Zephyra pursed her lips thoughtfully with a sour expression. She had rifled through the corpses of the deceased guards. But, she hadn't found any sort of key to unlock the door. She was stuck outside. Out in the open. Alone. And, defenseless. 

Well, not entirely defenseless. But, she couldn't risk being out in the open for very long. And, she could force open the door by decaying the metal in the lock…

However, that would cost practically her entire mana pool, as well as the remaining necrotic energy festering in the corpses. Which would mean that she could be found in a very compromising situation. A mage without mana was like a noble without a heritage; useless. 

Nevertheless, Zephyra hadn't come this far to simply give up. She needed to know what happened. And, this was her only lead right now. 

The necromancer gathered the corpses of the guards and stacked them near the door. It would be easier to extract their mana through direct contact. Then, simply channel it into the metal and pray that it would be enough. 

Zephyra placed one foot against the deceased and her hands on the door in front of her.

Her mana writhed and wracked against the mechanism. But, it was unscathed. The metal barely showed even a blemish of decay underneath her onslaught. 

It would take time. Time that she really couldn't afford to spare. Time that would leave her vulnerable, exposed, and standing over two very completely and totally dead acolytes. 

Zephyra focused and channeled more mana through her spiritual conduits. She formed the energy into a fine tip and drilled it mercilessly into the lock. 

The corpses beneath her dried out. Their husks resembled a dessicated mummified cadaver, more than a human that had been breathing half an hour ago. Yet, despite exhausting her mana supply several times over, the door was still locked. 

Zephyra groaned and tiredly pushed against the door. 

It didn't budge. 

She angrily kicked it. 

A loud metallic clang scraped against the floor inside of the building and the door swung upon. 

Zephyra relaxed her shoulders in relief and descended the stairs into the dungeon. 

Well, she thought it would be a dungeon. But, instead she found herself inside of a neatly organized and well stocked cellar. It was filled with all sorts of food and supplies. 

Zephyra glanced around. But it didn't look like Bob was in here. 

"Great. A completely pointless trip." Zephyra pouted and kicked over a small stool. It fell with a dull thud that echoed through the small space. 

A dry cough responded from behind the shelves. A pair of feet poked around the corner. Then, a voice followed.

"Oh. So, it's morning already, is it? 

It… it doesn't really feel like the morning. But, I suppose that's to be expected.

Well, come on. What sort of penance do I have to pay for my son?"

A puffed and swollen peered around the corner. It was Bob. He almost sounded bored.

"Oh. Oh it's you.

Wait… why are you here?

Holy shit! It's dangerous here lady!

You have to go. You have to go now! They're looking for your party. I-"

Zephyra's eyes widened as she saw clear signs of the acolyte being beaten and tortured. 

"I- I, uh, came here looking for you actually. My party went missing. Your church was at the inn. They had the same robes and everything. 

So, I thought that, maybe, you'd have some answers?"

Bob coughed and groaned in pain as he shifted his body to sit upright. 

"Ugh, everything hurts. 

And, yeah. I'm sorry. That was my fault."

Zephyra narrowed her eyes. And, Bob quickly added to his story. 

"It wasn't intentional though, I swear.

Karen was dying. Ted was looking for you. 

But, he couldn't find you. He happened to find me though.

Ha, aren't I lucky? I recognized him as the guy that helped bring Phil back to the inn. I thought… I thought I could help."

Bob choked. A few stray tears managed to squeeze themselves from his eyelids. And, he took a deep shuddering breath as he wheezed. 

"I was wrong. I was out of my depth. Karen was poisoned with some sort of necrotic mana. And, it was killing her.

Your friends convinced me that-"

He cleared his throat. It was difficult for him to speak.

"-that she wasn't a necromancer. I thought that the church would help. After all, she's innocent. 

And, I knew that the church hates necromancy. I just… I didn't think they'd go this far. 

They interrogated me. They- they hurt me. I told them everything that I knew. But they didn't stop. Then, they threw me in here."

Zephyra glanced around and raised an eyebrow. "Why did they throw you into a pantry?"

Bob chuckled despite himself. "It's about the most secure spot in the church. One way in. One way out. No windows. We don't have cells or anything either."

"I see." Zephyra dusted off her robe. "Do you know where they went?" 

"No. I thought they were going to wait for me. I guess they didn't. The bastards kept asking me that too." 

"Ah. That's unfortunate." Zephyra turned toward the entrance. "Well, thank you for the answers. I hoped you knew more than I did. But, at least, now I know how I was found."

"How you were-", Bob's eyes widened in horror and sudden realization. He whispered. "You're the necromancer?"

"Hmm, I suppose, I shouldn't have said that. But, I did kill a couple of people to get here. They'll probably realize that I was here and talked to you." Zephyra mused mostly to herself.

Bob paled. "They'll kill me for talking to you. And, you killed people?"

He blanched. "Oh God, they're going to kill us both!"

"Wow, dramatic much?" Zephyra rolled her eyes. "They'll only kill me, if I'm around for them to kill me."

She spun on her heels and sighed dramatically. It was all a waste of time. "Well, thank you for the information, Mr. Bob. Even though it wasn't helpful at all."

The necromancer paused and glanced back at the unfortunate acolyte. He was pretty pathetic. And, pretty miserable. But, maybe she could fix him up. 

"The rest of my things are pretty broken and pathetic anyway. But, that just means, I can shape them into more powerful tools. Hmmm… I guess… I could help him out."

The necromancer studied him briefly out of the corner of her eyes. She was out of mana. He was not. His hands were calloused. As if he had some practice in a fight. 

Yet, everything else about him seemed so… squishy and soft. 

"Well, it can't hurt to try, I guess. Maybe it'll be worthwhile. I don't exactly get the best choice in this either."

It only took a moment for her to decide.

The young homunculus cleared her throat. "Oh, and by the way, I had overheard that they were planning to kill you anyway."

Bob's eyes snapped up to hers. "What?" 

Zephyra smirked to herself. "This will probably be the easiest sell. Even easier than the last ones."

"Yes. A couple of acolytes on patrol had some rather loose tongues, I'm afraid. They kept talking about some execution."

Bob grit his teeth. 

Zephyra nodded to herself. A little more. 

"Apparently, it's going to be some big event or something. One of them mentioned a bonfire. And, the other kept talking about a traitor. 

I don't know. I just assumed that they were talking about you."

Bob bore a hole into the ground with his thousand yard stare. "When?"

 Zephyra raised an eyebrow. "When did I overhear them? Or when did they plan to publicly execute you?" 

Bob opened his mouth to speak. 

Zephyra cut him off before he could say anything. "I heard them talking about it tonight. You haven't been down here that long. And, they were planning on doing it this morning."

"They can't…", Bob whispered. "They wouldn't..."

"They would and will. And, they've done so many times before." Zephyra's eyes hardened. "The entire city is burning because of them."

"But they-"

Zephyra cut him off with a quick flourish. "It doesn't matter what they promised, or what they said. They're liars. And, very good ones at that. But, if you can't see it, even now, after all they've done to you. Then, you are even more pitiful than I realized."

She took another step toward the door.

"And, I don't need you."

"W-wait." Bob croaked. 

"Hmm? What for?" Zephyra asked coyly.

"Take me with you." Bob slowly crawled to her. His arms and feet were bound with rope.

"Why should I?" The dark mage towered over her newest acquisition. 

"I don't want to die." Bob choked and sniffled. 

Zephyra knelt down and lifted his chin. "Of course you don't. No one does. And, you're of no use me to dead. But, maybe, just maybe, you can help me by staying alive."

"What do you mean?" Bob glanced at her with hope in his eyes. 

Zephyra smiled and graciously ruffled his hair. She used the modicum of her recovered mana to reduce the swelling on his face. And, especially around his eyes. She smiled lovingly at him.

"I can save you. But, I'll need you to sign something once we're safe."