I almost drifted off to sleep several times while I waited for morning. Despite not needing sleep I still felt the urge to and sitting in the dark simply waiting did not make staying awake any easier.

 

Tiss thankfully had managed to fall asleep before then slumping against my shoulder. I had covered her in the pyjama shirt and what was left of the pants which I had had in my bag and had forgotten about. It seemed to have helped and she would have clothes to wear now even if they were too big.

 

I spent the time looking over my choice of skills and replaying the last 24 hours. I had so far gotten quite lucky. The image of my zombie executing that man played over and over in my mind. If I hadn’t landed a lucky hit then it would have been me. If Humphrey had had better security I would probably be dead. Hell if I had accidentally woken him I would probably be dead. I needed to be far more careful. Luck only lasted so long.

 

Choosing my new skill hadn’t been easy either as I couldn’t know what would truly be more useful. There were no options for healing myself and the gash on my thighs was a constant reminder of a serious flaw.

 

They’re had been a few potential options and I had taken my time before choosing.

 

[Imbue Nightmare] 

You may cause a living creature to experience a flash of their worst nightmare causing overwhelming fear and panic. More intelligent creatures may have an easier time breaking free from their hallucinations.

 

I could see it having a variety of uses, both for tormenting people like Lord Humphrey and also for fighting. Fear was an incredibly powerful tool and successfully breaking an enemy's morale was the key to many a victory in warfare. People’s reactions could potentially be unpredictable but it seemed like my best option and I didn’t feel like saving the skill point, I needed all the tools I could get right now. 

 

“You’re cold,” Tiss mumbled, snapping me out of my thoughts.

 

I looked down to see the kobold blinking her eyes open groggily. Her expression changed to shock. “I’m Sorry, I didn’t mean—“

 

“It’s fine,” I replied with a smile. It was nice to hear her talk. She had been in really rough shape last night. Tiss didn’t speak after that as I cut the sleeves and legs of the pyjamas so they would fit her better. I even had a half-full waterskin which I had forgotten about and a few pieces of dried meat in my bag. It wasn’t much but it was something.

 

The sun hadn’t begun to rise yet but both Tiss and I could see in the dark. She seemed weary and wasn’t trying to go back to sleep which just left awkward silence. I didn’t know what to say and Tiss wasn’t going to start a conversation. I really needed to get in contact with Cleo, I was not good at this.

 

Eventually, I stood. “How about we find you some real food, I’m sure somewhere is open,” I suggested. It probably wasn’t but I needed to do something other than sitting around.

 

Tiss nodded and followed me, not ever looking up to meet my eye. What I had read as timidness earlier now seemed more like ingrained subservience. Jackal still had a spark to him, Tiss could have almost been one of my zombies. 

 

I noticed while she slept that her collar was solid metal. I had no idea how it had been put on but I couldn’t take it off her. Using [Channel Death] was far too dangerous for her and it wouldn’t be very effective.

 

“Your collar… is it magical?” I eventually asked as we walked down the street.

 

She absently reached up to touch it and shook her head. I wanted to ask for more but I held my tongue. I figured in a world with magic, mixing with a kingdom built on slavery there would be some vile inventions.

 

Then again if most people were Tier 0 then power magic was probably fairly rare. Then again my magic was quite powerful despite my level though something told me that was due to being a lich and channeling magic into negative energy.

 

Despite all my questions, I didn’t ask Tiss. She didn’t need me quizzing her to get answers. By the time the sun was starting to rise the city was already waking up. I bought some stale bread from a bakery where the baker was up early baking for the day.

 

Tiss scarfed it down when I gave her the entire loaf. She was clearly hungrier than she had been letting on.

 

“How old are you?” I asked as I watched her eat.

 

As soon as her attention was drawn away from the loaf she shrunk back into herself. The flash of who Tiss really was disappearing. “I’m 22 years old,” she answered.

 

I nodded. A little younger than me had been my guess but since she wasn’t human I could have easily been wrong.

 

Two Order guards jogged down the street with worried looks heading towards the edge of the city and I barely held back a smile. “C’mon, there’s something I wanna see before we head back.”

 

I had led us in this direction for a reason and it was only a short walk to where I had entered the city. Tiss froze as she realized where we were before quickly falling back into line. I paused and managed to stop myself from putting a hand on her shoulder. “I know you don’t really trust me, and that’s ok. But Lord Humphrey will never hurt you again, I made sure of it.”

 

There was a small crowd at the far end of the market square. The two Order guards were urging people away. 

 

What was left of Lord Humphrey was tied to the pole by the auction platform. The one he had been so enthusiastic at earlier. His jaw was obviously gone but he was further dismembered by the lashing my zombies had given him. ‘Don’t stop until he falls apart,’ had been my orders and they had followed through. The only thing that was really even tied to the pole anymore was his severed arms.

 

It was beautiful, a vulgar warning that no one was even aware of because excluding the extremes my zombies went to this was normal. It was ironic really, even in the middle of the night no one would pay attention to someone whipping a slave even in a massive city.

 

I knew I was grinning like an idiot but I couldn’t help myself. This was far better than anything I could have done myself. I glanced at the kobold to see her looking at my creation with shock before turning to me. For the first time, she really looked at me, not some quick glance but truly looked at me. Whatever image she had of me in her head I had clearly shattered.

 

Reigning in my expression I approached as I noticed a very faint orange flicker. Unable to get close because of the crowd and Order guards I subtly help up my hand. Urging the soul embers to come to me despite the distance. After a moment it worked, the faint orange whisps swirling towards me, invisible to everyone else.

 

As we left the scene Tiss for the first time spoke up. “Why did you do that?”

 

“Because it’s what he deserved,” I replied unapologetically.

As we headed back to the Whale’s Rest I realized something significant. After my zombies had dealt with Humphry they were ordered to find somewhere to hide together and not attack anyone unless provoked. In my hurry, I had given them an order far too vague and now I had no idea where my zombies were and had no way to find them.

 

From killing Humphry I had learned that my zombies killing creatures also granted me experience which was incredibly powerful, however with my zombies ordered to defend themselves I was nervous about randomly getting a level-up notification.

 

I pulled up my character sheet on the way to see if anything had changed.

 

Name:  Morgan Maddock	Age: 23	Race:  Lich	Class:  Lich (Level 3)
Strength: C	Dexterity: B	Intelligence: S	Charisma: C

Racial Skills: [Undeath], [Fires of the Soul], [Book of the Dead]

Skills: [Channel Death], [Imbue Nightmare]

 

My skills were now listed which was new but everything else was the same beyond my updated level. My attributes remained the same but I was pretty sure those were based on me and I would actually have to get better at those things to get a better rank.

 

When we arrived at our destination I was glad to see movement inside and to find the door unlocked. I smiled reassuringly and entered, holding the door for Tiss to go first. The bartender from yesterday looked up with surprise only to frown upon seeing me.

 

“I'm looking for Cleo,” I said.

 

“Don’t know who that is,” he grunted in response.

 

I failed to hold back a snort of irritation. I really needed to get Tiss away from me. The silence between us had been charged in a new way after I had taken her to the market which in hindsight was probably a stupid thing to do. I was bad at being good and it was just gonna hurt Tiss. “Just tell her I found someone that needs help,” I sighed.

 

His gaze now shifted to Tiss who was meekly standing there, her eyes downcast.

 

“If I see her I’ll let her know,” he finally said.

 

I nodded but was not happy. Either I had misjudged how involved this man and Cleo were or he was just annoying. He went back to his work, his dismissal clear. I was suddenly at a loss now that Tiss would still be accompanying me. My plan had been to try and find my zombies and keep an eye out for a new target. That would have to be scraped until I could meet with Cleo again. Tiss didn’t seem like the type for planning assassinations or searching for monsters. She was still in rough shape, physically and more so mentally.

 

“How much is breakfast and a room?” I asked the bartender.

 

The answer was almost all my money. Tiss seemed just as eager when I slid my breakfast goo to her. I didn’t know what it was and was more than happy that I didn’t need to eat. The key said room two this time.

 

As we entered I realized that there was only one tiny bed so I resigned myself to sitting at the desk instead of sleeping despite of how nice it would be. Tiss was just standing there seeming uncertain of what to do. The memory of her chained to the floor made me want to animate Humphry just so I could destroy him all over again.

 

“Take the bed, Tiss, I know you’re exhausted” I encouraged her as I sat down at the desk. She didn't waste any time doing so and seemed to fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. With nothing to do myself, I pulled Franklyn out of my bag for some company. Poor guy had been hidden away for hours. Granted since he was a zombie I wasn’t sure he was actually smart enough to care.

 

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked him. “Talking to a zombie rat is probably not the best start,” I sighed. Llyne was a large city which I hoped meant libraries. Learning more about this world and magic would be extremely useful however I am also entirely broke now. Plus if I was guessing any books would be kept in one of the Order churches I had noticed around. If medieval Earth was anything to base a guess on then the church probably had the books so it seemed like a lot of people were literate here considering all the signs and posters.

 

A knock on the door startled me and I cautiously opened it to find Cleo… and two others. They wore basic armour and had clearly been in fights before. Cleo wore a disarming smile which was the only reason I didn’t react fast enough when the two others grabbed me and snapped strange glowing manacles onto my wrists. Shit…