Volodar and Adelia followed him as he led them into a cave within the fortification. Cries could be heard coming within as Volodar saw some light at the end, bouncing off the cave walls. As the light illuminated what creatures were there, it was obvious. There were many children and female goblins lined up against the walls, surrounded by skeletons that were unmoving on all sides.
“Of course,” Volodar said in frustration, “I should have known that they would be cowardly enough to abandon their own kin.”
Adelia gently grabbed Volodar’s arm, “Let them go, lord. You don’t have any use for them, and they won’t be a threat.”
Volodar stared at the women before asking, “Do any of you speak the common tongue? Hello?”
None of the goblins responded as Volodar looked towards Hunter, “Do you have any idea if that zombie goblin survived the conflict.”
Hunter nodded his head, “It’s hard to miss him. I’ll go grab him.”
“One second, tell him to tell these people that they have not wronged me and that they are free to leave. None will harm them on their passage out. However, what happens after is none of my concern.”
Adelia seemed grateful as she thanked Volodar, “Thank you. It’s a graceful thing to witness someone with power having mercy.”
“Interesting,” Volodar stated as looked at the doll in her hands. “Let’s rest, we have much to do in the coming days.” The next few days were an exercise in how well they could manage their new troops while also raising the rest of the corpses. Goblins were more useful in death as their cowardice disappeared and left for vicious, small creatures. Most would think of it as a terrifyingly, remarkable sight. However, it became commonplace for Adelia to see these things over time. Life became easier, as creatures that would have terrified her months ago were now some of the things that kept her safe.
Hunter excelled in preparing expeditions, while Doppel seemed to enjoy commanding the skeletons in simple tasks. Volodar watched their growth from time to time as he continued raising the rest of the corpses. Adelia watched on as Volodar raised forty creatures from the ground in astonishment. She approached once the spell was completed, “You have truly grown in skill, my lord.”
“It’s tiresome and it takes time, but I agree. I have been feeling stores of energy welling from within recently. I’m nearly at my limit of things I can raise for now.” He grasped his hands as he flexed his fingers outwards, “I barely feel the skeletons of the goblins within my mana if I am to be completely honest. It’s all of the other creatures that are slowly eating away at me.” Volodar was nauseous the past few days as he repeatedly pushed himself through the task of raising them.
Hunter approached, “I believe you have a sizeable army now, my lord. Excluding the goblins that you acquired, your troops number more than sixty at the moment.”
“Good work, Hunter,” Volodar said, “there are plenty of goblins to go around.” Volodar walked around as most of the valuables were already packed and ready to be taken away. “Maybe I should go to a settlement,” Volodar mused, “we certainly have enough currency. I’ve heard that settlements have all sorts of items that can be useful.”
Adelia looked surprised, “You’ve never been to a town?”
“Not a large one, I’ve seen hamlets like yours before in the past. I could count them if I really wanted too.”
“I’ve never been to one either,” Adelia gave off a smile, “I guess that’s something we both have in common.”
“Well, I would like to head back to the tower before heading off to –“ Volodar stopped short of his sentence, “How would we get the items there if I can’t use the undead?”
Adelia toyed around with some ideas, “You could always buy horses, my lord. You’ll also need a wagon for them and the supplies to take care of them.”
Volodar waved his hands, “Bah, I rather learn spatial magic and create a way to carry luggage than do that.” Adelia’s eyes seem to light up as he spoke. He pondered for a moment before frowning, “I don’t have the aptitude for it, so don’t ask.” That’s all it took for Adelia’s hope to be shattered as she laughed it off.
“You’re smiling,” Adelia mentioned as she walked backwards.
He placed his hands up to his lips as he felt the contours of his own face. Volodar quickly snapped back to his old ways as he thought about Lucas’ teachings, “We should head out now. Lucas is probably bored being at the tower alone.” An uneventful journey was had as they made their way back to the tower. Volodar’s mind was flooded with many experiments that he wished to try out at some point. The broken tower appeared once more as they went to head inside.
Lucas came out and surveyed the large number of skeletons that were brought back, “It looks like you’ve been busy, master Volodar.”
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“I have, we took care of goblins at Tulnan’s Rise and returned afterwards.”
Lucas tapped his leg impatiently as he looked towards the skeletons, “Yes, yes. That’s good. That’s good.”
“I will be making my plans tonight on where to go from here.” Volodar continued, “Anyone who wishes to attend and provide counsel is more than welcome.”
The others remained outside as Volodar left their sight. Lucas furrowed his brow as he gazed at the other members. “So,” Lucas started, “did everyone perform their roles as intended?” He walked towards Doppel as he ran his finger down the broken flesh of the creature.
Adelia said, “We performed in an adequate w- “
“Doesn’t appear to be the case,” Lucas scoffed. “This pup was injured against goblinoids. He won’t make it by the master’s side much longer. That is my own personal guarantee.”
Doppel’s hollow eyes took count of his broken body as he straightened his posture. His seven foot figure was on full display as he stood tall before Lucas, “I will not tolerate abuse from an outsider who claims allegiance to the master. He has not recognized you as one of his own.”
“He doesn’t need to for I am his father’s creation.” Lucas paced around, “I have good authority to disband useless chunks of flesh such as yourself. I’ll simply get the master a better pet.”
Hunter drew his bow, “That’s blasphemy! Don’t dare question the skills of the master; you damn ingrate!”
“Oh?” Lucas tilted his head, “Not the skill, the material itself. Stow your bow, mere ghoul. I have better business to attend to. Tell the master that I will be gone for a few weeks, do try to be here when I get back.” Lucas took his leave as he morphed into a bat and flew off in the distance.
“I’m going to ask for permission to dispose of him,” Doppel declared. “I bet his flesh rips easily.” His voice reverberated through his body and swayed the grass gently.
Adelia grabbed the arm of Doppel as she spoke softly to him, “Let’s go to the lord, you need to be restored.” Hunter gave orders to the skeletons before following the others inside of the tower.
Volodar looked towards everyone, “Good, you all made it. Where’s Lucas?”
Adelia placed her hand out to stop the others from speaking, “He left for important business he claimed. He will be back soon.” He looked puzzled as she spoke and shook his head.
“Strange, he never told me about anything in particular.” Volodar pondered for a second before grabbing a piece of parchment before him. “We have grown in numbers over the course of time. I can’t afford to waste time chasing after Lucas. I believe it is the perfect moment to expand our reach.”
Hunter questioned, “Our reach?”
"Yes. The people of Tamarak wished to be within my domain.” Volodar marked the parchment as he drew upon it, “I have heard their wishes to call me master and will allow them to. However, I must prepare myself for that challenge.”
Adelia smiled as he spoke about his plans for Tamarak’s regrowth. One plan is to safeguard the roads from illegal activity. Bodies recovered from those skirmishes will bolster our army more, allowing for our domain to expand. It was a bold plan that could backfire should any of the nobles care enough to take action. He could also use the elder from the village as a fence, allowing items that he acquired to be sold legally. Most importantly, no one know was to know about the ties between Tamarak and himself.
Volodar laid out the last of his plans, “An illegal crime spree to kill those who have performed illegal acts. One crime will wash away the other. I feel justified in my actions.” He glanced towards Adelia as she awkwardly shook her head in protest. “Eh,” Volodar paused, “kill them quickly though so they don’t suffer. That will be my mercy.”
"The bandits ruin the lands and lives of many when they pillage,” Adelia spoke firmly. “You would be more than justified.”
“Thank you, Adelia.” Volodar said, “The job of securing the roads will be left to Hunter. Your animals combined and the skillset you have will fit that job the most.”
Hunter bowed, “Yes sire.”
"Doppel, you will stay by my side during this time.” Scratching his chin as he mumbled, “I do not know if or when the goblins will counterattack, but we will try to be prepared.”
His deep voice echoed back, “Of course, my lord.” Volodar looked towards Doppel and grabbed him by the arm.
“Let’s take care of your arms.” Over the course of the hour, Volodar used his proficiency in corpse preparation to suture Doppel into one piece. He then placed his hand upon the shoulder of Doppel as he would pour dark energy into him. The wound resealed as his arms looked to be normal once more. Volodar packed his tools as he spoke, “The sutures will meld with your flesh eventually, I’m sure. How do your arms feel?”
Doppel kneeled as he spoke, “They are whole, once again. Thank you, your majesty.”
“That’s good. I have a few experiments I want to run in relation to the spirit. I also need to test the energies that bind you all to me. A connection could be made to communicate with those I raise.” Volodar ran ideas through his mind on how he could speak to his creations at any time if he expended an appropriate amount of energy. It would make for better communication and improve nearly every aspect of their lives.
I will start my experiments, in the meantime, you all can resume your previous tasks. Two weeks or so had passed as progress was made on his new spell. A wordless spell that would allow him to talk to any creation that he had made if he focused on his mana. Hunter began his process as bodies were already being sent back to the tower for reanimation.
Volodar would toy with the idea of enhancing the Troll during this time as he strengthened the bone structure of the creature in his downtime. Adelia would prepare food and assist Volodar with his experiments as she would also progress slowly through her own studies. He could only assist her so far with that field of study before she found herself going at her own pace.
Holodar sent a message using this new spell to Hunter, “How are the events near Tamarak?”
“Bad,” Hunter began, “I’m two days out from the tower right now returning. The noble that rules this land has the nickname, ‘Boar’. He has gotten wind that there is a necromancer that set up nearby and knows of your location.”
Wracking his brain of the possibilities, Volodar looked towards Adelia. “Who could’ve told the humans about this location?”
Adelia frowned as she thought about Lucas. “It could be the goblins that escaped, sire.” She seemed to fidget with her hands as she stepped closer, “It could also have been Lucas, my lord.”
Volodar stared at her in bewilderment, “What do you mean, Lucas?”