Chương 13: A Ham Sandwich

Aaron stood tall and met the nobleman's gaze. The same man he'd met only hours before. First the coin, and now this... And it could be no coincidence that he was here now. He could sense that Tim was afraid of him. And rightly so, because he admitted to coming here to kill him. The sight made Aaron's blood boil, but he composed himself. He drew a breath and relaxed his stance, trying to appear calm.

The man dropped his hood revealing clean shoulder length brown hair, curling up slightly at the ends just brushing the top of his shoulders.

"I am offering a way to help your brother." Tim slumped down into the armchair. His hands were shaking.

"How?" Aaron snarled. Aaron tried to read his face and suss out whether he was a threat or not. It was already suspicious that a man of his station would interact with them, let alone come to their home, yet his status had left them with few choices. He wasn't convinced the guards would do anything if he called for help. They would probably side with the nobleman by default. Tim mustered the strength to speak up, "I don't want any help, it doesn't matter how he wants to help me."

"But Tim.." Aaron replied.

"He attacked me!" Tim said with more venom than Aaron was used to.

"I don't care for his promises. He's no good for us and I don't want to be involved with him in any way. It is time for him to leave." Aaron's eyes went to his brother, sweaty and weak, slumped over his chair, his tea had spilled and was dripping onto the rug. Cuthbert's cage was broken and he was missing. Interest turned to anger once more.

"You heard my brother, it's time for you to leave," Aaron threatened as he stepped to the side and gestured for the man to exit.

"Fair enough," he replied as he walked out the door. He paused before he turned the corner and looked at Tim.

"You know where to find me." Aaron slammed the door behind him and walked towards the window. He pulled the wooden shutter ajar and carefully monitored the man's movements as he disappeared down the street. Aaron rushed over to his brother.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you," Tim said.

"It wasn't that bad, I just wanted him to leave. I'm mostly upset that he freed Cuthbert." Aaron felt rage bubbling up in his chest.

"Why would he do that? What's wrong with him, breaking in here?" He took a couple of deep breaths and calmed himself down.

"Well, I guess if he can fly off, that means he's well enough to rejoin the world. He was never meant to stay with us permanently, it's better for him out there." Tim anxiously drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair.

"I know, it's just…I enjoyed having him around for the past few days and I wasn't ready yet." Aaron put his hand on his tired brother's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I know, Tim." There was nothing more to be said about Cuthbert, but the house felt empty without their new friend. Still, what could they do except move on and hope his damaged soul wouldn't affect him too badly?

"How was your shift?" Tim asked. Aaron took a seat next to his brother on a larger two person chair, made from wood and cushions. Tim looked just as upset as Aaron felt.

"Tim, I found out something today. Something worrying." Tim fiddled with his fingers. Aaron could see the worry on his face.

"I pressed Master Addison today about his reason for fearing Necromancy. He told me Necromancy is evil and he thinks there is some conspiracy to get rid of us."

"Well, the legends don't exactly paint them in the best light, but they are only stories. Giddeon said he hunted undead and Necromancers. Maybe he has something to do with it. Did he say why?"

"Maybe, but Addison was talking about what happened to a Necromancer he knew decades ago. She died under mysterious circumstances. He warned me not to use my power. He didn't really explain why, except that he thinks it would be dangerous for me." Aaron replied. Although reading between the lines, he suspected Addison also didn't like Necromancy and thought it was evil and wrong. Tim thumped his fist onto the arm of his chair.

"What? Aaron, this is serious. You can't let anyone catch you using it. And how come Addison has experienced Necromancy first hand. I've never seen anything substantial about it in books. Not even in the Sacred Library" Aaron kept his mouth shut about what he did to Thomas' leg last night. He didn't want to worry Tim any more.

"Well, the legends must have come from somewhere. He's been around a long time, so he's had more of a chance to look. Perhaps they were more common fifty years ago?"

"Maybe so, but the library is supposed to have information about everything. It's really suspicious that Necromancy exists, but is not in any of the records."

"So someone is intentionally keeping information secret?" Aaron said.

"Maybe. I don't know. All I know is it sounds dangerous and you've been warned by your master to keep it a secret. I think you should listen to him." Aaron fully intended to not only use his powers to heal, but actively train them to get stronger. Tim was still cursed and he was desperate to find a way to make him better. However, he didn't want to worry Tim with the truth, he knew he wouldn't agree anyways.

"Of course! I won't do anything that would put me at risk. I'm not an idiot. How are you feeling now anyways? Any more news about the curse?" Tim picked nervously at a thread on his sleeve, staring ahead.

"Aaron, you did manage to weaken the curse slightly. I can still feel it. And Aaron. I know what you're like, please be careful." The corners of Aaron's mouth curled up in joy. It had worked! At least a bit. This meant he was on the right track and with a bit more power, he was confident that he could destroy it.

"Of course!" Aaron defended, "I'll practise in controlled conditions and make sure no one gets hurt, do no harm, remember?"

"I'm happy for you, you look happy. I'm just worried." Tim smiled softly. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I'll be careful, Tim. We can work this out together." Aaron scrambled into his bag, which was sitting between his legs on the floor. He was high on the knowledge that he had weakened Tim's curse!

"I need you to see this" Aaron brought a tome out of his bag. The cover was deep black like coal and the edges were frayed and torn.

"I forgot how dark it was after the other night!" Tim said.

"There's some information in here which might be helpful!" Aaron opened the book to reveal the first page had changed. Class: Necromancer Proficiency: Novice Progression: 0/5 He flicked to the next page, which gave a brief description of the necromancer. Aaron brought the book over to Tim and they read in silence for a few moments. Necromancers are a form of twisted healer. They bear no power over the spirit of others, but instead command the flesh. Classes of magic discovered: Somatomancy and Teratogenesis.

Somatomancy and Teratogenesis each had their own page, which contained an intricately interconnected array of talents. Many were blank, with greyed-out text, presumably as they hadn't been discovered yet. At the bottom of the Somatomancy page, there were three boxes: Flesh Mastery (Rank 1), Bone Mastery (Unranked), Heart Mastery (Rank 1). The lines each said"Required rank 5" above them and converged on a single box with the words"Animate Corpse."

"This sounds very ominous, Aaron." Aaron had a basic understanding of how the talents worked. He had invested five points into Cleanse Curse, making his curse curing spells around fifty percent more effective and mana efficient. That was all gone. Instead, he had to figure out what these new spell schools did and how to leverage them to get enough power to cure Tim.

"I know…" He replied, "but it's what I've got to work with. I'll use whatever I can to keep healing and forget about the dark stuff."

"I don't know if you can just forget about it, Aaron. It's always going to be there now, in your mind and memory. In your soul! You're a good man. So-called dark magic won't ever make you an evil person." Aaron smiled and gently punted Tim on the shoulder.

"You too, Tim. As you said, we will work this out together. I'm not giving into the abyss anytime soon." He chuckled and turned the book a few pages.

"There's a bone manipulation skill here." Aaron pointed to the page. Spell class: Necromancer Skill name: Osteokenesis Level: 1 Description: Stitches the caster's mana through bones, allowing them to be commanded and manipulated. Use: Runecrafting A series of complicated patterned runes followed the spell. Many were familiar to Aaron, but a few were different.

"What do these runes mean?" Tim inspected the Kordal Runas.

"Necros." Tim paused as he tried to pronounce them correctly, "mortas", "visceri carnotum.. No… Visceri Carn a tum." Aaron listened intently, inspecting the intricate cyphers.

"I've never seen these before," Tim said, frowning whilst his eyes darted back and forth across the page. Aaron could barely keep his eyes open. He let out a deep yawn.

"Get some rest. Let's make a plan tomorrow."

"Yeah, I think I need it. Good night, Tim." Aaron said. There was morning sun beaming through the shutters into the living room. He'd almost forgotten that he was just home from a night shift.

"Good night," Tim chuckled. Aaron dragged himself up from his chair and retired to his room. As he lay down and relaxed on his bed, all the tension in his body fought against him. His back ached and his eyes stung from focusing all night. He quickly drifted to sleep. Aaron slept lightly, twisting and turning in the night. He was too tired to stay awake, yet too exhausted to sleep deeply. He rolled around in limbo for hours.

Disturbed by the sound of workers walking through the street, Aaron decided to get out of bed. He hadn't a clue what time it was or how long he'd slept for. His lips were cracked with dehydration and his throat stung. Disoriented, he waddled out of his room and grabbed a cup of milk from a metal jar on the side. The milk had a slight metallic taste where it was enchanted by the Altheons who reared the livestock. It never went sour, but never tasted quite right.

Aaron gulped the drink fast, letting out a deep sigh and wiped the liquid from the sides of his mouth. He sat down at the table. There was a note left for him. Gone to the market, be back soon ~Tim. Tim usually goes on Sunday. That must have meant he was asleep all day and night. He must have used up more mana than he thought. Aaron yawned and stretched his back as it clicked and popped. He reached across to the parcel and unwrapped it.

A sandwich lay in the middle with thick fresh slices of bread, lightly flowered. The smell of freshly baked goods filled Aaron's nose, revitalising him. A broad layer of thick sliced ham and lettuce sat in between the slices. Thank you Tim, he thought as he took a bite into the delicious snack. As the moist, salty ham melted on his tongue, he paused for a second and looked at the sandwich, which had a large mouth shaped mark cut out of it and a piece of ham dangled in its wake.

"Flesh mastery," he said to himself softly, still chewing a mouthful of food. He placed the sandwich down on the parchment. With one hand, he lifted the top piece of bread and placed it upside down next to it. He lifted the lettuce off and placed it on the spare bread, leaving an exposed pink piece of ham. This should be easy, he thought. Aaron placed his index finger on the corner of the ham, pressing in firmly. He didn't need to picture the anatomy in his mind this time as the ham was visible.

He reached into his soul and commanded the ham to move. Effortlessly, the opposite corner flapped over and slapped down on his finger, making a squelch sound, splattering some moisture onto his hand in the process. He shook his hand and wiped it on his trousers. Let's try something a little more difficult. Aaron took two paces back from the table and reached his right hand out towards the ham. He repeated the process and commanded the ham to move.

The closest corner peeled up slightly from the bread, but quickly flopped back down under its own weight. It was much more difficult when he stood further away. Aaron tried to remember what his tome said. It spoke about his power being linked to his knowledge and connection with the anatomy of the object. Well, that explains why it's harder the further away I am. It's harder to feel connected. Let's try focusing on its structure. Aaron stared at the ham intensely. This is ridiculous!

He pictured its structure in his mind. It was one thick slice of muscle with hints of fat marbling through it. The strands of muscle all ran together in the same direction, stacked in tightly packed lines. Aaron could feel the strength in its design. It was designed to create force in a single direction with strong synchronised contractions. It made perfect sense for muscle. Aaron oriented himself to the alignment of the fibres and pictured them moving.

He felt a chill in his chest flow gently through to his hand and pulse towards the ham. There was nothing visible coming out of his hand, but Aaron could feel it. The centre of the ham tensed and hardened, squeezing and contracting. It folded in the middle and raised high enough that the back peeled off the bread below, making a wet slurping sound. A bead of sweat dripped down Aaron's nose. I can push a bit more. Let's make it walk.

The side of ham closest to Aaron was pulled up and across by the raised centre of the slice of meat. Aaron relaxed the front and it flopped down like a caterpillar, moving a small distance forward. [Somatomancy talent increased] Flesh Mastery: rank 2"YES!" Aaron shouted. He jumped up and punched the air. He turned to the side to see Tim stood in the doorway holding two baskets full of groceries, staring at him with his mouth slightly ajar and one eyebrow raised.