xiting the Yellow Boar with everyone else, Morokai was momentarily blind in the darkness outside. He murmured a quick spell to create a light radius spell for himself, even as others were doing the same, or bringing torches and candles from inside the tavern. All children learned such simple light feits while still at their mother's breast, as getting lost in the dark could be a disaster in such a dangerous land. Morokai had often pessimistically wondered how many had been doomed by their own light radius defeating their efforts to hide in the darkness, as the knack for turning it off quickly was less-widely learned, but as most monsters were thought to see better than humans in the dark, it was regarded as a necessary thing.

At any rate, the light in the street was sufficient to show them a wild scene of combat. There was a large graveyard just down the street, and it looked like the Necromancer had been busy there while the revenants were after the Paladin inside the Yellow Boar. Morokai counted a dozen zombies in the street near the Paladin, with more shambling from out of the darkness. There were several already lying in the dirt, missing limbs or heads, and of the ones that were still ambulatory, most were in bad shape.

Their decrepit condition was as much from the Paladin's skillful sword play as it was from the poor quality of the corpses themselves. None looked very fresh; apparently the Necromancer's reanimation spells worked best if the corpses had not decayed too badly.

Sitting ducks or not, the zombies were clutching sticks, or burial swords, or whatever other weapons they had scrounged up on the way from the graveyard to here. Still these availed them little against the Paladin. The man truly was a powerful warrior, and Morokai watched him for a moment as he went through half a dozen zombies in a blur. He used skillful footwork, shield bashes, and deadly swordplay to dice the zombies to bits. Even with arms missing and heads cleaved open, the undead creatures continued moving, crawling towards the Paladin as their severed limbs flopped in the street behind them like landed fish in a on the city docks.

Pausing amid a litter of hacked corpses, the Paladin called out to the Necromancer. Morokai could not see the dark magician, for he was across the street in the darkness, and the man exuded no light radius.

"Necromancer, stop this foolishness! Thy undead servants are too weak to even test my skills. Yield the Lesson Taught, and we will adjourn to yon tavern and put aside our differences with a cold drink."

The Necromancer revealed his location as his staff glowed into life. Morokai could see that the magician was casting yet another spell, as the light from the stones set into the staff was moving around rapidly as the man performed the incantations and gestures his evil magic required.

"True Paladin, thou hast shewn your might against these soulless devils, as ye calleth them. Thou wert less successful against the bodiless revenants in the tavern, but as ye live still, I suppose I shall have to yield that battle to thee. However the Lesson Taught was not whether or thee couldst smite a few weakling zombies. The Lesson to be learned regarded how well thou would fare against a demon with a soul."

"With a soul? Thou canst not mean thyself, magician?"

The green bottle that flew out of the darkness and smashed against the Paladin's reflexively raised shield was answer enough. Morokai could see the poison bubbling as it dripped down the Paladin's great shield. He used it against the Necromancer's servants, breaking into a run and rumbling right over three crippled zombies who were just getting back to their feet, the fouled shield slamming into the swaying undead and splashing them with the deadly poison.

"Necromancer, thou hast taken this Lesson too far. Yield, I have passed thy every test. There is no shame in yielding a Lesson. The true shame lies in the heart of a man who can not admit his defeats."

"True words Paladin. Thou shouldst thank the man ye heard speaketh them when next you meet. But you have not passed my every test. Not in the slightest. The true test begins now."

On que, a groaning came from the darkness, and a moment later two huge zombies walked into view. These were no rotting corpses, clawed forth from the earth defenseless and without armor or weapons. These were soldiers, set into crypts still wearing their best armor and fully armed as well. Both were completely hidden within their plate mail, with not even a trace of rotting flesh to betray their strength. There was a very ancient warriors' graveyard a mile or two outside the city, and Morokai shuddered to think what heros of legend the Necromancer might have called forth from their crypts.

For his part, the Paladin spoke no more, but cinched his armor tighter, and took a firm grip on his shield. As the two animated suits of armor strode towards him, the Paladin spoke a few words of power, and his sword burst into flames, the heat off of it sufficient that Morokai could feel the warmth even at his distance from the Paladin.

"I see thou knowest at least one spell, Paladin. Know thee not any auras, or other useful spells that would help thee in this conflict? Nothing to weaken thy enemies, or perhaps even send them back to the earth with just a few words? Oh yes, I forgot, thou needest no such enchantments, as thy sword and shield and mace are more than sufficient for any challenge thou might encounter." The Necromancer's voice was taunting, but the Paladin did not respond, as he raised his shield and awaited the approaching demons, his magically burning sword at the ready.

The necromancer's voice could be heard from out of the darkness, and an instant later the sword the lead demon held burst into a greenish glow. Seconds later the other demon's mighty war axe did the same, and a moment after that green witchfire shot out of the darkness and into the Paladin, the flames licking up and down his body, seeming to penetrate his armor at will.

The Paladin dropped to one knee at this, but rose back to his feet, shaking a bit, just as the demon with the sword reached him.

There was a mighty clash of metal as their swords met, the enchanted fire and the enchanted poison on the blades sending off sparks of red and green as they locked together at the hilt. The Paladin broke the clench with a shove, knocking the demon back a step as the other one closed in and buried its axe in the dirt an inch to the left of the Paladin's foot. He had dodged it nimbly, pretending that he would block with his shield, and then moved out of the way at the last. He now took advantage of the opening, scoring several rapid strikes to the exposed demon. The undead knight's armor absorbed the blows, but they were clearly felt, and the creature wrenched his axe from the earth and fell back, its breastplate dented from the Paladin's assault.

One on one with the sword-wielding zombie, the Paladin clearly enjoyed the advantage. His strength was equal to that of the undead beast, and he was much quicker and more skillful. Morokai watched the Paladin parry and dodge and land strike after strike that would have felled a mortal attacker. Only the rotting knight's heavy armor, and its immunity to anything less than a mortal blow, kept it on its feet.

Green witchfire flew from out of the darkness again, as the Necromancer made himself felt. The Paladin fell to his side, then rolled over twice as axe and sword bit into the earth where he had been lying just a moment before. Staggering to his feet, the greenish glow still licking at his body, the Paladin shouted at the unseen Necromancer. "Foul Mage, thou hast forfeit the Lesson Taught! I am in mortal struggle with thy animations, and yet thou continue to assault me bodily thoughout. Such interference is tanamount to surrender!"

The demons ceased their attack and stood back a moment, as the Necromancer emerged from the darkness. He stood behind his servants, staring at the Paladin.

"Thou truly art a fool, Paladin. The Lesson was never in regards to your battle prowess against mere undead warriors. Why I could have called up an undead army, and sent them at you in wave after wave of rotting flesh and bone. You skills would have prevailed for a time, but your flesh is mortal and you would have tired eventually, and been bourne under the sheer numbers. Why you would already have lost, been tripped and hindered in your footing by all of those lesser zombies you have been chopping apart so eagerly, had I not dispelled them once you had defeated the creatures.

"Thy battle skills are truly magnificent, but thou hast neglected thine other Paladin skills, and this is what the Lesson Taught was for. Know thee not thou hast defeated none of the zombies thou hast faced in thy life? Chopping them to scraps does not dispel the charm of their animation. There are any of a hundred spells required to eliminate the final bits of animation from them. Truly these spells are more easily cast when the target lies underfoot, cleft into a dozen pieces, but even that thou knowest not. Thou bragged that thou couldst destroy any demons, whether with souls or without. Thou doest well against the soulless kind, but this battle, this Lesson Taught, was to show thee how much more work t'would be to defeat a demon with a soul. Especially when he had his undead minions at hand. I can see thou hast learned this lesson not, so prepare to be taught!"

His speech over, the Necromancer waved his staff, the inlaid stones aglow as he broke into a fresh incantation. His two zombies moved as well, advancing on the Paladin with their ancient weapons at the ready. The Paladin looked lost in thought, but he was well aware of his mortal peril, and he parried the sword strike with his shield, then brought his sword in violently, ringing it off the head of the sword-wielding undead. The monster was staggered, and the mystical flame caught a hold on the armor, flaring up from the shoulder and the neck of the creature.

The axe-wielding monster had not wasted this opportunity though, and it moved around to the Paladin's rear and brought the axe down on his back. The Paladin's armor saved him, but the blow dented his plate deeply, and he was sent sprawling forward to his hands and knees. Quick in his peril, he was just scrambling to his feet when the the Necromancer let loose a magical stream of glowing ivory darts, four or five at a time, each one the size of a club. Most of them flew into the Paladin, the ones that missed digging short trenches in the dirt road before they dispelled to nothing. The palely glowing objects engulfed the Paladin, flowing over and through his armor, the mere steel providing no protection against such an onslaught. The knight fell to the earth and writhed in agony under the assault.

Morokai could scarcely see the man through the bright white glare, but he did notice the Paladin snatch some potion from his belt and quickly doff it as the last of the Necromancer's missiles hit him or missed and dug into the earth. But again, the Necromancer's attack proved an excellent diversion, as the zombie with the sword was back on the attack and brought its weapon down at the Paladin, striking his left leg just above the knee. There was a flat clang, and the Paladin gave a howl of pain and chopped the blade away from his thigh. The other zombie was there also, and brought the axe came down like to split a log.

The Paladin was it coming, but was able only to block the strike. The heavy axe head deeply dented his shield, and slammed his arm into his chest. He howled in pain again, and rolled away from the attackers, dodging another volley of the ivory-colored spears fired by the Necromancer in the process. But before he could get to his feet the demon with the sword was at him again, getting in a clean shot to the right shoulder and knocking the Paladin's sword arm to the side. The downed knight blocked the next sword strike with his shield, but the blow dented the metal again, and when the axe came down not a moment later, he could do nothing but block it with his failing shield.

There was an awful thud, and the sound of metal breaking, and the Paladin again fell to his back. Morokai could see blood flowing from his left forearm, where the shield though unbroken, was dented jaggedly enough to cut through the arm that held it.

Another volley of the whitish-spear spells hit him, (Morokai heard a man in the crowd mutter, "Teeth.", which seemed as good a name for the spell as any, though Morokai had no idea if that was the real name of it or not.) and then a pale glow gathered over the Paladin as the Necromancer used some sort of curse on him. Morokai had heard of those terrible spells, ones that could suck the life from a victim, or even keep them from healing. The spells combined seemed to debilitate the man, and the zombies stood over him with their weapons raised, seemingly waiting for some command to finish him off.

The Paladin seemed finished, but he downed another potion in a flash, and with his flaming sword lashed out almost blindly. It was a lucky strike, and caught the axe-wielder in the ankle, breaking through the armor and knocking the leg right out from under the zombie. It crashed to the earth, and the Paladin drank another healing potion and dove over the fallen zombie, taking another slice to the back from the other's sword.

Another volley of Teeth struck the Paladin from the rear, and he remained on his knees, grabbing for another potion. Morokai wondered how many slots there were in the Paladin's belt. He had to be getting low. Then in a surprise move, the Necromancer appeared out of the darkness, immediately to the Paladin's rear, and brought his staff down on the armored skull, his bodily attack executed with surprising speed and skill. The staff glanced off of the Paladin's great helm, but the next strike was from the side, and the Paladin was caught full on by the blow. He toppled over, his helm knocked askew, and the next strike from the Necromancer's staff knocked his helm off entirely, leaving him with only a chain mail coif for protection. And the undead warriors were closing in, though the axe-wielder was moving very slowly with its shattered foot.

In a low rasp, audible only to the Necromancer, the Paladin spoke. "I yield the Lesson Learned to thee, Necromancer. My neglect in learning the proper undead spells has crippled me this day, and delivered the battle to thee."

The Necromancer stared down at the Paladin's weary body, and hissed back at him. "What good are your empty words to me, fool? A Lesson Taught or learned is nothing to a man such as I. A demon with a soul, as you so aptly named me."

The Paladin's voice was confused. "If the Lesson Taught meant nothing to thee, then why this conflict? What did thee hope to gain?"

"Why I hoped to gain the best servant I've ever been fortunate enough to possess, and gain it I shall!"

And with that the Necromancer struck the Paladin again, stunning the man, and the demons moved in. The axe descended, crushing into the Paladin's shield. It broke through the metal, driving the jagged edges into the Paladin's forearm. His arm was trapped in the shield brackets now, with too much pressure from the front for him to pull his hand free. The flame of his sword was guttering, even as the poisoned greenish glow of the undead weapons flared more brightly. Soon streaks of green were all that was visible in the night, as the sword and axe rose and fell, beating the Paladin into the dirt. The man was too weak to dodge, and he laid there helplessly, even his shield of no use to him.

The Necromancer shrieked, "No, you'll damage him too greatly!" but his servants were caught in a battle frenzy, and their blades slowed not at all. Shouted words and wild gyrations of the staff were the Necromancer's answer, and seconds later the two undead warriors crumpled to the earth with a cloud of stench rising from them as their armor broke into rusted metal. The bright green glow of their weapons rapidly faded away, leaving no sign of life in the twin piles of broken armor scattered next to the Paladin.

Morokai thought the battle was over, but with a close look he could see that the Paladin lived still, though barely. The man's lips moved slightly, but blood was oozing out of his mouth, and his chest plate was shattered, jagged edges sticking up where the axe and sword had chewed it to tatters. His shield was just as broken, dented deeply through the middle, the arm that held it shattered beneath the crushed armor.

The Necromancer held a dagger, the blade glowing green and dripping emerald fire onto the Paladin's face. After an instant of contemplation, the figure in dark drove the blade down into the Paladin's throat, delivering the death stroke personally. The Paladin gave one final jerk, and then was still.

Standing back from the corpse, the Necromancer raised his staff high, and began his greatest incantation. Gusts of wind whipped down the street, scattering dirt and flakes of rust from the ancient armor the undead warriors had been wearing. Morokai wondered at that, as their armor had been more than the equal of the Paladin's during the battle, but the moment the Necromancer had cut his spell to animate them, they fell to pieces, instantly hundreds of years old and rotten. Powerful magic the Necromancer wielded. Powerful magic indeed.

And even more powerful magic was in the offing, as the Necromancer spoke the final word of his incantation. Morokai could feel the power crackling in the air, and his skin prickled as the Necromancer focused the power down, driving it into the corpse of the Paladin. There was a huge splash of greenish flame that expanded, then just as quickly contracted back into the Paladin's body.

Then silence.

All was dark and quiet for several seconds, before a scream of agony broke loose. The Paladin howled as he sat up, howled as he got to his feet, and screamed through tortured lungs as he got to his feet. The Necromancer stepped in close and laid glowing green hands upon the chest of the reanimated Paladin, and the screaming cut off as suddenly as if the screamer had been dunked into a lake.

Morokai stared wide-eyed at the Paladin as the risen man picked his sword up from the street, and replaced it in the battered scabbard hanging down his back. His shield was whole again, though still dented, and his chest armor was remade, providing protection to him again. The man's eyes glowed green, and there was not a bit of humanity in the man. He was purely a risen corpse, living only to do his new master's bidding.

The Necromancer bent to the dirt, and picked up two rings and an amulet that lay in the dirt. After quickly scanning a scroll, a scroll that turned to dust even as he read it, he scowled at the jewelry he held. His arm moved quickly, and a ring flew forth. Morokai caught it against his chest, and peered at the metal as the Necromancer cackled. "Wear that and ye will never again require assistance moving full kegs of ale around the tavern, fair barkeep. I and my new servant thank thee for thy hospitality."

And with those words the Necromancer walked off to the north, towards the nearest city gate. Morokai looked at the ring, which was nearly large enough for a woman to wear as a bracelet, and slipped it over one finger, thinking that perhaps he could wear it over two fingers. He was shocked to feel it fitting perfectly, and even more surprised to feel the huge boost to hit strength. Taking a last look at the street, which was empty of all except the rusting armor and rotted bones of the undead warriors, with the Necromancer and his servant already out of sight, Morokai walked back into the tavern, taking a second to flip several fallen tables over with one hand. He could get to like this ring.

"Quite a battle there, for our evening's entertainment, eh lads?" Orgren, one of the regular customers said. "He fought nobly, I'll give him that, but I ha' to say I'll na miss that Paladin's company overmuch." There was general laughter at that, as the men returned to their abandoned drinks and the conversation resumed, everyone comparing their version of the battle to one another. Morokai started pulling fresh drinks from the taps, and thought how every man here would have put himself into the thick of the battle in his own tale of it, by this time tomorrow night.

Thusly was the legend of "The Necromancer of the Yellow Boar" born...

All site content copyright "Flux" (Eric Bruce), 2002-2007.