Ben could hear voices as he neared the dungeon entrance.

  “Where is he, Wert?” A low growling voice Ben didn’t recognize.

  “I don’t know who you are talking about,” Wert chuckled.

  “I swear..” The growling voice again.

  “Wait!” That was Ola. “I… I will tell you. He is in the dungeon...”

  “What?!” Ben could now see better who was talking, but they had their backs turned to him. Wert was held down by a much smaller hooded figure. “Listen man,” Wert chuckled as he tried to wriggle himself from the grip. “...that was the deal alright? We were just supposed to leave him there. Nothing bad can happen to him. We already got rid of the goblins…”.

  One of the boys heard Ben’s footsteps and turned. “What the- Ben!” He exclaimed. Everyone turned, staring at him.

  “Hey guys,” Ben moved his hand up and down, but realizing the awkwardness of his wave, quickly caught himself and lowered his hand. “Sorry, I am late. Ehm…” Ben coughed. “You kinda closed the door with me still in, so I got stuck.”

  “Oh Ben!” Wert called out. “Tell this brute, we are friends. We are your friends, right? He thinks we attacked you or somethi-” He yelped as the hooded boy pushed him aside and rushed towards Ben. “Are you alright?” He asked, when he was just steps away from Ben.

  “Yep!” Ben beamed. “I made a few friends. Turns out they are not so bad-” Then Ben turned and yelled over his shoulder, “Come guys!”

  Then, to the horror of everyone present a group of goblins walked out of the dungeon. Ben just smiled and nodded at the one at their head and waved towards the bags thrown to the side of the road. Everyone was too shocked to react, as the goblin nodded back to Ben and then walked towards the bags, picked two up and marched back into the dungeon. Rest of the goblins soon followed, throwing worried glances at the adventurers.

  First one to wake up from shock was Wert. He pointed at the goblins and yelled out: “They are taking the loot! What is this?” He turned to Ben.

  “It was actually theirs, they are archeologists,” Ben smiled at him. “We have to give it back.” And as if that was enough, he simply turned away from Wert.

  Wert couldn’t believe it. He finally had enough. First this bastard didn’t die, then he got bullied by the sneaky asshole and now this?! He roared, raising his sword and charged at Ben. His sword almost collided with Ben’s head as a skeletal arm raised from the ground and grabbed him by the arm. He yelped as it threw him a few meters back. Ben just sighed, He will need to find a way to adjust the amulet…

  The road back to the city was full of suspicious glances and awkward silence. Everyone kept their distance from Ben, so he had time to think. He couldn’t say, this first adventure was very successful, but he also wouldn't quite call it a failure. He did help defenseless people against theft, right? Did it matter that those people were goblins? Ben didn’t think so.

  The only thing he felt bad about was that he didn’t end up making any real friends. He thought that Wert and his team could be his friends, but… it wasn’t in the cards as his dad would say. He of course noticed how everyone was looking at him, so he was rather surprised when the hooded boy approached him when they entered the city.

  “Ben, right?” The boy fidgeted with his hands. Ben nodded, curious what it was about. “Ehm, hey.” The boy continued, giving an awkward wave. “I am Seth.”

  “Hey Seth.” Ben smiled and shook his hand. “You tried to look for me, Seth, right?”

  “Yeah, I knew Wert was up to something. He would never accept a newcomer just like this…” Seth frowned and then grinned. “Not that you needed help.” Seth hesitated and then questions started pouring out: “How can you communicate with Goblins? Are you a necromancer? How did you learn it? Are you… human? And how did- ” He stopped abruptly as he noticed Ola heading towards them. He stiffened, but relaxed again, when Ola stopped a good distance from them and tried to get Ben's attention. Seth patted Ben on the shoulder and pointed at her.

  Ola started talking as soon as Ben turned around. “Hey Ben. I- I am sorry. I didn’t-” She looked down at the ground and grabbed her finger, letting go instantly. “I didn’t know Wert was planning to trap you in the dungeon. It was some deal with that shady shopkeeper, but… I didn’t know about it, I swear.” She looked up, barely meeting his eyes.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “It’s fine, really.” Ben smiled at her. “I don’t think you did it on purpose and Wert probably just wanted the money…” Ben scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. “I ran into a shopkeeper this morning and… he was probably really upset. It’s fine.” Ola looked at him gratefully, but Seth was frowning as he turned to Ben. “On the main street? A bigger guy with red puffed up cheeks?”

  Ben nodded. “Hm,” Seth scratched his chin. “Listen Ben, I would love to talk more, but there is something I want to take care of first. Could we meet in the tavern in an hour or so?”

  “Sure,” Ben shrugged. “Are you joining?” Ben turned to Ola. She nodded and smiled at them both.

  “Splendid,” Seth said. “See you there then.” And with that he disappeared into the city.

  Ola and Ben sat in the tavern for a good while before Seth joined them. They didn’t mind, once they got over the first awkwardness, they found out they have quite a bit in common. Ola was a mage specializing in offensive magic. She didn’t know much about magical theory, but she could cast some powerful spells. Ben jumped up and clapped when she conjured an ice spike and rotated it around her hand to show him.

  “So, it’s using both fire and ice elements?” Ben asked as he circled the spell.

  “Yep!” Ola said. “Water too actually, ice is just a combination of cold wind and water.”

  “So, where does the fire come in?”

  “Hmm… Let me show you.” She let the ball of ice drop on the ground and conjured a new one, this time the process took much longer, so Ben could observe. “First, I need to collect the water from the air.” Ola commented as she continued with each step. “Then I can lower the temperature of the air around the water ball.” The moving body of water hardened until the surface completely froze. “The problem is, that the ball has an uneven surface now, see?” She gestured at waves of different sizes, now frozen solid. “I need to smooth it, otherwise it won’t fly well and it’s not sharp at all, so I can use fire on a few places around the ball to give it a shape and smooth it.” A sweat showed up on her forehead as she continued to slowly shape the frozen ball into a spike. “Ah,” she grinned at the end. “This part is really difficult, I have to use hot and cold air at once.”

  “It’s amazing!” Ben clapped, his eyes shining with pure admiration.

  “Thanks,” Ola said, a bit red in the cheeks. “Does… does your magic work differently?”

  “Oh yeah, it’s completely different, I can’t use elements at all actually. It’s a bit embarrassing…”

  Ola was about to ask for details, when she noticed Seth entered the tavern. She waved at him and a few minutes later he was sitting with them.

  “Sorry for the delay,” Seth grinned, before turning to Ben. “So… mind telling us how you happened to be a necromancer?”

  Ben just shrugged, “I could talk with death since I can remember. Toby was the first skeleton I remember chatting with, but there was always a lot around.”

  “Toby?” Seth raised an eyebrow.

  “Our family dog.” Ben thought for a bit and then added, “Are necromancers that rare here?”

  Seth and Ola exchanged a look, before Seth continued: “They are. And…” he played with his fingers, shifting on his chair. “...they are generally a bit evil.”

  “Evil?” Ben couldn’t help the surprise in his voice? “That can’t be true. All the stories my mum told me, necromancer lords save the world. You must have heard some strange stories, Seth.”

  He is right, Ben.“” Ola added carefully. “Most stories about necromancers don’t really paint them as heroes… it’s… I am sorry.”

  Ola was looking down on her hands, shivering slightly when Ben realized… She was afraid. “I- ” he tried, but Ola spoke first: “But you are not! Right? You helped the goblins and you didn’t even attack Wert… you are a good necromancer, right?”

  Ben was quiet. Did his mum lie to him? That didn’t make any sense, his mum wasn’t evil. He wasn’t evil. The guards… young adventurers… Seth… Ola… Why are they all afraid? Finally, he came to a decision. Ben stood up and puffed up his chest. This must be how heroes felt embarking on a quest.

  “I have decided on my next adventure.” Ben said proudly, looking from Seth to Ola. They returned his gaze with nothing, but confusion. That, of course, didn’t detour Ben, as he continued: “I will travel the land, city to city, dungeon to dungeon and become the greatest hero in this century! I will prove to people that necromancers are their friends and heroes from the stories I know!”

  For a few seconds not a sound could be heard, then, into the silence Seth burst out laughing. He laughed and laughed, ignoring the stares other tables gave them. Then he stood up and extended his hand towards Ben, still chuckling. “Well, you got me there. You are serious aren’t you? Count me in.” Seth chuckled again. “I will join your party, that sounds like a truly worthwhile adventure.” Ola just rolled her eyes, but then shrugged and stood up too. “Whatever,” she sighed. “I don’t wanna be in Wert’s party again anyway. It sounds like fun.”

  They stood there clasping hands for a while. Ben was happy. He had a goal. Goal only he could achieve. And what’s more, he had a party. He had friends. He grinned to himself as they left the tavern, but then. As they were about to leave, a screaming man drew his attention. “That’s not fair! It’s all lies! It’s the boy! He lied.” He looked around in confusion until he noticed the shopkeeper he met earlier. He was led by two guards, his hands tied, clearly being taken to the guard station. He was about to speak to him, but Seth put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about him,” he grinned. “He is just collecting what he sowed. Turns out he cheated a lot of adventurers… he and Wert had a nice deal going on.” Seth chuckled, “they coughed him thanks to this last stunt he tried on you, I will tell you the story along the way.” Ben just shook his head, as he and his new party walked out the town.

  He looked back when they left the town. He knew his parents' castle stood and watched just over the hill. Ben smiled to himself. Life was good.