The Necromancer poured over the maps from the Town Hall. He was enjoying one of the last nice days of the year outside, and sitting on a chair with a small table in front of him, and enjoying the smell of the sea. In front of him was also a small quill, a small container of ink, and a small blank piece of paper that he was using to meticulously copy the layout of the city as it currently was. Time wore on, and he was soon making small adjustments to the city to make it back closer to its original state, including some fields, a wooded area, and a defensible moat around the southern side. He also had plans, once they were settled, to build a staircase down to the ocean below along the cliffs and build docks nearby. 'Shorten the route to get fish.' He thought.
He stiffened at the next thought that passed over his mind. 'This should be someone else's job.' He shook his head. Even the gods, apparently, wanted him to become the king, so he was stuck with it. 'But I don't want it.'
As a young man, he had thought that the idea of a monarchy was outdated, and that the people should have more of a voice. Now that he had been amongst the uneducated populace, he had questioned that. The localized circle of trading, mostly inside of a single village with the occasional trader going between them, had made it so that a majority of the population were farmers, and while that wasn't a bad thing, he still remembered a nation where they could have more artists and artisans due to the trading networks which ran across the continent. Schooling, after the failure of these trading networks, ranged from either scarce (unless you were a Wizard), or non-existent. Most men and women couldn't write their own names if Dryassiad herself, a noted knowledge lover, had asked them too. The people of the world had stagnated, and as a result the technology and workmanship of the day was significantly less accomplished than that of the ages past. 'Maybe I can do something to change that…' He thought, finishing the line of a winding street. Gerald shook his head. "That would take several hundred years to accomplish." 'So you could do it.' His brain said to him, despite his small statement out loud.
Gerald focussed his remaining energy on the plans, and remained in that way even as the sun sank lower and lower on the horizon.
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Lydia watched Gerald pour over the maps again and again, drawing, writing, and muttering lightly to himself. 'Serves him right.' She thought, the old prejudice kicking in. She shook her head. 'I need to get that out of my head.' Her mind thought. It had been a horrible 24 hours, let alone week. She had fought an Everseeker herself and almost been defeated. If Gerald hadn't activated that final spell in time… She shuddered at the thought. She would most assuredly be either dead or begging for death by this point. The city of Marquis… another shudder rankled through her body as she thought, sadly, of what she had seen.
Lydia shook herself out of her stupor and finally approached the man. "What are you doing?"
"Make a copy of this map so I can make adjustments to it." He stated simply.
"Shouldn't you be monitoring your skeletons?"
"They're fine for the moment. They're helping the townspeople, aren't they?"
"They are." She confirmed. She watched him work for a while and asked the question. "Do you really want to be king?"
He frowned and put the quill back in the ink. He sighed and looked at her, his tired eyes giving the answer long before he finally stated. "No. I don't want to be king?"
"Then why-"
"Mostly because of Dreiss. Ok?" He looked even more tired saying the name. "I want to get out of this city after getting them set up. I want to learn! Maybe find another person like me (if there even are any), die and be buried in the tombs of the ancient kings, whatever in the hells I want." He sighed, and took some controlling breaths. "Sorry. Just a week ago I was a teacher in the middle of nowhere, and now here I am…" His voice trailed off, and he put his head in his hands, rubbing his hair between them in a very self-consoling manner. "I'm just… so tired."
"Well, I have some good news." Lydia said, using some magic to pull a chair from nearby and sitting across from him. "They found two springs in town. One under the slums gate, and another under the road about a hundred yards from where we're sitting." He nodded. "Both look as though they draw out a lot of water, and the water is pretty clear and drinkable."
Gerald smiled, "Thank you Lydia. I'll let you go… do…" His voice trailed off and his eyes lit up. "That's it!" He shouted, making the woman back up so fast that she almost tipped over. "I'm going to make full use of you!" He laughed, feeling a great burden off of his chest. Lydia just watched on, until he got a hold of himself. "I'm sorry." He said at length, still smiling widely. "I have so many jobs for you… I don't know what to have you do first!"
"It's nothing… untoward… is it?"
He looked confused at her. "Untoward? No. But I will need your help growing somethings for me, and I would like to reteach you some magic."
She shuddered at the thought. "I… I'm not sure I want to learn from… from one of your kind-"
"Nonsense. Feel free to teach it to the Druids when you return. It will also increase your power." He smiled wide, but the woman felt uneasy. "Why not start now?"
She started in shock. "Now?"
"Why not? No time like the present." He smiled and moved his chair slightly closer to her. "Now… close your eyes and focus on your magic." She looked at him weird, but he didn't seem to want to wait. "Come on. I promise. This will be enlightening…" She closed her eyes, and the red of her eyelids shown through to her. "What does your magic look like?"
She smiled and said, opening her eyes. "Excuse me?"
"Close your eyes. Focus on your magic, and tell me what it looks like." He demanded in a firm, but gentle voice. Lydia rolled her eyes, but did as she was told. "I see… a green blob... Like an orb, but it's... moving."
"Excellent." The man stated, softly. "Not what does it sound like?"
"I can't exactly-"
"Just listen." He covered her ears gently but firmly. She couldn't hear much outside, but she still could hear the song of the gulls as they flew overhead. Feeling uncomfortable by his touch, she tried to focus on the magic again (if only to hasten the hands' departure). "It… It sounds… it sounds like music…" Her words caught even her by surprise.
"What song?" He whispered directly into her ear. He had removed his hands so softly, she hadn't even noticed him removing them.
"It's… It's Man in the Willow." She muttered, the music filling her head. It was soft, like the first spring day after winter, but it was there all the same. She focused on the blob and kept her eyes shut.
"What does it feel like?" Gerald's voice came, but it sounded small, as though from a dream. (Or a dream of a dream)
She reached out, touching the soft blob with her mind. "Like soft peppermint leaves." She muttered, loving the touch and smell as it entered her nostrils. It caught her by surprise after a while that she was smelling it and she opened her eyes and mouth with a gasp.
Gerald was back on the far side of the table, working on the map again. "Well done Lydia." He said, looking up. "Have you learned something?"
"Peppermint…" She muttered, the smell still lingering in her nose and cooling the air around her as she breathed.
He smiled. "First time you ever smelt it, huh?" He chuckled, and put down the pen. "It took you long enough. You were meditating for over two hours."
'TWO HOURS!' Lydia looked at the sky, and the sun had obviously gone down plenty. "I… I don't believe it…"
He chuckled again, and put the pen, ink, and papers away in the pocket of his coat. "Well then… how did it feel?"
"Huh?"
"Correction, pardon me. How DOES it feel?"
She felt her magic, and gasped openly. "It's… it's stronger… I… I feel like I could grow an entire world."
"Don't do that." Gerald cautioned. "I'm assuming you know the universal law of magic."
She nodded. "If you use more than you can handle, you will die."
"Indeed. Now come. Show me what you can do…"