Fantasy The Clueless Wizard (Completed)

[Yokai]

》Say that you are a Wizard.

This was really, really unfortunate. The longer that Arden stared down at the spellbook, the more she began to realise that this wasn't something she could undo. Her options, as per usual, appeared to be pretty limited. She didn't really want to hand the necromancer over to Shepherd as he might harm her, and she hadn't done anything wrong other than be kind of stupid. If being dumb was a crime then Arden was a mastermind felon.

"Hmm?" Arden hummed, glancing up from the tomb to note the woman's awkward smile as she belatedly registered her words. "Oh! Nice to meet you, Zaynalee!" She replied, quickly flashing her another friendly smile in return. "I'm the Wizard Arden. Do you have any other spellbooks, by any chance? Or, can I look at that magical artefact?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"You are a Wizard!" Zay suddenly exclaimed in joy. "No way! Like a real proper Wizard, summoned by the Tower? Wow!" She skipped to Arden enthusiastically, suddenly looking at her with more interest than before. "I have never met one of you!

"I don't have any real spell books." Zay frowned. "Just history books written by regular people. Oh and, that book is the artefact." She added.

Even though it was not warm to the touch as her staff was, now that it was charged again, it was obvious that the book was much more powerful than the spell books she had in her Tower. If Arden wanted to undo the spell right now, she would need to present Zaynalee or only the book, to the Shepherd.

- Ask her about the Shepherd.
- Ask her something else.
- Take her outside.
- Take only the book.

 

[Yokai]

》Ask her about the Shepherd.

"Yeah, I'm pretty new to the whole wizard thing though," Arden waggled her fingers as she said the word 'wizard' and then grinned. The spellbook was closed and tucked safely under her arm again. "Hey! By the way, what can you tell me about the Shepherd outside?" Arden asked, not-so-subtly informing Zaynalee of her possible demise that was waiting on her doorstep. Whether she wanted to come outside with her, or whether she made a run for it, that was up to her. Either way, Arden was taking the book.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Oh no!" The woman yelped like a kicked puppy again. "No no no no no!" She was panicking now, backing away toward her undead warrior for support. "Don't tell me you brought the talking tree here! It's gonna have me skinned!" Then, suddenly, she rushed toward Arden, prostrating herself on the ground next to her feet in a bow that couldn't be lower. "Please, please help me. Talk to the tree! Tell it I'll do my best to fix my mistake, just don't let it near me!"

- Promise to protect her.
- Go outside and talk to Shepherd.

 

[Yokai]

》Go outside and talk to Shepherd.

"Oh, woah!" Arden took a surprised step backwards, her hip checking into the table painfully causing her to wince. "Please, don't... you don't need to bow," She ventured carefully, kneeling down to place a gentle hand on the other woman's head. "I brought Shepherd up since I thought you might want to make a run for it, y'know?" The admittance was accompanied by a slightly lopsided smile, clearly Arden didn't know how to handle the situation.

"I can't promise anything but I will talk to them," Arden offered as she stood up, readjusting the book as she headed for the cave entrance. "I'm sure they'll be reasonable -- after all, it wasn't like you meant to kill all those people." She muttered the last part to herself, brow furrowed in thought as she wondered how she'd explain that one to the tree.

 

[ArcticFox]

"If you say so." Zay nodded affirmatively, though she still cowered behind her huge undead warrior as both of them followed Arden outside.

The warrior looked rather less ominous and rather more ridiculous as it struggled to slink through the narrow tunnel. But once it emerged outside and in front of Shepherd, it stood at a ready stance, axes held tightly. The woman peeked behind it only slightly and as soon as she met Shepherd's gaze she yelped and hid further. Though it was not like the skeleton warrior could hide her presence, no matter how tall it was, it was still not very substantial.

"You got the necromancer out, human." Shepherd's unnatural face looked to be grinning. "You are not completely useless after all. You cannot be a part of that flimsy town, otherwise this one would have dealt with you." He gestured at the skeleton. "Now, little murderer. I believe it is time you stopped your foolish play and returned order to things. Many have died due to your actions and the people of Pella's Wish will want your blood, but I am giving you a chance to use your mushy brain and hand over whatever you found in there to me."

"I... I-I don't have it!" The necromancer shrieked, frantically looking from Shepherd to Arden. "I gave it to the Wizard!"

"I see." Shepherd's voice was calm. "Hand it over." He extended his wooden hand toward Arden.

- Give him the book.
- Don't give it to him.
- Say you don't have it.

 

[Yokai]

》Give him the book.

Groot was quite the formidable force when he wasn't complaining about fleshy beings it seemed. Arden repressed a shiver at his scary expression and untucked the book from under her arm. She was definitely pouting as she handed it over; she wasn't expecting to get that back and she really wanted to study it.

"Are you going to fix everything, Shepherd Lucien?" Arden asked instead, curious as she peeked up at the tree. "I really wanted to study that some more." She admitted, taking a suspicious step backward -- just to be safe.

 

[ArcticFox]

Shepherd hummed with interest as he took the book.

"So, you claim that you are a Wizard?" He gave her a look over when she spoke. "You don't look like much. I think that Tower needs to be fixed." He approached and placed his gnarled hand on the top of her head. Arden could feel the warmth spreading down her body, as if she was surrounded with the influence of magical artefacts. But it stopped as suddenly as it started, when Shepherd withdrew his hand back. "Well, you have been polite and agreeable so far, Wizard." He said. "As a reward I will give you a choice. I can had over the control of the undead populace to you to use as you see fit, as long as you keep this book close. Or I can tear up the book right now and destroy them all. I don't care either way, I only want everyone out of my forest."

"Woah..." Zay let out a sound of awe, eyes glimmering.

- Control the undead.
- Destroy the undead.

 

[Yokai]

》Control the undead.

Huh, wasn't that an ultimatum.

Arden blinked up at Shepherd in genuine surprise at the offer before her gaze flickered back to the book. He'd essentially offered her what she wanted, except for the major flaw that she couldn't open or study the spells within the book. But, she did garner control over all the scary undead creatures. That could definitely come in useful!

"I'd like to keep the book, please!" Arden chirped after a moment's debate. "But before I agree; they'll all go back to their graves and stay there if I command them to, right? I don't want them rising up and hurting people when I'm not around to slap them on the wrist... erm bones." If that was the case then it wasn't worth the power. Arden just wanted to stop them from marching on Blackcliffe, though she also liked the idea of an undead army.

 

[ArcticFox]

"They will act as you see fit." Shepherd nodded with a creak of branches. "Have them return to the ground, or have them kill off the rest of the fleshy things, I don't care.

"Well, let's get started." He opened the book on a specific page and started reading out the verses. Some of them Arden could understand, but most of them seemed like made up words. The way he moved was quite theatrical, as if he was throwing on a performance for their sake, making one wonder what kind of magic was he actually casting. "There, done." He stopped abruptly and shut the book.

There were no undead around, so it was difficult to check if the spell worked. Tool was very much moving yet, though.

"Tool?" Zay stood on her tiptoes looking at the skeleton's empty sockets. It moved its head to face her. "He doesn't look any different."

"No, that one is special. He is not as mindless as others, not just a corpse it seems." Shepherd said with a hum. "A great warrior once, now a restless spirit. For some reason he took a liking to you, dimwitted creature."

"Hey, don't talk about Tool like that!" Zay protested.

"I was referring to you."

Arden didn't have many options presented. She could only return to Pella's Wish to check what was the situation with the undead. She could try to get some more information out of the three strange people she met, or even try to get Zay to help her on her quest. Though that would mean, she'd have to send Kogan or Alexei or Dura away, as her group couldn't be larger than three if she wanted to be stealthy about it.

- Ask them something.
- Ask Zay to come with you.
- Return to Pella's Wish.

 

[Yokai]

》Return to Pella's Wish.

Large, dark eyes blinked up at Shepherd as he abruptly snapped the book closed once more. That was rather anticlimactic. For some reason Arden had believed she'd feel different but instead she just felt tired and her throat hurt. There was only one way to find out whether the spell had worked; and that was to return to the group she'd abandoned in her chase.

"Hmm, well I guess this'll be goodbye then?" Arden prompted with a thoughtful hum. Her attention was turned onto Zaynalee and her undead guardian, raising her hand to wave a casual salute. "Maybe try to stay away from magic from here on out. I think we both need to get out of this forest now." Shepherd seemed pretty adamant on that fact, she turned to the aforementioned tree and flashed him a bright smile.

"Thank you again for you help! Hopefully your forest is a little quieter now~"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Uh, yeah I'll... um... find a new town to live in, I guess." Zay sighed, taking Tool's hand. "Let's go Tool, we have to get out of here."

"Just don't disturb my forest any longer. I've had enough of you mortals for a lifetime." Shepherd said with a sound that might have been a snort. "And you, Wizard, I'll escort you out of my forest."

--

It took quite a bit of time for Arden to find her way back. Shepherd did lead her, but his strides were way to big that it took all of her stamina to run after him. IT did not help that it was almost completely dark. They did not come upon any undead creepers at least, which was a good sign.

"Wizard Arden." Alexei was the one to greet her as she exited the forest. He looked like he had been keeping watch for a while. "Where did you go off to?" He asked. "We have to go now that you are here, there's been a development. The undead are converging outside of Pella's Wish. It's not looking good."

- Explain about your new minions.
- Keep it hidden for the moment.

 

[Yokai]

》Explain about your new minions.

"Alexei," Arden returned the greeting, feeling far too old and far too drained as she breathed out a low sigh. Everything had been surprisingly successful but she'd almost died anyway; almost ruined everything she'd been working hard towards. Arden was ready for a long sleep.

Weary eyes flickered over to Alexei and honestly? She really didn't want to go through the explanation of the entire ordeal but the schematics didn't really matter. She mustered up a tired but genuine smile for him.

"I followed the necromancer and they've been... dealt with," Arden began slowly, moving past him and trusting that Alexei would follow. "Then I was given control over the undead. So, we're going to go deal with them now." Shepherd goes unmentioned and Zaynalee is glossed over; carefully leaving out the parts where she was actually innocent and kind of adorable.

 

[ArcticFox]

"The undead!" Came Kogan's voice as the orc ran up to them quickly. "What have you done? The corpses are all walking toward us?!" He asked in a hurry, pointing behind him.

"Apparently, that is our Wizard's new army." Alexei said, eyes still slightly widened in disbelief.

"What in all hells?!" Dura joined quickly. "You can't be serious. Pella's Wish is empty because of whatever caused the dead to rise and now you want to have them as your servants? What is wrong with you!"

"I was about to ask the same thing." Kogan scowled.

Arden could see her new minions converging behind her companions. They walked slowly, shambling and stumbling, approaching the light of the small fire that they had lit. It was an eerie sight, to see so many walking corpses approaching her, all looking at Arden with their blank milky stares, or hollowed out sockets. She could feel it now, a sort of a bond with those creatures. They would listen to her every command.

They were mostly orcs, though some humans and elves too. Once the survivors of the exodus of Pella's Wish returned to their homes, as Shepherd said he kept alive most of them, would they really be alright with seeing their dead walk among them like mindless corpses they were? They would serve as excellent protection against the Yranese should they want to invade before Arden returned though, and the border with the Empire was very close to this little town. Arden had a difficult choice to make.

- Order the dead to guard the town.
- Order them to stay out of sight and patrol the area.
- Order them to go back to their graves.
- Something else.

 

[Yokai]

》Order them to stay out of sight and patrol the area.

Strange, it hadn't even occurred to Arden that these were actual people once. That they'd roamed these streets, inhabited the little houses, spoken to one another, lived completely separate lives, and been very much alive. Originally she'd wanted to return them to their graves and to forget this incident had ever happened. But now? Arden saw the opportunity to set up an actual plan of defence against the Yrantan Empire.

"The people of Pella's Wish are dead," Arden said, not unkindly as her expression smoothed out into something blank. "It was either they dropped dead where they stood or they continued to serve some purpose other than pointless death." That definitely wasn't why she'd chosen to control the undead; Arden had simply thought they'd be useful. She wisely doesn't voice that line of thought. "They'll continue to protect this area and stay out of sight. I'm really sorry, Dura. I promise that I'm not doing this to be cruel."

 

[ArcticFox]

"I don't like this at all." Dura persisted, folding her arms on her chest.

"It is pretty messed up, boss." Kogan shook his head.

"I don't know, the Wizard makes sense. It is better to have an army patrol the area now that we are at war with the Yranese. Especially an army that cannot be killed." Alexei was the only to support her in her decision.

The undead listened to her command in silence, and once they heard her words, they turned, all as one and split intro groups, each going in a different direction, to keep an eye on the area.

"Dura, you'll have to return to Blackcliffe." Kogan broke the silence, when the undead left. Dura had been watching their movements with a look of unease.

"I... guess so. I don't want to stay at an empty town." She sighed.

- Reveal that the others are alive.
- Let Dura return to Blackclife.

 

[Yokai]

》Reveal that the others are alive.

A quiet sigh of relief whistled past Arden's lips as the subject of the undead was dropped. Alexei's support was noted and she glanced over at him curiously. Honestly speaking, she hadn't expected any of the three to agree with her. It was a fairly calloused move to make. A necessary one? Sure. But a calloused one nonetheless.

"You don't have to go back," Arden spoke up after a moment, attention dragged back to Dura. "Pella's Wish should be protected now and the other villagers will be kicked out of the forest. I imagine Groot -- erm, Shepherd -- will want them gone. You... you can rebuild this place."

 

[ArcticFox]

"We do need to continue-" Koganstarted, but was cut off.

"What did you just say? Other villagers? How? Where?" Dura asked, stepping forward.

When Arden explained, Dura's eyes filled with tears of relief. She took a deep breath and smiled.

"I know Shepherd, but I never expected him to be involved in saving the people, he always seemed so protective of his forest." The orc girl said, before turning to her brother and leaning on him, suddenly remembering how tired she was.

"Well, we have only two horses. Maybe we should stick around and resupply?" Alexei suggested. "Also stay and help sort the mess in Pella's Wish, calm the people."

"No, if most of them are alive, then that is enough. We have to continue moving." Kogan protested. "Two horses are good enough."

- Resupply in Pella's Wish and take a day to rest.
- Continue the journey in the morning.

 

[Yokai]

》Resupply in Pella's Wish and take a day to rest.

"Really? Shepherd saved my life," Arden said, brows furrowed as she recalled the way he'd pulled the corpse from off of her. Now that she thought about it, he probably could have just let it kill her. She shrugged one shoulder casually and latched onto the next topic. It was best not reopen old wounds, especially freshly cut ones.

"But yeah, I have to agree with Alexei. We should resupply and see what we can do to help," Arden reasoned, trying to ignore the heaviness in her limbs at the idea of sleep. God, she could hardly remember feeling this exhausted. Normally conversation lifted her spirits but now it just made her weary. "Besides, you're fine to continue with two horses because you don't have to share." She quipped in Kogan's general direction, resisting the urge to stick out her tongue.

Not that it wasn't great to have Alexei pressed against her -- Mel, forgive her she was still a hot-blooded woman -- but it was very distracting.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Fine, but if all goes to hell because you wanted to be comfortable, I'm not going to be the one defending you." Kogan said with a snort.

--

The next morning caught them in Dura's home. Kogan was snoring on the bed, completely oblivious of his surroundings. Alexei and Dura were outside, greeting the people of Pella's Wish that slowly started making their way home out of the forest.

- You are outside helping the two of them.
- You are inside, keeping an eye on Kogan.
- You are inside, sleeping.

 

[Yokai]

》You are outside helping the two of them.

When Arden wakes the next morning she is greeted by the dull aches and pains of the day before. She stretches out in a feline manner with a disgruntled, grumpy noise and forces herself out of bed. There's no telling how long she'd remain in that bed otherwise. There's a small tug at her heart at the sight of Kogan, snoring contentedly, and a fond smile finds its way onto her lips.

Arden tries to make as little noise as possible as she slips from the house and into the street. Immediately she is drawn over to Alexei and Dura, taking up a stance beside them. There's much to do and she wasn't lying when she said she wanted to help. Arden was an energetic person, but more than that, she was bored easily and needed companionship. This was like killing two birds with one stone. She got to help people and it helped to balance her mental stability. God knows she definitely needed that.

 

[ArcticFox]

"You were right. They are coming back." Dura said to her with a smile, when the first residents start appearing.

It looked like a majority of people survived. The scouts sent to Blackcliffe never reached it because the road was blocked, so they were forced to go through the woods. They were all saying strange things about a god living in the forest.

"Seems a bit silly to me, but hey, at least they are alive." Alexei sad.

- Offer healing to those who need it.
- Offer soothing words.
- Ask the people about Shepherd.
- Ask Dura about her plans.

 

[Yokai]

》Offer healing to those who need it.

"It's their home," Arden replied quietly as they watched the survivor's trickle back into Pella's Wish. "It's your home." The sharp pang of melancholy that followed those words wasn't unwelcome; in fact she'd almost expected it to hurt. After all, there was no home for Arden to return to now and she'd made her peace with that. Earth seemed so far away, even if she could return... would she?

The people's words about a God made the young wizard's expression flicker with interest. "I... guess his name was Lucien, huh?" She mumbled, distractedly rubbing at her freshly healed throat. That was a really weird thought but Arden was learning to just take this world at face-value and roll with it. If she freaked out about everything then she'd get nowhere. Near-death experiences? Sure. Meeting actual Gods? Mm, not a priority right now.

"Now, who needs healing?"

 

[ArcticFox]

Only a couple of the villagers stepped out in ned of healing and even those injuries were just bruises and scrapes due to them making a clumsy way out of the forest. They visibly lightened when they realised that Arden was a Wizard, so her presence helped in restoring the order and getting the people to move along on their usual business.

--

Alexei and Arden returned home around midday. Dura returned an hour later with two saddlebags worth of supplies and a very flimsy looking pony.

"Uh, this little guy is all I could find. Most of the horses ran off in the mess." Dura explained.

Of course, this was a source of endless amusement for Kogan who immediately suggested that Arden takes the pony.

"We really should keep moving now." Alexei said when they were all packed.

There was still the matter of riding arrangements though. Kogan would not be able to ride the pony, as he would have broken the animal's back right away. Alexei could do it, though quite uncomfortable. Arden would fit right in the saddle, but she would not be able to escape from Kogan's jibes then.

- Ride the pony.
- Tell Alexei to ride the pony.
- Leave the pony in the village.

 

[Yokai]

》Ride the pony.

If making fun of her stead managed to cheer Kogan up then Arden would gladly suffer through the jibes and take the pony. She also didn't want to make Alexei suffer too much, he was the best source of conversation that she had. So, she thanked Dura with the best, charming smile that she could muster and simply took the reigns.

"I'm going to call you Kogan Jr." Arden told the little pony with a grin.