The Necromancer's Cauldron

Chapter 4

AN: Again, sorry for the delay. Last week has been wild and again writing has my go-to for a wonderful distraction. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~

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Chapter 4:

Drayce sat in his chair at the dining table, his elbow resting upon the table as his attention was focused upon the piece of parchment that held a rough sketch of the floor plan of the third floor. He twirled a pencil idly with his fingers, pondering on what he and his guild should do for the day.

Because of the golem statues, they had covered a large swath of the floor already. Yet, there was still much of the floor they hadn't ventured into yet. And he would hazard a guess that a certain Owl Beast saw that part of the floor as their territory.

They needed to find a way to deal with that FOE. A way that didn't involve fighting.

The sound of the front door creaking open pulled Drayce from his thoughts. He immediately perked his head up and he pushed back his chair. He left his map on the table as he took to his feet. He reached the threshold of the dining room archway just in time to watch as Zohar stepped into the foyer and close the door behind him.

He had to admit, he felt himself breathe a sigh of relief.

"Zohar, there you are," he greeted, immediately gaining the man's attention. He moved closer, only to pause mid-step when he took note of the solemn, silently frustrated expression on his face. "You ok? You've been gone all day and night."

Zohar managed a tight smile. "Yes, I'm fine."

That was a lie. A blatant lie.

"I apologise for worrying you," Zohar continued before he turned, making the motion to move toward the stairs.

"Um, Fiorello told me," Drayce blurted out before he had the chance to reconsider. "About your...job."

Zohar paused in his steps, his shoulders instantly growing tight and tense. "Did he now?"

Drayce wrung his hands in front of him. "I'm glad he did. I mean, now, I can be a little more understanding. You know?"

Zohar didn't respond. He didn't resume his journey, either, which Drayce took as a good sign.

"Is everything all right?"

Finally, Zohar uttered a quiet sigh, his shoulders losing some of their tension in a form of defeat. He turned around to face Drayce, appearing tired and weary. Clearly, it had been a long, stressful night.

"The victim was the woman that accosted me yesterday."

Drayce's eyes widened. "What?"

"It appears as though she had found a necromancer that does not abide by the rules." Zohar reached up to tiredly pinch the bridge of his nose. "It is very...concerning."

"What happened?"

"No." Zohar's voice was sharp, startling enough that Drayce took a half step back in surprise. Zohar soon caught himself and he dropped his hand to his side as he turned to give Drayce a small smile. "You have enough to concern yourself with."

That wasn't necessarily true. No busier than he had been regarding the two previous floors of the labyrinth. So that wasn't entirely it.

"You're purposely ensuring that I don't get involved, aren't you?" That wasn't an accusation, but a pointed observation.

The smile faded from Zohar's lips and he uttered another sigh. "...It's a side of life I do not wish for you to witness."

Both ominous but intriguing.