How To Kill A Necromancer

After an early morning getting organized despite Zendron’s complaints, and a few parting instructions from Zendron to Gadelynn, Jase returned to his classes the next day. The students were talking but they fell silent when he entered.

"Welcome students, I am sorry for my absence. I hope you all have been studying while I was away." Jase said. He looked around. All the students were staring at him with stunned expressions.

"So it WAS you!" A student exclaimed.

"Excuse me?"

The students all started talking at once. "We heard that someone had gone missing on the mountain!” “There were search parties out everywhere!” “You canceled class and we joked that it was you.” “Why is your head bandaged?” “The guild announced you were dead!” “Well not ‘you’ but the guy who went missing!” "It was just a joke!” “If it wasn't the professor then why was he gone for so long?”

"Well..." Jase tried to say.

The class was in a ruckus as the students shouted at Jase and each other.

Zendron laughed along with them. "Rumors travel fast!"

Jase frowned and stepped up to his podium.

"Quiet down now!" Jase said with authority.

Instantly the class fell silent again, save for the occasional shift as students sat back down.

"Woah..." Zendron said, impressed.

Jase waited for a moment to let the uncomfortable silence hang in the air.

"Now," he continued, placing his notes down for the lesson, "I don't know what kind of rumors you have heard or have been spreading amongst each other, but let me clear some things up for you. No, I am not dead. No, I do not know what happened to some fellow getting lost in the woods, though I'm very sorry to hear about it, but that doesn't concern our lesson today, does it?"

"You are an excellent liar when you want to be," Zendron noted.

Jase ignored him. "I did have an emergency that required me to go out of town for a few days, and I did hit my head rather badly the other day. That is all." Jase turned around and began writing on the chalkboard, "Now, I believe we left off with the effects of seasonal weather on different kinds of magical roots, did we not?"

A few students muttered to each other but the class stayed silent as a whole.

"Boooring..." said Zendron.

Jase went through the usual procedures of his lecture and excused the class. He closed up the classroom and returned to his office, shutting the door behind him.

"Those students guessed everything, didn't they?"

"Mmm..."

"I've never seen you in such a bad mood. I'm surprised, I didn't think you could ever be so cross."

"It's clear that for once the rumors are mostly true. This concerns me, as no doubt my return is going to continue to cause some stir among anyone who heard them."

"Do you think they believed you?"

"Whether or not the class believed me, doesn't matter. As long as they focus in class, I don't particularly care what the young men and women are discussing in the halls."

"... You're very serious right now." Zendron realized.

"I am."

"I don't like it. I'm supposed to be the moody one."

Jase sighed and rubbed his forehead over the bandage, "I'm sorry, Zendron." He unlocked his desk and started to look through it. It was filled with papers. He paused, then began to rifle through it more urgently.

"What's wrong?"

"My notes. They're gone." Jase said, stunned.

"Notes?"

"My research on the elixir of life. All of it; it's not here." Jase began to search his drawers and bookshelves. “Where could I have misplaced it? I certainly didn't take it home with me, did I?”

“Before or after you were robbed?"

“I don't know, but my work bag… and now my notes… It's all gone.” Jase sat back on his heels, feeling devastated. “Who would have stolen it?”

“The same people who murdered you, no doubt. I knew something was suspicious with your death."

“You think… they killed me for my research?”

"It's the motive I was missing when I first brought it up. Kill you and take your research so someone else could use it. Maybe even get all the credit. You didn't notice it was gone before?"

"I was a little preoccupied the last time I came into my office," Jase said pointedly. “I didn't exactly get a chance to look until now.”

"Right. So what are you going to do? The murderer has your elixir and your notes. All that's left is to get you out of the way, and they already tried once."

Jase thought for a moment, "We need to make a plan. How to find out who is trying to kill me. I should tell the rest of the faculty; let them know what's going on."

"Don't do that. Don't tell anyone." Zendron said hastily.

"Why not? The teachers could be in danger."

"It could BE one of the other teachers." Zendron pointed out.

"What? Of course not. I know everyone here personally, none of them would try to kill me."

"That's what you think, but who else in the area is nerdy enough to care about your notes and your research. They could be jealous of your progress."

"Well for one, none of the other teachers are researching in my area so how would my notes help them?" Jase closed up his desk again, "Zendron, I really don't like how you are talking about my colleagues. These are my friends."

"Those closest to you can still betray you in an instant." Zendron insisted. “You already heard what they think about you."

"You may be a killer, but these people are different."

"I thought the same thing!" Zendron was starting to get worked up again.

Jase sat down in his chair and crossed his arms, making sure Zendron couldn't take control.

"Alright, why is this so personal to you?" Jase said, "You're not going to throw a tantrum in my office. Tell me."

"It's happened more than once to me." Zendron tried to say casually.

"I'm not convinced. What was it? Something about your death? I know that's been on your mind since we left Archlind."

"Okay fine! Yeah! Do you know who turned me in? My own family! They were the only ones who could have known! I saw them there! Standing there in the crowd…" Zendron trailed off.

Jase took a deep breath. "They watched you die?"

There was a long pause as Jase waited for an answer.

"I can't believe they would do that to me ..."

"I understand how you could have trouble trusting anyone after that." Jase said sympathetically, "Alright. I won't tell anyone. But the trusting thing is something you'll have to work on. In the future." Jase added. He laid a sheet of paper out on his desk, "In the meantime, I have some work to catch up on."

Zendron didn't bother Jase further as he worked in silence and soon Jase returned to his lecture hall for the second class of the day.