Chapter 346: The Necromancer (1/2)
Ilea was led into the complex, a balcony overlooking five floors lit in various colors, both torches and magical light present. On the ground floor a red hue was prominent, the smells of smoke, sex and blood were prevalent. Puke and alcohol too. “Lovely.”
The guard next to her grunted, “Lovely that we have to fix the door. Again.” He shook his head and walked off, “Joe! Get your ass out here, the door is busted again!”
Ilea heard a distant cursing. She chuckled at that. Maybe if Fuck off wasn’t the first thing they said to people trying to get in, it would make these circumstances a little less numerous. She spotted Maro instantly, the man standing near a roulette table with a following. His armor stood out amongst the scantily clothed bystanders.
She jumped over the railing and fell down, blinking right before she landed to soften the fall. Few even noticed her, most of them in a daze or focused on the dancers moving around the various platforms and stages. Ilea admitted she stole more than a glance too, yet still making her way to the gambling necromancer.
“Black, black, black, black.” She heard him as well as the crowd murmur, the little marble finally coming to a stop.
People parted for her and a moment later, she was standing next to Maro. “Shame.” She said, “Should have bet on red.”
The man laughed, welcoming her with a tight hug, “My friend! It is no shame, winning and losing is part of the game! And black is the color of death, there was no choice.”
She smiled, “Been enjoying yourself?” She asked, “I hear you organized an orgy and lost a ton of gold.”
He moved his hand around her back, “Ah, that small party?” The man laughed, “I might need to borrow some gold from you if you have anything left.”
Ilea rolled her eyes, “Not for gambling. I can get you food and something to drink though if you like.”
“What about some escorts? We could enjoy them together?” He suggested.
Ilea thought about it. “If I hire one, then without you.”
He acted hurt and smirked, “Am I so hideous? It pains me to hear that. This city is wonderful.”
“It surely is. Do you feel like getting some fresh air? I’ll visit an enchanter friend tomorrow morning. Or do you want to stay here?” She asked.
Someone grabbed at her ass, getting confused at the ashen armor in their way.
She rolled her eyes and pushed the man away, gently but firm. He stumbled and caught himself on a nearby sofa, sliding onto it and closing his eyes.
“Now? Sure. I don’t have anymore gold to play. Can we go hunting?” Maro asked, his wings spreading in her sphere.
“If you feel like it, sure.” Ilea said, spreading her own before they flew up and away, hands grasping at the both of them. “Were those undead?” She asked jokingly as she looked down.
Maro landed on the uppermost railing and smiled, “Close enough, really.”
“Why there?” Ilea asked, the two of them exiting the city in the afternoon light.
He glanced her way, “You mean the gambling hole?”
She nodded, descending a couple hundred meters away and landing in the snow. Going out of the city was nice either way but coming from that sex and fume hole was a level of freedom she hadn’t felt in a while.
Maro landed gracefully next to her, “Well. I believe mostly because drunk and high people don’t fear me.”
She looked his way and smiled, “That’s pretty honest.”
He laughed, “I do like gambling too, as well as sex. In places like that, most of the time, people are equal. Their social standing, forgotten, their inhibitions, clouded. Free, as they should be.” He grinned and stretched.
“I feel the same way about fighting monsters, flying through the wilderness. Doesn’t really apply to groups though, just to me personally.” She replied.
Maro nodded, “I can see that. A little too solitary for me. I’m usually the strongest around too, which can cause problems on its own.”
“I won’t hold you back if you want to return.” Ilea said.
“No, no it’s alright. It’s good to get some fresh air finally.”
She summoned some ash, “You stink by the way. Can I clean up with some ash?”
The man smiled and spread his arms, “Sure, armored first.”
Ilea engulfed him in ash, adding enough density to make it coarse as she moved it over his armor. Most of the dirt was gone when his gear suddenly vanished, the clothes below too. She rolled her eyes but simply moved her ash over his body too. She made it disappear when she was done.
Clothes and armor appeared again as he winked at her, “Very intimate.”
“Hardly.” She replied.
“I didn’t expect you to be so gentle.” He teased.
“I wouldn’t want to hurt an old tortured soul.” Ilea replied, walking further through the valley they had landed in.
Maro followed, “You just did. Where are we going?”
She shrugged, “No idea. There’s bound to be something amidst these mountains. We can also check out Morhill, it’s not too far from here. The demons killed most of the population and we cleared it out a year ago. We can also visit Keyla, you wanted to try her meals.”
“Did already and have enough with me to last a week.” He gave her a thumbs up. “An abandoned city? I’m up for that.” He smiled, “Not wearing your bone armor?”
“The enchantress we’ll visit has it right now. Speaking of which, do you have any Taleen machines with you?”
He glanced her way, the two approaching the deepest part of the valley, “Yea, Guardians. Both sword and ranged variants. Thought I’d try some necromancy spells on them but I wasn’t successful so far. They weren’t really living in the first place, I suppose.”
“No Centurions?” Ilea asked, a little disappointed. Might not be the best idea with an explosive core anyway.
“No. The ones that didn’t explode were too damaged to even consider.” He laughed. “Why do you ask?”
“Aki, the talking dagger? The enchantress modified his body and now he looks like a face hugger.” Ilea informed him.
“A face hugger?” Maro gestured with his hands in front of his face, “You mean like a parasite laying eggs into your lungs?”
Ilea nearly stumbled, “They exist?”
Maro shrugged, “One dungeon had monsters like that. Stupid of them to impregnate our tank. His chest was too hard to get through once the monster hatched so the fire mage basically cooked it.”
“While inside the man’s chest?” Ilea asked with a chuckle.
“Yes. That party was… well. Unique problem solving skills were abundant at least.” He chuckled.
“Did the face huggers have corrosive blood?” Ilea asked. The implications would be rather horrific.
He shook his head lightly, “No, after landing on one’s face, it pumped down the eggs and then let go. They were disgusting more than anything else. Normal blood as far as I remember. So the dagger is now ready to lay dagger eggs?”
Ilea laughed. “That’s good to hear. No but maybe he can control something like a Guardian.”
“Interesting.” He shrugged. “Well, it’s worth a shot for sure. Want to go there now?”
“She’s not done with the work. Tomorrow morning.”
He rolled his eyes, “Come on. The dagger is done, right? I’d love to see that. A conscious dagger controlling a Taleen war machine? Please?”
His eyes literally sparkled as he asked.
Still no resistance to that. “Alright, we can go. The smith isn’t friendly and please don’t start anything in that village. I want to stay on friendly terms. Also, don’t charm the girl.”
“Start something with the girl, charm the smith and corrupt the village. Got it.” He gave her a thumbs up.
She shook her head and smiled, “You fucking idiot. Alright, let’s go. First to Morhill though, I want to check it out quickly.”
The man nodded. “Lead the way, lady of ash.”
Sloppy. Ilea thought. Metal plates, knifes and even a sword still remained in the abandoned imperial camp. The flag, she assumed, was left on purpose.
“Left in a hurry.” Maro commented. “Demons killed everyone here?” He looked around and shouted, “HELLO!”
Nobody replied.
Ilea used her skills to sense the surroundings, focusing on the smells and magical residue, “Yes. The rest fled I guess. The imperials staying here probably went back north because of the war.”
“And why did you want to check it out? Does the Shadow’s Foot want to take over the city? The houses and walls are pretty undamaged. I don’t even sense any monsters around.” He commented.
“Something along those lines, yes. Ravenhall wants to become independent. Morhill could be a part of whatever this new government would be.” She explained. “Speaking of that, your kingship could surely lend some counsel.”