The Necromancer

Chapter 2, Part 5

"It's called a Summoning Pedestal," I explained to her as I finished off the last of the supper she'd made. Using a thin stick, I sketched out an image of it in the dirt, which was really just a big circle and some crude squiggles to signify the runes. It didn't quite get across how big and heavy this thing was: most of them were large enough for even Mog to stand on comfortably; some of them were even large enough to transport an entire army. I'm not exactly a talented artist  "It's the only way to find Amcerlizar, because otherwise he jumps around too much. You could walk halfway across the continent to find him, and then he could use this to teleport away a second later." 

"Aaah," Skip sighed with realization as she scribbled notes onto a scrap of parchament. "That's why the Paladins have such a hard time tracking him! We've been kind of following one of their squads around for a while, hoping to pick up a lead to his location, and they seemed just utterly clueless." She paused and thought about it for a moment. "Though, that's usually the case with those meatheads."

I nodded. "Amcerlizar uses a Summoning Pedestal all the time. He has a squad of his minions carry a small one around with him wherever he goes." At least, that's what I'd heard. Even back in school he used to bring one out to the tavern in case his admirers wanted to get in touch with him. He just made his undead servants wait with it in the street.

"So we just need one of those?" Skip asked. "Where do we find one?"

"They're not uncommon," I said. The Necromancer Academy had one for the students to use, and most of the professors had their own for traveling, visiting friends, etc. And we weren't the only ones who could activate them: wizards and even alchemists sometimes owned them as well. "Most nobles have a wizard in their employ, and most of them will have a pedestal; it doesn't need to be a Necromancer. The court wizard in Milotia should suffice. You'll have to convince him to let you use it."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Skip grinned. No problem for her at least, with the Voice.

"And there's an incantation, which changes depending on who you're trying to summon. And Amcerlizar is pretty full of himself, so expect it to be long and complicated. Probably in some ancient language that you've never even heard of. But you can use it to either travel to the person, or to ask them to come to you. I'd recommend the latter, because Amcerlizar's will most likely be surrounded by a entire legion of guards."

Her face fell. "Oh. You don't know his incantation?"

"Well... I... I mean, it's been a while since I had my own Summoning Pedestal," I managed to stammer.

"I see." She looked up at Mog like he would have some answers for her, but he just shrugged. 

"So once you say the right incantation, the runes should glow blue, and if he accepts your invitation he'll be teleported right to you. And then you can kill him, or do whatever it is that you're planning to do." She hadn't exactly made it clear why she wanted to meet Amcerlizar, but it was pretty clear that it wasn't to shake his hand or give him a present. 

"SMOOSH," Mog declared from above us, confirming my prediction.

"Yes," I told him with a pat on his big leathery toe. "Smoosh. Good for you." I stood up from the campfire, lifted the bag with Lirk's remains, and bowed to Skip. "Well, good luck with all this, then. He'll most likely kill you, you know." Skip rolled her eyes. "But if not, say goodbye for me before he dies and tell him that it couldn't happen to a nicer guy." 

Skip watched me from across the fire. "All right, we will." She had a mysterious smile on her face, and there was a silence between us filled only by chirping crickets. 

I took a step back, already feeling the chill away from the fire. A gust of wind rattled the branches against each other , and some sort of creature called out from the dark depths of the forest. Lirk's skull gaped up at me as if to ask 'where to now?'

"You know..." I said as I surveyed the inky shadows beyond the clearing, "Necromancers generally aren't the friendliest people to strangers. With all the Paladin agents out there, we can be a pretty suspicious group. I'm not sure you'll be able to get them to tell you Amcerlizar's personal incantation."

"Hmm..." Skip rubbed at her chin with an exaggerated thinking action. "That is a tough one."

"Even you might not be able to convince a Necromancer to tell you," I continued. "If you could even find another one, that is."

More silence. Skip just watched me as I pretended to search for a path through the trees and look at the stars to get my bearings. I really had no damn clue where I was, nor where I was going. And the only thing I remembered from Astronomy class was looking down my lab partner's blouse whenever she leaned forward to use the telescope. Not that I could even see most of the stars through the thick forest foliage. 

"That is troubling," Skip said at last. "So many unforseen problems that could arise with this plan." Mog vigorously nodded his big head, causing the branches to shake and showering us all with old pine needles. "Is there any way," she said with a sweet pleading tone, "that we might convince you to stay with us, Winston?"

I scoffed. "With my jailors? Sure!" I did my best sarcastic voice even as I shuffled a bit closer to the warm fire. 

"Please, Winston?" She bit her bottom lip and made sad puppy dog eyes. "We really do need your help against Amcerlizar." That sounded pretty genuine, though with her Voice it's pretty hard to tell. "And I have to admit, Mog doesn't make the best conversation partner for these long trips."

Mog grinned and nodded; I wasn't sure he'd understood exactly what she had said. 

"I don't know..." I told her. "I've got other things to do." Things like run away from the Paladins, I suppose. I couldn't go back to my crypt and my little plague-ward cleaning service anymore, though maybe I could start over in another city. 

"How about this," she said. "Amcerlizar is pretty wealthy, right?" Kind of an understatement: his armies had been pillaging the country for a few decades now, and they'd even sacked the capital of Mergorath. He'd have uncountable piles of gold, more than enough to buy the dungeon I'd always wanted. "When we kill him, we use his little token to teleport into his lair or whatever and we take what we want, right? We'll split the gold three ways, and you can have all of his Necromancer gizmos."

Not a bad offer. With all of his artifacts, talismans, and ingredients, I'd be the most powerful Necromancer in the country! I'd make peace with the Paladins instead of being a greedy little prick like him, and Lirk and I could live in luxury for the rest of our lives. I could even find some more scintillating companionship who could string a sentence together without calling me Master ten times. I hadn't realized how much I missed actual conversation until I got to talk to Skip all day.

"All right," I relented. "I guess I'll join you all. For now, that is."

  "Glad you changed your mind," Skip said. She gave a bright smile and patted the empty spot on the log next to her. I rejoined her and Mog by the fire and stuck my hands out to warm them up. I can just stay with them for a little while, I told myself. Until something better comes along.

-------

I'm not really sure about this chapter. I wanted it to be a situation where she invites him to come along with them, but I also wanted him to feel some reluctance and I'm not sure if that quite came across very well. That's one of the problems of writing a story chronologically: I can't just skip a hard part and write another section of the story. If I ever do publish this, I will have to polish or rewrite this section, but this is the best it will be for now. Hope you like it anyway! And I'd love any suggestions or feedback on how it could be better. Also, remember to vote on the chapter and follow me for more updates!