8.5 hours later

Vey has spent the last sixteen and a half minutes preparing for what should be its master’s return, if its master is on time with his previous excursions to and from the nearest village. What Vey has been preparing is quite simple, putting the chair it temporarily stole back into its rightful place, putting the various borrowed stationary back(though Vey keeps the papers and the notebook for itself), and generally tidying up the small mess Vey made of the ritual room when it was rummaging around for stuff to help it with its research.

Vey now begins its final stage of preparation, taking a dagger and heavy mace each sized for a human and hiding them in its cleared out chamber behind the stone table. If questioned by its master, Vey plans to say it used them to kill the rats that were eating the corpses, which technically isn’t a lie. Vey also gathers some simple cloth wrappings and ties them around its hips and ribcage, and lets them drape down the front of its chest and down its back. Vey intends to use its ribcage and this cloth to hide objects it doesn’t want the master to see, under the guise that it wanted to wear clothing.

Vey has not yet decided to openly rebel against its master’s magical compulsion, but instead to bide its time until a moment presents itself wherein Vey feels it could actually beat its master. Vey knows now that its master is at least a level three cleric, but is no more than a level four cleric, since he can’t yet raise undead under his own power, and instead has to rely on dark rituals to the God of Undeath, but even at level three or four, the difference in physical combat ability, not to mention its master’s spells, Vey knows it will be at a disadvantage.

Vey has also made some progress towards creating a stable [Light] spell, though it doesn’t know if it’s even close to the one its master uses. Ultimately it’s probably for the best that Vey doesn’t make its spells too similar to its master’s, as since the moment it learned its master couldn’t even have created Vey without the usage of both borrowed power from a ritual and borrowed power from a scroll of [Awaken], Vey has felt a lingering, spiteful disgust for the first time.

Vey feels that its power should always be its own, earned through its own labor. It doesn’t intend to play by any set of rules regarding that, but Vey is inherently selfish, and extends that selfishness to not wanting to borrow power that it could take or earn instead.

Vey manages to maintain a state of calm again by the time its master returns. Vey can feel the command-bond through the walls of the dungeon now, and so takes up position in the ritual room, washing some of the dirty rags and clothes from the corpses in a bucket by the fountain. Vey figures that its master will assume Vey is simply acting in his best interest as a commanded servant, which is exactly what Vey wants.

It turns out to not be necessary though, as when its master pushes through the door to the ritual chamber, he drags with him what looks to Vey like an elf-kid in common clothes through the doorway. Vey turns to observe the pair, and the elf-kid seems to be both clearly alive(unusual for its master) visibly struggling against its master’s grip on the elf-kid’s hands, which are both bound in rope. Vey notes that the elf-kid’s eyes are very red and its lip appears to be split on the left side, but doesn’t have any explanation in its mind as to why that could be.

Vey expected its master to say something, anything, even, to Vey, or at the very least a set of commands. Instead, its master seems incredibly determined, as well as quite happy, to drag the screaming girl along into his living chamber.

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Vey doesn’t know- Correction, Vey doesn’t understand what is happening in the living chamber, but it does know that the constant, childlike screaming is incredibly agitating. Not that Vey believes complaining to its master would convince him to just kill the elf-kid to have some peace and quiet back. Except, after about fifteen minutes of listening to that insufferable screaming and grunting, Vey peeks through the leather drapes that serve as the living chamber’s ‘door’.

Vey did not know how to comprehend what it saw, but objectively speaking, Vey noted its master was naked, and was for some reason on top of the elf-kid, who was alternatively screaming or crying when Vey’s master wasn’t punching or choking the elf-kid. It was a strange sight for Vey to behold, and it wondered idly if this is for some sort of ritual to its master’s god, but quickly readjusted its opinion.

If it was a ritual, surely it would be done in the ritual chamber, right? The book the ritual instructions had been in did say that the degree of success for such rituals was greater in a proper environment and under proper conditions, and Vey seriously doubted its master’s bed of furs and dirty feather pillows counted as ‘proper conditions’.

But none of this mattered to Vey at the moment, because after a few minutes of observation the elf-kid clearly fell unconscious, and while Vey’s master was still doing whatever he was doing, he was clearly doing it slower. Vey immediately began running through the situation in its head. Even if what its master is doing isn’t some bizarre ritual, whatever it is, it’s clearly making its master tired, since the elf-kid also passed out from it. Vey estimates that it’s only a matter of time before its master falls asleep as well. Ideally for Vey, he will fall asleep on top of the elf-kid, just as the elf-kid fell asleep under him, since that would neatly leave him both naked and in an opportune moment to-

Vey stopped itself. It can’t think like that, not until the very moment before it acts. Vey knows that if it thinks in open rebellion, its command-bond will be severed, and its master will know of its treachery and be on guard. Vey very cautiously moves back to its chamber, and collects its dagger and mace. As it returns, it hears the same grunting and labored breathing from its master, though at a far slower pace. Vey starts matching its steps to the exhales and grunts, trying to mask the sound of its footsteps.

As Vey once again reaches its observation point at the fur drapes, it pokes its head through, and sees its master now writhing about on top of the elf-kid in a decidedly less vigorous manner, in a way Vey understands well from its experiments with the rats. Vey’s master is making himself comfortable.

Good. Vey thinks to itself. Very Good. I must thank you Elf-Kid, for what a gift you have given me.

Vey waits another ten minutes, before taking careful, quiet steps past the fur flaps and into the living chamber. Vey moves very slowly, very cautiously, and positions itself beside the bed, very close to its master. It pulls the dagger out of the cloth wrappings in its chest, and mentally prepares itself one final time.

Vey drives the dagger into its master’s neck from the side, warm, red blood spills for, coating his neck, the elf-kid, and Vey’s skeletal hand. It’s master-No- It’s Former Master twists his head to the side and jerks awake, turning to Vey and attempting to mutter a spell. Or perhaps he was simply cursing. With his vocal cords cut, Vey can’t tell. The necromancer’s eyes go wide in shock as he registers the pain and bleeding in his neck, and puts his hand up to the wound, and moves his mouth.

But nothing happens. The gold glow of clerical healing magic doesn’t come. How could it, since after all, the necromancer couldn’t say the incantation.

If Vey could smile, its grin would split its skull in two, ear to ear, as it relishes the look of pure shock and horror on its once-master’s face. The necromancer mouths something again, this time definitely a curse at Vey, as Vey takes a step back and draws the heavy mace from the cloths covering its hips, and watches in further delight that as the necromancer tries to attack Vey, he stumbles over the elf-kid, and his head stays still for just a moment too long. Right in the path of the rapidly descending blunt object in Vey’s hands.

Action Success! Reward!

For your success at action: Coup De Grâce, you have earned the Death Blow passive skill!

Death Blow (Passive)

When striking downed and helpless targets, your attacks are instantly fatal.