The Necromancer's Ambition

by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

3 - Not For Hire

As I sat alone in the dining room, I wondered if perhaps I had mistaken the time and gotten up too early. But while a token grogginess remained, I felt far too energetic for that to be true. I supposed the other patrons could just be late-risers, or, given the town’s location, not even exist.

I tapped a forehoof against the scratchy mix of white and bare wood that made up my table. I gave it a push, but it hardly even wobbled. Seemed everything at Sunny Skies was sturdy enough, just not that particularly pleasing to look at.

Then again, the cushion I was sitting on was soft and free of stains. In fact, the bed linens had been in pretty much the same condition. Perhaps the town just had a lack of handyponies.

The rumbling of my stomach cut through my idle thoughts. I glanced around the empty room, wondering if anypony was even working the kitchen.

That was when the orange mare from the day before sauntered in. Her armour had been replaced by an apron and her spear by a pencil. I had a feeling the latter would have been the better weapon.

Pinned to her apron was a crooked name tag, the scrawled letters declaring her ‘Blaze”. I stole a peek at her flank, the three flaming hoofprints giving me some decent theories for her full name.

Miserable might have been overstating things, but the pursed lip and distracted stare told me she was getting there. She didn’t even notice me until she was in the middle of the room. Some fire crept back into her eyes as she trotted over. “You.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Me.”

Blaze stared for a few long seconds before returning to her more dignified annoyance. “I suppose you want breakfast.”

“Please.” I smiled politely, hoping she would stop directing her frustration at me. I wanted food, not feud.

“Today is pancakes and hay bacon, glazed in maple syrup. Choice of side is fresh lettuce, blueberries or tulips,” she recited with all the enthusiasm of a bored child.

“Tulips sound great.”

She gave me something vaguely resembling a nod and trotted back to the entrance, her horn glowing orange-yellow. She stuck her head into the corridor, but I could hear her as though she were still standing beside me. “One tulip!”

While I was no stranger to the roadside diner style, this was the first time I’d seen an inn using it. I supposed that it fit their theme, or would have if their waitress would stop scowling.

“One tulip, coming up!” The second mare’s voice flooded the room, somehow both calm and professional. Somepony didn’t know her strength.

Blaze returned, rubbing one ear with her magic.

“Is she always that loud?” I tilted my head, my own ears flicking.

“Just an off day,” Blaze mumbled, staring at the table beside me. She opened her mouth, but indecision lingered like a second tongue. She worked her jaw a few times before she finally glanced side-to-side, then back to me. “I’ve got money.”

“So do I.” I shrugged. Perhaps having seen too many places had skewed my perception, but I’d found what she said to be a surprisingly common pickup line. She leaned in closer and I almost pulled my head back.

She spoke in a low tone, “Look, I’m stuck in here, so I need eyes on the outside.”

I blinked. Is she serious?

I wondered if the spy novel dialogue was because her day job was keeping her or she was trying to circumvent a certain somepony. I found myself leaning more toward the latter, but there was only one way to find out for sure. “And what makes you think this is something that concerns me?”

Blaze shrunk back just a bit, confusion creeping up her face. “Because I’m offering money. That’s how adventurers work, right?”

I had no idea how she mistook me for some kind of hero-for-hire, but I wasn’t about to get pulled into one of those situations. “Whoa, hang on a moment. First, I’m a traveler, not an adventurer.”

“There’s a difference?” Blaze fixed me with a blank stare.

“One goes looking for trouble and the other doesn’t. Second, what you’re really looking for are mercenaries. Third, how did you even come to that conclusion?”

“You were all calm and cool when everypony was watching you. That must mean you’re some kind of hardened adventurer with awesome skills who finds treasure and laughs in the face of danger.” She stared through the wall, an unmistakable passion in her eyes. I swear it was like looking a few years into the past. Except I wasn’t ever that obvious. I think.

“Um, no. That’s... a pretty big stretch of logic. I think you’ve been reading a few too many Daring Do novels. Besides, if you’re going to ask what I think you’re going to ask, it’s a matter for the guard.”

Her lip pursed. “Who are you, my pa?”

Gotcha. I pressed my advantage. “He’s right, you know. Even if the Necromancer was real—”

“Is! I’ve seen him with my own eyes, black cloak, skull mask and all!”

I sighed. “Okay, fine, but even if you found him again, think of the magnitude of what you’re facing. Somepony with command over the dead wouldn’t go down easily to soldiers, never mind a town militia.”

Blaze puffed her chest out. “I’m not afraid.”

Neither was I. A deep frown crossed my face and I gave her the sternest look I could muster. “You’re not the only one who might get hurt.”

“We’re not afraid.” Her eyes narrowed.

“That’s not what I meant. If you die, who is left to pick up the pieces? If you fail and he comes here, who else is likely to get hurt?” I lost myself for a moment, my words slowing. A bloodied guard flashed through my mind and in that instant, he begged me to run. To leave them all behind. How many bodies? No, concentrate.

Blaze’s expression faltered, giving way to confusion, even doubt. Maybe she’d seen it in my eyes, or perhaps my words were enough. Regardless, once I met her gaze, her defiance returned.

“I won’t and we won’t.”

I shook my head. “No victory is assured and without cost. I cannot help you.”

“Your food should be ready,” she mumbled through clenched teeth and wandered off.

---

The breakfast was quite delicious, everything coming straight from the pan, and a much tastier start to the day than hay rations.

After delivering my food, Blaze slunk off. Even though I was relieved that she finally got the hint, I also felt kind of bad. The conviction to act, to do what she thinks is right, isn’t the most common quality around. But a pony has to know her limits and that’s something she needed to figure out before she learned it the hard way. Or worse, became the lesson for somepony else.

I returned to my room, repacking what little I’d taken from my satchels. I made a double check, then a triple. It was a habit I had picked up during my first long Manehattan stay. I had just gotten my hooves on my very own copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone, an invaluable treasure for a young filly such as myself. I was so busy fussing over packing it just right, that I accidentally left my travel rations under the table. All ten of them. My father, a rather meticulous merchant, was less than impressed.

As I trotted toward reception, echoes of raised voices gave me pause.

“...beat him, the town can thrive again! And with the mayor’s bounty, think of how much medicine we could buy! We could even fix this place up good as new!” Blaze’s voice was eager, almost frenzied.

“Oh, no, you’re not making this about me, young mare,” the cook declared in that stern, putting-her-hoof-down tone all mothers seem to know.

“But—”

“I don’t care if the mayor offered two thousand bits or two million bits,” Earnest added, not a hint of his previous cheerfulness to be found. “Only a fool rushes to her death.”

“I. Won’t. Lose.” The anger in her words practically left a trail of fire.

“Is that so? Then show me. Pretend the Necromancer is right over there. Yes, right there. Strike him down.”

Blaze let out a yell, strong and confident. The whistling of a weapon piercing air followed with equal ferocity.

“Solid. If he isn’t wearing armour.”

“Why would a necromancer be wearing armour?”

“Because ponies are trying to kill him.”

There was a long silence. I pictured the two standing several paces apart, each bearing an immovable stare.

After a minute or two I decided I’d waited long enough. I needed to get going and I’d seen arguments like that run circles for days.

I trotted the rest of the hall and into the reception area. Sure enough, Earnest and an armoured Blaze stood in the middle of the room, practically facing each other down. Each of them looked up in turn.

Standing at Earnest’s side was a cream-coated mare, the silvery-white and violet streaks of her mane done up in a bun. She wore a large apron, not a stain on its surface, and her name tag spelled out ‘Silver Platter’ in neatly printed letters. I glanced at her flank, where a vibrant rendition of her namesake provided a stark contrast to her poor withered leg.

“Is this a bad time?” I held up my key with a wing.

Earnest’s cheer was back in an instant. “No, no, of course not. Thank you for your patronage.”

As he levitated the key away, I finally got a good look at his cutie mark. It was a brass key just a bit bigger than the one I’d returned. Fitting, perhaps a bit too much. But idle thoughts could wait until I was out of the crossfire zone.

I smiled. “It was a great stay. Especially the food.”

Silver’s grin was as jolly as her husband’s. “Glad to hear. Be sure to come back now, you hear?”

“Of course.” I nodded, heading for the door. “Farewell!”

“Farewell!” was the chorused reply.

As the door swung shut, I stepped into the calm of the early morning square. The sun peeked over the rooftops, bathing the stores in a beautiful, orange-yellow light. It really was a pretty little town.

I looked up to the sky. Perhaps when things had blown over, I could come back and do some real sightseeing. But until then, I had a journey to make.

Comments

[-Brutus]

Hm what kind of journey...

[IkioStar]

Three chapters and still no incentive.

[Yare293]

i thought it was going "that way" with the "I got money"...

[Yare293]

i thought it was going "that way" with the "I got money"...

[AppleTank]

"Food, not feud"
Great line.