The Murder of an Undead Friend

(Crossing, Zoluren: 395 Nissa 351)

A crimson- robed lich known initially only a "P" was murdered on the Town Green. I witnessed this event, and was helpless to stop it. She was killed by an undead man named Kelior, who claimed to be a Paladin Hunter of the Undead, with the aid of Paladins he was easily able to dupe from our own guild. (As the story is recounted, this Kelior walked into the Paladin Guild, saluted Darius, and Darius refused to return the salute. He then started to rile up the paladins into this cold blooded murder on Lady P, who was visiting with friends on the Green at that moment.)

Lady Penelope, you see, was an undead lich. She was a brilliant scholar and a seer, and never tried to hide the fact that she was a lich. After he had P brutally killed, he took a music box, the Second Deceiver, from her. Kelior was hunted down a bit later and killed by Demosel Dez’ Madielle in a duel that night on the edge of the chasm on the Southern Trade Route.

Penelope was a Lich, but she had more life than many people in the Five Realms. She was a scholar and seer that appreciated the eternal value of knowledge, and the true worth of beauty. Penelope taught us of the Comet Bloodworm, and warned us of the danger it might fortell. She told us stories of the Empire, from Emperor Chezarek to artifacts of long- ago ages. And as one person told me, Penelope saw the beauty of the sunset.

But beyond teaching and showing us how to appreciate the small yet precious things in life, Penelope sacrificed herself for us all. A lich, some would say. That makes her undead, and evil. But this very thing which made her "evil" allowed her to be a salvation for us all. Penelope guarded the Second Deceiver. The Deceivers are Artifacts of tremendous evil power. The First Deceiver is a trappezoid held by Andraethu, which allows him to rip time and steal souls. This Second Deceiver was guarded by Penelope. In the hands of any mortal, the Deceiver would have caused corruption and evil to take over. But Penelope, by being undead, was unaffected by that, and thus kept the evil from causing destruction among the mortal people.

In her death, the Deceiver was lost. While now held by the paranoid Mountain Elves of the Chyolvea Tayeu’a citadel, it is a risk should it fall into the hands of anyone.

A memorial service was held shortly after Penelope’s death, attended by Grand Master Taramaine Ennis- Braun, head of the Moon Mage Guild, as well as many others. We must all remember Penelope, for the good she had done, and for how much we lost when her life was ripped away by Kelior.