Chapter 27: Pop Quiz

Inside the throne room of the Kingdom of Amine, several dozen nobles, or their representatives, were gathered together. Even with the amount of people present the room still was spacious, there was enough room to house several hundred souls, let alone what was there. No one knew why they had been summoned here, only that the still yet to be crowned king had called upon them.

Although they all were nobles of the kingdom, clear divisions could be seen. Some nobles wouldn't even look at one another as they walked by. Now that news spread of the king's death, the separate parties within the nobles were beginning to make movements.

Duke Hutchens had been the most audacious of the nobles, already gathering support for his cause. He was blowing the trumpets of war, saying that the attack on the Royal family was a slap to the face that should only be met with blood and steel. Many had felt the same way, quickly joining alongside him. Others had grown used to peace and were wary to start any conflicts. They wanted to wait and see what the investigation brought to light.

As the different groups talked amongst themselves, the side door to the throne room opened. The heavy door swung open with only a whisper. Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the gaudy room, heralding the imminent arrival of the King. The nobles turned to face the throne, then all got on one knee, paying respect while waiting for him to take the throne.

Alexander had shadowed his father several times while conducting official business, but this was the first time that he would be leading. To say he wasn't nervous would be a bold faced lie, he was terrified. His palms were sweaty and his heart was pounding. He still could barely walk so he had to rely on the assistance of the head of the King's Guard, Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was a bear of a man, standing well over six feet tall. He was wearing the gold etched ceremonial armor of the King's Guard. Having to hang onto his arm, Alexander looked feeble compared to the man. It couldn't be helped, he still had yet to recover from the curse's effects.

Jeremiah escorted the new King to the Throne, helping him sit as if Alexander was made of glass. Once seated, Alexander gave permission for the nobles to raise their heads. His quiet, raspy voice drawing concerned looks from some that were present. Others had looks as if they were venomous snakes eyeing their prey.

Alexander scanned the crowd, taking in the atmosphere. He could tell that there were those present who had their own ambitions, but there was nothing he could do about them at the moment. His hold on the Kingdom was at its weakest at the moment, he had to do all he could to solidify his power, even if it meant placating some unsavory nobles.

"Where is Lord Arckroft?" He asked his steward who was standing off to the side.

He knew all the nobles, from the Dukes to the lowly Knights. It was part of his duties to learn everyone's names and positions within the Royal court. Baron Arckroft was a fairly new addition to the noble circle. His family only rose to power some one-hundred years ago. His eldest son had recently died in an accident, sending him into bouts of depression. Even so, it was no excuse to ignore a royal summons.

Bowing his head, the steward replied. "We had sent out a courier, but he has not returned as of yet."

"We will continue without him. Send a few knights to his manor, drag him here if you have to." King Alexander said, not wanting to appear weak in front of the Court.

At his order, ten knights marched out of the room, carrying out his orders. He waited until they had closed the door behind them before continuing.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." He began, forcing as much power out of his voice as possible.

"Our Kingdom is facing an unprecedented situation. The crown requires your support in the coming days. Whomever cursed myself, then subsequently killed my father, will be brought to justice, be it one individual or an enemy nation. Our Kingdom will not rest until it has done so."

Murmurs could be heard from the nobles before him. Duke Hutchens had a wide smile on his face. He had hoped for a war, and it seemed as if he was going to get one without having to do anything at all. The other side of the room was worried. Their fiefs were the closest to the borders and would be the first to burn should there be a war. They wanted to avoid one at all costs.

"I will need troops from each of your fiefdoms, only twenty-percent of the total under your command. They will be mixed into the Royal Army and sent to the borders. As we do not yet know who the perpetrator is, we cannot make a rash move, but we can still increase the security of our great nation." King Alexander roared out, straining his voice.

"Your Highness, shall we call upon the mages of our great nation?" Duke Hutchens suggested, stepping forward and taking a knee before the throne.

King Alexander thought for just a moment before shaking his head. "That will not be necessary just yet. Not until we know more from the investigation. We will inform them of the possibility though, so that they would not be caught unprepared."

Nodding his head, Duke Hutchens took a step back. He was hoping to have Professor Kal conscripted, but he didn't have high hopes that the King would do so this early. He wasn't worried, the winds of war were blowing and it was only a matter of time before everyone was dragged into it.

…..

The area around the pond on the first level of the dungeon was flat and wide open. The mushrooms didn't grow too close to the water, leaving plenty of room to set up camp. Professor Kal was taking water samples while Ryan was keeping his head on a swivel, looking all around them. Professor Kal had told him to never relax while out in the wilderness, danger could be lurking around every corner. He took that advice to heart.

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As they walked to the pond, they hadn't run into any goblins at all. It was a little strange, but neither one of them had ever been inside a dungeon before, so they didn't know what to expect. With the lack of enemies, Professor Kal went over the differing theories of necromancy with the young mage as they walked.

Once they had arrived at the pond, they had noticed that a campsite had been set up on the other side. No one was around, they had left their tents wide open and the fire was still smouldering. The number of tents suggested that at least four people were occupying them. Deciding to leave them be, the pair decided to take a break along with their five zombie guards.

"Professor, how did you become a necromancer?" Ryan asked as he watched him stuff mud into a glass vial.

That question had been nagging at him for a while now. Necromancers had only been in scary stories, but now that he had become one he wondered if there were more hidden away somewhere. He was nervous, but also wanted to see if there were other people like him, someone other than Professor Kal that he could connect to. Don't get him wrong, he respected Professor Kal and was very grateful for everything that he had done for him, but he was also not that easy to talk to.

"Hmm, oh, sorry. What was that? I was miles away." Professor Kal said, turning to the young man.

"How did you become a necromancer? Are there more of us around here? Can I meet them?" He repeated, adding more onto his original question.

"I never said I was a necromancer." Professor Kal said, drawing a shocked look from Ryan.

"I just said I can teach you how to be one. I like to dabble in every school of magic, so I don't claim to be one or another. I like to think of myself as a pure mage, one that has truly mastered the magical arts." He said, puffing out his chest and putting his fists on his hips.

Ryan was lost for words, how could the man in front of him claim to be a master of all things magic? He might be young, but he wasn't stupid. Professor Kal was only maybe a decade older than he was, it was impossible to learn every school of magic in such a time. At least that was what common sense was telling him. Maybe there was something that he didn't know about, that was the only way.

Professor Kal started to laugh. "I'm just joking, even I cannot say I have mastered every school. There is always something more to learn, something to discover. Remember that, there is always another level; don't ever stop learning just because you think you've uncovered everything."

Ryan started to nod his head vigorously, taking mental notes. He felt much better now that Professor Kal admitted to not knowing everything. He admired how humble he sounded. As he continued to listen to Professor Kal go on about never overestimating yourself when it came to battle and for learning, a splash came from across the pond.

Professor Kal stopped talking and turned his head to the noise, Ryan doing the same. All that could be seen were ripples on the water reflecting the glow from the magical gems above. Professor Kal furrowed his brows, his eyes glowing a fluorescent green as he peered into the forest of mushrooms.

"Pop quiz boy." Professor Kal suddenly said, a wicked grin on his face.

Before Ryan had a chance to question what he meant by 'pop quiz', his attention was directed to screaming that could faintly be heard. Across the pond, just behind the empty campsite, a group of adventurers came bursting out from the forest of mammoth mushrooms. They were littered with injuries, blood smeared all over their torn leather armor. One was even limping with an arrow sticking out of the back of his leg.

There were five of them in total, too far away for Ryan to make any more detailed observations. One tripped over their feet, sprawling flat on the ground. His comrades didn't even slow down to look behind them, leaving him behind as they sprinted past their campsite. Ryan watched as the man tried to scramble to his feet, slipping on the muddy soil that was near the pond.

Ryan couldn't see what hit the man, but he jerked and yelled out in pain. He tried to reach behind him to grab the arrow that was now jutting from his shoulder. Behind him, a large group of goblins emerged from the mushrooms. Ignoring the arrow, the man tried to run, but was too late. The party of goblins jumped on the man, stabbing and slashing with small knives. Ryan could hear the man's screams of agony, then they were suddenly cut off as the man's body crumpled to the ground.

"Help us! Help us!" The group yelled out, fear etched on their faces, as they ran towards them.

Ryan took a step back, not knowing what to do. It was happening much too fast. It looked to him that there were at least twenty goblins, way too many for him to handle. He looked to Professor Kal, looking for some sort of guidance. He wasn't there! He had disappeared! It was only Ryan and his five zombie followers that were left standing by the pond.

The bloodied group of now four adventurers were now right on top of him, but they didn't slow down. They actually picked up speed. Ryan could see that they had abandoned their weapons at some point, most likely finding them too unwieldy to run with. How could they expect to fight without any weapons? He soon found out the answer, they didn't.

"Thank you so much, we'll go get help!" One of the men said as his group ran past him, not even bothering to slow down to look him in the eye.

They were leading the rampaging goblins right to him, that was their entire strategy. They were sacrificing Ryan and his group in order to save themselves. Fear welled up inside of him, making him sick to his stomach. He turned to run with the group, that's all that he could think to do. He would order his zombies to hold off the goblins in order to give him enough time to escape, just like the group was doing to him.

As he did so, the last man in the group body checked him as he ran by. Sending Ryan's small frame sailing through the air and into the pond's icy waters. Luckily he could swim, but his thick robe he was wearing weighed him down greatly. By the time he made it to shore the goblins were only fifty feet away from him and closing in fast.. They were so close that he could see their bloodshot eyes staring at him with hatred, and hunger.

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