Anoir, alone in his room, weighed up the pros and cons of doing a small job for "Coffee Cream". The idea that this group would no longer cause him trouble, as much as earn him money, was beginning to seduce him as he turned the question over and over in his mind. He remembered Ratvert's warning, however, and it was the only thing keeping him from picking up the phone and calling. Especially as he was just beginning to understand his necromancy magic.
Nizé, the little raven, had grown slightly in size since the day before. The raven watched Anoir as usual while his master worked.
This gave the young necromancer an idea.
"Nizé?" The raven cocked a wing to let me know he was listening.
"Should I do the job for the group that sent me this letter?" My tone was light, and my companion's opinion mattered to me more than anything; he would decide the question.
The raven began to close its eyes in front of me, seeming to perform something I couldn't quite grasp. Then he answered me.
"Anoir! Anoir! Money, magic, work, work!"
"Understood 5 out of 5 Nizé."
I grabbed the phone, it was almost midnight and tiredness was beginning to creep up on me. No doubt if I wasn't so drawn to the books on the sales site, I wouldn't have made this unreasonable decision.
A voicemail echoed through the handset.
"You've reached Cafe Kulou Pizzeria, please wait to take your order..." The message repeated twice before a woman picked up the phone.
"You're Anoir, aren't you?"
"Yes indeed, I need to know what job you want me to do, and how much the job will cost."
"Yes, yes, of course, you must be busy let me just open the file" The woman on the other side of the handset looked stressed and on edge, she must have been working through the night.
"That's it, I'm making the call secure... So, your task will be to go to the Asnbiron cemetery, east of your town, starting amount 1500 euros and more if the special task is successful"
"Yes, I know Asnbiron, and that's it? I suspect I won't be attending a funeral"
"Let's say it would be quite the opposite... Our collaborator will be waiting for you tomorrow evening on site"
"Am I going to need a shovel or something?"
"Our collaborator will take care of everything, good luck Sir" Then she hangs up the phone.
I'd made a big blunder now that I realized my decision. So I was clinging to the idea that it's for my research, I hope I won't have to kill a Man? If so, I'd turn around and forget about the money.
The telephone conversation turned my head as I lay in bed. I set my mechanical alarm clock for 6 a.m., and tried to guess the location of the bone magic class I'd be having in the morning with Ratvert.
Charles Junior, 10 years old, was getting dressed in the living room to get ready for school. Luania accompanied him every morning in the car, while Charles drank a throat toddy. He'd caught a cold from eating sardines at dinner the night before.
"I assure you, those sardines tasted excellent compared to usual, I'm sure my fishing spot has a special something or other."
"If you say so" Luania finishes a lemon juice as she talks to her husband.
Anoir, who was still waking up, explained to his father that Ratvert would be teaching him bone magic until he left for the Fur School, and Charles handed him an envelope hidden from a kitchen drawer.
"For Ratvert, tell him this will be more than enough."
Charles, when it came to his children's education, always put his hand in his pocket to pay for the best, however, he never gave them presents, because according to him, it was up to them to pay for their leisure time. He often made small exceptions when he went on family trips, but rarely deviated from this mantra.
Finally, Luania worked elemental magic on the flowerpot, and the flowers came into bloom, projecting a sweet, pearly scent into the room.
Ratvert rang the doorbell and exchanged a few words with Charles in his study before asking Anoir if he was ready to leave. He was ready.
Ratvert's gliding car was modest and old, but he always kept it in running order, he told me. I knew he appreciated mechanics in general. "It's reliable", he said, "and if it doesn't work, check that a sprig of Tarin hasn't fallen into the oil tank. Those weeds can get in anywhere, and their magic essence will break an engine in no time".
We chatted casually on the way to the training room, which I'd never seen before.
"You told me about equipment in the room, what kind of equipment is it?"
"Temporary mana-enhanced amplifier, magic-electric density calculator, virtual rendering mental phase shifter, even dumbbells and pull-up bars. In short, everything we need to rapidly improve your magic... In theory."
I only understood the words "dumbbells and pull-up bar" in what he was telling me, but I wasn't worried - it was going to be all right, wasn't it?
When we arrived, Ratvert was parking his car with exemplary precision in front of a large grey building. Not exactly welcoming, considering the windows were behind thick metal bars. There were a few men at the entrance to the building, dressed in formal suits and ties. One of them waved to Ratvert.
"Hey old crab, have you studied the Finne-Mac file?" Then he turned his gaze on me. I noticed he was smoking a pipe and had on different-colored socks.
"You've brought us some small fry to interrogate I have a feeling, what have you done kid, to find yourself up against a vampire expert in combat?" His air was jovial despite the weight of his words.
"Don't worry, Johnny, he's my pupil, you know, Anoir, as for this file, yes I've studied it and there's a crucial piece of information missing from the investigation, I think this Finne guy made up any residual trace of his magic at the crime scene, there was a suspicious scratch mark on the photos and from what I know, it didn't appear by chance."
"Roger that, good luck kid, Ratvert's a real devil when it comes to training recruits in magical combat"
Ratvert guided me through several rooms, all of which had one thing in common: there was always a mug in the room. Sometimes a stain of hot chocolate had slipped from the mug onto a table. The whole building smelled of fresh mint. However, when we arrived in the training room, it was a thick, coppery smell that greeted us.
"Get used to this environment Anoir, we're going to spend some time here".
A man at least twice the size of Ratvert, who himself was quite tall, was throwing furious punches into a punching bag. The ground shook with each blow, so impressive was his strength. As he went round the various machines and explained their functions to Anoir, Ratvert couldn't help noticing that Anoir seemed to memorize every bit of information. No matter how small.
"Your first exercise, show me how well you've mastered bone magic".
It was then that Anoir demonstrated, wrapping his fists in an extra layer, like an exoskeleton. To prove that he was doing well, he tried the same thing on his shins, which were not covered by clothing, but was not 100% successful.
Ratvert, who had brought out a touch-sensitive tablet, was taking notes and photos, and said to him:
"We've got a lot of work to do, let's go!"