Ryza stared at her brother in disbelief as he lowered his shovel. She hadn’t seen him in over ten years and wasn’t sure if he was another illusion. She stared at Rye and felt her eye flare to life. Their silver eyes met and they winced looking away from one another. If that wasn’t a confirmation, she didn’t know what was.
As she looked away from him in the corner of her eye, she saw the altar against the wall. It was like a flower growing from the ground but made of wood. At the center of the flower, a mask hung like a face. As she stared at it she felt like the mask was staring back at her. And its gaze made her squirm so she looked away.
“What is that thing?” she asked having a need to understand this thing that caused her unease.
“It’s an altar to the Queen of Cerise,” he said joining. “How much do you know about Cerise?”
“Not much. Father’s education for me was strictly on the basis of survival. Anything else I taught myself,” she made a face and saw Ryze fight the urge to scowl. “Sorry, sore subject.”
“It’s the past at this point,” he walked toward the altar and crouched. “They’re the only people out there that our mother has concern toward. Their Queen specifically.”
“She doesn’t have any second thoughts about the Sanctum or Noria but she does about these ghost people?”
“Father never taught you about the Gods?” he asked and seemed genuinely shocked. Ryza wondered if this was more obvious than she gave credit for.
“No. Like I said only the basics,” she thought back to what Orion had said. “But they’ve been coming up recently. They’re the Gods of the three major countries, right?”
“That’s what the common superstition says. The Father of the Sanctum and the Great Leader of Noria are the well known ones.” He listed them off on his fingers holding the two up. “But there are more that many people either don’t know about or have never known. The Cerisans have a Goddess that often time takes a host and serves as the queen of their kingdom.”
“Isn’t she dead?”
Ryze nodded, “Yes. She did sacrifice her life in the last calamity. But likely she’ll be reborn and the Ouroboros want to intercept that. Take her corpse before a new host can be chosen.”
She had an inkling of what it was like to be hunted by them and she didn’t envy that person whoever they were. “What about the Cerise made them a danger to our mother and her plans.”
“That’s the thing, they weren’t. The Cerisans are the only ones with a God that can be interacted with. A God that takes on a mortal form. And because of that she can be killed. And then resurrected. “
It dawned on her, “A zombie god that can be controlled and protect them.”
“Exactly.” Ryze nodded. “The Calamity that struck was bad luck for the Cerisans. The Queen’s cycle of death and rebirth is long and beyond our years. To say our mother helped cause that or it was a stroke of luck I don’t know. All I know is that she struck when the iron was hot and now it accelerated her plan.”
“You talk like she hasn’t done it yet.”
“Not yet. And that’s why we need to move.”
“You two speak with much knowledge of my home and my Queen. It makes me wonder if you should be allowed to live beyond this cave.”
She spun around pointing the shovel at the newcomer. He was dressed similar to the altar but instead, he was wearing a long jacket that reached down to his knees. The mask was different from the others having clear facial expressions, a sneering face of a jester with closed eyes and a mohawk of hair. Just his presence alone sent chills down her spine.
“The Queen’s performers. The Harlequin. You’re a troupe master,” Ryze said as a statement. “I’ve been searching for you. How long has your cast been here?”
“My cast and I have been here for only a couple of days. A refuge to all who serve Her majesty,” he looked at the pair of them continuing his personal song. “You two are necromancers. And you brought a deserter with you. You have nerve.”
“A deserter?” Ryza repeated. “You mean Gest?”
“You’re traveling with a harlequin?” Ryze asked.
Ryza shrugged. “He answered my ad. I didn’t know he was one at the time. Or even what they were until now”
He chuckled and then looked at the troupe master. “I came to offer you a deal. We need something that the other can provide.”
“What can you possibly provide to me or my cast?” he spread his arms and laughed high like some flute. “The children of the Ouroboros coming to me in such a way. We should slit your throats now and wash our hands of your ilk.”
“I am not a child of the Ouroboros,” Ryza challenged her eyes narrowing and both rodents hissed in response. “Call me that again and see what happens.”
Ryze regarded his sister with surprise and felt a smile quirk at his lips but focused on the troupe master, “We have a common goal. The destruction of the Ouroboros. I have information. The abilities and the goals of them. Information that even spies as talented as yours could not easily learn.”
“You assume your intelligence is worth much,” His tone darkened to a deep baritone. “What reason should we have to trust in your information?”
“Because we wish for the same thing. My mother’s true death. The cast you’ve assembled here is strong but they wouldn’t hold a candle to the undead that the seven can produce.” He paused letting out a noise of frustration. “Call off your assassin. I’d hate to lose a potential ally to prove a point.”
As if to emphasize this he pulled his shovel free and in one swift motion he swung it out stopping in midair. Ryza was startled but slowly she watched another of the masked Harlequin appear out of the air like a chameleon. Their hand was in the air, ready to throw a small knife. But with the shovel blade at their neck they were frozen in place.
“You play a dangerous game necromancer,” the troupe master mused. “My people are scattered, that much is obvious. The saying goes ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ but what about when both factions are one’s enemy?”
“If we wanted to lure you into a trap, would we have come to you like this?” Ryza asked. “With four people, not even being made aware of one another’s plans? You could have killed us all on your own but you made a point to talk to us. Something in you be interested in this.”
The Harlequin tilted his head to the side and tapped a hand against his elbow, “I like to believe I am adept at reading people. And I sense no lies in you. Your brother is much harder to read but in this, you do not deceive. But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“I don’t expect you to,” Ryze said. “I want my mother stopped and I know when I’m outmatched.”
“You are really something Ryza. A smart mind to navigate this arena.”
Ryza watched as Gest approached them, clapping his hands. The troupe master mastered turned to face him and Gest dropped to his knee and lowered his head. “And you. A deserter of your cast and your Queen. Traveling with necromancers and automatons. State your defense and why you should live.”
“My leader, my cast, and Her Majesty.,” he said raising his head and his mask seemed to glow as he spoke. “I lost everything to the Calamity. My life lost its worth and I was ready to sleep in the earth. But it came to me within a dream, a message of action directly from my Queen. An enemy turned ally will be our salvation. And lo and behold She’s helped me to your location.”
The troupe master stared, slowly tapping a hand against his arm and then placing his hand over Gest’s mask. “Your conviction transcends your circumstances. I may have judged you wrongly. But you’ll prove your truth to our Queen with your performance.”
“That is my only goal, until my Queen gives me a new role.”
“Where is Orion?” Ryza asked and glared at the troupe master. “Are they okay?”
“Yes,” snapping his fingers he stepped aside and they watched as two other masked assassins walked forward with Orion between them. The wood of their body was chipped with knife gouges but they walked without issue. The red light of their eye was small, focused on each of them.
When they saw Ryza and her brother they made a whirring sound like a snort, “There really is two of you.”
“Haha,” she rolled her eyes. “And here I worried that you had gotten hurt.”
Orion shrugged, “No reason to. It’s not like these two were going to kill me.” One of them shoved them but Orion didn’t budge. Turning and drawing their gun they said, “Tell me it’s not a fact.”
“Don’t taunt them Orion,” Ryza said and looked toward the troupe master. “We’re allies for now.”
“For now. We have affairs to put in order. Loose ends to tie up. But when they are completed we will find you and we will work together to put down the Ouroboros and their leader,” he said resting his gaze on Ryze. “For all of our sakes, I hope this partnership is a blessing.”
For a moment it was like a shroud passed over them, an illusion that passed. When they looked back the master and his players were all gone. When Ryza looked for the altar the space it occupied was gone without a trace.
“And then there were four. Our next step I would explore,” Gest looked at Ryze and extended his hand. “Together we’ll do our best, for our new friend my name is Gest.” The necromancer stared at his hand and then grabbed his shovel to keep walking.
“He was right under our nose the entire time. How’d you miss that?” Orion asked and Ryza made a face.
“Next time why don’t you try and find them with your magical glowing red eye,” she said glaring and then looked down at Shriek. “Why couldn’t I see here? It was like being in a fog the day we crossed over.”
“It’s a safe guard of the Harlequin. They don’t want to be found. But you can find them if you know what to look for,” Ryze pointed up above them. “For now we should get out of this cave. We can talk once we’re outside.”
Ryze took the lead navigating the caves like they weren’t even there. Choosing the right path, knowing when to go up or back track. Ryza watched her brother with mixed feelings. But she made a point to catch up to him. “The way you talked. You acted like you were waiting for me. Why? Last time we met I wasn’t your favorite person.”
“No you weren’t,” he shook his head staring at the moon light. “I used to hate you back then. I was younger. Blunter. Stupider.”
“You’re saying you’ve changed?” she sounded skeptical. “You’re going to sell me a bridge?”
He looked at his little sister and saw his eyes, saw the same nose and hint of a smile that he knew he had. They both looked like their mother than their father. He could hear Isaac in his ears and whatever lingering frustrations he had toward his sister dissipated.
“I haven’t changed much. Just my view on things. Our father is dead. Our mother is a monster. At the very least I can find common ground with my own sister. You’re as much a victim as I am.”
Ryza looked at her brother hard trying to read his face. It was more open than she’d ever seen it before. Not quite vulnerable but he wasn’t trying to hide or trick her. He was being honest, “I guess we both were on the receiving end of things. If I could just study necromancy on my own and maybe even find immortality that would be enough.”
He started laughing surprised again by her words, “Great minds think alike.”
“What do you mean?”
“I studied how to create a lich seeking to turn myself into one. Mixed results,” he shrugged. “I got a goody two shoes friend out of it. But I guess seeking immorality is built into necromancers.”
“You actually made a lich?” She looked at her brother with some wonder in her eyes.
“I raised a lich yes,” he nodded. “But I’m not sure how effective it would be if I turned myself into one.”
“I’ve been studying the soul. Being able to take the spirit and put it in different bodies. Replacing the old with a new,” she told him. “How would you do it?”
“To make a new body for myself that would be permanent and never go away. A container for my soul that would never expire.”
“When we’re not fighting the end of the world show me,” she said finally cracking a genuine smile. “I’d love to see that close up.”
“I can recreate the ritual. If I’m right, this method is beyond what our mother has thought of previously.” Ryza could hear the boast in his voice and that made her smile.
The silver light of the moon was illuminating the field around them as they walked outside. The moment she was outside she let out a sigh of relief and the fog lifted properly. She felt Gest and Orion behind her with their strange magic that permeated them. But more than that she felt her brother’s necromantic energy. It was comforting in a way she never knew she missed.
Their horses were waiting for them outside the cave. They had moved to stand beside the other dark horse that apparently belonged to Ryze. The moment Coal saw him she cantered over and he rubbed her muzzle slowly.
“Pride hasn’t changed her plans. That much I’m confident on,” he pulled on the reins lightly. “My guess is that she’s already sent people to the ruins of Cerise.”
Orion stared at him trying to make sense of his words, “You want us to go into Cerise? The sight of a recent calamity?”
“Yes. Normally it’s impossible to get there without a great source of magic. But with the queen’s death, it’s a lot easier to get their own feet. We need to get there before the Ouroboros can resurrect the queen.”
“You necromancers don’t lack confidence. Or perhaps it’s arrogance,” Orion said clunking past them.
Ryze stared at Orion for a long moment with his silver eye. He saw the core in their stomach and saw the magic circulating throughout them like a current. But the magic inside them was old. Ancient even. “Who made you?” he asked finally.
Orion paused and looked over their shoulder, “What?”
“You’re a construct. Raised to life by a mage or something similar. Who brought you back to life?”
The construct shrugged. “You’re not the first necromancer to ask me that. I met one once long ago that was fascinated about my existence much like you two are now. He said I was a missing link to his research of an old civilization. Like you two he used a shovel.”
Ryze’s eyes widened sharply at that and glanced at his sister who was equally shocked. “Are you sure they used a shovel?” she asked.
Orion nodded, “Yes. Why?”
“Because the only other necromancers in the Ouroboros to use shovels were our parents. It’s a style of necromancy that they invented together,” Ryza said slowly. “I can’t imagine our mother interacting with something like you and letting you go. She’d just study you for eternity.”
“Which means you met our father,” Ryze finished.
Orion mused on that for a moment, “Huh. Fancy that.”
Gest mounted his horse and brushed a hand through his hair. “Though we cannot know when we’re affected. We’re all very interconnected. The night is growing, I believe we should be going.”
“Agreed,” Ryze reached into his bag and pulled out a map. It was one from the cartographer in the Free City and it had been doing him good since he bought it. The area of the Cerisan kingdom wasn’t focused on but he knew where it should be. Pushing Coal around he stroked her neck and urged her forward. “Let’s go.”
The Harlequin Library 