Wallace ducked as he ran, rock barely missing him by inches. The sound of the mob behind him was one he had grown all too accustomed to as of late- this was the third time this month he'd been run out of the village he'd been staying at. Gripping his stave tightly, Wallace ducked into an alley. "Gotta get out of here," he thought numbly as the mob dispersed, presumably to try and cut him off at the other end. "Gotta get out of here, Mayor Appletooth will have my head if don't."
What had Wallace done wrong? He only wanted to help the mayor rebuild the town hall, what was wrong with that? He even told Mayor Appletooth not to freak out before he created the zombies! I mean sure, the mayor didn't know Wallace was a necromancer before hiring him, but that's no reason to call him a freak! And how was Wallace supposed to know that one of the bodies he resurrected was the mayor's great-grandmother? He had tried to calm things down by explaining that a body is nothing more then the shell a soul inhabits, and that it wasn't really Granny Beatrice, but Mr. Appletooth would have none of it. And then Wallace had given him his name, and Appletooth realized whose son he must be...
Reaching the end of the alley, Wallace sighed in relief. His pursuers hadn't gotten there in time to cut him off it would seem, giving him a chance to escape! Rushing out of the alleyway, Wallace turned to the right...
And immediately slammed face first into somebody.
"Argh!". The man cried out as he fell to the ground, cold stone grazing his behind. As Blood Diamond got up, he glanced up at the oddity before him, instinctively grimacing a little at the ugly complexion before him.
"So you're the necromancer everyone's been talking about!"
Just barely four days ago, the wanderer who called himself Blood Diamond had arrived in a small village in the north of Serendipity. Recently, Blood Diamond had been in combat against some outlaws, and after finding himself in a sticky situation after throwing his sword right at their leader (In an attempt to make a grandiose entrance onto the scene) he decided that maybe he should learn how to magically draw his sword back into his hand. Unfortunately, after a week of trying, there hadn't been any progress made. And so, he sought out a mage to teach him, and what better place to find one, than Serendipity? Unfortunately, this was not quite the mage he intended to run into. Blood Diamond grabbed the talk of the town by the arm and drew his sword with his free hand, just as the crowd of townspeople stopped to gaze upon the unusual sight. It seemed the terrible necromancer had been caught, but by who? He certainly didn't look from around town, and his clothing was quite spectacular, seeming to catch every stray beam of light and reflect it back unto them. The less-hated of these two men spoke with a great sense of theatricality in his voice, and a bright gleam in his eye:
"Villain, I am not without honor! take this chance to prove your worth... In a fair duel!"
"Gah!" Wallace gasped as he fell over. Looking up, he saw he had run into some sort of... mercenary? He was wearing a strange set of armor, and the necromancer briefly wondered what kind of protection a suit with holes in it could feasibly offer. He had a sword strapped to his back as well, but it seemed paper thin- as if it'd break of it so much as brushed against another blade.
Before Wallace could offer an apology, the gaudily dressed man grabbed him by the arm, dragging him before the crowd he'd been fleeing from. "Wait! Stop!" the necromancer protested, but it got him nowhere- the man had challenged him to a dual. The angry mob cheered excitedly, and Wallace whimpered timidly as he was thrust to his feet.
"Crap!" he thought, shaking with fear. "How do I get out of this?"
Wallace clutched his stave tightly to his chest. "B-but..." he stammered nervously. "I d-don't have a weapon..."
Blood Diamond had challenged the foul necromancer to single combat in order to excite the crowd, and to show them that he could defeat any opponent. Of course, considering the town's reaction to this grotesque young man and his villainy, Diamond expected a fair amount of resistance. And thus, he was shocked when the man stammered out that he, in fact, had no weapon. No weapon!? He had challenged the vicious necromancer to a duel, and now he said he had no weapon? The mob of townsfolk looked on curiously as the man in shining red pointed his index finger at his opponent's stave, proclaiming loudly that it certainly looked like a weapon. "There will be no excuses! Either nobly stand your ground, or admit defeat at the hands of the vigilante hero, Blood Diamond!" He then paused, gazing out over the crowd, disappointed at the lack of rabid cheering and applause. Discouraged, he continued nonetheless: "No matter what, the result shall be the same. But at least let the people you have wronged witness the power of a hero".
With that, Diamond held his sword up high, making sure to face the flat of the blade towards the light of the setting sun, so as to help the carefully-polished blade catch all of the incoming light and fling it back into the eyes of everyone near. "Finally", he thought to himself, "Finally, I will receive the favor of a village, finally they will realize that I am the hero the people need and deserve!" Gazing out at the awed faces of the crowd after seeing such a show of light filled the hero with a renewed sense of vigor, and with that he decided to truly make "The Day Blood Diamond Came To Town" truly a legend people would speak of forever.
With a sense of great pride, he swung his sword through the air, not at the necromancer he had challenged, but at the mild wind blowing in from the east. With this, even more light danced around the gleaming sword, blinding the villagers once again (Though even if they could see this dramatic dance, they no doubt would have been confused as to why the one they had been hunting was not yet dead, or otherwise incapacitated). As his blade cut through the air, Blood Diamond used larger, more sweeping strikes, despite being just meters away from the wall of an old tavern. With one last effort to gift hope to the hearts of the pure, and fear to those of the evil, he raised his prized sword above his head, it's silhouette cleaving the image of the sun in two, and swung down. "Have at thee!"
Watching the self-proclaimed hero show off his swordsmanship cause Wallace to shrink back, grimacing. "Yeesh, That's not good!" he thought. "I won't be able to reason with him, will I?"
What options did the young man have? Running was out of the question, and there was no way he could bring himself to harm the mercenary. However, if he could prove his mettle without harming him...
In the light of the afternoon sun, nobody would be able to see the stave's centerpiece emit a dim glow. Wallace could feel the tiny carapaces reforming, feel the miniscule wings reattach and take flight once more. As the aggressive man brought his blade down, he'd find that his sword hand had attracted a small swarm of flies. The undead bugs made an unearthly crinkling noise as their lifeless shells crawled up and down the mans arm, and even Wallace shuddered at the sight of it.
"So..." the necromancer began slowly. "If I disarm you, I win, right?"
After his dazzling display of swordsmanship, the ever-growing crowd of townsfolk was both bewildered and confused. Blood Diamond looked out upon them watching them intently, listening to their conversations. "Who is he?", "Where is he from?". These questions whirled through their mouths and ears, a rising storm of questioning voices growing ever more desperate for answers. At least that's how he saw it. However, just as he was about to defeat the villainous necromancer and save them from near-certain demise, he felt a small, tingling sensation on his right wrist, followed by more in various locations on his arm. He halted his movement, daring to chance a look down, and what should he see but an ever-growing crowd of flies, crawling over him, more dropping onto his sword arm every second. As Diamond began to panic, he nervously glanced around him, stopping and staring in disbelief at the black insects rising from the cracks in the street, slowly unfurling their tiny, fractured wings. The sight was unnerving, to say the least. Before the hero could ask, his opponent spoke slowly, but loudly, "So... If I disarm you, I win, right?"
"What are you doing?" The plague of flies kept coming, weighing down on his sword in hundreds. He attempted to swing his brilliant blade, but it reflected the sun no more, tainted by the black mass surrounding it. So this was the extent of his necromancy! As more piled on, he felt his sword grow heavier, becoming much harder to swing, and making the task of balancing on top of it rather easy for the miniature army, crowding into every available spot, standing atop their fallen comrades. They may not have weighed much individually, but with their indescribable numbers together, they felt like lead, and the wanderer's weapon slowly sank to the ground, as the strain on his wrist became too much. The sword would have to travel the last few inches to the ground in freefall.
"I've been defeated". This was the time that he would show them who he was, the time that everyone would see not just a lunatic in an odd costume, but the hero known as Blood Diamond, their savior! And yet now, he stood there, hunched over from the weight of the flies, as they too crumpled to the ground, hollow shells, bodies without spirit. But above all of the loss, all of this missed opportunity, there hung a dilemma. "What do I do now?". He had never lost a duel like this before, and now he was faced with a conflict in his own values. If he let the criminal go, he would fail, and the evil sorcerer would triumph. However, if he picked his sword back up and disarmed the man anyway, forcing him into a prison, then his honor as a hero would be forever tarnished. Either way, he could never earn the respect of the people living here. All of his life, Blood Diamond had imagined his mother and father watching over him from a distance. Yet now all he could envision was those dear parents' faces obscured by their palms, disappointment oozing out of every orifice. Before making a final verdict on what to do next, he wanted to know one thing: "Who is it..", he spoke softly, his eyes making only half an effort to look up, fearful of catching those of the victor, "That has defeated me?"
It was every bit as awful as Wallace imagined it would be. A woman in the crown screamed as the man's arm was enveloped, panic spreading through the civilians like wildfire. The necromancer's heart sank. Even when he used it non-violently, his power was still terrifying to those not used to it. He relinquished his control over the insects as soon as the man dropped his weapon, hoping to prove himself not to be a threat.
When the swordsman asked for his name, the necromancer gingerly stepped forward. "It's Hope." he said with a nervous, extending his arm to help the man up. "Wallace Ho-"
"You suck!" a voice from the mob called. "You call yourself a hero? You have no talent!"
"Yeah!" another voice cried. "I bet you let the necromancer win!"
"The air was soon filled by the sound of jeering as the mob began to advance towards them. "Gah!" Wallace moaned. "Why can't things ever go right?"
"Wallace Hope", he thought. "A necromancer named Hope". He couldn't quite place a finger on it, but something was definitely ringing a bell. However, before he could figure out exactly how he knew this mysterious man who had so easily defeated him, an uproar began, crowds of people jeering, outraged, from all sides of the wide street. Clearly, the congregation were hungry for blood, and with that need left unsatisfied by the outsider's failed attempt at showing off, it seemed they would soon take matters back into their own hands, redistributing their newly-bolstered wrath between the two pariahs. Although this was not the first time Diamond had failed, it was definitely the first time a whole town had turned on him in such a way.
He slowly brought himself to a standing position, rejoining his hand to his sword, and thrusting it outwards threateningly, but not at the evil he had tasked himself with combating in the first place. That man had proven he had no intention of hurting the hero, and a loss was a loss. At least by sparing him he would save a small amount of dignity, a commodity that was about to be rapidly spent. Vowing to deal with this "Hope" character later, Diamond declared to the townsfolk, "I know I have failed you. You have much reason to be angered." At this, everyone's yelling subsided a bit, ears curious above their rage. "However, I cannot simply let myself be murdered here, with full knowledge that my purpose on this earth has not been fulfilled!" The hero trembled a bit, partly because he was still reeling from the shock of his loss, but mainly because of what he was about to do. Unable now to even muster up the courage to say it in an audible voice, he half-muttered, half-whispered. "I hope you can eventually understand..." And with this, he thrust his blade into the sky, catching the dimming sunlight and reflecting a bright light across both sides of the polished silver and into the eyes of the commoners. Unable to see clearly, they blindly threw rocks in the general direction of the two, hoping that just maybe one of them would find a target. But no-one could hear the sound of the rapid footsteps over the commotion, and as the light cast by Blood Diamond dissipated, one thing immediately became clear: They should have thrown those rocks before he made a run for it.
The man stood up on his own, ignoring Wallace's hand. The young necromancer grimaced. "His pride is hurt." he thought, feeling a sudden rush of pity for his attacker. "Loosing in front of a crowd couldn't have been easy."
Then the swordsman addressed the crowd, raising his weapon into the air once more. Wallace pulled his hood over his eyes, unable to look directly at the shimmering blade. The crowd wasn't so lucky, and most of them seemed to have been blinded by the spectacle. Rocks were thrown aimlessly, and in the confusion Wallace decided to make a break for it. "Welp, looks like I'm back at square one..."
Looking over his shoulder, Wallace saw he wasn't the only one making a break for it. The swordsman had used the opportunity to flee, and was heading in the same general direction as the necromancer. Slowing his pace slightly, he began running next to the man. "Hey!" he panted. "No hard feelings, okay? I just-"
"There they are! I knew they were working together!"
Diamond ran as fast as he could, his destination being wherever the mob weren't present. As he ran, he spotted Wallace up ahead, slowing his pace to talk. "Hey! No hard feelings, okay? I just-" As he spoke, a voice called out from the crowd, something along the lines of "I knew they were working together!"
"You really do like to make everything worse, don't you?", the swordsman called out over the rabble. He kept running through the long street, barely managing to keep ahead of the rocks pelting his ankles. "What injustices did you commit unto them to cause this reaction?!"
"Hey, I- ow!" Wallace said as a pebble bounced harmlessly off of his head. "I was trying to make things better!" He ducked, a larger rock sailing over his head. "I just thought my zombies could hap with their construction project, that's all!"
The crowd was slowly but surely catching up to them. Beginning to panic, Wallace racked his brain for an escape route. Finally, it hit him- it was something he had already done earlier in the day.
Once more the man's stave began to glow. The crown panicked as the black mass of dead insects swarmed beneath their feet and towards the two being pursued. "Hold on!" Wallace cried to his unlikely ally. "I'm getting us out of here!"
The insects enveloped the two men's feet, carrying them forwards at a much quicker pace...
"Trying to make things better!? Are you joking?" Before Diamond could audibly express his exasperation at this ludicrous claim, the necromancer's staff began to glow. "What could he possibly be doing now?" Then he felt it. The same feeling as when he was disarmed, only centered on his legs. "Is this man trying to trip me up?"
Suddenly, he felt a weightlessness, and the roar of wind as he sped up. It was only a few seconds later when he would process the fact that he wasn't running anymore. No, he was riding a black mass of flies. Riding forward, the crowd of angry Serenians became less and less of a problem. What was a problem was the house straight ahead. Diamond looked over at the man who, not one minute ago, had been his enemy, and made a decision.
Wrenching his ally's staff from his hand, the vigilante lobbed it like a spear at the window in front of them. It was a fair bit heavier than his sword, but that wasn't saying much. The staff glided through the air, shattering the delicate glass through. As the swarm of flies approached the newly-created opening, Diamond grabbed the necromancer's arm and dived through. "Wallace Hope", he thought, "Please don't slam into the wall!"
The amount of concentration it took to control hundreds of miniscule undead bodies at once made it very difficult to watch where one was going.
Wallace very nearly lost control when the mercenary snatched his stave away. His eyes, which had rolled into the back of his head, snapped back into focus. "Wait, what?" he cried in confusion as the staff shattered the glass window. "What's going-OOF"
Being pulled through the window was not fun. Wallace sat up groggily, rubbing his head. His stave lay on the floor a few meters away, and he quickly crawled over and snatched it up. "Be careful next time!" he snapped, examining the (thankfully undamaged) crystal centerpiece. "I need this to do magic properly, and it's an antique!" He hugged the stave close to his chest. "It's probably worth more than this house!"
His heart was running laps around his gut, all the quick movements and adrenaline forcing him to retch. Blood Diamond was not happy, another chance at heroism tossed into an empty old home. This home in particular seemed to accentuate the annoyance he felt at the occasion, stones loose in the walls, chairs strewn about carelessly, and a perfectly ripe apple sitting atop a pile of trash. Normally, he wouldn't have minded, but the fact that the attitude of the citizens towards him seemed to apply to everything in their lives just sickened him further. Most of them had nothing, and yet when they found something that could help, they just threw it away!
By this point, he had remembered Wallace, and found him in the center of the dust and insect-ridden floor, clutching his stave to his chest while indignantly prattling about its importance as if the world would end without it.
The would-be hero paced angrily around the room, now over the adrenaline rush and subsequent sickness, and pressed his middle three fingers on each hand to his temples. "Why didn't you just lose? With those powers, how hard would it have been to be defeated and then break out of prison with your army of flies? You could have faked death, flown away, I would have been a hero!"
With this, he strode to where Wallace knelt, staring down harshly. "You know the value of your stave, but what about the value of respect?"
Already, Diamond felt apologetic. The Necromancer had only attempted to help a community and defended himself passively. Still, he wasn't extending niceties until he had an answer.
Wallace stared up at the man in shock, his eyes like dinner plates. "B-but..." he sputtered, body trembling. "Y-you had that sword! You w-wanted to kill me!" The necromancer frowned, beginning to grow angry. "What does respect have to do with any of this? I could have left you behind, you know!"
He paused. Wallace was right. Throwing his head into his palm, he spoke somberly: "I misjudged you. I can be sorry for that. But you.. You..."
He had no words, not an excuse that could leave his mouth in good conscience. Instead, Diamond extended a hand. "It seems our plans were both derailed. You do not seem to be a bad person, so tell me why you are here, and perhaps I can help you. It's what a real hero would do."
Wallace stared at the man's hand, then at the ground. "Thank you..." he murmured. "People aren't usually nice to me like this..."
The necromancer took the man's hand, pulling himself up. "Do you think... Somebody like me could be a hero too?"
The swordsman paused. No-one had ever asked him that question before. Racking his brain for the correct answer, he panicked. "Uh... um..."
Blood Diamond breathed deeply through his nose, closing his eyes for a moment to clear his head. "I believe that anyone can be a hero. It takes only courage, justice, compassion, kindness, justice..." He tried to think of some of the other virtues he'd been taught, but at the moment, nothing came to mind. "Why don't we find a way to show them your intentions without giving them a chance to harm you?"
"You... Really mean that?" Underneath the acne and greasy locks of hair, Wallace seemed to glow. He smiled brightly, at the mercenary, eyes tearing up. "I-I don't know what to say..." he said, cheeks beginning to turn pink. "I- thank you!
Wallace grabbed the man's hand with both of his ow, shaking it vigorously. "I, I, I never got your name, sir!" he said happily. "I think I told you mine, right? It's Wallace! Wallace Hope!" He released the man's hand. "I, er, how will we show them? Do you really think we can do it?"
"My name is Blood Diamond, wandering vigilante and vanquisher of evil!" He struck a pose, a fist held high in the air, and smiled brightly at his new friend, glad to have redeemed himself at least in part. However, he knew an apology would not be enough to fully compensate for the trouble he'd caused, and so he began formulating a plan to sway the public in Wallace's favor.
"Let's start at the problem, Wallace. Why are they so scared of you? Dead bugs rising from the ground, obviously, but anything else?"
Wallace stared at the man, eyes bright. "He is so cool!" he thought excitedly. "Heroes never like me!" He scratched the back of his head, beginning to feel a bit embarressed. "Well, I can raise dead humans too... I did it in front of the mayor, so that's probably why..."
Wallace snaped his fingers. "Oh! And then there's my family name..." The necromancer's voice got quiet halfway through saying this, as if he'd been caught doing something unflattering.
"Why did I say that out loud? If he liked me before, he probably won't now..."
"Yes, the name, I've heard of it before, but I'm not quite..." It hit him hard, draining the color from his face in a matter of seconds. It was so clear now, without the distraction of bitter loss! "Ah... Uh..." The books had told of a necromancer named Alabaster Hope. He slaughtered many, using his undead army to try and conquer Darken Vei. They had also told of a child. The shock of realizing exactly who he was standing in front of felt almost darkly humorous, like a theater show. And it was usually at this point in the show where the evil warlock horrifically murdered the other man.
"A necromancer who goes by the name of Hope", he squeaked, desperately trying to be polite without compromising his values. "Are you, by any chance, not related to Alabaster Hope? The madman who killed a bunch of people? That Hope?" Diamond was having a small breakdown, unsuccessfully attempting to remain courteous, while also attempting to not soil himself. It took mere seconds for him to snap. "I won't tell anyone! I swear on my honor, you aren't a bad person, why would I tell, I'll forget all about it, just please don't kill me!"
"Hysterics" was an understatement.
"Of course..."
The warm glowly quickly disappeared from Wallace's face, being replaced by a look of bitter acceptence. "It's... it's not..." he began sadly, but the look on Blood Diamond's face prevented him from going any further.
"This always happens. Why can't people just forget?"
Swallowing, Wallace turned away. "I-I'm sorry for causing tyou trouble... I should just go." The necromancer's head drooped slightly. "Just forget you saw me..."
"I was so close too..."
Seeing Wallace so hurt snapped Blood Diamond back to reality. "Wait, I'm sorry!" He looked at himself with shock as he realized how atrocious his behavior was. If he was judged by his father... Well, he looked up to his father, so it wasn't a fair comparison. But he knew it was unfair to judge Wallace on actions that weren't his own, especially after he'd been so forgiving. "I panicked, I'm sorry. I was no better than those townsfolk."
"Make up your damn mind..."
Wallace sighed, turning around. "Look." he said sharply. "I appreciate it, I really do." The necromancer rubbed his brow. "But I don't think one man can do much good to pesuade an entire town. Do you actually have a plan? Or is it just empty words?"
"Damn!" Diamond had to think quick, realizing that if he were to have one more chance at doing anything somewhat heroic, he'd need a plan, and he'd need it now. In order to stall for time, he strode around the house, rummaging through drawers and shelves for some paper, and a quill and ink. Finding both implements sooner than he'd like, he ushered Wallace over to the dust-coated table in the corner. Smoothing the paper over the table and dipping the quill in, he drew a deep breath. He still had no strategy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvKNHvu4G9s). "Okay, so, we are here". He dabbed a spot on the paper, then sliced the quill downwards from it twice, creating two lines to represent the road they'd turned down to get there. Regaining some confidence as his mind worked through something resembling a plan, he continued, mapping out the streets they'd passed through all the while. "Show me where that construction project is, and you will show them exactly what you can do with that magic!"
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/414899346321047552/433635803747450881/terrible_map.png)
"Okay, okay."
Wallace looked at the map, hand on his chin. He nodded slowly before dipping his own finger into the ink. "Going by your map..." he said, hovering his finger over the parchment. "It would have been about..."
Wallace marked an area on the map rather far from where they were currently. He looked at the smudged fingerprint, grimacing. "I, ah, was running for maybe half an hour before you showed up." the necromancer said sheepishly. "If we're careful and sneaky, maybe we'll get there in forty-five?"
"You have got to be kidding me!", he thought, palming his forehead as he did. "You were running for half an hour?" Those townsfolk certainly were persistent!
"Fear not!", exclaimed the hero, sweeping his arm across the table, "We shall brave the night and win back the hearts of these humble folk!" Blood Diamond was beginning to get truly excited about the prospect of such an adventure. And he finally had a complete plan.
"We'll start from here after sundown, before trekking through the darker streets 'til we reach the building. I'll keep lookout while you use your powers of, uh, summoning to finish their project, and they will see..." He put his fist to his chest and stood tall, "You are a hero!"
Wallace grinned, beginning to get excited. Diamond's enthusiam was contagious- and in all honesty, the necromancer's immune system was never very good to begin with. He began to laugh, a deep awkward sound. "Hahaha! Oh- oh gosh! Really?" Wallace could picture it in his mind- the cheers of the townsfolk, the mayor apologizimg for organizing the mob. Maybe he'd even get a permanent job! "That sounds great! I can't wait!"
The necromancer glanced out the window at the sky. It was still mid-afternoon- quite s few hours until sundown. Looking back at his new friend, Wallace frowned. "So... what do we do until then?"
Blood Diamond scratched behind his ear, unsure of quite how to answer. "That's a good question". He scanned over the room, looking through shelves for some way to pass the time. After digging around through a few musty books and assorted items, he came across a wooden box, coated with a thick layer of dust. brushing as much of it off as he could (some of it was caked on remarkably hard), he managed to make out a word. "So, Wallace, do you know how to play Chess?"
He opened the box to check the contents, and jumped back in surprise as a group of large spiders crawled out and began skittering around the room. He drew his blade and chased down the nearest target, smashing steel down on it repeatedly and yelling "Die, evil bug, die!" Once the thing was thoroughly eviscerated, he sheathed the sword and exhaled.
Wallace's face perked up slightly. "Oh, yeah, I know how to-" he began before apruptly stopping, watching in shock as Diamond chased the spiders that came out of the box. "Wait! Don't!" he said, motioning with his hands for the man to stop. "You don't have to- ugh, really?"
The necromancer stepped forwards rubbing, his arm timidly. "Man, you don't gotta go killing spiders like that..." he said, looking at the dead arachnid on the floor. "Just 'cause they look creepy doesn't mean they're bad. They're actually helpful, get rid of the actual pests for you..."
Once he had finished shaking in fear, Diamond walked over to Wallace, ready to lecture.
"My dear friend. Spiders embody evil in it's purest form. They have eight legs to help them chase after unsuspecting prey, and eight eyes with which to scour the room for the first sign of movement. We, as humans, only require two of each, because we contain no such inherent treacherous desires. Of course, spiders do have only two fangs. Why? Simple. Because a spider with eight fangs all stuffed into one tiny mouth would look ridiculous, and a ridiculous-looking spider would lack the secret weapon of its brethren: Fear. Spiders prey on the fear of the people. To put all this simply, spiders scary, scary bad, I kill scary and save us both."
Feeling his explanation to be satisfactory, Blood Diamond moved on. "So, you say you know how to play chess? Good, because I don't."
Wallace stared blankly at Diamond, a dumbfounded smile on his face. "I... what?" The necromancer blinked twice, trying his hardest to comprehend the armored man's logic. "But... huh?"
He finally gave up, shaking his head. "Um... right. I, ah, knew how to play that game when I was little, my dad used to make chess metaphors a lot when talking about his plans." He looked away, rather embarressed. "I kinda avoid it now. Bad memories..."
Diamond simply smiled, feeling safe in the fact that his explanation wasn't being argued.
Suddenly, he was reminded again of Wallace's past. "Oh, yes, right. Apologies. Um... Oh, I'v been meaning to ask you, how do you do all the fly-raising stuff? I've been trying to learn some magic myself, but I don't really even know if I can."
Wallace grimaced. "Ugh. Of all questions, why did he have to sk that?" He cleared his throat. "Well, most people who have more complex magic like mine are born with it... Necromancy is a like, a bloodline trait for me. You gotta have the spark before lighting a fire, I guess..."
"Ugh, this is the most boring topic I swear..."
He scratched the back of his head. "As for the bugs, they're easy. Understanding joints and and bone structure is key to being able to reanimate the dead. Bugs have skeletons on the outside, so they're usually the first thing necromancers learn to raise. They're really easy, especially since you don't need to dissect them in order to understand how their body moves...."
He suddenly shook his head, looking rather embarresed. "Ahaha, sorry, that was morbid..."
"Born with it? Darn". Diamond had never really known much about magic. He was interested, but he never really had the chance to learn, so it remained mostly a mystery. "No, do not be sorry. I imagine it would be a rather difficult subject to talk of without straying into the realms of morbidity."
Suddenly, his subconscious sent another question to the front of his mind, which was instantly rerouted to his mouth. "How do I know if I have the 'Spark' or not?"
Wallace looked at Blood Diamond blankly. "Man, I dunno!" he said, blinking. "I never went to school for this, I just... kinda learned?" He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I suppose you could go to Connlaoth and hang around some Mordecai? See if you feel any different?" The necromancer shrugged. "Sorry man, I got nothing..."
"Rats." Blood Diamond looked down to the dusty old floor, and up to the ceiling again. He wasn't used to feeling bored. Usually, he was constantly running around the continent, searching for the first sign of danger so he could leap in and save the day, something that was a bit difficult to do when you were stuck inside an old, decrepit house until nightfall. He really wasn't the best at waiting.
He threw a small pebble he'd found on the floor under a table. He walked over to it, then leaned down to pick it up, before then proceeding to throw it again, this time hitting a wall. He shuffled back to his newfound igneous obsession before once again tossing it through the air, though now in a different direction; Such was the monotony of the situation. After a few more of these repeated steps, he decided that, in order to keep his sanity, something more productive had to be done. He drew his sword and began practicing in the air, slicing and spinning and occasionally knocking something over. Time passed, and the moon rose.
Sighing, the Necromancer sat down cross legged on the floor. He watched the mercenary for a few minutes, then closed his eyes and did his best to clear his mind. Meditation was something he'd picked up from his mother, as a way to cope with stress and pain. Taking deep breaths, he allowed his body and mind to relax...
Time passed, and Wallace opened his eyes. Standing up slowly, he stretched his arms over his head. Looking out the window, the man clutched at his staff. "Alright, we should head out." he said, sounding unsure of himself. "Let's do this."
He would open the door quietly, holding it open for his companion...
Energized by his duel against the air, Diamond walked towards the door, peeking left, then right, before finally exiting out onto the street. He drew his sword, but quickly sheathed it again when he realized that the light from a gas lamp hanging on the outer wall of a tavern fifty meters away was shining brightly off of it. It was now his favorite part of the mission: Inspirational speech time!
"Well, Wallace, let us march forward through the dark air of this night as justice's minions, harbingers of all that is right and true. Seize the the dim light still reflected off the walls of the buildings of this misguided town, and course it through the hearts of its people! Let them see the sorcerer who helped expand their town, and so their minds. Long live the night of the reclaimed justice! Viva la... Viva?" At this point, making up cool-sounding metaphors was getting rather difficult. "Wallace..." He turned his upper body back to face the door (and Wallace), straining quite a few vertebrae in the process, and attempted to fully extend a hand towards him. As it turned out, he was nowhere near far enough away to do this.
And so, it had already become less "The night of the reclaimed justice", whatever that meant, and more "The night Blood Diamond almost poked his new friend's eye out". Immediately turning red in the face, he quickly turned and half-ran out into the street. "Let's go, we don't have all night!", he squeaked.
"Argh! I've really made a fool of myself today!"
Wallace flinched, staggering backwards as Blood Diamond's hand shot towards him. "Ahh!" he yelped. "Watch it!" The necromancer suddenly blinked, covering his mouth. His eyes darted from side to side, scanning the area for anyone who may have heard him. "Shit! That was loud..."
After a few seconds, Wallace uncovered his mouth. "Man, we gotta be quiet." he whispered. "The town guard may still be on alert." He slowly began to walk down the road, beckoning for the mercenary to follow. "When we get there, I'll need you to keep watch while I make the zombies work. Is that ok?"
Diamond gingerly began to follow along down the moonlit street, keeping his distance behind Wallace. He barely even registered what his ally had said, simply mumbling a quick "Yes", before continuing his wallow in the depths of his own shame. "I've done nothing but make a fool of myself all day!" As he continued to mentally assault himself, he didn't notice when they had to make a turn, and walked straight into a wooden gate. Barely preventing himself from crying out, he surveyed his surroundings and pressed on, now only more harshly critical of himself. At least Wallace would get his justice. Then the vigilante could leave and just pretend it never happened.
The pair soon began to close in on the site.
The rest of the walk was uneventful, and Wallace took advantage of the silence to mentally prepare himself. It wasn't his powers that needed his focus- it was the possibility of failure. "The town hall needed a new roof after a tree fell on it, so even with a team of zombies that's a good five hours of work. We also need to take precautions so that the sound of hammering doesn't wake up the town. Hmm."
Finally, the building was in sight. Wallace's heart sank- the Mayor was standing guard outside the door. The necromancer ducked into the shadows, heart racing. "Damnit!" he whispered. "Now what do we do?"
Blood Diamond became almost ecstatic at seeing the mayor up ahead. It wasn't that he wanted to fail or anything, but he now finally had a chance to prove himself. Motioning for Wallace to stay where he was, he maneuvered between a few buildings, making his way quickly through the narrow streets surrounding the Town Hall. It was only once he was behind the damaged building that he realized he had no idea how to distract the mayor. Diamond searched the street below him for something to use, and found a couple of small pebbles, quickly taking aim and throwing them around the corner of the Hall and into the mayor's head before retreating back into the shadows. His efforts proved fruitless, however, as the man simply grunted and remained standing. Searching at his feet once again, he repeated the process, and this time, the mayor looked to see where the rocks were coming from. As the vigilante ran away, however, the mayor once again went back to his place, mumbling to himself about "Disrespectful kids". Searching desperately for a new approach, he thought for a while, and then quietly slipped back to where he'd left Wallace.
"Right", he whispered. "After a careful survey of the area, I've figured out how to do this. However, I do request your assistance. I need to levitate."
Wallace watched silently as Blood Diamond attempted to distract the man, to no no avail. He sighed- the prospect of being seen as a hero had seemed to god to be true. The mercenary soon returned, and Wallace nodded silently at his request. "It will never work. It's hopeless." he thought privately. "But I think we're too far now to give up here."
Wallace concentrated, trying to give off as little necromantic energy as possible as his magic swept the surrounding area. Soon a faint crackling could be heard approacing them, and withing seconds Blood Diamond was lifted into the air by a black mass of dead insects. "Alright." he whispered. "You know how to control those? Or do you want me to steer?