Outside the dead lich’s keep, and back in
When Yanni came to, he found Sir Jorolil sitting in a daze with the oddest thing imaginable around his neck—a necklace of <ack!> human ears! Fatoxjxh was squatting calmly by a fire gnawing on some meat off of a bone. Beside him was Valeska, deceased and almost completely wrapped in leather and other strappings, ready for overland travel.
Fatoxjxh told Yanni that he fixed Jorolil’s insanity with the cool ear necklace bartered from the Orc shaman. What orc shaman?!? Jerking his head tot he south, the one down in that valley with the other several thousand orcs. Yep, there they go, he crooned, as Yanni stumbled over to the edge of the hill and watched them slowly making their way south. Oh yes, and Calandryll left the keep leading those same orcs. But we came to an agreement, and ain’t those ears pretty?
Sir Jorolil was none too happy about the necklace, but was satisfied in being coherent and able to take his own actions. Fatoxjxh warned him that removing it would remove the magic from the necklace completely and return him to his state of insanity. Then he giggled.
After a while, once Yanni seemed recovered enough, Fatoxjxh announced that he had to leave and bring Valeska back again. Again? Yanni and Sir Jorolil didn’t quite follow, but Fatoxjxh said that with luck they would meet them in Zhind someday soon. He then soon left with Yanni’s bewildered blessing and Valeska corpse on his horse, crying and saying he had to make things right.
Later on, Yanni foggily remembered snippets of a conversation betwixt Fatoxjxh and Calandryll in his semi-conscious state:
Cal: "And how do you plan to revive her? I hear it’s much more difficult if days have passed…"
Fatox: "It’s more than bringing her back, it’s bringing her full circle to where and what she once was…not very often can roy-..."
<Yanni loses consciousness for a while><upon regaining consciousness>
Fatox: "So what is left of this lich and all within?"
Cal: "The lich is no more, and may his tortured soul remain so for eons to come. Everything that remains within means little to me, so if my caring friend Yanni <with sarcasm> wishes to shelter himself there, so be it. However someday, if the pain is great enough, I shall return, and woe to any in my, no, in OUR way…<evil laugh>
Fatox: "In pain is there light… and in that light…there is redemption." <maniacal cackle>
Cal: "So true, until we meet again, brother…"
Fatox: "Until we meet again."
<sounds of embracing and pats on the back>
<maniacal cackle> <evil chortle> <maniacal whooping> <wicked laugh> <maniacal snorts>
<etc… until Yanni falls again into unconsciousness.>
Yanni and Sir Jorolil, learning that the keep was uninhabited, went to search the rest of the keep. In short sweet summary style, they whooped up on several mummies, and found treasure, mummy rot, spellbooks and platinum. A couple of days later, they teleported to Findel(la)’s basement laboratory in Zhind. The End.