The misadventures of the necromancer

Chapter XXVII

Sorana doesn't know how to react, considering what just happened. The mage really did it, forcing them to retreat. Watching two royal guards with the support of five Nintar mercenaries retreat in front of a single mage must be unheard of, confirming what she already believed. This mage is exactly the type of adventurer she was seeking.

“So, what happened here?” she hears a voice ask. Turning around, she sees Nero's companions approaching.

“A conversation that, fortunately, ended as just a conversation.” The mage states, keeping his eyes on the retreating group, wisely staying alert for any tricks. But, it seems that at least the Nintar have no intention of doing that.

“Good thing you guys arrived. I thought I'd have to deal with them alone. Which would have been more risky than I'd like.” Despite the entire group having disappeared among the tree line, the mage continues to look that way.

“Good to hear.” The blonde youth says, sounding so cheerful that Sorana finds it odd why he might be so happy.

“But how did you find me so quickly?” the mage asks, still not taking his eyes off the same direction.

“It wasn't difficult. All the light and smoke are usually a good way to find you.” The dark-haired young man replies, sounding almost bored as he speaks. He points to a tree still burning from the spell the mage had cast. The mage looks at the trail of destruction he caused. With small bushes still smoldering and at least one other tree destroyed. Sorana stressed by the risk of being captured by the other group, hadn’t noticed the chaos around.

“I guess it won’t be on the fifth try after all.” Comments the dark-haired youth, pointing at the smoldering remains of the spider and its eggs. 

“Grumpy. Shut up.” Is the mage's slightly flushed response. Sorana can't tell if his red face is due to anger or embarrassment.

“I'm sure he only destroyed it because he had to. After all, we didn't expect it to go after Nero.” the other companion interjects. Hearing this, Sorana begins to piece together what must have happened. The three must have set an ambush for the giant spider. But the trap went wrong, and the creature started chasing the mage, eventually leading him to her. Either way, this is the moment to try to connect with the mage.

“My lord, my name is Sorana. And I would like to thank you for helping me with that group.” She says, making a respectful bow while speaking. She tries to sound as grateful as possible after deciding to use her own name. 

She even considers appearing a bit sexy but decides that might be too risky. After all, you can never predict exactly how someone will react to that. Trying such a thing with a mage, even one as young as this, could have bad results. The three, upon hearing her, look at her almost as if they are just now noticing her for the first time.

“Sorry, but what are you talking about?” His tone is between cold and annoyed.

“Your Excellency. You just saved me from the royal guard...” She starts to say, bowing again, realizing she doesn’t quite know how to respond. His question is strange; what does he mean by that? Having just faced two royal guards from Figor supported by five Nintar mercenaries to save her. “Wrong.” she hears the mage Nero say before finding words to continue. “I didn’t save you. I protected myself.” He continues, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.

“What???” she asks, hearing this. How can he say that given all his efforts to save her?

“Girl, I found a group of armed idiots in the middle of the forest, clearly trying to commit an act they don’t want to become known...” Here he looks very seriously and directly at her before continuing. “Do you really think they would leave a witness to tell the story?”

She cannot deny that his conclusion makes perfect sense. If they had captured her when they wanted, he would have to face them alone or hope that his companions appeared unexpectedly. Delaying her capture at least kept the situation more in his favor.

“But you’re a powerful mage. They could have negotiated to avoid a dangerous conflict.” She says, voicing a doubt that just occurred to her. The mage continues to look at her, shaking his head.

“Nope. Doesn’t make sense. Think about it.” Pointing to himself while calmly speaking. “They find someone in the middle of a forest. Completely alone and unprotected. Either it’s someone unknown whom no one will care if they disappear in said forest, so it’s not worth the risk to let them go. Or it’s someone important. Someone that when recounting what they witnessed, will be credible. Therefore, meaning they definitely can’t take the risk of letting them go.” His explanation ends up being simple. And reveals that her concerns about the mage possibly not supporting her were unfounded.

“But the Nintar?” she begins to ask, remembering that. It was the mage's knowledge of the Nintar, that ended the situation without a fight.

“What about them? The second I realized they were Nintar, I knew they had to silence me. After all, who uses them without expecting them to keep things hidden?” Here, he starts scratching his head, thinking about something.

“Oh! You’re thinking I could negotiate with them...” Bursting out laughing before saying. “Girl. They didn’t retreat because I had visited their land. They retreated after determining that the outcome of this fight would be the death of several of them and the failure of their mission. Let me guess, they wanted to capture you alive?” And he is right. They indeed must have wanted her alive, so she nods affirmatively.

“Of course, five just to kill a girl in the middle of a forest. That’s overkill. And a campal battle with me would likely result in your death. So, mission failure.” Although she agrees with his conclusion, one she has already reached, she feels annoyed. He seems to be assuming that she is useless. This is strange because, at the end of the conflict, he seemed to count on her support for the fight.

“What are Nintar?” She hears a voice ask. Turning to the voice's origin, she sees the mage's blonde companion. Not knowing who the Nintar are is not that strange. They aren’t that present north of Great Harbor. And even in the South, they are primarily recognized by the higher classes of society, who are the ones who hire them.

“Ninjas that someone decided not to call ninjas. Instead, opting to try to be funny.” Is the mage’s annoyed, blute, and completely bizarre answer. Hearing that, she almost feels her jaw drop, not knowing what to think. Just as she is about to speak, the blonde interrupts again.

“And what are ninjas?” The mage lets out an irritated sigh and responds. “Look, Blondie. That doesn’t matter. A Nintar is supposedly an extremely well-trained and competent mercenary spy. They get secret information from your enemies and sabotage installations. In some cases, they even kill people. They live in the south and are extremely secretive.

” Now his answer is as expected, but his expression is strange. Almost as if he’s recalling a response read somewhere.

“Oh!” replies Blondie, but it doesn’t seem like he fully understands the answer.

“Are they dangerous?” asks the dark-haired one, whom she heard the mage call Grumpy. The mage tilts his head and seems to think a bit before responding.

“Yes, they are. In fact, if they weren’t, just baby Nintar, I would have just started throwing fireballs left and right. Wouldn’t even bother trying to talk. And that would been if it was just for one.” The casualness with which he responds leaves her shocked, prompting her to ask.

“Baby?”

“Yes. Apprentices, all five were mere apprentices. Otherwise, they would have used... Raquels.” He responds still in a casual tone. Even shrugging his shoulders, as if what he was saying wasn't important. Not even caring that he had once again mispronounced the weapon’s name. But for her, the answer is terrifying.

Despite not having fought, everything she had noticed about the five indicated they were quite competent. Just thinking about what an expert must be capable of doing gives her chills.

Another thing she notices is the apparent lack of reaction from the mage’s companions. Hearing this crazy explanation, Blondie looks at Grumpy as if asking if he understood. Grumpy simply shrugs as a response. But neither seems really surprised by what they just heard.

Anyway, this only further demonstrates that she must form a connection with this mage. Having someone with such knowledge alone would be incredibly useful for Irina.

“Anyway. My lord has my thanks. As your intervention ended up saving me.” Once again, she bows to show her respect for the powerful mage.

“Lord??? How am I a lord?” He is clearly not impressed with the attempt to flatter him.

“I just wanted to express my gratitude for your actions. I hope your excellency won’t take offense from my inability to express it properly.” Waiting to see how he would react, reminding herself how dealing with mages is always tricky.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Those Nintar won’t return? Right?” asks Grumpy, which helps her as it gives her more time to figure out how to win over the mage.

“They saw the mule. So, I don’t think so. But anyway, better if we leave.” The mage replies, starting to turn his back on her and walk away. The connection between the mule and the Nintar escapes her understanding.

“Uhmm. Where’s the camp?” As an answer to the mage, Grumpy points in a direction. They start walking that way. Sorana follows behind Blondie when the mage turns around and speaks to her.

 “Where are you going?”

“I’m just following you.” She responds with concern. Losing the chance to recruit this mage would be devastating. After all, she failed to find anyone who even came close to showing the capabilities of Nero.

“Yes, but why? Go home.” The mage tells he,r while starting to gesture with his hands for her to move away. There are several reasons why not being able to follow them would be a terrible outcome.

“But they might still be in the forest, waiting to capture me.” As she speaks, she forces her eyes to start tearing up a little. Some tears might pressure them to pity her. But starting to really cry, with snot and all, might annoy them and lead them to abandon her.

“What do I care? As long as I’m not around, it isn't my problem.” The expression on his face as he says these things, is what really worries her. The total indifference he shows while condemning her to her fate is terrifying. And this tells her that trying to convince him to work with her will be complicated.

In genuine desperation, she kneels on the ground. She doesn’t doubt that if the royal guard group moves far enough away. She has a good chance to escape them. But being so close to completing this mission, for which she risked so much, only to fail now...

“Please, noble sirs. If I am captured, I will surely be tortured. Please help me.” Once again, she controls her tears. Better to save the uncontrolled crying if they leave without her.

“Maybe we can help her.” Says Blondie, breaking what seemed to be their unspoken consensus.

“Seres, stop being foolish. She can’t come with us.” Unfortunately, it’s not the mage Nero speaking against her, but his companion Grumpy. This makes it a two-against-one situation, reducing the impact of convincing Blondie.

But she notices something strange. While Grumpy talks, he seems to signal to Blondie with his eyes toward the mule. On more than one occasion there have been references to this strange mule. Even the Nintar had a very strange reaction to the animal.

As such, she decides that maybe the animal is the way to convince them to at least take her with them.

“Sirs, I can take care of your mule. That way, you can be more at ease,” she says as she quickly gets up and goes to the animal that had stayed behind her.

The three, as one, turn toward her and, approaching her, apparently to stop her. But she is faster than them.

Upon reaching the animal, she tries to pet it. While the animal doesn’t show any resistance. Immediately, she is surprised at how cold it is.

“This is bad.” She hears a voice say behind her.

But curiosity about this strange mule prevents her from turning around. She ends up stepping back to better see the creature. And now she notices something even stranger. The mule doesn’t seem to be breathing.

For a moment, she thinks she must be mistaken. But, studying the animal again, she confirms what she observed before. But how can this be possible? She recalls the Nintar who almost fled from the mule. The cold, non-breathing mule... Could that be what he had noticed?

Finally, an answer comes to her mind. An answer to this dilemma that makes her back away from the animal in terror. Even though the creature isn’t concerned with Sorana’s actions.

“I thought the mule was going to crush her.” She hears a voice say. It seems to her to Blondie that spoke.

“She didn’t show any threat. Why would she attack her?” This time, she recognizes the voice as the mage’s.

Finally, she turns to them. And calming her rapidly beating heart, she manages to muster the courage to speak.

“Undead.”

Hearing her, Nero turns to his companions and says calmly:

“See, why we can’t let people get close to the mule?”

“We know. We tried to stop her from approaching.” Says Grumpy, sounding to be grumpy about what the mage said.

The three nonchalance is almost ridiculous. But now Sorana realizes that she might be in even greater danger than before. She should have left when she had the chance. But recalling the rumors circulating the region. She thinks she knows with whom she’s dealing.

“Silverware.” She says, causing Grumpy and Blondie to immediately react, freezing in place. But on the other hand, the mage, who seems to hold the power here, doesn’t even seem to notice.

“What?” asks an apparently confused Nero.

“The inn.” Grumpy quickly responds.

“What inn?” Asks an even more confused mage to the surprised looks of his companions. Giving Sorana some hope. If the mage isn’t one of the necromancers from Silverware, everything might still go well for her.

“Our inn.” States Grumpy, starting to raise his voice but controlling himself at the end.

“Oh, your inn.” The mage seems to be understanding something. But then, out of nowhere, he seems to become angry. Turns to Sorana, saying irritably, “Hey. You think I’m part of that group of idiots?”

The mage seems genuinely irritated by the association. But that being the case. Why have two of them as companions? And why is he near this undead mule?

“So, your excellency is not part of the group of necromancers that were in Silverware?” She asks in a desperate attempt to understand this mess.

“Look, calling those cretins necromancers is practically an insult.” A strange response from him. One that could have concerning implications for her.

“But this mule?”

“Girl, do you really think those idiots could create something like it? Those imbeciles only knew how to create wild undead.” Now, she has little doubt that he is also a necromancer. Seeing the looks of frustration and, at times, offense that his companions display, these two must belong to the inn’s group.

Moreover, this necromancer had interacted with that group.

“But you know, what I’m talking about?” she asks him, suspicious of the group’s strange behavior.

“Of course, I know about the inn. After all, it was me, the terrible necromancer. Who burned it down." He says this while taking his hands to his hips, almost in a pose. Before stopping to think for a second. "Well, I burned down the stables.” With a strange smile on his lips. He just confirms that he is a necromancer and elucidates to her that the incident at the inn resulted from a fight between necromancers. Although she still doesn’t understand what the other two have to do with the matter. Maybe they were apprentices he recruited there. Perhaps that was even the origin of the conflict between them.

“Really! I hadn’t heard about that.” She decides to keep talking and try to see what he will do.

“No? But didn’t the survivors talk about it?” A question from him that makes sense. Why didn’t the survivors mention a fight between necromancers? Maybe due to fear, after all. At least a group of them is at large.

“They must have decided...”

Blondie starts to speak but is interrupted by Nero.

“Cool, interesting. But now that you know. We are terrible necromancers...” Nero starts to speak in a slightly menacing tone, revealing more teeth in his smile, “... you can go away.”

For a moment, she does not understand. He actually just told her to leave. But she knows his secret, making her a threat to them. For a moment, she thinks they might want to kill her when she turns her back. But they can just order the mule to do the job now. Why delay it?

Once again, she recalls the reaction of the Nintar, specifically the name spoken by the Nintar scared of the mule.

“What is Sekellos?” she asks, more as an attempt to buy time to think of an exit than anything else. Everything she is going through is giving her a headache.

“What? Uh, well... I am not entirely sure...” says a necromancer, confused by the unexpected question, making him hesitate. “If I’m not mistaken, it is the name of an ancient necromancer.”

She and her two companions look at him with interest. Once again, the mage proves to be a source of knowledge and confirms another suspicion she had begun to have. The Nintar avoided the fight because they knew what he was. Now, several points of the interaction between them and the necromancer make sense.

It also reveals his nonchalance about letting her go. After all, she doesn’t have any information. That the Nintar don't already have. Making the threat she poses small.

On the other hand, they don’t seem that dangerous. Considering that the leader looks very interested in getting her to go away. But not in using more lethal means to obtain that result. While the risk of being caught by the guards, though reduced, still exists.

“I’ve never heard of that necromancer.” Blondie speaks, giving her time to think about the whole situation.

“Alright.” Nero immediately ends the conversation, not seeming interested in continuing to talk.

Anyway, the necromancer does not seem worried about being discovered. Looking at Nero's clothes, she gets an idea. Quickly, she approaches the mage and grabs his coat.

"Hey!" shouts an alarmed mage, while behind her, she can hear hoofbeats approaching.

From the moment she saw him without realizing his power, she had been intrigued by his coat. Now that she grabs it, everything makes sense to her.

“This coat is not from around here.” Her statement surprises everyone, especially the necromancer she is holding.

“What?” says the surprised mage as he pulls away from her. She doesn’t resist because she thinks she understands their nonchalance.

“This coat is made from wool that isn’t produced in this region. The fibers are too long.” With this new assertion, the three start looking at each other.

“You know of a secret path through the mountains.” She says, concluding from conversations she had overheard while serving tables that to be the best answer to this dilemma. They aren't concerned because when the region hears of their presence here. They will already be long gone. 

“Secret, hardly secret. Everyone knows it; it’s just stupid to use it.” Says Grumpy, confirming what she had concluded.

“Idiot.” Comments an unsatisfied necromancer, bringing a hand to his face.

“Take me with you.” Being able to go with them through the mountains could ensure she escapes her pursuers.

“No.” Is the mage’s instant response, as he starts to turn his back on her.

“I can pay.” She goes to the secret pouch she had fortunately brought with her and takes out a single gold coin, a small gold coin, but still a gold coin.

She tosses the coin to the mage, who catches it before speaking.

“I’m here to collect spider eggs.”

Something she had already concluded a long time ago. And considering the usefulness of this path. Even if a necromancer isn’t useful to Irina, the political ramifications are too dangerous. Learning more about him might be important. So, Sorana says,

“I am a swordswoman. A quite competent one. I can help you in your hunt for eggs.”

The necromancer looks frustrated but while looking at the coin in his hand, ends up saying.

“I have a feeling you’re going to be troublesome. But you could also be useful. And we don’t have much time.” She doesn’t understand what he means in little time. Maybe he is concerned with people hunting the necromancers down. Their crimes at the inn were quite serious. And she will have to be careful with them. But this is a better alternative to being captured. So, she is relieved to grasp his meaning. That is confirmed with his last frase.

“Alright. Come with us.”