"The last thing I remember before dying were those eye's that belonged to the dark robed wizard. That seems like an eternity ago now." Kerrs looked around his glass prison and wondered if he'd ever discover the bottom of this "well of arms". He came to call it that because these hideous ghastly arms and faces surrounded this whole hole downward to the underworld. From arm to arm the bottle containing Kerrs' soul circled downward into the abyss. Each arm was careful never to break the bottle, but none were ever nice. Some arms would shake the bottle, while others would taunt him and even refer to him by name. When lucky some arms passed him along quiet gently, but the momentary lapse of chaos didn't help much. Suddenly, just as Kerrs thought another victim of his was about to poke fun at him, he noticed he stopped moving downward...

" Kerrs! Tis I the Japa you contacted me on earth!" Said one of the faces from the wall. " You told me if I help you when you die, you'd help me be free of this place!"

Kerrs jumped at this first sign of hope and replied, " Arrr, break me prison and I'll make sure we will be free of this torture!" 

The hand that held him suddenly shifted directions and winded its arm back. Then with all its force, it smashed the bottle across a face in the wall and shattered it. Instantly, Kerrs soul leaped out and down the well he flew with shattered glass raining behind him."Thank You! I will remember to free you matey!" Now he was moving down the tunnel at very fast. The arms that lined this bottomless pit now seemed like blurs. Though, every now and then an arm would rip into Kerrs' soul causing him minor pain. Kerrs kept looking for any sign of the bottom as he fell deeper and deeper into the underworld. Slowly the darkness at the bottom began to give way and faint signs of fire could be seen.Quickly the light from the bottom grew. Kerrs braced himself, with dagger held high and ready for any sign of danger.

Then he saw it. The liche Kouragi himself. The "well of arms" fell behind him and now he was falling from the ceiling of a gigantic cavern. The hideous liche was larger then any monster Kerrs had seen before. It's mouth, gaped wide open to devour Kerrs as he fell straight for it. Just then, Kerrs entered the beasts mouth and let his arm fly forward. He aimed his dagger for the back of the beasts throat and slashed away. Instantly spirit energy began pouring out of the liches wounds. Kerrs stabbed into the liche again and brought himself to a stop. From below him he could hear a loud moan of pain as the liche seemed to collapse forward. Then without warning, Kerrs was spit out of the monster's mouth. The pirate rolled onto the cave floor a little dazed. He quickly drank in the surroundings, then charged at the injured liche before it could recover. As more spirit energy bleed from the liche it began to shrink in size. Kerrs could felt the spirit energy empower him as he dashed for the beast. Kouragi stretched out his left arm in a weak attempt to squash Kerrs, while trying to staunch its wound with his right. Kerrs leaped up onto the beasts arm and raced up toward its shoulder. The liche tried to shake him off, but it was too late. Kerrs leaped from the shoulder and stabbed Kouragi in the neck and skidded down its chest. When Kerrs jumped back down to the ground he felt a giant thud behind him. The liche was laying on it's back as spirit energy flowed freely from it to Kerrs. The gash from its neck down to it's chest was glowing crimson green.

By now the injured liche lost so much spirit energy it had shrunk down to Kerrs height. The pirate carefully approached the liche to deliver the final blow. He looked down upon the former giant and grinned.

"Ssstop, do not kill me pirate, or you'll be trapped... down here... forever..." Kouragi spoke with much effort as he lied crippled before Kerrs. With the threat of being devoured subdued, Kerrs took a moment to look around the vast underworld cavern. Many tunnels could be seen leading from this cavern opening. The eerie light of lava and fire glowed on the cave walls. It looked very easy to get lost here in the underworld. Kerrs turned his attention back to Kouragi, " Arr, I'll be sparing you, if'n yee tell me how to gets out'r 'ere! You lie to me liche, an'll come back ta' finish thee job."

The liche didn't hesitate to answer,"I-I-I promise if you... spare me I'll help you get out pirate." Kerrs relaxed a little, but always kept an eye on the liche. To trust a liche would just be foolish. Slowly Kouragi gathered himself up and leaned his back against a near by boulder. Kerrs noticed the wounds on Kouragi began to close, but he remained the same size. "Tell me one thing pirate... before I help you..." Kouragi paused and pointed at Kerrs' dagger, which was glowing a vibrant red. "How, by the gods of sosoria, did thee manage to bring metal into the spirit world..?"

"Tis a long story liche, and I am eager for revenge, to put it simply I was trained by a druid. He taught me what I need to know to survive your giant mouth." Kerrs grinned at the liche, and was surprised to see the monster return the expression.

"Very well, pirate wizard, I will help you return to the surface. There are only two ways to get out of here, back up the way you came, or exit through the Gatekeeper's Gate. Though, I doubt he will open them for you, so I say we shoot you back up that vortex... You stole my spirit energy when you cut me pirate. You have changed into a damned soul when you did this. Which means you are now like me, an undead creature. To consume someones soul is to transform from mortal to immortal. If you return to the surface, don't expect to be resurrected into a flesh and blood body..." Kouragi looked down at his chest, which now was completely regenerated. Then he slowly picked himself up and stood before Kerrs. "But to launch you out that hole, I will need your help in gathering spirit energy again. If we work together you will be able to return to the surface faster then just me working alone. I need to devour the souls that wander these halls, so I may return to my full size once again!" Kouragi looked at Kerrs for an answer, but he said nothing. After a few minutes of considering his options, he nodded his head in agreement. To himself he told, I can always cut Kouragi to pieces again.

For what seemed like weeks, Kouragi and Kerrs hunted down souls to feed the liches growth. At first finding souls through the various cavern tunnels proved quiet a hardship. Then one day a gift from above opened up to them. Hundreds upon hundreds of souls rained down into various parts of the underworld. The liche was now going to grow at a very rapid rate. It seemed a great war was happening on the surface. Many brigands and murderers found themselves inside the belie of the liche before they could even touch ground. Kerrs was enjoying his time spent with the liche. Their taste for death was the main thing that bonded them. Day by day the liche would share some new incantation or spell with Kerrs. Kerrs' undead soul now needed to feed like Kouragi, to maintain his strength. Kouragi helped teach Kerrs how to feed his soul. The pirate wasn't sure if Kouragi did this to bring his guard down, or to show him he could be trusted. He would find out soon enough.

"KERRS!! Where thee be??" Kouragi's voice echoed through the vast cavern complex. The liche was now bigger then when Kerrs first arrived. Many souls were destroyed to satisfy the liche and pirate. Then came the sound of tortured souls from behind the liche, and it turned. Kerrs rounded up another batch of souls to be devoured by Kouragi. The souls ran fast and hard down the tunnel to escape Kerrs' dagger, only to find themselves feet away from Kouragi. The massive liche scooped up the handful and placed them in his mouth. Spirit energy flowed through him like a river with many inlets. Then Kouragi turned to Kerrs, " It's time you left this place pirate wizard, go seek revenge on those who have slain you. Your mortal enemies will not be able to harm your undead form now." Then the liche placed a massive hand in front of Kerrs.

Kerrs looked down at the giant's hand and stepped upon its palm. Kouragi raised Kerrs to eye level, then told him he would stick his arm into the vortex and push him back out onto the surface. " Now, this vortex opens in many places, so you may not come out whence you came in. I only have enough energy to attempt this once, If we fail, we will need to collect more souls to try again." Kerrs nodded and replied, " Alas I be ready, but I reques' one last thing of you Kouragi... Yarrr' promised a lost soul that I would free 'im if he 'ere to help me survive thee underworld. Now be the time to repay him. He be trapped in this vortex, how may'a free 'im?"

The liche looked down for a moment, then looked at Kerrs, "To free your Friend, you must be quick, I will move slow, but if you miss him, there will be not I can do for yee." Kerrs nodded. "When I begin pushing you up towards the surface keep an eye out for this freind of yours. When you near him grab his arm and pull him free of the vortex. I will carry you both back onto the surface. See you when I see you pirate wizard!" With that said, the liche stuck his arm into the vortex, and began pushing Kerrs out on the flat of his hand.

The pain of the vortex was intense on the liche. Kerrs could hear groans of pain from below the further up Kerrs was pushed. The arms and faces were ripping the skin and flesh off Kouragi's arm. Then Kerrs heard it, the familiar voice of Japa the lost soul. Kerrs leaned in close to the vortex wall, and then clasped Japa's arm. He pulled with all his might. Then he heard a *PLOP*, and before him now stood the tortured soul of Japa. They exchanged thanks as they waited to reach the surface. Kerrs began slashing away at the arms that ripped away at Kouragi and themselves. But every time an arm was slashed a new one would retake its place. For a while Kerrs entertained himself like this, until Japa poked him on the shoulder and pointed up.They saw it, the sign of light as they neared the surface, an eerie blue hue. Then they heard the sound of the liche far far below, " I can't go any further, can thee make it out? The pain is becoming to unbearable. I am losing too much spirit energy!"

Then without warning the liche's arm fell away from below them. Kerrs and Japa jumped and gripped the sides of the vortex, then began climbing out on their own. Arms and teeth bit into both of them. Kerrs gripped his dagger and stabbed into the vortex to push himself up. He could feel pain all over as the arms ripped away at his soul. Japa was already near the surface edge, a few more feet and he was free. Kerrs struggled with the arms and inched his way towards the surface. Five feet, four feet, three feet, then came the arm of Japa from above. Kerrs gripped it and let Japa pull him out of the vortex. Instantly the two souls burst out. Japa thanked Kerrs one last time and then vanished in search of a wandering healer. Kerrs on the other hand found it hard to move, or anything. A constant force kept pulling at him until he eventually gave in. The force dragged Kerrs through the land's and then plummeted him into the ocean. Faster and faster it spurred him on until it felt like he smacked a brick wall. Pain shot through his body, and when he opened his eyes a fish swim by his face. He could not move an inch in any direction. Odd, he told himself, my soul should be free and trying to find a healer. Then he remembered what Kouragi told him. You have become an undead among the living...

Well, if I'm undead, then I must be back in my frozen body. Kerrs chanted a counter spell and was finally able to move. Looks like my spell of hardening worked well against Nevyn. He looked down and saw he was tied at the waist to an anchor with some rope. Kerrs pulled the red dagger out of his chest and began cutting away at the ropes. Finally free he told himself, now to find my way back home from this watery grave. Above him he saw a giant squid basking in the sun by the surface. Then further below he could make out a few sharks conspiring to attack the squid. Kerrs looked down at himself and noticed his body was down here for some time. Fish and small crustacean's had already began eating away at him. Fleshy bones now made up both his arms. He inspected the rest of his body and noticed it was more or less saved. The spell of hardening was probably weakening over time, exposing my arms first. Slowly, he began walking through the sea floor towards his island home. The last time he had seen it, he was running into hiding. Now he was returning for some revenge...