I sat there, staring at Katira, worry marring my features. “Do you have any idea what he meant by ‘interesting’, Katira?” I asked my familiar quietly.

“No, Stu, I don’t. I wish I did, though. I can see how concerned you are about this,” she replied. She reached out and caressed my shoulder.

I stood abruptly and began to pace. My friends had gotten quiet and were watching me fret.

“Dude. What’s got you so worked up?” Robert asked.

“My reanimation essence is not the same color as everyone else’s. Shutan says he’s seen it before, but won’t share any information. I cannot and will not ask Joaquin to force him. I don’t want that. He says it’ll be ‘interesting’, whatever that means. I am frankly terrified at the prospect,” I said absent-mindedly.

I walked over and peeked into my equipment. The reagents were almost gone, which meant that the distillation was nearly done. Figuring I had nothing better to do, I sat down abruptly beside my squirrel, watching the pinkish-orange liquid collect at the tip of the reservoir.

As my anxiety mounted, I began bouncing my leg. Just what would happen when the liquid hit the squirrel? Hopefully it wouldn’t explode, or act rabid and attack everyone. Truthfully? I had zero idea of what to expect.

The fire suddenly went out, and we all watched as the orange and pink blob of oil fell to the squirrel and was quickly absorbed.

At first, nothing happened, just like with the others. As we watched, however, the squirrel began to twitch. A finger at first, then it quickly went into full-body convulsions that I feared might rip it apart. Abruptly, the spasmodic jerking ended, and the squirrel sat up, focusing its beady little eyes on my face.

I swallowed nervously. “Come here please, Mr. Squirrel,” I said aloud.

The squirrel bounded over to me and began grooming its face. I relaxed immediately. It seemed Shutan had been joking. I turned to him and smiled.

“I thought it would be interesting, Shutan. What gives?” I asked.

“Just watch, my friend,” he said.

“Hmm?” I turned to watch my squirrel, who was busy inspecting his immediate surroundings, probably for food.

“Five.”

I looked at the skeletal familiar. He was starting a countdown? Why?

“Four.”

I snapped my face back to the squirrel. It seemed normal.

“Three.”

Wait. Had it always been that size?

“Two.”

There was no mistaking it. My squirrel was growing, and fast. The rest of the group began whispering amongst themselves at the oddity.

“One.”

I watched with morbid curiosity as the squirrel shuddered and grew two more inches, topping out at a whopping two feet tall.

“Zero.”

As Shutan counted the final number, my squirrel turned to me and cocked its head. It took a shaky step towards me, and then another. As it moved, I watched its skin begin to shrivel, as if it were rapidly drying out. We all heard the creaking noises the poor animal made as it slowly, inexorably walked towards me, arms outstretched, mouth open. Katira took hold of my upper arms and slid me backwards a few feet as the gigantic rodent continued its (probably) painful shamble towards me.

Another couple of steps, and the animal collapsed. As it reached out to claw its way towards me, its desiccation continued. The eyes shriveled to papery husks, and its skin tore, revealing dried, taut muscle and yellow sinew and bone. After a few more moments, the gigantic caricature of a squirrel stopped moving.

We sat there, speechless. Shutan stood and walked over to the squirrel. “And now, the interesting part,” he said softly.

He extended a bony finger and lightly touched the desiccated corpse. Shockingly, the squirrel crumbled into dust and fur.

“Meu Deus,” Joaquin whispered.

“What the fuck was that, Shutan?” I said softly.

“That, my dear friend, is why Multiplying types have difficulties with reanimations.” Turning to Katira, he asked, “Katira, you truly have never seen this?”

She shook her head. “No, Shutan. I haven’t. Every Multiplying type I’ve ever had with me has had issues with reanimations. Either they wouldn’t work at all, or it would have horrible growths all over it. To the point that it wouldn’t or maybe couldn’t move. This needs to be brought before the Guild. With this information, we could allow more Multiplying types to reach Journeyman status,” Katira said, obviously deep in thought.

“That sounds great and all, but what do we do with Cap’n Dusty over here? Would this be called a successful reanimation? And, more importantly, how and why did this happen?” I asked, concerned.

“Hmm? Oh. Yes, this is still a successful reanimation. As to what to do? I’m not sure. Shutan? What happened the one time you saw this, and how many others bore witness?” Katira asked the skeletal man.

“I think I can answer both of you here. I was the only other being to observe this happen. My Master told me to keep it quiet, and so I have for four hundred years. She simply swept it up and cast it to the wind. As to how and why? I’m not certain. She was a Multiplying type as well. Different reagents were used, and the same effect was seen. It appears that even though your types are the same, the expression is slightly different. Were I you, my friend, I would experiment with a few different types of reagents that will work for you. While yes, this is a successful reanimation, It has an exceedingly undesirable side effect. If you can manage to replicate this in front of the Advancement Panel or the Guildmaster himself, I think you will find them suddenly very interested in you. Hopefully in a good way. Make certain you record this in your Grimoire exactly as it happened. Proper records are the key to your work,” he replied.

I sat in thought for a moment. Drake cautiously clambered over to me and curled up on my lap.

“I do not like what just happened.” he tapped out.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Me either, Drake. I’ll have to find a better, more reliable method without using my pure essence,” I said to the small dragonet.

“No, those things smell wrong. No life, yet they move.” he explained.

“Ah. I see. Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s something I’ll be doing much of. At least once I’ve got the reagents down properly, anyway. And if I never do, then I’ll simply keep this method available for demonstration. No worries, my friend,” I said to my little friend while scritching his head.

Drake warbled and leaned into my hand. I smiled and sat there, pondering over my future. Would I advance to Journeyman status? Would I even live that long? What would I do for a career? I would have to figure something out if I managed to find a path to immortality. I certainly couldn’t continue to work in the same factory for a hundred years. I’d need to find a way to obtain an income that would sustain me while I laid low between ‘lives’.

At any rate, I was getting far ahead of myself. I had to get through my impending Growth, first.

I looked over at the pile of dust and fur. That had to go. I picked Drake up and settled him on my shoulders, his claws digging into my flesh. I stood and wandered over to my tent, searching for something I could use as a broom and dustpan.

**********

Dinner was a muted affair, with the four of us eating a light meal of a burger or sausage, plus some chips.

“I must say that I am proud of each of you, Initiates. All of you have learned a great deal about not only your abilities, but of yourselves and each other. You have each reanimated a squirrel, and three of you have created Message stones,” Katira said, a broad smile on her shimmery face. “Initiate Grimes? Will you be attempting again tomorrow, or will you wait until you can properly fire and glaze your work?” she asked the younger man.

“Well, as a proof of concept, I’d like to go ahead and try. Couldn’t hurt, right?” he replied with a grin.

“Indeed. Tomorrow, then. You will gather more mint, and make a second attempt. Who will go with Initiate Grimes? Not you, Initiate Merideth. You have other tasks to fulfill,” Katira replied.

“I will go with him, Sensei. I know where there is a heavy patch of mint. With Oiwa and Yin, we will be quite safe,” Morita-san answered.

“It is settled, then. Tomorrow, Initiates Grimes and Morita-san will gather the mint he needs, and return. I will hopefully have another task for you all by then. Class dismissed!” Katira said with a smile.

We all looked at each other, grinning like fools. We were well on our way to being better, safer Necromancers.

**********

I awoke wrapped up in a pair of warm, comfortable arms. I sighed softly, and rolled over gently. Snaking an arm under my familiar’s body, I wrapped her up in a tight hug.

“Good Morning, Katira. I don’t want to move now,” I said quietly.

“I won’t make you, Master. I love having you right here,” she answered just as softly. Katira held me closely and sighed happily.

We lay there for the better part of ten or fifteen minutes before I began to get restless. She smiled and untangled herself from me, standing. I had a glorious view of her from where I was laying. Unlike before, she didn’t materialize clothes immediately.

“Well, Master. I think I’ve done rather well at not letting my feelings or desires influence what I do so far,” she said as she leaned over, her hands on her knees, trapping her heavy chest between her arms. “Although, I cannot say it has been easy. You’re difficult for me to ignore,” she knelt then, straddling my hips, trapping me under the sheets. She planted her hands onto my upper arms and leaned forward. “It is extremely” -her hot breath tickled my ear and neck and she murmured in my ear- “hard for me to keep my hands off you, you know?” She kissed my neck softly, sending electric shivers down my spine.

With that, she stood abruptly, her usual baggy shirt and shorts appearing on her body. “While I’d love to continue, I have initiates to instruct, and you have an….issue to take care of,” she said with an impish smirk.

“That’s not fair…” I said in a strangled whisper.

“Good. Now, we’re even. Remember that first night? This makes us even. I expect you to swallow your desire and get out here as soon as you can manage, ready to learn, my Master,” she said with a wink as she left the tent.

I grumbled a bit after she left, but got dressed anyway. She was in for it when we got home. Of that I was certain. As I left the tent, I plastered a fake smile on my face and greeted my friends.

“Hey guys. Sleep well?” I asked.

“Robert-san snores. It was somewhat unpleasant to hear,” Morita-san said with a yawn and a stretch.

“I can’t help it. I’m sorry,” he replied sheepishly.

“Perhaps you have apnea. My cousin and his dad both have it, and have to wear a CPAP at night,” I said with a shrug as I headed to get some breakfast.

“What’s a CPAP?” Robert asked.

“It’s a thing that you wear when you sleep that continuously pumps air into your lungs, keeping your airway open and prevents snoring, as well,” I replied, fishing out a sausage, a slice of cheese and a tortilla from the cooler. We were running low on foodstuffs. It was a good thing we were leaving in a day or so.

I retreated near to where my equipment was set up and sat down to eat. Daisuke, Morita-san’s squirrel, was roaming around the cavern, inspecting everything it could. Drake watched it with a small grumble of irritation.

“Instructor?” Katira turned to face me, a questioning look on her face. “Will Morita-san’s squirrel eventually run out of ‘juice’, as it were?” I asked.

“Yes, Initiate. It will absolutely run out of ‘juice’, as you say. It might take a few more days, but it will eventually happen. The only way for it to continue existing is if Initiate Morita-san ‘feeds’ it more of her essence. Be warned, Initiates: By doing so, you bind that creation tighter to you, to the point where it will obsessively stay with you. You will know no privacy. Think long and hard before you do such a thing,” she cautioned.

Morita-san nodded sagely. “I shall be certain to release him before we leave. It would be the best thing to do. He is rather cute, though,” she said, stroking the squirrel’s short fur. Daisuke responded by leaning into her hand.

“That would be best, Initiate. Now. On to today’s task. You four have shown promise by overcoming the tasks I have set before you. I am at a loss as to what to do with you all. Does anyone have any suggestions?” Katira asked.

We were all quiet, obviously thinking hard on what we could feasibly do with our skills. Robert looked up from his seat beside his tent.

“Well, Necromancers are able to bring the dead back to, well, ‘life’, I guess. Could we maybe see if there were any spirits in this area to speak with?” he asked.

“Holy shit, dude. Are you for real? You know what kind of things live out there. Do you really want to run the risk of attracting them to us? I don’t know for certain, but I think it’s definitely a possibility,” I said, my eyes wide with concern.

“Initiate Merideth is correct. Besides, we do not have access to the proper reagents to contact a spirit. If we were almost anywhere else, I would absolutely go for this idea. Thank you, Initiate Grimes. Anyone else?” she continued.

“Well, I have an idea, but I don’t want to speak it aloud. Would you come here, please, Instructor?” I said, slightly uncomfortable.

She cocked her head and came to me, kneeling in front of me. “Yes, Initiate?” she asked softly.

I leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Rose’s grave. Should we tend to it? Make certain that it stays in good condition? I’m not sure if that is a function Necromancers perform, but it seems fitting.”

Katira looked up into my eyes, struggling to maintain her composure. “I… I’m not sure, Master. Are you certain it is wise?” she answered softly.

“I’m never certain about anything. Is it an option, though? I’m also concerned about my Growth.” I persisted.

“Yes. It is an option. Very well” -she stood abruptly- “then. We will do this,” she said.

Facing the rest of the group, she said, “After Initiates Morita-san and Grimes return with the mint, we will learn how to tend to a grave, and keep it hallowed. There is one about five miles from here that Initiate Merideth and I found yesterday. It will simply be an instructional, so be prepared to take notes.”

“A grave? Why would we do that?” Robert asked.

“Necromancers in the past were tasked with the job of maintaining grave sites. Eventually, that job became known as a sexton, and the ‘hallowing’ simply turned into keeping it neat and tidy. Your unique connection with the world of the dead was capitalized upon. Nowadays, that just isn’t done. I think Initiate Merideth is correct. We will go and deal with the gravesite today. And tomorrow, we shall leave. You will have learned all I can teach you at this level. Are you ready?” Four heads nodded as one. “Get to it, then!” Katira announced.