Our retreat towards the buffet was a success. It stopped people from asking us to dance. Unfortunately, it did not mean that nobody approached us. There were a few curious people. Instead of enjoying the food I was busy having small talk with nobles whose names I immediately forgot.

There were not any notable people around. The higher nobility seemed to watch from a distance. I did spot Archibald, he seemed quite furious. But he kept his distance.

I sighed in relief as the time we were supposed to stay came to an end. My dancing skeletons remained at the ball. I told them to follow the princess orders. The carriage we had arrived with was waiting outside. We greeted the driver and got in. The draugr sat outside.

“Let’s not do this again.” Skadi said.

“Yeah, this was not fun.” I agreed. “Although I enjoyed the dancing, with friends.”

“I did not poison anyone. So it went well.” Cassie stated.

“Nobody challenged anyone to a duel. It was quite civilised.” Helena added.

“Are duels common?” I wondered.

“Depends. Nobles use them to bolster their ego. Most are simply a sword fight with fancy rules and nobody gets seriously hurt. I call them a show. It’s not true fighting.” Helena said.

“A young man tried to impress me once by challenging someone to a duel.” Cassie recounted. “Thing is, the person he challenged was not my friend. It was an annoying man I could not get rid off. So while they fought to impress me, I was not even watching. I enjoyed the buffet instead.”

“I was challenged to a duel once.” Helena said. “A boy wanted to put me in my place. He cried in the end. Although, I might have broken the rules. Apparently punching was not allowed.” She shrugged. “Duelling rules are silly.”

Our carriage stopped.

“Are we already at the academy?” I wondered.

Then I heard a short cry and a thump. I opened the door and saw my draugr. His sword was bloody and the dead driver was at his feet. A dagger was stuck inside my draugr's chest.

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I looked around. We were in a warehouse and surrounded by armed people. Nyx growled and jumped from my head.

“I think we have a problem…” I said.

Helena drew her sword. “I think they have a problem.”

All of us left the carriage and looked around. I was already casting a water shield to protect myself. If they were clever, they would have someone with a ranged weapon.

“Next time, I am bringing the Iron Beaks.” Cassie said.

Nyx grew in size and stood in front of us. My draugr covered himself in ice armour.

“Lay down your weapons and come quietly.” A man said.

I could see around twenty people. They were armed with a variety of weapons and mostly cheap armour. I could see a bit of mail but no plate. Mostly they used leather. If they did not have a mage, they would not stand a chance. Of course there might be some more, hidden. The carriage behind us provided cover but also blocked part of our view.

The warehouse we were in was large. Most of it was empty, but there were some crates. I spotted two people with crossbows next to them.

“Nyx will give us some cover with her fog. It won’t have any necrotic magic in it, but it will be cold. Sorry Cassie.” I said.

“I will live.” She replied. “Remind me to bring more bombs to the next ball.”

We talked quietly, so the attackers would not hear us. They seemed nervous since we did not comply with their demands.

“We have you surrounded. Don’t make this difficult.” The man said.

We did not have time to truly strategize but it was not our first battle. Nyx exhaled and covered us in her fog. I heard arrows being fired but my shield was up. Cassie was taking cover behind me. Skadi and Helena had their own shields.

While the fog impeded our own vision, we were facing a large group. And I had a lot of mana. So I started firing necrotic darts. My friends attacked as well.

The screaming indicated that we hit something.

“Stop shooting! Get in there and capture them!” I heard someone shout.

Meanwhile, I remembered the dead driver. I wasted no time and animated him. I was certainly getting faster at this. I heard a lot of fighting around me. I could feel more corpses as my friends felled the attackers. And I animated them all.

Nyx dropped the fog to give us better vision. Now that we were in close combat, the archers were less of a concern. And thanks to my minions the odds were looking better and better.

As the vision cleared I could see the horror in our enemies eyes. By now I had animated five corpses. And one of them was in the back, near the enemies with crossbows. He had a rock bolt from Skadi stuck in his head. It almost looked like he had a horn.

While Cassie did not have any bombs, she was still a mage. She threw small bolts of fire and someone's clothes ignited. Skadi and Helena were in the midst of things with their swords. Helena protected herself with ice while Skadi had hardened her skin with earth magic.

Cassie and myself were at the back. I threw some necrotic bolts but focused on animating anyone that fell. Keeping an eye on my undead, and commanding them, took a lot of concentration. Instead of simply telling them to attack I was coordinating them to go after important targets, like enemies with ranged weapons.

I had expected a mage to make an entrance. But we only faced normal enemies. It was a slaughter. The last three tried to run. Cassie set one on fire while Nyx chased down the other two.

“Is everyone alright?” I asked.

“Just some scratches.” Skadi said.

“A small cut in my shoulder, nothing bad.” Helena reported.

“I am fine.” Cassie said.

“Let’s see if anyone is still alive, so we can question them.” Helena suggested.