I woke up due to my throbbing head. I was back in that cell, back in imprisonment. It’s quite disconcerting to describe how regaining lost memories feels. That dream was the catalyst. I’d finally managed to recall everything. The happy memories came rushing in first, then the sad and bad ones followed. I choose not to disclose anything to you at the moment though. What I was about to do is far more interesting than a sob story anyway.

I pulled at the chains restraining me and started screaming. The chains rattled and the rusted cuffs restraining me dug deep into my flesh. I was bleeding, but what’s a bit of pain to what I had in store for the lord of the undead? Oh how I wished I had this kind of resolve when that smith asserted his libido on me…

I’ve made enough noise to get Marcus’s attention. He came waddling to my cell and groaned. He hit the metallic doors and they made even more noise. That was enough to get the necromancer’s attention.

“What’s going on in there?” I heard his voice booming all around us.

There was a minute of silence after which the necromancer gave an approving hum. “You’re awake at last,” he said. “I’ll be right over.”

Soon enough, I saw the balding stout man make his way to my cell. The door creaked open again and he stood before me, smiling as though he’d just won the freaking war.

“Ready to talk now?” he asked.

“I don’t understand why Qil’Al would give you his power,” I said. “No wonder you’re just a candidate. Look at you, hiding behind puppets you forced into obeying you, pathetic!”

That statement alone made fat creases form in the man’s forehead. Coupled with the wrinkles on his balding head, it made for a funny scene. Especially that I was looking at him from above.

“Kill him!” he ordered his stitched up puppet.

“Here we go again,” I said. “You’re only sitting in the shadows, giving orders. That’s why a bunch of children have made a fool out of you. Nobody fears a coward who hides in the shadows!”

“They’re not children you moron!” the necromancer yelled. “It’s a title they’d given to themselves. They’re an old race, older than you and me, and all our ancestors combined!”

Thank you for the information you lousy bastard!

“And why would you fight such an old race?” I asked. “You clearly don’t know how to organize your soldiers, let alone wage war against an old and organized race.”

Marcus was in front of me by then, ready to snap my neck. The necromancer waved his hand, and the sack of meat stopped. I had him.

“Are you telling me that you don’t know who they are?”

“I assume they live beyond that brass gate,” I said. “I just happened to wander into these tunnels by mistake. Geez old man! You raised that man I killed from the dead. You must’ve seen us coming from the wrong side.”

The necromancer remained silent. Silence, I learned throughout the years, is a form of communication. The old man didn’t have a full grasp over the undead he raised. Perhaps he needed to create some form of bond with them before he could see things through them.

That must be why he’d sacrificed many of his men to concentrate the energy on five of them earlier when we fought. He couldn’t control all of them efficiently.

Nevertheless, I had to be careful. I didn’t know much about his powers. I had to learn more if I needed to get out of here alive.

“Why was your friend rescued by the Children then?” he asked.

“They like women?” I said. I forced a smile and my lips cracked. “I don’t know why they deemed her life worth saving. All I know is that they left me here to die. How important can I be to them?”

“I’m the one asking questions here!” the old man barked.

And you’re doing a pretty poor job at that! I thought.

“Let’s assume I work for them. These children know how to keep your army of undead at bay. They at least managed to keep the banshee away until they saved that woman who was with me. Why didn’t they banish the banshee and come to my rescue? Better yet, why didn’t they send a team of well-trained warriors, instead of a frightened woman and a one eyed warrior who can’t see in the darkness?”

The necromancer remained silent for a while, mulling over what I’d just said.

“Then you know nothing of the Children?” he asked.

This is where it got tricky. If I say no, then I’m sentencing myself to death. If I say yes, the old man will soon realize my treachery and try to kill me. Either way, I was at the losing side. I needed time to adjust and speak to Eva. I also needed to regain my energy and drink some water, for Aella’s sake!

“They haven’t sent me to kill you,” I said. “I’ve never met them before nor do I know what they look like. But I know a thing or two about strategies. I can draw them out in the tunnels. I guess you want to access their city, is that right?”

“I don’t need your counsel,” the necromancer retorted. “I need intel, and since you can’t provide any, you’re more useful to me dead than alive.”

“That’s where you’re wrong!” I said. “Qil’Al doesn’t bestow his gift to just one champion anymore. I assume you have a time limit to reach the city, am I right?”

“How does he know so much?” I heard the necromancer mumble under his breath. He turned to me, tried hard to look down on me then said. “Who are you?”

“My friends call me Zedd,” I said. “I was a spy working for king Auruun during the war against the Akari.”

“What’s a spy from Auruun doing in Aslanor?”

“How about this?” I asked back. “I will help you get into that city, and you’ll help me get out of this country. I was spying on Stalwart, I take it you’re familiar with that madman’s reputation. A fight broke between Wizard and Church. I had to run.”

“That’s what the commotion above ground was?” the necromancer asked.

“Yes.”

“How did you get out?” he asked.

“I found some tunnels in the forest of Sayang. I took them and hoped for the best. Clearly, I hadn’t hoped enough since I ran into you!”

“Hey, don’t take it out on me,” the necromancer said. He was now on the defensive. “I guess a spy from Auruun can do the job though. You think you can open that door for me?”

“How about some water first?” I asked. “And some food, perhaps some clothes too. I don’t like leaving these hanging for too long.” I glanced at my nether region.

“You’re an unusual character Zedd,” the necromancer said then chuckled. “Get him down Marcus,” the man ordered. He gave me a warning look then, before the undead let me loose, he said. “Don’t try anything funny or Ofelia will take care of you.”

“I won’t dare disturb Lord Qil’Al’s plans to save humanity,” I said in all seriousness. These people venerated the superpowers that granted them gifts. I had to respect that in order to blend in.

Marcus undid the chains and the old man threw me a key to open the cuffs around my wrists.

“Name’s Lemien,” he said.

“Lemien?” I raised an eyebrow. “And to think you’ve acted all surprised when I said I was from Auruun. What’s a Bolignois doing so far from home?”

“Boligne doesn’t approve of necromancy,” I said.

“Yes, and Stalwart does,” I said, a hint of sarcasm to my voice.

“Let’s talk about this over a warm meal and some wine, shall we?” Lemien turned on his heels and strode outside the cell. I followed. Food and wine sound good. I was starving and my head wouldn’t stop throbbing.

We were in a spacious cave underground. Water streamed down at the bottom, I could tell by the sound, not by seeing it actually. We walked past many cells. The necromancer had established a lair somewhere inside the web of tunnels under the Sayang region. Some cells were actually well built, compared to the one I was kept in.

“What’s the dungeon for?” I asked. I was still walking around naked, not that anybody minded. They were all dead, who would care if I let my manhood loose in here? Besides, Lemien was used to meddling with corpses. I was but another sack of meat to him.

“They were built by the Children of the Forest,” Lemien answered. “After they retreated from the ground above, they built this place to hold the rebels. Some of them considered their retreat cowardice. They were imprisoned and tortured here. Now they lay here, unused and in ruin. These dungeons haven’t been used for thousands of years.”

I nodded and followed the man through intertwined tunnels. The darkness in the place wasn’t so bad after you get used to it. We soon reached some stairs and started ascending.

“The Children’s architecture was the main reason I visited these tunnels in the first place,” Lemien informed me. “They managed to build cities underground. They even managed to set up an ecosystem that helped them thrive. Most people don’t even know they still exist. But they’re here, waiting for humanity’s extinction.”

“Which is not too far off,” I said. “Stalwart has the means to destroy the world now.”

Lemien stopped right before we reached the door to his quarters.

“What did you say?” he asked.

“Stalwart’s going to summon the Eternal Moon,” I said. “I guess your task seems more urgent now.”

“That’s not good,” the man mumbled under his breath, scratching his gray beard as he did. “Stalwart’s a mighty wizard, if he gets the Holus, then we’re all doomed.”

“Let’s hope I get to my country before the start of the war,” I said.

“Why? What can your country do against him?” Lemien asked.

“That’s something I can’t tell you I’m afraid,” I answered. “But don’t worry. If you help me get out of here, I’ll be sure to mention your name to our king. The Church won’t know about you either.”

“I heard your king doesn’t fully trust the Church,” Lemien said. “Very well, let’s get you something to wear first. We’ll speak about our partnership then.”

“Thanks,” I said, grinning from ear to ear.

‘You can’t kill him yet Myles,’ Eva’s voice reached me.

‘As if,’ I said. ‘Why would I kill him?’

‘Isn’t that what Dif told you?’

‘And I’m supposed to follow a stranger’s orders?’