Rise of the Supreme Necromancer-Chapter 84: Separation

Aleric ordered his horse to halt and raised the Spine Staff to look in its flashing green eyes.

"The Bone Crown is near? You told me it was near Esta. I suppose we are ’close’... If I am interpreting the meaning of "close" very broadly."

"Master, that’s true, and I apologize, apologize deeply! I was not very precise in pointing directions, back then. But I remember now that I saw these hills. Please, raise me higher so that I can confirm!"

"Alright..."

Aleric raised the Spine Staff as high as he could. The staff’s eyes glowed brighter as it scanned the area.

"Yes! I remember this place! I was in the great Xarvain’s own hand when his undead dragon flew over these hills. It felt close, because on the dragon’s wings, we crossed the distance from Esta in an hour! Further north-west from there will be a cliff with more hills, and in it, a cave. There, the great Xarvain ordered his servants to build a crypt and enchanted it to fit his Bone Crown."

Aleric lowered the Spine Staff and looked in the direction pointed by the Spine Staff. From his studies of the local map, he knew the place wasn’t far away.

"There’s no point going there now. The main power of Xarvain’s artifacts is knowledge, and I doubt I will learn useful spells in the short time it will take for the royal army to reach me," Aleric said. "I will take the Bone Crown after the king is dealt with."

"That’s very wise, master. However, I just have to add that Bone Crown, like all of great Xarvain’s artifacts, has an additional power besides storing his knowledge of the Domination school of magic. I can effectively channel Dark energy, making your spells twice as cheap to cast; meanwhile, Bone Crown lets you "read" souls of others and know what’s going on in their heads before even they do themselves. While the great Xarvain wore it, no one could best him in a duel. He would counteract their every move!"

"Read people’s intentions? What an interesting power..." Aleric rubbed his chin in thought.

There were going to be a lot of powerful opponents in the royal army—for example, the inquisitors. Even Aleric’s best fighters would be hard-pressed fighting them. But if Aleric could predict the moves of these people and transmit them to his undead servants, his soldiers would also have this boon...

If Samuel knew ahead of time that the enemy was about to use a Turn Undead spell, he wouldn’t have been almost destroyed by it, and his skin wouldn’t have melted. And that was just one example.

"This power is just what I need for a final tip of the scales toward me."

***

The army was still moving, but a group of people had separated from the rest: seven riders and a few undead on foot.

"This is dangerous, master. You are going to travel on your own when there are raiders in the vicinity. Even if no one sane will ride a living horse at night, you might still get ambushed," Samuel said. "Please, take me with you."

Aleric shook his head.

"You still need to organize our ambush, Samuel, and I have nobody else to leave this to. But don’t worry, I will take what guard I can. And your horse, too. You won’t need it for now, anyway."

Samuel looked at the guard Aleric meant.

After the attack by the battle mages, Aleric naturally raised the few mages that were killed in the attack and their horses as new undead servants. The mages joined the ranks of other laborers—Aleric wasn’t too interested in studying elemental magic right now, when he didn’t have the time, anyway. But their horses allowed five more soldiers to join the ranks of Black Riders.

"Also, I will make sure that our enemies think that I’m still here if they are watching," Aleric said, then looked at the staff in his hand. "Sorry, Spine Staff, but you will stay behind. Your Dark energy is too strong to hide. Just explain to me where I must go."

"I... I understand, master! Please, come back for me later and receive your legacy!"

Aleric’s staff bearer zombie was waiting nearby. With a hood of his dark cloak on, the zombie looked very similar to Aleric himself if someone looked from afar. Same Dark aura, same dead skin... The zombie only lacked white hair.

Samuel saluted with a fist to his chest.

"Then we will prepare everything in your absence, Master Fenn."

"There’s one more spell I need to use you for first, though. Is everything ready?" Aleric asked, silently ordering his horse to kneel.

"Yes, master!" a zombie servant said.

On outstretched hands, he offered Aleric a wooden board with a heptagram etched in it. In the center of the heptagram was a bowl of water. The zombie held this ritual tray perfectly still, not moving entirely. Only someone without a heartbeat or breathing could be so perfectly still.

The surrounding undead watched in respectful silence as Aleric retrieved a pouch from his pocket and pulled a few strands of hair from it.

"I feel that I might not have the time for this later, so this should be a good moment. Especially since it’s night and all the templars should be asleep."

Aleric smiled and channeled Dark magic through the Spine Staff. Green flame burned over the tray and the bowl as Aleric read the magic spell.

"Nen kasvinen mies elja miellya sieltt silm, min rakasouintan eltuumetta ja..."

The curse stretched far away, for several dozen miles, draining more and more of Aleric’s mana—but to his satisfaction, in the end, it found its target.

In his tent in the royal army’s camp, Count Mirrand of Diawale groaned in his sleep. His dreams became plagued by visions of dark tendrils burrowing under his skin and reaching for his heart.

Those were the tendrils of the Dark energy that were draining the old count’s life. He wouldn’t see the next sunrise.

And Aleric, with his spell complete and his mana gradually recovered, prepared for an exhausting and swift travel to the crypt of the Bone Crown.

He hoped to return with it before too long.