[Undead Lieutenant]!
Were the first and second words the skeleton had heard that it truly understood, surely it’s master had some greater purpose for it, compared to the rest of the skeleton it’s master commands, surely it will be given greater purpose in leading a glorious warhost to-
[Awaken]!
Was the third word that the skeleton, which suddenly found itself suddenly named Vey, heard from its master’s voice. It also now understood that what its master had been doing was a spell, and it also now understood that it had become something far more than a mere skeleton as it had been moments ago, surely, now, its master would have some grand task for-
“Go and fetch me a glass of water!” Its master commanded with a wave of his oaken staff, and the magical compulsion Vey had never been aware of until now compelled it to obey. Vey probably would’ve done it willingly if it had been asked, but it was now beginning to understand that its master never asked, only commanded. Vey walked lethargically over to the odd stone structure in the center of the dungeon’s main hall. Incidentally, it now understood that the place it is in is called a dungeon, and that the stone structure is called a fountain. It also understood that the wooden mug leaning on the thick edge of the stone fountain is called a mug, and that by ‘fetch me a glass’, its master probably intended for it to get a mug of water, not a glass.
Vey did as commanded, it felt that it literally couldn’t disobey, but also it didn’t actually want to, at least not yet. Sure, its master might be commanding when Vey really felt he should be asking, but Vey also legitimately didn’t understand that it was capable of disobeying yet. As Vey walked back to its master with the almost overflowing mug of water, it idly checked its status, which was apparently a thing it was allowed to do for itself now.
Level and Hit Die:
0, 1
Current HP/MHP
8/8
Armor Class
11
MP
N/A(Non-Caster)
Class:
None(Monster)
Name:
Vey
Race:
Skeleton[Human, Male, Adult]
Subrace:
None/NA
Alignment:
Neutral Evil
Height
5’6 ft
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Attributes:
MHP
STR
CON
DEX
INT
WIS
CHA
SPD
LCK
NAC
Base:
8
10
10
10
4
4
4
30ft
2
10
Race:
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
Effects:
0
0
0
0
4
4
4
0
0
0
Total:
8
10
10
12
8
8
8
30ft
2
10
Proficiencies
Skills(Passive)
Skills(Active)
Magic Effects
Pacts and Curses
Simple Weapon
Proficiency
Undead Endurance
Positive Energy Weakness
Simple Tool Proficiency
Negative Energy Healing
Light Armor Proficiency
Undead Lieutenant
Awakened
Commanded As Undead
It took Vey the entire duration of time walking over to its master to pull up its status, and comprehending it took it a moment as well. It was, after all, the first time Vey was able to see it. It was also the exact moment it realized that yes, being aware that you are under magical control allows you to resist it. Vey did not do so, however, as it had just handed its master the requested mug of water, and was awaiting its master’s response eagerly.
The anticipated response did not come, which left Vey with a distinct feeling of frustration and annoyance. It wasn’t like Vey had expected to be thanked, but it didn’t want to be ignored. Its master merely nodded in apparent self-satisfaction that his spells were working properly, and that Vey was indeed more intelligent than the others, and it began walking towards the direction of the stone chamber the master used as his living quarters.
Left to its own devices without a specific command, Vey began to wonder what exactly it should do with itself. Should it serve its master? It felt like that’s what it should be doing, but Vey was aware that the feeling came from magical compulsion, not from loyalty. Should it try to lead its less than sentient fellows? It failed to see what good that would do, as it now understood that without a mind as Vey now had, magical commands were the only way to make them do anything, and Vey hadn’t been given the ability to magically command its fellows.
Or had it? Vey quickly reread the description of the magical effect [Undead Lieutenant].
Undead Lieutenant
Confers a minor intellect boon, as well as a portion of the caster’s knowledge onto an otherwise mindless undead. Grants the undead the ability to give commands to other undead controlled by the caster.
Stat Adjustments:
Int, Wis, Cha +2
Vey deduced that from this description, it probably could, even if it didn’t know how yet. But Vey wasn’t sure that it wanted to, since after all, its peers already had the perfectly sensible orders of patrolling the entrance, halls, and other areas of the dungeon for invaders, so it wasn’t like they really needed much more direction than that. It also fully recognized that there probably was something important it could be doing, but it still wasn’t intelligent enough to do.
As Vey got lost in deep thought for the first time in its existence, it settled on a core desire in its heart.
It wanted to be a wizard.