The zombie did not have anything on him, sadly. But we salvaged part of the clothing. Maybe someone could get a clue from it. Then we kept going. We arrived at the docks shortly after and found a patrol.

Helena approached them. “I am lady Helena Frost. We had a certain incident we need to report. We also require directions to the academy.”

The guards eyed my horde of zombies. Then they looked at our uniforms. “Are you the ones who were involved in the Ilestrian priestess incident?” One of them asked.

“Those were my friends over there. Koyuki and Cassie.” Helena confirmed.

“Sure, we shall escort you to our commanding officer. You can report this incident and we shall show you how to return to the academy.”

As we followed them we started to relax a bit.

“Are you keeping those zombies?” Skadi asked.

“They do stink.” Helena confirmed. “You can’t have them near our room. Why does the draugr smell ok?”

“The draugr is a higher class of undead. He won’t rot in the normal sense. His flesh is… sort of dead. In some way it is preserved, like if you salt meat a lot. I admit that I don’t understand the entire process but higher undead do not decay further. A normal zombie, especially one raised on short notice, is flawed. I think parts of the dead flesh are not entirely soaked in magic.”

“So you are saying that death magic also kills the things that normally cause decay. A perfect zombie has his flesh infused by magic, which wilts it somewhat, but then stops any further rotting.” Cassie summarised.

“Yes.” I confirmed.

“Could you get rid of the imperfect parts? Like, upgrade your zombie? Or clean it?” Helena asked.

“What if we dissolved the flesh, could we turn them into skeletons?” Cassie wondered.

“I don’t know. I have to ask my teacher.” I admitted. “Undead can evolve over time. But I do not know if you can transform the type of undead they are.”

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We arrived at the guard station and made a full report. The only thing we did not mention was the Brotherhood. It was something I wanted to report to the headmaster instead. The guards dispatched someone to the ambush site and escorted us back to the academy. There, we explained the situation once more, to the headmaster.

The four of us were standing in his office. Nyx was on my head again. He listened to our story calmly.

“Hm. I was curious when the Brotherhood would make a move.” Erik said.

“You know of them, sir?” I asked, surprised.

“Of course. They would have never revealed themselves otherwise.” He chuckled. “They are terrorists. A cult that we can’t get rid of, because they have some ties to the nobility. We don’t know who exactly backs them but I have my theories. The Brotherhood operates in Ilestria as well. Also, they are the prime suspects for the attack on the auction house where you had your awakening.”

“Why did you never tell me, sir?” I wondered.

“You would not be the first to be tempted by power. I wanted to see how you would react to their offer. You know, not every slave who gets the same opportunity is loyal to the kingdom. The teachers have been watching you. Not just because of your potential. We have been evaluating your character, your choice of friends,...” He looked at my friends, who were standing next to me.

Erik continued: “Koyuki, you are a pleasant surprise in many ways. It’s not just your talent. That you are standing here, telling me about this offer, proves that we were right. That I was right.”

I pondered that. It made sense. It would have been foolish for them to just assume I was loyal.

“Now, there is something that you girls seem unaware of. The carriage has a small hidden compartment. The guards found a pouch of coins in there, when they searched the carriage. This happened while you gave your report to the officer.”

He showed us a pouch. It had a crest on it. It was half blue, half white, with a grey tower in the centre.

“This is the Winston crest!” Helena exclaimed.

“It is indeed. Now that could mean the driver was bribed by the Winstons. It could also mean someone is trying to frame them. Considering their past actions, I am inclined to believe what the Brotherhood’s necromancer told you. They likely encouraged someone to set up the attack. The Brotherhood probably saw it as a gift. Free zombies for you.”

“They manipulated someone to set up the attack? You mean someone dumb. Someone who underestimates us. Someone who thinks a few normal thugs could actually defeat us.” I said.

“Someone who dislikes us and might want to own us. Humiliate us.” Helena added.

“You think Archibald is that dumb?” Cassie asked.

“Yes.” Skadi answered.

“While it is plausible, there is no real proof.” Erik cautioned us. “It is entirely possible that he was framed. Or someone stole the money from him. But there is something else…” He looked at us. It felt almost like an exam.

Then it hit me. “If he was manipulated by the brotherhood, it would mean one of his friends is likely a part of them!”

“But he is not friends with a necromancer.” Helena pointed out.

“It is possible that a student is hiding an affinity. Keep in mind, most are tested when young and we have no reason to question the outcome.” Erik said. “But the Brotherhood certainly has people who do not know death magic. While their leader is a powerful necromancer, they have plenty of officers who control other elements. They consider death magic the highest form of magic but they are using other elements too.”

“Having said that, all we have is a theory. There is no proof, yet. I am trusting you to behave appropriately. Observe. And tell me if you find out anything more. Also, you can store your zombies with your exploding chickens.” Erik said.

I blushed. “Um…”

He chuckled. “Did you really think we would not check what sort of undead you created? I have to admit, I am unsure how useful they are but it is an interesting idea. I encourage experimentation!”