Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

Sarah and her team started searching the area. A lot had been looted by the zombies, who were not intelligent. Meaning, they might have missed something useful and looted a rock instead. My orders had not been the most specific.

My friends and I joined the search since we had been pressed for time after the battle. We found some smaller trinkets and a few weapons that were still usable. Skadi pulled out a bag.

“You brought a bag?” I asked.

“Of course. This is still our loot.” She pointed out. “You skeletons can carry those weapons, maybe even use them.”

She had a point. Some of my skeletons carried weapons but not all of them. After the fight I had not specifically ordered them to arm themselves. And they had mostly carried supplies, bags, tents,...

I would have to inspect the weapons we had at some point to figure out which were in decent shape. I would also have to experiment what worked best. Should I go for a formation? Like a spear wall? Or have them simply charge mindlessly. They did not tire, having them charge in aggressively might work better. It would require less coordination and control. And I could replenish the fallen. On the other hand, an elite unit working together would be very effective. I should work on archers.

“What is wrong?” Helena asked me.

“Hm? Nothing, why?” I replied.

“You have just been standing there.” Helena said.

“Oh. I was lost in thought. What sort of skeleton army would make more sense, an organised elite army or a mindless horde?” I asked.

“Both, of course! You soften them with expendable troops and then crush them with elites!” Helena said enthusiastically.

“That is what Lord Aizo did.” Sarah commented.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“You don’t know? He tried to conquer this region about 400 years ago. He was an archmage necromancer. Some say he turned himself into an undead but the stories don’t agree on that. He is the main reason Ilestria hates death magic. Well, or he was the original reason. They have gone a bit looney since then.” Sarah explained.

“How was he defeated?” I asked.

Sarah smirked. “Why? Planning to try to conquer the region yourself? In the end he fell to a direct strike while his army was engaged. The true weakness of a necromancer is always assassination.”

“Meow.”

Sarah looked at Nyx. “Clearly he was missing a fearsome bodyguard like you have. He did have some impressive generals though. Some think a lich who served him still lives in the northern mountains, that is why the region has so many undead.”

“I doubt it.” Helena commented. “The undead incursions are not coordinated enough.”

Sarah shrugged. “Maybe he does not want to pick a fight? Just keep people from finding him? Or it could all be a myth. Who knows?”

“You should go there when you are stronger. Subjugate the lich and take over his army.” Cassie suggested.

“You could create your own ice palace filled with undead.” Skadi added.

“That does not sound pleasant. She needs a few hot springs at least.” Cassie commented. “And a heated lab where I can work.”

“Planning to expand the kingdom towards the north? That is ambitious.” Thankfully Sarah did not seem to take our banter too seriously. She was mostly amused by it.

“I think I found something.” John said. He picked something up from the ground and walked towards us, then he handed it to Sarah.

“What is it?” I asked.

Sarah had some kind of small metal shield in her hand.

“This is an identification for a licensed mercenary group. You can’t just travel around with a large armed force. You have to register as mercenaries or an adventurer. Just like you need a licence for an undead army. While this group was hiding in the woods they had to travel here somehow. The chances that they never encountered a patrol were slim. Of course, they could have split up and travelled in smaller groups.” She explained.

“Can you use this to track their movements?” Cassie asked.

“Maybe. We need to check if they are truly a registered group, or if this is forged, or stolen. They could have killed a legit group and taken their place. Or copied their identification. Or have someone wipe their records. If they have someone backing them they might have covered their tracks. Still, it is a clue and might help. Good work John.” She said.

We continued our search but did not find anything else. At least Skadi managed to gather some more loot. Nothing too noteworthy. Mostly some gear that the zombies had missed and might still be usable.

Once Captain Sarah was satisfied we returned to our camp. Since it was getting late she decided to join us for the evening. Even better, her team provided the security for the night. That meant we did not have to worry about staying awake.

We ate, drank and told stories around the campfire. The soldiers certainly had a few tales about their experiences. And they shared our hate for crackers. It was something they had to endure on longer missions. Only the officers got good food. Cassie vowed to devote her life to search for a better recipe. Of course, she was slightly drunk at that point.

Eventually we went to bed. I dreamt of my own ice castle filled with undead. Maybe I should look into all those stories Skadi loved to read.