The next few times Ash went in as Lazarus, he encountered the Keeper, Battle Master and Anya.

The Keeper was tactful and discreet in the change of her Lord. Lazarus was the same but at the same time he was different. The young lord was unusually carefree and overly charming to everyone which made her suspicious. He spoke in an easy-going flirtatious way and teased the maids mercilessly when they came in to serve him. The pretty NPCs always left his chambers blushing and giggling at his naughty jokes. All of them suddenly volunteered to do even the tiniest task if it meant they could go near their playful handsome lord.

The brutal attack on his home must have left him in shock, thought the Keeper. Maybe this was his way of dealing with his trauma of dying repeatedly during the siege. She smoothened out her furrowed brows, no use worrying, she told herself. Lord lazarus was a strong resilient young man who had proven himself repeatedly. He would sort himself out and overcome it. She should trust him.

Then she stopped and gasped as another thought struck her. Her Lord was still young, maybe he was going through another puberty phase. Who knew what the Ghost Lords go through? Her motherly instincts gushed to forward filling her with trepidation. She would keep an eye on him and keep the pretty maids away. The Keeper frowned, come to think of it, all of them were pretty. Maybe she should go through her list again and select the older ones? Hmm, where was her list again? She trudged to her workroom muttering under her breath. Boys!

Dimitri had to check out this new change for himself. If someone was posing as Lord Lazarus, it would mean a serious security breach. There was only one way to find out. He invited the boy to practice. Any imposter would fail miserably under his strenuous training. First strategy planning, than archery and hand-to hand combat. 'Lord Lazarus' performed as expected. His strategy was impeccable, solving the presented situation in an ingenious way.

The gatekeeper excelled in archery and any long ranged combat so it was a relief when he shot accurately and threw his knives killing the set-up practice dummies efficiently. The Battle Master wondered at the slower speed but brushed it off. Lord Lazarus was not well and practice did not have a 'real battle' situation. It was not a crucial life or death situation. The Battle Master was positive the ghost lord would be faster in an emergency. He passed and Dimitri was assured.

Anya was another matter. She was confused when she neared him. Something was different.

"Chosen?"

She stopped. The mind-link felt off.

"Yes Anya?"

What? Yes Anya? Why was he talking like that? She padded over to him and sniffed discreetly. He smelled the same. He looked the same. Lazarus looked at her and smiled. She frowned. Why was he smiling so broadly like that? Even his teeth were showing! He usually only smiled slightly with lips closed, but his beautiful eyes would light with real pleasure at seeing her. It was uncharacteristic of her Chosen to smile like that. Why didn't he reach out to ruffle her thick white fur lovingly and scratch her behind her ears like he usually did? Anya tried again. She wiggled her head under his hand expecting him to finally scratch that persistent itchy spot. He moved his hand to pat her big furry head several times.

She backed away growling, hackles raised. This human was not Lazarus. He was an imposter!

"Who are you? What have you done to my Chosen?"

"I am your Chosen."

"Do not lie to me human, you are not. He would never pat me on the head like that!"

Huh? Never pat her on the head? Lazarus frowned. What else did one do to a wolf's head? What did the Idiot usually do? It seemed that he could not fool the wolf but if she gave away the game ...

Suddenly, the assassin's eyes widened and he started trembling. His face drained of colour. Lazarus clutched his chest and moaned at the sudden pain.

"Ughh!! Oh my God!"

The gatekeeper collapsed onto the couch coughing uncontrollably. He squeezed his eyes tightly gasping for breath as he tried to endure the excruciating torture which started at his chest and seemed to spread throughout his whole body. It felt as if he was having a heart attack. He couldn't breathe. Something heavy was crushing his chest, the pressure increasing by the second. His mind went totally blank shutting down in self-defence. He couldn't think, all he could do was react. Lazarus curled up into a ball on the couch and lay there helplessly.

Instinct took over. Anya rushed to his side, forgetting her distrust of him.

"Keeper!!" the Familiar screamed in open mind-link. "Help him!!"

"KEEPER!! ANYONE!!" Anya howled in anguish.

The chamber doors burst open. The Keeper rushed in followed by the fully geared Battle Master waving his battle axe menacingly. The large room was crowded in an instant by armed warriors ready to fight the threat to their master.

The Keeper took one look at her quivering lord and went into action.

"Out!! Get out, all of you. I need space to work." The Keeper went to Lazarus to check him. He was still shaking uncontrollably and grimacing in agony, eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Dimitri, get them out! There is no threat here," she instructed as she made eye contact with the veteran fighter. They didn't need to see their lord like this. Dimitri got her silent message.

As the Battle Master ushered his troops out, the Keeper retrieved a bottle of green potion from the special stash. Quickly she unstopped the cork and poured the liquid down Lazarus' throat.

After a while, he calmed down. His body stopped trembling and he breathed easier. The Keeper cleaned his face with a damp cloth, wiping away the cold sweat from his ashen face. A tear slid down her cheek as she dabbed at the blood from his mouth. The Keeper turned to the Battle Master and looked at him questioningly.

"I don't know how much time he has left, my love."

Her mouth turned down. "He is still so young. What will we do if he ..." she left her sentence dangling, unable to continue.

"He will be alright. I'm sure he will find the cure soon." The Battle Master went to hug the Keeper consoling her. "He is a Ghost Lord. They are immortal."

"What is the use of being immortal if everyday is filled with pain?"

The Keeper's simple question hung awkwardly in the air. The Battle Master tightened his embrace on the Keeper. He did not know how to answer that.

"I will go with him to the Monster's realm. We will find the cure and he will be o'kay," Anya growled menacingly daring the two high ranking officials to contradict her.

"Ughhh."

All three turned to Lazarus who was struggling to sit up. "I'm okay. I'm better now, thanks," he said feebly. He was breathing easier now.

He would have words with the idiot, with a capital 'I', when he logged out. He should have told him how bad it was. What a horrible and terrifying experience. Ash had been caught off guard at the poison's attack and had reacted in panic. He recalled the few times when Lazarus had stopped mid-sentence clenching his jaw, only to continue speaking afterwards or freeze trembling slightly before carrying on as if nothing had happened. He had played it down so well. How could he have known the actual pain was so frightening and severe? Sixty per cent maximum Health indeed! What crap! He would have quit a long time ago or just make a new avatar. Why bother with this one? Crazy idiot.

Anya pushed her soft snow white head under his hand. The gatekeeper held her great furry head and looked into her bright blue eyes. The pain in his silver eyes slowly faded as he recovered. He hugged her and sighed. The wolf was so huggable. Her relationship with Lazarus was so different from Tania's with Valentine.

Despite the pain and terrible feeling of helplessness, he now understood why Lazarus had to go on. He just couldn't imagine giving up on Anya and letting the lovable loyal wolf fade into oblivion. The other NPCs in the city could function and continue on without a Master, but Anya was special. Familiars were tagged to their Chosen Hero. They would cease to exist without the Player.

Sudden realization hit him, Jace was playing Orc Wars not to save himself but to save Anya. The sentimental soft-hearted idiot was hanging on for the familiar.