Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom, and a Sky City

by L. G. Estrella

The vampire frowned at the mention of her captivity. Katie couldn’t blame her. She remembered how the vampire had been restrained – starved of blood and impaled multiple times – and she remembered the fury and viciousness with which Amanda had dispatched her captors. Katie never wanted to get on the ancient vampire’s bad side. “But you are confident you can bring it down, aren’t you?”

  “Not from the outside,” her master admitted. “But I am confident we could smuggle some people – or rather, some rats – inside…”

  “And have them bring it down? Excellent.” Amanda reached for her goblet and took a long sip. Katie wasn’t sure whether it was wine or blood although the smell hinted it was the former. “As for Reginald, Lord Tarick’s second-in-command, I was able to apprehend him. He was not in a cooperative mood, but I was able to peer into his mind.”

  “You should have heard his screaming.” Avraniel chortled. “I didn’t know people could scream like that – even Gerald can’t.”

  “I merely showed him a glimpse of what I truly am,” Amanda replied archly. “Any terror he felt was merely a… coincidence.”

  “Oh?” Katie asked.

  “Vampires are basically descended from eldritch monstrosities that would make even Sam look weird.” Her master ignored Amanda’s raised eyebrow and continued. “You don’t really notice it since vampires, especially the younger ones retain their humanity, but ancients are another matter. They have an alternate form, one that better reflects their inhuman origins.”

  “That’s one way to put it, yes.” Amanda smiled in a way that let her elongated canines catch the light. Her skin had a rosy tint to it, and Katie wondered how much she’d fed to get it that way. Given the devastation she and her master had seen in the compound, the vampire must have fed quite ravenously indeed. “I can tell you what he knows. He might not understand how the barrier works, but he has seen it in action. I can also confirm that they are keeping the princess there.” Her master raised an eyebrow of his own, and Amanda chuckled. “I was going to tell you, but you and Katie seemed to be having such fun deducing it all. I thought it would be a shame to interrupt the lesson. Unfortunately, Reginald’s memory has two major gaps: he does not know where the fortress is, and he does not know precisely where in it the princess is being kept.”

  “How can he not know where the fortress is?” Katie blurted. “Isn’t he Lord Tarrick’s second-in-command?”

  “His memories have been tampered with. I assume it’s a safety measure in case he is ever captured. Whoever did it is quite skilled. Prying any deeper would have turned his mind into mush, and he may still have useful information for us. It’s a pity we’re on such a short timeline. Given more time, I’m sure I could retrieve his memories.”

  “That’s fine. Katie and I weren’t able to get the exact location of the fortress, but we were able to get a general idea of where it is.” Her master shook his head. “They didn’t have the same level of security on the bandits. People always forget that bandits are a loose end. We’ll have to do a bit of looking, but with my aerial zombies and Spot, we should be able to find it.”

  “So when are we going?” Katie asked.

  The princess was similar in age to her, and she wouldn’t have liked being captured and held hostage. Then again, the odds of that happening were fairly low. She wasn’t as strong as Avraniel or Amanda in a fight, but she could handle most opponents. Plus, she was almost always around her master and the others. Rembrandt would die before letting anything happen to her – as would the other ninja rats – and he was extremely dangerous in his own right. Even if she was captured, her master had taught her plenty of ways to escape confinement, albeit using some unconventional training exercises.

  She’d woken up more than once to find herself dangling over a pit of slime in a cage she had to break out of without using any magic. She’d complained mightily each time, but those experiences had taught her a lot about how to pick locks under pressure. It had been a less horrible version of the training her master had been subjected to. The slime in the pit had been horrible, but far from fatal. Her master had been dangled over a pit full of hydra acid, which would definitely have been fatal. It might be why he was so good at getting past locks, not that she wanted to go through that sort of training.

  “We need to review the information we’ve gathered more thoroughly before we make our move.” He drummed his fingers on the top of the table. It was something he did every now and then although she’d never been able to pick out any rhythm to his tapping. “We’ll only get one shot at this, so we need to make it count.”

  “You said you had a general idea of where the fortress is,” Old Man said. “How large an area do we have to search?”

  “Yes,” Amanda said. She took another sip from her goblet before using a napkin to wipe her lips. Whenever she moved, it was with an effortless grace that couldn’t help but draw the eye. “Depending on how long it takes to find it, we may need to rethink our plans.”

  “I’m still amazed they had someone capable of altering memories enough to keep you from getting them, Amanda.” Her master rubbed his temples again. “Either they’ve got another ancient vampire, or they’ve got someone with incredibly specialised magic. But, like I said, the bandits tipped us off. Their leader never went to the fortress, but he did get close to it.”

  “It seems like such an obvious security risk, but people always forget about the bandits they hire,” Amanda murmured.

  “Bandits are a lot like servants. People tend to forget how much they see and know until it’s too late.”

  Katie mulled over his words. They made sense, and they explained why her master was so careful about selecting their servants. Not only did they have access to the castle but they also knew a lot about it too. Some of the maids would definitely have been able to tell people what Katie and her master were researching, considering how frequently they were asked to bring food to the labs or to help tidy up.

  “The area we need to search isn’t too big. Now that I think about it, Spot could cover the whole area on his own, and I doubt their illusion would stand up to a dragon’s scrutiny at close range. Once he notices something odd, you can have a look and confirm it, Amanda.”

  Katie giggled. “Did you know that one of the bandits was only fourteen years old?”

  “A fourteen-year-old bandit?” Old Man was taken aback. “That is a bit young, isn’t it?”

  “You should have seen the look on his face when we started lecturing him. Some of the other bandits even joined in.” Her master laughed. “I wasn’t sure if he was more scared or embarrassed. Sure, Spot had just eaten somebody, but the look on his face…”

  “It’s for the best,” Katie said. “I’m younger than him, but even I know how awful the long-term prospects for bandits are. We let him go, and we’ll be meeting with him later.” She frowned faintly as she tried to puzzle out her master’s plan. As much as she’d improved her scheming, he was still several steps ahead of her. “Are you planning to start an information network here, master? If you are, he’s a bit young to be involved, don’t you think?”

  Her master had always impressed upon her the importance of information. In the right hands, information was more valuable than gold. Timely access to accurate information would let her win her battles without ever having to fight. In contrast, trying to make good decisions with bad information was almost impossible and all but guaranteed to end in disaster. Her master had thus worked to establish contacts and information networks wherever he could. The rats agreed, and they had worked hard to increase their reach as well. Forewarned was forearmed, and the rats were at their most dangerous when they could set traps and ambush the enemy.

  With the ninja rats on board, it wasn’t that hard to get things going. All her master had to do was to buy a property, staff it with people loyal to them, and throw in some of the ninja rats and some zombies suitable for spying and communication. Information was key not only for negotiating with other necromancers, smugglers
, traders, and mercenaries but it could also function as a currency in its own right. Knowing the right information at the right time could be worth far more than mere gold to the right people. Only a year ago, they’d made an absolute killing after learning about the unfortunate kraken-related sinking of a fleet laden with spices before anyone else after some of their contacts in the monster-hunting community had witnessed the disaster. They’d managed to buy large quantities of spices before the market adjusted, allowing them to sell them later at far higher prices when shortages began.

  Trusting a fourteen-year-old boy to participate in information gathering didn’t seem very wise, especially when that same fourteen-year-old boy had thought that becoming a bandit was a good idea. Then again, she was her master’s apprentice, and he trusted her with far more important things despite her being much younger. Of course, she was also far more sensible that Arthur, the would-be bandit. There were many less than legal ways to make money, and banditry was not the method she would have chosen. With her magic, picking pockets or spying on people would have been trivially easy. Even without her magic, she knew enough to commit at least twenty different kinds of fraud.

  “I’m not interested in just him. His mother is important too.” Katie’s eyes narrowed ominously. The bandits had mentioned how attractive Arthur’s mother was. However, her master laughed and ruffled her hair. This time, Rembrandt allowed it although only grudgingly. “Not like that, Katie. What I mean is that unless she is a total idiot, she must have suspected what her son was doing. She’s sick, not blind, so she had to have noticed the kind of people he was with. You heard him, right? They’ve been poor for a long time, but they’re still around, and apart from being a bit skinny, he looked fairly healthy. He also hasn’t fallen into a life of crime. Believe me, you don’t survive that long being poor in a city like this by being stupid or naïve. Since Arthur appears to be a bit of both, I think it’s safe to say his mother has done a lot to help them get by. If I can give them an alternative, as well as demonstrate our favour with the local authorities while guaranteeing that Lord Tarrick will no longer be a factor…”

  “They’d definitely want to be on our side,” Katie murmured. “In fact, we’d be their best option.”

  “Arthur said she’d been sick for a while, so to survive this long she at least has to be cunning because he certainly isn’t. It’s hard getting information from this area, so having some eyes and ears – and rats and zombies – here would be very handy, especially if the empire tries to rebuild its influence here after we get rid of Lord Tarrick.”

  Katie grimaced. The more she learned about the Elerian Combine’s fall into anarchy following the death of its last king, the more worried she became that her master might be right about the empire trying to rebuild or even strengthen its influence here. The Combine was currently a morass of crime, corruption, and general nastiness. There were some genuinely decent and honourable authorities – this city was lucky enough to have several – but they were generally horribly overworked and badly outnumbered.

  “Did you find anything else in the compound?” Katie asked. She and her master had plucked several promising books out of the library before they’d left, and some of the rats would be going back tomorrow to check if they’d missed anything. It never hurt to be sure, and they could bring Chomp to make sure they hadn’t missed any hidden rooms or secret passages.

  “I’m going to assume that Avraniel looted the entire treasury.” Her master ignored the look of supreme smugness on the elf’s face. “Gerald, I don’t suppose you’ve got a list of what you guys took, do you?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do.” Katie giggled. Gerald had probably written it while storing everything away with his magic. He was quite particular when it came to details, and keeping track of what they took helped him stay calm on missions. “The quantities of gold, silver, copper, and other more normal valuables were all substantial, and there were many more exotic items as well, such as fine jewellery and magical items. I don’t know enough about magical items to accurately judge their value or purpose, so you might want to have a look later.” He paused. “Some of the jewellery is magical too, but it may or may not be cursed.”

  Her master skimmed through the list quickly before handing it to her. Katie’s eyes widened. There was a lot of gold and silver on this list, and the sheer quantity of gemstones and jewellery was incredible. “Good work, Avraniel.” The elf smirked. “We will, of course, have to give some of it to the local authorities.”

  “Why the hell would we do that?” Avraniel growled.

  “To help smooth things over and because after we deal with Lord Tarrick there is going to be a power struggle. We want to make sure the authorities – the people we have a deal with – come out on top. Having them indebted to us will only make it easier for us to work with them in the future. Sadly, winning won’t be cheap.” He raised his hands in a placating gesture as Avraniel’s expression darkened. Spot didn’t look very happy about handing any of the loot over either. “Relax. There will be plenty left over. We’re only going to give them enough to make sure they win. And once we capture Lord Tarrick, I’m sure we can prise more treasure out of him too.”

  “Fine.” Avraniel scowled. “The gold and stuff is nice, but I’m definitely keeping this.” She put a bow down on the table. Unlike her usual bow, it was seemingly made of crystal instead of wood although there were helixes of runes and seals inside it, along with twin spirals made of substances she couldn’t recognise.

  Katie leaned forward. There was something very strange about the weapon. It was clearly magical, but simply looking at it sent an odd shiver down her spine. It reminded her of some of the eldritch phenomena she’d encountered. It was impossible to look away from, yet looking at it directly was mildly uncomfortable. “What is that?”

  “That is the Bow of the Sun,” Amanda said. “It has been lost for a very long time. Like most people, I assumed it had been destroyed when its previous wielder fell in battle.” Her eyes shone crimson for a moment. “It is worth more than everything else on that list combined although I doubt Lord Tarrick knew what he had. Otherwise, he’d never have kept it there.”

  Avraniel’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “I thought it was the Bow of the Sun. I’m definitely keeping it now.”

  “What does it do?” Katie asked.

  “This.” Avraniel moved to ready an arrow despite the bow having now bowstring or arrow. It didn’t matter. A bowstring made of fire and light formed, along with an arrow of blindingly bright and incredibly intense flames. “That’s what it does.”

  Katie’s mind whirled as she processed what she’d seen. “It draws on the magic of the user to create projectiles made of heat and light. The projectiles are extremely dense and focused, far more than would normally be possible. That should give it incredible range and power.” She gasped. “It’s perfect for you!”

  “Damn straight. I haven’t really had a chance to use it, but I can feel it. This bow… it’s strong. I can’t wait to try it out.” Avraniel cackled, and Katie gulped. They were already getting close to breaking some of their records for property damage on this mission. If Avraniel started firing away with that bow, they wouldn’t just break those records. They would annihilate them. “I don’t suppose you idiots can tell me any more about it, can you?”

  “I don’t know a lot about it,” Amanda said. “I’ve never been this close to it before. The last time I saw it, I only caught a brief glimpse of it. Supposedly, it could be used to blow up entire mountains, but I don’t know if that’s true. The powers of legendary weapons have a tendency to grow after they’ve been lost or destroyed.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I still cannot believe that Lord Tarrick somehow got his hands on it. Gerald, I want to see everything you have about how Lord Tarrick moves things around, along with any contacts he might have amongst tomb raiders or treasure seekers. I want to know how he found the bow. He must have realised it was valuable, but he clearly didn’t know h
ow valuable it was. Otherwise, he’d have put it somewhere far more secure than the reliquary. There’s a chance that whoever he got it from might have more artefacts.”

  “Can I take a closer look at it?” her master asked. Avraniel grudgingly passed him the bow, and Katie watched closely as he examined it. Her master had a keen eye for relics and plenty of experience with ancient artefacts. “Odd.”

  “Oh?” Amanda took another sip from her goblet. “I must admit, I’m curious to know what you think of it.”

  “I don’t know what this bow is made out of, but I do recognise the two spirals running through it.” He grinned. “I don’t know where they got it from, but one of those spirals is made from the blood of a solar dragon and the other is made from the blood of a radiant phoenix.” He stretched one hand out toward Gerald, and the bureaucrat handed him one of the devices used by jewellers to examine tiny details. “And unless I miss my guess, the runes and seals are made up of a substance that combines the two. I honestly don’t know how they managed to stabilise the mixture. The last time I made the mistake of mixing dragon blood and phoenix blood, I was lucky to survive. If I hadn’t been wearing some of my most powerful fire-resistant clothing and working with plenty of protective charms in place, I would be dead.”

  “It was that bad?” Katie winced. Her master was always careful when working with something new. “Was that before I became your apprentice?”

  “Yes.” Her master made a face. “I was lucky Sam was there to help me. He lost half a tonne of flesh dealing with the flames, but he was fine in less than a minute. I wouldn’t have been so lucky.” He shrugged. “On the upside, the incident helped Sam refine some of the adaptations he was working on. He’s a lot more resistant to fire now because of it.”

  Solar dragon? Spot hopped onto the table, and Amanda had to put her hand on it to keep it from tipping over. He was practically trembling with excitement. What’s a solar dragon?

  “Some kind of crossbreed dragon, I guess.” Avraniel patted Spot’s back. “Kind of like you.”