Don't be a witch, lad

Bardeelus successfully resurrected all four of these boars, one by one, even though it required quite some concentration to do so. Each revival strained his brain more for some reason, and that pressure felt like it almost reached its breaking point, the moment when the fourth boar stood up. 

It was obvious that his powers were bracketed, they were limited. He couldn't keep too many creatures alive at a time, which right now, was the only downside to these newly discovered powers.

There was no easy way of comprehending how the system behind these powers worked, in comparison to other arts. The details were an enigma.

Bardeelus tried to remain positive, however, and thought. "Eh, I'll figure everything out eventually. Today, I'm just glad we are alive."

Optimism was not optional. After all, he had plenty of things to focus on at the moment, which kept him present, rather than aimlessly wandering about details!

These boars felt like a responsibility now, for example, and it took a lot of energy to keep them alive. He felt very pressured, to the point where he considered harsh ideas too!

"Maybe I should let John die? He's a traitor anyway so what's the point of keeping him alive?" He thought.

That was a plausible idea, but when the rest of the crew approached him, however, he thought it best to keep this traitor kicking. Kutal the Sturdy brought the traitor along, so he likely had a plan in mind. 

The collective focus was on something else now anyway. The crew was shocked that the horned-boars somehow remained calm around Bardeelus, he was even riding one of them like a horse!

"You tamed them? What, are you an illusionist now or something? This should've been Audera's job." Kutal pressured, and kept a comfortable distance too.

"Nah, she was too busy monkeying around. No illusions here though, they listen to me after I revive them. Hop on, we got ourselves four tons of self-delivered meat here." He said, and tried to help everyone feel at ease.

It took a few minutes for the rest to cooperate, but eventually, they climbed on top of these boars. The crew only had five survivors, Bardeelus included, so of course everyone was nervous to risk their lives again.

When they started riding these reputable beasts, however, the crew felt stronger and holy all of a sudden. Half of their stress went away, as they could have a break for once!

Before they even traveled ten meters though, Kutal found a complaint, instead of properly enjoying the ride. "What about the rest of those boars? We should bring them back home, these bastards can carry them." 

Bardeelus quickly insisted otherwise, "We should get going, especially since we aren't bothering to bury our friends. Mother nature will take good care of them, and those boars too. We have enough meat with us, because mother nature gave us enough today, so let's not bite more than we can chew."

That was a bit of a speech, in its own way, but what he said was far from the truth. He could not resurrect those three other boars, because they were either too hurt or hadn't been killed by him directly to begin with.

Not only would it be a hassle to lug them around, but it was also cruel to scavenge those bodies. He didn't want to do it.

The epitome of cruelty would peak, if he had these four boars which he already resurrected, carry their dead friends or family members around. He did not want to go that far, and this was not a religious stance.

Nowadays, it was a whole treasure, if one could hold onto their human decency. That was what he insisted on at the moment.

Thankfully, the crew couldn't complain about this matter too much, especially once Bardeelus explained how strained his arcane powers felt already. They did however, complain about other things in the meantime, especially about necromancy.

It was poorly timed, too, as now he tried his best to command the beasts. It took a lot of effort to keep their hearts pumping, and he even moved his hands around to channel the magical output better. They had a long way to go to get home, as the camp was about ten-kilometers away.

Regardless of such efforts, these people were stitched to their beliefs, and Kutal was the first to complain. "All of this is too weird, lad. We can't ride the beasts to our home, they'll have my head on the chopping block for bringing you in there. You know that!"

"So? You are literally made out of metal." He argued, and then reminded. "Besides, I just saved all of your asses! That has to count for something, maybe the elders won't get pissed about me, possibly being a necromancer."

He could understand their worries. These people were scared of being ridiculed in the camp, as necromancy was a dark art which most people loathed and hated religiously! However, he did not want to be challenged this much, by people which he helped just moments ago!

"You didn't save anyone, we took care of ourselves." Audera suddenly countered, and added. "You were too busy yelling at trees."

Bardeelus peeked at the other, noticed her bloody arm, and then said. "Did a stick get stuck up your ass too? Don't act stupid, I was literally dancing with death back there!"

"Yeah right, you'd say anything to look like a hero. Nothing can help you." She said.

"Cut that out," Kutal ordered.

He spooked the boars a little bit, but they didn't act out. A moment later, he added. "Let's keep quiet about this necromancy business. We'll get these boars near the camp, kill them, and then we can boast about this hunt. People will be too hungry to suspect anything, so hopefully, all of us can keep our heads."

"What about the traitor? What do we say about him?" Bardeelus asked.

They brought that man along, and although the boars were carrying his body weight, it took quite some magic to keep him alive. Mercy seemed unnecessary.

Kutal seemed fond of taking big, greedy bites though, so he ordered. "No one else knows that he's a traitor. You can have him say whatever you want, lad, just don't have him do anything that would get us killed. You know the rules back there, so try to hide your freaky witchcraft, at all costs!"

Bardeelus tried to accept this plan as best as he could, but there was one thing which he kept pondering over. 

He mumbled, "But I'm not a witch…"