Birth of a Necromancer 024

There are many types of looks, one can get. Sometimes, it will be that of a secret admirer, who wants to be with you. At other times, it will be one of hostility. These are relatively normal, however, there is another type that only the unlucky few have to suffer once in a lifetime.

A gaze that truly chills you to the bone. Being inspected. Analyzed to the very core of your being. That was how Will felt at that moment, when the dark figure that stood on the other hill was simply staring at him. Whatever was under the black hood was analyzing him. Finding out if he was a potential threat.

The young priest knew that he had found the one he had been looking for. But in the end, who had really found who?

Will wanted to run away, but the high-priest's request was still fresh in his mind. He wouldn't betray the Church, even if it would cost him his life. Therefore, the devoted young priest headed down the hill. Toward the cave, which was infested by the dead.

While heading down the small dirt hill, the wind seemed to be getting colder and colder. The former monk remembered his early days with the Church. How he had lived under poor circumstances, in rooms that were too cold for people to live in. The cracks in the windows, where warmth seeped out, like blood from an open wound.

Still on his way down the hill, the young priest realized that the creature on the hill had disappeared. Will looked around, and saw it again. It was standing at the entrance to the cave. The entrance to its domain.

Will broke into a slight run, as he came closer and closer to the entrance of the cave. He wanted to see the creature that had caught the attention, of the most powerful man in the kingdom. Still with his eyes of the creature, the young priest reached the entrance of the cave.

The young man remained silent, expecting the creature to say something. It didn't. Instead, it started walking towards the hill, Will had come from. Now that he was close, the young priest could see several holes in the black, old, hooded cape, which it wore over the black robes, it was wearing. Underneath the long sleeves were pale, white, bony hands that held onto the staff it leaned against, when walking.

Will could see that its equipment, not counting its clothes, were of high quality. However, the being that used them did not wear them with elegance. It clumsily made its way toward the hill, behind which, the great forest stretched out, as far as the eye could see.

The black figure stretched out a bony hand, gesturing for him to follow it. It was making it clear that it was the boss around these parts, since it didn't stop to wait for the young man.

With his task in mind, Will followed the strange creature. Slowly, he was starting to doubt what his supposed enemy truly was.

Liches had a tendency of being extremely cocky and wanting everyone to know of its former greatness. Although this strange being, Will was following, did act as if it was the young priest's better, it didn't exactly appear to be overconfident in its own prowess. Rather, it acted like a humble king, trying its hardest to communicate with its subjects, even though it didn't know how to convey its message.

'What are you?' Will wondered.

Lost in thought, the young priest followed the creature to the top of the hill, from where they continued to walk towards the forest, entering it.

"Where are you taking me?" The young priest asked.

He had lost any and all fear for his undead companion. Clearly, it did not intend to hurt him. In fact, it seemed as if it rather wanted to show him something. Will wasn't even sure if the being was a threat at all. The way it calmly moved through the forest, admiring the scenery in a way that seemed almost... Human.

After around half an hour of walking, the unusual pair reached a clearing in a forest. Here, the presumed lich stopped walking. It looked at a certain point on the ground. Around the place it was looking there were clear traces of battle. Blood had splattered on the leaves of the trees, which surrounded the clearing. Following the trail of blood on the different plants, the young priest's gaze was led to a certain point, where a stained pool of blood could be spotted, if one looked closely enough.

"Did you die here?" Will asked. Sympathy was clear in his voice.

The creature slowly shook its head. Then, suddenly, the young priest felt the air get colder, and colder, until it was almost freezing the blood in his veins.

'What..?'

Then, the hooded creature opened its mouth, and with a voice so cold that it matched the dropping temperature, it spoke.

"Master did."

'What, its master? But there's no-one here, though. Not even a corpse. And master... Does that mean this thing was conjured by someone?! Someone powerful enough to summon an undead with sentience?'

Will took a step back. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but he assumed that this wasn't exactly a situation he wanted to find himself in. But he had to, for the sake of the Archbishop, who he so admired. He had to find out what this creature wanted.

Before the young man got to say anything, the creature opened its mouth once again. Will could hear ice splintering, as it opened its mouth.

"Master... died here... Part of... His power... Is now mine..."

Each time the hooded being exhaled, the air was filled with even more ice-cold air. Will's hair was stiffening, as sweat got frozen by the immense drop in temperature. It was clear to anyone that this creature wielded stupendously powerful ⌈ Frost Magic ⌋.

"What are you planning to do with that cave, you're excavating?" Will asked. His teeth were clattering because of the cold. In fact, it was so cold that his limbs were slowly starting to go numb.

"I wish for the master of mine's return to be great."

Will's body was starting to tremble. Very soon, he would have to get away. The insanely low temperatures were getting to him. His breath had become a thick mist, which he was continuously spewing out.

"How do you... Plan to do that?" The freezing young priest asked. He was having trouble speaking now.

"Bring me your priest friends... I shall turn them into... Suitable sacrifices for... The master..." It responded.

The priest had expected something along those lines, but he had to be sure of the creature's demands. Now that he was sure, he started moving away from the thing. He wasn't sure how the monster would react to him trying to leave, so he did so subtly.

"Bring them... Here... Or people will die... I give you... Five days..."

That seemed to be the last thing the being wanted to say. As soon as it had finished saying the last sentence, it calmly moved back toward its base, as if it had all the time in the world.

Will didn't stay to see it disappear into the forest. He was busy running in the general direction of Elcrada. Since the young priest wasn't completely familiar with the forest, although he had seen it on maps a couple of times, it was hard to navigate through it.

After what seemed like hours, the young man could see the lights from the town. At last, he had escaped the hell, the forest had become. How were they supposed to fight that thing, when just being close to it was extremely tiring? The freezing aura it possessed would require multiple layers of protective spells to repel.

There was no choice but to destroy it. Will could under no circumstances sacrifice his comrades, but on the other hand, he couldn't give up the lives of the citizens of the adventurers' town. The only option he was left with was to carry out the original plan. To exorcise it.

'Will twenty-five priests and a few adventurers be enough to exorcise that thing?'

The troubled priest couldn't help but wonder. Most adventurers had become accustomed to fighting the undead, but a horde of the size the hooded creature had under its command... That would be tough, even for Gold Rank adventurers. Will wasn't even sure if there were any Gold Ranks in Elcrada. Usually, when people reached those heights, they would move to the capital to become Crystal Ranks, from where they would move to The Northern Provinces, where the truly strong monsters resided, in order to become Platinum Ranks.

Will approached the gate and was let inside by the guards, who knew they had to let him inside, despite their clear dislike for having him there.

From the gates, Will ran towards the inn, where he knew the high-priest was staying. The streets were empty and only the darkened sky was witness to his frantic running through the city. Finally reaching the inn, the young priest pushed open its doors, entering the dimly lit dining hall.

Sitting at a table with some adventurers, the high-priest were handling some paperwork, likely to be accepted quests that had been brought in by the adventurers, he was surrounded by.

"High-Priest, I return with dire news." Will said, taking on a kneeling posture before his superior.

"Will, I see you have returned. Please share with me these news you bring." The high-priest said, putting his paperwork down for a moment, as he awaited the young priest's report.

Everyone was listening. It hadn't taken the adventurers many hours to find out why the priests were there, and most of them wanted in on the potential rank-up that would come from defeating the enemy, who had taken residence in their forest.

"I found the creature." Will started, then paused, thinking about how best to word his report.

"Good work! Do go on." The now intrigued high-priest encouraged Will.

"It appears to be setting up a fortress of some kind, in the middle of the forest. It's using what looks like a workforce of a hundred skeletons to get the job done."

A slight chuckle went through the room.

"Will, I'm sorry, but the undead do not think. They simply kill. Using them for labor would be impossible, given their incapability of communication."

The young priest had somewhat expected this. It was to be expected that not everyone would believe him. If it was him, who was on the listening end, he probably wouldn't have responded much differently. But they had to understand.

"I know it seems impossible, but I assure you. It isn't. The creature that commands them, I'm not entirely sure if it is actually a lich, is extremely powerful too. Just being near it drains you of power." Will pressed on. They needed to understand.

The chuckle, that went around once again, was a little forced this time. People were getting annoyed at the young man's persistence.

"Will, if you can't relay the report seriously, I'll just have to ask you in a simpler way. Are the undead in the forest a threat to us?"

Furiously, the young priest nodded. He was more than eager to get some help in defeating the monster. Will was more than sure of the fact that he would die, should he attempt to even scratch it on his own.

"Right, thank you. I shall take the ten best priests among us, myself included." The high-priest responded, now seemingly satisfied with the report. He then turned to the adventurers of Elcrada.

"Everyone, who helps carry out our holy mission, will be given ten gold each!" He announced to the full inn.

All of the adventurers raised their mugs, shouting things like "this will be the easiest ten gold, I have made in my life!"

'This is wrong...' Will thought.

'This won't be enough...'

'We're all doomed, unless I do something.'

Determined, Will rose from his kneeling pose, facing the high-priest. No-one was looking, since everyone was busy spending their money, now that they knew they'd be making a small fortune soon.

"What is it Will? Isn't this great?"

"It is, your honor. However, I feel that we should increase the amount of participants from the Church. If we don't do so, it will look like the adventurers' feat, when we defeat the lich."

The young priest was spewing bullshit left and right. First of all, he wasn't sure how many priest would be required to defeat the creature. Second of all, he didn't even believe that the monster in the forest was a lich. Lastly, Will didn't care who killed the monster, as long as it ended up deader than before it was resurrected.

"You make a valid point. We cannot let our power be put into question. I shall include all of our priests."

"Pardon my insolence, but would it not be better to also request for some of our trained soldiers? We need to show the world that the adventurers are inferior to us, in every way." Will suggested.

The high-priest looked at his junior for a few seconds. Then he spread his arms, as if offering Will a warm embrace.

"You truly know your way with politics. I shall request for a squad from the Capital. Hopefully they’ll be here by tomorrow." Said the high-priest.

The middle-aged man then stood up and started walking up the stairs, which led to his room.

'Success' The young man thought to himself.

Chapter end