Heather the Necromancer

Heather crept forward with dagger in hand, waiting to strike. A toad, the size of a large pumpkin, stood unaware with its back to her as death approached. Every step had to be placed carefully as she crossed the muddy ground. She finally got into range and activated her dash ability screaming a war cry as she rushed in. The toad looked back as the dagger came rushing down and suddenly spit in her face.

“Arrrgh! Gross!” Heather yelled and danced back, waving her arms.

“I told you they could defend themselves,” Quinny said as Heather desperately tried to wipe the filth off.

“It’s your own fault. You gave yourself away with that foolish yell,” Breanne added as Heather gagged.

“Augh! Some of it got in my mouth!” she cried. “I got french kissed by a toad!”

Breanne and Umtha started to snicker as Heather wiped the slime away. She got it clear enough to open her eyes and looked out just as the toad leaped and, using its impressive legs, kicked her to the ground. She splashed into the mud and slid a bit before coming to a rest with her hair caked in filth. Breanne put an arrow into the creature to draw its attention, and Frank finished it off with a powerful swipe of its claws.

“That's it!” Heather yelled as she sat up and swung her arms to fling the mud off. She crawled to her feet, slowly wiping away the filth before looking at the dozens of toads still sitting around, waiting to taunt her. She held out a hand as dark words fell from her lips, and a moment later, the field filled with a sickly yellow mist. Toads began jumping around and croaking as the disease cloud seeped into their body, slowly doing damage until they fell still.

“That’s cheating,” Quinny cried.

“That's also very risky,” Breanne said. “We agreed not to use our powers unless we could explain why we had them with our new classes. If anybody sees you doing that, they will ask questions.”

Webster chirped at her from the safety of the shore, where he waited for the game to end. He agreed with the others that she needed to forget she had necromancer powers if this was going to work. Heather shook her head and looked to Frank for support, but nobody was on her side.

“Fine!” she cried and stalked back to shore. “How many of these things do we need to kill still?”

“Well, you killed a good dozen,” Breanne replied as she looked over the scene. “So eight more.”

“You guys can kill those,” Heather grumbled as she held out her arms. “I am tired of playing in the mud.”

“You didn’t have to fight the ones by the shore,” Frank said.

“Of course I did,” Heather said and pointed to the water. “They are toads. Where else are you going to find them?”

“Up the shore in the field where it’s sunny and dry,” Frank replied.

“What? Why would they be up there?” Heather said. “They are toads and need to be near the water.”

“You're thinking of frogs. Toads don't live in the water,” Frank corrected.

“What’s the difference?” Heather demanded in annoyance.

Frank sighed and explained that frogs and toads were different. Frogs lived in the water and could swim, but toads lived on land and didn’t care for the water. There were plenty of them on the hill to the left where it was dry, and they could avoid the mud.

“Now you tell me!” Heather protested and held up her filthy hair. “After I get kicked through the mud!”

“I didn’t know you thought they were the same,” Frank said defensively.

“You said they spawn in the marshy area. What was I supposed to think?” she demanded as he shrugged in defense. “Well, what am I supposed to do about my hair?” Heather asked as it suddenly started to rain over her head. She looked up to see a small spiraling cloud as Umtha channeled a small storm spell, soaking her as she let out a frustrated sigh. With arms folded, she stood in the downpour allowing the mud to wash down her back. Umtha let the spell go when Heather looked relatively clean, but she still picked a stick out of her tangled hair.

“Why don't you sit on that stone and dry off a bit,” Breanne suggested. “The rest of us will kill some toads until we can turn in twice.”

“What do you mean turn it in twice?” Heather asked.

“This is essentially a fetch quest,” Frank explained. “We can do it as often as we want and get credit every time. So, if we want to rank up quickly, we may as well do it a couple of times since we are here.”

“Yeah, it will make it easier to do repeatable quests in the beginning,” Quinny agreed.

“Right,” Heather said with a roll of her eyes. “This is kind of like your evil pumpkin quest. Fine, kill some while I dry off, and let me know if anything that requires a failed rogue comes up.”

“Aw, don't be like that,” Quinny insisted. “You are just trying this out, and you don't really have any rogue skills. You need time to figure your method out.”

“What I need is a bath,” Heather sighed and sat on a rock.

The others let her be and ran happily about chasing toads around the field. Even Webster ran a couple down, killing them and dragging them back to form a pile. The killing was so easy that they decided to do four or five turn-ins, and an hour later, Frank counted the tongues. He said they had enough for five and suggested they go back and maybe pick another quest. Heather was in agreement, provided she could take a bath first, and got up to leave with the others when a shadow passed over her head. She looked up to see what appeared to be a large metal disk with magical blue writing on the bottom. A woman with snake-like eyes and long red hair stood at the edge, guiding it with an outstretched hand.

“What is that?” Heather asked as it passed over.

“A magician's disk,” Frank replied. “It's like Blackbast's disk, but they can ride on it, and it can fly.

“And it can carry more people,” Breanne added as the disk suddenly turned about, revealing a group of people standing near the center.

Heather rolled her eyes when one of them pointed at them, and the disk returned so the woman in white lace could look down on her.

“Well, if it isn't the little rogue and her friends playing the mud where they belong,” she said.

“You!” Heather growled as she almost reached for her scythe. Breanne caught her arm and gave her a quick shake of her head, causing Heather to twitch irritably.

“Oh, my,” the woman laughed as she noticed Heather’s hair. “How did you ever manage to improve your look?” The others laughed as Quinny practically tackled Heather to keep her from using something that she would regret. The woman waved and ordered the disk to fly off, before calling to Heather to let her know they were going to do something worth doing.

“I am going to wring that woman's scrawny neck!” Heather growled.

“Hmm,” Umtha said and raised her staff, causing a downpour to open up over the distant disk.

“Ha, score one for Umtha,” Quinny laughed as the people struggled to get under the warrior’s shield and escape the rain.

“Those people are not very nice,” Umtha said with a sour look as the group rushed to escape her storm.

“I can’t wait until they earn the guild rank that allows them to meet Heather and Frank,” Breanne said with a smirk.

“Oh, I am looking forward to that day,” Heather said with an evil smile. “But we had better make sure they don’t take over the guild.”

“I could always just change the rules,” Frank suggested.

“No,” Heather said with a raised hand. “I am all about cheating the system, but this was supposed to be about fun. If they want to play the game, then let's play it better.”

“That’s very mature of you,” Breanne said with a nod.

Heather felt good about her decision and looked down to see a toad had spawned nearby. As their eyes met, the creature let out a loud croak and promptly spit in her face. She growled as Quinny tried in vain to stifle her giggling, the rage building to the breaking point.

“That's it!” Heather's voice cried as it carried across the lake. A moment later, a strange yellow mist billowed out in all directions as toads died by the dozens.

An hour later, they walked through the city as Frank and Quinny carried large sacks full of tongues.

“You have to be more careful,” Frank insisted as Heather pouted.

“Nobody saw me,” Heather groaned.

“You don’t know that,” he pressed. “There could have been a rogue, or an invisible spell caster, or just a good hunter in camouflage.”

“I’m sorry, I lost my temper,” Heather protested and looked dejected.

“I would have been upset, too,” Umtha said. “Frog spit smells foul.”

“Thank you for reminding me,” Heather replied as they arrived outside the guild house. Webster was put in her pack before they went inside and went up to the counter.

“Hi!” the bunny woman said excitedly. “And how was your first adventure?”

Heather smiled as Frank and Quinny heaved the sacks onto the counter, causing it to groan under the weight.

“Oh, umm,” the woman said as she opened a bag to see piles of slimy tongues. “I see.”

“I think we met the terms of the contract,” Heather said.

“Yeah, a few times,” the woman replied. “Let me get these counted up, and we will get you your payment. Why don't you sit and have a drink while I get some help to total this up.” She paused and made a funny face as her nose began to twitch. “Dose something smell funny?”

The group looked to Heather as she rolled her eyes in frustration.

“I am going to take a bath while she does that,” Heather said in a sour voice.

“Oh, we have a bath you can use,” the bunny woman said. “If you want to rent one of our rooms.”

“Umm, sure?” Heather replied, causing the woman to clap happily.

“You really do need to tone her enthusiasm down,” Breanne said to Frank.

“I have lowered it twice,” Frank replied. “The rabitta race is just naturally energetic.”

The woman called for an assistant, and a shorter white-furred rabbit woman with rosy pink eyes rushed up to take Heather to a room. Heather was pleased to see that the rooms were comfortable despite being somewhat small, with a good bed, a dresser, and a magical cabinet.

It was here she learned the baths were public and shared. The men had their own on the other side of the building, but that meant Heather had to bathe with strange women.

She was about to insist they go home when Quinny offered to go with her to the public room. Heather sighed and hung her dirty armor in the cabinet to clean, then donned a robe that hung in the room. Quinny took her own robe and headed for the bath together while Frank and the others got a table and some drinks below.

“This is fun,” Quinny said as they walked down the hall.

“I suppose it is,” Heather agreed. “I certainly never dreamed I would one day be using a public bath in some fantasy inn.”

“Yeah, but that's what makes it fun,” Quinny insisted and took her hand. “You're doing something new and challenging yourself. Plus, you get to do it with a friend.”

“A little more than a friend,” Heather laughed as Quinny smiled.

They reached the doors at the end of the hall and threw them open to see something neither of them had expected.

“Wow, which one of you designed this?” Quinny asked as they took in the long steaming pool that ran the length of the room. Stained glass windows on the far wall let in a rainbow of colors that danced on the water's surface. At one end was a constantly running shower of water that fell from a giant metal flower. Its wide head was filled with holes producing a steaming rain that went down an ornate drain. Comfortable benches surrounded the pool, as did planters of lush green plants and the occasional statue of a beautiful woman. The floor was a mosaic of blue and white tiles laid out in careful spirals that danced around the pool.

“I had nothing to do with this room,” Heather said in shock as she looked at one of the statues of a naked woman. “But our husband has some explaining to do.”

“Oh, leave poor Frank alone,” Quinny insisted and took Heather's hand. “Let's shower that mud off and soak in the pool.”

“How my life has changed,” Heather sighed as Quinny led her away.

Robes were hung on pegs along the wall then the two tested the steam shower to find it magically soothing. Soaps of a dozen varieties and scents were provided, and Heather soon forgot all about her worries as Quinny washed her hair. Ten minutes later, they were sitting in the long pool, groaning as every sore muscle and ache was melted away.

“I have changed my mind,” Heather sighed. “I need to ask him why he hasn’t put one of these in our house.”

“We do have a bath,” Quinny pointed out.

“We have a swimming pool,” Heather corrected. “And the water isn’t near as wonderful as this. I could sit here for another four hours.”

Quinny helped bundle a thick white towel under Heather's neck so she could lay back and relax. They both soaked as the steam heated their skin to a soothing boil that was just divine. Heather didn't even notice when other women entered the room to soak, and soon there were almost a dozen about the pool talking.

“Hey,” Quinny said as she shook Heather's leg. “I hate to say this, but the others are waiting.”

“Let them wait,” Heather moaned as she lay with a towel over her eyes.

“Excuse me,” a woman said as she waded over. “But are you a succubus from the forest?”

Heather leaned up, causing the towel to fall from her face, and looked at a woman with soft green skin and pinkish hair tied into two tails by what looked like vines. She had metallic blue eyes and a tiny little nose that made her smile rather charming.

“Me? Oh no,” Heather said quickly. “I am a lilithu devil.”

“Oh,” the woman said as if disappointed. “I was hoping you were from the magic forest.”

“Why would you hope that?” Heather asked.

“I thought the forest was beautiful, and I was hoping to meet some of the people who lived there. I heard a rumor that it's filled with women who share their love openly. I figured since you were so beautiful, you might be one of them.”

“Uh,” Heather stammered as the woman smiled at her gently.

“Better tell Gwen to plan another wedding,” Quinny laughed as Heather shot her a disapproving glare.

“Umm, thank you,” Heather said bashfully, unsure how to react to a woman remarking that she was beautiful.

“Do you know the people from the forest?” she asked. “I would really like to meet them, oh, and princess Hannah. I so desperately want to meet her.”

“You do?” Heather asked as Quinny nudged her.

“Of course,” the woman said. “I hear she is a flower singer and has the most beautiful voice. I would love to hear her sing to her flowers. My name is Rosemary, by the way. I am a flower spirit of sorts.” As if to highlight her point, a rose opened on the side of her head. The plant woman carefully plucked the flower and then held it out to Heather. “Here, this is for you.”

“Thank you,” Heather said as the lovely woman smiled. “I, uh, haven't had a chance to meet the people from the forest, but I hear they are very nice. As for princess Hannah, I am sure she is nice too.”

“Princess Hannah is amazing,” Quinny said. “I once saw her sing while dancing with a fairy girl. She made flowers grow all around them and then danced across them without so much as bending a petal.”

“Oh, I would have loved to have seen that!” Rosemary cried as she bounced in the water. “I visited her garden in the city, it is absolutely beautiful, and the statues of her are so lovely. I hope I meet her soon. I was thinking of trying to rank up in the guild so that I could.”

“Yeah, so were we,” Quinny said.

“I heard I missed her wedding,” the woman said sorrowfully. “I bet she was radiant as a bride.”

“We, uh, need to get going,” Heather said. She was grateful she was in her devil form, as her copper skin was likely concealing her blush. The constant bombardment of compliments was making her uncomfortable, and this flower spirit didn't show any sign of letting up.

“Oh, of course,” the woman said. “I hope I see you both again soon; umm, what were your names?”

“Oh, right,” Heather said as Quinny patted her leg below the water for support. “I’m Vandrah and his is, umm.”

“Quintes,” Quinny said when it was clear Heather had forgotten. “And it was nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you too,” the woman said with her happy smile. “And if you ever decided to evolve into a succubus, I am sure the people who run the love wood would gladly let you live there.”

“Evolve?” Heather said with a raised brow as Quinny practically dragged her away.

They quickly toweled off and donned their robes to hurry back to the room as Quinny began to bombard her with questions.

“Have you ever looked at what you can evolve into?” Quinny asked as they shut the door.

“It never occurred to me,” Heather insisted. “I have always played as a human. They don’t get choices like that.”

“Well, you're a devil now, and they almost certainly do,” Quinny pointed out.

“But you can just play a succubus,” Heather countered. “I even tried it once.”

“Oh,” Quinny said with a big smile. “And when were you going to tell us this story?”

“It was for five minutes,” Heather said as she threw open the wardrobe to see their clothes were cleaned and fresh. “I used it long enough to lure a bunch of jerks into Frank’s lair.”

“So you used sex appeal to trap a bunch of players,” Quinny laughed. “I knew you weren’t that innocent.”

“I was just being curious,” Heather insisted as she dressed. “I had the option to change classes all I wanted for a bit, remember?”

“I remember,” Quinny replied as she went for her clothes. “But some classes do get the option to evolve into others. As a zombie, I eventually get the option to evolve into a type of undead called a wight. I could have started as one if I wanted, but I can also evolve into it later. You should look ahead and see what your evolution choices are. You might even have one now waiting for you to select it.”

“I am not sure I want to know,” Heather groaned as she considered the possibility. “Do you honestly think I might be able to become a succubus?”

“There's only one way to find out,” Quinny teased.

Heather was about to protest when there was a knock on the door, and Frank called from the other side.

“Are you two alright? We have been waiting a long time,” he said.

“Perfect,” Quinny laughed and ran for the door as Heather tried to stop her.

“Quinny, don’t tell him,” Heather pleaded as she pulled on her arm.

“Why not?” Quinny asked. “Maybe he has an opinion on the topic. He likes your devil form with the long red hair and eyes. He might like you to be his succubus lover and put those skills to work meeting his desires.”

“Please don’t say anything to him. You can eat all the cookies,” Heather insisted as she tugged on the woman’s arm.

Quinny laughed and promised Heather she wouldn't tell him if it bothered her. Besides, they were probably getting all worked up over nothing. The odds were that Heather didn't have an evolution like that, and Rosemary had just made an assumption. Quinny hugged her for reassu

rance before suggesting she check to see what she could evolve into. When the hug ended, she opened the door to let Frank see they were getting ready, with Heather fusing over her damp hair.

“I need a hair dryer,” Heather grumbled as she scrubbed with a towel.

“Just use cleanse,” Quinny suggested as Heather turned to look at her funny.

“What do you mean cleanse?” she asked.

“It’s a slave ability,” Quinny explained. “It cleans and drys you like you just had a long bath.”

“It what?” Heather snapped as she rubbed her tattoo to read the skill.

[lvl 5 Sex Slave skill: Cleanse] Instantly cleanse your body of all contaminants as if you had just taken a long hot bath.

“See, it will dry your hair in an instant,” Quinny said.

“Why didn't you tell me about this when I was covered in mud?” Heather grumbled. “That annoying woman wouldn't have mocked me, and we could have skipped the whole bath thing.”

“But then we wouldn't have taken a bath together,” Quinny said with a smile. “And it doesn't clean your clothing, just your body.”

Heather glared at her as she still felt she should have been told earlier. She could easily have changed and refreshed instantly and then been downstairs for the next quest. Considering the head start that stuck-up, annoying woman and her friends had, every moment counted.

She activated the ability and glistened for a moment as her hair fell straight and dry, causing her to sigh. They went downstairs and sat at a table where a tall mug of mead awaited them. Quinny dived into her drink as Heather sniffed hers before trying a taste.

“Oh, this is different,” Heather said. “It’s kind of sweet.”

“It’s made with honey,” Breanne explained. “And our guild mistress returned with this while you were gone.”

Heather looked up as Breanne pushed a slip of paper over the table. She looked the slip over to see they had done thirty-seven turn-ins of the quest and earned three hundred and seventy gold that was being held in the guild vault until they wished to withdraw it.

“We went up to the next rank,” Frank said, showing Heather his paper with a tin emblem.

“One rank?” Heather said in confusion. “We should have gone up three.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Frank said as he took up his mead. “We have to do tin level quests to advance beyond tin.”

“What? Why didn’t anybody tell me that?” Heather asked as she looked around the table. “We are just wasting time with useless tasks and baths.”

“I didn't think it was a waste of time,” Quinny said. “We had fun and then spent some time relaxing in that wonderful bath.”

“Yeah, but that woman is going to become part of this council that runs the guild,” Heather said. “If she does, we won't hear the end of her insults.”

“Until she has to meet you two,” Breanne laughed. “Then the shoe will be on the other foot.”

“But I can't let her know we are the same person,” Heather replied as she looked to the wall of quests. “We need to pick one and get back out there.

“I already picked one,” Frank said, pushing another paper over the table.

Heather took it up and read the description as Breanne laughed over her drink.

“Seriously?” Heather grumbled as she eyed Frank.

“What frogs are easy,” he replied.

Heather crinkled the paper and threw it over her shoulder before going to the wall to look for a quest. She found one that looked to be placed by another player, a request for people to gather something called silverweed.

“We’re doing this one,” Heather said as she returned to the table.

Frank took the paper and read over the terms as he looked surprised. “This is a player-made quest for somebody named Rosemary.”

“Ha, we met her in the baths,” Quinny said. “She is a plant girl.”

“Plant spirit,” Heather corrected as she took up her drink. “And she was very nice.”

“Yeah, she reminds me of Gisley, all full of life and energy,” Quinny said.

“So why do you want to do this quest specifically?” Frank asked as she considered the terms.

“Just read it,” Heather said. “She wants us to gather some plants and will pay for every bundle we bring back. All we have to do is find some of it, and I can use my flower singer powers to make it spread. We can collect a ton of it in minutes and then turn the quest enough times to rank us up to the next level.”

“So it's all about abusing your powers for quick gain,” Breanne scoffed.

“Is this silverweed the spiky plant with the silver leaves that grow in the stone hills?” Umtha asked. “Because if it is, I know where to find it.”

“See, easiest quest we will ever do,” Heather said.

“Maybe,” Frank said. “But you should read the reward.”

“Who cares what the reward is,” Heather laughed. “We aren’t doing this for the gold. I just want to rank up and beat those smug jerks to the guild leadership.”

“Like I said, we could always change the terms,” Frank reminded. “We are the ones who set them.”

“Then people will know something is up,” Heather argued. “No, we can do this fair and square.”

“If by fair you mean using your powers to overproduce the plant and bankrupt the poor girl when you turn it all in,” Breanne said.

“We will just turn in enough to reach the next rank,” Heather explained and looked at Umtha. “So you know where it is?”

I know where some of it is currently growing,” Umtha replied. “It’s in the rocky slopes along the road to the goblin villages.”

“Good,” Heather said as she sat back to have her drink. “Then, when I finish this, we will be off for a quick collection and turn-in.”

“I still think you should consider the reward,” Frank insisted.

“Frank,” Heather sighed. “It doesn't matter. We're here for the rank, not the trinkets.”

“Suit yourself,” Frank replied and folded the paper before putting it in a pouch. They finished their drinks and headed out to collect the plant and gain another rank. Heather was sure this would be the easiest quest they ever did, but Frank knew better. He showed the slip of paper to Quinny and Breanne as the two women struggled not to laugh. They kept it quiet as Heather walked with Umtha and Webster, ignorant of the reward she was going to earn.