"Hello, Riku.. Is it fine if I call you that?"
Riku was startled out of his reverie. He glanced at Lila and Elara, but they were still engrossed in their own quiet conversation, unaware. The voice had co from the charm.
’Of course, Clara,’ he responded ntally, focusing his thoughts on the vessel he carried. ’And it’s an honor to et you properly, despite the circumstances. How are you feeling? Is the charm a comfortable anchor?’
’It is... peaceful,’ Clara’s voice replied, tinged with a slight happiness. ’It is a welco respite after so many years bound to the cold earth. I never thought that I would see anything but the graveyard again.’
’I am glad that you are enjoying it. Elara seems to be very happy as well.’ Riku glanced at the chatting Elara.
’Yes, it is so good to see my daughter smiling again. Each ti she would visit , she would be crying her eyes out. However, she is not who I want to talk about now.’
’You want to talk about Elara’s father, right? But as I said before, I cannot do anything right now.’ Riku did not want to leave Clara with false hopes. He had kept his new mission a secret from Elara and Clara, as he did not want to endanger them.
’No, that is not what I was asking for. There are just certain things that I.. I feel that you should know about him.’
Riku was surprised. That the circumstances of Elara’s father were not simple was sothing he already knew. But more information was always welco, especially when he had a mission to complete.
’I don’t know much about him,’ Riku admitted. Elara described her father as a simple rchant, a treasure hunter. Though there were so strange things in his storage, I had dismissed them, thinking that it was the handiwork of the people who were controlling him.’
’Controlling him?’ Clara asked in confusion.
Riku nodded, and then started telling her what had happened earlier.
’The man we fought... he had your husband’s body. He was a puppet, controlled from afar by a hooded figure in so kind of laboratory. When I tried to trace the connection, the puppeteer severed the strings. The life force in the body was extinguished instantly.’ He paused, hating what he had to say next. ’And Lady Clara... your husband’s soul wasn’t there. Not even the slightest trace.’
’It was as if it had been removed before the body was turned into a puppet.’
’I see.’ Clara took a mont to process what had happened earlier. ’You are correct, Riku. It seems like my husband Marden was deeply entangled in dangerous things, and that is what caused his troubles.’
There was a pause, a mont of contemplation.
’’Simple rchant’,’ Clara’s voice echoed with a bitter irony. ’Marden was many things, Master Riku, but he was never simple. He was... a mystery, even to .’
Riku’s ntal eyebrows shot up. ’What do you an, Clara?’
’The books,’ she explained, her ntal voice growing stronger, more focused. ’The necromantic texts that led down this path... Marden gave them to . He claid he found them in so forgotten ruin during his travels. Though I was a necromancer with lots of knowledge about the dead, I had no idea that a living being could be transferred over in such a fashion. However, the knowledge in those books was so enticing, and given the fact my body was dying, I decided to take a gamble.’
’He gave you the books?’ Riku was taken aback. ’So you are saying that he knew about you all the way?’
’He knew,’ Clara confird. ’More than that, he helped . When the ritual to transfer my spirit required many rare components – soul-ember from a Shadow Fen, the dust of a petrified wraith – things I could never acquire, Marden would simply... procure them. He always had a contact, always knew a route. He helped build the ritual circle, his knowledge of the necessary materials far exceeding that of any re rchant.’
This painted a completely different picture of Elara’s father.
’Then... when your ritual failed...’ Riku prompted.
’He was devastated,’ Clara said. ’But it was more than just grief. It was... a frustrated determination. My lingering soul in the tombstone could feel it when he first left here.’
’As days passed, he would often bring Elara with to visit my grave. Though at first it felt natural, slowly I could feel that my soul was getting stronger. Soon, I was able to form an ethereal body. ’
’At first I was really surprised, but soon everything beca clear. Marden was the reason why this was happening. He would bring small trinkets that had undead energy in them.. It seed like these trinkets would automatically transfer their energy to my remains, strengthening my soul.’
The pieces clicked for Riku. ’He knew your spirit was tethered here. He was trying to strengthen you, to feed your soul with necromantic energy to keep you from fading away.’
’Yes,’ Clara affird. ’But that only makes this more confusing. If he was so knowledgeable, so resourceful... how did he fall into the trap of whoever was controlling him? How did they take his body?’
’I do not know," Riku admitted. ’However, I plan to find out soon. I have so leads on where I can find the people who were controlling your husband, and I am sure that I will be able to track them down soon. And then, maybe we will find clues about your husband as well.
"Riku," Clara spoke, her voice slightly pleading. "I understand what you want to do. I want the sa thing. I do not know what this Organization is, but I want to make them pay for all the suffering they brought to my daughter and my husband. Keep with you, and I am sure that I can help. My knowledge of necromancy and my husband might be useful for you on this journey."
Then, her tone softened as her focus shifted. "But my Elara... she must be kept from this. She has seen her father’s face desecrated and even seen him try to harm her. She cannot be part of this hunt. It would break her. Promise , Riku. Promise you will protect her from this."
"I promise, Lady Clara," Riku affird. He had no intention to bring Lila and Elara into this anyway. He did not want to take Clara either, as he was sufficiently versed in necromancy himself.
However, the system had given him a hint that the ’love of the dead’ might be a key to reaching Marden, which probably referred to Clara. This had made her an important piece of the puzzle.
Just like that, Riku had gained a new ally and a new path ahead of him.
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