by Noah Layton
The necromancer appeared in the doorway. She was a slight woman in her early twenties who stood far below the elves, tying her robe around herself as she appeared.
On a given day she appeared like a weak and fragile thing, but I knew the power that she possessed; there was no way I would even think about messing with her.
‘You two deserve a tip, as always,’ she commented, opening a trading window and dragging unseen amounts of gold to the hands of the elves.
‘You two don’t know Captain Archie, do you?’ I asked the elves.
‘We don’t discuss clients,’ the first said. She winked at me, and the two trailed away.
So that was a yes. So much for dedication to a long-lost love.
‘You do pick your moments, tribe master,’ the necromancer said. ‘I was in the middle of achieving enlightenment with those two beauties…’
‘How many times have you achieved enlightenment with them before? If you don’t mind me asking, obviously.’
‘Pshh…’ She sighed, looking to the side and counting on her fingers. ‘122 times. They’re not always my flavour of choice, though. There’s a man with troll genes who runs inventory for a brewery on the edge of the cove with an endowment between his legs the size of-’
‘Okay, I don’t need to know anything else.’
‘Fair enough. He is huge, though.’
‘Thanks for that image.’
I followed her into her den and shut the door behind me.
‘How’s the Arcane Blast working out for you, by the way?’
‘Decently, although I’m all out of charges.’
‘I can’t do anything about that. I told you, you need to find a power well.’
‘I’m still working on that. I’ve stumbled on a lot of weird shit in my travels, but that isn’t one of them.’
‘Well, if you do find one keep it to yourself. A lot of people will kill for the opportunity to acquire one. Anyway, what can I do for you on this beautiful day?’
I produced the power stone and Spell: Telekinetic Blast, then opened up a trading window with her.
‘Oh, this is an interesting one,’ she remarked. ‘Where did you find it?’
‘Somewhere that almost got me killed. I hope it was worth it.’
‘It was. Your Arcane Blast is strong, but this is something much stronger. Be careful when and where you use it. If you’re hitting a person, be sure you don’t like them, and don’t use it around any structures that are… Fragile.’
I traded her the usual price of 300GP and headed to the centre of the circle. The routine was the same as last time, the beams of light emanating from the symbol beneath me and coursing into my body. This time they were a neutral grey color.
The necromancer returned the stone to me afterwards, which I placed into my inventory.
‘Considering that you have proved yourself to be a trusted and well-paying customer, I’ve supplied you with another ability that should make your fights a little easier in future. Equip one of your power stones.’
‘But they’re both empty.’
‘Just do it, tribe master.’
I pulled the power stone for Telekinetic Blast back out of my inventory.
‘Form this shape with your hand.’
The necromancer formed her fingers into something resembling the okay sign, but with her three free fingers hunched over.
I mirrored the sign, and an image appeared before me.
Ten translucent circles appeared in my eyeline, forming a much larger circle. The one at the top, and the one directly to the right of it, were occupied by images of the two power stones in my possession.
Looking past the image, I saw the necromancer holding up her clawed hand. She rotated her wrist, and I imitated the motion.
The spotlight moved to the next power stone. I opened my hand, and the circle disappeared.
Looking down at my hand, I found I was now holding my other power stone.
‘Holy shit,’ I laughed. ‘That’s useful. So I can just switch between them instantly without having to dig into my inventory?’
‘Exactly,’ the necromancer winked. ‘It’ll get you out of some tough situations. Requires you to think fast, though. Once you’ve built up a collection of power stones you’ll be able to initiate some very interesting moves.’
‘After I’ve charged them, that is.’
‘After you’ve charged them,’ she repeated, nodding. ‘Your Arcane Blast might be out of charges but that new power stone of yours already had two in it. Use it wisely until you find a power well.’
‘Any advice on finding these things? I haven’t run into anybody yet who knows a thing about power wells.’
‘Hmm…’ The necromancer tapped her chin. ‘I cannot tell you anything with regards to their locations, as they are the best kept secrets in Agraria. Even I do not know of their locations. I can help you with their nature, though.’
‘What nature would that be?’
‘They are… Deceptive. They are enticing to look at, but each power well possesses what is almost a… Mind of its own. They are unstable, and they can sometimes attempt to defend themselves so that people do not take from their sources of power. Just be careful with them. I can’t have you dying on me and drying up my gold source from you.’
‘Thanks for the information,’ I said, examining the stone before returning it to my inventory. ‘Pleasure doing business.’
‘As always,’ she replied. ‘And if you’re in the market for something or someone to slide into bed with just pay me a visit. Those elves of mine have plenty of friends.’
‘I’ve got plenty of wives as it is.’
‘I’m sure they would be more than happy for you to indulge in the bodies of other women.’
‘That’s not what I’m about. Having more than one wife is something that I’ve gotten used to, but I don’t fuck around on them. The only way that would ever happen was if a woman I intended to be my wife wasn’t yet.’
‘Intended,’ the necromancer smiled. ‘The man in control. Be safe out there.’
‘You be safe in here.’
‘Always am.’
I headed out of the den and back to the cove, meeting up with Lara and Lola at the cart, then meeting Ariadne at the end of the dock and getting Elera from the water. She hopped out effortlessly in her soaked coverings and joined us.
‘My dear,’ Lola said. ‘You must wear something more modest than that, at least in public. Here.’
Lola retrieved a large, shabby overcoat from her inventory and handed it to Elera.
‘Thank you…’ She said slowly, examining the coat. ‘… What is it?’
‘It’s an overcoat, darling. You wear it.’
Elera shot me a confused look. I took it from her and helped her put it on.
‘I see…’ She said curiously. ‘Do you wear these things all the time?’
‘Pretty much. When you’re back at my land you can wear whatever you want.’
‘Does nothing count as whatever I want?’
‘If it were just us, but there are other people there. Why don’t we go meet them?
We hit the road and made it back to the land within a few hours. Along the way Elera started asking questions about everything and everyone. It was like talking to somebody who had been living under a rock her entire life.
Technically she had been doing that for the last few months, but I didn’t pin it down to that. She had been living in and around the rivers her whole life, living in leisure and hanging out with the other nymphs.
‘… Then me and Ariadne and my imp, Alorion, showed up looking for a necromancer.’
‘What is a necromancer?’
‘Someone who can teach people how to use magic. So we go out and kill this manticap-’
‘What’s a manticap?’
‘A humanoid with a tiger’s head. Anyway…’
***
It was well before midday, and the sound of the gates closing behind me was sweeter than ev
er.
Our team took a break. Ariadne showed Lola over to Jeremiah’s old house, where she could stay for the time being.
I felt safe, and I felt that my people were safe too. The moment that sensation sank in, my nerves finally relaxed, and my mind went with it.
Taking down sirens, saving a nymph and traversing the river had completely taken it out of me.
Once we had parked the cart and let Arabelle back into the field, I immediately set up the bath in the treehouse and hurried back and forth with buckets of water until it was filled.
The entire time, Elera watched me from the centre of the room with fascination. Her eyes darted between me and the water continuously.
When the bath was finally full, she scampered across the room and dipped into it, sighing with relief.
‘So..’ Lara said, joining me in the bedroom. ‘She really likes water, huh? Well, she is a nymph, so I do not know what I expected.’
‘I really don’t know how this is going to work. She can spend a few hours outside of the water, but after that she starts to struggle.’
‘Guess we just have to keep her in a bath for the rest of her life. Perhaps removing her from the water was not the smartest plan?’
‘You don’t approve?’
‘Oh, I approve,’ Lara affirmed. ‘Have you seen her body? I mean, her breasts... But then she is a nymph, so it’s not surprising that you felt the need to bring her back here. Like I said… Look at her.’
‘Sounds like I’m not the only one.’
‘No, you are not.’
I knew from when we met that Lara had spent time with both men and women during her time in Agraria.
Elera poured water over herself the whole time like she couldn’t even hear us. It was possible that she couldn’t; she was entranced in pouring water over herself that she took little interest in us.
Lara headed out. I crossed to the bath and kneeled by it.
‘Are you sure you’re okay in here?’
‘Mm. Good.’
She leaned forward and kissed me again. I indulged for a moment but eventually pulled away.
‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘Not right now.’
‘You do not want me?’
‘I definitely want you, believe me. I just have a lot to do right now.’
‘Very well. I must say it is a little strange for things to be the other way around. Usually it is I who is turning away the men.’
She smiled at me and closed her eyes, then fell back into the water as she sighed with pleasure.
I left quickly, closing the door to the treehouse and collapsing against the trunk on my shoulder, rubbing my eyes.
I could have had her in that bath then and there, but it didn’t feel right. I had too much to complete right now, and I had been away from my tribe for a full day. I had other things to sort out.
I headed to the cart and retrieved the seeds that Lara and Lola had retrieved, then went to meet Tormus and Eri.
‘Excellent,’ Eri remarked. ‘These will make an excellent start.’
‘Good Everything else in order?’
‘Things are growing wonderfully,’ Tormus said. ‘The sun has let up a little compared to how hot it was a few weeks ago.’
‘Indeed,’ Eri added. ‘I would not be surprised if we experience some rainfall in the coming weeks.’
‘Really? I haven’t experienced rain in... Well, in a long time.’
‘It has been many months.’
‘Will it affect the crops?’
‘The corn, perhaps. It flourishes in hot weather. The moonseed can be protected from rainfall. The tomato’s will be fine.’
‘What about potatoes and carrots?’
‘Also fine,’ Eri replied. ‘But with all of these crops...’
‘What is it?’
The husband and wife shared a look.
‘Despite our experience,’ Tormus continued, ‘we are starting to become a little overwhelmed with work. Some further help would be useful in the future if we intend to expand the extent and variety of our crops.’
‘Absolutely,’ I replied. ‘For the time being, uproot most of the remaining corn and plant the carrots and potatoes. We can increase our profits with less work that way. Just do what you can.’
I nodded goodbye to them, but they shared another pensive look.
‘Something wrong? You can tell me, whatever it is.’
They both laughed nervously.
‘There is another reason that we need further help farming the crops. I am... With child.’
‘Really? I, uhh... Wow. Congratulations.’
‘Thank you!’
Tormus was the one who said it - he proceeded to rush forward and hug me. He was a lean, regular man, but he damn near lifted me from the ground with his strength.
Hell, there was no way that I wasn’t going to return that hug.
‘How far along are you?’ I asked, returning to Eri.
‘Three weeks, I think, which means only three months until we are a family of three.’
‘Three months? How… How does that work?’
‘Yes. We, like all kinds in Agraria, produce differently to others.’
‘I don’t need any more information than that,’ I laughed, holding up my hands. Their hippie-esque nature led me to believe I would be hearing a lot more than I needed to know. ‘Okay, from now on, no more heavy lifting. I’m sure your husband will be more than glad to do the work.’
‘I appreciate the worry, master, but nurturing the land is my life force. It is the same for that I intend to pass to my child.’
‘Okay, but like I said, let’s focus on the high-yield crops. We’re moving away from corn. We’ll have a special dinner at some point in the next few days to celebrate.’
‘We would like that very much.’
‘Great. Right now I really have to get some sleep.’
By the time I returned to the treehouse my exhaustion had truly caught up with me. Santana appeared in the clearing and came rushing up to me, but halted a few yards short.
‘Master Jack... You are not well.’
‘I’m fine,’ I said resolutely. ‘I just need to rest.’
Santana helped me up the steps and onto the bed.
I rolled onto my back and glanced over at the bathtub. Elera was asleep in the water, her head resting against the side.
‘Ariadne told me about this nymph that stole your heart.’
‘She didn’t steal my heart,’ I smiled groggily. ‘She’s a damn good fighter, though.’
‘And very attractive, not that that would have swayed your judgement at all, master...’
‘Very attractive, huh? You don’t usually comment on that kind of thing.’
‘I saw a nymph once, perhaps a year ago.’ Santana crossed to the bucket by the bathtub and soaked a small towel in it. ‘There was a river a few miles from our homestead. I was searching for herbs in the forest near a stream. I heard something and saw her. Her skin was a little greener than Elera’s, but she was no less beautiful. I was captivated by her.
‘When I got home that night and said my prayers, I climbed into bed and found that I could not stop thinking about her... and that was the first night that I...’
‘That you what?’ I said sleepily, struggling to keep my eyes open.
‘It was the first time that I felt my own touch.’
My eyes flicked open. That did a damn good job of waking me up.
‘Woah...’ I said, lifting my head. ‘I thought you said...’
‘I told you that I had pleasured myself.’ Santana stood from the bed and crossed to the treehouse door, halting in the doorway and smiling at me over her shoulder. ‘I never told you what I was thinking about.’
With that she closed the door, leaving me with my thoughts.
‘Christ...’ I whispered, lying back against my pillow. ‘These women are going to be the death of me...’
My mind eventually settled, and I managed to fall asleep in the early aftern
oon. I had intended for it to just be a nap, but there was no way that was happening.
Chapter Seven
‘Jack, wake up!’
I stuttered awake to Santana shaking my arm. Darkness had fallen long ago on the land.
‘What, what is it?’
‘The nymph...’
I sat up and she pointed to the bathtub. Ariadne was cradling Elera in her arms. The nymph was on the floor wheezing desperately, her eyes wide and fearful.
I jumped up from the bed just as Lara emerged through the door with a bucket of water in her hand.
We both hurried to Elera’s side. Lara fed her some of the water than poured the rest over her body. It seemed to provide some relief for several seconds, but after a short while she continued to struggle for breath.
‘I think she needs fresh water,’ Santana said.
‘Where do I find that? Am I supposed to drop her into the well? It’ll kill her.’
‘We can’t drop her into the tribe’s clean water supply,’ Ariadne said. ‘I think she needs a river.’
‘I don’t know any nearby,’ Lara said, casting the bucket aside.
Elera pushed from Ariadne’s grasp and reached towards the door.
‘She can seek out water sources,’ I said. ‘All I have to do is follow where she points.’
I picked Elera up and carried her frail body to the pasture. Readying Arabelle quickly, I propped Elera up onto the front of the horse and climbed on behind her.
‘It’s after dark,’ Ariadne called to me. ‘It’s not safe!’
‘We dealt with that already.’
‘There are still creatures out there.’
‘She’s going to die if she doesn’t get to a river. It’s just a chance I’m going to have to take.’
Elera managed to raise her arm, pointing to the north.
I whipped the reins and raced across the land to the northern gates. I jumped from Arabelle and opened them quickly, heading out with reassurance from the girls that they would lock them up behind me.
Lighting a torch and departing from my land, we headed into the wild.
Elera’s limp hand, and a single finger pointing weakly forward in the light of my torch, was the only thing guiding my way.
She directed us slightly northeast, away from the direction of the trading post and the path towards it. We moved deeper and deeper into the unmapped reaches of the forest.