Necrodruid

by Adam Witcher

  The first one I saw was alone. He was a pudgy faced creature, and his heaving belly and sweaty skin made me wonder how he was the first to locate me. He was breathing too hard to call out to the others, so I put an arrow in his neck before he could. A few seconds later, two more stumbled upon the body. They were still registering his presence when I leapt between them and did a spin with my blade that cut both of their throats. It felt like I was back in the forest fighting those goblins. The drunken state and shoddy armor of these larger counterparts made it to where it wasn’t much more of a challenge.

  I could hear more of them rustling nearby grapevines when I heard a commotion coming from the direction of the large barn where Lily was. I stopped for a moment and tried to identify the sounds. There was a large hissing sound that ebbed and flowed, as well as the unmistakable clinking of weapons. Then several deep, loud shouts. It seemed that there were more than just the enemies that followed me. I tried to be as quiet as possible as I moved toward the commotion. It seemed simple enough to leave most of these idiots stumbling around looking for me in vain, but I had to put down a few that I encountered on my way out of the crops.

  Eventually I reached the edge of the vineyard and looked out at the scene before me. The battle was taking place on a large patch of dirt just in front of the closed barn. There were another twelve or so hobgoblins, and Lily was taking them all on. These foes were clad in armor like mine, and all of them had the focused faces of sobriety. They must have been in the barn. Some stood far away from Lily, aiming their crossbows carefully. One by one they fired. Lily held up a hand and the bolts froze and glowed blue in midair, then dropped to the ground. The archers looked at her, dumbfounded for a moment, before trying and failing again.

  More of the hobgoblins surrounded her with swords and axes. Two of them charged simultaneously. She waved her hand and a wall of glowing ice formed between her and her attackers which stopped them dead in their tracks. A third one went around the ice and swung at her sideways with his axe. She ducked and held her hand up for a moment. I watched in awe as a dagger made of ice materialized in her grasp. She stuck it into the side of the attacker, and he dropped his sword in surprise. The ice dagger sizzled loudly and then transformed into a cloud of glowing vapor that trailed away, but the oozing wound remained. The hobgoblin fell to the ground, where he writhed in agony.

  How the hell did these guys get the drop on her? I wondered.

  After this display, the remaining creatures circled around her, all waving weapons but none eager to strike. If they did, though, Lily wouldn’t be able to take them all. I noticed then, too, the bearded man who lay crumpled against the side of the barn. He watched helplessly. I could barely make out the dark blood on his face in the moonlight.

  Suddenly the image of Izmira materialized faintly in my mind, and I shook the surprise from myself and prepared to leap into action. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to imagine the same sensation from earlier. I pictured all of the fallen in the earth around me, the bones and spirits that had separated peacefully into the soil below. At first, I could feel nothing. None of the animal spirits seemed to be answering my call. I tried to focus even harder despite the scene I could still hear. Soon, I felt faint energies from the ground. I tried to isolate them, to focus my mind on them. I tried to picture the small animals of the forest in the hopes that these would be like them, but as I tried to do so, I felt the energy slipping. With a deep breath, I recentered and tried to let them reach out to me. Soon, I felt a connection, and when I realized what spirits had answered my call, I couldn’t help but smile.

  I opened my eyes and started forward just as the resurrected grapevines sprung from the dirt. Some of them surfaced near me and began to crawl toward the hobgoblins, but others came up around their feet and wrapped around their ankles before they could even be detected. The foes stopped their attack on Lily, grunted in confusion, and tried to gain their bearings. I didn’t intend to let them do so, and neither did she. I ran at the full force with my bow and let a few arrows fly. The first two missed, but the next one caught a surprised hobgoblin just under an exposed rib. Another went through the throat of one that was neck and neck with Lily. She ducked under him as he fell and did a somersault forward, cutting open the ankles of two more just below where the rotten vines held them. They cried out in agony.

  When I was close enough, I flung out my dagger, and the two of us struck down all the foes still left standing. By that time, though, the drunk hobgoblins had heard the battle raging from the vineyards and were stumbling toward us. Though slow and clumsy, there were a few dozen coming at once.

  “Put your back to mine!” Lily cried out. I did.

  She gritted her teeth, groaned loudly, and waved her hand. A massive, thick ice wall surrounded us, blocked out the rest of the world, and glowed with moonlight. We turned around and faced each other, and she blushed.

  “If you wanted to get this close to me,” I said, “all you had to do was ask.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to help you, you idiot. There’s too many. And I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever the hell these vines are come after us when they’re done with them.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about those.” I smirked. “Did I mention that I’m a necrodruid?”

  “A what?”

  “I’ll explain later. Just let me out of this ice so we can kick some ass.”

  “Let’s try to flank them,” she said. “On three, okay?”

  I nodded. “One, two, three!”

  Lily let two sides of the wall surrounding us fall, and we popped out on either side. The drunken hobgoblins had gathered in front of it, apparently trying to decide how to penetrate it. The vines were quickly approaching them. For a moment, I wondered why the vines hadn’t attacked yet. I focused in on them again and they seemed to have their attention on me. They’re waiting for me, I realized. I willed them to attack this time, not just bind the hobgoblins. We were in action quicker than their drunken brains could process. I stuck my dagger through one, then another. I was about to swing at a third when the end of a thick vine sliced open his neck for me. I stopped what I was doing and looked through the crowd to see that Lily had stopped as well. The vines completely overtook them, sliding around their legs and torsos until they either suffocated them or sliced open their arteries. After a few moments, the vines let go and the bodies began to drop.

  Then it was just me, Lily, a mass of slithering vines, and a gigantic pile of dead hobgoblins. Lily stood staring with her mouth hanging open.

  “You’re controlling them…” she said bewildered.

  “Not exactly,” I said. “I awoke them and communicated. It kind of feels like they and I, we did it together. That at the end, though… that was brutal. I didn’t ask them to do that.”

  “Those must have been the vines from the last farmers that lived out here ten years ago.” Lily stared off into the distance as she spoke. “The Favros… Hobgoblins like these burned them and their farm. The people around here told my father he was crazy for buying the land, but he did it anyway because it’s good for growing grapes. Oh, gods, father!” She turned and ran to where her father lay heaped over against the side of the barn.

  “Are you okay, father?” she said frantically. “Can you hear me?”

  The old man’s eyes popped open, and he smiled weakly.

  “Lily, you’re okay...” I could barely make out his words. “Where is your mother?”

  “She’s in Fellrock, father,” she said. “She’s okay. She sent him to help.” She gestured at me.

  He started to stand up, and Lily helped him. He put his arm around her shoulders and they limped forward. When they reached me, he held up one of his hands to shake. I took it.

  “Thank you,” he said, “for saving my farm.”

  “I… uh, don’t mention it.” I said. “I couldn’t have done it without her, you know. Do you know why they were attacking you? Just wanted some free wine?”

  “They
were doing something in there.” The man gestured to the barn. “Making something. I don’t know what it was, but I don’t think they finished. They were making it with our grapes, but it wasn’t wine. Something much darker… I couldn’t tell.”

  We hobbled together into the barn. Torches filled the room with light, and I got a good look at the operation. There were several enormous barrels full of grapes on one side of the room that stood as tall as me. In the center of the barn was an even bigger black vat. There was no opening to the vat except for a large funnel near the top of one side and a series of tubes that ran out of it and into six small buckets on the other side. A black liquid dribbled through the tubes. The rest of the room was in shambles, tools and equipment of all kinds had been scattered around.

  “One day and they manage this,” the man said. “I barely even recognize this place.”

  I walked over to one of the buckets and held a drop of the liquid in my hand. It had the same infinite blackness that the goblins’ powder did. I told them about the stuff I’d found earlier that day and pulled out my bag of it. We compared the two substances and found that they both had the same sulfurous smell.

  “Whatever it is,” Lily said, “it must dry into the stuff in this bag.”

  The three of us stood there contemplating for a minute. It seemed that none of us were sure what to do with the information.

  “I can’t tell you exactly what these creatures were making, but there must be something I can do for you,” Mark said.

  “Well,” I said, looking over at Lily for a moment before turning back. “A hot meal and a cup of wine would be nice. And maybe a bed to sleep in.”

  “Of course,” he said. “Please be my guest.”

  “Father!” Lily objected. “We don’t know this man. We can’t let him sleep in our house.”

  “Lily, this man may have just saved our lives.”

  “I could have done it without him, father!” She was exasperated. “My skills with ice are getting better every day. Didn’t you see me with those walls and daggers?”

  “Lily, you’re a bright and talented young woman,” he said with a smile. “But a little gratitude is good for you.”

  I laughed at that, and her cheeks went red.

  “Let’s go inside,” the old man said. “We’ll see if those bastards left us anything to drink.”

  Chapter Six

  The smell of sizzling meat roused me from my sleep. I raised my head and it pounded furiously. Daylight flooded my eyes and I twisted my head to conceal them against the back of the sofa. I tried to recall the end of last night. Nicolas had shown himself to be a very experienced drinker, and Lily proved that it ran in the family. Despite—or perhaps because of—the dangers from the previous night, they displayed a surprising and contagious vigor for merriment.

  They were both awake already, and I could hear them talking in the corner of the kitchen. The sobering arrival of morning had stripped away their exuberance. Their words were tense whispers, but I could still make them out when I focused.

  “This is our home, Lily,” Nicolas hissed. “I won’t abandon it just so more of those things can storm in and take it for themselves.”

  “And what if you’re here again when they do?” Lily replied. “I’m getting stronger, but what if I’m not here, or what if they come in greater numbers? We can’t count on someone rescuing us every time. The estate is safer. Family is there.”

  “The estate is even closer to that… place where all of these things are coming from. That tower. If anything, we should be moving further from it.”

  “Just do it for me, dad, okay?” She said. “Just for a little while.”

  They stopped talking and cooked in silence for a moment. My curiosity overcame my headache. As I stood up from the sofa and stretched, the floorboards creaked beneath my weight. The Nicolas and Lily noticed me waking, and I guessed it was a welcome respite from their difficult conversation.

  “All right there, champ?” Nicolas turned from cooking breakfast and grinned at me. “I should have mentioned that this family holds their wine better than most. For obvious reasons.”

  “No kidding.” I chuckled and rubbed my temple. “I’m feeling rough, but I think I can smell the cure.” I walked over to where they stood and peered into the pan of sausage and eggs. They looked as good as they smelled. I took a seat at the table, and Lily joined me. Nicolas remained at the stove.

  “You have an animal farm then? Where?” I asked.

  “Not ours,” Nicolas said. “Our neighbors from about a mile down, the Brauns. They’ve got an insatiable thirst, it seems, so we make trades. Lily was kind enough to run up there this morning.”

  “Impressive.” I nearly vomited at the thought of a mile-long journey with this hangover.

  Nicolas set a loaded plate in front of me.

  “This’ll get you fixed up,” he said.

  I took a bite and almost teared up, it was so good. The food slid into my stomach and I immediately felt my energy returning. I took a moment to savor it before I broached the subject of their conversation.

  “Sorry to pry,” I said with a mouthful of eggs. “But what’s this about an estate?”

  They looked at each other for a moment, both seeming to wonder if they should respond or defer to the other. Lily took the lead.

  “The Wolfgang’s are a big family,” she said. “A tight-knit one, too. We’re actually the odd ones out for not living there now. There are almost thirty of them there I think.”

  “Us, sweetie.” Nicolas put his hand on her shoulder. “Thirty of us.”

  “We lived there when I was a kid,” she said to me. “But my dad bought this land and we moved away when I was about ten. I can’t say I was too upset to leave.”

  “But you’re going back?” I asked.

  They looked back at each other. I suddenly regretted forcing a conclusion to their argument.

  “It’s the safest place for us right now,” Nicolas lowered his eyes to the table.

  I finished my plate and removed myself from the tension of the conversation by taking it to the wash bucket. They’d only just begun to eat.

  I turned and tried to lighten the mood once more, “Well you both seem thrilled to see your family. This mess could be a perfect excuse for a reunion.”

  Neither of them said anything. They both chewed slowly and stared at their plates.

  Finally, Nicolas responded, “Lily wasn’t treated all that well by her cousins growing up. She’s adopted, you see. And even though she is absolutely a Wolfgang, some of them didn’t quite see it that way.”

  “They treated me like shit, actually,” Lily said, pointing her fork. “I couldn’t have been happier when we left.”

  It didn’t seem prudent to pry further into the matter. I simply gave them a nod.

  “What about your mother?” I asked her. “I can’t imagine Fellrock is much safer than your vineyards right now.”

  “If I know her, she’s either there already or on her way now,” Nicolas said after his last bite. “It’s always been an emergency plan of ours. Fellrock was just closer, so she went there first for help.”

  I looked at Lily, who was trying to conceal a crestfallen pout. Nicolas stood from the table, announced that he was going to go change his clothes, and went to the bedroom. He closed the door behind him.

  “So, you’re going too, then,” I said.

  “Twelve years…” She might have said it to me, maybe to herself. “Twelve years since I’ve been to that place.”

  “It must have been pretty bad, huh?” I asked. She didn’t need to answer for me to know. The look on her face said it all.

  “It’s the safest place for my parents,” she said.

  “So why are you going?” I asked. She stopped staring at nothingness and turned to me.

  “Because it’s my family,” she said. “The only one I’ve got. Even if they don’t like to believe that, it’s true.”

  “Your parents are your family, and
they’ll be safe there. But it doesn’t sound like any place for you.”

  “And what would you do, huh?” She stood up abruptly with her hands planted on the table. “It’s awfully easy for you to say that. They’re not your parents.”

  “Just so you know,” I said. “I left my own grandparents behind too. And what would I do? I’d come with me. You and I kicked ass together last night. Whatever is causing all of this, we should team up against it.”

  She lifted her plate and took it to wash, contemplating this for a moment.

  When she returned to her chair, she admitted, “I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind,”.

  The bedroom door swung open and Nicolas walked out donning a light traveling cloak and a small bag stuffed full. Lily gazed at him and took a deep breath.

  “Can you give us a moment?” she asked me. I nodded, put my boots on, and stepped outside.

  The vineyards looked even larger in the bright morning light. Now I could get a clear view of the way they went up the hills on either side. In between the house and the barn, the corpses of hobgoblins were piled high. They hadn’t begun to stink yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they’d be unbearable. I walked over and went through the small satchels that many of them carried. Quite a few only contained the stains and residues of that strange black powder. A few carried gold coins, so I pocketed them. I even managed to recover a few of my arrows, which I wiped off using the dead creatures’ tattered clothing and stuck them into my quiver.

  After some time, Lily and Nicolas emerged from the house and approached me. Both had a red tint to their eyes. Nicolas extended his hand to me and I shook it.

  “Thank you again for everything,” he said. “Please make sure nothing happens to her.”

  “Of course,” I said, surprised at the quick resolution.

  “Lily fetched two horses this morning,” he said. “You two should take one of them to head north. Whatever is causing all this is far away, and you’ll need to get there as quickly as you can.”