Chapter 25: Necromancy

Each morning, when Garfield wakes up, the first thing he does is double-check who’s in his bed. He never would have thought this would become his daily routine until it suddenly was. Today, he was accompanied by Hannah, Solana, two bear cubs, and a robed orc. Garfield rubbed his eyes and looked at the robed orc again. Yup, a robed orc… Obviously male, and for some reason, sleeping on the edge of Garfield’s bed.

Garfield carefully rolled the sleeping Solana up onto his chest to get her out of the way and then kicked the orc so that he rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. Garfield gently returned Solana to the bed and rolled onto his side to get some more sleep.

“You!” Perhaps Garfield wouldn’t be getting more sleep after all. Everyone woke up.

“What?” Garfield acted like everything was perfectly normal.

“First you dominate my people, then you, then you… do THIS!”

“Those two things don’t seem entirely comparable but let’s go with it. Who are you and why were you sleeping in my bed?”

“I’m Gulm. We met briefly not long ago.”

“Yes, I recall you accused me of being evil. Kicking you out of the bed doesn’t quite rank up there with murder and the like, but perhaps there was some merit to your claim.”

“I came here to help you.”

“Help me? If I needed help keeping my bed warm I’d choose someone else. No offense.”

“Not that! Necromancy!”

The conversation suddenly became much more serious. “Okay, but I still want to know why you were in the bed. If we don’t resolve this issue now, I’m going to have to defend myself from Yttria later when she questions me about my interest in male orcs or something.”

“This bed too is evil. Nevertheless, I am here to help you, and in particular your vampires.”

“Why are you helping us?”

“I’d be lying if I said I want to help you, but it’s the will of my master.”

“Is your master some nameless god-like entity who will cause me all kinds of trouble later?”

“No. My master, the one who grants me the power of foresight, is Thoron.”

“Thoron, huh? Well, I got a name, but you didn’t exactly object to the rest of what I said.”

“I don’t know what Thoron will do with you, only that I am to help you with this one problem.”

“How will you help us? Do you even have references?”

“Let’s discuss this, uh, downstairs.”

Well, that made sense. Garfield was still lying in bed after all.

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In the foyer, Garfield and Gulm were served breakfast tea.

“Are the rest of the orcs not also servants of Thoron?”

“No. Most orcs north of the mountains ignore the arcane. I’m an exception in that regard, and that is why I was chosen many years ago. The rest just follow whoever can swing an ax the hardest. It’s embarrassing.”

“Why is Thoron having you help us with necromancy?”

“I don’t know. I’m supposed to guide your vampires as they explore their new ability. That is all.”

“What will you do after that?”

“I don’t know. I have not received a vision or guidance.”

“I see… So, how will you help Hannah and Solana?”

“Necromancy is a specialty of mine. I’ll teach them how to control the dead.”

“Do you want anything in return?”

“Not unless my lord guides me to demand compensation at a later time.”

“Hannah and Solana really don’t like the idea of learning to control the dead. Are you able to keep the lesson to the minimum needed so they don’t have problems later?”

“A pity. There’s so much you can do with such powers but very well.”

“I will oversee everything. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all.”

“I really was agonizing over how to experiment with necromancy so having you here is a help, but it’s obviously way too convenient. What is Thoron up to?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he sees potential in you or your vampires.”

“What do we need to do first?”

“Necromancers always start by practicing on animals. We should do the same.”

“Hannah, can you bring us four to our usual practice spot?”

Hannah hesitated, not sure if it really made sense to trust this Gulm or not. “Okay.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

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Gulm needed a moment to catch his breath after the multiple hops of teleportation.

“Such twisted powers… Anyway, you two, hunt some small animals if you want to begin.”

Garfield nodded to the girls and they disappeared, returning a few moments later with dead critters in hand.

“By my lord!” Even Gulm didn’t expect such a quick response. “A-Anyway, allow me to demonstrate.” He drew a type of magic circle on the ground and placed a rabbit in the middle. After 30 seconds of chanting, the rabbit twitched and then stood up.

“Did you make the rabbit into a zombie?” Garfield asked while the two girls watched very closely.

“Yes. The type of zombie you get depends on the type of corpse as well as the effectiveness of your magic. In the case of your vampires, they aren’t actually using magic so I’m not sure what level of effectiveness to expect.”

At Gulm’s command, the rabbit lumbered over to a tree and attacked it. “It’s not very powerful.”

“Of course. I reanimated a rabbit. I doubt your vampires will fare any better, but it’s the first step. Now, you two, do as I say.”

Hannah and Solana followed Gulm’s instructions and succeeded in raising zombies from small animal corpses. The zombies were similarly useless. Based on the expressions on the girls’ faces, neither was particularly enjoying the exercise.

“How soon do they need to use their ability after the target dies? Does it matter?”

“Their ability should work for as long as the body is in good enough condition, but at a minimum, a preserved body remains usable for several days. Next, we need larger animals. Judging from before, gathering specimens shouldn’t be difficult.”

Once again, Garfield authorized the girls to proceed and they disappeared. It took a little while longer, but they eventually returned with two deceased wolves.

“Gulm, let’s keep the number of corpses to a minimum. I don’t like killing large amounts of animals unnecessarily.”

“Bah. This is a small price to pay, but so be it. Wolves are actually a fine choice for necromancy.” Gulm provided some additional guidance to the girls, and they succeeded in creating wolf zombies. “I think you’ll find these wolf zombies much more capable than rabbits or even humans and orcs lacking magical ability.”

At Hannah’s command, her wolf ran around the area and took a few swipes at nearby trees. Solana had her wolf jump around. The wolves were much less lethargic than the rabbit zombies. Garfield praised the girls.

“The remaining steps involve creating zombies of a higher tier. For example, a deceased mage can be raised as a zombie mage. A dragon can be raised as a zombie dragon, although I’ve never attempted that. Supposedly, zombie dragons possess a great deal of strength, even compared to dragons.”

“How do zombie mages behave? Do they retain their memories or the ability to speak?”

“Not in my experience. They can cast spells from their time alive, and their mana efficiency is even increased, but they can’t do much else. Perhaps your vampires will achieve more than I have been able to.”

“What are the girls’ options for these four zombies they just made?”

“They can keep the zombies as familiars, release the magic turning them back into corpses, or send them into combat where they may end up destroyed.” Gulm released the magic on his zombie rabbit and the body went limp.

“Is there a limit to how many they can raise simultaneously?”

“I’m limited by how much mana I have available, but they are not. Perhaps they could raise a great zombie army if they had access to enough corpses.”

“Hannah, Solana, is that enough guidance? Do you need anything else?”

“No, I think I’ve got the hang of it now. I still don’t like using this ability.”

“Me too! It feels weird forcing bodies to come to life…”

“I don’t expect you to prepare corpses of humans or the like right now, but you should practice whenever you have the opportunity.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, Gulm.”

“Very well. Hm?” Gulm suddenly seemed to be deep in thought.

“Is everything all right?”

“I’ve… received guidance. A vision. It seems you are invited to meet with my master in the south.”

“What does he want from us?”

“I don’t know, but it seems like you will engage in some sort of competition.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“I cannot. All I can sense is that he is satisfied with the assistance I offered you. It seems I am not invited, myself. Perhaps you can be of use to one another.”

“What will you do now?”

“I… I will wander until I receive further guidance. You can leave me here.”

“Very well. We will return home and then decide what to do next.”

“Whenever you’re ready, know that the route south will be secured for you. Thoron’s location will be obvious.”

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“Garfield, why do you think Thoron had that orc help us?”

“I can think of several reasons. The first is that he legitimately wants to be on good terms with us. The second is that he is trying to lull us into a false sense of security. The third is that he wasn’t actually involved at all and someone else is manipulating Gulm.”

“Then what should we do?” asked Solana.

“Right now, our choices are either to accept the invitation or ignore it. I haven’t received any reports of problems along the Dragon Mountains so I’m more inclined to accept based on the recent good behavior.”

“Can’t it be a trap?” Hannah worried.

“Of course. I am sort of under orders to deal with the threat of Thoron, though. I’m not sure if we can ignore this invitation.”

“Who should go?”

“I think the three of us make the most sense. There’s no point in placing anyone else at risk.”

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Garfield wrote up a high-level summary of the circumstances and sent the note to the palace. He had no intention of waiting for permission to go, but he did at least want the world to know what had happened if he disappeared suddenly. After casting an unusually thorough list of spells on his own body, it was time to go. The three teleported to the Heavenly Wall.

“Although I’ve stopped casting spells that release excess divinity, Thoron likely still possesses a portion of what he previously collected. There’s no way to tell what he’s capable of. We should hear him out before doing anything, though. Remember, no matter what he says, we need to remain suspicious at all times.”

“Okay.”

Garfield summoned a flying wing, waved to the nearby guards, and departed south. As they crossed over the Dragon Mountains, the girls grew to their adult forms. Solana donned her helmet and armor. Hannah studied the weather as they traveled, ensuring she’d be ready to manipulate it on a moment’s notice.

After clearing the mountains, the party noticed a smattering of monsters wandering the badlands. Some were attempting to cross the Dragon Mountains while others meandered aimlessly. None paid Garfield’s group any mind, even as they flew low over the plains.

“Look over there.” Garfield turned to see what Hannah was pointing at. In the distance, he saw the sky glowing a faded green. He’d say it looked like the northern lights except the sun was still out.

“That’s probably our destination. Let’s go.” The flying wing turned and proceeded towards the visual anomaly. As they approached, they saw myriad footsteps branching out from a particular spot in the dirt. Where the footsteps came together, one person floated a meter above the ground as though meditating. He looked kind of like a cross between a troll and an elf.

The flying kite dropped the trio off a short walk from the being who was presumably Thoron.

“Greetings! I’m Garfield!”

The being opened its eyes. “Thoron.”

“Thank you for inviting us.”

“There’s no point in opposing one another.”

“Music to my ears.”

“Let’s join together.”

“Like, symbolically?”

“We will combine our souls as I reach in and extract your life essence from your body.”

“Won’t you buy me dinner first?”