Travelling on horseback truly was much faster. Though Vaezar wasn't sure if horse is the right word to describe the creature he was riding. After merging the spirit of Marie with one of the dead horses, the lifeless creature opened its eyes and began to slowly stand upright. Its eyes lit with an unholy fire. Vaezar quickly mounted the horse and began riding towards Copperdale. He would have to dismount some distance away from Copperdale though, being thrown into another jail due to his powers was the last thing that he wanted. He sighed; being a necromancer was a tedious vocation. Animals avoided him and people aren't really fond of him either, on top of that, even the other necromancers weren't fond of his family. In a world where the lines between good and evil practices were drawn quite clearly, his family dwelt somewhere in the middle. Vaezar was the youngest member of a family of necromancers, known as the Necronus family. Unlike most other necromancers that seek to use their powers to dominate souls, raise legions of the dead, and various other evil deeds, the Necronus family believes in maintaining a balanced interaction between the living and the dead. This philosophy has often led them into conflict with other necromancers, especially those from the various different cults. The necromancer that Vaezar had been tracking down was rumoured to be bent on establishing a cult within the Holy Kingdom. It was a foolish and ridiculous notion of course; the worship of Ezra was one of if not the most militaristic religion on the continent and their paladins were rumoured to wield divine powers that could easily decimate entire armies of undead. Still, out of caution, Vaezar had been tasked with hunting down the necromancer before he was able to gain any further momentum. However, it was strange that the paladins still had not eradicated this threat to their lands.
After riding for almost a day, they had arrived as close to Copperdale as Vaezar felt comfortable to approach on a zombie horse. He led Marie into the woods off the main road and then forcefully pulled her soul out of the horse's body. With its soul gone, the horse once again crumpled onto the ground as a lifeless corpse.
"I-I c-can't believe you did that to me!" yelled Marie as she sobbed. "Turning me into a horse, then riding on me like some beast of burden!"
"Get over it, you wanted revenge did you not?" said Vaezar as he rolled his eyes.
Marie continued to sob pitifully.
"Anyways," Vaezar continued. "I'll be heading into the town now. Feel free to tag along if you want to. Normal people shouldn't be able to see you but do keep your sobbing to a minimum. It's… annoying."
Marie gave him a spectral glare before going back to her sobbing, albeit a little quieter this time.
As Vaezar walked into the town, the first thing he noticed was the number of beggars on the streets. The town itself was giving off a vibe of poverty and there were even kids on the street that looked malnourished. As with all the towns he had been to, his first destination was the local tavern.
As he entered the tavern, he immediately noticed the utter lack of people. It was near evening when he entered the tavern, a time where most other taverns would be packed to the brim. However, only a few tables were taken in this tavern. He walked over to the bar and gave the barkeeper 3 copper pieces, asking for a cup of ale. The barkeep shook his head.
"Ale's 5 copper pieces, good sir," he said.
Vaezar raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He added 2 more copper pieces to the 3 and the barkeeper gave him his drink before swiping the coins off the bar. Vaezar took a sip of the ale and spat it out almost immediately.
"What's the meaning of this, barkeep? It's more water than ale!" Vaezar yelled.
"Apologies, good sir. But things haven't been going well here. With the closing of the mines, many of the townsfolk have lost their primary source of income. Our town mainly focuses on the export of copper made goods you see, now that there is no copper to be mined, our economy has taken a turn for the worst," replied the barkeeper.
"Regardless, this ale is undrinkable! I want a refund," said Vaezar.
"We have a firm no refund policy, sir," the barkeeper said quickly pocketing the copper coins.
"Gah!" exclaimed Vaezar. "Fine! Forget that, tell me what happened to the mines."
The barkeeper looked at Vaezar for a moment before rubbing his fingers together, a universal sign of expecting payment. "3 coppers, good sir," said the barkeep.
"You have got to be kidding me! Are you seriously asking for more? I've already paid you 5 coppers for that ale-tasting water!" said Vaezar, his patience wearing thin.
"No coins, no info," said the barkeeper stubbornly.
With a glare, Vaezar reluctantly gave the barkeeper 3 more coppers. "There! You happy now?"
"Yes sir, very much so. Anyways," said the barkeeper as he quickly pocketed the 3 extra coppers. "Rumour is that there is some sort of unholy creature dwelling in the mines, our lord had sent out an expedition force of several mercenaries and guards to check it out a few days ago, but none of them returned. After that, no more expeditions were sent, they just sealed up the mines and ordered everyone to stay away from it. Doesn't stop some of the more desperate folks though, some of them still try to sneak into the mines late at night, hoping to get some raw copper to sell. Of course, none of them ever came back."
Vaezar rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Where can I find your lord?" he asked the barkeeper.
"He's having his dinner here right now," said the barkeeper as he pointed to a table on the second floor that was surrounded by 4 guards.
Vaezar nodded his thanks to the barkeeper and walked towards the table. A heavily built, middle-aged, man could be seen eating alongside a petite woman who appeared to be in her 30s and a young boy who was around 12 years old, presumably his wife and child. As Vaezar approached the table, two of the guards moved in to block his way. Their hands on the hilts of their swords. The middle-aged man looked up from his food and gestured to the guards to let the hooded figure pass. The guards obeyed and Vaezar walked closer to the table, though still keeping a respectful distance from the family.
"Are you the lord of this land, sir?" asked Vaezar.
"Indeed I am, the name's Humphrey and as you can see, I am in the middle of a meal with my wife and son. If this isn't anything too urgent, can I ask you to wait for me in my manor whilst I finish up here? I really dislike discussing business during mealtimes. It ruins my appetite, you see," replied Lord Humphrey.
"It's alright, I can wait," said Vaezar.
Lord Humphrey beckoned to one of his guards. "Take him to my office in the manor and have him wait for me there. I'll attend to him once I'm ready."
The guard nodded his understanding then gestured for Vaezar to follow him.
Inside the manor, Vaezar patiently waited for Lord Humphrey in his office. It took about 30 minutes before the door to the office opened and Lord Humphrey stepped inside.
"So, what is it that you needed to see me for?" asked Lord Humphrey as he sat down on the other side of his desk.
"I would like to ask you about the mines, I heard that you sent some men into it?" said Vaezar.
Lord Humphrey's face turned sombre. "Yeah, I'm sure you also know that they never came back? They were fine men too," he said with a sigh. "There's something wrong with the mines, the locals say that there's some monster in there that is feasting on anyone that enters the mines. I didn't really believe them at first, I thought it might be bandits or something, since someone mentioned seeing some strangers entering the mines late at night the day before people started going missing. But now I'm not so sure. The mercenaries I hired and the men I sent were all well-trained and well-equipped professionals, I fear that there is something sinister dwelling beneath the mines."
"Have you notified the other towns about this?" asked Vaezar.
"I have already sent couriers to Astonsford and Ezrania right after the expedition, but none of them have returned," replied Lord Humphrey. "That said, why are you so keen to know about the mines, necromancer?"
Vaezar gave Lord Humphrey an incredulous look and stood up immediately, his hand on Animensis' hilt. "H-how did you know?" Vaezar asked.
Lord Humphrey let out a short bark of laughter at Vaezar's reaction. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I could see your white hair and blue eyes, a hood doesn't cover everything, you know that right? Anyways, I've met people like you before, it's a curse that turns your hair white and eyes blue, isn't it?" asked Lord Humphrey.
"Y-yes, it is," replied Vaezar. Sensing that he isn't in any immediate danger, he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and sat back down. "If you knew that I was a necromancer, why did you still agree to talk with me? Aren't you afraid that I might kill you or something?" asked Vaezar.
"Will you?" asked Lord Humphrey with a sly smile. "You see, I have an uncanny ability to sense ill intents. I sense none from you, whatever your reasons for coming here, it isn't to cause harm for me or my people. On top of that, I know that not all necromancers are evil. A necromancer actually helped saved my live back when I was younger, but that's a story for another time. We should get back to the situation at hand, why are you so interested in the mines?" said Lord Humphrey, steering the conversation back to its intended direction.
"I suspect that there may be another necromancer dwelling in the mines, one of the evil ones," said Vaezar.
"Are you sure of this?" asked Lord Humphrey, his tone once again turning serious.
"I would need to enter the mines to be sure. But I do think that it is a possibility," replied Vaezar.
"Then that is serious indeed, if there is indeed another necromancer here, we would need to evacuate the remaining townspeople," said Lord Humphrey.
"Evacuate? You're not going to fight?" asked Vaezar.
"Fight? With what? Most of the men were miners who disappeared in the mines. Not to mention that quite a number of the town guards were sent on that godforsaken expedition. Most that remain here are either women or children, and I'll be damned before I ask them to fight. If you need to check the mines, then go ahead. But know that none of those that entered have returned. Meanwhile, I shall prepare the town for an evacuation. At times like these, it is better to assume that the worst will happen," said Lord Humphrey as he stood up from his chair. Ready to act on his decided plan of action. "I may not see you again, necromancer. So would you at least tell me your name?"
"My name is Vaezar," said Vaezar as he also stood up. "Thank you for your time, Lord Humphrey, I shall be heading into the mines now."
"I wish you the best of luck, Vaezar. I'll lead the townspeople to Astonsford. If you manage to make it out of the mines by some miracle, you can meet us there," said Lord Humphrey as Vaezar walked out the door.
Vaezar answered with a nod as the began to make his way to the mines. As he left the manor, Vaezar could hear Lord Humphrey yelling instructions to his men and to his servants to initiate an evacuation and to prepare the supplies that they would need for the trip.
"You can come out of hiding, Marie. I know you've been following me around from a distance since just now," said Vaezar.
"R-really?" asked Marie as she moved closer to Vaezar.
"Your sobbing's a dead giveaway," said Vaezar as he smiled at his own wit.
Marie, not getting the joke, just harumphed and followed Vaezar into the mines.