The anti-necromancer is back for Halloween.
His assignment is to hike through a swamp to an old mansion and eliminate a dangerous foe.
First the anti-necromancer has to deal with a conjure man, insects and a treacherous path through a swamp.
The enemies are many and dangerous. However, anti-necromancer has Glyr, his demon sword.
Extract:
I'm riding, through the boondocks, in a bus. I'm bound for a mansion on an island in the Okefenokee Swamp. I have a work appointment in the mansion. The reason for my work appointment is that I'm what you might call an anti-necromancer.
A necromancer is one who raises the dead and communicates with them.
I don't raise the dead, what I do is to deal with the ghosts of the dead and also with the undead. Sometimes I deal with demons. When I finish with the ghosts or the undead, they're neither ghosts nor undead. The demons are a bit more problem for me to deal with, but deal with them I do.
If I'm to deal with ghosts, the undead, or demons, I have to go where and when they are.
Where I can find a demon, at this time, is an old mansion on an island in the Okefenokee Swamp.
When I can find a demon on an island in the Okefenokee Swamp is Halloween night.
I appear to be a slightly tall man, of study build. I have very white skin and black hair. I'm sort of nondescript in appearance, trending maybe a tiny bit toward ruggedly handsome.
I wear brown denim clothing and high boots. The rugged denim and the brown color let me sort of fade into rural backgrounds.
I carry a backpack, filled with cash, a few changes of clothing, food, cooking utensils, a shaving kit, a few tools and Glyr.
Glyr appears to be a somewhat short sword, in a scabbard. However, Glyr is actually a demon. Glyr and I are exiles.
In order to be allowed to return home, Glyr and I must first do certain things for those who exiled us. One of the things that we have to do is to live through this Halloween night, in an old mansion on an island in the Okefenokee Swamp. However, Glyr and I first have to get to the mansion.
The bus that I'm on is one of several that I have ridden, this Halloween day. The bus then stops at a small gas station. I get off the bus and go into what appears to be a small store, the office for the gas station. I find a smelly, hairy, drunken man. I tell the man, "I'm bound for an old mansion, in the swamp. I need directions to the mansion."
The man eyes me for a bit and then tells me, "There is a mansion, in the swamp. If you find the mansion, you will also find your death, there. I know of what I speak. I'm a conjure man."
I tell the man, "I'm bound for a mansion, in the swamp. Those for whom I work for have sent me into death, shall we say more than one time. Many have tried to kill me, but I still live."
The self described conjure man eyes me for a bit. He then says, "I don't like to send a man to his death. But then, you're not just a man."
I reply, "You see more than I thought you would. I need to go to the mansion. I need to find the trail that will lead me to the mansion. I have not the time to search for the trail. I can obtain the information, from you, if I must."
The self described conjure man again eyes me for a bit. He then says, "If you wish information, what is the information worth to you?"
I carefully reply, "The information that I seek is worth a life, your life if you wish to be stubborn."
The self described conjure man again eyes me for a bit. He then says, "If you kill me, how then will you get the information?"
I lecture, "The death that you think awaits me, in the old mansion is not just a man. I am not just a man. I can obtain the information from you, if you are alive or if you are dead."
The self described conjure man again eyes me for a bit. He then says, "You will not kill me, I will kill you." With that the man draws a