Hello~ Welcome to chapter 58! Since the last chapter here, I have posted chapter 3 of I Wanna be a Wizard When I Grow up Again! and 3 (!) chapters of Many Worlds, because any less of it wasn't a good intro. I'll be exhibiting another story "Blood" on Saturday, so don't forget to check it out. Or, you know, just read Necromancer, if you want. I'm not your boss.
Necromancer
A Royal Road Fan Fiction
By: Halosty
Chapter 58
“Mortimer~ Mortimer~ Mortimer~” Angela called as she walked down the hall. Mortimer was pretty sure he could still hide. However, on the small chance that she found him, Mortimer knew he would regret it. Plus, there was the even smaller chance that whatever she wanted him for would be to his benefit. Mortimer was nothing if not optimistic*.
*Blatant falsehood
Instead of hiding, Mortimer went for the next best thing. He snuck around behind her. “Hey, Angela.” Well, he didn’t stay hidden, so it didn’t really count.
“Gah!” Angela jumped back in an extreme, but not entirely exaggerated, fashion. “Do you have to sneak around like that?”
“Yes.” Strictly speaking, Mortimer didn’t have to sneak around, but he was more comfortable doing so.
“Whatever. So, are you anywhere near Morata?”
“No. I’m in the Desert of Tranquility.” Perfect, he was on the other side of the world, so he had a good excuse to not fulfill whatever the request was..
“Great! That’s exactly where we need you. One of our guild members is lost somewhere there.”
Mortimer had thought he’d grown better at detecting traps, but it seemed those skills didn’t apply to verbal ones. He’d forgotten that Angela basically kept track of his general location, when she could. Still, he had a good excuse or two left. “Do I look like a ranger to you? Can’t they just die and respawn somewhere?”
“Hmm…. nope, and nope. Well, they could, but they have an item the guild needs, and we don’t want to risk losing it. They ended up in the desert from some kind of teleportation trap. Since you’re the only one near there, we need you to find them.”
“Ok, well, even if I wanted to, which I don’t, the Desert of Tranquility is the size of, like, Africa. That’s big, in case you didn’t know that.”
“You’re right, but we know an approximate location. The southern part, where it gets freezing, so it’s only the size of a small country. Plus, you haven’t outright said you can’t do it, which means you think you might be able to. Since that’s not going to be good enough… We’ll give you 10,000 gold.”
“Hmm… I have enough gold. I need the time to find some info for other quests I have.”
“Well, the guild will owe you a favor, and I can get some of them to look for info for that quest.” Mortimer’s resolve was weakening. “Also, I won’t guilt you into doing anything for six months.” Mortimer tried his best to not completely give in at that line. “Finally, Alex is one the stuck in the desert.”
Mortimer groaned. “Maratis? Really? A cleric should be able to find a group… but I assume there isn’t anyone around, then. I’ll try, but no guarantees… Even if I fail, the six months thing has to stand.”
Angela sighed. “Fine, but you’d better really work at it.”
“Don’t I always? Don’t answer that.”
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“Mortimer.”
This time it was Mortimer’s turn to jump back in surprise. “Wha- oh, Master Valarao. What is it?”
“I was thinking… you’re doing well in training, and it seems to be time to teach you some other techniques I know.”
“Very well, I will do my best.” Inside, Mortimer was excited and terrified, since each stage of training seemed to be more painful. Sure, he’d gotten used to experiencing virtual death, but sometimes he didn’t die right away, and the pain dragged on… it wasn’t very fun. Plus, muscle pain was even more lasting, but at least less painful, usually. Still, all of master Valarao’s techniques had been both useful and fascinating.
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“Mr. Perrywinkle.”
“It’s Mortimer!” Mortimer turned around with a frown, which he quickly hid. “Err, please call me Mortimer, Dr. Stevenson. You have something to say to me?” Mortimer had been having too many conversations today.
“While your academic results are excellent, it would be best if you decided what you wanted to major in before next semester. Otherwise, you will likely take unnecessary classes.”
Mortimer hadn’t even thought about school at all recently. Well, he’d never really thought about it. Sure, he did his homework, but he never really paid that much attention to school in general. Still, he did need to think about his future. After all, he couldn’t just live as Quietus, and he’d never be able to get by on the hope of his inheritance. It had been made quite clear that if he didn’t make something of himself, he wouldn’t see a penny of it. He should become something prestigious, like a businessman or… something. He’d definitely have to think about it.
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“Mortimer!” This time, the call was accompanied by a touch on his shoulder. Since it was unexpected, he almost threw the person to the floor and killed seriously injured incapacitated them. However, partly because he wasn’t in Royal Road, but mostly because he recognized the voice, he kept control, and turned around slowly.
“Hey, Alex.”
“I hear you’re gonna come find me?” Alex grinned.
“Well, yeah.” Mortimer shrugged. “I’ll need you to tell me everything you can about where you are.”
“Okay, I found a relatively safe place, in a cave, but it’s really cold and there are all kinds of weird undead. The terrain is mountainous…” Alex went on to tell Mortimer as much detail as possible. Mortimer hoped it would be enough. Well, it’s not like he would be searching alone, exactly, so he might have a chance.
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“Mortimer.”
Mortimer turned to look at his butler James.
“Feeling better?”
“...Was I not feeling good?”
“Yes, since your birthday.”
“Oh, that. Yes, I feel better now.” Mortimer hadn’t thought James had noticed anything. It slightly worried him how observant he was. On the other hand, James saw him the most often out of anybody, so he knew almost as much about Mortimer as anybody. James was likely second only to Angela and Mortimer himself, although he never pried into anything. Fortunately, James also didn’t seem to tell Mortimer’s parents about things Mortimer would rather them not know. At least, not that Mortimer knew of. “Thanks for keeping an eye out for me.”
Mortimer checked his face and back in the mirror, in case he had a sign that said “talk to me” or something. He even checked the internet to see if it was “talk to Mortimer day”. Of course, there was no such thing. Well, Mortimer knew it was probably just a coincidence. He logged onto Royal Road. Time to get searching…
End Chapter 58