[sub]in collaboration with [@Shagranoz] and [@Meiyuki][/sub]

[h1][center][i][u]"An Insurance Policy"[/u][/i][/center][/h1]

Studying formulae was tough work. Every detail had to be absolutely accurate, or the necromantic energy wouldn't flow where you wanted to. In short, practicing magic was as much about learning how to paint as anything else, and Rebecca's fingers were exhausted. She needed to take a break and relax for a little bit.

The castle seemed unnaturally quiet today. Not surprising, since so many of the witches were out and about on various missions. A huge, hulking giant of a man came into her view. It had to be Andri. He was at least a foot taller than anyone in the castle.

"Greetings, Andri. How are you this fine and wondrous day?"
 
Andri really would had liked to try out the enchanted properties of this Nightstalker armor he had received as a gift from Lorelai, but there were two major obstacles: The first one was that there was no ounce of magic in him, so he could not access them directly. The second one was that he had indeed come across a large mirror. What he had seen in there had been very much to Khan's amusement and to his own shock: It really was tight, brutally tight. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity to put off this thing and safely lock it away in his room, as much as he would have liked to, because he had received a clear assignment.

He felt like a walking provocation, and because of that he deviated from the main routes of the castle as often as possible. Yet he had to notice that Rebecca had spotted him. Khan was making bets on how long it would take the dialogue to hit the topic that Andri felt embarrassed for.

[color=00a99d]"Hello Rebecca. I've been assigned to the espionage team, so I'm afraid I won't have a lot of time to enjoy the weather. How are things ?"[/color]

"Oh, you too? I've always been amazed at how a great big man like you could be so quiet. All the size of an elk mixed with the silence of a mouse. Dangerous combination."

Rebecca tried and failed to work a knot out of her wrists. "Pretty good. Spent the day trying and failing to figure out how to draw some symbols. Still, better than being out doing fieldwork. I'm a bit of a homebody in that respect."

[color=00a99d]"I have to admit that a lot of people are wondering how I do this. If you ask me, it has to do mainly with control over your body and brainwork. You must be able to predict how the ground you plan to walk on will react to the added weight. I had really good teachers - if I had not sucked so hard at normal combat I would have never met them."[/color] The giant chuckled.

[color=00a99d]"So, you're trying to think about other things before going out there, too ? I appreciate that. Would you like to tell me a bit about your work ? I'm interested - because I know nothing."[/color]

"You were terrible in combat? I'm shocked. A guy like you, shouldn't you be able to just overpower anyone you face?"

She sighed. "I've been in the library trying to work out the sigils for a spell to resurrect a whole bunch of corpses at once. The idea is to create individual threads of energy to each zombie from a central point. But the symbols... I can't work out how to get them to not overlap each other. I just don't have the coordination."

[color=00a99d]"Being one and a half foot taller than the average combatant means that you have a huge lot of additional weight to move around that doesn't add a bit to the amount of strength you have as a reserve to move around a weapon. It only adds to the amount of muscle your body develops just by having to carry itself. On the other hand however you're a much larger target, dodging is more difficult because you occupy so much space. When you're sneaking, the ability to evade attacks is irrelevant, and a garotte is a weapon you don't move around violently. While you're choking somebody you don't have to accelerate anything, not even yourself, so almost all of the strength and weight is exclusively available for damaging your enemy. So far my instructor's theory."[/color]

[color=fff79a][i]Hmm... zombies. Sounds delicious for you, doesn't it ?[/i][/color]
Andri didn't respond to Khan. [color=00a99d]"The last thing I've fought was something undead. I have to say it was horrible. But... every war is horrible, isn't it ?"[/color] The assassin was hoping that Rebecca would give him a confirmation on this thought.

"Yes. It is horrible. Haven't seen an actual battle, though. Just the aftermath, and that was bad enough. My gods, the stench, the screams of wounded... I hoped to never see its like again. That's why I came to Seren's Folly. I'm a necromancer, and an undead one at that, who loves life and hates suffering. Ironic, isn't it?"

A thought hit Rebecca like a thunderbolt. Oh, how she hoped it wouldn't come to pass, but on the eve of battle... "Andri, would you come up to my room, please? There's something I need to show you, in private."

[color=00a99d]"And now we're here, preparing for just the thing we both have put hopes and effort in avoiding. That's even more ironic."[/color] Andri flicked away a small piece of dirt that happened to sit on a small, decorative wall, and followed it with his eyes as if it was an interesting thing. It wasn't. It was just less gruesome than allowing his mind to focus on imaginations of what was to come.

[color=00a99d]"In private ? Okay..."[/color] The last word came a bit delayed and with slightly arched eyebrows. [color=00a99d][i]Khan ? Whatever you're thinking about now, and I'm sure I know what you're thinking about: Stop it! Lorelai might not be in her office but I am sure I will find her or be able to call for her if I have to![/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]Calm down... I'm totally fine. You're looking like a head cheese... that will suffice for several days.[/i][/color] The demon chuckled while Andri hurried to follow Rebecca.

Rebecca opened her door and sat down on her bed. She slipped her upper body out of her robes, displaying her pallid, decaying skin. As always, the most notable feaure of her chest was the massive, stitched-together wound. Rebecca took her knife, undid the stitches, and peeled back the skin.

A section of ribcage had been cut out, right above where her heart would be. Instead of a heart, she had a crystal embedded in the back of her abdominal cavity, pulsing with a dingy gray light. "This is what I needed to show you."

Seeing this was tough. Seeing this without showing off a totally disgusted grimace was even tougher. The only thing the hunter could do was to try and not do just that. When the crystal appeared, it was more of a relief than anything else: A rotting, beating heart dangling in an artificial cavity looked more displeasant in Andri's imaginations than a piece of anorganic, though obviously magic piece of matter emitting light.

The assassin became curious and bent down a bit to inspect it more closely. [color=00a99d]"May I ask what this is ?"[/color]

"This is my soul crystal. My mind, my soul, everything that makes me... me. Making one is part and parcel of becoming a lich, but it needs to be kept secret and safe. If anything happened to it, well."

Rebecca shook a kink out of her shoulders. "I needed a hiding place for it, and there was one place I knew nobody would ever look. Andri, I want you to swear something to me. Swear that if my body is damaged beyond what the healers can repair, you will take that soul crystal and shatter it."

This explanation was more than a bit beyond what Andri had expected. It took him a noticeable while to realize what the lich was telling him, or more, what Rebecca was asking him.

[color=00a99d]"How can such a vow be done ?"[/color] Of course he knew how to swear something, but he didn't know if the rules or ordinary humans were still applicable among witches. Aside from that, there were questions building up. A lot. [color=00a99d]"And how to shatter it ? I'm sorry, but I must ask this beforehand. Does it require any special procedure ? If yes, don't tell me. So I won't be able to do it entirely on my own so easy."[/color]

"Andri, I am trusting you, quite literally, with my life. You could have attacked me that day we first met in Seren's Folly, when I was desperate for aid. Instead, you listened to me. You helped me save my coven from tearing itself to shreds. Your word is enough for me. And you don't need anything special to do it. Just take a hammer and give it a big whack."

The lich grimaced at the thought of Andri attacking her. Without undead minions to guard her, the little waif would never be able to stop him. "I- I can't stay here as half a body, Andri. And I know I'm going to the pit. Heaven has no place for someone who has profaned nature like I have. So I shall have no afterlife at all. No heaven, and no hell, just the endless darkness. I just want you to understand what I am asking you to do, when and if it should be needed."

[color=00a99d]"I... see your point."[/color] Somehow he felt that this wording was inappropriate, but it was the best he could come up with. Rebecca's face was contorting and he wondered why until she continued speaking. [color=00a99d]"You [i]know[/i] you're going to the pit ? How ? I don't know much about magic, but you didn't create it. It was there as a part of nature since the very first day. So how can nature profane itself ? This doesn't seem fair."[/color] Deep inside him however the admission started to spread that nature was, or at least appeared to be unfair, very often.

There was a pause of several seconds during which Andri was just looking at the lich. [color=00a99d]"I accept the commitment."[/color]

"There's a reason necromancy is frowned upon, even among witches. The very idea of bringing the dead back to life disturbs many, and playing with spirits rips apart one's sanity far more often than not. Life becomes death, and death stays itself. To make death become life. That's the profanity and perversion I was talking about."

Rebecca smiled. "You're right. It isn't fair that I was born with the powers that I have, that I am punished for using them. But if it is a choice between using them for good or not using them at all; that's no decision at all for me."

Andri had been about to ask just why she had chosen this type of magic when Rebecca answered the question herself. It made things just look even more unfair. So far, Rebecca had proven not to be a bad witch.

[color=00a99d]"Isn't there some sort of way around this ? Could you not just ask if someone would be willing to offer his or her body for the greater good voluntarily after he has died ? This might sound strange, but... that's how it is done in the world I come from. Examining dead bodies is considered desecration, but not if the dead agreed to it when he was living."[/color]

"That might work. But the battle is coming soon, Andri, and like I said, even here, necromancy is considered especially blasphemous. There might be someone who would agree, but personally, I doubt it." Rebecca reached for a needle to start sewing her chest up again. "Besides, I've seen things both more wonderful and more terrible in my few years on this earth than I ever thought I would. I've lived my life the best I could. If I am to end, I'm content with that."

The giant sighed. He had a glimpse of an idea about what to say, but it was far from potent enough to form a real answer. However, as he saw Rebecca sealing off the crystal again, another thing struck his mind. [color=00a99d]"Wait a minute... is it possible to temporarily detach the crystal from your physical body ? There's someone in this castle who might help making it less fragile on the battlefield..."[/color] He was thinking about Lenny. A small metal box around it, with a thick internal lining consisting of cloth. Perhaps with a lock on it so he could open it in case the time would come for him to have to fulfill his vow - something that hopefully would never occur.

"Yes. It is possible, but I won't be able to manipulate my body well, and I cannot see or hear. If you hold it, though, I can communicate with your mind. Have you ever seen one of those children's shows, with the puppets on strings? It would be something like that." A curious eyebrow raised almost all the way to Rebecca's hairlines. "Why, what are you thinking of?"

[color=00a99d]"I'm thinking about an arrow, a dagger or a small sword easily being able to penetrate your skin and, if not outright destroying the crystal, chipping it. I don't want you to [i]partially[/i] leave this plane. If the blacksmith I've got this armor from is as competent in realizing my idea of small casing for your crystal as he was in realizing this piece of Nightstalker hide, you won't have to be deprived of your senses for long until you have at least some additional protection for it."[/color]

"So, like a suit of armor or something? An excellent idea! It will need an opening in the back so the crystal can still be fixed to my flesh for proper control, but I've still got my ribs back there." The little lich wore an ear to ear grin. "Is there anything I can do to repay you, Andri?"

[color=00a99d]"I have not done much, but..."[/color] He started thinking, a process which was quite obvious. [color=00a99d]"Perhaps there's something that you can inject into my mouth that will get me repaired after I've emptied the castle's liquor supply again. I have a bad habit... I think we can sell the short delay we will have to make for visiting Lenny and adding this thing to his to-do-list towards Liz as improving combat efficiency or the like."[/color]

Rebecca giggled. "Yes, I've seen you drink. It's... awe-inspiring. I think I have a recipe for an anti-hangover potion somewhere. It just needs to simmer for a couple hours, so don't go on a spree today. Tomorrow's fine, though."

With that, Rebecca lifted herself off the bed. "Shall we?"

[color=00a99d]"We both have to head out soon. I can't allow myself to get intoxicated today, or basically any of the days to come - yet my desire for doing so appears to be greater than ever, given the situation we're in..."[/color]

The assassin was rising to his full height again which got him dangerously close to the ceiling. [color=00a99d]"Yep, let's go. I think I can remember the way..."[/color]


"I haven't been down here yet. I take it this where Medusa keeps the thralls and undesirables?" A little shiver slipped through Rebecca's arms. The darkness and damp were uncomfortable. "Who is this guy? Some dwarf Medusa managed to coerce into working for her?"

From a certain point onwards, it really wasn't hard to get a hunch on where to go now in order to locate Lenny. Did he ever stop his metalworking ? When Rebecca suspected him being some sort of dwarf, Andri had to chuckle. [color=00a99d]"No... put the dwarf in the denominator and do the math, then you know what he is. Lenny is the far opposite of a dwarf, but see yourself."[/color] With these words, he pulled open the gate to his workspace.

[color=00a99d]"Lenny ?"[/color] he shouted, trying to drown out Lenny's hammer. [color=00a99d]"Rebecca and I have a small request for you."[/color]

"No, he's [i]definitely[/i] not a dwarf." Rebecca craned her neck upwards to see Lenny's face. "So, you're Lenny. I'm Rebecca. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Lenny turned toward the comparatively demure pair.  [b]"So Lenny's me'name huh?  Lorelai tore it from me when she enslaved me,  'tis a fine name I suppose."[/b]  The room shook with his chuckles.  [b]"Well met Rebecca,  and good ta see ya again Andri."[/b]

[b]"I ain't seen a lich in ages... or was that ever."[/b]  The giant was lost in thought for a moment,  before shaking his head.  [b]"No matter,  this can't be anythin' but interestin' right?  What can I do for ya?"[/b]

[color=00a99d]"You've already hit the nail, Lenny."[/color] Andri replied. [color=00a99d]"I had the idea of a small casing for protecting her phylactery. It would have to be... attachable... to..."[/color] He looked at Rebecca, his eyes telling her that he needed assistance with the details of the specification.

"It needs to stick to the back of my ribs, and have an opening in the back so the crystal can properly interact with the flesh." Rebecca shuffled forward and opened her chest. "I've got it in here. You can see the spot it has to fit in, so that should give you an idea of the dimensions."

[b]"Oi,  I can do that for ya.  'Course,  I dunno why you don't get yerself a golem body.  Provided your phylactery is detachable."[/b]  Lenny mused as he stooped to examine the strange crystal.  It was tiny,  especially to his immense sensibilities.  Little more than a human thumb of a white crystal,  opal-esque in hue,  with a queer, gray radiance.  [b]"Looks like ya got plenty o' space in there.  I should be able to work somethin up.  Unless you'd like me to forge ya a new body,  of flame and steel.  Might be more reliable that the fragile human vessel."[/b]

"Fragile it may be, but I've grown attached to it over the years." Rebecca laid down on a table, allowing Lenny easy access to her chest. "Now, don't get any ideas, Khan." She took the crystal out of her body, and her eyes glazed over as her flesh went still.

[color=fff79a][i]What ideas should I have ? Sex with Rebecca in front of Lenny ? I'd never do that...[/i][/color]
[color=00a99d][i]No khan. [b]I[/b] would never do that. [b]You[/b] would, but you can't![/i][/color] Andri responded, putting some delight into the "can't". He stood a few steps away from her and watched the scene with a lot of interest. [color=00a99d]"It needs some soft material in it too in order to dampen any shocks."[/color] he added, not being sure if Lenny already was aware of that. He probably was.

[b]"Oi,"[/b] The giant nodded.  [b]"And light enough not ta cause to much loss in mobility too.  A job fer mithril me'thinks."[/b]

He plucked the crystal from Rebecca's still hand gingerly.  [b]"I've got this handled,  Andri."[/b]  He smiled at the man.  [b]"Why don't ya find somethin' to do while I work?  Should be done in a day or so."[/b]

[color=00a99d]"I've visiting Triss on my schedule. And then... going to work."[/color] There was significantly less enthusiasm in his latter few words. Before leaving, he turned towards Rebecca. [color=00a99d]"I hope the thing will make you happy. Don't forget that anti-intoxication potion."[/color] he grinned, not meaning it seriously.