Necromancer For Hire- Arc 1

Arc 1, Chapter 14

The Commencing

"Hello?! Is anyone there?!" Umbra said loudly, shifting his gaze towards the large stone staircase that sat on his right. He assumed that it lead to the exit, and that some sort of guard patrolled there. "I need to speak with someone, preferably with someone with authority!"

Umbra's clamors went on for several minutes, until a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. It was a naga, with lighter skin and a thick reddish tail. He looked angry, and was holding a set of keys.

"Will you shut up?!" the naga growled, rubbing his ears. "You're disturbing the other prisoners!"

Umbra raised his chin in a snobbish manner, glaring. "Until I speak to your supervisor, I refuse to be silent."

The naga gave him a withering stare, interlaced with tiredness. "Fine, fine, whatever. Just keep your mouth shut until I get back..." He slithered back up the stairs, grumbling under his breath and shaking his head.

Once there was no chance the guard could turn back and see them, Umbra glanced at Victor and Aunora, winking.

The plan was running smoothly so far.

Soon the naga returned with another one, a burly female with arms thicker than Umbra's (albeit skinny) neck. She had an orange colored serpent tail, and a large scimitar was strapped to her back. Tattoos covered her arms and chest.

The monster of a woman, with her arms behind her back and scowling intensely, crept towards Umbra. She cast a shadow over him with her startling height, and Umbra thought that she was about seven feet tall.

"What could you possibly want, prisoner?" she hissed, spraying spittle in Umbra's face.

Umbra swallowed, taking a second to gather himself and his words. "You see, ma'am, my son and I have falsely imprisoned. We have come to lend your community our services."

She sneered. "Services? What kind of services are you talking about? We already have enough harlots lying around here."

Umbra cheeks flashed scarlet with both fury and embarrassment. "Eh? No, no! Not at all! My son's a necromancer." he nodded his head at Victor, who showed a small, shy smile.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the naga muttered, tail thrashing on the ground in frustration.

"I believe we can strike a deal. You see, my son has fallen into an unfortunate situation. My dear Victor has been poisoned by one of your indigenous spiders, making him ill. I'd like to trade a séance for the antidote to the poison surging in his veins."

For a brief moment, the naga's eyes widened. I've got her, Umbra thought. She's baited.

The shebeast shook off the uncertainty, replacing it with a scowl. "Why do you think my people need a séance?" she leaned in, "What do you know, you little trespasser?!"

Umbra grinned, but not in a gleeful way. His wide smile shone of deceit and cleverness. "I know a lot of things. I know about your secession crisis, and I know you need to commune with your deceased elder. Now, can come to an agreement?"

The prison guard behind her had gone ashen, eyes wide and breath shallow. He pulled at her arm, whispering desperate words into her ear.

The two snake people moved away from Umbra to speak in private. Their conversion looked nervous and rushed, but Umbra couldn't fathom what they were saying. They seemed to be speaking in some other language.

In a matter of seconds, the two were done speaking, and the large female was back in Umbra's face. "Alright, skinny man, I'll take you to the council, and your brat can perform his little séance. But if you try anything funny, you're dead, understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Umbra murmured, concealing his laughter. Little did she know that their entire plan pretty much consisted of "trying anything funny."

She gestured over the smaller-by-comparison male, snatching his keys from him. The naga gave Umbra a scathing look, moving over to Victor and unlocking the shackles around his wrists and neck.

Immediately, the boy fell over on his face, rubbing his blotchy neck with his fingers. He took deep, gasping breaths, mixed along with slight sobbing.

Next, she unlocked Umbra, who massaged his wrists and neck with a lot less drama. Victor crawled over to him, burying his head in Umbra's chest and hugging him.

Standing up and supporting Victor on his arm, Umbra ran his fingers through his hair, slightly disgruntled when he realized the hair gel he had painstakingly styled it with was wearing off.

"Excuse me, fine lady, but I believe we had some belongings that were with us when you imprisoned us. May we have them back?" Umbra's voice was smooth and charming, as he was trying to keep on the aggressive naga's good side.

She looked at him questioningly. "Belongings?"

Umbra smiled, nodding his head. "Yes, a vest, a coat, and a black bag. I'd very much like them back, that coat and vest is designer and I'm not sure Bloomingdale's has anymore left. And, of course, my dear Victor's necromancy supplies are in that bag, along with my smartphone."

"Oh! I know where those are!" the male naga squeaked, slithering to a brown chest and pulling out the three items in question.

Umbra quickly slipped the vest on, and then helped Victor put on his coat, trying not to notice that the boy's cheeks were hot with fever. In the process of securing the bag to his back, Umbra caught Aunora's cold stare.

Umbra nodded, and then spoke up. "Ah, yes, one more thing- I need you to release the demon horse."

The naga jerked a thumb in Aunora's direction, glaring. "You sure about that? We caught her attacking our kingdom, alone."

Umbra grimaced. "Regrettably, she is with us. You see, my lady, Aunora helps me protect Victor... I guess you could say she is a contracted bodyguard." he leaned in, smirking, "She's rather stupid, so you must be patient with her. I'm rather sure her parents dropped her while she was an infant." Umbra whispered that as a side note, just loud enough for Aunora to hear every word.

The scrawny male unlocked Aunora's bonds with several loud clicks of the iron locks. Aunora stood up on shaking legs, stretching out her arms and glaring daggers at Umbra.

The female naga cast a bitter glance at all three of them, crossing her arms. "Is that it? Are you done asking for stuff now?"

Umbra nodded, hugging Victor tight against his side.

"Alright, follow me then. I'll lead you to the council room." she turned and slithered up the stone staircase, the other naga sticking close to the tip of her tail.

Author's Note- Dangit, I didn't mean for this chapter to be so long. Anyway, I did some talking on Tumblr, and I got a shoutout from an Asexuality blog! So, kudos to you if that's how you discovered this story. Remember, vote and comment, please!