Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Arriving at the cemetery, they paused at the gates. “We will search in a spiral pattern. I’m guessing he will be in one of the mausoleums near the center, but who knows what’s going on in the rouge’s mind,” Voekeer said. Anna summoned an eye and began to look around with it. They didn’t find anything out of the ordinary until they were nearly to the center. A large number of zombies were wandering about. They readied their weapons and walked slowly towards them. The zombies turned to face the party, staring blankly at them. When they were about forty feet away, the zombies turned and started to shuffle away. “Well, that’s new,” Barika said. “Aye, I’ve never seen that before,” Thokri added. “What do they normally do?” Anna asked. “Chase down anything alive and try to eat it,” Barika replied.  

They continued their search, their path being zombie free. The horrors were still there. They just seemed to be avoiding the party. “They don’t smell like the first one,” she mused. These ones seemed to be older and had the appearance of wrinkly leather. “Seems our friend has disturbed quite a few tombs. What is that man thinking?” Voekeer said. Anna noticed a green smokey mana in the air. She waved for the others to follow her. The smoke was coming from a medium sized mausoleum. The place looked old and untouched except for the gates that were torn off and laying on the ground nearby.  

The footmen stepped forward to enter the mausoleum. Thokri grabbed them both. “No lads, let the lass go first,” he said, pointing at her. They seemed confused but obeyed. She stepped through ruined gates and was able to see the entirety of the space. The walls were lined with sarcophagi. At the rear was a circle with a figure standing in the center. She looked with the eye. The circle was a sickly green color and glowed brightly. The smoke was leaking out of a small crack at the base. Looking towards the figure, she noticed he was wearing thick robes that covered him from head to toe. Strange lines snaked throughout the garment. The others joined her. She described what she saw to the group. “I’d like to bring him back alive, so we can’t just shoot him,” Voekeer said.  

“I wouldn’t want to use my bolt. I’m not sure what it would do to the circle.” “What if he won’t go with us?” Anna asked. “Knock him out,” Thokri said. “How?” she asked. “I’ll show you,” he said. Walking over, he hit her in on the side of her face near her jaw. She didn’t budge at all. The footmen stared wide eyed. “That hard, no harder,” he told her. “Okay.” She turned and walked toward the man. “Wait,” Lyreen said, but it was too late. She stepped on the circle. It popped and went out. The figure seemed stunned and started looking around. She walked up and hit him right in the spot Thokri had showed her. He went sprawling on the floor and didn’t move. “He’s still breathing,” she thought. She picked him up and tossed him over her shoulder like a sack of grain.  

“I found a pack and a bed roll. He must have been sleeping in the circle,” Thokri said. Anna casually walked towards the exit of the mausoleum carrying the man. “I think I’m getting used to her weirdness,” Lyreen said. “So am I,” Barika answered. “I don’t think anything she could do would surprise me now,” Lyreen said sighing. “Troll balls,” Thokri said walking past them. Lyreen tensed up then relaxed and shook her head. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” she asked. “No, no you won’t,” Barika said patting her shoulder. She dropped the man on the ground in front of the mausoleum. “I’m guessing his robes are enchanted, so we better strip him to be safe,” Voekeer said, pulling off his hood. The face beneath was thin and feminine, finely shaped, but rather plain. There was a huge bruise forming on the right side. There were strange symbols drawn on her face twisting from her forehead down both cheeks to her neck. “Mana tattoos. Strip her completely, then tie her hands and feet,” Barika said looking startled.  

Anna just ripped the robe off, and Lyreen cut her under clothes off with a small knife, tossing them into a pile next to the unconscious woman. She was an averagely built woman, a little on the thin side, with medium sized breasts and pale skin. She looked like someone that spent a great deal of time indoors and had become soft. The only thing that wasn’t average about her was the tattoos which covered her completely. She was tied up, and Anna put her back on her shoulder. There were still zombies surrounding them, and they were still keeping their distance. “I got it,” Lyreen said.  

Dozens of bolts formed in the air around her. They shot out hitting every zombie in the head causing them all to collapse. “I can’t keep letting you do everything,” she said to Anna. They returned to the manor house. The lord and lady met them at the entrance. The lord motioned Anna to put the woman down. “Wake her up,” he said. Barika touched her head, healing the bruise and waking her. She pushed herself up with her hands as best she could and looked around, still shocked by her situation. “So, you’re the miscreate who woke the dead near my home. What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked. She stammered some. “I, I, I was just trying to call some spirits,” she said. “Just spirits you say. Then explain the zombie that tried to kill my son,” he said, nearly spitting on her with sudden rage. The woman started to shake and cry.  

“But it was just a spirt summoning. There shouldn’t have been zombies,” she cried. “You’re a fool, and your failed spell almost killed a noble. You will be flayed and on the pike at dawn,” he said coldly, having regained his composure. The woman collapsed to the floor crying and begging for her life. “It was a mistake, and no one got hurt. Why does she have to die?” Anna thought. “Lord Ender, I would ask that you spare her,” Anna said, copying the noble’s way of speaking. “She must be punished. This offence cannot go unanswered,” he said, getting angry again. Lady Ender put her hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him. He sighed. “Very well. Because of your service to this house, I will spare her life. Her sentence will be changed to a lifetime of service to you,” he said. He looked at the woman. “Do you agree, or would you like the alternative?” he asked.  

The woman accepted and started thanking him profusely. The Lord and Lady walked away. “Keep her out of my sight and be gone in the morning. I’ll have your reward brought to you,” he said and walked away. Thokri cut the woman’s bindings. She stood up shakily and then hugged Anna fiercely. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she sobbed into Anna’s shoulder. Placing her arm around the woman’s waist, she led her towards her room. “At least we still got paid,” Voekeer said. “Aye,” Thokri replied. The maids took the woman and washed her as soon as they entered Anna’s room. The woman was dressed in a plain dress after her bath. “It suits her,” Anna thought.  

Anna decided that she would use the bath again, not knowing if she would ever get another chance. They sat on the bed next to each other having already eaten the food the maids had brought, and now neither one know what to say. “Who are you?” the woman asked. Anna sighed. “I might as well start from the beginning. My name is Anna.” She told the woman her story from the time she was formed to that day, leaving out the parts about the dreamer. The woman listened intently and asked a few questions along the way. “Wow. That’s some story. So much in three months. Well, my name is Elaine. I guess it’s my turn now,” Elaine said. She took a breath. “I’m from a noble family, a poor one, and I was the fifth daughter. The only thing that saved me from being married off to a knight or spending my life as a nun was the fact that I had mana. My family somehow saved up enough to send me to the royal academy at the capital. It was a great place, but I was thrown out after my family had stopped paying tuition. They had used the money to buy my brother a marriage to a house with a better title and quit talking to me after that. I ended up selling off my jewelry and fine clothes. I used the money to buy a spell book on necromancy. There is always a market for spirt callers. It turns out that you can’t get a license to practice necromancy without either a degree from one of the academies or by proving you have the experience which you can’t get without practicing. I drifted around before heading out here. I thought that If I could train out here, I would be able to get the experience I needed to get my license. A Lot of good that did,” Elaine said.  

“I wonder what went wrong with that calling?” she asked softly. “It was leaking near a symbol shaped like a triangle with three wavy lines coming off of it,” Anna replied. “What? How could you know that? Not even someone with the sight could see that,” Elaine said shocked. “I have the sight, and your right. I couldn’t see it. I used this,” Anna said summoning an eye. Elaine stared at it. “So, this is what you used at the ruins you mentioned. What can it see?” she asked. “Everything, but if I see too much, I get dizzy,” Anna replied. She looked at Elaine with it. The tattoos on her skin shimmered sickly green. They were connected to her mana channels. Anna watched them a moment before looking farther in. She followed the channels which slowly changed color. Her mana core was bright yellow and about the size of the tip of her thumb. “What did you see?” Elaine asked. Anna told her about her mana core.  

“I wish I could do that,” Elaine said looking up. There was only one bed, so they shared it. Anna kept her dress on. “People get all weird when I sleep without clothes. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable,” she thought. They got dressed, and Anna packed her things. Elaine looked sadly at Anna’s pack. “I guess I lost my spell book,” she said. “We will get you another one,” Anna said. “I doubt it. That one cost a small fortune,” Elaine replied sadly. “I have a full round. Will that pay for one?” Anna asked. “You have what? Yes, I mean, how did you...” Elaine said stammering before she took a breath. “Why would you do that?” she asked. “You need a spell book to learn magic, and I don’t need anything, except maybe some cupcakes,” Anna answered.  

She started to think about the treats. “Cupcakes?” Elaine asked confused. “Oh yes. Have you ever had them?” Anna asked, and then began to describe them in detail. Elaine just looked at her. “You’re a strange woman, Anna,” she said. “I know,” Anna replied. The party left the manor and began to head towards Endertown. The forest disappeared completely a few hours into the walk leaving only fields on either side of the road. “Only a few more days walk,” Voekeer said. “I’m so glad we are away from there. I never want to see another Ender in my life,” Elaine said shuttering. “I’m going to miss the bath,” Anna said, everyone except Elaine agreeing.  

That evening, they set up camp and sat around a fire eating. The food was surprisingly good. The Lady had told the staff to give them supplies for their journey. As it turned out, knights got better rations than adventurers. “Elaine, have you been to Endertown before?” Voekeer asked the woman. “No. I took the southern road into the frontier and traveled north along the river,” she answered. “How did you make it so far alone?” Lyreen asked. “My tattoos change my mana to death mana. I looked like some kind of ghoul to most things,” she said. She caused her tattoos to glow, and the others shuddered, Anna being the only one not effected.  

“How did you get them? I know they are only worn by some nomads in the desert,” Barika asked. “I met a man from the west. He was on the run for some crime he committed. We traveled together for a while. He gave them to me,” Elaine said. She looked off into the distance as if she was remembering something. “What happened to him?” Anna asked. “He ran off,” she replied bitterly. “Lass, don’t get too loud now that you have a tentmate,” Thokri said. “But Elaine doesn’t have a pecker. How would we have sex?” Anna replied. Elaine choked on her drink and started coughing. “What?” she asked. “Lyreen and Voekeer have sex in their tent, and they get noisy. I think Thokri is worried that we would too and wake him up, but we can’t have sex, so it’s fine,” Anna replied.  

Thokri was laughing again. Both elves turned red. Lyreen put her head in her hands. “I hate dwarves so much,” she said. “Anna, it’s called a penis. Pecker is a crude word that only dwarves and sailors use,” Barika said punching Thokri on the arm. “What is wrong with you people?” Elaine asked. “What does lifetime of service mean?” Anna asked. The mood damped, and even Thokri stopped laughing. “It means that you own Elaine now. The only difference between that and a slave is that she can’t be sold,” Voekeer said, a serious look on his face. “What’s a slave, and what do you mean I own Elaine? I don’t understand at all,” she said putting her head in her hands. She had seen the way Lyreen had earlier. It seemed to help. “Lass, I’ve been many places and seen many things. I’ll tell you what I know,” Thokri said.  

He paused for a moment. “Dwarves don’t do such things to others, and neither do the elves from what I’ve seen, but humans, they do.” He sighed and began. It took him several hours to explain the practice. Anna was appalled at the idea of forcing people to work, beating them, splitting up families, even killing them, and all the while no one helped them, going as far as to bring back the ones that escaped. “They steal their dreams,” Anna said. “Aye,” Thokri replied. “Well, I for one am happy you showed up,” Elaine said. “You are?” Anna asked. “Yes. I screwed up my spell and raised zombies which would have killed that boy. Then a troop of knights would have been sent to investigate, and they would have arrested me and I would have been a skinless corpse with a pike up my ass by noon tomorrow if you hadn’t been walking by,” she said. “Oh,” Anna replied.  

“You saved a nobleman’s only son and then caught me, the one responsible, and then used up a favor with him to keep me from being executed. Lifetime service or not, you’re stuck with me now,” Elaine said. The tent wasn’t crowded despite the extra woman. Elaine had curled up on the pelt and went to sleep within seconds of laying down. Anna was asleep soon after. The tentacles lashed around, and the eye buzzed about angrily. Everything seemed disturbed. They didn’t like what she had learned today. She didn’t blame them one bit. 

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