image [https://i.imgur.com/yFu9mOD.png]

XV

A Necromancer's Spoils

When Malakai and I returned to the tower, a guard was waiting for me at the entrance.

‘Warden!’ the frostguard jumped to his feet. ‘Sir Levi Vrost has invited you to his chamber.’

I frowned. This was a formal request if he was going through a servant. My mind went to our last conversation, and a hand placed itself on my chest without thought.

Malakai slapped me on the shoulder. ‘Good luck, Warden.’

I shook my head and made my way up the tower.

image [https://i.imgur.com/z6G5s0x.png]

‘I want to join you on the rest of your journey.’

Levi was sitting on his bed since his chamber only had a single chair, but he had neatly folded his sheets. His hair was combed, the shirt and trousers he was wearing straightened, and fervour danced behind his black eyes. He had prepared.

And for what? Solely to ask me to come with? I refrained from stroking my chest. Why was a bond between brother and sister this tense? It didn’t need to be like this.

My thoughts kept Levi waiting in silence.

‘You can,’ I said finally.

His gaze widened as if to say: “That was easier than expected.”

And perhaps he was right.

‘But I’m laying some ground rules,’ I added.

‘Such as?’

My arms and legs crossed. ‘First, you obey my orders. I may be questioned but not challenged. Especially, not on matters regarding strategy and battle.’

‘That’s…’ he chewed on it. ‘Fair,’ he added.

‘I don’t care if it’s fair, Levi. It’s non-negotiable.’

He sighed. ‘What else?’

Here my tone sharpened. ‘Do you recall what you did in the observatory last night?’

‘…I spoke out against your powers?’

‘We’ll have no more of that.’

His mouth opened—

‘I’m not telling you to bury your faith and grievances,’ I cut him off. ‘But you can voice them to me. In private. Not in front of a Lord (one neither of us has ever even met). You are undermining my authority and making me appear weak, Levi. I will not have it.’

His mouth shut.

‘Third,’ I continued. I paused and locked eyes with him. ‘Do not get close to Leah.’

His head tilted. ‘Close?’

‘Close, yes. I’ve seen how you act around her.’

The skin on his forehead turned into a maze, then slowly grew horrified. ‘Don’t tell me…’

‘I’m not planning on raising her,’ I sighed.

If she happened to die, so be it, but I wasn’t actively out to lure her into an “accident”.

‘Then why?’

‘You heard the town reeve same as I, Levi.’

‘I don’t follow,’ he said, frown still on his face.

I huffed. ‘This tower is not what it seems. You must feel it too.’

Every time I passed a closed door, or my steps ate the distance in a hallway too slowly, I got this sensation—the same one I had felt the first time we arrived.

‘Wive’s tales can carry truth,’ I said. ‘Staying in this place for too long…’ I shook my head to free my thoughts. ‘It cannot be good.’

And who knew how long master and student had spent here?

Levi cupped his chin and thought. ‘I agree,’ he said a moment later.

‘Good—’ I started.

‘We should ask them.’

I blinked, unsure if I was hearing correctly. ‘Sorry?’

‘We should ask them?’ his brow raised.

Even with the confirmation, his words didn’t want to digest.

‘We’re not asking them anything, Levi.’

‘Why not? They’re our allies. We may be able to help them, Seph.’

‘And risk our lives in the process? Some secrets aren’t meant to be heard, Levi. Moreover, what could we possibly help two mages with?’

‘We won’t know unless we ask.’

‘No. I’m not dragging my men into this.’

He tried to argue but I wasn’t hearing it. ‘You can come if you agree to my rules.’ I stood from my chair. ‘Think on it—’

Footsteps rushed towards the chamber entrance in a cadence I was starting to recognise and hate.

‘Warden!’

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Malakai peeked around the corner as the frostguard burst into the room, breathing hard from all the staircases he rushed up.

‘Take a deep breath,’ I said, doing so myself both to be an example and prepare for what else the universe was about to throw at me. ‘Now, what happened?’

image [https://i.imgur.com/z6G5s0x.png]

All of us were gathered outside. The frostguards checked their gear for the last time and prepared their mounts. I was doing the same.

Xun approached me. ‘Here. A parting gift from me.’

He handed me a staff made from black wood. A half-onyx, half-azure crystal adorned the top, locked in place with four teeth that curved from the stump and pressed tight against the stone.

‘In addition to enhancing your general energy flow,’ the magus said, ‘it’ll enhance your death and frost-based abilities. I also engraved the wood so it can take blows. Though it was a hasty job with the lack of time, so you should have Leah look at it periodically to make sure its stability holds.’

Despite it being slender, there was weight to the staff, which made swinging it satisfying. But best of all was the flow. My miasma glided up and through the shaft as if beckoned, and at the crown, my miasma almost begged me to shape it into the dual energy of the core.

‘You had a core like this lying around?’

‘I pride myself on my collection.’

I glanced at the mage but didn’t pursue the topic. ‘This is a great boon,’ I said instead. ‘You have my thanks, Xun.’

He simply smiled.

I turned and caught the way Levi sneakily rolled his eyes. “See? What are you on about?” they said.

But a single gift, though significant, wouldn’t bury my reservations.

‘Didn’t we need to save a castle, why are we still dallying?’

Leah was riding a white horse almost as tall and thick as my own destrier. The mount was decked out in white plating, whose main feature was a tail guard in the form of a dragon. Where the mouth opened, the horse’s tail cascaded down.

My destrier neighed.

‘I know, buddy,’ I whispered. ‘She loves to show off.’

The magus sighed. ‘A bad quality she got from me.’

I frowned at him. I’d been whispering in my mount’s ear.

He chuckled. ‘Nothing can be said near this tower without me hearing it.’

Huh. Good to know. Albeit a little too late. From his smile, he knew what I was thinking of, too.

‘Warden!’ Jaeger yelled from near the exit. ‘We’re ready.’

I mounted my horse after securing both my blade and staff in the bags strapped to his side. ‘Xun.’ I half-turned towards him. ‘Though I cannot promise to bring your student back in one piece, I will do everything within my power to make it so.’

‘Your concern and protection are unwarranted.’ Came the immediate call from a certain woman.

The magus’s lips curved. ‘Don’t misunderstand. I send her on this quest as much for her sake as for yours. You will not be held responsible for anything that happens.’

‘For her sake?’ I said.

‘A bird that doesn’t leave the nest can never fly, Warden.’

‘Wise,’ I said.

I trotted towards the exit, and the magus followed. ‘Lord Auvrytt,’ I raised my voice when we reached the gate of the bailey. ‘I, and all of my frostguards, thank you for your hospitality. When I return to Vrost, I will tell my dear father—and all who will hear—of your great service to the people, and the aid you were willing to lend.’

He inclined his head. ‘Then, you may also speak of my great gratitude to your family. For centuries more do I hope to be a neighbour in good standing with the Vrosts.’

I nodded.

Xun turned to his student. The girl’s chin was raised as she glared at her master from the high perch on her horse.

‘Leah…’ Xun said. For an instant, the sparkle in his eyes wasn’t a mere trick of the light.

Leah dismounted and rushed into his arms.

We looked away. Again, I caught Levi’s disapproving gaze. “How?” he quietly asked.

I did not answer.

image [https://i.imgur.com/z6G5s0x.png]

Miasma spun in Leah’s hand as the defect portal rune hovered in front of her. The singular double-lens of the ocular device she was wearing glistened, but the winds whipping past our speeding mounts swallowed the mechanical whirr.

‘Think you can solve it?’ I yelled.

‘With time,’ she said without looking up. ‘The creator was careful.’

‘Careful?’

This time she did look away from the rune and showed her irritation at the interruption. ‘To use your previous metaphor, think of it as them using a cypher to disguise what they wrote.’

‘I see,’ I hummed, then I left the moody not-elf to her own devices.

Jaeger pulled up beside me. ‘How are we going to approach the situation, Warden?’

The hurry we’d left in hadn’t allowed us time to discuss plans.

Castle Frostmouth, a Castle west of Castle Frost (whose Lord was a woman if rumours hadn’t lied to me), was in trouble. The news had come through the men I had left back in Coldmarsh, who had gotten the information from one of Lord Blackwater’s runners.

‘It’s two days of travel?’ I said.

‘Yes, with multiple villages in between.’

‘Then we’ll rest along the way.’

Though we didn’t know exactly what was going on, the threat wasn’t orcish in nature. We had time. Our presence would also both reassure the villagers and allow me a better view of how hard my territory had been hit.

‘Which villages are we passing?’ Malakai asked, his horse galloping besides mine.

‘Icehill, Icevein, Frosthollow, and Frosthaven,’ Jaeger listed them.

I turned to Malakai, whose head was aimed at the frozen ground beneath. ‘What is it?’

‘…are we certain the villages are alright?’

‘They should be,’ Jaeger frowned. ‘Our patrol wouldn’t have come this far, but Castle Frostmouth would have sent their own delegation to aid them.’

‘The same castle which is now requesting help,’ I said.

Grim faces at that.

We rode harder.

image [https://i.imgur.com/z6G5s0x.png]

Our horses slowed as we reached an inlet of mostly flat land. Icehill’s shadow could be found on the sole elevated mound in sight. At a guess, not more than two hundred people could live there. The village would rely on livestock and small, frost-resistant crops, with trade caravans passing through only sporadically.

I looked up at a wolf’s howl that spread across the night sky as if to heed our arrival.

Jaeger frowned. ‘We’re far from the mountains and forests.’

‘Is that supposed to mean something?’ Levi said, his horse catching up to our own. Leah was further behind, having lost pace as she got deeper into studying the rune during the ride.

‘It’s a bad sign, Sir,’ Malakai said. ‘They avoid human settlements. If they’re this far out…’ he trailed off.

We didn’t speak as we rode into the village proper. As we did, my mind returned to the caravans. What would the travelling merchants have seen? A village of hardy people battling and surviving the cold against all odds? Smiling faces proud of their achievements and neighbours? Maybe. Maybe the village survived every battle with the cold, and maybe the people were joyous.

But they didn’t survive the battle with the orcs, and their laughter was no more.

The sole sounds were the rustling of wind through debris, the buzzing of flies, and the squawking of carrion birds. Cottages had been reduced to nothing, and the village square was stacked with bodies.

‘How could this happen…’ Levi trailed off.

‘Icehill is on the edge of Frostmouth territory,’ Jaeger said sombrely, forced to accept Malakai’s logic. ‘It would’ve been the last village to receive help.’

Dead in the centre of the village square was a weathered shrine. It wasn’t more than a raised platform of stone that carried a statue of Ruelle, the woman with the snake eating its own tail, yet it was there. Or rather, it had been.

Ruelle’s body lay scattered.

‘Desecration,’ Levi snarled, picking up a few pieces of the rubble, which crumbled further in his hands.

The guards helped him clear the debris out of reverence for their deity.

‘Warden?’ Malakai reached my side.

I was watching the bodies. Around thirty dead. Most had been scavenged, either by birds or wolves. Scattered around lay broken shovels, hoes, and even some spears. Most of them were men, too. They must’ve made a last stand to allow others to escape. In view of their deity.

But where was She when they were in need? A decrepit chuckle escaped me at the thought.

‘Warden?’ Malakai said again. Behind him, I caught Levi glaring, but he remained quiet.

I ignored my captain and wandered along the ring of corpses, to the growing silence of the men watching me.

The obsidian staff scraped over my gauntlet. I pressed the gem to a deceased man’s forehead, my eyes closed as miasma poured down the staff. Old deaths, these, I thought. The death energy within was thin and spread out.

My arm tensed. A pulse spread from the dual-gem staff and the pull of Death strengthened. The black substance hiding within the corpse rose out of the skin, pooling and bubbling together so it hovered in the air. I ambled past the other corpses. Where I walked, the death-attuned miasma was wrenched from its vessels, and flowed into the growing sphere, which reached the size of a marble after the last corpse was siphoned.

I condensed the dark miasma into a black crystal that sunk into my palm like my frost cores did and opened my eyes to find everyone staring at me. ‘We’ll burn the bodies,’ I said.

The world released its breath.