The room, where Kaleg regained his consciousness was rather nice, tastefully decorated with old weapons, paintings and other relics of the Steam Age. There was even a fireplace.

To his surprise, he wasn't bound or handcuffed, and there wasn't any guard to watch over him. He was alone with a young, elegantly dressed man.

The man's clothes was from the Steam Age too, but somehow it looked new and authentic at the same time. He even had a pocket watch, to complete the image.

They sat around a coffee table, and there was coffee too and tea with biscuits.

"Ah, you are awake," said the young man. He had a pleasant voice. "Alright, let's start the recording then. First of all, I apologize for this crude form of communication, Fire Lady Ulmra Zarin. Please..."

"Erm, sorry," said Kaleg. "But it seems there is some misunderstanding. My name is..."

"Kaleg Ronos," finished the man impatiently. "Yes, I am perfectly aware who you are. But I wasn't talking to you."

"But, then..."

"Please, golem. I will answer your questions in due time, but until then, just be quiet, and let me do the talking. Is that okay with you?"

Kaleg nodded. It seemed the wise think to do.

"I do appreciate it, young one," said the strange man. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. So, my name is, Void Prince Artsu Nadith. And as I was saying, I am truly sorry about the circumstances of our first contact. I know, you lost some good men, and I also know it doesn't matter that I also lost more than a hundred of my zombies."

"Your zombies?! You were the one, who made those corpses to attack us!?"

Artsu sighed.

"You see, that's why we prefer zombies as messengers. Alright, golem, perhaps it will be better if we start with your questions. So go on, let's get on with it."

Kaleg did his best to control his rage. Darem and the others are dead because of this clown. He will pay for it. But first he needs more information.

"Why?"

"Now, you see, that's a bloody vague question. Many of my kind consider me a patient man, but even I have my limits. So if it's all the same to you, please be more specific." Or I will kill you - his tone seemed to say.

"Okay. I have quite a few 'whys' to ask."

"Yes, your kind usually do."

"Right... So, why did you call my commander a fire lady? That was an elemental title, right?"

"Yes. And that's exactly why I called your... commander that. She is a fire elemental, commanding a military base and a town. That makes her a fire lady."

"But she isn't a fire elemental."

"If all of your kind is as dumb as you are, then perhaps Prince Junam is right... Don't ask! Hamos, the one who controlled you, is one of my more powerful servants. Powerful as in elemental power. He told me about your commander. My kind can steal an elemental's aspect by drinking their blood, or eating their flesh. We raided one of your blood banks a few years ago, and thus got access to your commander's blood. That's how we know about her secret."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

And then, Kaleg just realised something else.

"Eating their flesh... Then, you... you are a zombie! A sentient one! And an elemental! It's all true, what they say!"

Artsu shook his head slowly.

"First of all, while you're technically right, we prefer to call ourselves vampires. But yes, we are undead. And no, we are not elementals. We steal their power, but that doesn't make us elementals."

"But, if you have elemental power..."

"We only have it for a short time. Then it's gone. Until we steal more power."

"I see," said Kaleg. That was a useful information to have. "So, Commander Zarin is a fire elemental. That's a lot to take in..."

"Well, if you don't have any more questions..."

"Oh, I do. Why did you attack us?"

"Now, that's a more interesting question. I had numerous reasons. You see, we like to overview the memories of those zombies who survived a fight with humans. Makes it easier to keep you in check. And one of my memory readers found quite an interesting piece of information in one zombie, who had an encounter with your group. Or rather, with one member of your group: your cousin, Zehno."

Kaleg was genuinely surprised. What does this creature could possibly want with Zehno?

"How do you know he is my cousin?"

"We do not read the memories of zombies only," Artsu said. Then he gave Kaleg a moment to understand the implications of what he said. That they read his memories too.

"I... see."

"Good. While your cousin could be valuable to us..."

"But why?"

Artsu seemed to be annoyed by the interruption, but he answered anyway:

"He is an elemental too. A water elemental, to be precise."

"Really? Zehno? Are you serious? Just how many elementals do we have on our base? Aren't they supposed to be extinct?"

"Well, obviously someone forgot to tell them that. Anyway, there's no more elementals on your base than those two. We checked. Nevertheless, I had to inform the Void King about your cousin. Fire elementals are troublesome, but a water elemental... Well, for reasons you don't need to concern yourself with, we cannot allow your kind to have access to one such creature. So I have been instructed, as the Prince of the Galthran Princedom, to gather information and destroy your base. Oh, and to capture both of your commander and Zehno, alive if it is possible."

"But... but you can't! The Salt Wall will stop you!"

Artsu laughed bitterly.

"Fool! You have no idea about the extent of the Void Empire! Your pathetic Protectorate exists only, because it would take too much resources to destroy it. Because the Empire is far more democratic than your country, and the Void King considers his own princes a greater threat than you. But if you could make contact with the elementals who fled your world during the First Purge... well, if you could put behind your grudges, and form an alliance, then you would be more than the minor annoyance that you are now. An alliance like that might even could be considered a threat. And that's why, I want to help you."

For a long moment Kaleg didn't know what to say. Perhaps the undead was right, it would be best, if he kept his mouth shut, and let the commander handle the situation. It was well above his pay grade anyway.

"And so, you see," continued Artsu, when he saw that Kaleg wouldn't say anything, "I need to be extra careful. The attack against your group was officially meant to gather intelligence, as I was instructed to do. But, in reality, it was a way for me to get a message to your commander, and an offer of alliance."

"So, you say, that my best friend, my squad mates died just because you needed an errand boy?!"

"To be blunt about it, that's exactly right. But make no mistake: they would have died all the same if we would have overrun your fort, along with all the other soldiers. As for the civilians there, they would have died too, or would have been taken as food or slave. Your squad mates gave their life to buy them some time. Isn't that what soldiers supposed to do?"

Kaleg didn't answer. Artsu was right, in a way. But still...

"There is one more thing to consider. If this alliance doesn't happen, and soon, I will still need to besiege your base. You do understand that? You can do nothing about the comrades you lost, but you can save those who are still my captive, not to mention that you can save the entire population of Jukava too. You know what? I tell you this: even if your commander refuses my offer, I guarantee the safety of your men. If she accepts I also guarantee their freedom. Do we have a deal?"

Kaleg sighed. It's not like he has a choice... not now, at least. But that can change, if he lives.

So he nodded his assent.

"Good. Now, back to my message."