To the Right

A warm breeze blew from the cave. They continued on inside. Strangely, it did not get darker as they continued on inside the cave.

Some way into the cave they came to a fork. Down one direction went a trail of water, but it got darker down that branch. Down the other branch it seemed to be getting even brighter still.

In addition, there was some sort of a makeshift graveyard here. There were five tombstones in the cave.

The first one had the following words inscribed:
Here lies Sir Fred. Fred's Dead.

The second had the following words inscribed:
Here lies Sir Toby. Toby's deader than Fred.

The third had the following words inscribed:
Here lies Sir Josh. Josh's dead and so is his computer.

The fourth had the following inscription:
Here lies Sir Paulito. Paulito's dead. Too bad!

The final grave was inscribed:
Here lies Sir <insert your name here>. <insert your name here> is dead. Serves him right for being an author's alter ego.

This was a depressing and puzzling discovery. At least it seemed to prove beyond doubt that Lord Fred, Sir Josh and Sir <insert your name here> were all dead. Astra and Exotica did not know who Sir Toby or Sir Paulito might be. Perhaps they had come from some other country. Who could have buried the knights, though?

It did not seem wise to linger too long amongst the graves. But which way should they go?

The fork towards the light seemed the more attractive option. Strange creatures generally tended to hang out around water. Best to save the fighting for the important stuff.

They followed the light. Soon, they turned past a corner and found the source of the light. They saw an old man chanting, reading something out of a book. Floating just in front of the man was the source of light, too brilliant to look at.

It seemed as if they hadn't been noticed yet. Perhaps they could safely sneak past, and avoid any potential conflict. On the other hand, this man might be able to assist them in some fashion.

They were saved from making a decision when the man looked up from his book. He broke off his chant. "Hello," he said. "And what are two lovely young maidens like you doing down in these caves?"

"King Emry ran out of knights to send against the dragon, so we came instead," Astra explained. "I am Princess Astra of Aqualaria, and this is King Emry's daughter, Princess Exotica."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Belboz the necromancer."

"Necromancer?" Exotica said. "Do you do magic? I do a little myself, but I have a lot to learn. And I've steered well clear of necromancy."

"Yes, I do magic. For a reasonable fee, I can do any magic that I know. Other magic will have to wait until I can finish studying this tome."

"You wouldn't have any involvement with those graves back there, would you?" Astra asked suspiciously. "Those noble knights deserve better than to have their corpses raised by you."

1. "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing!" Belboz protested. He seemed sincere.
2. "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing!" Belboz protested. But he looked shifty.
3. "Who are you to question me?" Belboz demanded, growing angry. "I do whatever I choose."

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