1 Chapter 001

The man found himself trapped in a small cave at the end of a natural hallway. Looking around, there was no way out, save for the way he'd come in.

Sighing, the figure pushed his ring covered fingers through his hair, tugging and pulling at the base before letting out a low groan of disapproval.

"Fuck." He muttered aloud, and turned to look towards the entrance behind him. Pushing up the sleeves on his burnt orange robe, he reached into a pocket to produce a few ingredients.

The ground vibrated with the sound of the approaching people that had followed him in the caverns. First, a large dark skinned man in bright metal armor. A spectacularly large glaive was held easily in one hand, a half smirk visible as the man twirled the bladed staff between his fingers.

Next was a small, waifish boy with pale skin and even paler hair, dressed in a simple shirt and pants, with an unassuming face and innocent smile. Dark, empty eye sockets were the only thing that caused the boy to appear as anything more than a pale, average commoner.

Finally, behind the pair was a thin, tall man with a black robe holding a scythe. This robe covered everything save for a single boney hand that held the weapon.

"Well, you don't get any points for creativity." The orange clad man muttered, before his fingers began twitching in a way to summon the powers of his magic.

Words of power, dust of some ancient creature, the body part of another… He forgot just how many different monsters and animals he'd killed in his lifetime, just to get the parts he needed to be able to empower himself and his followers.

Fire erupted from the ground between the trio, but was immediately extinguished with a casual wave of the boy's hand. "Uh-uh. Not in MY domain." The small boy's voice was a deep, guttural sound. Something akin to a cat's howl and gurgling water while trying to speak.

Wincing, the orange man rubbed his pinkie in his ear, wiggling it to show how unpleasant the voice was. "Look, I get it. You're pissed I fucked your mom. I mean, to be fair…" A broad smile spread across the man's face as he reached into his bag once more. "Shit."

Whatever he'd about to say was forgotten as he pulled the bag up to look into with no small amount of concern. "Shitshitshit. Nonono. " Then, with a small smile, a defeated look on the handsome face, he sighed again. "I forgot to restock my spell supplies."

He put his hands up in surrender, as the other three looked at each other before laughter erupted.

"The great Trimagus, The Fire Tyrant, Killer of Demons, Husband to the Goddess of Magic.." The armored man began, stabbing the glaive in the rock beneath his feet.

"Hey, I know who I am. If you're going to say aaaaalllll my titles, it's gonna be a long time until you get to your point." The prisoner interjected, annoyance shown as he rolls his eyes.

"I mean, you have to admit, it's kind of a bullshit way to end, isn't it?" The man in the metal said, turning to look at the other two. "Right?" A hand was motioned for the other to offer their support.

The boy shook his head. "Whatever." Was all he'd offer, before reaching down to pluck a pebbled from he ground. "Anything you wanna say, before we finish this little game?" The boy asked, looking at the man they'd chased down.

"Uh. Sure." That ever charming smile flickered across the smooth, handsome face that was framed with hair that resembled dancing flames. Blue at the base, white, then red and orange then finally yellow. The long mop was pushed back, and twirled once to be shoved into a bun, then held in place with a wand that had taken more money and time to make than it's owner cared to remember.

"Why can't we all just get along?"

The boy snickered and threw the pebble, hitting Trimagus in the chest. Swiftly, rocks encircled him, holding his body in place. The encasement continued until it melded with the ground, leaving nothing save for his face revealed.

"You will remain here… " A wheezing voice, from the thin man in black. "For the rest of eternity. You wished to cheat death, and continue to live forever…" A hand waived, a shimmering washed over the statue, as the thin man spoke. "So be it. Live forever." A soft, gasping laugh is heard.

With a stern look, the man watched the three walk away. He watched as they broke the rocks that held open the cavern and locked the room that he was trapped in. Were it not for his hair, the burning bright locks that had been another several decades worth of work, it would be pitch black.

The man's laughter echoed through the cavern.

The boy, armored man and thin man all made their way up, through the winding tunnels in the rock to one more reach the surface. Once there, they turned to one another.

"The truce is finished. The mage is captured. Remember, there needs to be guardians. You, Boy, your gnomes can be the first line. I'm sure you have a few that can live in front of the Sacred Resting Place. Someone to ensure no one enters your safe haven…" He motioned towards the boy, who only nodded once.

Turning to the one in armor, he also motioned.

"Yeah, yeah. I have some dwarfs I can put down here, too. They love these creepy little fucking places. Something about shiney rocks or some shit." The armor clanked as the man shrugged.

"Finally, I shall put a lich's tower atop the mountain, and give him the ritual in which to ensure the prisoner doesn't escape."

The others nodded, and it was done as they had agreed upon. Gnome and dwarf populated the underground caves and tunnels, branching off and creating huge halls under the mountain. They mingled together, living peacefully and creating many wonders with the large amounts of metals and precious stones they found.

The lich was quiet, constantly studying and ensuring that the mountain was save from intruders. Once a year, he would leave the safety of his tower to trudge down the mountain and into the caves. There, he'd stand before the forgotten, caved in room and offer a prayer to the gods, and perform the ritual he had been tasked to do.

For over five hundred years, this occurred. The man in stone forgotten, the reason for the ritual forgotten, the reason to not go into the room forgotten, everything was forgotten.