The misadventures of the necromancer

Sena still could not truly understand what she had witnessed. She had had many reservations when Saca suggested asking the Vey for help feeding the child, knowing the volatile nature of alliances between clans.

She had even shared some of her concerns with the boys.

For them to try to calm her with relaxed, knowing smiles, declaring that the Vey would surely be friendly and that Adar—the one they would have to negotiate with—was more than capable of dealing with them.

When she tried to make them understand that clans tend to be very insular and rarely deal with outsiders, and that they almost always expect to gain something in return, even Saca—who belonged to a clan with good relations with the Vey—would have difficulty obtaining anything from them, the boys merely laughed.

Eventually, Seres commented, “Their best option will be to sort things out with Adar, because the alternative…” and he glanced at the necromancer.

She thought she understood then, recalling Nero’s power and his attitude toward the Clue matriarch. But now they wanted to obtain as much cooperation from the Vey as possible, and the necromancer’s approach might not be the best for that.

Worse still, from Sena’s perspective, it could mean that the difficulty of caring for herself, Saca, and the baby might convince Nero that they were more trouble than they were worth, leading him to leave them with the Vey.

In the best-case scenario, that would mean they would be forced to marry into the clan, but without support, they would always be the least important people in their new home. And that was without even considering the conditions under which Saca’s brother would grow up—something already difficult here, and which would become even worse for him.

In the more likely scenario, they would inevitably be sold to the Clue, since that would be the moment when they would bring the most value to the clan. Oh, certainly not immediately. After the disaster that had been the Clue’s attempted capture, Grandmother Nega would surely wait her time until she was certain the necromancer was no longer nearby.

But unless Nero were to settle permanently close by, they would never truly be safe.

That was precisely what had driven Sena to risk diving into the lake in search of the ring Nero was looking for. Having lived here for so many years, she was well aware of the risks—especially at this time of year, when the cold was beginning to set in. But she had to prove her worth so that the mage would accept sheltering them instead of sending them away as soon as possible.

And even though he had apparently agreed to keep them, she still felt uneasy. One never knew if he might change his mind.

It was with these worries weighing on her that they approached the fortified village of the Vey. Strong walls of wood and earth surrounded a dozen houses atop a hill.

An impressive sight, even considering that the Clue fortress was larger, with more houses, thanks to the control over some of the most fertile lands in the region.

Even so, it was easy to see the strength of the Vey.

As they approached, it took a long time to receive any response, and only when they were right beside the gates did anyone speak to them—reserved and neutral, even after recognizing Saca.

That alone had immediately made Sena realize that they must already know what had happened to the Grytons.

Even so, Adar attempted to begin a conversation, but it led nowhere. Not even when a nearly desperate Saca pleaded for help for her innocent little brother. Their hearts seemed as closed as their gates, as the Vey chose not to intervene in a situation that would bring them little benefit.

It was then that Nero decided to act.

He approached a lone tree near the entrance and declared, almost bored, “Beautiful tree! Just like everything you’ve built here.”

Placing a hand on the tree, it burst into flames—blue flames, clearly unnatural in origin.

At that moment, with the presence of a mage revealed. Through smoke and the sound of fire consuming the tree, the twang of several bows being drawn could be heard atop the fortifications.

But Nero showed no concern, merely raising his voice slightly and announcing, “If that’s how you want it, be my guest. But I can guarantee you won’t bring me down before half this place goes up in flames.”

He shrugged, as if their choice meant nothing, and added, “I would prefer to get what I want peacefully. But the other way works too.”

That prompted a new voice from inside the fortification. “What do you want?”

“To save a child… That doesn’t seem so terrible or evil to me. But hey, if you disagree… You should have built in stone,” replied the necromancer, sounding almost amused by the situation. And she began to understand why the boys had been so relaxed.

Nero was clearly used to getting what he wanted—even if he had to act like a bandit to do it. She now understood that the Vey, like Nega before them, rapidly became more concerned with the immediate problem than with future consequences.

And so, at last, a group of elderly matriarchs emerged from the gates, for the Vey were clearly not foolish enough to allow them inside the village.

Negotiations began to see what could be done. For now, they allowed a woman who had recently given birth to feed the hungry child, carefully explaining that this would happen only once, as the woman had her own children to care for.

Still, at least they could leave with the baby fed.

As they spoke, the women explained that even though it was early and not ideal, the child could begin trying foods other than milk. For now, however, he would still need to consume mostly milk.

To Sena, this was practically the end—there was no way they could keep traveling, as Nero clearly intended, with such a constant need for milk. They were going to be left here.

Then Nero surprised her by asking how much milk he could buy from them—though the women clearly interpreted the question as how much milk he intended to loot.

Fortunately, the Vey lived primarily from their goat herds and some hunting in the mountains.

In the end, and while carefully warning that the milk would not last very long, they provided a supply. Nero demanded that the milk be boiled and then rapidly cooled before being handed over. His instructions were strangely precise, but the Vey agreed.

They ended by giving them a small cart loaded with containers of milk, while warning them that it would be very difficult for the child to survive.

Finally, one woman confirmed a theory they had discussed. If the baby worsened, they could give him a few drops of a healing potion. It was not ideal, as the child might grow resistant to potion effects, but it should save his life for now.

That led Nero to ask what they wanted as payment, and Adar revealed a sack of coins. This surprised both the Vey and Sena herself, as everyone had assumed this was essentially a robbery.

Even so, the Vey clan members looked at the offered coins with distaste. Money was not particularly useful here, except when the rare merchant appeared.

But as they were preparing to accept at least something for their help and their milk, Nero asked, “Or would you prefer to be paid in potions?”

That completely changed the atmosphere. Potions are extremely valuable to clans—especially when much of one’s livelihood comes from hunting, where dangerous accidents can occur.

Moreover, one never knows when a new clash between clans might suddenly erupt—a time when the survival of the clan could depend directly on the quantity and quality of its potion reserves.

Thus, the offer of potions—especially if they were of good quality—transformed the situation entirely. When they received seven potions, apparently crafted by the necromancer himself and thus with little reason for deception, the negotiations ended on a far more satisfied note for everyone.

At least until the necromancer, not wanting to load his mule more, summoned two skeletons to transport the milk. That must have put a new concern in the Vey about the whole situation and their new supply of potions.

And so they found themselves on a road leading to somewhere Sena had never heard of. After everything that had happened, she was not prepared for something even more absurd.

Yet what now stood before her might be the most unbelievable thing of all.

They had been trying to feed the baby with a spoon, with little success, when Nero finally lost patience and stepped forward.

Now, before her eyes, she saw the terrifying necromancer—who had just terrorized not one but two clans—making a strange “Vrrum” sound as he waved the spoon in front of the baby and told him to “open the gate.”

And the most unbelievable part was that it was actually working.

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