.^^ Necromancer James Lectin ^^

— Josef —

Before I had a chance to say much else, Mara pulled the trigger, and I grunted as the musket-ball slammed into my recently-healed chest, tearing into my skin and muscle, cracking a rib... and then got stuck, having pierced me maybe an inch.

"Hello, Mara... Ouch." I growled, digging a knife into the wound and popping out the lead ball. "Anyway, I claimed the Arch Plateau, grew a tree, these are the twins, can we use the front door?" I sighed, moving on immediately to save her the embarrassment.

She blinked slowly. "Sorry, love... are you alright?"

"Ja, I am perfectly healthy, don't worry!" I waved her concerns away, and healed myself with a small dose of the Witch-Doctor Skill, a new one that I liked the sound of.

Her eyes widened when the hole sealed itself up instantly, and then she nodded. "Alright, well, you and your friends are welcome to eat with us, and be on your way after a good feed. Come!" She commanded with that motherly air that brooked no argument, and we all followed obediently.

I squeezed through the building carefully, (having never been inside,) out to the porch that looked over the water, the outdoor forge. When Karen saw me, she raised an eyebrow. "Back so soon?"

I grinned. "Went and claimed the Plateau, climbed it and planted the tree, then used its wood to make this." I handed the bow to Brill.

He raised an eyebrow, then focused on the bow, and slowly lowered his eyebrows into an annoyed expression. "Rank SS Material, And you made a Rank D- Weapon?!? What is-... hmm... I see what you did, now... not as stupid as it looked at first..." he placed his glasses on his face, and nodded after a few moments, handing it back. "Yes, I see now. As I am incapable of wielding it, it is only a D-. In your hands, it is SS+ Rank. Congratulations, you've become a Master Craftsman. I'm happy for you... would you be selling that White Steel, then? I'm sure you can make it now." He asked, getting to business quickly.

"I'll sell you the un-charged crystals in with the Anthracite, and you can mix them with anything you like, maybe make some new Alloys, who knows? The elves are Saccharine, Verran and Desta, my companions on the little quest we're undertaking to deal with that Necromancer to the north." I explained, and sat down on the edge of the forge, drying all my clothes instantly.

He nodded. "Indeed... well, I wish you luck, and now we will eat! Mara has used that recipe of yours, the thing called 'Blüdworst', to make a variety of delicious foods, I have to thank you for it!!! And there is a salad, if the elf clerics do not partake of meat."

The twins bowed their heads a little, thanking him silently, and accepted the bowls they were given. Saccharine ignored them, and accepted the bowl of stew happily. "Thank you for the meal." He said politely.

"Eat up, sweetling, you're very thin, even for an elf!" Mara nodded and patted his head, then sat down and tucked in to her apparently half-eaten meal. We'd interrupted dinner, it seemed.

I ate swiftly, stealthily rooting around in the barrel of dried meats I'd stashed in the forge to fill myself up entirely, all the while casually ignored Mara's piercing gaze. "Well, I think it's been long enough, we should get back to the horses, and then be on our way! I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, if all goes well!" I grinned, and made my way out the open wall, around the front of the house.

The elves said their goodbyes politely, and followed me out to the front, where I was staring at the horses. "How... did they find us?" I asked slowly.

"We called for them." Saccharine shrugged, and gingerly climbed up onto the bare back of her mount. I just noticed that none of them used tack or gear of any kind, and was even more impressed.

"When? And how?!?" I laughed, holding a hand out to the mount he had climbed up onto.

The horse sniffed my hand, then leaned forward and lipped my pockets. 'Food? Food for the traveler? Apples? Carrots?' A deep, masculine voice entered my mind calmly.

"Oh... yeah, gimme a second..." I pulled an apple (dried and preserved, because it was still winter, or the tail end of it, really,) out of my Hidden Space, and held it out to him.

He crunched on it happily, eating it all in two bites. 'Thanks are given to the Great Horse for the food.' He said simply, and then head butted my chest gently, turning and trotting away.

I chuckled and jogged out ahead of the group, talking over my shoulder as we set off northward. "So who's the Great Horse? Is that like the Horse Deity?" I asked.

"No one knows, actually. They won't tell." Saccharine shrugged.

"It's probably Poseidon, Father of Horses, the God of Storm, Sea, and Quaking Earth." I smiled as the horses neighed loudly, and one of them headbutted me harshly.

'SILENCE!!! TWO-LEGS ARE FOR CARRYING, NOT KNOWING!!!'

"Hmph. Where I come from, he's one of the Twelve Patron Deities, to the south of my homeland. I'm actually impressed that I was right." I shrugged, and started forward again. "Now! Let's see what your legs can put out, yeah?" I grinned, and lowered my body from a light jog into a low-to-the-ground sprint.

My body crashed through the air with a sound not unlike thunder, moving the way it always had, but with an added spice, almost. Energy and power pulsed through my body, pushing my limbs on when my body would have normally stopped. My body didn't feel tired, or slow, nothing sluggish or slow to respond, but entirely alert, feeling the presence of everything in the forest around us.

I used my Intimidating Presence to keep the lower leveled beasts, such as the dire wolves, away from us for now. The elf horses were keeping pace with me, albeit laboriously, so I slowed down a little, letting them keep up without winding themselves overly much.

Twenty miles, at that pace, was a cake walk, and so we arrived about thirty minutes after we left.

I knew we'd arrived, because the soil under my feet turned black slowly, and oil stuck to my boots as I walked. The trees began to look sickly, but it was all contained within a grove of trees, perhaps half a mile wide, with the edge just barely clipping a river, where I could see a little oil making its way into the river.

I directed the twins to look at it, moving over to that part of the mission first. I pulled an iron rod out of thin air with Alchemy, (which felt odd, because I had to use 'Budding ArchMage' to use Alchemy, and the extra step was unexpected,) then enchanted it on the spot with Witch-Doctor SS+, targeting the cleansing of all unnatural, poisonous, toxic, or contagious substances or organisms.

The twins each carved Runes into it to cleanse the river, and I bolstered the Runes up from C+ to SS+, then waded into the river, planting it in the center by embedding it into a heavy rock. The black in the river instantly evaporated, turning into black smoke that retreated towards the corrupted forest.

"Yep, we're gonna have to talk to this dumbass..." I sighed, and shook myself off like a dog, before heading into the forest again.

The clerics began muttering Spells, preparing long-cast magic to obliterate any undead we met, while I just casually unslung my bow, stringing it as we walked and nocking an arrow.

A large house, built in American Colonial-Era fashion, sat squat in the middle of the meadow as we broke through the forest into it, with two side buildings that were clearly slave barracks.

"Oh hell... it's an American from the Colonial era, isn't it?" I grumbled, and stomped up to the door, putting the arrow away and slinging the bow over my shoulder. I pounded on the door three times, and barked. "Oi! American! I've got a few words for you!"

A few minutes later, the door opened, and a short man looked up at me, his green eyes and shaggy brown-red hair indicative of Irish descent. "You know what America is?" He asked slowly.

"I am from Germany, ja. We know Americans very well." I replied dryly.

He chuckled. "I bet, after what we did to you twenty years ago."

"Twenty? World War II was Sixty years ago, child, and WWI was fifteen years before that. —Also, call me a Kraut, and I'll rip your fucking head off with my bare hands." I grinned savagely.

"There was a SECOND?!? Come in, don't stand on the porch, I suppose we need to talk... would you like some tea?" He asked, and I finally got a lock on his accent, as he was from the south, somewhere in Alabama or Louisiana. I always liked New Orleans. I made the connection, of a man from New Orleans and Death Magic, and hesitated to step inside.

He noticed, and shook his head. "No, no, no tricks in my house, friend. Your elf friends can come in too, but they should stop chanting. It's gathering attention they'd rather not find."

I nodded. "Twins, stop casting, and come have some tea!" Following him into the parlor, I noticed several types of voodoo, which I was vaguely familiar with, but the majority of it was old; old as in OLD, Traditions that were lost centuries ago. Some for good reason.

He noticed again my wandering eyes, and grinned as he poured some sweet American tea, though he used honey instead of sugar. "You know Voodoo, Big Guy?"

"It's a dying art form, in modern New Orleans. Most of the people on bourbon street are fakes and frauds, but if you go into the City of the Dead... well, there's a reason I don't go there." I shivered.

Saccharine leaned towards me. "Why not?"

"The City of the Dead refers to the largest graveyard in the world, going back a thousand years, almost. And it's located right next to a city full of the most Necromantically aligned people on the planet. Piss off a little girl in the City of the Dead, her ancestors are ten feet away, and they aren't sleeping, no matter what they want you to think." I explained, making it a bit dramatic because I loved ghost stories.

The Necromancer in the room nodded. "It's true, yes."

Saccharine blinked slowly, paling as I watched.

"No, this isn't the City of the Dead, and no, he's not going to kill you. He's a Returned Hero, like me. Not evil, just stupid." I shook my head.

"Ey!" He frowned.

"Your oil forest is dripping into a river and killing fields just before planting season!" I snapped back, and he sat down, thoroughly stunned. "Don't worry, we fixed it. Now keep your Oil Grove contained, and all will be well, understood?" I frowned.

He nodded slowly. "Yes, I am sorry... I didn't know, I thought I moved it far enough away from the water..."

"Wait, we're just going to let the Necromancer do his thing? I thought you were being facetious when you said we'd let him do his evil without interference!" One of the twins snapped.

"What Evil? He's researching the human condition in order to better medicine for everyone. Look at the diagrams on the walls, they're scholastic in nature. But let me just do this, Yeah?" I created a book with Alchemy, and wrote down what was essentially a textbook on the modern understanding of biology and disease, then tossed it to him. "That's my knowledge of modern biology and contagious disease. That should expedite your research."

He gasped and opened the journal, reading swiftly, making notes in the margins with a coal pen he produced from one of the many pockets scattered around his robes.

"I like the skulls on your shoulders, though, a nice touch for the Necromancer vibe." I chuckled.

He grinned. "You like? Good, good! I was gonna do some-a them biggie heads, but thought that'd stink too much."

I nodded. "You're right about that. Oh! And we never introduced ourselves! I'm Lord Josef Von Eisenberg, I live in the town about twenty miles directly south of here, along the river."

"Ahh! Yes, I'm aware of that city! I am called James Lectin, Undeath Extraordinaire!!!" He laughed grandly, standing and bowing extravagantly.

"Good to meet you, James. Well, we'll be leaving, but please do understand me: if one of your undead leaves this place and caused trouble? I'll be back, and I won't be here for tea." The Intimidating Presence made him sit down suddenly, and I chuckled. "But still, I hope you do good work here. The medicinal practice here really needs all the help it can get."

He nodded slowly, eyes as wide as they could go, and I turned and walked out, guiding the elves back the way we came.

Once we were outside, I waded into the river again, near my cleansing rod, and washed all my belongings thoroughly. The elves, seeing my purpose, did the same, after I was done.

I left, to give them some privacy, and began placing the same iron spikes as in the river around the entire grove, just outside the perimeter of oil-filled soil, as well as a few dozen more in the river, both up and down it's banks. Those would keep it from ever expanding, hopefully, and would also turn back any undead that went wandering towards them, or destroy them if they persisted.

When I came back, the elves were dressed again, and drying themselves around a large fire, about fifty yards away from the Oil Grove. "Alright, let's warm up and then teleport back to my cabin... I'm curious to see how it works!" I grinned, sitting next to Saccharine.

He nodded. "It's a bit of a rush, that's true. And I'd love to sleep in a warm bed tonight."

"No problem there! The cabin is a bit small, but I am an excellent source of body heat, I'm told!" I laughed.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Excuse me?"

"Hmm? I'm warm. Sleeping in the same room as me is the same as having a fire in there with you. Very cozy." I explained, thinking perhaps my colloquialisms had failed me.

He shook his head. "Oh, I see. I thought you were inviting us to share your bed."

I leaned back to get a good look at him and see if he was joking. "Seriously? What do you take me for?!? I would never proposition someone so crudely!!!"

He smiled. "Well that is a relief, but I didn't say the proposition displeased me, only that it was unexpected."

I opened my mouth to respond, finding nothing to say to that, and shut it slowly, turning back to the fire. "Oh." I supplied eloquently.

The twins snickered quietly, and then waved, disappearing.

I leapt to my feet, looking around. "What the fuck?!?"

"Calm down, they just went back to their Monastery. The two gold they're owed will go to the Monastery as a gift, and they'll all eat better in the months to come. The monasteries and orphanages are all part of the same organization, so it'll get disseminated properly. They never take the money for themselves, that's why I like them." Saccharine nodded.

I cleared my throat and sat down again, twiddling my thumbs. "Oh... alright... so, to the Cabin, then? I'd like to test out the Skill, but we can ride the horses back if you like?"

He laughed, and moved closer. "Are you babbling? I expected you to be incredibly confident in this area!"

"Well, the last time I flirted was... a long time ago. Ever since my kids were born, I neglected my love life... and I'm still babbling, yes. Let's leave, that's a good idea." I stomped out the fire, and gingerly touched Saccharine's shoulder, activating the skill.

My gut dropped out instantly, and I fell to my knees, nearly puking then and there. My eyes shook and slowly focused, revealing the thin androgynous elf, standing there in front of me calmly, speaking. "-ve you got your eyes back?"

I nodded slowly. "That... was rough."

He nodded. "It can be, when you don't expect it. Doing it injured is the worst, so try not to do that."

I laid down slowly on the soft grass. "Mmhm... I'll try not to do that."

"Nope, into the cabin we go, it's about to-"

A crack of thunder, and suddenly a sheet of rain poured down over the plateau.

"Bastard!" He snapped at the storm above us, as I stood up slowly, wobbling a little. He supported me easily, and led me inside, where I got my first view inside the cabin.

It was a cozy little cabin, (devoid of most everything necessary for comfortable life, but cozy,) and I could stand up, I realized, which was nice. I started the fireplace, hanging my wolf-hide jacket on the mantle.

Then I froze, when Saccharine reaches past me, and placed his clothes on the mantle as well. "So, you have kids somewhere?" He asked calmly, and I heard the rustle as he cleansed the bed with magic and then laid down on it.

"Yeah... four girls, two boys. The youngest is 21, and already married to the woman of her dreams, and the older ones have good lives and such... I'm not too worried about them, though I do hope they don't grieve too long. I wasn't a very good father, after all. Too busy." I sighed, and cracked my back slowly.

"Mm. If all your children are taken care of and successful, I would say that you are, in fact, a good father. But enough of the procrastinating and exposition, hmm? Turn around, tough guy." He laughed softly at the blush that started on the back of my neck, and I sighed, turning around and taking in the view.

His body had changed a little, but his face was the same, and he was still just as slender. I gulped slowly, and he smiled, looking at my waist. "Well that's a good sign..."