The Quests of Fable

Ch. 13: Necromancy Is Not Very Fun

Fable poked the mark on the skull, trying to figure out what it was for. A triangle with a horizontal line running through it... triangle was fire, upside down triangle was water according to her unofficial spell book, but there was nothing so far about a triangle with a line.

Kieran rested his arms on the top of her head, leaning over her to look at the book. "Whatcha doing?"

Fable pushed his elbows off her head and neatened her hair. "I'm trying to figure out what this sigil means. It looks similar to the symbol for fire, but there's a weird line that I can't find anything about."

"Maybe it's not in your book." Kieran shrugged. "Aren't spell books, like, super regulated? If it's something illegal you probably won't find it in there."

"No, this book isn't technically recognized by the kingdom. See? It's unofficial." She closed it and presented the front cover that read An Unofficial History of Magicks and How to Use Them by Piccadilly Tanzim.

"Who's Piccolo man?" Kieran pointed to the author. "I don't even think I can say that."

"Piccadilly Tanzim was the founder of Tanzim's Academy of Magicks. He wrote an unofficial grimoire, but it's next to impossible to find."

"Then how do you have one?"

"A wagonload of luck, and a very determined librarian."

"Fair enough."

Jin tapped Fable on the shoulder. "We will be advancing to the next room in a few moments. Be sure to gather all of your belongings."

Fable nodded and stuffed her book back into her bag of holding. She dropped the skull next to its body before following the others into the next room.

Almost immediately, Fable knew that something was up. There were black candles in the wall sconces burning with purple flames, and black curtains with deep purple embroidery along them were hanging over the walls. She caught a glimpse of Barley pulling his rope telescope out of his bag, and Jin preparing to draw her blade. Kieran wasn't readying for battle, but Fable knew how fast he could have his blades in hand.

Fable herself didn't need to prepare since a single word would be all it took to cast a spell. All the same, she pulled out her hunting knife and subtly motioned for Slight to stay low and hide behind something. The familiar edged towards a stone pillar near the back of the room up on a raised dais. Then, he scrambled back as thick black smoke started to roll out of his potential hiding spot.

A deep sinister voice filled the room, resonating from an unknown source. "I see that my guards weren't enough to put you off. Shame. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to deal with you rabble myself."

Fable looked around. She glanced at Kieran, who saw her looking. His eyes flicked to the sconce right next to the doorway. She could see that the purple flame was flickering violently, although every other candle was completely still.

Maybe if she snuffed it out, their enemy would appear. At the very least, it would do something. How to snuff it out discreetly...

She narrowed her eyes. Ice wouldn't do. Neither would water. Fire was out of the question, and healing, light, and vines would be useless. That was really all the spells she had. If she had time to look through her spell book she could have found something, but in the middle of something like this she didn't exactly have the time to whip out a book and do some research.

Flexing her hands, she shifted her grip on the hunting knife. If someone showed themself, at least she'd be ready to defend herself.

There was a tug on her sleeve. She glanced down for a split second to see Slight.