wary. 

“Um….no?”

“You are at the Amber Temple, which houses the Library of All Arcane Knowledge. Come. Let me show you,” the bony hand gestures for Zilk to push through a set of stone doors.

At first glance, he quickly believes that he is outside beneath the stars. But what he took for a twinkling night sky is in fact a vast number of floating, copper oil lamps hovering at various heights throughout the library. The ceiling is so high, he cannot spot it. Six immense, black marble bookcases line the walls and stretch up into these unending heights. Each shelf on each bookcase is filled with well-preserved tomes and carefully stacked scrolls, and their shelves very slowly drift upward, rolling higher to expose the next shelf coming up through the floor. The amount of knowledge stored within this single room seems unfathomable to ZIlk.

To the north, a black marble railing encloses an amber staircase that spirals gently downward to a lower level. Embroidered rugs, chairs, and lit candelabras fill the center of the room. 

“I don’t think I’ll kill you just now,” the cracking voice of the lich cracks like lightning across the space. Exethanter gestures for Zilk to sit.

⚔

Crystal steps back out into the cold, pursued by Shifty, who follows Crystal’s tracks in the snow. He locates her easily. Trying to disengage from Shifty, Crystal has an idea. 

“Hey! There are some caterpillars over there…” Crystal points out into the snow in the direction that the tribespeople have gone. Excited, Shifty dashes wordlessly away. He stumbles upon a buried nothic. The creature, blue-lipped and shivering, beseeches Shifty wordlessly, then follows the cleric through the crack and back into the temple.

Soulfire leads freezing Nothic to warm up by the fire. The group discussed their next steps, including finding all their party members and locating the scroll of Resurrection that they need to bring back Lady Fiona’s husband.

From the entrance of the room, Crystal casts Hypnotic Pattern, successfully charming some of the party members, including Soulfire, who has cast Detect Magic. He is flooded by arcane signals from nearly every corner of the room that his spell can reach.Soulfire also learns about a secret door on the south wall. With some effort, they can open the door, behind which a significant amount of magic can be found, according to Soulfire’s spell.

Crystal slips out while the rest of the group discover a hidden pantry containing 8 spell scroll holders. Due to the very great age of the Amber Temple, only two scrolls remaining intact. Soulfire finds a Fireball scroll and a Disintegration scroll.

⚔

Crystal climbs down to the lower level of the Temple and raps on the back of the tall statue. The door opens and the odd, orange eyes of the arcanoloth peer out at the dragonborn.  Dee and Neferon, a creature who greets them warmly despite George's skepticism. Neferon invites Crystal inside for tea, revealing that she suspects Exethanter's mistreatment of the arcanoloth, who is shocked by the idea. Neferon insists that Exethanter possesses a good nature despite his bad temper.

⚔

Shifty, Nike, Ratrick and Soulfire find their way to the library, following Zilk, who has been sent by Exethanter to fetch them. Once there, Exethanter tells them a brief history of the Amber Temple: once a repository of all arcane knowledge in the Multiverse, and now a prison. The lich inquires about their purpose in coming to the Amber Temple, and Zilk once again explains they are seeking directions to Velaki.

Exethanter mentioned the temple's vast collection of magic and advises against stealing any of it, but he is willing to loan it for the right reasons. Soulfire expresses admiration for the temple's beauty and magic, while secretly holding onto the spell scrolls in her bag.

“What are you here for, little  kobold?” The eyes within the ancient skull pin and expand, focusing on the diminutive cleric.

“Caterpillars!” squeaks Shifty, enthusiastically. Exethanter nods seriously and seize a lever on the side of one of the massive, endless shelves. He pulls it and the speed of the shelves increases to lightning fast, flying by for nearly half a minute until Exethanter releases the lever. The shelves immediately slow, allowing the lich to lift off a tiny golden cage.

Its bottom is covered with some sort of leafy green, and Exethanter reaches in to pluck a yellow and black caterpillar. “This will grant you wings for a day or two. I hope you are not afraid of heights.”

Soulfire inquires about healing spells, and Exethanter summons one of the low floating level lanterns, which bathes Soulfire in a healing light. 

Crystal, finally deciding to be honest with the lich, requested the spell ‘Resurrection.’ 

The green flames in the pits of Exethanter’s eyes flare, then pin.”For such a powerfuI spell, I would ask,” the lich rasps, “for a favor in return.”

Crystal nods, “Of course.”

“There is an individual who has freed one of our inmates. You must bring this inmate to me and return her to her cell.”

“It doesn’t sound too difficult,” Crystal states, hopefully.

“The inmate is Fekre, the Goddess of Poxes and Plagues.”

“A goddess? Sure,” mutters Zilk, rolling his eyes. 

No one standing in the vast Great Library of the Amber Temple is confident about their ability to recapture a goddess.