"Interesting…" The Lich hissed back, for someone who didn't have a face, the lich could oddly express himself better than anyone else, "It's been a long time since a mortal greeted me so kindly. The ones who previously found me made the grave mistake of attacking me on sight. A pity… I wanted them to enjoy the beauty of my palace."
"They probably couldn't see the majestic aura revolving around you, sire." Astaroth felt like puking but sugarcoating his words was the only thing that could ensure his survival, "After all, the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder."
The only problem was… he needed to get into the treasury to complete the main quest. If he didn't, he would die. But asking about the treasury right from the start would simply result in his death at the rotten hands of the lich either way.
On one side was a canyon and on the other was a minefield, while he was standing on a strip not wider than the width of a strand of his hair. One wrong move and he was done for.
"I find your words… intriguing. You speak as if you know my identity… Are you aware of my identity, mortal?"
"You are the owner of the Eastern Palace, which itself demonstrates your greatness. For someone to become the heir of such a palace, one would have to be extraordinary."
"Haha! I don't think I have met a mortal like you in a long long time." The Lich laughed but the next moment his smile dropped, "What business do you have with me? If I do not like your answer then…"
The lich snapped his bony fingers and the undead surrounded Astaroth, ready to decapitate him on command.
"I think you already know what would happen…" The lich concluded his speech.
Astaroth took a deep breath. As much as he didn't want to, he had to state the reason why he was there in the first place. He could have tried lying, but he was more or less convinced that the lich already had cast some lie detection magic. If he lied, the undead soldiers around him would rip his flesh off the bones.
"To visit your treasury-"
"You are no different than those who came before you. All of you want my riches, yet none of you is worthy enough to step a foot inside. But… I'll give you one chance to prove you're worthy enough. All because you and I are not too different. I can sense the power of death that lies within me, lies within you as well."
The lich's reaction to Astaroth's words was nothing that he expected, he was surprisingly calm and behaving as if he couldn't care about the stuff inside the treasury anymore.
Instead, all the Lich wanted was to find a suitable person to pass down his secrets to and right now, a qualified candidate was standing right in front of him. But every candidate has to pass a test before they are awarded.
[A hidden mission has been triggered in relation to your previous quest.]
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[Title]: Worth.
[Introduction]: The ruler of the Eastern Palace has taken a liking to you as you are a necromancer as well and believes you could become his successor. If you could pass his test.
[Objective]: Prove that you are worthy of being named the successor of the eastern palace.
[Task]: Answer all of the Arch Lich's riddles correctly
[Progress]: 0/3 riddles answered.
[Reward]:
>> Ownership of the Eastern Palace
>> Access to the treasury
[Punishment]: Failing to answer even one of the riddles correctly would result in instant death. Only for you to get resurrected again to serve the Lich for all eternity.
[Mission Commissioned by]: The Arch Lich
[Priority Level]: 10 (The host cannot ignore the mission, there is no time limit but the host cannot leave the mission grounds before completing the mission. Unleash they are willing to embrace death.)
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'Alright… this is it. The moment to leave this place.' Astaroth thought and accepted the quest, 'On top of that, this place… would be perfect for what I have in mind for later.'
As soon as Astaroth accepted the mission, the lich signalled his undead to move back. The test of life and death was about to commence.
"It brings me happiness to know that you are interested in becoming my successor." The lich smiled wanly, "Here is the first riddle. You measure my life in hours and I serve you by dying. I die quickly when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy but also can be my ally. What am I?"
"Wind is the enemy and also an ally… that has to be fire. But fire can't be the answer, it has to be something that uses fire, a torch? No… a torch never dies, the fire on it does." Astaroth was lost in his thoughts and didn't even notice the undead slowly approaching him, "It has to be… a candle!"
The Lich stared at him with a poker face. Not giving Astaroth the slightest clue whether his answer was correct or not. The moment was nerve-wracking until the Lich smiled and his soldiers stepped back.
"For a moment I thought you wouldn't be able to answer." The lich clapped twice to show his amazement, "Let's make it a bit more difficult, shall we? I have cities, yet no citizens. I have kingdoms, yet I'm no king. I have forests, but no animals. I don't have treasures, yet no treasure hunter can proceed without me. What am I?"
Astaroth was a bit confused. The first three sentences had one thing in common. No citizens, no king, no animals, all pointed out towards one thing… an inanimate object. But the last phrase did not follow that scheme. However, the clues were enough to help Astaroth think of a few things.
'An inanimate object that any treasure hunter would need… there are a lot of things like that. Dynamite, Shovel, pickaxe, excavators… but none of them make sense out of the first three phrases.'
"Remember… the clock is ticking," The lich reminded Astaroth as the undead got closer to him than before.
'Damn it! If only I had a map of this place I could have avoided meeting this fucker… wait that's it!' Astaroth had a light bulb moment, "It's a map!"
"Correct again. Now, for the final riddle… I look flat, but I am deep. I give shelter to those who seek.
I take lives but offer them as well. At times I am beautiful, at times by death's side. I can be calm, angry and turbulent, all at the same time. I have no heart but offer pleasure as well as death.
No man can own me, yet I encompass what all humans need. What am I?"
As soon as the Lich was done with the riddle, Astaroth broke down laughing. The riddle was a tough one to answer… for those who had never heard of it before. As for Astaroth, he couldn't even remember how many times he had heard a riddle like that. That's why he was laughing. He was done.
"An ocean."
[Progress: 3/3 riddles answered correctly.]