"Are those… skeletons?" Thio asked, gripping the boat railing tightly.

"So it would appear." Hendrick said from beside him, his hand on the pommel of his sword.

“And they’re just walking around… like people?”

“So it would appear.”

The city seemed to be a frenzy of activity. A number of boats identical to those from Avonford had been pulled up alongside the shore, with people clambering out and shouting at others standing along what seemed to be a hastily constructed dock. Further along, a gang of four skeletons were dragging away a boat by its mooring lines, slowly scraping it along the edge of the shore towards a group of others tied up against an outcropping of broken stone.

“How is that possible… What’s going on-” Thio stammered.

“There’s a necromancer here.” A voice said from beside him.

Thio jumped and span around, cursing. To his side stood Belinda, glaring out over the water. Her usual haughty stare and dismissive attitude was conspicuously absent, replaced with razor sharp focus.

That, more than anything else, immediately put him on guard.

“A necromancer? Do you know who it is?” Thio asked.

Belinda shook her head. “Veala is the only necromancer in Rudase, and she’s in Athesall last I heard. But she would never be able to do anything like that.” She pointed at the skeleton work gang.

“And what does that mean?”

“It means we have either a foreign power here, from Lightire or beyond. Or…” Belinda trailed off for a moment. “Or we have something far more dangerous. Put your men on guard, we may be walking into hostile territory here.”

Thio turned to Hendrick as Belinda walked off. “Best do what she says. If this is enough to get even Belinda off her high horse, I’m concerned.”

Hendrick bowed his head then marched off, barking orders to the soldiers on board the boat, and sending signals to the rest in the second boat trailing behind them. Thio turned back to the railing, watching the shoreline. Things in this city didn’t seem dangerous, with no more chaos and fear than he’d have expected for the arrival of a swarm of refugees. Except the undead, of course.

They certainly did stick out.

Slowly, the riverboats pulled up to an open part of the dock, the soldiers manning the oars that manoeuvred them pulling them in to prepare for mooring. With practised ease, a man hopped down from the bow and tied the mooring lines around a post hammered in the ground, finally pulling the boat to a stop.

As they were setting up the gangplank to let the passengers disembark, a man clad in a fur cloak walked up, waving to them. Some sort of official, if Thio had to guess.

“Welcome to Srinaber.” The official shouted. “Are you from Avonford too?”

Thio crossed to the shore, smiling at the official. “No, though we did pass it on the way. We’ve come from Calista, to talk to whoever is in charge here.”

“From Calista? You’ve come a long way.” The official said, raising an eyebrow. “May I enquire what you are here for?”

“That is between me and the ruling body of this place.” Thio said.

The smile on the official’s face turned to a frown. “Right, it’s your business, of course.”

The clank of metal sounded from behind Thio as the soldiers on deck began to file off. The official’s frown vanished, replaced with a look of concern.

“H-how many men are with you?” He asked.

“Two score.” Thio responded.

“Ah, I’ll need to… Please, stay on board. So many armed men may cause a disturbance.” The official stammered. “I need to confer with my colleague, if you would excuse me.”

He hurried off along the dock, fur clock billowing in the breeze.

“Should we be concerned?” Hendrick asked, stepping up beside Thio.

“Not yet. A little apprehension at the arrival of a surprise group of armed men is expected.”

The delicate tap of a hard shoe signalled the reappearance of Belinda from her cabin. Thio turned to find her gracefully striding across the gangplank, her heeled boots, another Lightire fashion, beating a distinctive noise on the wood. Somehow, she’d found the time to bind her hair into a tight bun, redden her lips, brush her face with powders, and outline her eyes with black lines that tapered into a point. Thio would almost have said that she was beautiful.

If was such a shame that she was an insufferable bitch.

“What are you just standing around?” She demanded when she reached the shore, her haughty attitude right back with vengeance.

“There’s some concern about the number of soldiers we have.” Thio said, biting back the urge to answer sarcastically instead.

Now was not the time for them to butt heads.

“And you let them order you to stay put? Oh, Thio, you really are a wet sort.”

“Well, maybe I think it’s a better idea to be diplomatic and follow the rules of this place, than to open with aggression.” Thio spat back.

A bump into his arm from Hendrick reminded Thio to take a deep breath and regain his calm.

Back under control, he continued. “I am leading this expedition, and I say there is no harm in working with them, until we are forced to reconsider our approach. You would do well to follow my lead.”

“I’m sure you know exactly what you’re doing.” Belinda sneered, then stepped away, dismissing him.

Thio muttered some choice words under his breath, then turned back to Hendrick.

“Disembark four of the men, then tell the rest to stay put for now. Let’s not give them the impression we’re an invading force.”

Hendrick bowed his head, then strode off, barking orders.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Before long, the official returned, three other figures by his side. One was a blonde haired young woman, with piercing eyes and clad in one of the most ugly tabards Thio had ever seen, a garishly eye-catching alternating yellow and grey. Behind her walked two skeletons, their bones shrouded in black fabric and wearing the same yellow and grey tabard the woman was.

“I’m sorry for the wait.” The official said, panting slightly. Turning to the woman beside him, he bowed his head. “This is them, Lady Rachel.”

The woman stepped forward, looking Thio over. “So, what are you here for?”

“Are you in charge of this place?” Thio asked.

“No, that would be Lord Reud.”

“Lord Reud… I’m not familiar with the name.” Thio said. “But I must speak with him, about this new city and its place in Rudase.”

Rachel frowned. “I see. I can take you to him, but I can’t have what, two score armed men marching through the streets. I’ll have to ask your men to stay on your boats, for now. Unless they would be willing to relinquish their weapons?”

“If we bring just the seven of us,” Thio gestured to Hendrick, Belinda, and the four men behind him, “would that be acceptable instead?”

Rachel thought a moment, then nodded. Holding out a hand to one side, she gestured something. Immediately, one of the two skeletons stepped around them to face the boats, legs planted and arms crossed behind its back.

Rachel nodded, then turned, gesturing to Thio. “Follow me.”

She led them in silence through the throngs of people and buildings full of boxes, and out to an empty street, surrounded by ruined buildings. Empty, ruined buildings.

Thio looked around in surprise. “What happened here?”

“We haven’t reclaimed the whole city yet.” Rachel said. “We only rebuilt the docks due to the merchants, and now the refugees. The liveable sections of the city are up ahead.”

“What can you tell me about the city?” Thio asked, now that the woman seemed to be in a talkative mood. “There’s nothing really but rumours of its existence back in Calista.”

“Where do I start?” Rachel responded. “We’re rebuilding Srinaber from its ruins back to its former glory, bit by bit. As such, we have a lot of space, so we welcome anyone, rich or poor, who wants to settle down.” She looked at him. “You too, if you want to stay.”

Thio smiled. “Thank you for the offer, but I have a home to return to, after this.”

Rachel shrugged. “Your loss. Lord Reud makes life very easy for everyone, his undead do the majority of any physical work required, from building things to clearing trees to sowing crops.”

Belinda’s voice cut through the conversation. “Lord Reud, he is the necromancer that made these undead?”

“He is.” Rachel said. “Why?”

“I am not aware of a necromancer or a noble with that name. Who is he, where is he from?”

“Those are questions you’ll have to ask Lord Reud himself. I am certainly not at liberty to divulge so many personal details to strangers.”

Thio could see that the woman was becoming more uncomfortable at the line of questioning by the moment. Yet, Belinda pushed on.

“You do know that a foreign mage claiming territory in Rudase is not only a crime against our laws, but Lightire’s laws too? So why would you-”

“Belinda, I think that’s enough for now.” Thio snapped. “I think those questions are best left for another time.” He gave her a warning look, hoping she’d take the hint.

If this was a foreigner, and Duke Hosta wanted to press the issue, that was his business. But Thio would definitely not be caught in the middle. Belinda glared back at him, but thankfully, for once, didn’t overrule him.

Thank Idia for small mercies.

Turning to Rachel, Thio tried to steer the conversation to other topics. “We saw a lot of boats leaving Avonford as we passed, has that been a problem for you? I see a fair number have decided to come here.”

Rachel shrugged. “As I said, we have a lot of space, so incorporating them hasn’t been an issue. Every last person that we can attract can bring the city value, Lord Reud says. But I think it’s best I let him explain the rest.”

She lapsed into silence, guiding them into a part of the city that finally seemed to be built up fully. A wooden wall stood as a stark divide between the ruins and the liveable city, a pair of boys peeking out above it waving to Rachel as she approached. The gate through the wall stood wide open, and through it Thio could see people milling in all directions.

Rachel led them on through the city, before pausing in front of a large building.

“Wait here for a moment.” She said, then gestured something to the skeleton beside them and entered the building. A minute later, she emerged.

“Lord Reud and Lady Lilia are on the practise field. Please, follow me.” She said, then gestured to the skeleton again and walked off.

“Who is Lady Lilia?” Thio asked as they passed through the city.

“Lord Reud’s wife.” Rachel said. “But as I said, they’re both together on the practice field, so you’ll meet them soon enough.”

She didn’t seem willing to speak any further, so Thio lapsed into silence, instead simply observing his surroundings.

The buildings of the city were colourful, ornamented with all sorts of paintings and signs, with some even having colourful plants in square boxes attached to their street-side faces. The people seemed… happy. Positive. And entirely accepting of the undead that walked through their midst, dragging crates, lifting planks, or otherwise performing all sorts of menial tasks.

It was the strangest city Thio had ever been in.

Rachel led them out another gate and into a wide open field beyond. On it stood four figures, a pale man, a raven-haired woman, a black-wrapped skeleton, and some sort of giant man. The giant man and the woman were sparring, their blades clashing together almost faster than Thio could follow, sending a rapid clashing beat echoing off the ruins around them.

“Wait here.” Rachel said, then hurried off to the pale man.

“They’re mages, all of them.” Belinda hissed, her face deadly serious.

“What? How do you know?” Thio asked.

“I have very developed mana senses, so I can tell. If this goes bad, just keep your men back, they’ll be worse than useless. I will handle things alone.”

Thio looked at her with concern. She seemed a little too ready to fight for his liking.

“There’s been no sign of any hostility so far, so maybe let's try the diplomatic approach first.” He said.

“I will not tolerate some weak foreign mage claiming land here in Rudase. If he really is an illegal, I will not hesitate to do my duty.”

Thio reached out and grabbed her arm. “Belinda, calm down. We have a purpose here, for both our families sakes. Don’t forget that.”

She glared back at him for a moment, before sighing. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.”

The woman and the huge figure stopped fighting, and the whole group walked over to Thio, Rachel by their side. When they were close enough, Thio realized the huge figure was a skeleton too, just one wrapped in a bulky set of armour made from a strange set of azure chitin and silver-green metal plates. His weapon too was strange, a huge curved blade, made from the same blue and green material as his armour.

If he didn’t know better, Thio would have sworn the blade was some sort of giant insectoid leg.

“May I introduce Lord Reud and Lady Lilia.” Rachel said as the group stopped before them.

“I am Thio Hostmeir, and this is Belinda Marches.” Thio said, giving a polite bow.

“Rachel tells me you are from Calista.” The pale man, Lord Reud presumably, asked. “What brings you all the way north?”

“That would be a topic that I’m sure you were expecting to hear about before long.” Thio said. “Namely, that of the city’s taxes.”

Lord Reud raised an eyebrow. “And why would I be expecting to hear about that?”

“Well, the court has no records of any tax collected from this city, mainly due to the fact it did not exist until apparently very recently. We are merely here to rectify that.”

“Ah, I see.” Lord Reud said. “That makes sense.”

That was a relief, Belinda’s fears had been starting to get to him. He really wanted to get this whole expedition over this as soon as possible, and get home before his father could ruin their family entirely.

“I have a writ proving my credentials to collect and officially recognize your payment.” Thio said, gesturing for Hendrick to step forward with the document. “If you are happy, I can get out of your hair before the day is up.”

“No.”

“Where would you-”

Wait. Had he just said no? That hadn’t been a trick of his mind, right?

“Sorry, I missed that.” Thio said.

“No.” Lord Reud said, his voice quiet. “Srinaber won’t be paying any taxes to Duke Hosta, or to anyone else for that matter. Your journey has been wasted, I’m afraid.”

“I… uh…” Thio stammered.

Well, that wasn’t good.

That wasn’t good at all.