Gerald walked with Lydia as the sun began to sink over the ocean and further down the side of the cliff. Gerald didn't mind, except that the last of the light would help Lydia in her work. He finally stopped and turned to Lydia. "I would like this area to be a wooded area, if that is alright with you." The area was covered in buildings, and only a couple of smaller trees were around the area. Lydia nodded, but the Necromancer continued to pull her along. "It's obviously not ready yet." He said, his smile wide. "I'll happily have you gone and help me plant when the time is right however." He pulled her down the hill and towards the gate near the slums. They passed several people who were pulling carts of belongings and food up the hill, and they greeted them with gusto and some with bows.
When Gerald reached the gate, the sun was behind the upper part of the town and the sky was beginning to change its color slightly. The clouds gave their more reddish hues, and the breeze just made it feel cold and humid. "Lydia… Do you think you could grow some winter crops here?"
She looked at him oddly, "Winter crops?"
"Things that will last and be able to grow during the first part of the winter. With the Druidic branch of magic, you have access to growing magic that I can't access."
"The food would have an aftertaste of magic!" She replied, making a face.
"But it will keep people alive." Gerald countered. "The non-magi will survive the winter, and won't taste it anyways."
"But I will." She countered, making a face.
"It's either that or only fish all winter." The man responded, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to eat meat…" He trailed off and looked at her. She frowned at him, and turned back to the ground in front of her.
"If… If we can get people to plant the seeds and clear out the weeds, I think I could aid in the growing of a crop."
"I'll have the Skeletons do it tonight." Gerald replied with a smile. "How large do you think you could grow?"
"Um…" She felt her power, which was pulsing slightly and more than she had ever held at once, despite the draining events earlier in the day. "I could grow a Hectare without any problems, though I would need to feel and see how much magic I have left after that."
"A FULL hectare?" (A Hectare is 100m by 100m., or one kilometer is 100 hectares, or 1 hectare is almost 2.5 acres)
She shrugged, her cheeks showing a tinge of embarrassment. "Honestly… after today I'm not sure… I pretty certain that it would be even more now-"
"MORE?!" The Necromancer grabbed her hand and the look of excitement in his eyes was almost childlike. "You could possibly do more!?"
"Um… yeah…"
He chuckled and kissed her hand before letting it go. "I knew it! I knew you were powerful!" He wagged a finger at her and cackled lightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet in his excitement. She just watched in amazement, 'Maybe he's going mad.' She thought, her eyes wide, and she wiped off her hand of his kiss.
He didn't allow that to stand and he grabbed both of her hands and promptly began to twirl her around. "Don't you get it?! The food crisis is solved for now! We will survive the winter!" He giggled as she pulled her hands away from him and took a few steps away. 'Calm down!' His brain shouted at him, and he took several calming breaths. "Sorry… sorry…" He breathed a few more times, but his smile remained the same. "I've been so worried about this that I could hardly focus…" He looked at her. "Please forgive me."
She nodded, breathless, and still looking at him oddly. This went against everything she had ever thought of regarding a Necromancer after all. 'None of the stories mentioned anything like that…'
He chuckled and almost danced back towards the town. His steps were light, and his mind was too. 'Now comes the difficult part.' His brain reminded him. He shuddered. He didn't want to be doing that with every person…
**********************************
"Must I leave you?" Hermina stated, her eyes welling with tears as she stood with those of her brood who had survived (only six).
Gerald smiled. "I haven't forgotten the boon you asked for."
"I… I beg your pardon, Gerald… I haven't asked for anything yet." She replied, a small blush cornering the undead woman's cheeks.
He smiled at her. "I have a rough guess. Now go. Help me. I will call to officially ask for your request later." He gave her a soft kiss on the hand, and then backed away. "Now hurry. The brood has been without its mother for too long." She gave a final, sad but smiling, look at him before she whisked away, and was gone into the night and the shadows. The vampires vanished with her.
"Not what I expected…" Lydia remarked from Gerald's side.
"What Did you expect?" He asked with a chuckle, turning around. "A group of bloodthirsty monsters?"
"Well…"
He smiled at her. "You have a lot to learn, young one. Please always keep asking questions. I'll almost always be happy to answer them." He bent backwards and stretched lightly before turning back to the Druidess again. "Well Lydia, let's check out that communicator that the Everseeker left in our care…" He winked at her and began the trek through the gate. She followed, but before she entered the gate, she turned and watched the skeletons working on the fields. They were incredibly strong, and they were already finished with a good amount. Now that it was night, and the requirements of the non-magi weren't near as high on them, they were now out in force and working the new fields, clearing out the tall grasses and making row upon row of fields. The moon was hidden in clouds, but the darkness wasn't complete to her eyes. She raised a torch, and after another moment of taking a breath to steady herself, took the plunge into the dark, familiar city. She puffed soon enough as the hill grew before her. She could hardly see ahead of her in the dark, but she wasn't afraid. She hurried and caught up to the Necromancer.
"Hey Gerald?"
"Hm?"
"What happened to Fash?"
At this Gerald stated. "I had almost forgotten it!" He closed his eyes, and felt with magic. "It managed to get away from the Everseekers and is now currently hiding near the ancient crypts of my people. It's about to give birth soon enough actually." He took a deep breath and walked a little slower. "But that's not the only question you wanted to ask me… was it?"
"No." She stated, breathing hard and wishing that the man would take a rest. The Necromancer, however, didn't slow down, although his breath also grew harder and more ragged the further they went up the hill. At last, they reached the plaza near the top, and the Necromancer walked towards the Council building and put a hand on the cement. "This will do well for a capital." He thought, his smile obvious, even in the darkness.
"Gerald?"
"Yes?" He replied, turning to the Druidess once again.
"Are you ready?"
His frown slipped. "What do you mean?"
"For… for all of this." She said, stretching her arms out towards the majority of the city below them. "For the responsibilities of being a king…"
"I don't believe so." Gerald responded. "Mind you, I have always had a relatively poor self esteem." He chuckled. "I guess I could be ready, but I personally don't believe myself to be." He looked at her. "Done with questions?"
She frowned at him. "Never."
"Good." He then turned and walked into the council chambers, the Druidess in his wake. He lit the candles with a wave of his hand, and wished that he had a staff. Wizard magics were always better with fire than the others. The room lit with an eerie look, but the Necromancer didn't seem to notice. "Have you picked out a room in the city yet?" He asked. Lydia shook her head no. "Then you should stay here. There are old spells against assassination and foul play in these walls." He motioned to the back. "There should be a room full of Druidic items for you here as well."