The misadventures of the necromancer

Chapter XLV

From a distance, they can see the approach of a new group of travelers. It appears to be a small group, only about five people. One is an armed rider, accompanied by four others. At least, that's what he thinks, as the last group member is barely visible, lagging far behind the main group.

“Do you think they’ll help us?” Sab asks him. It’s a good question—having a few more bodies could really make their mission easier.

“We can only ask!” is the only answer that comes to mind. “Let’s go.”

And so, they head toward the newcomers.

Along the way, he notices that they all seem quite young. He assumes the rider must be some minor noble or a merchant, while the others are likely his servants.

When the group notices their approach, one is practically pushed forward. After a brief moment of hesitation, where he looks back. The young man in a dark cloak steps forward to meet them. His face shows clear displeasure, and he is probably annoyed that he was made to handle the first contact. Something he can understand, as it’s often a difficult task.

Midway to the newcomers, he and Sab meet the dark-haired youth.

“Hey. I’m Jerome, and this is Sab.” He introduces them to the stranger.

The young man seems to think for a moment before giving a formal smile and beginning to speak. “Greetings. My name is Adar. Nice to meet you.”

Before Jerome can continue the conversation, the young man keeps talking. “Well... If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask why such a large group of people is standing in the middle of the road?”

For a moment, Jerome feels relieved—they can skip the formalities and get straight to the point of interest.

“We found a survivor of a group of travelers that were attacked by red wolves,” is Jerome’s immediate response.

“Red wolves?!” Adar is surprised. An understandable reaction, as an attack by such dangerous creatures in this area. Represents a risk to all travelers on this route.

“So, are you stopped here thinking of turning back or something?” the young man asks, seemingly genuinely curious. “Because I don’t think this is the best place to stop, in that case.”

And he’s exactly right. This is a terrible spot to defend themselves if a large pack of red wolves attacks. The lack of shelter would leave anyone not trained in combat completely defenseless. The only positive point is the hill by the side of the road, which could provide some cover in the rear in a defensive battle.

But it’s not like they have much choice.

“Yes, we agree...” Jerome gestures to Sab as he speaks, as they had already discussed this point. “...but the girl wasn’t the only survivor.”

“Hum!” sounds the young man as he listens intently.

“From what she told us, most of her group took refuge inside an underground area over there.” As Jerome explains, he points to the hill he had just been thinking about, as that’s where the entrance to the underground lies. “So, we’ve been gathering travelers to mount a rescue.”

“Would you like to join us?” Sab’s gruff voice cuts through the niceties, saving time.

The young man pauses, looking at them before turning back to glance at his companions. When he returns his attention to them, some hesitation and concern are visible on his face, confirming that while he was sent to speak with them, the final decision isn’t his. This realization makes Jerome look beyond Adar to the other youth sitting atop a horse.

“I understand your intentions. But I think we’ll just continue on our way,” Adar says, his face becoming more guarded despite maintaining a friendly smile.

“Continue on your way? At this hour? Nightfall is almost here!” Sab exclaims before Jerome can react. Both are shocked by such a decision.

“Yes... He...” The young man hesitates, apparently caught off guard by the situation. Even so, he takes a deep breath and speaks again. “I mean. We’d prefer not to get in the way of your important efforts.”

“Boy, even if you don’t want to help us, there’s no reason to distance yourselves and set up your camp separately.” Jerome tries to explain, knowing they probably wouldn’t feel comfortable staying next to them without participating in the rescue effort.

“Besides, you need to remember the wolves,” Sab reminds him of the very real danger they face. After all, such a small group wouldn’t stand much chance against those creatures.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s not a problem!” What shocks Jerome isn’t even the response itself. But the speed and calmness with which the young man replies.

Jerome’s eyes widen, and his mouth falls slightly open in disbelief. The boldness of youth, only they think nothing can harm them.

Jerome exchanges a look with Sab as they try to figure out how to knock some sense into the empty heads in front of them. The young man seems to take their silence as the end of the conversation and starts to turn away, raising a hand as he says, “Well then, best of luck with your miss...”

But Jerome has to interrupt, at the very least to avoid having five deaths on his conscience. “I know! How about you and your leader talk to Mercy, the attack's survivor? That way, you can learn more about the wolves and be better prepared.”

He doesn’t love the idea, as the poor girl needs rest. But it’s the best he can come up with. That idea makes seeing the young man hesitate bothersome. As Adar looks back again, trying to consult his leader.

“I don’t think...” the young man begins to speak.

“Look, maybe we should speak to someone who can make decisions,” Sab interjects sharply. This makes Adar refocus on them. The way his eyes widen makes it clear, he does not like that solution at all.

Swallowing hard, the young man retorts, “He’s been quite irritable lately. How about this: I’ll speak with the survivor and then relay everything to my group before, we continue on our way.”

Adar clearly doesn’t think the conversation will change anything. But Jerome accepts that it’s probably all he can do for this group of fools.

Adar turns to his companions, signaling that he’ll be going with Jerome and Sab. As this happens, Jerome finally sees the last member of their group approaching. Another young man, poorly dressed, walking alongside a mule. He’s probably the least important member, responsible for caring for the animal.

How this group travels with only one pack animal is beyond him. There are madmen for everything.

So, the three begin making their way toward the tent where Mercy is resting. Jerome looks around at the group of nearly fifty people preparing to venture out to rescue the rest of Mercy’s family.

As they approach, a woman whose name he unfortunately can’t remember calls out to him. He turns to Sab, who nods. “Go ahead. I’ll handle this.” And though it pains him to not be able to spend more time with Mercy, he has other responsibilities to tend to.

Later, Jerome sees the young Adar and Sab exiting the tent. So, he quickly moves to meet them.

“Well?” Jerome asks.

“Yes. After speaking with Mercy. I think we should help!” Adar replies his voice strong and confident. It’s clear that, after hearing her story, any decent person would share this view.

Sab nods in agreement with the young man’s sentiment.

“Do you want us to come with you when you talk to your group’s leader?” Upon hearing this, the passionate expression on Adar’s face fades. He looks at them and swallows nervously before speaking.

“Maybe that would be best. Nero is going to be difficult to convince.” There’s some barely concealed fear in the boy’s voice.

“Don’t worry. You, yourself said this is a noble mission. I’m sure your leader will agree once he hears everything,” Sab tries to ease the young man’s evident concerns, who now looks even younger in his nervousness.

Adar nods in response, his voice firm. “Yes, the bastard is difficult, but he tends to do the right thing.” It’s, quite a strong way to refer to someone he serves, especially since the young knight didn’t seem that bad.

But Adar must know him better. And with that, the three of them head toward the newly arrived group, waiting just outside the camp.

Since the distance is short, they don’t take long to reach them. As they approach them. They are greeted by a blond youth dressed similarly to Adar.

“Adar, you took your time. I was starting to get worried.” Right behind him, a girl steps up, standing beside the blond youth.

Their group leader is the last to arrive, having dismounted from his horse and walking leisurely to them. Oddly, he doesn’t ask any questions about what’s going on. He must trust Adar a lot to be so passive, simply waiting to hear the news.

“Calm down, Seres. I just had to get the details, so I could explain everything,” Adar says, calming the blond youth.

Adar then begins to explain the situation to the group, who exchange glances with each other. Their expressions range from concern when they hear about the wolf attack and the people trapped underground, to doubt when Adar explains the need to help.

“Adar, do you really think he’s going to agree to something like this?” the blond youth asks.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Adar responds firmly. At this point, Jerome notices that their leader, the young warrior, seems just as hesitant as the others.

“And what exactly is this ‘thing’?” a new voice interjects. When Jerome turns toward the voice, he sees the young servant he had previously noticed leading their mule. The last member of their group looks completely relaxed, munching on a pear.

“So?” he asks again, his calm demeanor even more contrasting with the tension among the others.

“Nero... well... it’s like this...” Adar stammers, clearly struggling to speak with Nero, the one he had mentioned was their group’s leader. Given the reaction of the other members. It makes sense, despite the fact that Nero looks more like a beggar than anything else.

With some effort, Adar begins recounting the situation.

“So, you volunteered to go into some random caves to search for people hiding there?” There’s some disbelief in Nero’s voice as he speaks.

“Don’t forget the risk of the red wolves,” Jerome chimes in, trying to help Adar. Nero, in response, simply raises an eyebrow while taking another bite of his pear.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Adar declares emotionally. Nero, however, doesn’t seem convinced, and Adar’s confidence wavers under his cold gaze.

“Adar’s right. You probably would’ve helped anyway,” the blond youth tries to support Adar.

“Blondie!” Nero interrupts, bringing a finger to his lips. Signaling for the blond to be quiet.

“And you. Do you know why I put you in charge of these idiots?” Nero asks Adar. The young man simply nods, indicating that he does.

“So, what were you thinking when you agreed to this nonsense? After all, I assume you know why this can be a very bad idea.” This time, Nero’s voice carries a hint of menace.

Jerome considers the strange commentary. Why helping them could possibly be a bad idea? Before Jerome can attempt to intervene, Adar responds, looking confused. “I don’t know!”

Staring seriously at Nero, he continues, “I really don’t know. I knew we had to avoid staying here. But when I talked to Mercy...” The boy’s expression becomes distant before he continues. “I just felt like I had to help her.”

“You realized it was the right thing to do.” Sab declares.

Meanwhile, Nero continues chewing his pear, looking intrigued.

"Strange! Normally you aren't this stupid!" Nero appears to be talking more to himself than to others.

Finishing his pear he concludes.

“You know, I think I want to talk to this Mercy myself!”