Neither Lieze nor Drayya were keen to attend the remainder of the gala. It was unlikely that Helmach would cause them any trouble, but as far as Lieze was concerned, the less time spent infuriating him, the better. As the two necromancers made their way out of the dungeon and towards the castle gardens, Lieze received a notification from her scale.

New Quest Received! "Flowering Brotherhood" - Have a total of 5 members in your cult Reward - 1,200xp

It was time to stop busying herself with politics and start putting some thought into reinforcing the Order’s presence in Tonberg. She would need to devise a stunt that would reveal her intentions to the world, but one that could only be understood by like-minded fellows.

“We could always visit a cemetery and raise some Gravewalkers.” Drayya suggested.

“That wouldn’t quite have the impact I’d like.” Lieze replied.

“Ah, so we’re moving forward depending on what your preferences are.” She taunted, “As your senior, shouldn’t I be the one making these decisions?”

This was the one thing Lieze feared: Drayya trying to abuse her power to take control of the mission. At an impressive [Level 34], she was more than qualified to take the reins. It was going to be difficult gaining her respect, and more importantly, retaining a leadership position while competing with someone so powerful. But as Lieze had proven during the siege, she was quite capable of suggestion.

“To say the odds are stacked against us would be an understatement.” She began, “One simple mistake is all it will take to bring the full wrath of the city down on our heads.”

“I’m not thinking far enough ahead, is what you’re trying to tell me?”

“I’m not trying to insult you.” Lieze answered truthfully, “...We work well together, you and I. Think back to the siege.”

“Hm.” Drayya’s face straightened out, “I suppose you did open the portcullis, even if it was a completely suicidal endeavour.”

“It was thanks to your transmutation magic that I was able to pull it off at all.” She expressed, “Let’s not lord over one-another, Drayya. The two of us are better as equals.”

The girl’s contemplative silence spoke of a conflict within her.

“...Very well.” She agreed, “I’m surprised to hear you don’t detest me.”

“If you want me to be perfectly honest - I do.”

“Hm.” Something resembling a smirk threatened to grace her lips, “Somehow, hearing that puts me at ease.”

They proceeded down the winding hill and into the city proper. A stern comment from Drayya directed them towards the Dwarven tailors so that she could change out of her gown. Afterwards, they made for the gates, shuffling past the engorged horde of caravans gathering to pointlessly request exit from the city. A quick flash of Lieze’s guild insignia was all it took to secure herself and Drayya unconditional release from the confines of its walls.

“A dog-whistle.” Drayya repeated when they were clear from the city, “We already have one.”

“Do we?” Lieze wondered.

“How many people in Tonberg have you told your name to?”

“Just about everyone I’ve met. Why?”

“Your poor aptitude has done a fantastic job of hiding you away from the world until now.” She continued, “Nobody knows the name ‘Lieze’, but at the same time, everybody knows the name ‘Sokalar’. Wouldn’t a cult of necromancers within the largest city in the world be at least somewhat aware of Master Sokalar’s daughter?”

“Is that a wise gamble? I doubt they’ve had much contact with the Order.”

“Even so, they should also know the name ‘Drayya’, shouldn’t they?” Her peer smirked, “My father once strove to displace Ricta as well, if you’ll recall. And unlike you, I’m quite the reputable member of the Order.”

“Speaking of... I think we should arrange a moniker for you while we’re in the city. One royalist recognising the name ‘Margoh’ is all it would take to bring this pleasant dream to a bloody end.”

“Putting that aside for now, doesn’t it sound like a wonderful idea?” Drayya insisted, “You’ve already attained quite a reputation with the guild. I imagine your name must have been recognised by at least one cabal of necromancers within the city by now.”

“But how do we tease them out of hiding?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?”

The sounds of Dwarves hard at work echoed through the night as they approached the hideout not long after. The new entrance was coming along nicely. It seemed that 400 gold pieces had purchased her quite the band of labourers. Unfortunately, until they were done, it was back to the precarious rope. The scent of rot wafting through the air was almost homely in comparison to the fragrant, perfume-infested air at the gala.

“Ah-” A set of footsteps quickly approached the entrance, “Lieze, Drayya… welcome home.”

Alma greeted the two with a nervous smile. It was obvious that her experience with the Nightcrawler Breeder hadn’t completely worn off.

“Anything to report?” Lieze asked.

“No. Not at all.” She answered, “Although, one of the Dwarves did pop in earlier. He said that the entrance was coming along faster than anticipated, and that they’d be finished in just a matter of days.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I wonder. Do all nonhumans consort with necromancers so eagerly?” Drayya questioned.

“If the price is right.” Lieze replied, “Anything else, Alma?”

“Yes! I was able to find a… uhm, vessel.” She hesitated, “For alchemy.”

“What sort of vessel?”

“A barrel.”

“...A big one?” Lieze raised an eyebrow.

“Big enough.” Alma paused, “I hope.”

“No holes?”

“Come now, Lieze.” Drayya interrupted, “Cut the girl some slack. Think of how many breweries must have shut down now that Ricta’s domain is a shadow of its former self. Barrels are probably being sold for coppers.”

“That’s right!” Alma exclaimed, “Well… it’s a little bigger than you might expect.”

“Bigger?” Lieze tilted her head, “Lead us to it. I’ll be the judge of that.”

“O-Of course…”

Escorting them to one of the hideout’s deeper chambers, Drayya and Lieze were rather surprised upon seeing the cave’s newest addition.

“Briar’s thorns…” Drayya blinked, “Where did you get this from?”

The barrel was nearly twice as tall as anyone in the room and wide enough to create quite the obstacle. Upon the dry wood was inscribed a slogan - Grapcka’s Finest. Lieze could immediately harbour a guess as to where it might have come from.

“A Dwarven brewery?” She wondered.

“Yes… one that closed down a number of months ago. Trade with the Dwarven mountains ceased completely when the Order began sacking the Sovereign Cities.” Alma explained.

“How did you manage to get it down the hole without breaking it?”

“The Dwarves from outside helped with that.” She smiled, “It’s miraculous seeing them work, really. I can’t imagine a skilled sorcerer could have manipulated the barrel with half as much finesse.”

“It’s going to be quite the hassle getting any blood into it…” Lieze pointed out.

“She’s not kidding. We’ll have to construct some scaffolding.” Drayya supported, “Even so, it will more than serve our purposes once we find a way. Excellent work, Alma.”

“Thank you…”

“How is the Nightcrawler Breeder?”

“It’s, uhm… going.”

“Until we can raise an army capable of opposing Ricta, I imagine Nightcrawlers will have to be our agents of chaos for a while.” Drayya continued, “-And the Wraith, of course.”

“Before we set our sights on the city, we should work on displacing Helmach.” Lieze suggested.

“-And before we do that, we’ll need more necromancers.”

They needed to take things one step at a time. Lieze was still too weak to stand up to Helmach. By organising their goals, and creating more quests for her scale by extension, their mission would proceed smoothly. All that remained was to unearth any stray necromancers hiding within Tonberg.

“Alma.” Lieze crossed her arms, “You’ve been practising necromancy for a while now, isn’t that right? You wouldn’t happen to know of any cults in the city, would you?”

“Well… there was a time when I tried to seek out like-minded people.” The shrinking ex-nun explained, “But, I only got as far as tracking down a ‘clue’ of theirs before I realised it was simply asking for too much trouble.”

“A clue?” Lieze repeated, “Care to elaborate?”

“It was a verse… or, at least, it sounded like a verse.” She replied, “...The exile of Paradise descended into the world’s darkness, consumed by resentment. There, he sculpted from the ashes of man golems with which to oppose the very Gods…”

“The Grimoire of Saints…” Drayya paused.

“Sovereign scripture?” Lieze wondered, “I remember studying the scrolls in my youth, but I don’t recall that particular verse…”

“Modern renditions of the grimoire, including the completely revised gospel now put to use by the priesthood, tend to censor any mention of Ravanos, or use a different name entirely. I believe he’s now referred to as ‘The Dark One’, or ‘The Black Dragon’.”

“The progenitor of necromancy… first worshipper of the Blackbriar.” Lieze recounted, “That verse is supposed to be a riddle?”

“‘The world’s darkness…’” Drayya recited, “Perhaps a cave much like our own?”

“Is there any place in the city that fits that description?”

“Uhm.” Alma cleared her throat, “It… could be referencing the sewers. That was always my assumption…”

“How did this riddle find you?” Lieze asked.

“A letter… someone slid it beneath my door while I was at the chapel.” She answered.

“-No doubt looking to recruit more members.” Drayya concluded, “Would the sewers really be such a wise place to hide? Surely the city would have caught on to something like that?”

“I imagine it isn’t so simple.” Lieze replied, “In order for a cult of necromancers to gain any traction in Tonberg, it would have to be hidden well. Not to mention that the sewers will be a labyrinth of dead ends, meaning we’ll need to have an idea of where to look first before we go leaping down any manholes.”

New Quest Received! "Septic Shock" - Search Tonberg's sewers for evidence of a necromancer cult Reward - 900xp

“I’m surprised they haven’t tried to contact you already. If they were aware of Alma, they must have heard your name by now.” Drayya folded her arms, “-And no self-respecting necromancer wouldn’t know the name of Master Sokalar’s daughter.”

“Alma didn’t.”

“Well… Alma is- you know… inexperienced.”

“Please don’t belittle me… I’m standing right here…” The girl in question muttered.

“In any case, today has been eventful enough.” Lieze admitted, “We can plan our next move after we’ve gotten some much-needed rest.”

“Aren’t you interested in conducting some blood alchemy?” Drayya tempted.

“We’ll need to find a way to get blood into this barrel first…” She replied, “Alma - you were the one who found it. That will be your job.”

“Eh…” She sounded quite disappointed by the proposition, “...I’ll try my best.”

“Sleeping inside a cave… how far I’ve managed to fall in such a short amount of time.” Drayya lamented.

“If you’ve been lulled by the soft beds of the tavern, then I won’t stop you from going back to the city.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’ve been tempted by the pleasures of the city.” She shot back, “This is nothing… why, when I was a child, I even slept in one of the catacombs’ coffins on a dare.”

“How convenient that you’ve forgotten the part when you came roaring back up the crypt staircase bawling your eyes out because a rat slipped into the coffin.” Lieze reminded.

“That… that didn’t happen.” She denied.

“-Or the occasion when you ran crying to Lüngen after I dropped the skull you kept on your bedside cabinet.”

“That was all that remained of my very first thrall! I had every right to be upset about that!” Drayya exclaimed, “Do you think you’re the only one who can play this game? How about the time when you used charcoal to deface Master Sokalar’s original skin-bound copy of the Codex Umbra?”

Alma blinked as she watched the two peers attack one-another. Ever since Lieze had forced her to join the intrepid effort to dismantle Tonberg from within, her heart had been stricken with the fear of death whenever so much as a word escaped from Lieze’s mouth. Seeing a surprisingly immature side of both her and Drayya was almost refreshing - so much so that she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.