Necromancer

A Royal Road Fan Fiction

By: Halosty

Chapter 94

Angela wasn’t having a great day. Finals were coming up, so she was busy with that. However, in Royal Road the guild was going through a dangerous conflict with another guild. Though the guild could get along alright without her, she was the leader as well as one of the highest level players. She was the kind of person who easily understood that real life was more important than a game, so she had to let that be the part that she didn’t focus on. However, it didn’t stop her from thinking about it and being bothered.

Plus, there were the problems with Mortimer. He’d been unpleasant ever since Solara ended up in the hospital. It didn’t help that she still had to see him every day. Solara was her friend as well, so Angela could understand how he felt somewhat, but he certainly wasn’t handling it well. It didn’t help that he was a PK. She wouldn’t have been particularly upset about it if she had found out at another time, but it had already been a low point. So, even though they were in the same house and playing the same game, they were never really together. That was what she missed most, being together with him like they used to.

Ah, there he was now. Based on how he’d been acting lately, he’d probably just ignore her and walk past. That would be the best for both of them, since otherwise they’d just have another unpleasant conflict. This time, though, he didn’t.

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Mortimer was watching Angela. He didn’t really want to go up to her right now, since she wasn’t in a great mood. Which was fair, based on how he’d been acting. Presumably, she also had her own issues that he didn’t know about, because he’d been avoiding any kind of contact. Maybe he would come back later.

However, if he didn’t act now, he knew he probably wouldn’t later, either. It was just easier to avoid his problems. As for what he would say, well, he didn’t really know. Still, he had to go. As he stepped out, Angela looked at him. Although he wasn’t great at reading social body language, he could tell she didn’t want to talk to him. That didn’t matter though. He continue walking up to her.

“Hi…”

“...Hi.”

The initial exchange was actually the best interaction they’d had in over a month.

Mortimer spoke awkwardly. “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry, for being a jerk lately.”

Angela just nodded. The only other option would be to say “Yes, you were a jerk.” That wouldn’t really be helpful to the situation.

“I just… haven’t been able to think straight. Everything in my head has been all messed up. I want you to know I want to try to be… not unpleasant again.”

“Well, I’ve had some part in our conflicts too. I think we can definitely work on our… friendship? It’s not like we actually managed to stop being cousins.”

Mortimer knew their relationship couldn’t be repaired back to how it was immediately. Where she bothered him to hang out, and he pretended not to want to. That would take time. For now, he still had some more apologizing to do. “I’m also sorry… for killing you in Royal Road. I should be better than that.” He paused for a few moments. “Just to be clear, though, I’m not going to ask to get back into the guild. I’m not sorry that I killed the other guy.”

Angela sighed, but it was half a sigh of relief. This was how Mortimer was. “Good, because that definitely wasn’t going to happen.”

After that, they chatted somewhat, though still awkwardly. However, the first steps had been taken to bring them back to how they had once been. Though, it was still a long road to travel.

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Mortimer also apologized to his parents for his behavior. The whole affair was rather formal, however, that was how those interactions had always been. That was just the way things were. Looking back, Mortimer felt that they were actually confident that he would overcome his “problems”. They expected great things of him, because they were his parents. However, they also knew him well enough to understand he would have to overcome his problems on his own. It wasn’t the kind of thing they could fix with money. Certainly, they had considered a psychiatrist, but they understood he wasn’t going to be willing to work with them. He had to make his own choice.

Thus, they had supported him silently, waiting for this time. Though, Mortimer didn’t know this. Still, he felt better after his talk with them. All he had left were the people at school. Mostly, Alex. That would have to be done when they next met, though Mortimer intended the meeting to be intentional instead of just waiting for it.

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Quietus was no longer a member of The Children of Light. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep himself… apprised of their activities. He supposed they were now enemies, with him being a Player Killer and them being opposed. Quietus used his knowledge of their activities to avoid them, since he still felt some companionship with them. Even when he was not thinking clearly for a long time, he didn’t really want to increase his conflicts with his friends and family.

For some time, his only interest in their activities had been just avoiding conflict. However, there was an upcoming battle involving them that he was actually interested in. Specifically, he wanted to be on their side, though it certainly couldn’t be official. His reasons for this were pretty much the same as his actions outside Royal Road, he wanted to mend broken relationships. In this case, his cousin cared about some current conflicts, and he wanted her to feel better.

Quietus couldn’t claim selfless motives as his entire interest, though. He actually wanted to test out some things as well. His undead army had been gradually getting stronger, and he wanted to see how it performed. Plus, killing players was fun, and why not kill two birds with one stone and make his cousin slightly happier at the same time. All he had to do was wait for his opportunity, which he could tell was coming soon. The enemy guild- or possibly guilds? Quietus hadn’t actually bothered to care- was planning to attack The Children of Light soon, taking over some of their territory and a keep. It was possible there were multiple guilds in an alliance, since Quietus spotted hundreds of people. He knew there were more, too.

He sat, and waited. Quietus had never taken the chance to really go all out with his minions. However, this time he was going to. Perhaps he would lose most or all of them, and all the hard work that went into that, but he didn’t particularly care. It would be worth it.

The battle started, but Quietus didn’t go in. There was a siege on the castle, and he could certainly do a lot of damage attacking the backlines of the enemy with a surprise army. However, he wasn’t interested in spectacle and saving the defenders. Besides, it looked like they were perfectly fine. The Children of Light were holding their own quite admirably. No, Quietus was waiting for something else. Finally, he received word from one of his minions who was scouting. This was it.

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Reinhold Wither was the leader of the second assault force for the coalition of guilds that was battling the Children of Light. His character was a big man. That is to say, he was heavily modified to make up for his size in real life. Not that he would tell anyone that. Today his job was to lead the second assault force in a surprise attack on the rear of the castle. The terrain was much more difficult to navigate, compared to the open plains on the other side, but that was why this was an unexpected tactic. The enemy's attention should be occupied by the other forces, so their arrival should be mostly unnoticed. All they had to do was traverse one more valley, and they would be in position.

One of their scouts returned. “Reporting, sir. It appears there is an enemy scout stationed at the bottom of the valley.”

“Just one?”

“Yes sir.”

“Have some archers shoot him down, though make sure there are enough to finish him off if he runs.”

“Yes, sir.”

A single scout in the valley? That was terrible positioning. After all, he was at the low point of the terrain instead of the high point. He wouldn’t have any chance to escape, though if they were unlucky he might notice them and give warning.

Reinhold waited for the next report, and found he had been worried for nothing. A single arrow had taken the scout down. Obviously, he had been useless in combat, and stationed there to be out of the way. The second assault force began their descent down the steep slopes of the valley. All they had to do now was get up the other side, and then they could join the battle. He couldn’t wait to see the looks on the faces of The Children of Light when they realized they had more opponents to deal with. Well, metaphorically anyway. They’d be too far away to actually see their faces.

//End Chapter 94