A Paladin's Plea

The undead paladin had grabbed its head from the bed and took a seat. The heavy body adjusted the skull briefly before plopping it back down onto the top of the corpse’s body. It shivered for a moment before the skeleton grabbed its jaw and winced briefly at the sudden crack made alongside the material of his body.

“So, I’d like to apologize about the window. With everyone gathered out around my gravesite and panicking, it seemed like the only time I’d get a chance to go near you and I’ve been tailing the two of you for a while,” he wasn't sure if the skeleton motioning toward the window was a good sign at all. 

“Didn’t mean to go breaking things, but I’ve been scared to my wit’s end. Being an undead’s not what I expected, but… Oh, could you two just get up? You too, necromancer, because we’ve gotta talk about this arrangement you’ve saddled me with here and…”

It was the only thing he could do to not just snap and rise to his feet. Fumihito’s eyes narrowed and the man sluggishly threw his arms off of Erlana’s waist and into the air, jabbing a hand in the undead’s direction with a glare.

“An arrangement? I’m sure I would have remembered summoning someone from the beyond to life! I don’t even know who you are and I still don’t even know why you’re here. You’re… You’re…,” How was he meant to process this situation? The fact that he had conjured up some weird magical mambo jumbo from nowhere right down to the idea that this walking CORPSE was his fault was just insane.

How did anybody with a sane mind process this?

“Yes, an arrangement you made when you decided to summon me. To be more exact, you’re the summoner and I’m the unintentional familiar. You should be glad though, most people would have gotten someone who couldn’t talk, but it looks like my spirit’s still holding strong,” how did any undead say that with such an enthusiastic tone? That seemed so unnatural.

Then again, he was talking to a walking skeleton. What wasn’t unnatural about this entire situation?

“Fumihito, w-why would you summon him? No, not even just t-that, but you’re a necromancer? You lied!”

He glanced over at Erlana with a rather shocked expression before thrusting his hands back at the undead even as the woman adjusted herself and tried to get off of him. Their limbs were getting tangled up and it did not give either of them any breathing room.

“I didn’t! It was an accident and I didn’t even know I could do that. It must have been because of your spell. If you hadn’t stumbled on a few words, I wouldn’t be here. Have you thought about the idea that maybe YOU did it?”

“I… Why… You ungrateful…”

“I’m not ungrateful! I just know when to recognize a problem when I…”

Of course, his argument with Erlana was cut off by the loud sound of metal slamming against metal. His ears felt like they were being grated against some unruly surface before his eyes were dragged back to the undead warrior plopped before the two of them with a sigh. He could tell a skeleton couldn't make many faces, but he could tell this one certainly wished he could frown and roll their eyes if they had any in the first place.

“Look, while I hate to cut into a lover’s quarrel between two people about a few centuries or so past my age, I need a favor from you since you summoned me and I was hoping we could discuss that when we leave this village and…,” but it didn’t look like he’d be able to finish because Fumihito heard Erlana gasp.

Yeah, that wasn’t a very good sign, was it?

“You want to leave the village? Why would you want to leave when it’s your resting place? I thought the undead were disturbed spirits. Wouldn’t going back to your resting place be for the best? Not to mention the fact that if we took you, wouldn’t we end up in the town cell again?” Erlana was asking the questions he wanted to ask himself, but there was also the idea of what exactly constitutes a home for an undead.

He glanced back at the large figure who looked nervous before they brushed a gauntlet over their skull and leaned back.

“Not exactly… It’s true, he disturb my rest, but it wasn’t exactly much of a rest. When some people die, the regrets they had in life can hold them back from crossing over to the other side. Because of one of my regrets, I was never able to pass. I never was at rest, but it never manifested itself negatively,” and that’s when it started to make a bit more sense for the young man about why this wasn’t such a simple solution anymore.

“I was never going to be at peace and because I never had enough power to manifest as a spirit either, it didn’t leave me with a lot of options. Now that the necromancer’s brought me back, I want to go out and solve my regret. If I get that outta the way, I’m on my way back into the grave and into the afterlife.”

So, there was more to things than meets the eye here. He honestly thought that bringing back someone from the dead just meant getting back a zombie, but this paladin looked as sane as they came. Ignoring the fact that they didn’t have a patch of skin whatsoever and the smell they produced was unbelievably foul, Fumihito raised his brow and looked back to Erlana who only stared at him with a stunned expression before she looked back at the paladin and asked him the question on his mind.

“But the villagers and this town. What are they going to think if it’s never solved? I mean, isn’t this your home?”

He was left surprised when the paladin chuckled and sheepishly rubbed their hands together.

“Well, I don’t exactly care too much about that. I never asked for a memorial service, much less a grand position or a statue, but that’s just what the people did. Either way, I wanna solve my problems and then you can drop my corpse back off, right? We leave the armor behind and…”

He had to intervene now.

“I… Look, I don’t know what any of this honestly means, but I’m not a necromancer! I… I mean, I…”

The skeleton didn’t look convinced and neither did Erlana’s vermillion eyes. He wanted to shout and plead otherwise as well, but how else could he explain what happened earlier when all he did was think about things? The man gripped his fists and shuddered just as the paladin took a moment and gripped their dusty mandible.

“You did though. I can feel the connection tethering me to you and it’s not going to go either unless you break it. Are you telling me you don’t know what you did at all? How you called for somebody and ended up dragging me into my body to fight for you?”

It was hard for him to digest this information at all. Just looking at this skeleton made him feel nauseous inside, the idea of someone still dead and alive at the same time stood before him, and it was honestly horrifying. The only other part was that he did remember that. Running away from Erlana, panic in his eyes, and his voice screaming.

He could remember the ground and his hands and how he was desperate for someone, anybody, to help.

And now that he was in such proximity, he could feel something between the undead and him. It was like a leash or a loose feeling of being tied up to someone. It was almost like he submerged his hands in liquid and they were full of something within his grasp.

“I… I guess I did, but I don’t ever remember having magic! I was born on Earth, I had a normal life, and I was never surrounded by all of… this! No offense,” he made sure to at least acknowledge that Erlana wasn’t exactly weird. Well, strange in the unnatural sense, but her demeanor had a lot to be said.

“Look, Fumihito’s not from this world. He wouldn’t know the first thing about helping you at all. Do you expect us to take you with us to the Center while solving this problem of yours?” Even he could see the doubt in Erlana’s eyes, but that’s where the skeleton’s face seemed to brighten up briefly as they clapped their hands close.

“The Center’s complete? I never would have thought that it’d actually... Look, I know you’re both hesitant about this, but you have to let me come with you. If I go back into that grave again, I’ll just be lurking around as a faceless spirit for the rest of my life. I’ll have nobody but myself, I’ll never be able to pass,” the undead prostrated itself before Erlana and him in the next moment.

He never thought a skeleton could rattle its bones so much.

“...Please, just help me. Won’t you do this much for me?”

A heavy part of him urged him to ignore it all and just forget this even existed. Magic, a thing thought to be a myth in his world, was real and he could use it. He used the very same magic that was supposedly just a parlor trick in his world to bring back a corpse and give it life. Now? Now it was begging him to do something and he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to do.

It was true, the idea of trying to resurrect someone was tempting, but looking at the state of Scrimgeour didn’t leave him with hope. If anything, it was just horrible to look at him. That same faceless remark hit him closer than he would have ever admitted.

He should have said no.

Except he let his eyes wander back to Erlana who blankly stared at him and rested her soft hand to his. The look in her eyes said enough and as much as he wanted to look away, he couldn’t. Bright vermillion drew him in once again. 

His face felt hot and his chest seized once again.

“...He needs help, Fumihito. I can tell he's not going to relent, but I promise you’ll be my focus. Please, won't you do this just for his sake?"

He was reminded of the faint image of a faceless woman once again and a smile he couldn't remember. The memory was washed away in moments before he sighed and bowed his head low. 

‘I can’t believe I’m doing this…’

“Alright then, und… I mean, Scrimgeour. I guess you’ll be coming with us then. Now the next step is getting out of the town…,” he was met with the undead throwing himself at him into a hug with a wide-eyed expression. Just being close to Scrimgeour left him trembling in nervousness. Someone from the beyond was hugging him and he couldn’t stand being this close.

“Thank you so much! You won’t regret it, I promise. A thief never goes back on their word!”

Erlana’s shrill voice rang out before he could even point out the inconsistencies between legend and fiction.

“You’re a t-t-thief? The l-l-legends say you’re a h-heroic warrior…”

Scrimgeour simply rubbed the back of their head and rose to their feet.

“The legends leave a lot to be desired, but I’ll fill the two of you on the trip out. So, whaddya say, necromancer? Ready for an adventure?”

Fumihito couldn’t help but wish for anything else than to forsake this power, but this was the only path to home. He'd do what he could no matter how long it took him.