Chapter XII

He was feeling pretty tired. The day was not unfolding as he had anticipated when he woke up. It was supposed to be a regular day, as normal as the days had been since he arrived in this cursed world.

But of course, it wasn't. Being essentially enslaved and forced to work in this inn was not enough. The bastards also planned to sacrifice him or something of the sort. The whole situation had always seemed strange to him. The behavior of the other slaves and the slavers had an element he couldn't grasp. He had assumed it was a result of slavery and the magic of the collars being used for control.

But upon some reflection, he hadn't been too concerned. The day he woke up in the cell after being drugged. And after learning about his new condition in life. He quickly discovered that his collar had little effect on him. He understood the collars and how they worked. In his case, the calming spell, for lack of a better term, only calmed him. It didn't render him passive and submissive like the others.

At the same time, he realized that the anxiety about everything that had happened had simply disappeared. Or at least, it was well controlled. Without the collar, he suspected thinking calmly and concentrating would be much more difficult.

Staying here meant he could eat regularly, a positive change after days of starvation in the forest. The calming effect of the collar allowed him to think about his situation and plan without anxiety. Things were going so well that he had even remembered three spells, one of which allowed him to open his collar to escape when needed. Overall, things were going well until today when they took him from the cell for something that had terrified the other slaves.

At that moment, he thought he was dealing with a group of dark priests, which would have been bad. A group fueled by the power of their faith and the sacrifice of who knows how many people would have been a tough fight, even with his trump card in the form of the fire spell he had just remembered.

Fortunately, they turned out to be just a group of relatively incompetent necromancers. Still, looking at the stable in flames, he was genuinely relieved he had restrained himself with the spell.

If he had used it in the underground, as almost happened a few times. With flames like those in a small, confined space, he now doubted he would have survived. Despite the collar's effect, he had been arrogant and stupid to follow those two into their base.

"What do we do now?" a tired voice, which seems to belong to Annie, asks.

He looks at the girl who currently seems lost and disoriented while being supported by Sate. A girl that only a very short time ago killed a man and tried to kill him. However, based on some conversations he overheard, he thinks he knows why she attacked and killed the guy. That still leaves a question.

"So how long have you known what they are?" he asks them, indicating the two guys in dark robes.

It's Sate who answers, but without looking directly at him. The woman remains focused on the girl in her arms.

"For a long time, how could we not know? After all, despite their forgetting, we have eyes and ears."

He can't help but agree, after all, for better or for worse. All these people have been living together, probably for several years. How could they eventually not realize what was happening under their noses?

"Well, you could have warned me," he grumbles, and in his opinion with good reason. After all, despite having arrived only a short time ago, it wouldn't have been hard for them to tell him what he was getting into.

Before anyone can say anything, Annie, once again angry, almost shouts at him.

"So, you could have joined them!!"

Hearing this, he wants to argue with the girl. Who for some reason is so furious with the person who saved their lives? But then his necklace starts to activate, calming him down a bit and letting him think.

And so, looking at this young girl with eyes full of anger while the older woman holds her and tries to calm her down. He remembers that the girl has already spent several years enslaved here. Witnessing God knows how many disappearances and abuses.

Considering that, is her reaction not appropriate? Upon finding out that he was a necromancer just like her captors.

But even so, her lack of control leads him to think. Therefore, he reflects aloud on the conclusion he had already reached the first time she attacked.

"It must be the effect of the collar. After having it for who knows how long, she stopped trying to manage her own emotions since the collar would do it for her, whether she wanted it or not. Which, now without it, leads to emotional outbursts."

Hearing this, Annie stops struggling, wearing an almost hurt expression. He continues speaking.

"On the other hand, he took the opposite path," he says, pointing with his thumb at Ged, who looks weak and tired but maintains a calm and relaxed expression.

"He must have wanted to avoid the magic and started suppressing his own emotions."

Yes, what he said makes sense. Leading him to conclude, "Two wrong answers to an even worse problem. They will have to be careful in the future not to run into trouble."

Sate hears his comment and looks at him seriously but remains silent. Perhaps she doesn't want to say anything now or she just understands that she will have to take care of these two.

Finally, someone says, "So what do we do now?"

It seems the origin of the question was the young blond man. But the question is good. What to do now? To find the answer, he looks at the fire. Thinking about the danger that may still be hidden underneath.

"What's the nearest safe place?" he asks everyone, to see what they say since he has no idea of the local geography.

"The village of Stonebreak is a day away, towards Freehope. We should be able to get there by nightfall if we leave now," says the grumpy black-haired guy, pointing in a direction. After thinking for a few seconds, he warily finishes with, "But they will ask many questions."

He feels a surge of anxiety at the mention of Freehope. Considering everything that happened, it's a place he thinks it's better to avoid. This leads him to ask, "And what's in the other direction?"

The same guy answers, "Another village in that direction, but it's about a two-day walk. There's no chance of getting there today. Beyond that, there's only Dantar, but it's even farther."

That clarifies the situation. Looking back at the fire, he finishes his plans.

"Alright, you two, stay with me here. Let's try to keep this fire under control," he says, indicating the two young necromancers still dressed in their dark cloaks.

"Why? We might as well leave and let it burn," the grumpy guy says. The mere idea of letting the stable burn, possibly causing the surrounding forest to catch fire, surprises him. Despite knowing the guy's activities, this jerk's opinion deeply irritates him.

"Shut up and do what I say," he feels a roughness in his voice that reflects his irritation. The two jerks simply nod in agreement.

"You three, grab the animals and load them with whatever you can," the three prisoners immediately start following his instructions. The two women go inside the inn, while the man stays outside preparing the animals.

Seeing them on their mission, he starts circling the stables with the other two. When he notices an ember starting to ignite in the vegetation nearby, he rushes to extinguish it.

 

After some time, a voice sounds behind him, "We've finished loading the animals. Do you want us to do more?"

It was Ged who spoke, and with him were the two women and the loaded animals.

"You should start on your way," he says, seeing that they haven't understood what he means, he adds, "You need to go to that village, the one I don’t remember the name. You guys need to get there before nightfall."

"You want us to go to Stonebreak?...  What about you?" Sate asks, her eyes wide open in apparent confusion.

"What do I matter to this discussion? You have to go to that village and tell them what happened here. Then come back with enough people to contain the undead," hearing this, they look worriedly at the stables, which are still burning, although fortunately, the fire hasn't spread.

"Don't worry; they probably won't come to the surface initially. Undead need magical energy to sustain themselves. If they didn't have access to the magic in the ruins, they couldn't persist for long," everything he said is true. Unfortunately, it isn’t impossible for some undead to venture to the surface. Therefore, these poor guys must leave here and not return without some reinforcements.

"Understood, then we thank the lord for your help," says Sate as she bows slightly.

He finds it strange the women call him a lord. But upon hearing this, Annie gets furious once again and almost screams, "Thank him? What do we have to thank a necro for?"

Fortunately, Sate interrupts Annie's tirade with a firm "Enough! Let's go." With that, she grabs Annie's arm and heads in the direction of the path that should lead to that village.

While this spectacle was going on, Ged simply watched everything impassively. And when the women follow their path, he just shrugs and follows them, guiding the animals.

It's at this point that the remaining two necromancers approach and the blond one asks in an extremely respectful tone, "What about us? What should we do?"

It's a good question, what should he do with these two? After all, both are kidnappers and most likely murderers. Trusting them would probably be a mistake. But, on the other hand, they can be useful. They must have knowledge of this region that he doesn't. It will be important to get out of here before someone gets any ideas, after discovering he's a necromancer.

And as the people in the caravan demonstrated, it's better to avoid that kind of problem. But, on the other hand, trusting them even minimally is a risk. So, it's better to think for a bit about what to do with them.

"Nero, so what should we do?" the usually grumpy guy asks this time. He feels displeasure at being called Nero, but effectively, it's the name he gave them, and for now, it's better to keep it. Being a name, he hadn't used before arriving at this inn. It should allow him to not get connected to the rumors of a necromancer nearby, at least for some time.

"You two go look for supplies and anything valuable." Hearing these instructions, the two look at each other and nod in agreement before going to carry them out.

In principle, he doesn't expect the two to try to escape, but if that happens, it's just as well. Then he won't have to deal with them.

Shortly afterward, the two appear again loaded with bags before the blond one speaks in an extremely enthusiastic and almost cheerful tone, "We have everything we can carry. What else do you need?"

Seeing what they have with them, he has to ask them, "Is that all you're bringing? Do you think it's enough?"

To this, the grumpy one answers, "We don't have pack animals. And we won't be able to carry much more than this. And I don't think you want to walk loaded." Hearing this, the blond one gives him a nudge and a loaded look, seemingly starting a silent argument between them.

He doesn't care much about their discussion. Instead, he has to admit they won't be able to carry much.

Then, remember that he saw something inside the stable a while ago that should solve this problem. And it's something that should increase his security regarding the two necromancers.

While the two continue their silent quarrel, he goes to the still-smoking ruins, where he finds the body of a mule. Due to the absence of wounds, it seems to have died from smoke inhalation. A sad victim of the fact that, besides Ged, no one else remembered to take care of the animals.

But that means he can now use the third and last spell he remembered during his captivity. Seeing these two will hardly be able to carry much, this seems to be a perfect opportunity to use it.

Focusing on a mental image he had seen many times on a computer screen, he softly says, "Raising of the Undead."

Once again, as he starts to say the phrase. He feels a cool energy within him that with the spoken phrase finishes moves to his right hand, before shooting out in a jet of dark light. But to his frustration, when it reaches the body, he was pointing to, absolutely nothing happens.

It's irritating; he expected the spell to work. But, on the other hand, it doesn't seem like he did anything wrong. And remember that according to the rules of the game, there is a probability of an enchantment failing even if done perfectly.

The two necromancers have stopped their argument and are staring at him. With nothing to lose he decides to try again. But he also decides that if he fails again, the two guys will have the bad luck of carrying whatever is needed.

And focusing again repeating, "Raising of the Undead."

Everything that happened before repeats itself, only this time the mule's body begins to rise. Seeing this, he turns to the two necromancers, who now have wide-open eyes and mouths, to say to them, "Looks like you won't have to carry anything. Just put what's needed on the mule."

"Yes, sir. You can count on us," the blond one says excitedly and almost cheerfully before quickly approaching to start loading the animal.

On the other hand, the grumpy one starts shaking his head slightly from side to side and lets out a heavy sigh. Before also going to the animal.

"Don't forget to get things that can be sold. When you're done, we're leaving."

"To where?", grumpy asks in his grumbling tone. He can’t stop thinking the guy is quite annoying.

"To the other place you mentioned. Dantar, if I'm not mistaken."

Upon hearing the answer, the grumpy's mouth drops open, and after a few seconds, he says while pointing to the mule, "Do you want to travel at least three days to Dantar with this?"

He can understand. Going to a city on a trade route with an undead. It's not exactly the brightest of plans.

But if there's anything he learned from the games he played, it's not to miss opportunities. And leaving something behind that he can take and convert into money would be a terrible loss. Considering these two can hardly carry much. So, this seems to be the best plan available.

Also, the mule will, in principle, be totally loyal to him. At least that's what he hopes.

So, he can only say, "Yes, that's right. If you don't have a better idea, shut up and come."

And so, turning his back on the now open-mouthed grumpy, he starts walking in the opposite direction of the path the prisoners had taken.

After a few steps, something occurs to him. Appearing in a city with a slave collar might not be a good idea. Therefore, he grabs his own collar and whispers, "Lucky lock."

The collar opens, and he holds it in his hands. Turning back to the two necromancers following him, he throws the collar to the blond one, saying, "Keep this; it might be worth something."

And with that, he turns his back on the still open-mouthed grumpy and starts walking away, waiting for an improvement in his luck.

That is before turning back after remembering that they had just started packing, and there were still other things to go collect. So, he can’t simply go, and it’s better to help them pack.