I fiddled with my new rodel dagger I had swiped from the blacksmith as we walked. The night was soon approaching and Llyne was long gone. We—I had made a lot of enemies and could only hope they wouldn’t come after me. Granted since I wasn’t entirely sure where we were going I was fairly confident no one would be able to easily track us down.

 

“Let’s set up camp there,” I said to the group, pointing at a grassy area at the side of the road.

 

“Finally,” Jackal groaned. Practically collapsing onto the ground as he unrolled his bedroll.

 

Had we horses I would have agreed to Jackal’s pleas to get a tent but since we had to carry everything it wasn’t an option. If I had several zombies we could be setting up a mobile base every night the way the legions did. Actually more practical would simply be to carry those who needed sleep. Granted having a small army of undead following us would surely get us noticed.

 

“We will need a fire, it is just going to get colder,” Tiss said.

 

Jackal popped back up with sudden energy. “Leave it to me!” He walked into the tree line with gusto pulling out his battle axe.

 

Tiss looked at me and shrugged.

 

“Is there anything out here we need to be wary of?” I asked her.

 

“With the six of us, animals probably will leave us alone. But I’m not really sure, I’ve never really been out of Llyne,” Tiss replied.

 

I nodded and shrugged it off, however lacking more information than I had realized was a little off-putting. 

 

Jackal was indeed quite good at chopping wood, getting a fire going quite fast. Ruba was apparently not a bad cook and had brought some spices to fancy things up. I was a little jealous that I wasn’t eating.

 

The living went to bed quite quickly after that, quite tired from the day. I felt a little left out despite everything. There seemed to be some kind of imaginary line between the living and the dead. 

 

Jackal now spent most of the time with Ruba which did keep them both occupied. While Tiss stuck physically close to me she was generally distant with everyone. Unfortunately, Nimue didn’t make for great conversation since she simply agreed with whatever I thought.

 

I sat with Franklyn by the embers of the fire. The blacksmith stood in the trees unmoving while Nimue kept an eye out.

 

“I suppose you don’t have much to say either?” I asked Franklyn. Franklyn jumped out of my hand and scurried into the grass in search of something. It was strange, he had a lot of personality compared to most of my zombies. At the very least he seemed to do his own thing when he didn’t have orders to follow.

 

I glanced over at Tiss who had waited until I sat down to unroll her bedroll beside me and climb in. Her unwillingness to be far from me was strange and though she was much more vibrant it was a little strange. Still, I wouldn’t complain about the company.

 

I was already feeling bored. I had hours to kill until the morning but I didn’t want to risk sleeping if something went wrong. Then a lightbulb went off inside my head and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner.

 

“Nimue? Can you teach me how to fight?”

 

By morning I was mentally exhausted. Nimue was a brutal teacher and seemed to relish in my humiliation as I more or less fell on my face over and over again. Without using skills and trickery I really had little to rely on. We had gone over the basics of swords and shields along with some pointers, hah, for my dagger.

 

By the time the sun started to rise my brain felt too foggy to have learned anything. Especially since even with my sword and Nimue’s shield I still wasn’t able to contend with her. Plus she was scary strong. I supposed there was a reason she had been a knight.

 

This was going to be a difficult few days.

The following few days of travel had little variation beyond the occasional traveller. We walked during the day and I trained with Nimue at night. Sometimes we shared our history, other times we all stayed quiet.

 

Tiss and Ruba had both been born to slave parents in Llyne. Jackal however had grown up in the north but had been enslaved when the Holy Crusaders had conquered his clan. I left my past vague, not wanting to rehash my life on earth or how it ended. I wasn't ready for that yet, I wasn't sure if I would ever be.

 

After days on the road, we were fatigued and the sight of a town was a joyous one. It was far smaller than Lllyne, a village rather than a city. It bordered a river with a short stone wall around its borders doing only a little to protect the wooden buildings. To the north above the city on a hill was a fortified stone building, probably the home of whatever lord ruled these lands.

 

Farming fields stretched into the distance far farther than Llyne’s which made me realize that this village probably contributed significantly to feeding Llyne. I mentally noted that down for if or when I had an army to siege Llyne as they didn't have any natural defences, simply a large wall. Of course this far into enemy territory I supposed help wouldn't be far.

 

People milled about working the fields. Some were probably enslaved but most were not. Granted if families could afford a slave they undoubtedly would. Just like back on earth, slaves were a commodity. The poor wanted them, the rich collected them, all unwilling to see their own depravity.

 

Not owning slaves did not make you innocent, it made you complicit. Soon those who did not repent would be executed, those who owned slaves would be executed and those who were loyal to Sloffanil and the Order would be executed. But not yet, because those overlooked by my wraith needed somewhere to call home if they desired it.

 

Tiss was looking at me with a smile, I really hated her ability to read me. I would play nice, for now. But I did not like it.

 

As we entered the village people kept their distance. No one was too keen to approach the strange travellers. A large church stood in the middle of town unsurprisingly with the symbol of the Order. Around the small town square was a bakery, smithy and several other small buildings. Several cows even wandered around, I did a double take when I saw one of the cows had three heads. It was going to take me a long time to entirely get used to this world.

 

“Please tell me we can spend the night?” Jackal sighed looking towards a tavern.

 

“Maybe…” I replied. According to Tiss, there wouldn't be much in terms of settlements the closer we got to the Wildlands which were still a few days away. Things would only be thinning out from here. People apparently liked to keep their distance as monsters were known to roam.

 

“Honestly I wouldn't mind a day or two of downtime to be sure we're ready,” Ruba said looking around.

 

Tiss nodded in agreement.

 

I glanced towards the lord’s manor, it was a large building made from stone, unlike the buildings around us. It wasn't remotely as fortified as Llyne but so close to the Wildlands it might be a good starting point. Staying a few days wouldn't be a bad idea, leaving with this palace in shambles would be one either. After all, we were poorly equipped despite our best efforts but maybe with a few levels, several more bodies and even some potential allies we could kickstart our little hideaway. Maybe some of them would be willing to help build a better home.

 

“And you just talked yourself back into it,” Tiss groaned. That one was on me, I had been grinning slightly maniacally. 

 

“Jackal? If you wanted to metamorphize, how long would it take?” I asked him.

 

“With a stockpile of food… a few days,” he replied.

 

“You should do it… if you want to, of course, having your class will be very helpful and you’ll look totally awesome,” I said. I had no idea what the metamorphosis entailed or what would change but I didn't really care, I just wanted him comfortable if it's what he wanted to do.

 

“Um… uh ok, if it’s fine with everyone,” Jackal finally said after some debate.

 

“Think about how many trees you can cut when you're all grown up,” Tiss encouraged.

 

“Believe it or not there are other things I would much rather do,” he huffed but was unable to hold back a smile.

 

“I think you should do it as well, then I can ride around on your back,” Ruba chuckled.

 

“By the gods,” Jackal grumbled.

 

“Well, I have scheming to do but let me know if you need my help,” I offered.

 

“When I helped my older brother with his metamorphosis we helped him build his silk cocoon but getting me food might be more up your alley,” Jackal snorted.

 

“I'll handle it,” Ruba volunteered.

 

“Perfect, Tiss?” I asked.

 

“I'll stick with you,” she said simply.

 

“Right, children go buy food and then find a nice tree in the forest or something. I have a graveyard to visit,” I smiled, already getting lost in planning. This was going to be fun. “Oh and take the blacksmith with you,” I said, commanding the blacksmith to tag along and obey them.

 

Tiss gave the pair plenty of gold and they hurried into the bakers. I only hoped their appearance wouldn't get them in trouble. Granted gold was gold and this town could definitely use the money.

 

“Why exactly are you planning to attack this random village?” Tiss asked.

 

“That's your first mistake, we're not going to get anyone on our side unless we make it seem like this totally aggressive act is somehow defensive on our part,” I replied. “If you can do that and totally other your enemy then you can invade an entirely different continent and yet somehow it's totally justified.”

 

“What?” she frowned.

 

“People are very good at justifying violence when they decide it's needed. Look at the Order for example. The “monstrous” races, the demihumans, are barbaric and uncivilized and shouldn't be allowed to continue their heresy and wickedness. It's all just propaganda, repeat a lie enough and people believe it. Prejudice is far more effective than logic. People are stupid and easily manipulated, we just need to get them on our side.”

 

“You are… very scary,” Tiss said flatly.

 

“I try,” I said grinning sharply.

 

“How do we get the villagers on our side?” she finally asked.

 

“I don't want the villagers on our side,” I shook my head. “I want the enslaved. I very much doubt they enjoy their lives the way they are, we convince them we can provide better.”

 

“Right, and how do we do that?”

 

“Well… I was kinda hoping you might have some suggestions,” I winced.

 

“What?” she yelped.

 

“Look,” I began gently taking her hand. “I can deal with the townsfolk, that's what I’m good at. You are the one who convinced me to try and make something better from all this and I will help however I can. But people will not follow me, I'm too… evil to put it bluntly, but they will follow someone who is brave, genuinely has their best interests at heart and knows exactly where they are coming from. If we work together then the wicked will be punished and the decent rewarded. Together we can balance each other.”

 

Tiss seemed genuinely stunned by my words before she slowly nodded. “Alright, I can try. I'll keep you in line and you keep us safe.”

 

“Exactly, you be queen I'll be the general,” I nodded.

 

“Oh, no no no. You are not giving me the responsibility of overseeing all this,” Tiss laughed.

 

“Worth a shot, we'll both be queen then. You be the virtuous one I'll be the wicked one, good queen bad queen,” I replied with a smile.

 

“We can’t both be queen,” Tiss replied.

 

“Why not?” I asked. “It's our queendom, we can do whatever we like.”

 

“But…” Tiss began before turning red and shutting her mouth.

 

“This is going to be delightful,” I sighed wistfully and released Tiss’ hand. I was looking forward to the challenge of conquering this village. We needed to do a lot of planning and I needed to sneak into the graveyard for parts and soul embers. Nimue’s practical expertise would be quite useful in equipping whatever undead I created. Jackal would also be an excellent figure for people to rally behind, I had a feeling he would very much like the idea of being a knight in our kingdom. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Tiss practically tackling me.

 

“What are you doing?” I asked.

 

“Hugging you,” she mumbled.

 

“Oh,” I laughed nervously.

 

“I'm glad I met you,” she sighed.

 

“Me too Tiss, me too,” I smiled.

 

“Interesting, may I request a hug as well?” Nimue asked watching us with interest.

 

“Yes, you can have a turn,” I laughed.