Jeru waded through the dead, their grasping arms tugged at him like the current of a stream. It was disturbing, but he couldn\'t stop now. He could see her, up ahead. She had climbed a mound of undead and was scouring the land with her cold gaze. He had to get to her, he had to bring her back. Screams sounded in the distance, long wails and dry moans, the undead heralding the arrival of something he wanted to avoid. Jeru had to get to Rozenn first. He needed to speak to her before the fell lich, Zyrden, did. He wasn\'t sure where the lich was, he only knew he was approaching. It had been a race to find Rozenn, one that hopefully, Zyrden was still unaware of. If he knew what Jeru had in store for her...
Tugging at his forked beard, he cursed a few times and started widening his stride, short legs bowed as he stomped one, then the other booted foot down on rotted fiends. He could see her, turning her gaze towards him. She had already started walking, inadvertently towards him, and had finally noticed him. Jeru the Dastard locked gazes with Rozenn. He saw the flashes of thought behind her confused eyes. Jeru saw the reaching hand of Zyrden over her shoulder, about to steal her attention. The lich had stepped out of a cloud of ash, his mysterious portal closing behind him and silencing the wailing dead.
Jeru screamed and whipped his axe around, tearing through the dead around him. Bits of flesh and gobs of blood blinded him as he dashed forward. He could hear the lich bellow orders to stop him, and could feel the hoard of dead moving in on him. And then he broke free, into the open ground around the lich and Rozenn. He didn\'t have much time, he had to get to Rozenn and keep the lich away long enough to use the device... but there it was. The crushing defeat of his entire plan. The lich had his hand on Rozenn\'s shoulder, and had his slender sword swept out and at Jeru. No more advancing, and he couldn\'t use the device without taking the lich with them.
Jeru did the only thing he could. "It\'s been awhile Rozenn! I\'ve not seen ye since last yer trial in Demiderus. A right fine mess that, ye\'ve in good health, I see." The lich only had his hand resting on Rozenn\'s shoulder, standing at her side. It wasn\'t much, but that little contact was enough to hinder Jeru\'s plan. He needed to put some room between them and the lich... the host of dead they could more or less deal with... of course, that was all assuming Rozenn had even a sliver of her sanity left. Otherwise, she could be just as dangerous as the lich.