Birth of a Necromancer 034

Inside the city of Roughensburg, many impressions would hit newcomers, on their first visit to the town. The smell would probably be the first, because of the fact that there were actual functioning sewers in it. Many major cities didn't have the funds to add sewers to their towns, despite the fact that they were densely populated by hard-working citizens. Therefore, the smells that dominated the town were those of spices in the town squares, sweat from the laborers at work, and perhaps the most noticeable, the smell of the smoke that came from the industrial part of town.

Almost every major city had lots of blacksmiths and the like, but unlike those towns, Roughensburg had a university. One in which the people could receive an education for free, granted the work they ended up doing was performed in Roughensburg, and that they would pay a substantially higher tax to the nobles of the capital.

Because of this considerable populace of educated craftsmen, the amount of air-pollution from blacksmiths' shops, and the like, was significantly higher than it otherwise would've been. As a matter of fact, smog was visible in the air as soon as one left the richer part of town. But that wasn't a problem to the nobles.

The mentality that working hard got you away from the depressing, smog-filled part of town was enough for the lower-class to enter the university, and thereby feed the circle.

It was the perfect scheme. The nobles were making money, and in the process of doing that, they were ensuring that more people would eventually become tax-paying slaves of Kanburrough. Of course, it wasn't all bad. People were considerably richer than they would've been, if not for the education-system.

A symbiotic relationship was how life in Roughensburg could best be described. Two parties were making more money than they would, because of the existence of the other.

The young elf, who had just entered town, could easily tell why people would be encouraged to leave the lower-class district in which he currently found himself, accompanied by his trusty servant, Zennereth, and the two merchants, Rick and Gayle, who were giving Ash a brief tour of Roughensburg.

"This, right here, is where the workers live. Ye better watch yer purse here. Not everyone takes kindly to uhh... Strangers." Gayle said, throwing a glance at the young elf's ears, which were fortunately covered by the hood of his white robes.

If one took the time to think about it, there were just too many things wrong with Ash's appearance. First of all, he was scary-looking, which forced him to wear a hood. Secondly, he tended to make some facial expressions that would probably give people the wrong, or perhaps the right idea about him. Last, but certainly not least, the fact that he was impersonating a priest, while being an elf, made him an instant target for any and all religious fanatics that lived in the capital. After all, the Church of Kanburrough had its headquarters in Roughensburg.

It appeared as if Gayle was about to carry on blabbering about the lives of the commoners, but to be honest, Ash couldn't care less. These merchants were humans, and humankind was the one race the young elf couldn't get friendly with.

"I do not care for this town's social structure, Gayle - was it? If you do indeed care for showing me something useful, then get on with it." The young elf coldly said to the fat merchant who stood by his side.

"Now, now, I was just givin' ye a bit of backstory to our great capital. If ye want lodgin', ye go to the Golden Goose. It's the best inn in the whole damn town, I say!"

"Thank you. If you want protection in the future, please do find me at the Golden Goose. You better prepare more gold than last time." Ash said, as Rick handed him a map of Roughensburg.

Afterwards, the young elf and his servant took their leave, and walked down the smog-filled streets of Kanburrough's capital. Judging from the map they had been given, the capital was split into three sections. The one that was located at the outer wall was the poorer part, the one in the middle was for the people who had slightly more money, and the innermost was for the nobles and their servants.

'What a barbaric, unjust system.' Ash thought to himself.

Going by the 'X', which Rick had marked on their map, the Golden Goose was located in the section that separated the rich from the poor. The middle-class district, the one in which the university was located.

"Zennereth, do you think enrolling in the university would be a bad idea?" The young elf asked his undead servant, as they turned a corner.

"I think... We should become familiar with... The town... Before considering such things..."

"You might have better judgement than I do."

"Please do not make such jokes... Master."

Ash sighed. He was happy that he had a loyal follower, even though he wished that Zennereth would stop thinking of him as his master.

The young elf had noticed, as he walked down the streets, that all the houses in the lower-class district were small, thatched cottages. Unlike what his first impression of the place had led him to think, the small houses appeared quite cozy. While the smog-filled air definitely didn't make the place an uplifting one to be in, it wasn't downright depressing either.

'I wonder what lodging costs, I forgot to ask Rick!'

The former slave had gotten a pretty good idea about the personalities of the two merchants. Because of that, he knew that the younger one, Rick, was the one you asked if you had questions of economical nature. Gayle, on the other hand, was who you asked when you didn't understand what his brother was saying. He functioned as a medium for his brother, who, quite frankly, was smarter than him.

While trying to not let that matter to him, Ash approached the massive, grey stone wall that prevented the poor from entering the middle-class district. From Gayle, Ash had learned that one needed to pay a fee of five gold coins to get a passport to the middle district.

The young elf had a quick look around and was stunned by the beauty of the town. Since the entire town was built on top of a large, although not tall, hill, he had a sublime view of not only Roughensburg, but also the mountains, which weren't mountains, but regular ground level, since Groundwater City was technically located underground.

Ash handed ten coins to Zennereth, who went to the checkpoint at the gate where he bought their passports. The gatekeepers opened the gate and waited for the two creatures, whom they believed to be of their kin.

Ignoring the guards' disgruntled looks, since he was obstructing the main road that led through the city, Ash stood still and admired the beauty of the scenery. Actually, he had found himself enjoying his place in the world a lot more, ever since he was revived. Eternal darkness apparently gives you a certain appreciation for the ubiquitous light of the world of man.

"Honorable priest, forgive our insolence, but we must beg of you to enter." One of the guardsmen said, pointing towards the still open gate.

'Oh right, I'm still wearing these disgusting robes.' Ash remembered, and slowly started taking off the hood that covered his scarred, elven face.

Surprised at the bony hand that was suddenly placed firmly on his still-hooded head, and suddenly horrified at his own ignorance, the young elf stopped trying to take off the piece of cloth that obscured his identity.

"Master... I beg your pardon... But I ask you to... Keep your hood on." Zennereth whispered in a voice that couldn't exactly be called that different from the usual, cold, and sinister whispers he let flow from his mouth.

Eyes wide in disbelief at his own stupidity, Ash followed his servant through the gates. All the guardsmen's eyes rested upon him, for they had realized that something was wrong. That he had something to hide; something they wasn't allowed to see.

"Oy, you two... Wait a second! Take off the hood." A man who looked like the captain of the guards said.

"Run!" The lich shouted, and pushed Ash through the gates, allowing him to break into a sprint while Zennereth held off the guards.

The young elf was bothered that he had to leave small-fry, such as guards, to his servant. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he could easily do it himself, if only he got the chance. However, Zennereth had a point there; for a man who was supposed to be dead, there was no 'correct' time to do anything that involved the risk of getting himself caught.

Blinded by the sun to which he was still adjusting his eyes to, Ash took cover behind a cart, which was parked just outside a bakery. From the looks of it, it was loaded with heavy bags of newly-ground flour. It was a fine spot to wait and see how his servant handled the situation. Suppose he did well, Ash would be able to rely on Zennereth in situations such as these.

The former slave left his cover, hopped inside the parked cart, from where he went on to bury himself slightly beneath a few bags of flour. From there, he could see that the lich was surrounded by four guards, excluding the captain, who appeared to be standing back, expecting his underlings to handle the situation.

They didn't. Zennereth, who looked twice as tall and twice of intimidating as the soldiers around him, grabbed a hold of the massive, wrapped blade on his back. He didn't unsheathe it, but he let the guardsmen know that he wouldn't go down without a fight. Furthermore, it looked like he said something to the men around him, resulting in them lowering their guards. Except one of them didn't.

Seemingly aggravated by his men's insubordination, the captain drew his blade and placed it neatly at the opening of Zennereth's hood.

People from the middle and lower-class had started gathering around the scene, and to them, it looked like the captain was abusing his power. They started shouting at him, but the hidden elf couldn't tell what they were yelling.

Nevertheless, the people's anger appeared to have affected the armored captain's decision to decapitate the hooded man. The sword was removed from Zennereth's face, and the humiliated guardsman went back to the checkpoint, but not before giving the lich a grim stare. He wasn't done with Ash and Zennereth.

'I can probably come out too.' The young elf thought to himself, as he pushed the heavy bags aside before jumping unto the cobblestone road.

Ash wasn't used to landing on such hard surfaces, so he staggered slightly when his feet touched the ground. He had never realized that something as seemingly insignificant as the firmness of a road could affect his abilities. Although that might have been because of the fact that he had been a dead man not too long ago.

He ran up to Zennereth who was talking to one of the commoners from the lower-class district. Strangely, the lich seemed awfully at home among the people. That made the young elf feel a little lonesome. Ash had never been treated well by other people, so, in turn, he had never treated others very well either. Now, for the first time since being liberated of his past self, the former slave realized that he wasn't just different in terms of heritage. He was fundamentally different; a fact that became very clear as he watched the otherwise introverted lich socialize better than he, himself, was able to.

The young elf took a few moments to listen to the people's endless clamoring. They were amazed by the fact that what to them look like a mere commoner had fended off the guardsmen that kept the social classes separated.

After a while had passed, Ash grabbed a hold of his servant's shoulder.

"I'm back. Let's get to the inn."

The two of them then continued to walk through the much cleaner streets of the middle district, until they finally reached the Golden Goose. The inn was made from wood, unlike the structures that surrounded it; they were made of stone bricks. Aside from the lack of bricks, the inn stuck out because of the dim light that came from it's interior. One couldn't help but to be strangely drawn to the nice atmosphere. Ash almost felt at home, even though he was still standing outside. But he knew it was wrong for him to want for such feelings.

The former slave had been reminded of his reason for returning to life. The reason he died in the first place. The world was not his friend, and as long as the world remained as it was, Ash knew that he could never feel quite at home, no matter where he was. However, that wasn't going to shake the newly-resurrected young elf. No, he was not the type to simply roll over and accept his conditions of existence.

A sinister smile spread across Ash's face, when he was reminded of the many hours he had spent contemplating his revenge. The many hours he had spent learning about the world, and the eternity he had practiced magic with Evitagen’s guidance.

He caressed the heavy, bulging pouch that hung from his belt.

Cracking sounds started coming from the young elf's face, as his smile widened to an extent to which the dry, straggled masses of scars that made up his skin could no longer keep up. Streaks of fresh blood formed at the edges of his lips, dripping unto the doorstep of the Golden Goose.

Wider did the smile grow, when the grinning demon came to a realization.

'My blood is black...'

Chapter end