‘I’m starting to get the hang of this, I think I’ll be able to manage somehow, If I meet humans.’

  David was very content with himself. After searching through several more houses, he was pretty well equipped, fed, and clothed. He could now reliably avoid skeletons, and even bigger things that were popping out from time to time.

  “I don’t think I can carry any more stuff, not if I want to keep avoiding those skeletons.”

  The hardest part was to wrap everything, from a jar full of honey to a copper pot, in pieces of a blanket so that he wouldn’t clatter more than the skeletons while walking.

  And it wasn’t long before it paid off.

  The boy was walking down the street, hiding in shadows of buildings, when his hair stood up, and goosebumps crawled around his skin.

  ‘What the fuck…’

  He hurriedly stopped, and made himself as flat against a nearby wall as possible. And not a moment too soon, as he saw a… thing.

  It had multiple eyes all over its body, multiple legs, and a concerning amount of spikes. And was huge. Not as huge as the wyvern, but easily the size of a small brown bear.

  He couldn’t count the exact amount of its out of place body parts, as his goal was to remain unnoticed, and eye contact isn’t recommended in an event of being hunted by aberrations, or other such cute creatures.

  (The good ol’ rule of blowing random stuff up, is that if you can see the explosion, the explosion can ‘see’ you. It’s the same with abominable monsters.)

  Suddenly, it turned around, and ran in the opposite direction.

  “Is this thing hunting something else?”

  David sighed with relief, and got up.

  ‘Alright, its decided. Let’s get the fork out of here.’

  He picked up his pace, barely restraining himself from running.

  Flora was in high spirits. The fact that in the near future, she would be healthy once again, was enough to make her giddy.

  “Something good happened?” Valeria’s voice reached her.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Because you’re practically skipping around.”

  “It’s because of my plan.” Flora answered in a single sentence, not offering an actual explanation.

  “…Continue.”

  “You sure? It might get boring after a few hours.’’

  “Try making it short.”

  “Alright. See, now that I have a core of a wyvern, I’ll be able to animate a few beast corpses with those smaller necrotic cores, and connect them to an undead animated with the big boy.” She showed the wyvern’s black pearl. “That way, their collective strength will be elevated, and what’s even more important, it will allow for the use of excess magic. All I’ll have to do is get my undead into a proper formation, an I’ll be able to raise new, weak undead without using cores, just like that. It’s a wall that separates real necromancers from fake ones, like the corpse pimp.”

  “I thought you didn’t like being called that?”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “I don’t. Because I’m not one yet. And people sullying reputation of us necrotic mages by pretending to be something they’re not, and desecrating corpses while they’re at it, pisses me off to no end. I mean, seriously. Dead are supposed to be our allies, and partners. If Abram died, I would do my best raise him from the dead using the best core available.”

  “I feel like there is something contradictory in your beliefs.”

  “It’s called feelings.” Flora started getting a bit agitated. “They are complicated, and confusing. To clarify a bit more, I think our law is quite good. A family member may choose what to do with a mortal shell of a loved one. Whether they raise them, burn them to ashes, or bury under the heaviest stone available, only they can make that decision. And stealing corpses is a heave crime no matter the reason.”

  “Because, in the end, it’s about the family’s right to grieve?”

  “Yes, precisely. No one is allowed to bury a corpse of my family member, just like no one is allowed to raise a dead stranger.”

  “And are those laws followed?”

  Flora sighed angrily, making a sound similar to hissing. “Partially. I’d be hanged if I tried to animate a corpse of someone who didn’t agree to it when they were alive, but if someone burns or buries a corpse of a man or woman who donated themselves to a necrotic mage, they just get fined.”

  Valeria closed her eyes, and considered.

  “You know what, I won’t even pretend to understand. All this is quite new to me, and I will need to digest this to form my opinion.”

  “Sure. Could you do me a favor though?”

  “What kind?”

  “I need animal or monster corpses. Very specific ones. I’ll go with you, of course.”

  “Figured you’d ask that. Very well. But keep in mind, the more I do for you, the bigger your contributions in finding the child will have to be.”

  “I understand. Honestly, just the wyvern core was enough payment to cover that. I gave Adam money, and asked him to commission a search with our local information gathering guild on his way back. The money he’ll pay them is enough to get us into momentary poverty, but it’s nothing compared to what we can earn by hunting once I’m healthy.”

  “Huh, I didn’t notice you gave him such instructions.” Valeria raised her brow.

  “You were napping. If you did notice, I would be convinced you aren’t a human at all.”

  “Well, if that’s how it is, I’ll leave it to the locals. And professionals, of course.”

  Valeria wasn’t stupid. She could have all the experience in the world, but she was just one person on a foreign soil. Professional locals would be her best bet, if she wanted to actually succeed.

  “I’m happy you trust us.”

  “You seem like decent people. And you trust me, as well. Not everyone is willing to leave his sick family member with someone they just met.”

  In truth, Valeria was still cautious. It could very well be, that Abram left for the city in order to bring not a doctor for Flora, but guards to capture an outsider – Valeria. That being said, she felt great, and was confident in at least escaping.

  ‘Especially now, that I no longer need a cane.’

  Valeria looked at her shepherd’s axe. It was an old thing she carried mainly because it doubled both as a walking aide and a weapon, but she didn’t have to carry it around anymore.

  “Do you have another spear? If we’re hunting, I could use something better than a cane.”

  “Of course. Abram breaks them occasionally. Would you like the longest one?”

  “Yes, please. Let’s get to work, sitting around is surprisingly annoying when my back is pain free for the first time in twenty years.”

  Flora sprung up, and approached her closet. She looked inside, grabbed two sets of robes, and turned Valeria’s way.

  “This is my first outing in a while. Which do you think I should choose?” She asked, visibly excited.

  “The brown one. I dislike people clad in black robes.”

  “Oh? You don’t look like someone with prejudices against articles of clothing.”

  “And I didn’t have any, until I’ve met a certain cult.”

  “Was it some kind of necromantic one? But you don’t seem against me regaining my magic?”

  “Oh, no. A tentacle kind. They were really wreaking havoc back in the day.”

  Flora seemed disturbed.

  “You mean some gathering of warlocks? That’s terrible.”

  “Their cult leader called himself that, yes. Honestly, they were the reason I could deal with the abominations without panicking.”

  “Okay, now I get why you're not scared of anything despite not even being a magician. I heard people go insane when they see their rituals, I imagine nothing could scare you anymore, huh?”

  Valeria looked her in the eye.

  “Honestly, I would rather not talk about that particular incident. It is after all, the reason I’m searching for someone else’s kid, instead of babysitting my own grandchildren.”

  “You have grandchildren?”

  “I would have, maybe.”

  “…Sorry.”

  “It’s alright. Just don’t wear any black robes in my presence. I thought I got over it, but I guess recent events reminded me of… things.”

  “Is this the reason why you were so cruel towards the corpse pimp?”

  “You mean the black robed man with his pet creatures of uncanny deformity? He should be happy he didn’t meet me back when it was all fresh.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Flora donned the brown robe, and followed Valeria outside.

  “So, where do you figure we’ll find whatever we’re looking for?”

  “Follow me. First, we’ll hunt a boar.”