Chapter 11: Ch. 10 – Devola and Valerica

“You’re awfully alone in here,” Momo observed. Without the hustle and bustle of the skeletal helpers, the castle was eerily quiet, accompanied only by the gusts of mountain wind blowing through the open doors. Momo couldn’t imagine living in such solitude; her college dorm was practically a prison cell with 100 bunkmates, and Morgana’s Dawn was constantly a hub of nefarious activity.

“Don’t rub it in,” she whined, “I’ve been an empty nester for a while now. Most of my students were slain by the King in the war, that nasty brute. But my minions keep me occupied.”

Devola frowned, looking away in memory. It seemed to be a hard subject for her.

Naturally, Momo said the stupidest thing she could think of, “but Valerica’s sanctuary is so full.”

Devola’s eyes grew.

‘Full? With what, skeletons?”

Momo quickly regretted ever speaking, “um, uh, no. People. With heartbeats and stuff.”

“People? Like necromancer people?”

“Yep. Those kinds.”

Devola shot up from her seat, “you kid me! I’ve gotten so out of touch, living up here! Last I heard from Valerica, she was living in a lonely fort in the woods, not a soul to accompany her. Her students suffered the same fate in the war as mine. Nearly every necromancer below excalibur level was culled—I was one of the lucky ones to escape the slaughter.”

Her red hair flew in every direction. Momo couldn’t help but think she resembled a troll doll.

“Valerica must have been rebuilding her ranks while I’ve been sitting up on my pretty little mountain top,” Devola mused, “but how? Necromancers have basically become the village boogeyman. I can’t even go down to Kalendale for my grocery shopping anymore without the entire town trying to run me into the hills.” She sighed, perching her head on her hands, “at first I thought they were just escorting me home politely, if a little enthusiastically. But then they just wouldn’t stop poking me with their silly pitchforks… ”

“Yeah, how silly,” Momo deadpanned.

“Truly!” Devola raised her hands, “but oh well, now I simply send my skeletons to steal their cattle every few days. So I think we’re even.”

I’m sure they see it that way, Momo thought.

“Anyway, you are the bearer of great news,” she offered Momo a genuine smile, “I'm one of those people that feels purposeless without others, you know? My purpose is to teach. I’ve been itching to return to my calling.”

Momo cringed, remembering the teaching she had just received. Her bones still felt like cooked rice.

“So, I will happily accept your invitation to join you at Morgana’s Dawn. How exciting. I’m sure the place is lacking a dance teacher. At least no one that is as good as me.”

‘Oh, I don’t think I invited—”

“Splendid,” her hair danced through the air, “dancers, grab my things!”

Her commands fell on deaf ears. The dust-laden room responded with silence.

“Right, I forgot about that,” she laughed, “[Raise Undead]!”

The piles of debris slowly gathered themselves together. Crumbs of bone glued together into cylinders; those cylinders became fingers, then hands. Toes, then legs. They no longer resembled skeletons, but dust-beasts, sentient piles of debris. They had no mouths, yet they moaned incomprehensibly.

Momo had a bad feeling about this.

—

“You brought her here?” Valerica gritted her teeth, towering over Momo. Momo cowered underneath her; she had never seen Valerica so incensed.

“I–um, it wasn’t exactly my choice,” Momo stuttered, stepping back.

“I said to acquire customers, not roommates.”

Valerica groaned, burying her head in her hands. Momo and Devola had arrived nearly an hour ago. The two necromancers exchanged what looked like pleasantries—hugs, a kiss to the cheek. Valerica went on and on about how much she missed her, and oh what an honor that she came to visit. But then as soon as she was out of earshot, Valerica had dragged Momo by the collar into the broom closet.

“Aren’t you two friends?” Momo said quietly, still covering her body in case of any surprise attacks. (Which was entirely stupid, because if Valerica wanted her dead, she’d be dead before Momo could lift her pinky finger.)

“Yes, friends,” Valerica dragged out the syllable, “we grew up together in the same village. Wherever I went, she went. When I accidentally killed my first knight, she took the blame and insisted she did it. Because of her, I never got to experience every necromancer’s right of passage—being hunted out of their hometown by peasants with pitchforks.”

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Valerica looked genuinely distraught as she recalled the memory.

“When I joined my first necromancer’s coven, she joined the same one. She was like a bloodsucking bat whose fangs I could never get out of me… until the Dark Calamity,” Valerica’s lips grew into her usual sinister grin, “when Morgana chose me. When I became one of the Circle of the Lich. It was finally a place that Devola couldn’t follow.”

Momo couldn’t help but notice that for a war that seemingly killed 90% of necromancers, Valerica recalled the Dark Calamity very fondly.

“I’m sorry I led her here,” Momo said meekly, looking down at her shoes, “but she was on the customer list.”

Valerica paused, and then sighed, “yes, well, I suppose I did accept her order. But I was tired of Morgana’s statue looking so undecorated. We haven’t had money to buy the good sacrificial flesh recently. And the koi pond is looking more water than blood these days.”

Momo nodded, “that’s understandable.”

“Quite,” Valerica pointed her head up proudly, “oh well, she might have followed me here, but she will not step in my spotlight, nor yours.”

Momo couldn’t even imagine what she’d do under a spotlight. Probably cry, or sit on the stage and wave to her parents. In fact, Devola was welcome to take it.

Seemingly recovered from her fit, Valerica took a deep breath in, and looked at Momo once again with those shining, belief-filled eyes. It was the kind of look that filled Momo with conviction, as if she was the most important person in the whole world—or, well, broom closet.

“Regardless. You may have brought the devil, but you also brought the devil’s coin,” Valerica’s eyes grew green with greed, “not only that, but Devola has given us the keys to the Respite, which I will immediately be re-naming Morgana’s Dawn - West. It will constitute our second base of operations.”

Second base of operations? Momo swallowed. There was seemingly no limit to Valerica’s ambitions.

“As a reward, I’m giving you something more from my armory.”

Before Momo could react, Valerica released them from the broom closet and whisked her into the main hall. As they walked past Morgana’s statue, Momo could swear that it winked at her through stone eyelashes.

As they commuted towards the armory, Momo took note of the sanctuary’s design. The entrance hall seemed to be the heart of the fort, with every other corridor spreading out of it like arteries. South of the room was the door to the cavernous abyss that Momo had climbed out of. She had yet to see anyone else emerge from it since, but she had seen plenty of the necromages use it like a trash chute.

Wonderful. If not for the stables, Momo would have been living in a landfill. Valerica was nothing if not charitable.

The High Necromage led her north, past her office and towards a large, impenetrable door. It had several large, interconnecting locks.

“[Skeleton Key],” Valerica cast, pressing her hand to the lock. Momo heard several things click, and then the door slowly opened, revealing a gigantic room lit by unusual torches. Peering closely at the torchlight, Momo could see faces—screaming faces. They shared the same appearance as the soul that Valerica had held in her hand days before.

Momo shivered. Another reminder to stay on her good side.

In the back of the room was a golden chest, patterned with snakes and koi fish. These seemed to be the two icons of the sanctuary, inscribed on nearly everything.

“Hi there my little friend,” Valerica squatted by the chest and gave it a pat on its metaphorical head. To Momo’s alarm, the chest bounced up and down, as if wagging its tail excitedly, “oh, good boy. Good boy.”

She turned back to Momo, offering a knowing smile, “oh, don’t look so confused, it’s just a [Mimic].”

That was not a helpful explanation.

The chest opened wide, revealing an assortment of shining items: Diamonds, pearls, necklaces and rings; a small dagger with a hilt bearing the crescent moon. Valerica took out the ring and the dagger, handing the ring to Momo.

Momo’s eyes nearly jumped out of her head. The ring was utterly stunning. Its golden band held a blood red diamond. It looked like the type of thing a vampire would wear on her wedding day.

On Earth, Momo had never been much for clothes or jewelry. Seeing as she had spent most of her time sketching in a notebook from the comfort of her bed, such accessories like “a bracelet” or “pants” felt kind of optional. Not to mention that Luna had nearly sent her to the ER the last time she wore hoop earrings.

Momo grimaced in memory, reflexively holding her scarred earlobe.

But jewelry like this was another thing entirely. Their family had been poor when they immigrated from Korea, and most of the jewelry her mother owned had to be sold to afford necessities for Momo and her brother. Her mother had been devastated to part with it, as if the jewels were holding a valuable secret just below their surface.

Slipping the red jewel onto her finger, Momo finally understood.

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