The misadventures of the necromancer

Chapter XXIX

"Thirty-four," exclaimed the excited blonde, Seres, for the umpteenth time. He kept hopping and repeating the same thing as he walked alongside the mule carrying the spider eggs they had managed to collect. Although Sorana understood and shared some of the joy of their success, Seres was becoming annoying. They were finally approaching the camp, but he had been like this the entire way. Adding his behavior to her sore body from the fight made it hard to tolerate.

Judging by the lack of smiles from the other two and the embarrassed glances from his friend. Sorana concluded she wasn't the only one feeling this way. Seres was the friendliest of the three men. Unfortunately, he only knew how to talk about two things: magic, a topic she neither mastered nor cared about, and Nero, something in which she shared Seres's curiosity.

But his knowledge of Nero was basically limited to after the two had met him. When the group of necromancers had captured Nero, only for him to eventually destroy them. Yet, for some reason, he decided to stay with these two.

The story seemed confusing to Sorana. Unfortunately, none of the three were very forthcoming with details of the events. Considering everything she had learned about them during these days in their company. She was sure it had all been some ploy by Nero to finish off the other group of necromancers. But why allow himself to be captured, and why did he need to destroy them? These questions eluded her.

After all, it was quite clear they were hardly a threat to him. Especially considering how he had just dealt with the giant spiders. In any case, it meant that Seres knew very little about the powerful necromancer who accompanied him, resulting in a frustrated Sorana. Moreover, Nero was not very communicative, spending most of his time not involving the spiders sitting somewhere, apparently mumbling to himself.

After talking with his two companions, she discovered they didn't know what he was doing. In their opinion, he must be meditating on some magic they didn't know about. Sorana could hardly refute their conclusion, considering the general strangeness of mages and the power and abilities Nero had demonstrated. It was something that made sense.

"Let's have a party..." Seres's cheerfulness interrupted Sorana's line of thought.

"Blondie, don't be stupid." Nero interrupted Seres's speech. "We're already rationing food. And we still have more than a week of travel ahead." Which was a completely valid argument. Even before she had joined them, their supplies were low. The only reason they hadn't left the forest already, was because Adar, or as Nero called him, Grumpy, had found some edible fruits.

"Yes, but since we have the eggs, we could go to Dantar to resupply." Seres seemed to have lost some of his animation after Nero's reprimand. Upon seeing the three of them looking at him, it disappeared completely. She couldn't even speak after hearing this, such was her astonishment.

"Where is your head?" Nero asked, rubbing his face in frustration. "Do you want to go to a city? Where people know you. And by now, they know what you've been involved in." He stopped rubbing his face and pointed his thumb in her direction before continuing to speak. "Or do you want her to go to a city where a group of mercenaries wants to catch her?"

"No, I have a better idea." Nero continued, placing his hands on his hips while talking with a special acidity in his voice. "Why not send the undead mule? Isn't that a great idea?"

She couldn't stop feeling some pity for the boy, who was now listening in silence as his face grew redder with embarrassment.

"Dude, just don't say anything. Just gather the stuff to load onto the mule. Let's see if we can get out of here as quickly as possible before we run out of food." Still talking, Nero turned his back on Seres and started packing.

"He's somewhat right. " Adar said calmly out of nowhere. Normally, he tried to avoid arguing with Nero. Well, except for some occasional jabs. When the necromancer turned towards him, Adar raised his hands conciliatory before speaking.

"I'm not talking about Dantar." Nero raised an eyebrow and seemed to be waiting for Adar to continue speaking. "I mean. It's better if we eat something before we set off. So why not make it a little party." he slowly lowered his hands and continued to make his point. "After all, especially you and Sorana have just exerted yourselves quite a bit. Resting and eating before starting our march seems like a good idea."

Nero, who had been listening attentively, merely nodded affirmatively before speaking. "Alright, Grumpy. You're right. Resting a bit makes sense." He turned to the group and said calmly, "Let's rest for an hour. Then we'll load our stuff onto the mule and set off. I want to see if we can travel for at least three hours today." Carefully observing the group's reactions, which seemed positive to Sorana, she didn't expect much disagreement from the other two.

"Let's see if we can reach the pass. While we still have some food left. Passing through there hungry must be even more horrible." This comment only received affirmative nods from the two men as they paled a bit, thinking about what they had heard. Sorana had already concluded that the pass must be a difficult path.

But this was the main reason she stayed with them. This path they were taking was the best way for Sorana to evade her pursuers. That and getting to understand the necromancer better. A mage so powerful was unusual, and having seen him face the spiders, she almost felt tempted to recruit him to Irina's side. If he were just a pyromancer, the power of his fireball spell would make him nearly indispensable in any battle. But the political risk of someone discovering that Irina's faction had allied with a necromancer could destroy all her work.

This had been Sorana's last hope of validating her idea of recruiting a group of adventurers to have a group of powerful warriors to leverage Irina's diminished forces. But in the end, the fact that Nero was a necromancer invalidated that. But learning more about him could be useful; maybe they could establish an informal agreement.

"So, shall I get food for everyone?" asked Seres, regaining his spirit. He received a simple affirmative nod from Nero in response. Getting permission, Seres ran to where the remaining supplies were stored, clearly happy to follow Nero's instructions. He was followed by his friend, Adar.

The necromancer, for his part, went to sit down and began a new session of murmuring to himself. After weighing her options, Sorana decided to join the two who were choosing what to eat.

"I don't know what you were thinking, Seres?" She heard Adar ask, shaking his head in clear frustration regarding his friend's previous comments.

"Yes, yes. I know it wasn't very smart talking about Dantar." Admitted Seres while removing the supply bag they had hung in a tree for protection while they were away. "But in my defense, I was just so excited about what happened," the young blonde continued to explain himself.

"I understand that finally getting the eggs is a good thing. But even so..." Replied Adar, continuing to shake his head. Being unable to finish his admonishment due to Seres' interruption.

"Not just that." He said, turning to Adar with an intense look Sorana couldn't understand. "Did you see how he fought? It was something I never even dreamed of."

"Are you talking about how he used the spiders's bodies to fight against the others?" Adar's question was met with an affirmative nod from the blonde.

"Seres..." Adar was immediately interrupted by his friend.

"Adar, that's how necromancers like us are supposed to fight. And I never even thought of it." Hearing Seres say this, Sorana was almost shocked. Although she had assumed these two could also be necromancers, she had never seen them cast any spells. They had acted more like servants to the powerful Nero.

"I understand. But we can't deny the irony of someone who fights like that being someone who claims that all necromancers are evil." Adar's comment. Has an instant effect on Seres, who stopped and pondered. Sorana found Adar's statement very strange, leading her to ask, "What do you mean by that?"

Upon hearing her, they exchanged a strange silent communication. In which they simply share looks and facial expressions. After apparently not realizing she was beside them listening. As a result of the three of them traveling alone and not yet getting used to her presence, Adar finally shrugged and replied, "After what happened at our inn, he told us that all necromancers are evil."

Hearing this, Sorana couldn't help but find the comment very strange. After all, Nero himself was a necromancer, possibly one of the most powerful necromancers in existence. How could he consider his form of magic evil?

"What he said was that the need for bodies tends to lead necromancers to do reprehensible things." Seres tried to clarify with a loaded look. From what Sorana had understood of him, this line of thought must be quite unpleasant to him.

"Something like that, yes. But in the end, he directly said that necromancers are evil." Unfortunately for the blonde, his friend didn't seem willing to concede the point. As strange as the discussion was, she believed what Adar was saying. But in any case, she could only say "But that doesn't make sense..."

"What doesn't make sense?" The three almost collectively jump at hearing Nero's voice. They turn to the source of the voice and see the strange mage looking at them, his eyes calm and blinking slightly as he waits for an answer. Sorana wonders what to do. After all, everything they were discussing was bizarre. How can he think such a thing? If this were a joke from them. She might get them in trouble. But this would be a very strange prank for Seres. So, she chooses to respond with complete honesty.

"Well, they were telling me..." here she uses her hands to indicate the two, "...that you consider necromancers to be evil." Nero continues to look at her, blinking a few times before speaking. "And...?" Sorana is confused. He does not disagree. He doesn't argue that he was misunderstood. Just looks at her, leaving her unsure of what to think.

"It's just that it seems strange when said..." She tries to explain what she's thinking when the necromancer interrupts. "By someone who uses that magic." Indeed, he correctly completes Sorana's thought, leading her to nod.

"But necromancers need bodies to train their magic. And that usually leads to bad consequences. That's a fact." While saying this, he is so calm and serene that Sorana almost feels scared. What kind of person practices a type of magic they consider evil themselves? And out of nowhere, he ends with an expression she can only consider curious.

"Didn't you know that's one of the reasons people dislike necromancy?" Sorana swallows hard. How can she respond to this? Looking at the other two, who seem uninterested in the conversation, intently choosing food from the bag but carefully not opening their mouths, she concludes they won't get involved in this mess.

"I had never heard it put that way, but it makes sense that a mage lord can clarify such a topic so clearly." Here Sorana is grateful for all the years she spent at court and the lessons from her mentors. She believes she managed to turn the situation around. Managing even to compliment the necromancer. Even though he usually doesn't seem to like being called a lord, who really doesn't appreciate being complimented?

But he makes a strange expression and seems to focus his gaze even more on her. "Nice. But that idea isn't mine." His voice has he speaks sounds strange. And she doesn't know what to make of this new information.

"So..." Without letting her finish, he says again in the same strange tone.

"I don't know; Jay told me. But it might have originated from others."

"Who..." Again, he doesn't let her finish before responding.

"Jay is one of my best friends." Hearing this the other two stop pretending not to pay attention to the conversation and listen intently. For a moment, she feels tempted to continue the topic, but something doesn't make sense. The necromancer doesn't seem to be talking about a friend. His voice lacks the affection she would expect. So, she assumes that until she has more information about Nero, this is a subject to avoid. But Blondie, as the necromancer calls him, doesn't seem to have reached the same conclusion.

"Oh. Who is this Jay? Is he also a mage?" Seres seems excited. Apparently, they also didn't know about Jay, and Seres is interested. When Nero turns to him, Seres, seeing his face, seems to understand that this is not a good topic to ask about, losing his smile and immediately paling.

"Jay is the reason I started to play..." Nero's voice is irritated as he begins to speak, and he starts raising his hands. For some reason, he stops speaking midway and looks at Sorana and the other two.

In the end, he lowers his hands and, returning to a calmer tone, says, “Jay is an asshole. Since we were kids, that bastard has been getting me into trouble.” Raising his hands again while saying sharply. “Just like this.”

Nero lets out a sigh and, before anyone can say anything, mutters. “Weren’t those idiots supposed to get something to eat before we set off? At this rate, we won’t leave here even by tomorrow.”

Shaking his head, he concludes with, “Move!!!”

This makes the two friends start preparing some food as they were ordered.

Sorana, for her part, is left thinking about what she has just discovered. This friend of Nero’s has the potential to be someone worth knowing. Since he has a friendship with someone as powerful as Nero, he can’t be ordinary.

Nero is a powerful mage; one cannot reach such a level without having access to many resources, especially considering his apparent age. Thus, people he associates with must share some of these characteristics. The most concerning thing is that they too, might be necromancers.

But if they are not, perhaps Sorana has found the warriors she was looking for.

In one way or another, this only confirms that she must learn more about this strange necromancer, who associates with people who tell him his magic is evil and with whom he seems to agree.