Finishing up my preliminary checks of the soul I started answering the questions of the necromancers. Afterwards I proceeded in giving them a lecture about security which made some of them become drained of blood in fear at the revelations I had found. After making sure they did not forget my words and checking to see that they actually followed through I converted this fellow in secret. A low mithril assassin will be in good use along with the wight who also became high silver after conversion. My personal hands and feet, a praetorian guard so to say but no need for it so far with only two confirmed members and the eldest elites possibly being added in if needed, but they have jobs already.

My forces won’t collapse if I am somehow incapacitated though that is unlikely. This was an issue before but it is even more apparent now. This new body is ....clean. It is utterly pale and free of blemishes or scars. The decades accumulation of experience and life are simply gone. One bonus however is the lack of impurities or damage in the body, it is much easier to simply conduct raw power through my veins and arteries. However such ease is a double edged sword as I have to undertake a grueling regime to reforge my body in between all my work. This in itself causes new scars to come forth, a necessary event. Blood for effort, effort for blood. Some amongst the group who catch portions of the routine are disturbed but they should concentrate on the next upcoming battle.

Still a bit more than a week has passed since the first skirmish and the enemy has finally reorganized itself after burying their dead in warded burrows and burning the rest. They will soon see the fortified tomb which should be enough to trick them into believing it to be a castle. The original above ground portion of the tomb has been improved. Thanks to the features of the dungeon system I was able to conjure stone blocks to become the outer and inner covers of the pounded earth walls. Adding watchtowers, murder holes, and crenellations should be convincing enough. The walls are a little thin for my taste but will suffice. There is enough room to maneuver units on the walls thanks to the wooden platforms, this should allow rapid movement of my forces.

My forces have for quite some time been streaming to the rally point from each production area. Enough time has passed that the gathered force is comparable once again to the crusading army. The rather tattered regalia of the group still irks my aesthetic values but these are cheap forces.  Of course my main hammer is ready hidden in caverns dug on the flanks of the predicted engagement zone. For this I will watch the expendables be broken either by force or perhaps a hidden card of the crusaders. Then will I use my own to say personal troops to clean up. Now once again gathered in watch I wait, a spider patiently waiting for the prey enter the web.

The only irritant is that they brought friends, I heard rumours about paladins from the very first group but did not see anything with this group. Now however my scouts found them marching fast, they were apparently late and will soon rejoin this lot. My guerilla forces are out of place to intercept and those that can will do nothing worthwhile other than announcing themselves. The large group of mounted soldiers and paladins would be too much for them to handle. Regardless my forces are ready to fight, they will be enough if I simply add in my elites and a bit of personal overview. And a live combat test....

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POV Change

Once more the journal of Baron Roger Termest Rolavest

It has been a time of mourning and calls for vengeance among this army of the God of Holy Light, our numbers reduced to barely more than half. The only saving grace but one that brings much friction is that the holy icon of our god is prepared for use, many are angry that it was not ready earlier. The reason for this is apparently the icon was not complete and needed a finishing touch. Said component was brought by a group of some 30 holy knights led by a paladin along with more troops and supplies who arrived a few days after the battle. After bestowing the artifact to the priests, the troop has been walking amongst us leading prayers and healing the wounded. For this I am thankful that they can calm the levy who have been through what would be a most harsh trial by fire.

We spent much time both allowing for people to heal and for the bodies to be buried and consecrated which the holy knights have helped with. We had the peasants and slaves hew out rough burrows using what little wood we could find while the mages shaped the earth. After consecrating the grounds the air actually cleared somewhat, this was the same for the icon they have finished. Many spend time there praying, or at least pretending to as it is a reprieve from the gloom and thick air elsewhere. I find my faith shaken with the events of these past few days yet what else can I look forward to. I feel so bitter and impotent, I find myself unable to do anything to express myself. This anger keeps boiling within me.

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I suppose watching the accursed bones of the enemy be burned is something. We dug great ditches and set the bones on fire. The priests and the paladin also aided in casting their holy might and the air was choked with ashes for hours. While listening to the sermons I now see why we marched for if that army had been allowed to be free then surely the lands would have been laid waste to. Still from the priest’s manner I see that this many were not predicted. What is worse however is that the leaders are still on the loose. We found only bone and weapons, nothing to indicate whoever raised these undead. No matter how we sorted through the bones we found nothing. All that we can do now is to march once more to war. I see that the castle must surely be their craven lair, we must cleanse it to give peace to those that have died here. I pledge this to those who have fallen in valiant battle against this wretched foe that I will see them burned to the ground till it is naught but ash. This is the only way to direct these feelings deep in my heart.

After days of travel we have arrived on the plains before the enemy. Their castle stands, somewhat in disrepair and not close to it’s former glory. However it appears to have been repaired somewhat from the changes in the stonework. I see one set of ruined walls on the outside and a more complete one within. The castle keep is not as prominent as would be expected but still sturdy enough. We have prepared siege weapons to scale the walls and breach the gate, thank the mages for finding enough trees and using their magic to better shape the siege weapons. I feared we would not have enough between the wood for fires, burrows, and other uses.

However now we need steel and courage in our hearts to win this battle after we purge the outer walls. I was a devout follower but now after that battle I find myself not as pious. Still I mutter a few prayers upon my lips for fortune in this battle. These undead must be purged from existence, what the church does with the land afterwards is less of a concern. Even if they offer to grant it to us as spoils I would not accept, it is an ill land. I knew it was a place of misfortune before and now I know it further. Still as horns blow I reaffirm my grip on the reins and my sword before turning to see the icon in the distance. May they succeed in their task.

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Battle Overview POV

The living army arrays itself the knights, mercenaries and adventurers at the ready in front with levy carrying siege weapons by them. Once the ladders are in place they will scale the walls while the gate is battered down, once the first wave is through the levy will pour through and join them. The holy knights stand poised with their paladin leader to burst through the gate once breached. Without any proper ranged siege weapons and the inability to starve out the enemy only direct combat will allow them to win. The saving grace is the use of the icon of the Holy Light, with it cleansing light will flood this wretched place. The undead force has gathered it’s ranged forces at the ready on the walls that enemy intend to strike any who come close. Their reserve forces stand ready to join once the ladders are in place and the gate breached to hold back the living. Rusty arms and scant armour mark these undead’s origin. The marks of a lost kingdom adorn these creatures, there is no rest even in death for these ones. Their deaths in life were almost meaningless as it would be in the afterlife. Their stories found in old journals that were preserved against all rights, time... That was the entire net worth of their existence, to buy time. A certain ironic dark humour at this revelation when it was unearthed rose to the fore of one being. Yet he still pushed it forward, what meaning was there in such an act when they would never be able to ascend to anything. A harsh lesson learned early, sometimes life is simply not fair.

Author’s Note

Start of Battle Crusade Force

Knights-120

Mages-25

Priests-45

Adventurers/Mercs-580

Levy-2500

Holy Knights-30

Church Levy-200

1 paladin

1 bishop

Start of Battle Undead Tomb Force

Shock units(boneclaws/dire wolves)-300

Auxiliary(Dungeon Spawn)-2000

Bow Calvary-250

Undead Personal Troops

Shock-300

Warrior-700

Ranged(Mixed Bow and Crossbow)-450

Veterans-250

Cataphracts-70

Mages-10

Knights-20

Commanders-5

Priests-5

Necromancers-10

Surrogate-1

[Redacted] Prototype-1