The young novice, Marius Drakken, glanced around the narrowing stone stairwell as he followed Elder Wavras deeper into the depths of the catacombs. The stairway deposited them in a cobbled throughway that stretched away into darkness to their right and left. Their only light was a hovering orb of fire, conjured by Elder Wavras, and the light did not penetrate far into the darkness, leaving many shadows and places to hide.
“This was once a street,” Wavras indicated the cobbled floor and then directed Marius to look at the old walls. Marius realized that there was in fact door after door set into the stone walls, each leading to what might have once been a business or someone’s home.
“Can you tell which way they’ve gone?” Marius whispered back.
“Yes,” Elder Wavras answered absently before focusing more intently on his apprentice, “It’s not to late for you to go back, Marius.”
Marius considered the elder’s words carefully; he did not want to be in this dreadful place. The destruction of the Mythic Gardens and all the dead soldiers they had found there frightened Marius considerably, but they were also proof that whatever monster had committed those atrocities had to be stopped.
“I said I would come with you,” was the only answer Marius could give.
Marius watched Elder Wavras appraising him. It was then that Marius realized his master was not considering his safety but evaluating his usefulness. Marius felt a sudden surge of indignation.
“Unless you don’t want me here? Think maybe I’ll get in your way?”
Elder Wavras looked as if he’d been slapped and then he began to chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Marius asked heatedly.
“I don’t doubt your capabilities,” Wavras continued to smile, “I chose you as my apprentice because I know you have great potential. It’s just… I feel guilty.”
“Guilty?” Marius hadn’t expected that.
“I feel I must be honest with you,” Elder Wavras drew a calming breath, the smile slowly fading, “I’m not down here just to flush out a killer.”
“You’re not?”
“I know full well there is a high chance I will die down here, and I need you to understand these stakes before I let you go any farther. I’m here for the thrill of learning something new, to investigate new magic that we have not seen performed in centuries.”
Marius recoiled a little, his master’s face was practically giddy in the flickering firelight, almost deranged.
“I saw something,” Marius decided to admit, “A girl’s throat was torn open. I don’t know how I knew it, but I sensed it by the portal.”
“I always suspected you had a gift for clairvoyance,” Elder Wavras nodded excitedly, “That was one of the reasons I selected you. I try to test you to see if we can harness or activate that ability, not accidentally but consciously.”
Marius knew his master’s thrill for discovery and learning; he should not have been surprised to learn that he was also just another experiment in progress, but it still stung. Marius considered Elder Wavras again and even glanced back up the dark stairway from which they had come.
“You may think you only care about your next great discovery,” Marius finally spoke, “but if that is the case, why did you decide to tell me? At the end of the day, you still care about other people and strive to be a wizard that serves for the benefit of others. That’s why I chose to follow you.”
Elder Wavras considered Marius again, as if seeing him as an equal for the first time, not just his annoying student.
“Very well,” Elder Wavras briefly grasped his apprentice by both shoulders, “Together it is, but I need you to do exactly as I say.”
“Understood,” Marius nodded.
Together they set off again down the old, cobbled street. Elder Wavras would occasionally stop and put his hands out, closing his eyes in concentration. They took a right at an intersection, passed through what may have been an old tack shop, climbed several stairs, twisted and turned through a maze of passageways before descending another set of stairs. The deeper they journeyed the more confused Marius felt, he wondered how they’d ever find a way back out.
At last, they entered a vast open chamber, the great stone ceiling vaulted far above them, an old fountain in the center. Many conjured pillars of rock were jutted up from the cavern floor to support the structures above them. As they reached the fountain, the burning orb cast light on a pale green mist that was hanging in the air.
“That’s not good,” Elder Wavras suddenly spoke, color drained from his face.
Marius suddenly heard sounds in the darkness beyond their dim light. Something moved and scraped along the ground to their right, then the left. Behind them. A rasping, rattling gurgle issued from nearby in the shadows not touched by the firelight. Marius felt his heart hammering in his chest, an icy bolt of fear passing through him.
“What is it?” Marius asked his master.
“Necromancy…” Elder Wavras whispered in terror. The catacombs were filled with the countless dead of centuries, and they had been resurrected.
Marius felt a scream caught in his throat when he saw the first undead being step into the light, his mouth open in abject terror but no sound came out. Its one eye dangled from its socket, the other missing completely. Skeletal hands reached out in Marius’ direction as it shambled along. Worms and insects fell from the corpse with each step, their once peaceful banquet halls, suddenly ambulating.
“Conjure fire,” Wavras instructed, “Destroying the corpse is the only way to stop them. They won’t be hard to kill at first, but their number is their advantage. Do not let yourself get surrounded.”
“I think we’re already surrounded,” Marius quailed in a shaky voice as more undead stepped into the light from all around them.
Instead of responding, Elder Wavras began shooting gouts of flame from his hands, igniting the undead in front of him. In the sudden flare of light, they saw a hoard of undead had packed into the massive chamber around them. At the far end of the open chamber, they could now see the main entrance to the ancient palace. Its many arches and pillars would normally have been a breathtaking sight, but from within the green effluvium was billowing forth, marking it as the source of the wicked conjuration.
Marius dropped to the ground pulling a piece of chalk from his pocket. His hands trembled as he pressed the chalk so hard into the ground that it snapped in half. He fumbled for the larger piece and started again to draw a circle of protection. The undead would be on him in seconds and he felt his stomach lurch with fear.
The circle finally drawn, Marius stepped inside and let his mind focus on the symbol for fire. The lurching undead before him erupted into flames just before crossing the circle. The fire was hot, and Marius felt his hair singe, but the circle held as more of the undead hoard began to erupt into flame around him. The conjuration was exhausting and as Marius watched the hoard continue to amble forward, he knew eventually they would be overwhelmed.
__________
Yidian watched with distaste as Auren again shook the bones between his long pale fingers and then cast them to the table. The old wizard bent over his auguring, muttering to himself. Yidian had been commanded to stand in the center of the ancient wizard’s workshop and with the binding enchantment in place, Yidian could not disobey. They stood in Simon’s body, the muscles all tensed, rooted to the spot, only able to watch what was happening around them.
Yidian knew enough to understand that the complex runes and symbols that Auren had sketched around them constituted a powerful summoning circle. Auren had drawn similar patterns the night that Yidian had been called back into the world of the living. It had been an honor to be chosen by Belothemid, to be selected above all other demons to corrupt and manipulate the powers of the Seeded One.
Yidian’s eternal soul had been called to Simon, the young man in the center of the circle had been lost in pure pain and pleasure. Simon was giving himself, accepting the massive bone phallus inside of him and for the first time in thousands of years Yidian was experiencing that sexual gratification. Simon’s warm tightness was hugging the cold shaft they’d forgotten they ever possessed. In the grip of exaltation, Yidian finally grabbed Simon with unseen hands and took the offered body. They had erupted into the young man with an orgasm greater than any they’d ever experienced in life.
“He’s upset with you, isn’t he?” Yidian smirked as he watched Auren casting the bones again and muttering with obvious distress, “This isn’t the vessel you promised him.”
“Silence!” Auren commanded, and Simon’s mouth snapped shut, unable to open again.
Yidian was afraid, which was a strange emotion that they’d been forced to confront more and more often since they’d returned to the world of life. They didn’t like it, but at the same time it was just good to feel again. Simon had shown them the pleasures of life again and they weren’t ready to give it up. They wondered what would happen when the summoning was complete. Would Yidian be banished or would there be a battle for control within Simon’s mind? A battle Yidian was sure to lose.
Yidian knew Auren was getting desperate, but when Belothemid’s chosen vessel had not arrived with them at their final destination, he’d been forced to improvise. Afterall, Simon’s ability as the Seeded One made him one of the few alive that could withstand the incredible power that Belothemid would bring into this world. And without Belothemid, Auren was trapped alone in enemy territory. An army of mindless undead would only last so long against the greatest wizards of the Votu Alliance.
Yidian wondered again what made Lord Abadeer Byron so special that the dark wizard Arganon had traveled to the Riven Kingdom, adopted a new identity, and indoctrinated an entire empire just to find him. The quality Belothemid was seeking had to be related to the fact that Byron was a dragonblood. Yidian was sure of it, but they didn’t yet know how this information could be useful in their current predicament.
Yidian was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when some of Auren’s zombie’s entered the workshop carrying two figures. One was thrashing and kicking tearing uselessly at the zombie’s decaying flesh as he screamed. The other was unconscious with a severe wound trickling blood from his balding head. Both figures were unceremoniously tossed to the ground, and the thrashing boy quickly scrambled away from the undead.
“What have we here?” Auren looked up with a satisfied smile, “Such a delicious, gifted youth…”
__________
Marius Drakken turned toward the voice and saw an old wizard in gray robes standing near a large table covered with notes and candles. The man’s smiling face showed no hint of kindness or compassion, Marius knew immediately this was the necromancer they had been pursuing.
“I’m Auren Qualls,” the man’s voice like snakes seemed to crawl over Marius’ skin, “Such a pleasure to meet you.”
Marius recoiled as the old wizard approached with a hungry and vicious smile plastered on his face. The necromancer reached out a cold, clammy hand to push a few ringlets of dark black hair from Marius’ ear.
“A half-elf,” Auren hissed, “Isn’t that wonderful, Yidian?”
Marius realized that the necromancer known as Auren Qualls was not talking to him, so Marius glanced around the room to find a massive, muscular figure standing in the center of the room. The man was the perfect depiction of the male form, perfectly chiseled and firm. Since the man was naked, Marius also couldn’t help but notice his extremely large manhood. There was something unnatural about the way the man stood there motionless, and if he heard Auren’s comment, he did not respond.
Marius had always only ever been attracted to women. He, of course, was too scared and nervous to approach a woman or to have ever been intimate with a woman, but he knew where his interests lie. Seeing this man, something changed. Lustful feelings Marius didn’t know he could experience, were stirring inside of him.
“What is that?” Marius heard himself asking as he licked his lips, both desperate to know more about the exquisite figure and praying he wouldn’t have to find out.
“That is the Seeded One,” Auren whispered into Marius’ ear. The words sending a shiver down Marius’ spine. Auren moved away from the young man’s side and began to examine his other prisoner.
“You don’t wear the traditional wizard robes like he does?” Auren asked curiously.
“I like these clothes better,” Marius answered shakily.
“You like to show off that thin and slender frame, you mean,” Auren admonished, “Part of being a wizard is denying yourself certain aspects and dedicating yourself to the craft. The robes act to hide your figure and shroud yourself in your practice.”
“I just like to be comfortable,” Marius protested, unsure why he felt the need to defend himself to this murderer.
“If you’re so proud of that lithe body, let’s see you without the clothes.”
“What?” Marius asked in revulsion, “I will do no such thing.”
“Then I will kill your mentor,” Auren responded as he pulled a wicked looking dagger from within his robes.
“No!” Marius moved to place himself between Auren and Elder Wavras, but the necromancer was faster, his dagger now drawing drops of blood from the elder’s side.
“What I’m attempting will change our world forever,” Auren grinned malevolently, attempting to show that he could be reasonable, “You have much to offer, such young virile power, and you will surrender it all to serve Belothemid, or I will gut your mentor in front of you while you watch helplessly.”
Marius stood with his fists clenched at his sides, his whole body shaking with hate for this repulsive man threatening his master. Then he slowly reached for the place where his wrap shirt was fastened and began to remove the binding. Tears fell silently down his cheeks as he slowly undressed himself. Soon his pale, slender body was standing naked, he crossed his hands over his manhood.
Auren let Elder Wavras fall to the ground and then crouched before Marius. The boy stood stock still and shaking his head side to side as the necromancer indicated that he should move his hands. The wizard then reached out and tried to physically move Marius’ hands and Marius spit into his face.
“NOOOOO!!!” Marius roared into the quiet space and the sound echoed around the room. The symbol for fire erupted into Marius’ mind and suddenly the old wizard’s robes were a conflagration. Auren let out a piercing scream as he trashed around on the floor in his burning raiments.
Seizing the moment, Marius ran to Elder Wavras and began to shake his master, trying to rouse him from his unconscious state. He needed help, he didn’t know what to do next. His mind was so consumed by fear it was impeding his ability to think clearly.
Auren found his feet, gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain. A murmured spell instantly extinguishing the flames that had engulfed his robes. The flames had severely burned his undead flesh and he would bear yet more scars over his ancient body as a result.
“You try my patience!” Auren growled as he grabbed the boy by the throat and hoisted him into the air. Marius sputtered and gasped for a breath, fearing the necromancer might just crush his windpipe.
The necromancer let go, but Marius remained hovering in the air, his feet mere inches from the ground but unable to fall. Auren now examined Marius’ exposed manhood as the boy kicked and thrashed trying to free himself from the magic that held him. The necromancer’s cold hand again reached out and this time cupped gently around Marius’ balls. The warm tingling of magic began to pour into them as Auren muttered under his breath.
Marius had times when he had not relieved himself and it would cause random erections or some very interesting dreams. Auren was causing him to feel that sensation almost instantaneously, his balls were so full and desperately in need of draining. His cock twitched and then began to stiffen as the necromancer held him.
“This didn’t need to be so unpleasant,” Auren spat as he stood, his work finished. He allowed Marius to lower back to the ground.
“What do you want from me?” Marius asked weakly.
“I want you to give your seed to the Seeded One,” Auren pointed at the muscular figure in the center of the room, “All of it.”
“But…” Marius looked at the man, the most incredible man he’d ever laid eyes on. His cock pulsed again with the extreme need he now felt, veins were standing out from his shaft as it swelled.
“And when you think you’re done,” Auren continued, “I’ll fill you again, so you can continue, and you will give everything.”
“I… can’t…” Marius whispered.
“But you know you want to,” Auren was suddenly by his ear, whispering seductively into it. And he was right. Marius wanted the man so badly, he wanted to fuck that man with his virgin cock until his muscles burned and his body was utterly spent. He wanted to fill the room with the stench of his sweat and cum.
At Auren’s command, Yidian got down on his hands and knees. The thin half-elf had a surprisingly large erection when compared to his small body, certainly not an inhuman size like the orcs, but very impressive. Yidian began to suck, the boy lasted seconds, but the erection remained and he begged Yidian to keep going.
Yidian was pleased to see Auren nursing his many wounds, the flesh peeling away from his body as he removed the scorched fabric of his former robes. Yidian hoped it hurt a great deal.
