A Letter Between Brothers

Dearest Brothers,      As you know by now, mother has returned to life and to you. Daniel, please pray for me. Darren, do not come for me. I know now that what I have done was foolish. My goal has long been to exact Revenge upon our mother's killer. It took all this time to find out who that was. I found that our mother's killer was the great Lich, Ashorklock. I know you have both tried to get me to abandon my quest for Revenge, but your words fell on deaf ears. Against all commands and requests and indeed against all common reason, I sought the Lich out. And so I set out for the deadlands, with my anger and my need boiling in my blood.            When I reached the Deadlands, I initially found some resistance in the form of skeletons. None were too strong, but there were so, so many. I downed them by the hundreds, and yet more came against me. At long last, there came an evil looking creature, a wight. it spoke to me and said “Ashorklock will see you.” Then, the way was opened, and the wight led me along White paved streets and Roads through the glistening white sand, devoid of any color. We walked for 2 days and nights without stop except for water and a small bit of food. At last, we came to the Central City, the home of Ashorklock. There, in a great palace there sat upon a throne the figure of a strong and powerful man. His robes were glistening White and his crown is of the purest white gold I have ever seen. He treated me kindly and offered me wine and food and water and a bed within the palace to rest. I slept and bathed and was given white robes to wear before I went to see the great Lich again. When I entered the offices of Ashorklock, he smiled and waved for me to sit in a very comfortable chair. Refreshed and no longer weary with sand and lack of sleep, I told him I preferred to stand. I asked him why I should not kill him immediately. Once again he smiled. He said “ I know why you are here. And I may be able to make things right with you, without any bloodshed. Here is what I propose. Bring your mother's body to me and I will give her life back to you.” Stunned, I was speechless for a moment. I asked why he would do that. Why would he be so generous? Again, he smiled. He replied, “ I don't know that I'm being generous. For, if I do this thing, I do it for a price. If I do this thing, if I return her to the living, then I will have her son as my servant.” Absolutely shocked, I stammered, “ you're asking me to pledge servitude?” Again, he smiled, “ I am. This removes any doubts between us. You will know that I am carrying out your wishes because I wish you to carry out mine. Very simply, if I don't carry my end of the bargain, then you walk out a free man. However, if I bring your mother back, whole, then she will leave here a free woman and you will remain my servant for as long as she lives. And I mean that to be a very, very long time.” And so you may have noticed that the family Vault was broken into or the cart tracks leaving the cemetery, and wondered who could have done such a thing? It was I. I broke into the vault. I took my mother's body. I wheeled her away to the Halls of Ashorklock! There, the Lich performed the rituals that returned our mother to us. And it was I who walked her to the Border of the Deadlands. I have returned Our mother to you with our man Richard. Do not come for me. Do not let the world know what I have done. If any ask, tell them that I am adventuring, exploring for the brass dragon. Please, please, forgive me, pray for me. Your disgraced brother, Drew