Surrounded by the newly dead, Sariel felt a welcome chill, the cold winds of death brushing against her. They were alive. Largely untouched. And seemingly no worse for wear. It was a fortuitous beginning, as far as ambushes went.
She was unsure of what to make of the scarred man’s words. Holy magic, especially the sort hammered into the strange amulets, like that which the ogre had so quickly claimed from the dead leader of the Sulfreyan knights, was best approached cautiously. It was possible a message had been sent, beyond the purifying light that swept across the plains and smashed the pyromancer’s wall of fire. It was equally possible that it had not. Regardless, Sariel did not doubt that the blindingly bright light had stretched to the very edges of the horizon. Time was rapidly sliding down from the top bulb of the upturned hourglass.
Stepping over a shattered body, Sariel nodded cheerfully at the wizard animating the dead barbarians and a scattering of knights. It was good to see another practitioner of the old arts, the dark arts so maligned by the ignorant. She stopped and knelt down to the commander of the knights, gently removing the dagger from his face, her delicate hands causing little damage to the pierced eye.
Whispering ancient words, Sariel placed her gloved right hand over the face of the brave captain. Ethereal pale blue light traveled over her covered skeletal arm, enveloping the reposing figure in a dreadful layer of faded color. Shuddering and then shaking, the dead knight commander sat up with a sudden lurch, letting out a painful, gasping rasp as he breathed in air he no longer needed to breathe.
"No," the Sulfreyan knight said, desperation obvious in his voice, "No, why am I here? What happened? I am supposed to be sitting next to… NO! You! Vile sorcerer! Witch! Begone!"
"I don’t think so," Sariel replied, rising slowly as she gestured with her hand for the undead knight to do the same. Shaking as he fought against her compulsion, the knight stood at last, staring with horror at his own limbs that had moved against him, shifting at the whims of the necromancer.
"What have you done to me!?"
"I have brought you back. I have restored you. And now, I offer you a choice."
"Choice! I have no choice. You have cursed me, you have damned my very soul!"
"Pah. Do not be so dramatic. Death is death. This is life…or something like it. Calm yourself. And tell me, what is your name?"
"Thuk Meuch-Tok," the Sulfreyan knight commander hissed, fighting still against Sariel's magic.
"Delightful," Sariel answered with only honesty in her heart.
"Why do you torment me?"
"I do not. I simply wish for you to answer some questions. And then, you may return to your rest if you so choose."
"You would release me from this curse?"
"I would, if you answer me truthfully."
"How would you know?"
Sariel smiled a knowing smile, "I have many ways. This spell for one. You are bound to me. You are chained to my will. Power far beyond what you could even hope to imagine was channeled in this spell. It would be best, if you were honest. I take no joy in cruelty, but matters require a steady hand."
"Ask you questions, witch," the undead Sulfreyan spat, trying and failing to mutter a prayer.
"The light. Your holy amulet. Was there a signal…a message sent when you activated the underlying spell?"
"Yes…it was a call for aid. I was told only to use it in the most dire of circumstances. We did not wish to disturb Him unnecessarily."
"Ah, that is unfortunate. I had hoped we might elude detection for some time. Oh well, there is little to be done about that now. Suppose we wished to travel to Malasta, how would we get there from here?"
"You could take the roads," the Sulfreyan began, gesturing towards the close enough roads, visible near the horizon, "You would be safe from any other easterlings."
"Perhaps, something a bit more discrete?" Sariel inquired, nodding pleasantly.
The undead knight shrugged, "If you stay in the wilderness, you will be harder to track, and harder still to spot. Eastwards, for three days, and then north for two more, will see you reach the Unsin River. You can follow the Unsin river for a day or so and then you will arrive at lake Unkar. Malasta, and Sulfrey, blessed Sulfrey, is on the other side of the lake."
"I see, that is quite helpful. I expect there are ferries to transport weary travelers to the city?"
"Of course."
"Wonderful, I have little desire to swim. Now as to the city. Were we to seek entry in Malasta, do you or any of your men possess the proper papers to see us admitted without any unwelcome questions or pointless violence? Would your company secure us a peaceful entry?"
"No," the Sulfreyan said, and Sariel knew with full certainty that he spoke true. "My knights and I belong to the fort at Bal-Atak, we have no business in Malasta. Our presence would raise many questions. You would not go unchallenged even if you were escorted by my full retinue"
"I see, we shall have to do something else then," Sariel mused, shifting her thoughts. "Where might one acquire official documents of transit and entry?"
"Outside of Sulfrey?"
"Preferably."
"I do not know. Such documents are issued only by appointed scribes. You might find such an official in one of the villages around Malasta, but I do not know."
Will, strengthened by time, began to buffet back against Sariel. Soon, she would have to make a choice. She knew she could keep the knight. He would be a useful servant. A powerful geas would bind him…and would protect her.
"Alright then, that’s enough. Brave sir knight, it is time for you to make a choice."
"A choice? What choice do I have? Your foul magic has corrupted me and forced me to betray my country and my master."
"Poor man, I did but set the wheel in motion. You had a choice. You always did. I offered it to you. And you have it still."
Sariel grinned, sensing a faint new wave of emotion. Not anger. Not fear. And not hatred. Hesitation. Beautiful, sweet hesitation. The newly dead were not so far from life. They still remembered. They still sensed all the feelings of life just beyond their grasp. The afterlife might beckon, but life…life was harder to let go of.
"What do you offer me?"
"Life…or death," Sariel said, laughing pleasantly, a sudden warmth in her voice, a soft smile that seemed more gentle than the cold mask that she wore.
"You mock me!"
"Never," Sariel replied, joy still tugging at her features.
"Then what do you mean?" the undead knight desperately said, his hands shaking with trepidation.
"If you wish, I will release you, you will be dead, you will return to the silence of the grave, and your master, perhaps, I do not claim to know the nature of any afterlife. Or…"
"Or…what?"
"You choose to live. You choose this life. A new life. A different life. You would serve me. Until my current task is completed. Then you can be free. Truly free. And you may do what you wish with your new life."
The Sulfreyan knight’s eyes grew wide, his chest moved with heavy breaths that verged on panic. Sariel watched as the knight reached for his sword that lay carelessly nearby. Raising his sword, the knight pointed it at Sariel, and then laid the blade flat on his open palm. Bending down to one knee, he lowered his eyes to the ground, defeat palatable in his entire being, "I offer you my sword and my loyal service, my lady."
Regal in her bearings, Sariel approached, and placed a hand gently on his shoulder, "I accept you into my service and recognize your most honorable oath."
As the necromancer spoke, she could feel the geas binding the undead knight. It was an old trick. It was an ancient spell. One the wizened liches had taught her in their hidden tombs scattered in the distant east.
"Now rise, Thuk, we have many things to do, and I must share what I have learned with my companions. But first, let us see your steed. For what is a knight without his loyal mount?"
Animating a small animal was a simple thing. Animating a bigger animal was a task for novice necromancers. However, animating a great beast, a cousin to dragons, now that, that was a task for a true master of the necromantic arts.
Following the directions of her new servant, Sariel stopped at the bruised and battered form of his slain wyvern. The body was in adequate condition, she could perform her work. Whispering words older than the remembered years, Sariel raised the creature with a gentle brush of her hand over the head of the monster, as if she was petting a particularly large cat.
Standing with a sudden roar, the creature seemed uncertain, settling only when it saw its rider standing protectively nearby the necromancer.
Smiling, Sariel left the knight to attend to his revived steed and strode towards her companions as they picked the corpses that now surrounded them.
"My new retainer has told me many things. Unfortunately it would seem the amulet contained not simply a powerful defensive spell, but also an arcane message, a call for aid sent to our very target."
Relaying the rest of what the Sulfreyan knight had said, Sariel concluded her thoughts, "It would be best if we moved quickly, before more Sulfreyans arrive. East along the forest or North to the hidden treasures of our fiery friend, it matters not to me, but we have little time to decide."
4323O2
World Traveler
Tlaloc
Days
shylarah
RisingRobin
Guardian Angel Haruki
wanderingwolf
Lexisheeps