by Pirateaba
Yvlon squinted at a ragged piece of blue cloth tied to a wooden pole. She pointed.
“We found that marker right around the room marked here. See? I think someone must have claimed that spot.”
That was probably true. Ceria nodded glumly. Searchers often marked their finds with flags or magical signs only they could read in case they’d stumbled onto part of a larger haul.
Ksmvr looked confused. At least, Ceria assumed he was confused. He certainly sounded like it.
“How would someone locate a secret room without a map such as this? Or have other groups obtained similar information sources?”
“Not necessarily. They might have had a [Treasure Hunter]. It’s a rare class, but a high-level one might have had a skill that located a major haul.”
“Are we to assume all the places here have been looted, then?”
Both Ceria and Yvlon shook their heads instantly. If that was the case, they wouldn’t have risked so much on this.
“Even someone with Skills can’t find everything. Especially if the places are guarded. We’ve just been unlucky, or hitting places already searched. We need to go somewhere else today.”
“How about over here? There’s several rooms that belonged to some sort of complex. And a passage here and here…worth a shot?”
Studying the places Yvlon had pointed to, Ceria had to agree that it looked like there was a secret passage over there as well. She nodded.
“I think that spot matches that depression over to the east, don’t you? We’ll head for that after Pisces wakes up, then.”
It took a few kicks for the mage to wake up. He was grumpy when he found only a bit of porridge was left for his breakfast, and even unhappier when he found they’d decided on the next place to search without him.
“I thought adventurers considered all opinions and made informed decisions, rather than rashly coming to conclusion without all input.”
“We’d do that if you woke up earlier. If you’ve got a more likely spot to search, find it.”
He couldn’t, which only made Pisces more grumpy. The Horns of Hammerad struck camp and began cautiously picking their way across the snowy ground towards the ruins, letting Ksmvr take point.
Even as they were moving across the ruins, the group moved slowly, keeping an eye out for anything moving in the snow or strange sounds. Monsters were common around magical sites and the ruins were a known dangerous spot.
However, aside from a nasty run in with a small nest of Shield Spiders, the Horns of Hammerad hadn’t run into many monsters. That bothered Ceria. She didn’t like not having trouble, especially here.
The Horns of Hammerad under Calruz had gone on four different occasions into Albez, looking for treasure like all of the other Silver-rank teams in the area. It was practically a rite of passage; if you could survive Albez, you were ready for harder requests.
But even during the easiest time they’d had here in the past – running into a Mothbear and then a group of Yellow Shamblers – Ceria couldn’t ever remember the ruins feeling this…empty.
She cleared her throat as Ksmvr stopped on top of a slanted block of stone and scanned the area, shortbow in hands. He looked over at her and Yvlon and Pisces stopped to listen.
“Keep your eyes peeled for monsters. We don’t want anything creeping up on us.”
It probably didn’t need to be said again. Pisces certainly snorted and kept walking. But Yvlon and Ksmvr nodded and moved forwards with even more vigilance.
And then they were at the designated search site. Ceria stared down into a collapsed room and tried to compare the dimensions of the rubble to one of the rooms on the map. It was…a rough fit.
“Looks like we should be able to hit another room if we move a few paces up. See?”
The others crowded around the map, trying to find a good point to break into the supposed secret tunnel. It was supposed to lead out of one of the rooms—residential chambers by the looks of them—into another, larger room. It looked exactly like a secret room, in short, but finding that exact spot would be difficult.
By now of course, the four knew what to do. Yvlon and Ksmvr both grabbed a shovel and chose spots apart from each other before they dug down, hoping to hit a stone roof or other part of the building.
Ceria watched them work, keeping an eye out for danger. Part of her optimistic. The other half—
“We will not find anything this way.”
She looked over to her left. Pisces stood with her, staring at Yvlon and Ksmvr with a disgusted expression on his face. On the first day they’d all taken turns digging until their fingers were blistered. Now the stronger two dug until they thought they’d found something, in which case Pisces and Ceria would pitch in.
“You do realize how deep the secret rooms could be?”
“I know. Normally we’d have hired a digging team, we’d have twice as many adventurers and maybe even joined another team. But we don’t have the time for that—and any other group would demand equal shares of the treasure, maybe even try to take it all. And…neither Yvlon nor I have the credibility to persuade anyone to join us, anyways.”
Ceria grimaced. They’d encountered a…bad reception in Esthelm. The other adventurers they’d met had either had words of sympathy or outright contempt and anger for her, but especially Yvlon. All the local adventurers had known someone who’d died in the crypt.
“So instead we have two inexperienced hands and two mages not specialized in earth magic? Hardly better.”
For once, she couldn’t refute his statement. Ceria grimaced.
“We went haring off without a plan. We should have prepared more, planned for this.”
It was the excitement of finding the map. It had overtaken their good sense and made even Ceria and Yvlon ignore their instincts which told them they should have prepared for at least a month and had three times as much coin as they’d borrowed from Erin. But they’d hoped.
Pisces nodded dourly. He had a fresh porridge stain on the neck of his robe.
“I blame myself.”
“Oh, do you really?”
“I should have predicted this outcome. And insisted we use my creations to expedite the process.”
“Pisces. We’ve talked about this.”
“We have. But you have not listened properly as of yet.”
Ceria sighed. She’d gone several rounds with Pisces before, but this time he looked like he had dug his heels in. He was practically impossible to budge in this state.
“You know how Yvlon and I feel about the undead.”
“I know.”
“Summoning the dead is a crime up north unless you have an agreement with the local cities—which you don’t.”
“All true.”
“Well?”
“Without my undead, we will never dig down deep enough. All we will do is unearth previously found structures like we have all week. You need a tireless workforce; I have the means to create one. All that is getting in the way is your distaste.”
It was a rational argument, delivered in a calm, cool voice. It was so like the old Pisces that Ceria had to glance sideways at him.
Yes. If you looked past the dirty hair and clothing, there were traces of the young man she’d known. Still traces. She wavered.
“Still.”
“Springwalker, I can sense the bodies below us. There’s enough for me to animate several skeletons at least. Probably quite a bit more if need be.”
Pisces looked Ceria in the eye like he used to. His eyes were focused on hers, and he had that old intensity, the old half-manic stare of utter determination in his eyes.
“What is more important, Ceria? Your pride or success here?”
That settled it. Ceria closed her eyes and raised her voice.
“Yvlon!”
When the other adventurer came over Ceria explained Pisces’ point in curt words. Yvlon’s face closed off and she looked at Pisces. He returned the gaze steadily.
“Pisces has a po
int. We kept unearthing emptied ruins. We might have to go deep and we’re out of time. His undead might be our only shot. What do you think?”
The golden-haired warrior looked unhappy. She hadn’t been overtly hostile towards Pisces on the journey, but then, she hadn’t let him summon any undead either. She pushed some of her dirty hair out of the way.
“You are the Captain, Ceria. If you think it’s worth a shot, I’ll put up with it.”
Her tone and stance made it clear that she did not want Ceria to say yes. But Ceria had already made up her mind.
“Okay, Pisces. Do it.”
Pisces nodded. He stood up and raised his hands. He made no audible gestures, and didn’t showboat. But Ceria sensed his mana gathering and probing down below. She shuddered, knowing what he was looking for.
“Ceria? Is he doing anything…wrong?”
Yvlon’s voice was quiet, but her eyes were intent on the half-Elf’s face. Ceria knew how Yvlon had to feel—it wasn’t like either of them had liked undead before the ruins. And now…
“Nothing wrong, at least magically.”
“And you’re sure this is the only way?”
“The best we have. I don’t like it either. You know that. But it’s his main class, Yvlon. He’s a good mage, but he was always best at his passions. As a [Necromancer], he’s powerful. Let him do this once.”
The former Captain’s lips twisted, but she clearly didn’t want to dispute Ceria’s decision in public. She shook her head and planted the shovel in the dirt.
“I’ll stand watch with Ksmvr. If he’s pulling up the dead, we might as well let them work.”
Ceria nodded gratefully, watching as Yvlon picked her way over to Ksmvr. After a few seconds of discussion they walked off to keep a lookout, leaving her with Pisces.
“Rise. Rise from the place where you rest to do my bidding. Claw through stone and dirt to where I stand and obey my orders…”
He was speaking to the earth, his voice lower and audibly infused with the echoing tones of someone casting magic. Ceria shook her head as she sensed the magic leaving him and entering the earth.
“Is that necessary? Can’t you just cast [Raise Dead] and have done with it?”
Pisces shuddered and blinked as he came out of the trance he’d entered to cast the spell. Ceria caught him before he overbalanced and let go immediately. He blinked at her and then nodded once.
It was so…hard sometimes to act normal around him. At least this time Pisces didn’t sniff obnoxiously.
“It’s not that simple when you don’t stick to set spells. You should know that, Ceria. I told you, if you cast a spell the same way each time, you don’t learn anything.”
“Fine. So you improvised. I assume you cast multiple raise dead spells at range?”
“[Raise Skeleton], in point of fact. They are the most cost-effective, or so I’ve found.”
“Oh good.”
Pisces pointed at an area of ground ahead of them.
“There is a considerable group of dead bodies below us. That might indicate a secret room is indeed down there.”
“It might mean it’s already been looted.”
“Perhaps. Or that it was found but never successfully entered. Either way, I have summoned several skeletons that will assist with the digging.”
Ceria stared at the ground. She didn’t see the normal tremors of dirt or hands clawing their way out of the soil that preceded a zombie bursting out to try and eat her face off.
“Something taking them a while? Or did you just tell them to take it easy?”
Pisces scowled at the needling, and Ceria immediately regretted the words. It had been a powerful spell; she could see him sweating a bit in the cold.
“They must find their way up from a considerable distance. A shame you couldn’t remember where the Lich was, Springwalker.”
“You can’t animate a Lich, Pisces.”
“Maybe not from scratch. But if I had the bones of one—”
“You could animate it? Really?”
“Perhaps. I should like to study the spell animating it at least.”
The half-Elf eyed her once friend as he mumbled to himself. He thought he could create a Lich? Or learn the spell to make one?
That was…concerning. A Lich wasn’t the highest-level undead; not by far. But it was powerful. Powerful enough that if Pisces could animate one by himself, he was stronger than Ceria had given him credit for.
“What level are you by now? In your [Necromancer] class, I mean.”
The mage stopped muttering to himself. He turned to stare flatly at Ceria.
“What do you care? Didn’t you tell me last time we parted ways that you never wanted to hear from me again?”
“That was then. Somehow we’ve ended up working together again.”
“Yes. I suppose I should thank Erin Solstice for that.”
“Maybe you should. Or will you curse her for it?”
“I had no objections to working with you, Springwalker. But you were the one who told me you didn’t want to travel with me.”
“Yeah. I did.”
Ceria dearly wished she used a staff like Sostrom used to carry around. True, it was cumbersome, but it would have been so nice to lean on. She contented herself with sitting on a rock.
“I haven’t exactly changed my opinion of necromancy since then. You do know that the undead killed my team, and Yvlon’s? I saw a lot of friends die thanks to them.”
Pisces just shook his head.
“The undead are mindless. Or rather, most are. The ones under my command are not the same as those roving creatures.”
“Some would say there’s not a lot of difference. If you lose control or get killed, they’re still mindless.”
“Only if I don’t realize my goals.”
“Still going on about that? I’d have thought you gave up by now. You certainly don’t seem to have made much progress.”
To her surprise, Pisces grinned rather than grow defensive at her jibe. That made her cautious. But he glanced over at the ground and she heard the sounds of dirt scattering. The first of the skeletons was digging itself out of the ground.
“Oh good. The diggers are here. Get them to work, will you?”
Both Yvlon and Ksmvr watched from their posts as five more skeletons dug themselves out to join the one Pisces had summoned. Two grabbed shovels; the others just got to digging in the earth with their bare hands.
Yvlon turned away as the skeletons with glowing eyes started working. Ksmvr just watched with interest. Ceria took a seat on a rock next to Pisces as they chatted in the cold.
“It seems odd that Ksmvr wouldn’t be a better digger.”
“He was not built for it, Springwalker. He may share the same body, but he clearly lacks the experience.”
“All things to their intended purpose, eh? Surprised to hear you of all people say that.”
“I am not suggesting it is effective. I am simply stating what is. Do not misconstrue my words.”
“…Sorry.”
They sat in silence for a while, watching as the skeletons got to work. They moved with commendable speed in the cold, and despite being weaker than Ksmvr and Yvlon, they were tireless. Ceria already wondered why they hadn’t used them earlier, until she remembered exactly why.
“They look like they’ll get a good way down before the day’s over. Maybe this will work.”
“One can only hope.”
Pisces grunted as he stared at his creations. His stomach growled audibly in the wind. As if in answer, Ceria’s did likewise.
“Isn’t it funny? A few years ago we’d be in the banquet hall, stuffing our faces over a book of spells.”
“True.”
“…Do you miss it?”
“Of course.”
His voice was soft. Pisces stared at his undead, remembering just like she was.
“But it is the past. I gave it up for my passions. There is no use looking back.”
“T
o you, maybe. I wonder what would have happened if—you were a better mage once, when you didn’t practice Necromancy.”
The words were still bitter and from a dark place inside Ceria. But she couldn’t help them coming out. This time Pisces didn’t snap at her. He just shrugged tiredly.
“Some thought so. But I was a generalist then; a jack of no masteries. Necromancy was ever my passion. I might have had the dregs of popular support, but only that. Who would applaud a mage without a master or a calling?”
“I respected you. So did Mons and a lot of other people.”
“Ah.”
There wasn’t anything he could say to that. Pisces stared at the flying dirt and two skeletons trying to lift a large stone out of a hole they’d dug.
“Mons. Yes. What happened to her? I didn’t hear of another mage joining you when you left Wistram. Did she…?”
“She kept studying in Wistram. Who knows? By now she might be a better [Mage] than you or I.”
“Hah. Perhaps. She certainly knows more spells by now at least.”
They both laughed at that. Then they grew silent. Ceria could sense what was coming, but her tongue kept leading her onwards.
“You know, even if you had become a [Necromancer], it might have all been okay if you hadn’t…”
“I told you, it was to a purpose.”
“But you didn’t even ask permission.”
“I didn’t need it. Cognita said as much. The rules they made—”
“It’s the principle of the thing, Pisces. You spat in their faces and said—”
The other mage cut her off. His face was tight and drawn, and Ceria knew he was reliving the same moment, just like her.
“I…erred. But I did what I thought was best. It is the past, now. Continuing the same argument would be pointless. You fail to understand my position as you have in the past.”
“I guess so. But you have to admit, it didn’t end like you’d hoped.”
“No. It didn’t. I realize that now.”
It was the first time she’d ever heard him admit he’d been wrong. Ceria looked at Pisces in surprise.
“You do?”
