Laein As A Teacher At The Roundabout A Couple Hundred Years After It Opens
Within the incredibly early morning hour of just shy of four o’clock, the world beyond the walls of the Roundabout was quiet. Sure, the schedules of those inside varied enough that there were always people up and about doing their thing within the walls of the rather exclusive school. But for the lands outside, the areas where Bystanders dwelled, four in the morning was a dead hour.
Which was rather appropriate, given the affinity the Roundabout students had with dead things.
The Roundabout, a name that existed both as a reference to the fact that death within their organization was not a one-way path, and as a joke against another school. A school that did not, could not know they even existed. Not for quite some time, at least. In another few months, it would be the year eighteen hundred. They had existed for over two centuries by that point without being exposed. Two centuries of secrecy that had only been possible thanks to a lot of help from some very powerful people, including the most skilled memory manipulation witch in the world. Their spells ensured that no one could ever give away the Roundabout’s secrets to strangers. The Necromancy students were safe in their anonymity for the time being, though the time would eventually come when they would need to reveal themselves and make their intentions clear.
At that particular moment, eight of those students were gathered at the back gate. All had been attending the Roundabout for less than a year but more than six months, enough to have a general idea of how things were done. Three appeared to be human, a boy and girl in their teens and an older woman who looked like she would have been in her sixties as a Bystander. One was a young troll wearing an enlarged version of an old knight’s metal armor (she was young but still over seven feet tall), another was a small male pixie wearing the stereotypical Grim Reaper cloak and holding a scythe, the sixth was a reptilian humanoid figure with glasses and a very heavy book bag that was slung over one shoulder, and the last two were a pair of wood-like Relukun who appeared to have barely reached adulthood. Neither had known each other before joining the school, having come from different continents, but had since become good friends.
Those eight students greeted one another as they came together, a mixture of yawns passing between them. This was early for them, given they generally attended the mid-morning track of classes, so most would have been asleep for another few hours on a normal day. But this definitely wasn’t a normal day. There was an electric tingle of excitement in the air. Today was very special indeed. Because it was the day that they would be acquiring their first wild ghosts.
“We are not all late, are we?” the human girl, Daija, asked worriedly as she glanced around quickly, looking for their escort. She was a black girl with a distinctly French accent. “It would not be good to be late on this of all days. The assistant headmistress is not the type to forgive such a faux pas when the importance of punctuality for this excursion was made so abundantly clear.”
“Take heart, friends,” rumbled the very deep and surprisingly articulate voice of the armored troll girl, Bitsy. “We have not failed in our duty this day. The task laid before us was to stand at this gate before the four o’clock hour. By my count, that time still looms ahead, not in the past.”
One of the Relukun, Sorkim, nodded his wooden head. “Bitsy’s right, we were told to be here before the fourth tolling of the bell.” He plucked a pocket watch from one of several small bags attached to a leather belt that was wrapped around his waist and studied the hands very closely. “And it has not yet tolled.” He had already been quite certain that it wasn’t four o’clock yet, of course. But when it came to this sort of thing, ‘quite certain’ just wasn’t enough. Not when they all wanted to make a good impression. Getting reprimanded for being late on their first ghost-acquiring excursion would have been something none of them would ever live down.
“Wait!” That was the small pixie boy dressed in the dark cloak. He was called Mires. “What if it was supposed to be a riddle? Be at the back gate before the fourth bell tolls, fourth bell from what!? Are we sure this is what she considers the back gate? Is this the right day? Is she--”
In the midst of his panicked stammering, the clocktower attached to the top of the Haunted Mansion at the center of the Roundabout grounds abruptly began to chime. Four long, echoing bells sounded, one after the other. Only those outside or with the sound dampening on their rooms disabled would hear it. For these eight, the bells were loud enough to startle them.
And yet, that was nothing compared to the way they jumped when, at the moment that the echo of that fourth bell faded away, a very different sound suddenly cut into the air from right in the middle of them. It was loud, evil cackling laughter, clearly magically magnified not only in volume, but also in effect. The sound seemed to cut through all of the students clear to their bones. They each, without fail, jumped and stumbled backward, eyes darting to that spot between them.
It was, of course, the assistant headmistress, Laein. The small pink-skinned woman had simply appeared right where they could have sworn no one had been before. No, wait, there had been someone there. Someone who was the eighth member of their study group, the older human woman. Except there hadn’t been any older human woman. Their group consisted of seven students, not eight. Yet none of them had even slightly questioned the stranger’s appearance.
“You see!?” Headmistress Laein snapped, raising her walking stick (despite being hundreds of years old she didn’t actually need it, but found it convenient to have something to wave around and whack people with) to smack against the nearby wall. “Never let your guard down! None of you bothered to have warning spells active to guard against memory tampering! I could have been an assassin, and you’d never know until all of you were dead! You must always, always anticipate danger!”
Yorkek, the glasses-wearing reptilian, bowed their head in shame. “Apologies, Headmistress, the failing was all mine. I should have tasted the air for alteration spells. My team relies upon me for such protections. Please subject only me to a-any and all punishments for the terrible oversight.”
Laein squinted at them, raising her walking stick to lightly bonk Yorkek on the head. Not enough to hurt, but certainly enough to get their attention. “Stop taking the fun out of scaring you all by being so humble and self-sacrificing, it’s annoying. You are students of the Roundabout! You are Necromancers! Show some pride, some strength! Yes, be careful, but also know your strength! If you don’t respect yourselves, how will anyone else!?”
While the seven students watched, Laein murmured a spell and activated the corresponding rune on her walking stick (another reason she kept it handy), making herself float up several feet in the air on a dark red cloud. “I challenge you because you are capable, not because you deserve any ridicule! You are powerful! You would not be here if you were useless. We at the Roundabout are not in the habit of carrying dead weight. Many other dead things, perhaps, but not dead weight! Our dead weight can very well carry itself. You were chosen and accepted to stand amongst our students for good reason. Be proud of that, but also live up to it. Aid one another, take strength in one another, and always be ready to stand in defense of one another! Necromancers of the past have stood alone and have fallen alone. We are unique, we are united in ways they were not. And in that union, we are powerful beyond measure. Remember that.”
While she was going through all that, Laein made the red cloud hover in circles around the group, shaking her stick for emphasis. “Stand tall, be prepared, take pride in your power but do not be complacent! Never, ever be complacent! Our school is a rope and you are each the strands that it is made of. Now, are you all ready to finally acquire your first personal ghosts?”
The group knew the assistant headmistress expected enthusiasm, not humbleness and certainly not uncertainty, so they loudly confirmed they were, making certain to be just as loud as she was. Not that it was difficult to be excited right then. Getting their first ghost was a big step. They all had experience training with the Roundabout’s general assignment ghosts, of course. But going out and making a personal connection with a new ghost by recruiting them was an incredibly vital step in their early training. They had talked about it since first joining the school.
Once she was satisfied that they were appropriately enthused about what was coming (or rather where they were going), Laein made her cloud fly out the gate, beckoning for the group to follow.
Given the need for utmost secrecy about their existence, the Roundabout obviously moved around a lot to avoid detection. As powerful as the magics protecting it were, they couldn’t take the risk of the wrong group realizing they were around. Their strongest defense was the fact that no one had any clue they should even be looking for an organization like this. That had to be maintained. So the school never stayed in the same place for very long. At the moment, it was nestled in a wide valley deep in the desert of the southwestern North America, an area that would, according to their books of the future, one day become California but currently belonged to Spain. The nearest inhabited settlement besides the Roundabout itself was several hundred miles away.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk the entire distance to find their destination. After leaving the school grounds, Laein activated another spell with her staff, conjuring a portal ahead of them. Her red cloud hovered next to it while she beckoned the students closer. “Stay together, stay together, two through at a time, that’s right. Never go alone, that’s not how we do things. Two at a time, step through, step through.” Her walking stick tapped the edge of the portal, creating a spark of power. “Go on and then move out of the way for the others.”
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Soon, only Mires the pixie was left without a partner to pass through with. Laein held her finger out, letting him catch hold before the two of them went into the portal themselves.
And there they were, standing not near a cemetery as one might have expected, but near the entrance gate of an old manor. The property itself stood somewhere in Virginia, several miles outside of Richmond. On this side of the continent, it was just past seven am, the sun having just risen enough to cast an eerie early light over the expansive mansion grounds.
Light that revealed the massacred bodies strewn about. It was, in no uncertain terms, a horrific sight. The elderly and young alike had been cut down, their remains scattered here and there both inside the building and here on the grounds. They were all shapes, sizes, and colors, the only constant being the fact that they weren’t human.
“Crossroads,” Laein muttered darkly, her anger clear. “One of our contacts informed us of this… attack after it was finished. We couldn’t aid their defense or warn them to escape. But we can offer their spirits sanctuary, and a purpose should they wish it. Go, let me see what you are all capable of together. Summon the spirits of this place, explain what we are, what we do. I want to see how you do without my assistance. Bring forth their ghosts and show how you would recruit them.
“And remember, you are being graded.”
*********
Who Is The Archenemy Denuvus Has Been Seeking Revenge Against?
“Come girls, quickly, quickly.” The encouraging, somewhat emotionally strained words came from a rather statuesque blonde beauty whose worries were written across her face. The attractiveness of her features was matched by the bright and colorful silk clothing she wore. The woman was climbing a set of stone steps, each one wide enough for two adult humans to lay end to end across. Beside her, two large men with rather plain clothing compared to her own very carefully carried the form of another, smaller man, limp and pale, between them.
Behind that group and down several steps, followed the girls who were being urged to hurry up. The twins, Theda and Denuvus, were barely eight years old. They kept being distracted by the sight just to the left of the stone steps. The path was carved into the side of a mountain, with a view of the positively stunning valley and lake stretched out far below. Every time the girls looked that way, they saw something new and amazing. On the lake itself were merpeople. Flying over it were a flock of winged Aralez, essentially dogs with wings. Running along the valley beyond the lake was a herd of unicorns. No matter where they looked, the girls saw more wondrous sights.
At the urging of their mother, the twins finally picked up the pace and hurried up to where she was still climbing. “Mama,” Denuvus piped up, “will the magic man really save poor Papa’s life?”
“He will,” the woman confirmed confidently, giving a worried glance toward the limp form being carried by the other two. “The lord of this land is good, a brave and benevolent champion with great healing power. He will save your father, I’m certain of it. We just have to reach him in time.”
Soon, with the twins picking up the pace, the group reached the top of the steps and found themselves facing a five story palace that towered far over their heads. Seemingly carved from marble and polished to a remarkable sheen, with several high towers and balconies that extended out over the valley below, the building was positively intimidating. An equally beautiful garden of flowers and neatly trimmed bushes lay between them and the palace’s front door, with a stone pathway, itself lined with colorful roses of over a dozen different colors, leading to it.
Their mother went first, with the two men carrying their father going right behind her. Theda and Denuvus trailed afterward, sniffing the flowers along the way. Worried as the twins were about their father, they had faith in the man they were going to see. Or, more to the point, they had faith in their mother’s words. Mama said that the lord of this land could save their papa, so he would.
By the time they had made it halfway across the stone path, the front door of that palace had opened. A woman dressed as a maid stepped out, holding the door for the man who followed. A man who--quite honestly seemed less impressive than the twins had expected if he was the one their mother was seeking. He was only a few inches over five feet in height, with pale skin and a thin mustache. His hair was reddish-brown, and he wore what looked like bright blue silk clothes.
With a broad smile spreading across his face, the man raised his arms as they approached. “Esteemed guests! Welcome, welcome to my abode. I am Aldrich Gaudin, and you have arrived at a most prestigious time. We were about to have breakfast. I would most appreciate company.”
The twins’ mother curtseyed to the man, voice somewhat strained. “It is truly our pleasure, Lord Gaudin, and your hospitality is more than welcome. But I am afraid we must beseech you for aid beyond what is certainly a splendid meal. My name is Elora, and these are my daughters, Theda and Denuvus. Their father, my husband…” She indicated the unconscious figure being held by the two other men. “His name is Samuel. He is very sick, poisoned by some foul serpent in the woods. We have traveled a great distance to find you, because they say that the lord of this land, the great Lord Gaudin, can heal any sickness or wound.” She reached down to her belt, producing a hefty, jingling bag that she held up that way hopefully. “We have brought coin and jewels for your time.”
“Please.” Aldrich waved off the purse, turning to beckon them into the palace after him. “Bring him this way, I’m certain we can take care of any illness that has befallen the man. No woman of your beauty, or such charming children, should have such worries. All shall be properly restored.”
Walking briskly, the man led them through the front halls of the palace, to a den with several plush couches surrounding an incredibly ornate fireplace that took up most of one wall. He gestured for the other men to lay their charge down on a wooden table in one corner, then stood over the figure as he carefully examined him. Various murmuring, tutting noises could be heard.
His questing fingers opened the injured man’s shirt, finding the bite mark on his shoulder. Tutting again, he gently brushed the wound while Elora and the twins stood anxiously nearby, staring at him. Under their intense gaze, the man’s fingers began to glow with a soft blue light. His voice seemed to deepen and echo through the room as he announced, “I heal the poison that has infected your body, and restore your body to what it has been. Let what has been done be undone. Rise and be healthy, as you were before this terrible encounter. Rise and be strong.”
The light faded from his fingers then, and Samuel’s eyes opened. He sat up first, as his family collectively gasped. Blinking a couple times, he rose from the table, standing tall as though nothing had happened. The once-nasty wound in his shoulder had completely vanished.
“Papa!” the twins blurted together, dashing that way. They embraced their father tightly, followed very shortly by their mother. Just like that, the family was reunited, clinging fiercely to one another. The sound of joyful tears and stammered apologies, as well as vows to always be there for one another filled the room. They had entirely forgotten, for that moment, that they weren’t alone.
Still holding her husband tightly, Elora turned to look at his savior. “Thank you, thank you. I can’t--we can never pay you enough, my lord. You are truly as wonderful as the rumors say.”
“You… you are the one who brought me from the brink of death?” Samuel managed, holding his daughters close as he took in the other man. “You are incredible.”
“Oh pish.” The man gave a dismissive wave of one hand. “It was nothing. After all, it’s only right that you have the chance for one last moment with one another.”
His words took a moment to penetrate, leaving confusion even once they did. Samuel managed bewildered, “One last… what?”
“Oh yes, ahh…” Raising one hand, Aldrich made his fingers glow blue again. “I heal you of your love for one another. And of your memories with each other.”
Immediately, Samuel and Elora released each other, both stepping away as they stared in confusion. It was as though they had never seen one another before. The love that had existed between them, that had tied them together and made Elora so desperate to save her husband, had been erased. Nor did either pay any attention to their twins, seeing them as no more important than any other random children.
The twins themselves, on the other hand, immediately called out to their parents, trying to move to them even as the adults backed away in confusion. Seeing that, Aldrich raised an eyebrow. “Hm, interesting.” His hand glowed once more. “I heal you of your knowledge of walking and standing upright.”
Just like that, the twins dropped to the floor with a pair of yelps. The children looked up, as Aldrich moved to stand over them. “Very interesting indeed. So it works on you physically, but it seems your memories can’t be affected. It must be the twin thing. Your minds are linked somehow, which seems to be causing problems. Oh well.” He interrupted their raised voices as they shouted for their parents with a dismissive, “I heal you of your ability to speak.” Instantly, they were made mute.
Turning away from the pair, he focused on the strangers who had been their parents as his hand glowed yet again. “Samuel, I heal you of forgetting your position as my farmhand. Return to your duties at once. Elora, I heal you of forgetting your position as my adoring wife who loves me above all else.”
While Denuvus and Theda remained trapped on the floor, unable to speak, their father bowed and headed out to start his new job, while their mother smiled broadly and stepped over to first embrace, then kiss this horrid stranger.
In the background, the two men who had helped carry their father recovered from their shock enough to take a step that way. One of them produced a long, wicked-looking dagger and plunged it through the side of the lord’s head. This drew a panicked, terrified scream from Elora herself, who saw it as her beloved husband being murdered.
“Hush now, hush, my beloved,” Aldrich urged, with the blade still stuck halfway through his own head. He took it from the hand of the suddenly horrified man who had been holding it, tugging the weapon out. Immediately, the wound disappeared, his head sealing itself back up as though nothing had happened. “Please, I healed myself of mortality long ago.”
With that, the two hired men cursed him as a demon and turned to flee, only to drop like broken puppets as the lord of the land announced, “I heal you of your heartbeats.”
Then he looked down at the twins, head tilting curiously. “Hmm, so very interesting indeed. I can’t wait to see what fun we can have. From now on, we’ll be one happy family. Or, well, happier than my first family, at least. If you think this is complicated, you should be glad you weren’t around back then. I changed my entire identity and faked my death to get away from all that.
“But then, Aldrich is a better name than Asclepius, don’t you think?”