There was no way to get a forge, and some metal, today. So we simply continued with the creation of more undead chickens. Despite the amount of bones we had, we only managed to get nine full chicken skeletons out of the first haul. But it was a start.

It took us another two weeks to rent the academy forge. At least it gave me time to learn the heal undead spell. Skadi had organised some metal and Cassie had bought containers that would fit into the ribcage of our undead. As we all met to continue our experiments Cassie looked gloomy.

“Did something happen?” I asked her.

She sighed. “I got a letter from my mom this morning. She heard concerning news about my behaviour, apparently.”

“Was it Florence complaining about you?” Helena asked.

Cassie shrugged. “No idea. But the letter also said she might consider lowering my allowance. She thinks I am spending too much on alchemy and not enough time looking for a husband. She even hinted that she might come to visit!”

“Wouldn’t that make it easier to explain things to her?” I asked.

Cassie looked at me. “No, no it wouldn’t.”

“At least she cares enough about you to visit.” Skadi said. “That has to count for something.”

Cassie considered that. “You know, she would never just visit to check on me. It makes no sense. There must be something else. Did you get a letter, Helena?”

“No, why?”

“I am thinking more nobles might show up and my mother is using me as an excuse to meet them!” Cassie concluded.

“Are you sure she is not just concerned?” I asked.

“I am at the Royal Military Academy. My mother knew it would be dangerous. Fighting is to be expected. It’s not like I was majorly wounded or anything.” Cassie said.

“You did get wounded by the vampiric nightshade.” I pointed out.

“It was just my foot and it was completely healed before we even got back to the academy. I am not even sure if she knows about it.” Cassie said.

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“Whatever happens, we got your back.” Skadi said.

“Thanks. I guess it's time to make the iron beaks a reality. We might need them in the dark days ahead!” Cassie sounded more enthusiastic again. That was good. I just hoped she did not really think she needed an army to face her mother.

“That is the spirit!” Helena exclaimed. “A proper show of force always helps in negotiations!”

Last Solday we had added another seven skeletons, now we had 16 undead chickens in total. We had even managed to hide them from the other students. No one knew what our plans were. Today we brought four chickens to the forge for experimentation.

“How does this work?” I asked my friends. I had no idea about forging.

“This is the smelter.” Skadi said while pointing at a stone cylinder. “We can melt the iron in there. Then we will dip the beak into it. I will quickly move it over to the forge and make sure the tip is sharp. Afterwards we cool it with water. My earth magic will help me shape it. I have actually practised for this during the last two weeks.”

“You visited the forge during the last weeks?” I wondered.

“Um no, I practised the relevant magic.” Skadi admitted. Well, she did sound confident.

“I can provide the cooling.” Helena said. “Koyuki, you heal the skeleton so the beak won’t be damaged.”

Nyx was watching from my head. She had not eaten any of the finished skeletons so far but some of the leftover bones had mysteriously vanished when no one was looking.

We all watched as Cassie used her fire magic to power the smelter. It could be operated with normal fire but it was primarily designed for a mage. Unsurprising, at an academy that taught mages, I suppose.

“Ok, I will start the first try.” Skadi announced. She picked up the undead and moved it to the molten metal. “Ready?”

I focused on my magic and readied the healing spell. I was not very good at it but I could compensate by using a lot of mana. “Ready.” I announced.

As soon as the beak made contact with the metal it began to smoke. I immediately unleashed my spell. So far it seemed to be working. Skadi quickly carried the chicken to the forge, then she used magic to ensure a sharp tip.

“Now!” Skadi said. Helena conjured water to cool the metal. Half of it drenched Skadi but it seemed to work. A few drops of iron had landed on the floor, Skadi was wet, but the operation seemed to be a success. We all examined the result.

Helena touched the beak. “It’s sharp!” She announced.

Cassie grabbed one of her bomb containers. “Ok, this thing will hold the potions. The beak needs to hit this area here in the centre.” She pointed at a small section. “We will go for a two compartment system. I think that is the best method and it works for the kind of bombs I have in mind.”

She placed the container within the rib cage. The vulnerable section was exactly between two ribs. For now, we used a rope to ensure the bomb stayed in place.

“Wait, is this actually going to explode?” Skadi asked.

“Of course not.” Cassie answered.

“Really?” Skadi asked, again.

Cassie blushed. “Maybe a little bit… But it’s not going to harm the skeleton! It is a celebratory explosion!”

“Let’s try it!” Helena suggested. But she did take a step back. I did so as well.

At first the skeleton failed to hit the mark. It actually hit its own rib. I winced and used the undead heal. The third try was successful. We heard the glass shatter, then a short sizzling…

And it exploded. It was big enough to catch me by surprise and I stumbled backwards.

“A small explosion, you said!” Skadi complained.

“THIS WAS AWESOME!” Helena cheered.

“See, it was so cool! Totally worth it!” Cassie added.

I had lost my concentration so the healing spell was not working anymore. The chicken skeleton lost one of its legs and fell over.

“Eh, you can fix that.” Cassie said. Nyx jumped from my head next to the chicken. She poked it with a paw. Then she began to grow…

Before I could open my mouth to protest she started chewing the undead.

“Ok, maybe you can’t fix that. But it’s not my fault!” Cassie said. At least she was not gloomy anymore. And I had to admit, it was kind of cool.