The sun was still in its afternoon position, as Heather told Frank and Quinny what the merchants said. Breanne praised her for her quick thinking and how she turned the rumor around. Frank scratched at his head and let out a gurgled sigh but kept silent until she finished.
“So, people might be coming to look for you?” he asked.
“Some will undoubtedly come,” Breanne said. “But we have already started to counter the rumor. All we have to do is keep playing along, and it will die out.”
“How do we explain her skeletons?” Quinny asked.
“Those came with the tower,” Heather said. “Any recluse could have them. I will tell people I picked this build to match Frank's graveyard because we're friends.”
“The bone knight didn’t come with the tower,” Frank pointed out. “You will need to keep him out of sight.”
“Unless we are traveling, I always keep him inside,” Heather replied. She understood his concern and apprehension at the thought of people coming specifically to find them. She hated that she would bring trouble to the graveyard, but what choice did she have? If they ran, Frank and Quinny would be forced to start over and would lose any advancement they made from players.
“I suppose all we can do is be careful,” he said as he shifted nervously on his feet.
“I think you should put more flowers in your yard,” Breanne said.
“Why?” Heather asked.
“The color and contrast will soften the look of your tower and put people at ease.”
Heather nodded in agreement and looked up the face of the walls. They were overgrown with vines and dotted with blue flowers that shimmered in the light. It already looked rather inviting in an old village kind of way if not for the skeletons standing in the yard.
She wandered a few steps as she started to think about the situation. She struggled to find a solution to the problem that avoided open conflict. She could keep up the lie for now, but sooner or later, somebody would see through it. Somebody might see her tattoo and know she was chosen, or they might spot the bone knight while she was traveling. Either would lead to questions that were hard to answer, and killing them would delay the alarm. The player would respawn a few hours later and run off to tell the world about her. The situation seemed hopeless; she was trapped, both in the world and her class. It wasn't like a job she could quit and move on to something better. One way or another, she was going to have to face this problem and deal with it.
That was the crux of the problem, of course. How to deal with the people who would be coming? From what she saw so far, most players only responded to one thing, power. To stand her ground, she was going to have to do more than match them. She would have to surpass them. That meant there was something she desperately needed to know.
“If I am going to be stuck here, I don’t want to live my life worrying about who might come looking for me.” She turned to look at the assembled group. “How do I actively level up?”
“You have to adventure,” Frank said with a tilt of his head.
“Then we need to go on adventures,” Heather insisted with a nod.
“We?” he asked.
“All of us,” Heather insisted. “We need to be as powerful as we can be, so when they come looking for us were more than ready.”
“But were monster players,” Quinny said. “We are the adventure.”
“Who says?” Heather asked. “Don’t you get experience if we slay a monster?”
Quinny shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Then why can’t we go out and earn some? Think of what we did with that worm thing. We need to do more things like that, and gain the strength we need.”
“I admire your fire,” Breanne said with an approving nod.
“If we're out adventuring, we won't be here to protect our bases,” Frank pointed out.
“If we're low level when they come for us, we will lose them anyway,” Heather countered.
“I suppose Quinny and I can tank most things,” Frank said. “But you can’t heal and throw spells all the time.”
“I will use my bone knight as my offense and reserve most of my magic for healing. Breanne can do all the spell casting and long-range stuff.” Heather paused and looked to Breanne as she realized she had no idea if Breanne could do any of that. “You do have spells like I do?”
“I have lots of spells,” Breanne said. “And some very effective close combat skills.”
“So, this is a good idea?” Heather asked and chewed on her lower lip.
“We will take a risk being away, but we have already done that several times,” Frank said. “I say we do it.”
“Yeah, lets level up. I want to become a zombie hoard keeper,” Quinny said.
Heather smirked at the strange name and raised a brow.
“What’s that?”
Quinny smiled. “When I get high enough, I can specialize in a type of zombie. A zombie hoard keeper causes zombies to spawn around them. I will always have a pack of them around me like you do with your skeletons. If they die, they will start rising back up a minute later. I can use a special ability to double and then triple the number for a short time.”
“I can get a pack of lesser ghouls,” Frank said. “And spawn wild ones in the tunnels.”
“Ghouls get super strong,” Quinny added. “I read about them while I was looking for a race. They get strong enough to smash down doors and break chains. I saw a picture of one ripping a tree as wide as my waist down.”
“So, what can you do when you get a higher level?” Heather asked, looking at Breanne.
“I can become a deadly master of stealth,” Breanne said with a smile. “When I get high enough, I can project an aura of cold and fear, and my wail will cause people tremendous pain.”
“Can you walk through walls?” Quinny asked.
“I can do that now,” Breanne said.
“You can?” Heather gasped.
Breanne smirked, and her form began to fade to a ghostly white as her hair flew out in wild strands. Her outfit became a tattered gown and red light burned in the dark spots of her eyes. She dashed through the air to the wall of a nearby mausoleum and passed right through it, coming out a moment later through the opposite side.
“That is so cool!” Frank said.
“Now I wish I had played a ghost,” Quinny added.
“Very few things are a barrier to me,” Breanne said in a voice that was high and echoed with a chilling tone. “My touch is already cold as the grave, but when I level up, I can drain the heat and life from a foe.”
“You look absolutely frightening,” Heather said. “Why am I not afraid?”
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Breanne drifted through the air to hover right before Heather and fixed her burning red eyes on her.
“Because you were meant for this role. Time and time again, you prove you have more than what it takes to be a great necromancer. Even now, you challenge us to stop being passive and take an active role. You refuse to meet these fools on their terms; if they want to challenge you, they can face a great necromancer in her full power.”
Heather was silent a moment and then nodded her head. “We need someplace to adventure then. I want to start tomorrow.” She paused as she thought about her next steps and thought of the book in her tower. “I wish I could read that book. It might have more to offer me.
Breanne suddenly dropped to the ground as the color returned to her skin, and her form took on the elven woman of regal beauty.
“I agree,” Breanne said in a firm tone. “I would very much like to see this book.”
“It’s wrapped in a metal band with no lock,” Heather argued.
“I would still like to see it,” she insisted.
“Why don’t you show her,” Frank said as he turned away.
“Where are you going?” Heather asked.
“If we're not going to be here, I want to make some changes to my tunnels. I will check on you in an hour or so.”
Heather nodded and looked to Breanne and Quinny. “Well, let's go see the book.”
“I have to say I am very proud of you,” Breanne said as they walked along.
“For what?” Heather asked, feeling uncertain about what she was doing.
“For rising the challenge instead of running to hide. Few people could face the challenge you find in your path.”
“I just want to be safe,” Heather said. “But all I can do is level up and build my tower.”
“Nonsense,” Breanne said. “The necromancer kings did much more. They made cities, created art, held festivals. They had huge gardens with white stone and lush flowers. They utilized the land, and it's natural resources for trade and commerce.”
“How did they do any of that?” Quinny asked.
“I don't know,” Breanne said. “But they built a kingdom to rival all others, and it didn't look like a graveyard and a lonely tower.
“Where did it go?” Heather asked.
“It was northwest of here about a month away by foot,” Breanne said. “You would be amazed at the wonders they built. They used the undead to do benign chores, so the people who lived there had easier lives. Teams of skeletons did much of the dirty work, and it made their land prosperous. The people who lived there were very happy.”
“There were living people there?” Quinny asked.
“Oh yes,” Breanne said. “Quite a few of the living were able to dwell with the undead in harmony. Not everyone thought of the necromancers as bad or evil. In fact, the necromancers put a good deal of their skills to work, making life easier on their residents.”
“We wanted a village nearby for people to live and trade in,” Heather said. “Then, they could play in the graveyard to level, and help us level.”
“Your thinking too small,” Breanne said.
“I am?”
The woman nodded. “You are the last necromancer in the world. You should aim as high as your predecessors did, maybe higher.”
Heather led the way up the stairs as she shook her head.
“I have no idea how they did any of what they did. I don't even know what they did beyond what you have told me. How do I recreate any of that?”
“You do it by sticking to your plan. You have already made the first steps in deciding to stand firm and gain in power.
They arrived a the fourth floor where her bedroom and the book were. She still shook her head as she considered the topic at hand, and doubt crawled into her mind.
“Do you honestly think I was meant to be a necromancer? I can't help but feel all of this was a terrible mistake.”
“Nonsense, you were meant to be a necromancer,” Breanne said.
Heather looked up to see Breanne smiling from a few feet away.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Look around you?” Breanne answered. “You have already begun to gather the undead to your cause. This is the largest collection of undead I have seen in one place since the kings. You have been here such a short time, and a ghoul, zombie, and banshee already call you their friend. You have decided to stand your ground and grow your power. The new age will be marked not by the rule of the necromancer kings, but by the necromancer queen.”
Heather stood and took a breath as she chuckled to herself. “You know I run most of the time.”
“You told me all about it,” Breanne said. “You run from fights you can't win. That's called good sense. This world is full of people who lack even that ability.”
Heather sighed and reached up to her collar. She felt something metallic and realized the amulet from the tower was under the hem of her dress. She looked at Breanne with a sudden thought and pulled the amulet out.
“If you knew the necromancer kings, maybe you can tell me what this is,” she said as she took it off and held it out.
Breanne looked transfixed on the amulet and carefully lifted it in the palm of her hand to study it.
“I saw that when you showed it to the merchants,” she said as she began to study it. Suddenly her mouth fell open, and she looked up at Heather. “Where did you get this?” she said in a sudden, sharp tone.
Heather was taken aback by the sudden change and glanced at Quinny, who shrugged with nothing to offer. She looked back to Breanne, who had narrow eyes fixed on the amulet that rested in her hand.
“There is an old tower in the woods way out over the horizon,” she said. “
“The one you found the book in?” Breanne asked.
“Yes, it was on a dead body inside the tower.”
“A body,” Breanne repeated as she turned the amulet over in her hand. “So, you fought your way inside and found the body of a previous adventurer?”
“Nah,” Quinny interrupted. “The place was a ghost town. All the skeletons inside were long dead and covered in dust. The body was on the top floor in a rotting bedroom.”
“We think it might have been a necromancer,” Heather said.
“Might have been,” Breanne laughed. “This is an amulet of Thorisdal, the grave lord. All of his captains wore them to show their loyalty.”
“Then it was a necromancer?” Heather asked.
Breanne turned it over and studied the back. “Only a necromancer servant of Thorisdan would have one of these, or maybe a thief who stole one.”
“It looked like a wizards tower to us,” Quinny said. “Not a thief's lair.”
“There is an inscription here,” Breanne said as she looked at the back of the amulet.
“We know,” Heather said. “Only the undead can see it.”
“Ghost letters,” Breanne said. “A technique of the necromancer kings. They learned quite a bit about using the magic of the world for new purposes.”
“I was looking at it last night, and I noticed there is one more word, but it doesn't make any sense,” Heather added as she lifted the amulet and pointed a the tiny lip of its side.
“Nimh?” Breanne said aloud.
“Wait? What does it say?” Quinny asked.
“It’s just one word, Nimh,” Heather repeated.
Quinny started to laugh, and both Breanne and Heather looked at her with annoyance.
“Oh, come on,” Quinny pressed. “You have no idea what Nimh is?”
“I have never heard of it,” Breanne replied as Heather shook her head.
“You know from the movie?” Quinny pressed. “The cartoon with the intelligent rats, and the magic amulet.”
Again the two women looked clueless, and Quinny sighed.
“You can unlock any door if you only have the key,” Quinny quoted. “It's from the movie, and the amulet was the key.”
“So some necromancer wrote a word from a movie on this amulet because he thought it would be funny?” Heather asked.
“I dunno, but I think it’s funny,” Quinny replied.
“But what does it unlock?” Breanne asked.
Heather had no idea, and Breanne waived the amulet away.
“Let's solve the mystery of the book first,” she said and pressed Heather to take her to the book.
Heather took them across the room to a single table where the book lay undisturbed and bound by metal.
“This is the book that came from the same tower?”
“We almost didn't see it. It was only a glowing light at first, but I read the back of the amulet aloud, and it changed into the book.”
“Only the undead could see the light,” Quinny added. “Heather couldn’t see it when her undead sight was off.”
“So it was hidden from normal sight,” Breanne surmised.
“In a light,” Heather added. “Does that mean anything to you?”
Breanne ran her hand over the metal strap and shook her head.
“I wish I knew more,” she said as she looked over the book. “But this book is likely full of their secrets. Much of what they lost might be written on these very pages.” She turned it over and tried to open the cover but to no avail.
“We have already tried to open it,” Heather said. “There is no lock on it anyplace.”
Breanne turned it over so that the round depression with the little notch was facing up.
“Oh, for heaven's sake,” Breanne muttered and held out her hand. “Give me the amulet.”
Heather handed the amulet over, and Breanne took it from her with a smirk. She reached out a hand and placed the amulet into the round space. It fell into place as if magnetic, and with an audible click, the band split at the side.
“You got it open!” Heather exclaimed.
“Ha!” Quinny laughed. “We had the key the whole time!”
“Now we know why it had that silly word written on it,” Breanne said with a shake of her head.
“Hey, it’s not silly, it was a great movie.”
Breanne waved her off and stepped back to look to Heather.
“You were meant for this,” she said as she pointed to the book.
Heather hesitated and looked down at the book. Earlier, she desperately wanted it open, but now that it was, she was afraid to touch it.
“You still have doubts?” Breanne asked.
“I wanted to be a golden sprite,” Heather said. “This was all just an accident.”
Breanne shook her head. “I have lived a long time, long enough to know things happen for a reason. You were pulled into this world because you would not come willingly. You were sent to the spawn point nearest to Frank's graveyard instead of any of the dozens of others. You were able to overcome your fear of him quickly and adapt to the world around you. In doing so, you not only found your legs as a necromancer but gathered to yourself other undead. Now you have an amulet and book from the necromancer kings themselves. Coincidence?”
Heather was silent as she tried to think all that through.
“But none of this explains what I am supposed to do?”
“The answer to that question might be in the pages of that very book,” Breanne said. “You have been given gifts on top of gifts. You were chosen and then delivered into exactly the right place and into exactly the right class to make use of that book.”
“Come on, open it up already,” Quinny said. “I want to see if ghosts fly out of it.”
Heather laughed and approached the book with nervous energy. She lifted it out of the metal brace and set it to the side.
“There is more writing on the cover,” Quinny said. “It must have been under the band.”
Heather quickly cast her spell to give her the undead sight and looked down at the book.
“Those who dare to read what the dead have written must ultimately embrace the grave,” she said aloud.
“Creepy!” Quinny laughed. “I bet it’s full of ghosts.”
“Will you stop it,” Heather said as she suddenly felt nervous. She looked back at Breanne as her nerves got the better of her. “Is that some kind of warning?”
“Again, I have no idea,” Breanne said. “As I said before, I lived in the empire, but I wasn't involved in shaping it. I know only what I heard in rumor or was rarely present to witness. I honestly can’t tell you anything about what they were truly doing.”
“So, you have no idea what that means?”
“None,” Breanne said firmly.
Heather sighed and looked back to the book. Carefully she took hold of the cover and turned it open to the first page.
Their screams echoed through the tower and across the graveyard.