The battle afterwards resembled more a mop up operation than what went before. Landar had assured Cato later that this was how battles with the zombies normally went. Michi had been sensibly cautious when meeting the black mist for the first time.

The massive blast was not magical and it had torn through the magic surrounding the zombies without care and blown apart, or vapourized, a large number. For once, the closeness of the zombies had been a disadvantage and it had let the extremely powerful but highly concentrated blast catch more zombies than it should have.

While the zombies did cope with the shock wave easily, the fires started was far less easy. The electrical charge was so strong that even the ground couldn't dissipate it fast enough, large sparks of static continued to ignite zombies as they crossed charged ground or touched metallic objects.

Even as they fought the fires and their magic tried to suppress the flames, the knights had recovered from the shock.

The ensuing rain of pure magic bolts ripped away the last of the magic and finally, the zombies began to fall. Permanently. Once they were in retreat, the knights had descended from the walls to hack them apart in melee.

It was only after all the zombies had fallen that Cato sent Ryulo and Aleas back with the news of victory and approached the battlefield himself.

There were some questions that needed answering.

Cato shifted a zombie body aside to take a look at the ground.

No, nothing different about the epicenter. Just a thin layer of fused sand beneath the ashes of burnt grass. It was still slightly warm, but nothing was out of the ordinary, for ground zero of an outrageously large lightning bolt.

He looked up from the shallow crater and noted the knights sifting through the bodies, smashing apart any body parts that had more than a joint whole. Seemed like they had taken the Fukas' testimony of the zombies coming back to life seriously.

Cato had talked to Michi about that before and they had agreed to burn the lot. After convincing the knights of that necessity, it had been impossible to get them to agree to save any zombie bits for study. The concept of studying the enemy seemed to also be foreign.

So here he was trying to steal anything significant he could find. But looking at the bodies, they looked just like chopped dead people.

Alright, time to see if this magic sense thing worked at all.

Cato closed his eyes and tried to sense the magic nearby. It was quite eerie during his practices, to 'see' magic with his eyes closed but he got used to it surprisingly quickly. The walls themselves glowed with fluffy clouds, fainter than what he remembered, and there were denser clumps walking around nearby. Those would be the wall enchantments and the knights.

There was no trace of the 'black mist' the Fukas talked about nor the massive serpent.

No, wait, there was something nearby. Diffuse and... spongy? Softer than the 'harder' magic on the knights and walls.

Cato walked blindly towards it, trying not to lose his way. He wasn't confident he could see it if he didn't concentrate...

There was a crunch in front of him and he opened his eyes to find two legless zombies crawling towards him. The closer one grabbed his ankle before he could jump back.

Crunch! A burst of magic, a flash of metal and a blade zipping faster than he could see. Suddenly, there were two halves of the zombie flying away, the sword smashing clear through the arms. Cato kicked away the half of a hand still on his ankle with unseemly haste.

Almost too late, the knight in shining armour had landed in front of him. A familiar woman at that.

"Hey, it's dangerous here, you know?" Tori said, casually stepping on the other zombie, "the battle may be won but-"

Cato held out a hand as she raised her blade, "wait! I want to see the zombie!"

Tori paused and stared at him, "you do realize that there are twenty knights in the ground because of the zombies? That one mistake here could put you into that grave with them?"

Cato nodded, "I know! The zombies are dangerous, but look at it," he pointed at the thing trying to squirm out from under her foot, "how dangerous can it be? I just want to watch what it does!"

She just glared at him.

"You can dispose of it when I'm done?" Cato ventured.

Tori sighed, "this inquisitiveness is going to kill you one day. I've already heard of how you went around digging up that tremor. Mark of insanity I say. "

"I really would have liked to keep it," he muttered under his breath as he bent to watch it.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"It's not doing anything interesting," Tori said.

Cato shushed her and poked the zombie in the side with a bit of broken arrow. The flailing arms had slowed down after a while but it still swiped at the offending object.

"Hmm, I don't think it's stronger or faster than the average human," Cato said, "and it does seem to be able to feel. It responds to pokes but if I just touch it lightly, I can't tell if it's just ignoring unthreatening objects or if it really can't feel it. "

He shifted around to its back, after making sure there were no more zombies lurking in the shattered and burnt bodies behind.

The zombie began to squirm and tried to turn around. Cato blinked. Interesting. He picked out a few steps and moved around to the sides, trying to be very quiet.

It still seemed to notice him. At least the arm tried to grab his leg again but Tori batted it back. The two arms went back to futilely scraping at her leg armour.

Hmm. Cato clapped loudly. Once. Twice. No response.

"I think they're deaf. Maybe," Cato said.

Tori shrugged, "hard to say. They never seem to respond to our signal horns. "

"So how does it know where I am?"

"They always find you, we know that it's impossible to hide from zombies," Tori said, "they can find you wherever you hide. In a ditch, up a tree. Even through a wall. "

Cato frowned. A wall? "What about that wall?" he pointed at the main wall of Wendy's Fort.

"Probably. We suspect that zombies can actually sense groups of humans at very long distances. Their armies never seem to get lost but it's very rare that single scouts get surprised by zombies attacking them. Usually, we notice them approaching first. "

But if they could do that, then how could Ryulo have escaped the notice of the zombies once he left their immediate area? It did explain how deaf zombies might chase him through a forest though.

Hmm. More mysteries.

Tori sighed and raised her sword, "had enough?"

"Wait, wait, I want to see how it reanimates another zombie," Cato said.

"No," Tori said flatly.

"Aw, can I keep it then? Please?" Cato asked again. There were so many other things he could try! Perhaps starting from how to raise a pet zombie.

"No!"

"So, no new ideas?" Michi asked, "You still have two weeks. "

Cato raised an eyebrow, "I have been meaning to talk about that. Back when we first arrived, you mentioned that you wanted my ideas to help you in exchange for not requiring the Fukas' military service. " He paused meaningfully, "with the implied threat that you might use force if we didn't comply. "

"I might," Michi shrugged. There was no one around to hear this conversation anyway.

"I would like to ask you to reconsider," Cato said, "I did have one idea after all. "

"The bowgun? That doesn't count," Michi snorted.

"It does, in a way," Cato smiled, "how many arrows did you think the Fukas have?"

"Not many, they shot almost everything I gave them with Ryulo's attack," Michi paused, "and I don't think any of them can enchant arrows. No one reported the Fukas leaving with any. "

"All true," Cato nodded, "except the bit of them having no arrows. Why would any of the guards talk about arrows? Magical arrows look just the same as normal arrows. "

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Another pause.

Michi narrowed his eyes, "and?"

"I would suggest that you don't try to press the matter," Cato said simply.

"And who would you be to tell me what to do?" Michi leaned forward, "I still command the knights. "

"Do you think the knights will attack the Fukas if you say so? When we first arrived, certainly. But the Fukas have been quite active in trading-"

"Snacks and trifles!" Michi laughed, "You can't hope to bribe us with that. "

"It's not a bribe," Cato shook his head, "it was a trade for magical arrows. For magic. You may not have gotten reports, but many knights were willing to make a few extra arrows for the Fukas. What harm could one or two arrows do right? You might want to remember how well the Fukas did against the zombies, the bowgun is not just a toy, whatever you might think of it. "

He paused. Michi's dismissive attitude was starting to crack. Cato could almost see the calculations flying across the commander's face. Those arrows might not be the most powerful weapon but used en masse, Cato was willing to believe that even the knights would start to take casualties.

"There is more of course. You never thought of the Fukas as humans. I have told you that they are not MY Fukas. They don't belong to anyone. They have thoughts and plans as much as any commander of knights. Did you think they were just going to sit down and accept whatever deal you gave them?" Cato shook his head again, "How many knights would be willing to kill the people who have been talking to them just days ago? Food alone won't stay the knights' hands, but if you see them as people, it gets much harder to kill them in cold blood. "

Michi didn't glare or try to flip the table. He just looked at Cato levelly. "And what if you guessed wrong. If I gave the order anyway?"

"It's not just Wendy's Fort. I already sent letters to the three nearest counties. Just a friendly message about the Fukas and trade. Their existence can't be swept under the rug and if you really do try anyway," Cato pulled out the letter of recommendation stamped with Landar's seal. It named him an apprentice alchemist under Landar, to be accorded the rights of a member of the Knights of Inath. Along with the... unspoken legal privileges towards arbitration.

"I will push for arbitration if you continue to press the point. I don't expect to win but the scrutiny will not be comfortable for you. "

They stared at each other for a long moment. Cato desperately hoped that Landar and Tori were correct that Michi couldn't just ignore the order of Knights.

"That meddlesome alchemist," Michi muttered finally, "I knew she was trouble. And it's starting to look like you and the Fukas are even more trouble after all. "

"I don't know how many knights are sympathetic but I don't think either of us wants to find out," Cato said.

He declined to continue their staring match however, being clever was good but being overly confrontational was not. Not when he was still at a disadvantage even after this much cleverness.

"Why not consider another way?" Cato asked, "don't try to own them. They aren't your slaves and if you try, they will always resent you for that. Think of them as partners, as allies who need some help but can be strong once again. Given time. Consider them equals and who knows, maybe some of them will become knights too. "

"Soft tailed people like them who don't want to fight?" Michi shook his head, "if no one forces them to-"

"Humans are not all the same. Neither are your knights for that matter, just look at Landar. Not everyone is a brave knight, defender of Inath. Not all Fukas are cowards, even if most would like to just be peaceful farmers," Cato shrugged, "who knows, perhaps Ryulo might want to become a Knight. He's already halfway to becoming a local hero. And if the Fukas can consider this place their home, then, there may be others willing to help at Wendy's Fort. " Like a certain soon-to-be-wife of said hero.

They looked at each other. A commander of a fort full of knights, who might or might not listen to him. An alien commoner boy with only a piece of paper to his name, and a village of Fukas who might defend themselves if pushed too far.

Some days ago

Cato showed the basic design of the bowgun to the Fuka village council. They would need to act fast if they were to use this opportunity.

"What good is this weapon?" Tharoden said, indicating the sketch of the bowgun lying on the crudely cut wooden table, "And why would you ask us to participate in the battle? Let the Inath knights deal with their zombies. "

"It's easy to use," Cato replied, "hunters take a long time to get good, but anyone can pick up a bowgun and use it half decently. In a week, you can learn to shoot quite well. As for the battle, I know it's a lot to ask but I need you to demonstrate this weapon to the knights. It's complicated. "

"But it's still too slow and awkward for hunting," Tharoden said.

"For animals in a forest, maybe," Cato admitted, "not so much a pack of zombies. Or even the knights. "

The silence that greeted him was profound.

"You know," Banage spoke up, "when I asked you to look into the humans' commander, I didn't mean this. "

"I know you didn't," Cato said, "but the fact remains that they have magic and you don't. "

"We can learn," Banage said. Tharoden frowned at him but didn't say anything.

Hm? Cato had expected more resistance to the idea, even if Banage was clearly for it. "Maybe," he said. If the knights would teach and if Fukas could even learn magic, "but in the short term, Michi does command the military. If he decides he will use force, you have to leave or give in to his demands. "

"I see. "

They looked at the drawing lying on the table.

"We can try bribing his soldiers for magical arrows," Banage said, "my clan has some extra food that we won't hurt to trade away. Discreetly of course," he added at Cato's look.

"Why are you so keen to do this?" Tharoden asked suddenly, "I thought you would go to your kind. The humans. "

"Er..." Cato frowned. Why indeed? "After you left, Michi told me that he thought I was leading you people. He wanted me to create ideas to help him defend this fort, and implied that he might want you to fight for him if I didn't give him any. While I wouldn't mind helping, that... didn't feel like the right thing to do. Not with you as a threat. "

That answer might mollify them, but he couldn't lie to himself. Why help the Fukas?

No answer came to mind immediately.

Present

It was every bit as bad as she expected. They had laid siege to her workshop and soon they would tear her brains out. Even though it might be quiet now... they were just biding their time.

There was a thump on her door and one from her head when she jumped at it.

"Ow," Landar moaned and crawled out from under the table.

"Hey, you've got guts, running away after all that," the person she least wanted to see said, "I sure didn't think you had it in you. Now come on, spit it out!"

"Tori!" Landar yelped and tried to dive back but her friend caught her deftly around the waist.

Tori laughed with evil glee and hauled Landar over her shoulder. Gah!

"No! Nooo!" she squirmed but it was no use. Then she spotted a saviour! "Cato! Save me!"

Cato looked down at the tray of tea mugs he was filling and sighed apologetically, "I'm a bit busy. "

"Traitor!" she cried as Tori manhandled her into a chair and stuffed a mug into her hands.

"Now then," Tori loomed threateningly, "will you talk or will I have to... resort to things better left unsaid?"

"For the record," Cato said, "I was against this. On the other hand, I can't actually stop her. And I am interested too. "

"I don't want to talk about it," Landar pouted.

"Oh but you will," Tori said in a singsong voice, "a lot of people are very interested in that gem of yours. "