Heather let out a contented sigh before taking a sip from a tall glass. She savored the sweet taste and set the glass down on a nearby tray. She reclined on a narrow couch that was brought out to the new balcony on the south of her tower. It was covered in pillows she stole from Moon and made a comfy bed to lay in the sun. She stretched, throwing her arms high as the morning rays warmed her skin
At the end of the couch stood two skeletons holding the book of necromancy up so she could read it. A third skeleton stood to her left, carrying a tray with a pitcher of apple cider on it. She had decided to name him Jeremy, and he was now her personal footman. To help identify him, she painted a narrow mustache on his skull with the pen and ink.
“Turn the page,” she instructed. One of the two holding the book lifted a boney hand and did as she commanded. She reached up, taking her glass from the tray and looked over the pages. They were diagrams related to summoning a familiar, and she poured over the details as she took a sip.
“Heather?” Frank called from someplace in the tower.
“Out here!” she yelled and settled back with a smile. Frank hadn’t visited her tower to see her changes yet. She wondered what he was going to think.
“When did your tower have a sitting room?” he called from someplace inside.
“Just follow the rug to the open door,” she yelled and picked up her yellow sunbonnet from the floor beside her. She continued to smile as she plopped it on her head and tilted it back.
“Is this a balcony?” he said as he came out of the doorway.
She smiled and looked over at him in his dirty gray shorts.
“What are you doing?” he cried as he came out.
“Enjoying the sun,” she said sweetly.
“This is a wizard tower, not a health spa,” he gripped. “Your skeletons should be down in the graveyard.”
“They are undead servants,” she replied. “So their serving.”
“Did you paint a mustache on that one?”
“His name is Jeremy, and I needed to differentiate him.”
Frank slapped a hand over his face, grumbling as Heather took another sip.
“Would you like an apple cider?” she asked. “I will have one of the boys run to the kitchen for a glass.”
“I don’t need to drink,” he replied. “When did you get all this stuff?”
She sat up and put her glass down on the tray.
“I bought it all last night while you were talking to Finneous. I have a proper kitchen now, I added a floor to the tower, and I made the whole tower bigger.
“I noticed your yard was larger,” Frank said. “You also moved your blue window.”
“I moved my room to the front of the tower. That way, the sunlight doesn't blind me in the morning.”
“Did you have to cover the doorway in flowers?”
Heather wondered when he was going to mention that. She placed an arch over the door and caused white flowers to grow over it, giving it a country cottage kind of feel.
“I am flower singer, I need to look the part,” she said in her defense.
He let out a sigh and walked to the edge of the little stone balcony. It was on the third floor of the tower and looked out over the back yard. From here could be seen the stream to the left and the hills to the right.
“Do you like the view?”
He shook his head and turned around. “This is supposed to be a spooky graveyard, not a flower show.”
“I am not living in a moldy tomb,” Heather quipped. “The only thing I touch is my tower. If it bothers you, I will change the climbing roses to dark red or black.”
His shoulders sunk, and he sat on his heels, tapping the floor with his long nails.
“No, it’s fine. I just never heard of a necromancer like you.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You wear bright colors, treat your skeletons like real people, and you want everything to be clean and tidy.”
“I happen to like things being in their place,” Heather argued.
“I saw your skeletons sweeping the other day.”
“They are my servants, and I put them to use,” she replied. “Besides, most of the time, they aren't doing anything. They just stand in the yard like statues.”
“Speaking of that, are they digging a garden out back?”
“Just a little one. I leveled up high enough in flower singer that I can grow some edible plants. I want to add them to the kitchen to expand my food options.”
He reached up and scratched at his head with his nails and looked around.
“I suppose it isn’t hurting,” he said. “I just always thought of necromancers as all skulls and black cloth.”
“I will buy a black dress if it will make you feel better.”
“Speaking of that, where did you get that outfit?”
Heather tilted her head before remembering the two-piece swimsuit she was wearing in bright orange.
“I bought a wardrobe,” she said. “It came with clothing options.” She smiled at that. It did indeed come with clothing options many of them player made. There were some fantastic outfits to choose from, especially if you wanted to show a little skin. Thankfully it was hard to go wrong with a swimsuit.
“How many points did you spend?”
“I had five levels worth, plus some leftover from before,” she stated. “Not to mention the necromancer and flower singer comes with bonus options for the tower.”
“And you bought that with your points?” he said, gesturing with a nail to the swimsuit. “It must have been cheap.”
“What!” she said, annoyed. “This is a very nice material, and I happen to like it. You should buy something other than that rag to wear.”
“Oddly, it's more material than your wearing,” he retorted.
“Hey!” she barked and put her hands to her hips. “It’s a swimsuit, and it’s perfect for sunning on the balcony.”
“Just don’t go running around the graveyard in that,” he said.
She glared at him and took off her sunbonnet and put it over Jeremy’s head.
“Did you come up here to annoy me?” she asked as she sat down and tossed her hair.
“No, I came up here to let you know Breanne wants to go to the spawn and see the goblin village.”
“Won’t that take all day?” she asked.
“Probably,” he said. “I just came to see if you wanted to go with.”
“Hmm,” Heather said as she considered walking all the way to the goblin village. The last time it took two days, and she had to sleep on the grass, but they had gotten a very late start in the day. She supposed if they left right now and made good time, they could get there and back by midnight. She wasn't sure her heart was in it, and after all, she already had plans. She was going to sun until noon and then work in the garden for a bit. Afterward, she wanted to focus on translating that familiar spell.
“I don’t think so, I would rather stay here,” she said.
“You’re sure?” he asked. “You will be all alone.”
“I have a bunch of skeletons and an overprotective bone knight,” she said. “I will be fine.”
“Alright, if you're sure,” he said and turned to go back to the door.
“Besides, I couldn't afford the sedan chair so they could carry me.”
“What?”
“Nothing!” Heather said quickly.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He scratched at his head again and headed for the door.
She let out a sigh as he disappeared through the doorway. A gentle breeze blew a hair into her face, and she walked to the stone lip that acted as a railing. With a smile, she sat on the lip and looked out over the countryside. From this side of the tower, the graveyard was behind her, and all she could see was rolling green. The world really was beautiful to look at, and it behaved just like she imagined it should, with the exception of the sun, of course.
Her eyes lifted skyward and looked into the azure blue streaked here and there by a white cloud. It was unnaturally blue as if looking through the water at a painted dome. At night it would be full of vivid stars that dazzled the eye, including some that seemed so close you could almost reach out and touch them.
“I wish I had that telescope. I bet the stars are amazing to look at.”
With nothing more to do, she had the skeletons bring the book over so she could study it. She was annoyed to see the spell required actual ingredients. A pinch of fur from a small animal, a drop of blood from a bat. A small wingless crawling insect, a black feather, a bit of bone, and a few other things. It even required a ball of cobwebs.”
“Cobwebs?” she said. “I bet I could get enough of those from Franks tunnels to stuff a mattress.”
A special summoning circle had to be prepared and a bowl of stone or metal placed in the center. The ingredients would be put inside and burned to produce a cloud of smoke. While the smoke drifted up, she was supposed to chant a spell and focus on the bowl, feeding magic into the casting.
It seemed simple enough, and most of the ingredients could be gotten right here. Fur could be obtained from a wolf, the blood from any of the bats. Insects were all over in Quinny's forest, and cobwebs were everywhere. It would take a little time to gather, but she was sure it could be done, and then she would have a cat. She imagined it would be all black with deep yellow eyes and mysterious gaze.
The circle had to be drawn with any form of magic dust. She wasn't sure what that meant and called for Jeremy to bring her the tray so she could sip her apple cider. He obediently obeyed, and she took a sip while pondering what magic dust was.
“I suppose there is someplace in this book that describes it,” she sighed. “The writer assumes I already know how to make it by this point.” She considered the idea of traveling back to Devlina's shop in the dwarven lands. Surely she would have magic dust and other things that would be useful.
“Now I really wish I had that sedan chair,” she said. “You guys could carry your master there.” The skeletons stood silent, and she tapped the side of her glass with a finger. “Hmm, am I a master, mistress, or queen?” She quietly pondered the choices and settled on master, mistress sounded more fun but could have alternative meanings. Queen was interesting, but she didn't feel it was appropriate until she had subjects. She smiled at the idea of being a necromancer queen and ruling over a kingdom.
“Why not?” she said aloud. “If I have to be here, why not be here in style? I could be Queen Heather the...” She wasn't sure what title she should give herself. Was beautiful too vain? Wise made her sound old. Brave sounded good, but she didn't think it fit, considering how often she ran away. Could she be noble, or perhaps regal? Queen Heather the regal?
“Hmm, I think regal is implied in being queen. I need to be the queen of something, maybe something specific, like the queen of unicorns.” She went wide-eyed as she considered that thought. “I wonder if this world has unicorns?” She sipped the last of the cider and set the glass back on the tray before telling Jeremy to take it back to the kitchen. She sent the skeletons with the book to put it back in the study and got to her bare feet.
She followed them into the tower and decided to move on with her day. Just inside the door was a sitting room with two couches, one of which was now outside. One wall had bookcases but no books. The other was bare, but a beautiful rug ran the length of the room and felt soft under her feet.
She arrived at the door to the outer hall and noted Jeremy had gone left to the stairs down. She went right following the book carriers to the stairwell up. These took her to the level of the tower that was now wholly dedicated to the study. She hadn't enlarged the study itself, and it occupied only a tiny corner of a side room, and the rest of the space was divided into three more rooms, all connected to a central hall. At the end of the hall was the stairs that went up again. This took her to the new level five and her bedroom, bathroom, and two guest rooms.
Breanne was now settled into a room up here at the end of the hall. Heather's room was at the opposite end and was the largest by far. It now contained two large wardrobes that held all her clothing. There was a decorative table with a mirror and drawers, and her bed was now twice the size it was before. It was still simple of design but was now covered in three layers of thick blankets. The mattress was a little thin and made of cloth stuffed with wool. She could upgrade the bed a dozen more times and change its style. Additional mattresses could be added and upgraded all way to silk stuffed with feathers.
She went to the wardrobe and took out a white dress with straps for shoulders and a simple skirt. It had yellow dots on the skirt and tied with a narrow white belt. A quick change and a pair of sandals, and she was off.
It felt good to be in a new pair of shoes that had some breathing room for her toes. She was delighted to see she could buy shoes as well as outfits and added a few pairs to her collection. Thankfully if her tower was ever raided, the items she purchased with points could be respawned later. There was a tiny cost to restore things, but it was far cheaper than buying them new. She would hate to think of losing so much and having to start over. She supposed that was what being reset was and another good reason to avoid doing it.
Down the steps, she went level by level until reaching the ground floor. She got creative here and combined the two lower floors. This way, when you entered from the front door, you arrived in a room with a high ceiling that went up the floor of the third level. New windows set on the second story allowed sunlight in, and the stairwell arrived at a landing and balcony, then broke off and followed the curved wall of the tower down both walls. This gave it a grand if empty appearance that she would flesh out as points allowed. From here, there were only two paths, up the stairs or down the center hall directly ahead. The hall led to the new kitchen, and a room directly across that she intended to make into a dining room, or perhaps more of a sitting room with a big fireplace and comfortable chairs to sit and read.
Two skeletons stood at attention just inside the doorway. These were special skeleton warrior guards that could only be spawned inside the tower and only once it was large enough. She upgraded them with the last of her points so that the tower now had four of them. These were the strongest she could make them without upgrading to another form of undead. They wore metal armor that looked like chains and carried a shield on their left arm. In their right hand was a small axe that could easily be used in one hand. If her panel was correct, these were roughly level four in strength. The other two skeletons were in the kitchen guarding the new back door. It was outside this door she planned to make her garden, and already had skeletons digging at the soil and carrying away any stones they found.
She made her way down the hall to the two doorways near the end. At the very end was the trapdoor that went down to the cellar. She still hadn’t spent any points down there but was surprised to discover she could add several floors and make them wider than the tower. They could spread out under the yard and came with nearly all the same room options as the tower.
She turned right through an arched doorway into her new favorite room in the tower. The floor was made of stone tiles polished smooth and swept clean. Down the center of the room ran a huge wooden table of sandy wood. Along one wall was a fireplace, but next to it was something of a stove. It looked like a stove in many ways, but instead of one door for the oven, it had six, all different sizes and locations. On the top were metal lids that could be removed so the heat from Inside could get out to pots and pans placed above. It was a strange device that was always on and ready to use. It was fed by wood and designed to run on the coals for hours. It needed to have additional wood added from time to time, but only a little. She was smart enough to add a firebox next to it that spawned a small amount of wood every day. It was just enough to keep the oven ever burning and ready for use. The fireplace would require cut wood, but that's why she had skeletons.
On the other wall was a full shallow window that ran the entire length of a counter. Shelves above the counter held some pots, pans, and various jars. They were mostly empty and bare, but she would rectify that when the opportunity came. At one end of the counter was a sturdy cabinet that went floor to ceiling. It had two doors that opened up into a pantry. It was here her basic foods spawned, and her stomach found it's peace. She upgraded it four times. To go any higher would require her to make a room specifically for it. If she put the room underground, she got additional options and could expand it significantly. This was a big reason why the kitchen was on the ground floor. She wanted it to be close to her future cellar.
On the other side of the counter was something that also made her smile. It was a copper sink with a hand pump that drew up water from below ground. No longer would she have to send skeletons with a bucket to the stream outside. Now she could get her water indoors, and free from worry. There was even a drain that dumped the water outside in a little basin.
Above her head hanging from sturdy oak beams were two chandeliers lit by ever-burning candles. She had to spend more for the candles, but the alternative was finding someplace to buy them and replace them regularly. Since that wasn't an option, she opted for candles that would stay lit and fill the room with a warm glow.
All of this was wonderful, but not quite as wonderful as her final purchase. Heather's eyes fell on a woman in a white apron who leaned over a pot on the stove and tasted a broth.
“Hello Monica,” Heather said as she came in.
“Oh, hello, ma'am,” the woman said with a cheery smile. “I'll have a good vegetable soup ready for your supper.”
Heather wanted to laugh at how the woman spoke. She was the first NPC that Heather had truly dealt with, and talking to her was fascinating. The woman had no concept of the world or anything outside the kitchen. However, if you spoke to her about food and recipes, she could talk as if a well-traveled chef. Heather had to admit it was very hard to detect she was a created person and not a real player. It was only when the woman repeated herself or greeted Heather twice in a short amount of time.
Heather had the choice to customize her, of course, so she chose a thin short woman with dark hair down to her shoulders. She then picked the personality of a countrywoman and adjusted her to have a bit of whimsy. It was amazing to see just how many options there were for NPC personalities. Heather spent an hour on that menu alone, going over every option. She ended up with a cook who always had something nice to say and occasionally sang a little tune while she worked.
“Monica, is there a chance we could make an apple pie?”
The woman turned from the pot and smiled.
“Of course, my lady. Suren, you have a sweet tooth, best watch you don't eat too much.”
Heather smiled and headed for the back door on the other side of the kitchen. The remaining two skeletons stood guard to either side of the door. She felt safer knowing they were there and that there were many more to call on if needed.
Outside, the floor went down three steps to a fieldstone walkway. When she made the tower larger, the yard increased as well. She had some options to define the yard, so she tampered with these until she found one she liked. The whole of the yard had a flagstone path that went all the way around the tower dividing the yard into an inner and outer ring. The inner ring was grass with a few trees and shrubs. The much larger outer ring was divided again. The from half was all graveyard to blend in with Frank's area. The back half was more of an open lawn. She placed a stone bench directly behind the tower under a large tree. Just to the right of the door was the area the skeletons prepared for the garden, and to the left was an option from her flower singer class.
It was called a sahliah tree and was very pretty. Starting at level six, she could plant a magical tree and every level sing to it, causing it to grow larger. She was level nine in the flower singer now, so the tree was three levels in growth. It stood maybe fifteen feet tall with a reddish trunk and soft pink leaves. It was full of little white blossoms that would fall and cover the ground like snow. The magic of the tree was it would grow fruit of various types. Every day it would be another variety, the tree flowing at dawn and coming into fruit by evening. The larger the tree, the more fruit it would grow, and if she leveled it enough, it would have two then three different fruits at once.
She planted it just the night before, and today would be its first fruiting. She couldn't wait to see what the little white flowers would bring.
She skipped as she made her way down the steps to the garden plot and looked over the work. The skeletons had used sharpened sticks to dig through the soil since she lacked proper tools. They tossed the grass aside in clumps and chopped up the lower dirt until it was nice and loose. A few stones came to the surface, but she had them stack these along the side of the tower.
Now it was time to make something grow in that little bed. The flower singer had all sorts of spells that were more decorative in nature, but a few that could be useful in a fight. However, the spell she wanted now would cause herbs and leafy greens to grow. She hoped Monica could use them to make something more interesting.
She stood before the bed and began the magic whose words flowed like a little song. As she waved her hand over the soil, green stems pushed upward and quickly began to form plants. In minutes the bed was full of things she couldn't identify and a few she could. One was rosemary, she knew that one because of her mother, another looked like mint. A dense ball of leaves was some kind of lettuce, and she was pretty sure the red clump was as well.
“Hopefully, Monica will know what these are,” she said as she surveyed her work.
She pondered the thought of going for the larger spell. If she took the time to enchant four stones, she could place them at the corners of a larger garden bed and cast a more potent spell. It would yield a higher volume and variety of stuff, but required her to prepare the stones. If the panel was right, that would take her a week of work casting spells on them every sunrise.
“This will be enough for now,” she said. “Now, I can punish that bone knight by making him stand here as a scarecrow.”
She decided to walk the ring of her yard and do some flower planting along the walls of the tower. She noticed the skeletons walking about and smiled to know there were a dozen more hidden nearby. The ones from the distant tower were now buried in the ground at many of the graves. They wouldn’t come out unless she called them and would ignore all other events. This left her a surprise ambush for an unwary intruder who gave her trouble.
There were roses already growing on the walls of the tower. So she added some flowering shrubs and green plants to the base. She liked how all the flower singer's chants were musical and required almost a dance of hands. As she worked away, she didn't notice the forms moving around just outside her yard.
“All done, now to add a little more color for the other side,” she said as a dull thump hit her shoulder. She stumbled forward as a sharp pain pulsed down her side and arm. Something wet rand down her hand, and she lifted it to see blood dripping from a finger. With a sense of panic, she turned her head to see an arrow sticking out of her shoulder.
“Shoot her again, quickly!” a woman's voice called, and Heather turned in panic as a second arrow raced in. It tore through the skirt of her dress and passed harmlessly into the yard.
“You missed!” the voice hissed. “Quickly, rush her!”
She saw six forms jump up from the distant grass with weapons in hand. They came running in as Heather struggled to get a sense of what was happening.
One of the six stopped and began to chant, his hands glowing with light just before a cluster of white balls formed around them and came streaking her way. They whistled as they traveled through the air heading right for her.
On instinct, Heather crossed her arms over her face and sang a quick note. A barrier of magical light in the shape of layered leaves formed over her, becoming a wall of protection that absorbed the spheres. As soon as they impacted, she stumbled back and pointed at the intruders.
“Kill them all!” she shouted.
Skeletons ran past her with weapons raised intercepting the trespassers some twenty steps away. She stumbled back again, still in shock, and watched as the invaders began to shatter her minions. They were buffed more than regular skeletons, and some of them took a few hits, but it was clear they were no match for this group.
“Rise and protect me!” she shouted when only one of her pets remained.
All around soil began to move, and boney arms reached up out of graves. More skeletons clawed out of the ground and rushed at the intruders from every direction.
“There’s more of them!” a man shouted.
“I told you she was the necromancer!” the woman shouted back.
Something about that voice made Heather pause, and she focused on what was happening. It was then she recognized two of them; they were the rangers from Moon's town. She couldn't remember their names, but they were the ones who ambushed her when she came for her panel.
Anger welled up to replace the panic and brought her to focus. This new batch of skeletons would buy her much needed time. She quickly reached for the arrow and gritted her teeth. The pain was terrible, but tolerable as she yanked it out and cast it aside. She uttered a quick healing spell that would pulse over the next minute, rapidly healing her wounds. Her next spell was one she wished she had much sooner as her skin darkened into bark. Thick leaves sprouted out of her back, folding over her shoulders and sides, forming a kind of natural armor. Similar leaves wrapped around her legs and arms giving her a measure of defense. It was called natures protection, and she was going to make good use of it.
These new skeletons though greater in number, were weaker than the others and were rapidly falling. She needed to tip the odds in their favor and reached for yet another spell of the flower singer. The nearby tree suddenly lurched, and thick branches moved. It began to swat at the intruders, battering them and causing them to stumble away as the skeletons followed.
She fought the urge to use her necromancer magic. The two from moons town knew who she was, but the others might be fooled into believing she was a flower singer yet. She decided to turn the battle more in her favor and retreated for the safety of her tower. If they wanted her, they would have to fight her in her lair where she was strongest. Hopefully, she was strong enough.