My encounter with those three lesser lichs wore me out. I rested for a short while, then decided to check out the door at the other end of the upper hallway.

As I approached, I could see a note attached to the wall.   

As expected, it was a note telling everyone to keep out.

DRYNNE RESIDENCE
Visitors Solely by Appointment
NO SOLICITORS

Obviously, a sense of humor, this un-dead person.  How does one make an appointment with a lich? What could anyone possibly sell him?

Well, maybe some air freshener. No, really, the place could use a little sprucing up, you know? A few new tapestries here and there, a throw-rug in strategic places, etc.

I decided to go have a chat with him anyway. The note didn't really apply to me, since I wasn't soliciting anything.

Casting caution to the wind, I pushed the door open.

Inside, I heard an evil-sounding laugh. 

"Always an unwanted visitor."

I heard the creaking of bones as Drynne got up from his throne.

"Allow me to show you the way out."

"I have come to talk with you, Drynne." I shouted, hoping to avoid a confrontation.  

Drynne turned his un-dead gaze directly at me, the sight of the skin still hanging from his bones was unsettling.

"Talk?" he replied. "Allow my spells to do the talking for me, for that is all you shall have of this one."   

Before I had a chance to do anything, he shot a spell at me that burned like the heat of the mid-day sun. It was not unlike the God's Fire spell, but the effect was much worse than anything I had encountered before. While the spell was still in effect, I had to use 3 health potions to keep myself from burning alive right there.

I heard him laugh.

I shot a spell of Medusa's Gaze at him, but he ignored it.

I tried it again, but this time, it met another of his spells on it's way to me. They met mid-way between us, exploding in a blast of magical fire and sparks.

I tried a spell of poison bloom. It hit him, but barely did any damage at all. He responded with another of his fire blast spells. I dodged it, but the blast hit the wall behind me, burning some of the hairs on the back of my head.

One after another, I shot several destruction spells at him: fire, frost, shock, poison, but they hardly had any effect on this lich. This was bad - I was running out of magicka, even though I was absorbing some of the spells he was sending my way.

In an act of desperation, I tried using some of my own enchanted rings - the Ring of Leaches. One blast after another, absorbing Drynne's health into myself. As one ring ran out of charge, I used another, and another. I finally started using Dracula's Ring - not as much effect, but many more shots then the other rings.

Suddenly, Drynne fell dead(er) on the floor.   

I had won the battle, but I felt I had failed my mission to talk with this lich.

I hurried up to his throne to see if there was anything, any useful information I could salvage from this mission.

In my search, I came across a note in the sleeve of his robe. My eyes grew wide, as I read the note was addressed directly to me. How odd.   

So, Eldorf Dragonmeal, it appears you've killed me.

Wipe that surprised look off your face, would you? It's embarrassing to me to think that my slayer is naive enough to believe I was unaware of your impending arrival, or of your goal. I write this for the unlikely event that you actually succeed. Mind you, as I write this note, I fully expect to be burning it in a few hours time whilst standing over your bloating corpse. Still, it never hurts to cover all eventualities, and in the event you have slane me, I bear you little animosity for it. Actually, come to think of it, I bear  you a great deal of animosity for it. It was my existence, after all. But it's an impersonal sort of animosity, and not one that alters what I have to say.

We'd heard about that deformed idiot, Senzani Na. Pathetic man, to think he'd ever become a lich himself' he'd never be able to complete the tasks required. Still, scrying his antics from afar provided a great deal of amusement, especially once your sad and tiny little Order sent him that false ingredient list. Ha! We were laughing for days as he scrabbled to gather the items "required", and were quite looking forward to the look on his face when he went after that supposed phylactery of divinity and discovered he was duped. So, imagine our surprise when he managed to get himself slaughtered by someone who just happened to stumble into him.

So, we watched as you went after the phylactory of divinity yourself, curious to see what you'd do. We watched as you joined that sad gathering of paranoid fools. You're an intriguing one, I'll grant you that. Unlike Senzani Na, you might actually be able to perform the required tasks. So we watched, knowing that if you truly sought the goal of lichedom, you would inevitably seek to slay us and pillage our knowledge.

Well, obviously - how else should you learn what you seek? Daedra fell and daedra beautific, I can just picture you standing there with a stupedified look. Try not too drool, would you? It's undignified.

I wasn't drooling.

Unfortunately for me if you're reading this, it's accepted practice for a would-be lich to behave this way and none of my "colleagues" would interfere with your slaying of me. Which is fair - had you gone after one of the others, I would have sat back and enjoyed watching the spectacle myself. Which reminds me, I do hope your search leads you to kill Semura as well. I never could stand that old bag, always looking down her nose - well, metaphorically speaking, as none of us had an actual nose in decades; decay, you know - at the rest of us.

I tell you these things because I have something the others lack: a sense of whimsy. The centuries grow stale and amusement becomes hard to come by - whereas grudges endure quite nicely. While I'd far rather be the victor in our little encounter, I confess, it fills me with a good deal of satisfaction to see you to run amok amongst the others, in the event that I've fallen dead at your feet. Don't trip on me if I have.

I could tell you everything you need to know, you understand. I'm expected to reveal the great secrets to the one who bested me, as the one I bested revealed them to me so very long ago. I'm not going to, though. If I did, you'd have no reason to go after the others, and we can't have that now, can we? Indulge an old, old man in his final fancy. Of course, I have no way to compel or reward you directly to do as I will - save to point out that if you ever wish to become what I was, you'll have little choice in the matter.

Be a dear and go on a murderous rampage, would you? There's a good sport. You'll find Semura in her tower, Inverness, located within the Ghostgate. Give her my regards.

Drynne, previously of House Dres,
Previously lich of the 3rd Circle
Currently food for maggots

One of the oddest notes I had ever read in my entire life. I decided to take the note back to Selrach Otived and see if he could make sense of any of this.

I had plenty of time to think about things on as I made my way back to the fishing village of Khuul.

This had been something of a curiosity to me up until now. Suddenly, there was a possibility of becoming an extremely powerful wizard, something I might find useful if I had to content with some battle involving Dagoth Ur...

But what what cost?   

It was very late, and I was very tired. I wanted to make my report, then teleport back home and sleep for a day or two.

Selrach was pacing the floor of his office/room when I arrived.

"Did you speak with this lich?" he asked.

"The chance to talk never existed." I replied. "I was attacked the moment he saw me, and left me no choice but to end his undead life."

"We feared that might happen." he replied. "What is that you have in your hand?"

"It seems my arrival was expected." I said, handing him the notes.

Selrach read them silently, and began pacing as he read. Once he finally finished the notes, he turned to me and said "The letter you found is troubling. I was unaware the liches had any "tradition" of the sort described therein, but what's troubling is that Drynne chose to ignore that tradition. But you performed quite well, so do allow me to promote you within our ranks in recognition of that."

I thanked him for his gesture.

Selrach put the papers on his desk, and turned back to me. "Before you journey to confront Semuta, I have an objective much closer to home for you."

"Does it involve a long journey?" I asked, not wanting to get anything started this late.

"Oh, goodness no." he replied. "With the skull you brought back from Imboca, we have been able to summon the spirit of our Order's founder, Imaginos. You may have already noticed him here now in Fionnovar; I understand he's grown fond of the mushroom garden off the west wing. He wishes to speak with you. Go and talk with him, and come back to me afterwards."

Well, I suppose it wouldn't be the first ghost I had spoken with...