You sit and stare for a while at this big 'hand' tower. It certainly looks menacing, with its claws stretching skyward as if to rip the sun from the heavens. The villagers are probably shitting themselves or whatever it is villagers do when they panic.
Hm, the villagers... you'll have to make a plan to deal with them one way or another. This tower looks rather immobile, so they're your new neighbors like it or not. Still, they're several hours awa-what was that? You look sharply towards the tree line of the forest as you heard something, possibly a shout. You are quite surprised to see one of those damn fool villagers shouting at you and waving his arms. Is he hysterical? mad? You can't really make out what he is saying, but you feel the Void Within tremble as your annoyance rises.
The villager, a man by the looks of it, is dressed like some kind of hunter with a deerskin jerkin and breeches and some kind of dirty cloth tied over his hair and neck. He has some remarkably well-made boots on which are at odds with his otherwise unkempt and dirty appearance. They seem to be new boots made of cowhide with polished iron buckles and leather straps across the front.
As you stare at his odd boots, he comes closer and stops waving his hands. Panting heavily from his sprint, and looking warily at your hand which you now notice is crackling with void energies, he drops to one knee.
“Sire, I am Ester of the village Thornstown. I beg you not to harm our village. I know a wizard when I see one, and wish to welcome you to our lands. We have many problems within the village which require a wizard’s aid. Please do not be angry Sire, I have followed you since you left the village. The elders wanted to know if you were passing through or intended to stay. What would you have me tell them?”
Huh... he’s already groveling and you didn’t even have to disintegrate his legs. He’s been following you all this time?
You’re starting to form an idea. Something comes back to you from a magical ethics course you took at the academy. Something called ‘aggressive friendship and codependent relationships’ whereby a wizard can have people serve him willingly through the gradual but forceful insinuation of magic into their lives. If you make the people rely on magic to survive, and you are the only source of magic at hand, they will do anything you ask to maintain their quality of life.
You pull your hood back and speak in your best wizard voice, “Ester, you are in luck. I am a Wizard of no small power and I have chosen to settle here. I will aid your village as best I can in return for small considerations like food and supplies. Lead me back to the village now that my work here is done. And do you happen to have any food?”
You and Ester walk back to the village in the failing light and you enjoy a snack of dried meat and some water as you walk. Ester tells you about his village, which sounds singularly boring. They are at a subsistence-level economy, with the entire village’s effort revolving around a single harvest each year which feeds them for the year to come. One of the most unstable and risky of arrangements, really, as one failed harvest will mean starvation for much of the population.
You should make a plan as to how to present yourself to the village. You can’t create any lasting animated undead, though you could probably do some short lived void tricks like you did with that bastard back at Swinesworth. To create a lasting animation you’ll need supplies and, more importantly, a ritual circle to focus the energies and some raw material to raise. You’re quite good with blood magic though, which includes healing and causing diseases as well as direct control of a living body.
You are walking back to the village with Ester.
Currently Wearing: Casual attire, black hooded robe, soiled underpants.
Inventory: worn apprentice staff, spare clean socks, unknown potion vial (1 dose), 3 silver coins, Necromancer's License(charged), Letter, void crystal
Status Effects:
Ruffled - You are somewhat disheveled from your trek but still presentable.
Satiated – You’re not really hungry or thirsty. +1 morale.
Author
Topic: Necromancy 101 (Read 8154 times)