//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Tea // Story: Souls Apart // by GnollReader //------------------------------// During his inspection of the stone walls, he had made a discovery that amused him greatly. He actually had a hard time to keep himself from laughing out loud. The ponies were either simply idiotic or careless to a dangerous degree. The paladin, he was certain already, was both. The whole castle had been build using magic, and there was still a sizable deposit of it resting inside every brick. There were quite a few magic enchantments on the cell itself, but nothing to prevent him from messing with them or the magical residue inside the walls... Did they really think him so little a threat? Or was it a test... to see what he would do? As he thought about these things a sudden realization hit him, they didn't know... they simply didn't know what a necromancer was. He would have expected a fully pledged paladin to bear this factor in mind, but the young paladin was probably still too inexperienced to consider the full extent of his abilities. Any normal magic user would have a problem to cast even a simple spell within the cell, simply due to the fact that the enchantments wouldn't allow the caster to pull mana from his own reserves... but he didn't need to. He was a necromancer, and if there was one thing necromancers were good at, it was the art of leeching and alteration. Whether it was life force or mana, if it was there he could make it his own or change it to his desires... by force too if it was required. It made no difference if it was being held by blood or stone. He could use it. Why he hadn't thought of this in the forest already was a mystery in itself. He put his hands on the surface of the floor and concentrated. The flow of mana was slow at first, almost resisting his urges to move after decades of resting in the stone. Ever so slowly though, the flow started to increase its pace and he could feel the enchantments growing weaker and weaker. The sheer abundance of magic in the walls served to surprise him. He had to be careful not to take too much or he would overstrain his body. While the magic continued to flow into him he wondered what he would do first... He could search for the paladin and pelt her with a few lightning bolts for fun. Or he could make an effort to get as far away from this place as possible. Then again, he could also use the time to do some research... --- "Your gods never show themselves?" Luna asked in wonder, "Then how do you know they are there? How do you know your prayers are heard?" "The gods test our faith constantly." the paladin replied firmly, "But our faith is ever lasting. Hope and belief is all we require to perform our holy duties." Celestia smiled briefly at her words while she sipped from her cup of tea. The paladin's devotion to her cause was commendable, even if it was a little too frantic for her liking. They had been listening to the story of her order and her world. It seemed fascinating for such a world to exist, but it was also troubling to see how easily they accepted the violent aspects of their life. War, death and famine... these things seemed to be a daily occurrence to the paladin, and it saddened Celestia to think of all those that suffered such a fate. "Tell me..." Celestia started, "Do you know what caused your appearance here?" The paladin shook her head as she tried to sip from her own cup as delicately as possible, "I do not. I fear that the necromancer made a mistake in his spell that inadvertently transported us to this world." "There is that term again." Luna cast her a questioning gaze, "We have not heard of a cast that is referred to by this name. Tell us, what is a necromancer?" Calindria put down her cup of tea, "We know only little of them... but they are wielders of the dark arts and as such pose a threat to any form of order or life." Celestia raised an eyebrow, "And what crimes of his have you witnessed or hold proof of?" The paladin frowned, "Actually, I've never seen him perform necromancy before. He always seemed content with throwing fireballs at my face." "And you never questioned if he may be innocent of your order's accusations?" Celestia asked with wonder. Calindria shifted nervously, "I have not... but it is not my duty to question the order's principles. To us, he is a threat that must be removed." "I see..." Celestia said, "But know this, as long as he has committed no crimes in this world he cannot be prosecuted by us. We may hold him as long as we consider him a threat or you find a way to return to your home, but that is all." "I understand." the paladin bowed her head. "I am still curious about this cast of his." Luna remarked, "Tell us, what abilities do the arts of necromancy entail." Calindria put a hand to her chin, trying to remember what stories the tomes of her order had told. --- "Excuse me, young mare. I am searching for records of the star movements as well as any maps of the star constellations your fine library might hold." The librarian of the Canterlot library didn't pause her work to look up, "Section three to four... do you have a library pass?" "I am afraid I do not... Is it required to view the material?" The voice sounded strange to her. She didn't notice the large shadow above her, "Only if you wish to lend something. Would you like me to make you one? It is only a formality and free of..." she looked up and her pupils dilated visibly, "... charge." She was staring at the strangest face she had ever seen. The large figure smiled warmly, "If it is free of charge I would be overjoyed to have one. Tell me... do you also have a section with information on this lovely country as well its history?" The librarian replied more by habit than by free will, "Section five..." she whispered. "Beautiful... now..." he said with a evil smirk, making her shudder before he broke out into a big grin, "About that library pass, is there a form or do I just sign something?" She meekly pulled out a sheet of paper, "Fill out this form... then return it to me..." she paused, "You're not a pony." He bent down and carefully took the form from her grip, "I am not." "What are you?" she asked perplexed as she watched him handle the quill with his hands. "I'm a mutated frog, of course." "Oh... did Twilight Sparkle mess up another spell?" --- "Raising the dead, both in spirit and body... Summoning and commanding demons... Mastering destructive and corrupting magic..." Celestia summarized the paladin's words with unease, "That is indeed troubling..." "And it is only the peak of it all..." Calindria replied, "It is said they can also cause plagues and natural disasters, and they are widely known for their capabilities in the arts of alchemy and alteration." "Yes, but as terrible as these things are, it is not what worries me the most..." Celestia replied slightly nervous, "Tell us about this art of leeching again." The paladin raised an eyebrow, "In battle, necromancers can draw energy and life from their surrounding to use it for their own purposes. This makes them extremely unpredictable enemies in combat." a flash of unease passed the two alicorns' faces, "Is something wrong?" "Tell us, young paladin." Luna said with concern, "When you say they can draw energy from their surroundings... does this also entail magical energy?" She raised an eyebrow, "It does, as long as there is magic in their surroundings they can draw from it. There are even rumors that they can suck the magic from enchantments and others spells as well." she saw their faces drop, "Is there something I should worry about?" "This whole castle..." Celestia replied nervously, "Was build with magic." Calindria stared at them for a moment, "That... That may actually be something we should worry about... a lot." Before the discussion could go any further, there was shout from outside, "Halt! State your..." "No time!" a voice all of them recognized bellowed, "I have to go shout at someone!" there was a loud zap accompanied by two yelps. The doors to the room were thrown open, and the necromancer stepped inside in full stride. Under his arm, he held numerous books and scrolls. His other hand was still glowing slightly. Behind him, they could see two dumbfounded-looking frogs sit on their former armors. Celestia was about to say something, but he cut her off immediately, "Me first! I have a few things to say before you go and throw me back in my dungeon if that's alright with you." Celestia nodded slightly. He heard a croak behind him as several more frogs started to hop towards the doors, "Don't worry about them, it'll only last a few minutes." "What are you..." the paladin started to get up. "Sit! Or so help me I will put a hole in that armor of yours." he thundered at her, making the mana crack around him and her sit down again. In all the years she had hunted him she had never seen him in such a mood. The two princesses merely watched him in shock as he stepped towards the table and dumped his scrolls upon it. "Now..." he started but froze for a moment to stare at the tea cups, "Were you actually having tea while I rotted in that dungeon cell?" the paladin smiled nervously, "Just lovely..." he turned to the princesses, "And she has probably spent her time telling you of all those horrible things I have done." "She has..." Luna replied, "But..." "No buts! Still me talking!" he snapped at her, "Now, where was I... Ahh, yes. While you were up here drinking tea, I took the liberty of visiting your royal library." "You went to the library?" Celestia asked with new worry in her voice, "Did you..." "Didn't hurt a soul on my way." he finished her sentence, "There was a very nice young mare there more than eager to show me everything." he held up a little card, "I even got myself a library pass so I wouldn't break any laws." Celestia gave him a questioning look, "And your escape from the dungeon?" "First, I didn't commit any crimes in your world yet so I was being held without reason. Second, I got bored. Third, don't place a necromancer in a cell made with magic." he sneered at her. "I will not." Celestia replied with a slightly sour voice. "Good. Now, as I said. While you were having a good time..." he cast the paladin an accusing glare, "I was doing research." Celestia used her magic to pick up one of the scrolls, "These are maps showing the star movements..." "Exactly!" he said with a strange glee in his voice, "To open portals across different dimensions, a very special alignment of the stars is required. I checked all of your records to find out when I could return to my own world... and do you know when that will be the case?" there was a strange twitch to one of his eyes. "When?" the paladin replied with unease. His expression reminded her of a madman. "Never!" he threw his hands in the air and struck a pose as a huge grin found its way to his face, "We can never return to our own world!" There was a moment of silence as he let the words sink in. He continued, "So that means, I am stuck here. In the wonderful, colorful and magical lands of talking ponies!" he gave off a maniacal laugh. He pointed a finger at the alicorns, "I am stuck here with the deities of the sun and the moon, and I'm probably going to spend a thousand years on the latter for being what I am. Don't act so surprised princesses, I took the time to read up on you two as well." He pointed his finger at the open-mouthed paladin next, "And of all persons to be stuck with, I get YOU! The one person that has been pestering me for years and that already marked me as a criminal the moment I set foot into this world. Not to forget that you're the one responsible for this whole mess." He made a half turn and walked towards an open window, "So... I'm stuck here. An eternal prisoner to two tea-drinking, pony deities and a half-pledged, self-righteous, irresponsible and insufferably stupid conscript." his voice was constantly getting more maniacal, "And to top things off... There is no alcohol, nothing to smoke, no meat and the inhabitants of this world are more than unwilling to sell me any dead bodies for my research." He gave off another laugh, "But it's okay, it's alright. To hell with my research and my peace! What's an eternity in a land of harmony if you can't enjoy it?!" he held up a finger, "But I have plan! There's a simple solution to this whole nightmare!" "You do?" Celestia asked with concern. Something about his voice told her that nothing was alright, and he had already stepped dangerously close to open window. "I do! It's simply ingenious!" he pointed a thumb behind him with a crazed smile, "I'm going to jump out that window."