“There are less legal—and more dangerous—ways out of Omnor,” Duggarn said. “First, let’s see if I’m right. Do you have an Alliance Map?”
Sara opened hers—and cursed. “Hostile? How can they be hostile? All we did was…you know, I think I understand it. They weren’t marked as opposed this morning.”
“They probably weren’t, this morning. Trade-Rite got some Sword of Omens the Emporium had a buyer lined up for. So before you head back, better order something and pay up front.”
Kaden shook his head. “We already paid for purchase rights. A lot of money, for the right to stay. I’m not even certain I could buy another scroll if I wanted to.”
“Stay here. If alliances shift again, you might be perfectly safe by noon. If they don’t, you can meet your Broker. We’re not overrun and very few people want the Necromancers as enemies.” Duggarn clapped his hands, and a miniscule skeleton spawned, complete with sword and shield. “Yes, yes, you’re fierce. Go tell Corsyn we have two guests. Have a student spawn a set of rooms for them, and get a skeleton key for them.”
The miniscule skeleton drew its sword and charged down the hall, shrieking like a [Banshee].
“I do so enjoy finding jobs for the small ones. I have a question, if you don’t mind.” The Centurion Necromancer paused, searching for the right words. “Why on earth did you give the twins those relics? I’ll bet every tibula in my collection you don’t have anything as valuable.”
Kaden wasn’t keen on revealing the quest. “It was the right thing to do.”
“Damned Justari got to you already? Sounds like one of them.”
“We haven’t decided on a faction,” Sara said. “Is there someone who could explain more about the nature of these alliances? I thought I had a good grasp on the situation. I don’t like surprises in my plans.”
“In the words of the great Necromancer Philospher, Xatera the Black, ‘Get over it,’” Duggarn said.
Kaden wanted to point out that was a [Ranger] skill, but he was genuinely making an effort to not aggravate Sara. For now.
“I need to care for some business,” Duggarn said, “I’ll assign someone to care for your needs. Anything you need, ask. I do have a request. Our researchers would love to spend some time with your [Eldritch Shield]. It’s a mutation we simply haven’t seen before.”
“I have a request. I was completely unprepared for your ‘rescue’ that dragged me down. Would it be possible to set that up so I can practice?” Sara spoke with a surprising lack of confidence.
“It shall be done,” Duggarn answered, summoning another skeleton. “I’ll have the twins help, it’s the least they can do. For now, follow this one. Hey, little guy. Don’t tell the other skeletons, but you’re my favorite.”
###
Kaden was near death, and he’d never been so happy about it. He sat cross-legged on a bed of glowing black stones which constantly bled health, a healing potion in each hand. Across from him stood Serta, the poisonous twin. “Drink, drink you idiot.”
He sipped.
You have sustained 1x Necrotic damage.
The notification scrolled by constantly, along with system warnings about his health, as he took another sip.
“Is he always like this?” Serta asked.
Sara was ten feet away, trying—and failing—to deal with the forest of arms that had dragged her under. This set would only lower her a few feet down and then let go. “Always. Can we reset?”
Sevin nodded to the forest, and they straightened up and sank into the stone, ready to go. “My experience with non-Blightlings is limited, but it appears your class levels by failing to escape, and his by taking damage and drinking potions.”
“You’ve reached level twenty seven by killing Blightlings?” Kaden asked as he choked on Healing Potion.
Hard to Kill has granted you a new resistance: Resist Necrotic
Your skill with Resist Necrotic has increased.
“I’ve reached twenty seven by soloing hordes of Blightlings. My army of skeletons and I can handle anything, anywhere, any time.” Sevin summoned a skeleton.
Kaden grinned as Resist Necrotic leveled over and over. “Can you turn this up? Or maybe expose me to some new kind of damage? I don’t think it’s possible for me to reach immunity but this is good enough. I’d probably be able to survive long enough to reach whoever was using it.”
“You want more.” Serta tsked.
The glowing rocks began to gleam, forming a network.
You have suffered 25 points Lethal Damage.
“Perfect.” Kaden lay back. “What exactly do you do here in Omnor? Make deals with companies? Purchase scrolls?”
Serta gasped. “You jest. We are the tip of the spear and the last line of defense. Without us, the Blight would spread! Without us, the world would be overrun. We do not relax. We do not ‘play.’ We make no deals. This is our life.”
“What she said,” Sevin added. “The Blight is life out of control. It grows monsters, but Necromancy is the cure, the counter balance. Our skeletons cannot be taken by the Blight, but they can cut it down.”
“Skeletons.” Serta gave a huff. “As if anything great was ever accomplished with a skeleton.”
“What was that skull—I mean, the skulls—I gave you?” Kaden refused to regret it.
“A library of attrocities. The key to horrors the world has not seen for a decade,” Serta said.
“Also a cookbook!” Sevin added.
Of course it would be a cookbook. Kaden expected it.
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Hard to Kill has granted you a new Resistance: Resist Lethal.
That was enough for now. He stood up and stretched. “This was very helpful. Between this, [Last Man Standing] and [Sole Survivor], I feel prepared for most things. Can you show me how you animate skeletons? I have a mana-rat skeleton for my dog to play with, and it’s fascinating. What makes the skeleton stay together? What separates a [Bone Behemonth] and a [Tomb Champion?] Where do you even get bones that large?”
“Now my brother will never shut up,” Serta said under her breath.
Sevin had broken into an excited grin. “Come! Talking about it is not enough. If you truly want to understand, we must do.”
###
“Sara!” Kaden called from down the hallway. “I have something to show you. Something wonderful. Something magical.” Bones clacked together, grinding and crunching as he knocked on her door. “You know you want to see it.”
“I doubt it. I doubt that very much.” Sara opened her door.
The room the Necromancers had offered them was small and at the moment, a map of Omnor lay projected across it, shifting in real time. Sara had inked a chart of predictions. Make that several charts, most of them marked through and re-written. “What is that?”
“It turns out, Necromancers go through a lot of bones, melding them to make Bone Behemoths, and then Tomb Champions. There’s so many spare parts. Sevin helped me build Skully. He’s not a Beast, but he’s pretty cool. And he’s almost indestructable, as long as part of him survives.” Kaden stepped back to reveal his creation.
Skully was a lot like a spider, if a spider had no abdomen or head, just a skull, and from under it came half a dozen arms, some of which ended in claws, but most of them ended in hands with curved claws. The head-skull was two feet high, and the eyes blazed with a purple fire.
[Skully - Persistent Reanimation]
This thing ought to be in a dungeon. As a matter of fact, it will be in a dungeon the moment you fall asleep. Sure, you can claim you created it from scratch, but who are people going to believe? The [Beast Master] they’ve never met or their own [Identify], which will tell them the story of a mad necromancer with a fear of spiders and a loathing for salesmen? “Skrider” sounds nice. Yes, Skriders. Which are legally distinct from Skully. What a stupid name. Next you’ll be naming a zombie ‘Moulder’ and getting yourself in trouble with an [Attorney].
Level: 0
HP: 400
Mana: 15
Skills: Bite, Wall-Crawl
Sara looked it over. “You can’t bind it to your soul and it’s not a Beast you can [Tame], or a Demon you can [Bind]. How are you handling it?”
“That’s the easy part. Necromancers have been making pet skeletons for thousands of years, usually as warriors or servants or self-watering plant pots. Watch this!” Kaden sent the mental signal he’d practiced with Sevin.
Skully rolled over and tucked away all but four of its legs, and Kaden slung it over his shoulder. “I attached an Inventory to Skully. He can store up to six items!”
“You made a bone backpack,” Sara said. “Except a real backpack can store more than six items.”
Kaden wasn’t dissuaded. “He’s nearly indestructable, and if a piece of him survives, he can take over other bones to repair himself.”
Sara said something Kaden didn’t quite catch, about sleep and murder. It was ok, Skully would watch over them both in case of that. “What do you think?”
“I think I expected worse. While you were playing in your build-a-bone workshop, I was busy learning more about how Omnor works.” Sara stepped aside.
As Kaden entered, a woman began to shriek.
Not a woman.
A ghostly spirit, which hovered over Sara’s bed.
“Stop!” Sara commanded. “Friend. Kaden. And pet.”
The spirit faded into nothing, while Kaden did his best to fix Sara with a stare. “Build-A-Bone workshop? And you and the Queen of the Dead did what?”
“We had a wonderful meal, took a stroll along the river of the dead in the temple of Mortis. Came to an understanding that while I was flattered, I just…no.” Sara shook her head. “I sent Wren a bird. If things don’t work out with Petri, or if she’s just looking for variety?”
“Did you get a pet ghost before or after your date?”
“After,” Sara said with a glare. “Serta is a nice woman. I also gave her Eve’s contact. Serta needs friends.”
Eve was cold and emotionless, much like most of the dead. “Well, good for you. It’s very impressive. Screams quite well.”
“[Spectral Watcher] is a perfectly valuable skill!” Sara said. “When a Necromancer harvests a [Lost Soul], there’s always a chance it will become incredibly powerful and have vast abilities. And unfortunately, there’s always a few like Rysa.”
“Rysa. That’s…a name.”
“My best friend growing up. Turns out, she was dating the same man as me, behind my back. She was also a screamer.” Sara turned back to the wall. “I’m getting a feel for how the city shifts. Omnor has too many resources to simply write off and say ‘I’m never coming back.’”
The chart surged, and colors switched, especially along the borders. Kaden traced the changes. “That’s the Emporium. Here we are, over here. That’s Trade-Rite. What’s driving the others?”
“I have no idea. And that is thrilling!”
Sara’s idea of thrilling and Kaden’s idea were different, but he’d let that go. “How was talking to your dad?”
Sara never spoke of her father. Ever. “Good. I don’t have many memories of him. He was killed in an accident at the Mage’s Tower when I was young. You have more memories of your parents, I’d bet, than I do him.”
Kaden nodded. He wanted to tell Sara, but every time he opened his mouth, he couldn’t speak, like the System blocked it. “I spoke to my Mom. My Dad wasn’t answering, and Trella isn’t in Mortis’s court.”
Sara nodded. “Were the Necromancers lying about your mother?”
“No.” The subject hurt more now, now that he couldn’t deny it. “They weren’t lying. I have some tasks to take care of when I get home. I’m not a great negotiator, but I know someone who is. Say I wanted to sell some Centurion class weapons. Would you be willing to help me get the best deal I can?”
“I could be persuaded.” She smiled as she said it. “I do love a chance to raise my [Negotiation] skills.” She made a few adjustments to her predictions on the wall. “I know you can’t speak about what your Mom said, any more than I can what I learned. I’ve talked to Dad twice before. Every time, it re-opens wounds I didn’t know I had. Every time, I think I come away a little wiser. Was it worth it?”
“Yes.”
Sara tapped a heatstone in the floor, and it surged with warmth. “No need to fear frostbite tonight. Warm beds. We’re seven levels down in the Necrosium. Mom told me once that every night I slept in a different bed, it would get easier.”
“Then, I hope it’s easier. Sevin said the Market opens to unvetted just after the morning Ash Storm.” Kaden produced his Skeleton Key—a finger bone. “See you in the morning. Come on, Skully.”
In his room, Kaden contemplated the Broker meeting. He would be polite. He would be as honest as possible. He would be focused above all. No smart remarks. No unnecessary bloodshed. Skully climbed the wall and hung from the ceiling, keeping watch while Kaden placed his armor into the cleaning box and stacked his boots.
Kaden had grown up in bitter cold and stifling hot. He turned off the heatstone and tucked himself in. In the dark, his memories took over, retracing every word and every moment. A voice from memories almost lost.
His mom had said there were only two questions he needed the answer to, and as he lay there waiting for sleep, Kaden knew them.
Do you love me?
Do I make you proud?
Kaden drifted off to sleep—and woke as his door opened.
“Mom was wrong. It’s not easier to fall asleep each time.” Sara said, her blanket wrapped around her. She lay down beside him and settled in, falling asleep within minutes. And not long after, Kaden, too, found himself drowing in dreams. Dreams where he sat at the farmhouse table, talking with his Dad, while Trella sharpened daggers at his side, as he explained his plans for a petting zoo filled with undead spiders.
Trella sat up, stabbing both daggers into the table. “Listen to me. That’s a stupid idea and you shouldn’t do it. Sara will tell you it’s stupid, Eve will watch just because it might be entertaining, Ashi will say ‘I do not think this is wise’ which is Ashi-speak for ‘it’s stupid.’”
“Dad?” Kaden looked to him. His hair was graying and thin, and his face shifted to the one Kaden remembered and how he imagined.
“There was a very simple rule that made my life easier. I called it ‘Listen to the [Shadow Blade.]’ It’s a stupid idea. You need to give up and wake up, because we’re under attack.” His dad said it calmly.
“What?”
“We’re under attack,” his dad said. “We’re under—”
Kaden jerked awake as Skully gave off a rattling buzz that was its warning signal. Red lights flashed everywhere as a voice spoke in the darkness, Dugarn’s voice, repeating the same phrase. “We’re under attack. We’re under attack. We’re under attack.”