The next day we started packing. Helena organised a wagon and we used my horse to pull it. We were fine with walking but we needed a place for our supplies. This time we would bring better food.

I had ten zombies remaining. There was no time to try and change them into skeletons so they joined us like that. We also had Frank, the draugr, and my two goblins from the field exercise. We settled for twenty Iron Beaks which joined us as well. They stayed in the wagon while the other undead marched.

Summer was slowly coming to an end. The weather was quite nice, hopefully it would stay that way. It took us until midday to get ready but we would still arrive before dark.

A lot of students were leaving during the break. Most used fancy carriages. We had a supply wagon and a small group of undead. It did get us some weird looks but I was well known by now.

Nyx was not sitting on my head, instead she was sitting next to the driver on the wagon. The undead driver was one of the remaining zombies so he was taking care of the wagon. I just ordered him to follow Helena’s lead. She knew where we were going.

“How long until we are ambushed? Anyone wants to bet?” Skadi asked.

“I say they attack during the second night. They will try to observe during the first one.” Helena said.

“First night. They will hope we are tired and unprepared.” Cassie said.

“I think they will ambush us on the way back. It gives them time to prepare.” Skadi suggested.

“Are you that sure we are getting attacked? I think a lot of nobles are trying to court or bribe me. I have gotten some invitations recently…” I said.

“Really? You never said anything.” Helena replied.

“I declined them all. I have no plans to attend a fancy dinner. Also, I had to prepare for the exam. Sadly that excuse is now gone.” I sighed.

“Don’t forget Ilestria. They have even more reason to go after you now.” Skadi pointed out.

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“Sure. But they would need competent agents here. We haven’t heard from the royal investigator, but I would assume Ilestria’s spies did not have an easy time since that priestess talked.” I said.

“They could hire mercenaries.” Cassie suggested.

“True. But most of them are not going to be strong mages. And we can deal with normal thugs.” I said.

“Normal thugs are just free undead.” Helena said with a smile. “We could use more undead! You need an army.”

“Well, I am going to get some undead animals. And maybe we will get some mounts.” I said.

Nobody attacked us on the way to our camping spot. It was about 150 metres away from the forest. That would allow us to spot anything that emerged and give us a little time to react. We arrived late in the evening. There was a nice grassy area next to the road, ideal for camping. A stream was about 100 metres away. It ran parallel to the road and entered the forest. It was big enough to supply water and allow us to wash.

We brought two tents. I would share one with Helena and Skadi would share the other with Cassie. Setting them up was easy. We gathered some stones and built a small fire pit for cooking.

“What are we having for dinner?” I asked.

“We still have some fresh bread. I am thinking a stew would go nice with it. I got sausage, potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms…” Helena said.

“NOOOO!” I shouted.

Helen snickered. “Ok, no mushrooms. I just wanted to see your face when I mentioned them.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I have no problem feeding you to Nyx.”

“That is why I regularly bribe Nyx with bones.” Helena countered. “Who is a good kitty!” She pulled a small piece of bone from her pocket and threw it towards Nyx.

“Traitor.” I said while my feline companion ate her treat.

“We also have some ale!” Skadi announced while carrying a small barrel. “This is a vacation after all.”

“I will get the mugs.” Cassie said.

I grabbed a pot. “I will help Helena cook. And make sure she does not use mushrooms…” I mumbled.

Helena grinned.

It was already getting dark when we started eating. It was a nice meal. Having decent ingredients and some spices made a big difference.

“Camping is so much better without crackers.” I stated.

“Yes.” Helena agreed.

“How are we going to handle tonight’s security?” Skadi asked.

“My zombies are forming a circle around the camp. They are not very intelligent though. But they have orders to restrain anyone who enters the camp and make noise if they detect something. Frank will stand guard in front of the tents directly with the goblins.” I said.

“What about the Iron Beaks?” Cassie asked.

“They are waiting for orders. Since they explode I don’t want them to engage without orders. All of my undead will listen to your commands, by the way.” I told them.

“As further precaution we will have one person awake keeping watch.” Helena added. “Cassie gets first watch, followed by Skadi, myself and Koyuki. We can rotate the watch order during our stay.”

We nodded.

Afterwards we talked some more and enjoyed our ale by the fire. We made sure to not get too drunk. We had some hunting to do tomorrow. It was an hour before midnight when we went to bed. Nyx did not join me in our tent, instead she sat at the fire. Maybe she wanted to keep watch. Or she was hoping for treats from Cassie. Despite the potential of an attack I quickly fell asleep.