The misadventures of the necromancer

While Adar is in the midst of a personal crisis, trying to figure out how to handle the situation, and softening what are certainly going to be unpleasant comments from Nero. Delric's voice breaks in.

“Oh! Have you heard of our little order, sir...?”

Adar, for his part, doesn't even dare to look at them, fearing Nero's answer. He glances behind him instead and sees the priests whispering to each other as they watch the unfolding scene. Seres, meanwhile, has his eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape, seemingly shocked by something.

Nero responds to Delric's question with a simple, “Yes, I've had the ‘pleasure'.’” A terrible response, which not only skips a proper introduction but also makes his contempt for Delric’s order glaringly obvious.

As Adar desperately tries to come up with a way to resolve this without insulting the knights or further irritating Nero, he notices Seres mouthing something silently. Adar furrows his brow, trying to decipher it... “The mines?” For a moment, Adar wonders if he misunderstood.

Why would Seres say something so odd as “The mines”? That is until he remembers where he'd heard of the Order of the Petal and the Flame before.

It had been after they left Ulma with her family when Seres told him everything that had happened inside the mines in detail. For instance, how Nero had raised the corpse of a warrior monk from a mysterious religious order that the necromancer had identified as... the Order of the Petal and the Flame.

That realization makes Adar turn back toward the newcomers. They haven't noticed him, as they’re exchanging glances, likely processing Nero’s words.

His mouth goes dry as he considers all the armed men in this group, knowing that if they find out what he now remembers, things could get very, very complicated.

“I understand...” Delric begins, but the necromancer cuts him off.

“Well, actually, it wasn't really a pleasure meeting people from your order,” clarifies Nero, surprising no one, since his earlier sarcasm had already made that clear.

“It’s just that, in my experience, people from your order tend to be insufferable...” Nero continues, while Adar’s panic rises, not knowing how far this will go.

Delric and Kael listen with slightly open mouths, likely unsure how to respond.

“You try to explain that nothing’s wrong and they just keep following you around, refusing to understand anything... They’re some of the most annoying NPCs around,” Nero vents, which only manages to confuse the knight and monk further. Adar, on the other hand, is grateful for the way the necromancer sometimes talks, as this might just be the opportunity he needs.

“Yes, sorry about Nero here. He just hasn’t had the best experiences with your order,” Adar says, stepping in to calm things down. “Which is understandable! Sometimes he’s not very clear in what he means, which can lead to misunderstandings.”

Delric and Kael give slight nods of agreement just as Nero’s voice cuts in, “And what’s that supposed to mean, Grumpy?”

“Nothing, nothing, Nero! It’s just that sometimes people don’t quite understand your intentions. That’s all!” Nero seems to accept that, and at the end, Adar makes a point of shooting a look at the strangers that says, “See what I have to put up with?”

Judging by their expressions, they seem to understand that Nero is simply a difficult person. Which immediately diffuses any suspicion. After all, the world is full of people like that.

“Yes, yes. Besides, sometimes members of my order on a mission can also be a little... inflexible. So a reaction like that is perfectly understandable,” says Delric, further easing the potential conflict.

“Excuse me, so from what we gather, you’re members of the Order of Áuron?” asks Mira, shifting everyone's attention to the two priests whom Seres had allowed to approach. This makes Adar want to kiss his friend in gratitude. Whether Seres planned this or, more likely, it was just a lucky distraction, it moves the conversation away from the awkwardness around Nero. Which is always a good thing.

“Yes, my companions and I are,” Kael declares, motioning toward the other knights.

After observing the approaching priests, Delric announces, “Priests of Medishe!” identifying them as expected from a warrior monk.

“Yes, we are. I’m Whit Ganat, and this is Mira of Fontar,” Whit introduces them. Adar has to hold back a smile—what better proof that there are no necromancers here, than the presence of two Medishe priests?

“An honor. I’m Kael, and this is Delric,” Kael says, offering a salute with a hand to his chest.

“Thank you. Perhaps we should continue this conversation by the campfire?” Whit suggests as night begins to fall. To confirm, he looks to Nero for approval. The necromancer doesn't object, prompting Whit to add, “Then let’s go.”

Adar can’t help but worry about the risks of staying too long with these knights. But with night falling, they don’t have much choice. Trying to dismiss them now would only raise further suspicions. So he signals to Seres to take care of the other knights.

Seres, noticing this, glances at Nero to check if he agrees. Seeing no objection, he springs into action.

“May I ask what the Order of Áuron is doing here?” Mira asks, intrigued, while Adar, Seres, and Nero silently try to decide what to do.

As such, they are somewhat distracted when Kael replies, “We’re investigating a vampire nest further south, near a place called Riverfront...”

“Riversong,” corrects Delric, which definitely catches the trio's attention.

“Right, right, Riversong. Apparently, a group lured travelers into some mines. But they were unlucky—the travelers managed to fight back and raise the alarm. And now we’re heading there to find out what happened and investigate the aftermath.” To Adar’s horror, they’re describing the very events that they experienced in the mines.

Kael continues walking and, motioning to Delric, adds, “Because of the vampires, we decided to bring along a specialist.” Delric humbly accepts this, while Adar shoots desperate looks at Nero, hoping to figure out what to do next.

The necromancer, for his part, seems intrigued. But noticing Adar’s glance, he simply shrugs and joins them by the fire.

“Vampires!” exclaims a concerned and intrigued Whit.

“Yes, but don’t worry. These reports are usually, a bit exaggerated. They mentioned a large group, but it’s probably just one or two—otherwise, the travelers wouldn’t have been able to escape,” Kael says, trying to downplay the threat with a smile. But Adar knows, from Seres’ descriptions, that Nero had destroyed at least ten of them.

“Still, we have to investigate. It might lead to a larger infestation,” adds Delric, with a nod of agreement from Kael.

Whit and Mira seem more at ease hearing this, settling in around the fire. But Adar can't help but wonder if that’s the whole story—after all, at least two witnesses saw the necromancer raise the dead, including a long-dead member of Delric’s order.

“And what about you—what are you doing in the middle of nowhere?” Kael asks with a friendly smile.

A bit surprised and tense, Mira answers, “Traveling... We’re exploring the region. Right, Whit?”

And with that, Adar has to make an effort to keep his lips from forming a smile. Mira has just shifted all possible suspicion of something strange onto the two priests. Not that Adar doesn’t understand her desire to keep the temple they might have found a secret—at least for now.

After all, we’re talking about a temple that grants a blessing to only one person. That’s a tough thing to manage, even among knights. Who among them would deserve such a reward?

“Yes, yes!” replies a slightly confused Whit, who seems unsure of what’s going on but decides to support his friend anyway.

Kael and Delric exchange looks—they know something is off. Mira picks up on this and keeps explaining, “You see, Whit here...” she gestures toward the priest.

“...found some old religious texts in the temple where we were, referencing this area. So we decided to investigate.” Adar listens closely, noting how she's telling mostly the truth. And it even sounds like a good excuse!

“That’s right. And since Nero here has some knowledge of the region they’re interested in, here we are,” Adar adds, clearly positioning themselves as mere support, and nothing suspicious.

“Oh, is that so, mister Nero?” asks Delric, with dignity and respect. Which in itself is unusual—normally, Nero’s attire leads people to make certain assumptions, and they only show respect once they realize how powerful he is.

“Yes, that’s right,” Mira quickly answers, anxious. Nero simply nods in agreement.

“But tell us more about this vampire story,” says Adar, steering the conversation and trying to gather more information.

“Oh, there’s not much more to say!” Kael replies.

“I don’t believe that! Surely a story like this has to have more meat. Did you find anything besides the vampires?” Adar presses.

“Like what?” asks Kael, apparently amused by Adar’s curiosity.

“Well, in the stories I’ve heard, vampires are often accompanied by other creatures—werewolves, undead, and the like...” Mentioning the undead is as close as Adar dares get to the subject of necromancers.

“Yes, I’ve heard stories like that. But you know, they’re often exaggerated,” Kael replies, trying to temper Adar’s expectations.

“Kael is right. Usually, vampires don’t tolerate other creatures. At most, they have some thralls, but nothing more,” adds Delric.

“There could be undead. With the bodies they leave behind, it’s quite possible for some to rise,” Nero chimes in.

“Well, yes. But even then, undead are rare. And vampires don’t tolerate them any better than anyone else,” Delric replies patiently.

“So, you didn’t find any undead?” Adar asks, feeling close to what he really wants to know—what stories exist about their involvement in the mines. They likely won’t get another chance to find out safely. He doubts the knights will ever link them to the events in the mines—after all, the priests unintentionally drew too much attention.

“Well, we don’t have that much information about what happened. But nothing was mentioned about the undead,” announces Kael—to the surprise of both Adar and Nero.

Could it be that the witnesses said nothing about Nero? After spending so much time with him underground?

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