Chapter 21: The Unlife (1/2)
“This is delicious!” Ilea proclaimed, raising the cup to the barkeeper and smiling wide. Walter only smiled back while cleaning another mug. “Where did you get this stuff?” She asked but the barkeep only shrugged at her question.
“He brews it himself. No idea how he manages to do that down here. He’s good with earth magic and one of his helpers has a talent for wind. That’s also how the fire in here isn’t killing us with the smoke…,” Indra explained.
She nodded towards Walter and turned to Indra. “That’s quite a nice place you got here. Where are the murder and experimentation rooms?” she asked, with a smile on her lips. Indra sighed while Walter chuckled from the side.
“I’ll show them to you later. For now I’d like to know what you’re going to do next. You can’t go back up the way you came and I’m not sure we can let you go with the knowledge of us being here. No matter how nice you seem.”
“Oh I was aware of that. I’m alright with staying for a while… maybe a couple weeks, if that’s alright with you. Sightseeing and learning about your work would be a nice change of pace. I do hope there’s not too many people here… not the biggest fan of large crowds.” Ilea replied.
Indra again smiled his strained smile at which Walter nearly dropped his mug. “HAH!” the barkeep exclaims “You smiled you old bastard!”
At which Indra growled “That does seem appropriate. Maybe we’ll be able to find an agreement that includes you leaving this place while being alive after your stay. For now please wait here, I’ll inform the others and then get you a room.”
Getting up, he started leaving the room but stopped “Oh you mentioned food right? Walter can get you something, just ask. I’ll be back in a couple hours, hope that’s alright with you.” she simply nodded at that and kept drinking the delicious ale.
Walter watched the girl drink from one of his best batches so far and smiled to himself. Looking down at the mug he’d been cleaning, he marveled again at the intricate design Lucia had put on them. ‘I should ask her to work on more than just the mugs...’ looking back up, he was surprised to see the table in front of him empty.
A chill went down his spine as a soft whisper entered his left ear. “I heard there was food…,” turning toward the creepy girl, two bright blue eyes stared into his own. A manic grin was plastered on her face. “Whatcha got?”
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Indra finished filing his notes on the new mushroom he had started cultivating last month and got up. ‘Time to inform the others. They’ll soon be going to the common room I wager. Even I am getting a bit hungry… if only I were undead… the time I wouldn’t have to waste on sleeping and eating… hmm hmm’ The man hmmed to himself as he exited one of his personal rooms. Walking down to another section of the molded cave, he heard a gruff greeting from the side.
“You smell of someone new Indra. Are you sneaking out? Or is there a new pet you’ve found?” A gravelly voice said to him before a massive hand clasped his shoulder.
“Harthome, nice to see you. How are your… experiments going?” The massive man laughed at that.
“Experiments? Indra they’re hammers. Just hammers… with darkness in them… still, just hammers.” He was of course talking about his passion, making hammers. Dark hammers to be precise. Indra wasn’t a fan of the crude work of a blacksmith but even he had to admit that Harthome’s hammers were one of a kind. Especially because they brought a sizable income to the Brotherhood.
“Yes yes, just hammers. Listen, this new person. It’s a healer that dropped down into our caves. She doesn’t seem to be a danger to the order and maybe we could employ her services. The effects of healing on the undead is a rather fascinating topic I’d very much like to...”
Harthome stopped him there with a gruff noise “Yes yes, I’ll meet your new experiment later then. Did you see Lucas? He messed up.”
“I did not, no.” He answered. Harthome grunted and left Indra standing ‘Well poor Lucas. Maybe I can revive him after. An undead necromancer? I do have some theories on the creation of a Lich… hmm hmm’ Indra thought as he looked for the other members of the Vultures.
He passed Ellie and Naiir, who quickly went for the common room to see the new person. The initiates seemed rather excited at the prospect of a guest. Coming up to the summoning hall, he heared a heated discussion from inside.
“You can’t do it Celene! I don’t give a flying fuck how high your bloody level is and how much you prepared for this shitty moment. Just don’t, aight? It’s not how you think it’ll be. Trust me, I’ve seen one of them once and they are hot yes, but bloody murderous. And not in a good way!”
Coming into the room, the woman who just spoke gathered some notes and stamped out of the hall while quickly nodding to Indra. “Lucia, there’s a woman here as a guest in the common room… thought I’d let you know!” Indra said as she walked by him.
“I told you I know what I’m doing!” The remaining woman shouted at Lucia’s back.
“Oh hello Indra. How are you doing? How’s the hip? Aren’t you like forty… this really shouldn’t happen at that age already should it?” Sighing at her, Indra already wanted to leave again.
“Celene, yes. I told you it was the accident back when I was an adventurer. You also heard the part about the guest? So I’ll leave again. You know where Bones is?”
“Yes I heard you. He’s not here, so I guess he’s digging up something… somewhere.” nodding at her, he quickly left again lest he be trapped in one of her lengthy discussions about her hobby again.
‘Less of a discussion and more of a monologue to be honest… now where is that geezer?’ Indra needed the better part of an hour to walk through the cave system they deemed their own until he heard the sound of metal hitting stone.
Turning a corner he came up to a group of skeletons with pickaxes, hammering the walls. In their midst stood a man shrouded in a black tattered robe. A massive skull resting on his head. “Grandpa bones, what are you digging for this time?” He asked, knowing that sneaking up without warning wasn’t the best for the old man.
“Aaaah, Indra.” The man turned around in a comically dramatic fashion and opened his arms in a greeting. “I told you to call me Neeto. How often do I have to repeat that! I’m digging for crystals my dear friend.”
“Neeto then. What for? As far as I know they rarely hold any magical power in them. Did you come across a new theory?” Indra’s eyes sparkled as he asked that question, his thirst for knowledge knowing no bounds.
“What? No. I just thought I could put them in the eye sockets of my summons. Wouldn’t that be marvelous!” This was the fourth time today that Indra was paralyzed.
‘How did I expect any different?’ He asked himself as he informed Neeto about the guest that would be staying here. Neeto didn’t seem particularly interested and simply kept talking about colored crystals and how they would reflect light differently.
Arriving back at the common room, there was laughter coming from inside, and oddly, music. He had to stop himself from entering for a couple seconds to control the smile that might’ve started to creep onto his face. ‘Once a day is enough for that man to see me smile.’
Entering the common room, Indra was surprised to see a table full of empty dishes. Lucas, Ellie and Ilea were raising their mugs to the song Walter was singing while playing along with his lute.
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‘Still love the live music. This is like a personal concert!’ Ilea thought as she emptied her mug. The drink was incredible. And using Reconstruction on herself during drinking, she kept her intoxication at a minimum level. ‘Maybe he has a music related class and that’s why he’s so good? If people can level up those skills…,’ Looking towards the door, she saw that Indra had come back.
Waving at him she gestured for him to join them. “There’s no food left anymore but the ale is still flowing!” she said while the two initiates smiled in his direction. He shook his head as he sat down at the table next to them.
They listened to Walter play for another half an hour. Lucia and Harthome joining them in the meantime. When Walter stopped everyone started cheering and applauding while the barkeeper nimbly jumped on top of the bar and bowed to the crowd several times. “Fucking brilliant!” Lucia shouted and Ilea thought the man blushed a little at that.
“What happened for you to get out the lute again so soon?” Harthome asked the man as he helped himself to some ale.
“Well we do have a guest, and I didn’t want to make the welcome as cold as the guards standing outside.” While some chuckled at that he went to the back and got more food. Apparently it was the time most of the others would eat normally. Harthome and Lucia introduced themselves to Ilea while they ate. Surprisingly to Walter and the two present initiates, Ilea ate too, again.