Broken Skull
I sat in one of the many pits that had been dug throughout the encampment, sharpening an axe that I'd taken from one of the bodies of the dungeoneers I had massacred. It had been maybe a day or two after the raid had been decimated. The other items had been collected and were now being worn or wielded by all the others. Some of the armor had holes in it where I had gotten a bit too aggressive, but all in all, things worked out in our favor. Not every skeleton got new equipment, but most now had something that could provide a small advantage over our other, more hardy enemies such as the orcs, and the goblins.
We were still waiting for new skeletons and other monsters to show up. The orc population hadn't taken much of a hit at all, but the second and third floors were still mostly barren. Kellor had been sent to the second floor with a small handful of other skeletons to recruit whoever they could find.
Having only two months to break free of the dungeon's grasp made things more difficult than I had first imagined. In order to take and hold the area above, I decided we would need a massive army, numerous enough to completely submerge any opposing force in both bone and steel. From what I had seen of the outside due to my brief excursion to the first floor, we wouldn't be facing any small number of defenders either.
For that reason it would be necessary to practice against formidable enemies, and the orcs still held their own fortress at the moment. While not many scouts had actually gone near the place, it was clear enough that taking it would be a matter requiring a certain amount of planning.
Taking a look at the blade of the axe, it seemed like it was sharp enough at this point, no nicks in the blade that were visible to me. I turned and hauled myself out of the pit, dirt crumbling down where my fingers scraped against random rocks embedded in the ground. From there I walked to where a quartermaster had been set up by Lilith, who had told me I wasn't going to be doing anything for a full day because of the insane stunt I'd pulled with the dungeoneer fort.
The quartermaster had set up in one of the few vacant huts that remained, having gathered most of the mundane and magical items that weren't currently in use. I noticed more than two dozen various bags all stacked one on top of the other, ranging from leather to snakeskin to a metal box with leather straps on it. The skeleton acting as the actual quartermaster however, sat on a mound of dirt that had been taken from one of the burial pits. It was clear that the crude chair wasn't to his liking, as he kept shifting to try and get more comfortable.
The skeleton himself didn't look too different from the other skeletons, except for the fact that his bones were all larger than normal, and he was a fair bit taller than I was, even sitting down. His skull had a small crack running up from his left eye, not more than an inch long.
"I'm here for something to write or draw on, along with a writing tool. Have anything like that?" I looked at the various packs as I spoke, not expecting much in the way of organization. "Probably. Organizing all of these is generally difficult, but I've found multiple mundane objects that would suit your needs. Tell me your name so I can keep it in mind if anybody asks about it. Can't make much of a ledger right now, with how pathetic this all is." The skeleton gestured at the bags as he responded, his voice a deep baritone.
"Broken Skull. Mind if I have a look?" I didn't mind him not knowing my name, as I didn't know his. Lilith had likely named him, or he'd been lost in the haze of skeletons that had been named in the past. I also wouldn't simply go through the things he was in charge of. It wouldn't be good for a leader to be going through someone else's things without at least asking first.
The quartermaster grunted in affirmation. "So you're him. Yeah, go ahead. Just don't use anything that would be considered valuable. Don't have the supplies needed to restock if you use something that we need." The big man waved his hand as he got up from his chair, and then proceeded to kneel in front of the bags, beginning to go through them on his own. I didn't hesitate to join him, looking through the veritable treasure trove of potions, weapons, armor, rations, and other supplies.
It was slow going, and I was honestly a bit curious about the big man, partially because he was bigger than most other skeletons I'd seen so far. "So, what's your name?" I pulled the lip of a leather bag back, and moved some miscellaneous items around, searching for either paper or sticks of charcoal, or a quill and inkwell. "Tyrant. It fits perfectly, due to my size." He responded to me with a hint of sarcasm, his expression neutral as he sorted the various bags he'd already gone through into a separate pile, moving items from bag to bag as he went. I noticed the bag he was putting potions into was kept separate from the others. "Sounds to me like it doesn't. Why is that?" The question was asked simply to help pass the time, but also out of a small sense of curiosity.
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"I'm larger than most, with thicker bones. I am different due to my size, and it shows in my name. I'm built to fight, yet I choose not to. As Tyrant, I would see battles that would soak my bones in enough blood to drown cities. Yet I chose to be a quartermaster, and Lilith granted me that request. I chose to live a life of peace and tranquility amidst all this chaos and death. Tell me, Broken Skull... Do you know the dreams of those you lead?" His words were spoken with the tone of someone who was on the verge of anger, his movements becoming more and more stiff as he went on.
"Every time I've seen you, you were alone, while Lilith would be teaching the newest recruits to come down here. Kellor would be off scouting, while Iliana would tend to those who were wounded. Do you know their aspirations?" His question hit me like a pile of rubble. What did they want? Lilith seemed to be more bloodthirsty when it came to the dungeoneers, but she'd never truly told me what she was hoping to achieve. I knew Rivena wanted to research magic, but I didn't know anything about what she was actually trying to learn. Kellor, Illiana, Rivax... I knew nothing of what they wanted either. In fact, I knew very little about any of the skeletons I'd come so far with.
"You're looking quite pensive. Not the same as when I first arrived here. You were always a bit cold, distant, and even a bit callous to the rest of us, and you might have punished me for saying all this. but now you act as if you care. The change is so drastic that some of us look at you and see someone completely different. You act like you care, yet I've never once seen you help train the new recruits with Lilith. I've never once heard of you taking the lead in a battle, unless the odds were clearly in your favor. If you think that you are seen as a genuine leader amongst us, then you will be mistaken. Some have begun to trust in Lilith far more than they trust you, because she is seen helping us. You name us, but so does she. So, Broken Skull. I've chosen what I want to be, and I stick to it. A quartermaster who has his own thoughts on the current state of things in this camp. You need to choose who you are, or you'll lose all the power you've worked so hard to obtain." Tyrant spoke firmly, like he wasn't surprised that I was thinking about what he'd said.
I'd stopped looking through the backpacks, but Tyrant's hands never stopped moving, even for a second. The sounds of him rummaging through the packs was deafening in the muted sounds of the hut. "You're a leader, Broken Skull. I was named by Lilith, yet I know you were the first. You just need to decide what you are going to become before you lose that chance." He pulled out several pieces of parchment from a pack, along with a few sticks of charcoal.
"Before I give these to you, I hope that you understand what needs to happen." Standing up, Tyrant held the parchment and charcoal close to his chest. "It's not just that you need to change. You need to be what you believe yourself to be. Learn about your soldiers. Don't just be a face of authority. Be someone they'll rely on when things get difficult. That way it's more of a lesson when you sacrifice dozens of them, like what happened at that fort." With those words, he gave the items to me, and then sat back down on his dirt mound.
Giving him one last look, I left the hut feeling confused, thoughtful, and concerned. I thought that I had changed. That I'd gotten better. Looking back on everything, I realized that regardless of what my inner thoughts were, I'd never really interacted much with normal skeletons on a regular basis, whereas Lilith did, reinforcing their belief in both her and in me. In the back of my mind, I could still hear my subconscious telling me that I only had two months to get the hell out of the dungeon, or I'd end up dead at the hands of someone who was clearly not able to be beaten by the likes of me.
It didn't take long for me to find Lilith. She was currently training some of the newer recruits, beating them about the heads with the flat edge of her rapier while they stumbled about. For a moment, I did think about walking away, and going to find Iliana, or Rivena. Instead I walked over, set down the parchment and charcoal, and began teaching a different group about how to keep the power of a swing even after it had reached the end of its arc, and how to use that to lead into another attack. Lilith seemed to notice this, as she began teaching her own recruits how speed was essential to staying alive in a fight, demonstrating what she meant by neatly avoiding every attack aimed in her direction while counter attacking flawlessly.
After some time of training our own recruits, we switched groups with each other to correct mistakes they were making. I fixed the mistakes of those who were prioritizing speed while sacrificing power, while Lilith forced those who were focusing only on power to remember that they needed to be fast enough to hit their targets, and not just incredibly savage in their ways of attacking.
In the end, the recruits left the training grounds better off than before, having landed hits on both Lilith and myself. We were thus left alone, and I wiped any stray dirt off the parchment before standing up. Lilith and I were alone for the moment, so I decided I'd just ask. "Lilith, why do you fight so hard? What's your idea of victory? What's waiting for you at the end of all this?" At my question she seemed a little taken aback. She looked up toward the cavern ceiling, which was hidden in the deep darkness, before looking back down at me. "I'm not sure. I know I want revenge on those who invade our home, but after that, I don't know. What about you? What's past all the bravado?" Her response was a bit surprising, as it somewhat mirrored my own. "In the end, I want the opportunity to experience peace. As for how I'll experience it, I'm not sure what I'm hoping for."
Lilith didn't take my hand in hers or anything sappy like that. She just walked up to me, and looked down at the parchment in my hands. "Well, let's figure that out together once we get to that point. For now, what's with the parchment?" At her question, I looked in the direction of the orc fortress. "Let's call the remaining scouts back. We need to make another move, which will hopefully result in less casualties this time."