The Curse-breakers of Avondor || ONC 2022 || ✔

Chapter 9: Closeted Skeletons

The walking skeletons, Audren noticed, differed profoundly from than the cursed. Precious little of their rotten flesh still clung to their bones. Of their clothes and hair, a few rags and thin strands remained, nothing more. No emotion showed on their faces, for they possessed neither: the skulls' sockets were empty, gaping, and the perpetual grins they sported were identical to the ones that had stared Audren down almost mockingly in the Caves.

Messed up as it was, Audren appreciated their distinct inhumanity. Compared to the Cursed, with the signs of human lives lived still written all over their undead bodies, these skeletons were a macabre breath of fresh air. And to make it all even better, they attacked the Cursed viciously: with no fear of death, the bone-bags stormed at their opponents, bony fingers tearing into flesh and ripping off limbs, rotting teeth sinking down into the Cursed's bodies in what could've been a grotesque imitation of them. Four skeletons, Audren noted after a rapid count, sowing carnage amongst the enemy.

He knew the sight would give him nightmares, but the protection was more than welcome. And it was, without a doubt, Terry's work. Once that realisation hit Audren full-force, he found himself in a state of shock. Necromancy? Out of every branch of magic he'd expected her to have specialised in, he hadn't thought for a second it would be the darkest one.

"You raised the dead?" he exclaimed once his eyes fell on his companion, who stood by the entrance and oversaw the scene. He couldn't keep his surprise contained properly.

Terry turned to him, eyes immediately drawn to the young girl by his side. "Is that a child?"

Audren supposed they had a lot to talk about.

"I'll explain on the way," he informed her, once more doing a quick count, this time of the Cursed. He concluded Terry's little army had mowed down about half of their enemies in the square, but that still left quite a few to deal with, even more once they started to move further into the city. "This is Gemella. She'll take us to her father's inn-"

"What business do we have there?"

"On the way, I said," Audren snapped. For all his patience, he did hate to be interrupted. "Don't interrupt me now and tell your undead playthings to guard us as we move through the city. Then I'll tell you everything and you can tell me why you never said a word about being a necromancer. Because I'd say that's the kind of thing you tell someone about before leaving on a quest to get rid of the undead."

Audren held no hatred for necromancers, but no love, either. In truth, the necromantic practice had always scared him. In bedtime stories he'd heard as a child, evil came from necromancers so often he'd lost count. Necromancy was a controversial branch of magic, practiced by few and secretive above all else. He knew little about it, which only contributed to his wariness of the craft. Especially in times like these.

Terry must've read the apprehension on his face, for the look she sent him was so cold he feared she'd legitimately try to freeze his insides. Without a word to him, she let out a whistle, grabbing her minions' attention. "New orders," she barked at them. "Leave the Pantheon be. Your new task will be to protect me and these other two from any undead creature trying to get to us. Are we clear?"

The corpses didn't show any indication at all that they'd understood, but Audren had witnessed Terry's competence and was more than willing to believe the skeletons she'd kept in her closet would listen. The mage looked at the girl, who seemed excited about being escorted by dead people rather than scared. It's terrifying, Audren thought to himself, how fast children can adapt.

"Your father's inn, he said," Terry told Gemella. "Bring us there, then, but stay close. This city is more dangerous than ever before."

Gemella could understand more Avondorian than she spoke, for she shook her head and replied in her own language. "Nuh-uh. It's much safer than normal. Father usually doesn't let me go places all alone."