Monarchs are made so for their wisdom in times of strife. When a king is crowned, he swears an immortal oath to protect his people with intelligence, humility, and tactfulness. It was no surprise, then, that Alistair - a man who sought only the reestablishment of his faith’s lost grace, had found himself less concerned with the lives of the innocent than he ought to have been.
By the time the cult’s forces were being shepherded away from the city square, rain had mixed with the wounds of countless bodies to coat the plaza in a thin veneer of blood. Ever opportunistic, Lieze attempted to use her [Blood Manipulation] as intelligently as possible, creating [Blood Spikes] from the excess to launch towards the arbalest-toting guards attacking from the rooftops.
Lieze’s MP - 703 / 1,055
Lieze’s MP - 653 / 1,055
Lieze’s MP - 603 / 1,055
Soon, the Gravewalkers were parading down a westerly road as they escaped from the crossbows’ range. As panic spread through the streets like a plague, guards and priests from all over the city arrived to confront the undead procession, slowly chipping away at their numbers with hand crossbows and holy magic.
“Attack the priests before anyone else!” Drayya’s voice could be heard barking orders over the chaos as javelins of crimson hovered over the horde, “Keep your formations tight! Don’t let a single soldier through! We need to keep moving!”
Lieze was disappointed that killing Alistair wasn’t as simple as firing a single [Blood Spike] at him, but she knew that it would never be so easy. A single attempt at his life was far from her only objective, however. Dragging attention from every inch of the city was the plan, and so far, it was proceeding splendidly.
Blinding half-spheres of pure light cut into her formation like a black powder bomb, transforming Gravewalkers into nothing but disintegrating ribbons of skin. Lieze had witnessed such magic before, during the siege, but Drayya beat her to the punch before she could say anything.
“Dragon Cardinals!” She yelled, “Change of plans - spread your undead thinly! We need to waste as much of their time as possible! Keep to the centre of your formations!”
It was impossible to believe. The thralls, the battle, the chaos - all of it was the result of Lieze’s scheming. A month ago, she would have struggled to have her opinion considered, let alone respected. But in that moment, she was the orchestrator of Tonberg’s downfall, wielding power she could have only dreamed of in her youth.
Lieze’s MP - 553 / 1,055
Lieze’s MP - 503 / 1,055
Wicked spears of blood flew towards the hooded priests touting censers in the path of the army, their screams of agony drowned by the battle. They were her spears. The undead prowling those streets composed her army. The freedom of power and independence intoxicated her. For the first time since the advent of her cursed birth, Lieze was happy.
“Not much longer now…” Drayya threw a [Blood Spike] of her own as she waded through the sea of Gravewalkers towards Lieze, “Once those arbalests regroup at street level, or when more Dragon Cardinals arrive, we’ll be overwhelmed.”
“Trust the plan.” Lieze assured, “As we speak, the orchestrators of our true attack should be approaching the eastern gate. I recognise this street - we’re close to our destination. Just a few minutes more, and we’ll be able to make our escape.”
“Alistair might have placed guards in the sewers.” Drayya warned.
“I very much doubt it. His intention is to eradicate us in one fell swoop.” She replied, “The hunter who chases two rabbits, catches neither. If he was to spread his soldiers thin to account for every possibility, he would have been overwhelmed on a single front. We intentionally walked into his trap to lure him into a false sense of security. His confidence will become our strength.”
“Hm… that may be so, but we’re outnumbered ten-to-one, if we’re lucky. Moving his men to the other side of the city buys us time, not victory.” Drayya argued.
“In this case, ‘victory’ is simpler than you could ever imagine.” Lieze smirked, “You have to trust me. This plan is like a set of dominoes - knock one down, and the others will follow. I don’t have to exhaust myself explaining every aspect of this plan to you because I know the rest will come naturally.”
“That’s a very convincing impression of your father. But will you really be able to emulate his scheming nature with any accuracy?” Drayya wondered, “I suppose we’ll see. For the sake of this cult, and your continued leadership, I really do hope you know what you’re doing.”
Huddled within their thralls, the two of them followed in the army’s wake as it carved a path into the western district, where concerned citizens poked their heads out from second-storey windows to witness the horror unfolding in the streets.
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The Gravewalkers were shrinking away - carved into by holy magic only to be reinforced by an ever-thinning supply of comrades. Similarly, Lieze’s comrades were beginning to run low on MP, suddenly unable to counter the lightly-armoured priests. A crucial juncture was approaching. One which would decide the future of Lieze’s cult.
“Here! Split the thralls left and right! Disappear into the alleyways!” Spotting a familiar alleyway, Lieze screamed orders above the orchestra of violence, “Marché - handle those at the front! Drayya and I will escort the rear!”
The curly-haired boy gave a resolute nod, “If the Briar’s thorns will it, I’ll see you in the eastern district.”
Seconds later, the sea of undead parted. Thralls and masters both flooded into the street’s countless alleyways, giving pause to the resolute defenders ahead who were expecting to confront the army head-on. A bottleneck was formed as soldiers attempted to flank the thralls from behind, limiting their combat effectiveness.
“The manhole… where’s the bloody manhole!?” Drayya’s gaze turned to the ground as she delved into the alley, “...Ah- Lieze!”
The girl in question looked over to see Drayya hoisting the iron cap from an entrance to the city sewers, trying to avoid being trampled by her own thralls while doing so. Lieze shuddered as the overcrowded, shaded alley left her nose filling in the blanks as she pushed through a group of groaning, noxious undead on her way to follow Drayya and Marché’s followers as they escaped down the rusted ladder.
With incredible effort, she stowed Ricta’s rapier into her Bag of Holding before pulling out her staff, sending a telepathic command to her thralls above to remain still. She felt the familiar sting of the staff’s thorns digging into her flesh as blood flowed from the Bag of Holding, forming a crimson bubble over the sewer entrance.
Lieze’s MP - 371 / 1,055
Lieze’s HP - 198 / 198
As it turned out, her [Blood Barrier] spell could be used to protect more than just herself. With 4 litres of blood, she could create one capable of absorbing [200] physical damage - enough to delay Alistair’s men for as long as it would take for Lieze and her allies to lose them in the sewers. Finally, she relinquished control over her Gravewalkers, giving them free reign to cause as much havoc as they possibly could.
Exasperated, she stowed her staff and made her way down the rest of the ladder, landing on the walkway before squinting her eyes as Drayya grabbed a lit torch from a sconce on the wall and turned towards her.
“How many do we have here?” Her voice echoed as she swung the torch around, counting heads, “Five, not counting myself and Lieze. With any luck, we’ll run into Marché on the way towards the western district - assuming he hasn’t gotten himself caught.”
“We need to get moving immediately.” Lieze replied, “There’s no time to waste.”
Without another word, Drayya and the others followed after her as she began on the long journey across the subterranean labyrinth. The distant sounds of armour-clad feet stomping overhead allowed some peace of mind - it was possible the guards hadn’t even seen them descending into the sewers. Being caught without any thralls to defend themselves would spell their end.
“Tell me we aren’t going to surface to the sight of our entire flanking force being overwhelmed by the gate guards?” Drayya broke the silence.
“I’ve never met anyone even a quarter as pessimistic as you, Drayya.” Lieze replied.
“I wasn’t kidding around. Who’s to say this plan of ours has even worked?”
“Believe me - that Briarknight we created from Helmach’s corpse is simply on another level. I’d say there isn’t a single warrior in the city who could contend with it.” She assured, “-And not only that, but it’s being reinforced by the improved Gravewalkers that Marché’s followers created, as well as a few necromancers we sent to support it with Flesh Elementals and the Rot Behemoth.”
“You think they’ll have cleared out that portion of the city?” Drayya asked.
“Without question.” Lieze answered, “Think of it - a crumbling, lost district patrolled by Baccharum’s thugs where guards rarely tread. The only notable landmark is a mass grave populated with the corpses of combatants from the siege.”
“The mass grave…” Drayya lowered her head, “I didn’t consider that. To the city, it’s nothing but an eyesore and a moral sinkhole, but to necromancers…”
“-It may as well be a chest filled with gemstones.” She smirked, “-And it will be ours. Not just the mass grave, but the entire district. What better place to establish a foothold from which to launch all manner of attacks? Especially when most of Alistair’s soldiers are busy skirmishing with thralls on the other side of the city.”
Drayya stopped in her tracks.
“A foothold?” She repeated, “I thought you wanted a chance at Alistair’s life? I was about to berate you for barely trying and wasting everyone’s time.”
“You didn’t figure it out on your own?” Lieze blinked, “The diversionary force, the retreat… why would I have orchestrated any of that just for a chance at one man’s life?”
“You could have told me…”
“Well, consider it a surprise. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” She asked.
“Hm…” Beginning her stride again, Drayya sighed, “I suppose you’re expecting me to apologise for claiming we’ve been wasting too much time earlier?”
“I don’t expect any kind of emotional compensation. The plan is proceeding splendidly, and that’s all I care about.”
“-Apart from Alma’s death.”
“She was a useful pawn while she lived. We managed to squeeze out one last use for her before she expired - the location of those grimoires we extracted from the Library of Uke.”
“You don’t feel the slightest amount of guilt for leaving her to die?”
“I envy her.” Lieze answered, “She is free now. Free from this imperfect world of flesh and blood. Free from the limitations of her body. I can only hope that such a fate awaits me. But not while there is still work to be done. Selfishly pursuing death without regard for the suffering of others is an unforgivable sin.”
“You’re sounding more and more like Master Sokalar by the day.” Drayya waved her torch to scare off a family of rats prowling the walkway, “But one good plan doesn’t make you all-knowing. Whether the guards are distracted for now or not, we’ll still have to contend with them soon. All of them.”
“I’m aware. It was always going to turn out like this.” She replied, “From here on out, we’re putting the entire mission at risk. One slip-up, and we’ll all be sharing Alma’s fate.”
A tinge of excitement flowered in her chest. Lieze wanted more of that sensation - the freedom of murder and chaos. She had been containing her desires for so long as a result of her ineptitude, but no longer. Fear and inadequacy had perished for good that day. She was fully reborn as a necromancer capable of taking destiny by the reins.