How To Kill A Necromancer

When Jase woke up he was lying on a few blankets placed to the side of a one room cottage. A woman noticed him and came over to hand him a cup of tea. She pressed his glasses into his hands.

"Thank you..." he said. He tried to remember how he got there and spotted Gadelynn sitting by the window, watching him. She was wearing a little knitted crown on her head but looked disappointed to see it was Jase who had woken up, not Zendron.

"Where am I?" Jase asked.

"You're in our house. We found Your friend Gadelynn in the woods, and she was very intent on getting you somewhere safe. I'm Juniper, by the way." Juniper's voice was soft, and she moved daintily. Her hair was long and straight, and she was wearing a knitted dress that was far from perfectly crafted.

"Thank you, Gadelynn." Jase nodded to Gadelynn at the window. "And thank you, Juniper, for your hospitality."

"Oh yes, you were very sick when we found you. Careful now, you don't want to strain yourself too much. You have a terrible head injury and your body has been under a lot of stress."

Jase nodded and sat back with the cup of tea. He took a sip and let the warmth spread through his body. Unsurprisingly, the tea tasted like juniper berries, and he tried not to think about it too much. Gadelynn came over and sat next to him on a chair.

"Is Zendron awake?" she asked.

Jase shook his head, "I haven't heard anything from him yet."

Gadelynn looked sad and headed back to the window seat.

"So you're Jase, then, right?" Juniper asked.

"Yes"

"Gadelynn told us that you usually go by Zendron," Juniper explained.

"Well... not usually."

Juniper sighed, "Oh. Gadelynn didn't explain that. She's not really talkative..." she smiled cheerfully, "Well now that you're awake Rootbeer and I can learn a bit more about you. She's out gathering some food right now. We figured you would be hungry when you woke up."

Jase smiled, "That's true. Hm... Rootbeer, that's an interesting name." Jase said to himself. He took another sip of tea, "How long have we been here?"

"We found you three mornings ago. Sometimes we thought you would wake up, but you were just too sick. Your hair changes white and brown like a rabbit's coat. Then yesterday you fell into a calmer sleep, so we were hopeful that meant you were getting better. And here you are, awake."

Jase nodded, grateful for Juniper’s direct summary "Thank you again, for your kindness."

The door swung open and a centaur walked in, taking off a backpack. She noticed Jase was awake and waved. Her hair was orange and sprung up around her face in tight curls. Though she had to duck to get in the door, Rootbeer’s body was quite small for a horse’s. Jase noticed she too was wearing a hand knitted shirt.

"This is Jase," Juniper explained.

"Hello there! I'm Rootbeer!" she said. She was louder and more brazen than Juniper.

Jase said his hello as Rootbeer handed the backpack to Juniper and sat next to Jase. Her front hooves tucked underneath her. "What happened to you? You were so sick, I've never seen anyone that unhealthy."

"I think it was magic exhaustion." Jase speculated.

"Oh, that explains a lot!" Rootbeer exclaimed. She looked at Juniper.

Juniper sighed,"If only we had known, we could have treated it better."

"You did well, don't worry about me," Jase reassured them.

“You’re going to need to drink lots of water” Juniper picked up a clay jar and headed outside.

Rootbeer watched the door close behind her and leaned in close. "Did you know your friend is dead?" she whispered.

"Yes. I know. I hope she hasn't caused any trouble for you."

"No, she's been fine," Rootbeer said cheerily. She glanced over and spoke in a whisper again "She's just really weird. And she smells. You're not dead, right?"

"No...?" Jase wasn't entirely sure how to answer.

"Okay, just checking..." Rootbeer looked down at Jase's cup, "Do you need more tea?"

Jase nodded and handed Rootbeer the cup. With some effort, Rootbeer stood back up and went to refill it with hot water and some leaves from the pantry. Jase tried to stand up too, but he quickly fell back down again. Gadelynn jumped to her feet in concern.

"It's alright Gadelynn. I think I just need to stay sitting." Jase said, waving her back down, "How are you?"

"Did I do okay?” Gadelynn asked nervously. “Zendron told me to help, and find someplace safe, and stay out of sight, and stay in the forest, and follow him, and-"

"You did great, Gadelynn. Zendron doesn't expect you to do all those things at once."

Gadelynn nodded, looking more at ease. Rootbeer handed the cup back to Jase and sat down next to a large round cushion. She tucked her equine legs underneath her and rested her torso against the cushion. “You have questions. I can tell.”

Jase nodded. "I've never met a centaur before, do you often live in pleasant homes like this?" Jase asked politely.

"I'm a domesticated centaur, so I do. Wild ones probably don't." Rootbeer explained.

"What does it mean to be domesticated?

Rootbeer shrugged, "It's a choice I made to be more people-friendly, I guess."

"How did you get the name, Rootbeer? It's rather interesting."

“It's not my real name. Juniper calls me that because its my favorite drink.”

Jase smiled and chuckled, “I see. Good taste.”

Juniper returned with the jar full of water, and Rootbeer got up to help her, pecking a small kiss on Juniper's cheek as she took the heavy jar back and went to set it down on a shelf.

"I've been meaning to ask, are you a dryad? Specifically a juniper tree, right?"

"Yes, I am. And what about you? You're magical too aren't you?"

"I'm an alchemist.” Jase said, but then he shook his head. “No, other than that I am just human. I’m not a magic user. I hope that's not a concern to you." Jase added.

"Oh absolutely not. You needed our help so I'm not going to turn you away. And Rootbeer is domesticated so there's nothing to worry about."

She started preparing some food in their kitchen while Rootbeer sat down next to the fire and started knitting. Jase leaned back and closed his eyes, relaxing in the quaint shelter. Juniper hummed and Rootbeer sang along softly. Jase calmly took in the scent of the tea, the crackling fire, and the quaint harmony in their Juniper and Rootbeer's small cabin. Presently Jase begins to hear another voice mumbling the words.

"Zendron? Do you know this song?" Jase said quietly to himself.

"Barely. It's a local lullaby." Zendron said indifferently. "Didn't realize I was singing it."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. I remember more now."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Jase opened his eyes to see Gadelynn a few inches from his face, her dulled eyes fixed on him. Rootbeer had also stopped singing and was watching them.

"Zendron is awake," Jase said.

"Is he coming out?" Gadelynn asked hopefully.

"No."

"He doesn't want to right now," Jase told her.

Gadelynn pouted and sat back. She stayed on the floor next to Jase.

"Did Rootbeer knit that for you?" Jase asked, gesturing to the crown.

"Oh yes, do you like it?" she adjusted it over her large ears.

"It's very cute," Jase noted and Gadelynn beamed happily.

"I can make you one if you want," Rootbeer spoke up from across the room.

Jase chuckled, "No, I'm fine, thank you though."

Rootbeer nodded and went back to knitting. Jase furrowed his brow and groaned as another headache hit him suddenly. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. There was a small clink of utensils and plates next to him.

"I have some food for you if you're feeling well enough to eat it." Juniper offered.

"Thank you, but I may have to wait a bit on that." Jase declined. He felt very feverish and very, very tired.  “I think I’m just going to rest a bit more…”