“Boss, Boss, Boss. We should really rethink this.” Sarjay was trying to keep up with my pace as I rushed throughout the stronghold. I was going around the place supervising my companions on packing the place and gathering luggage.

“What should we rethink about this? We’ve been here for a thousand years! There’s nothing keeping us in here anyway. In the first place, the only reason we stayed here is because we don’t know what was going to happen if we have this power for long.” I shrugged Sarjay off. As I stepped into the treasury room and watched the mindless minions gather chests of gold to the entrance of the stronghold.

“You may have a point, but we don’t know what’s out there! Although, no one has attacked us for a long time, people would without a doubt still hate the undead! Which, by sheer coincidence, we are!” Sarjay was trying to stop me but I was insistent.

“Yes, yes. The risk. But, life is a gamble!” I chuckled as I helped one of my companions carry a chest. It was the master chef of the stronghold, though she was skilled in knifeworks, she was pretty clumsy when it came to heavy labor like this.

The halls were being swept, the furniture being stored and the doors being sealed. Even my humble throne was being locked with the rest.

“You’re not going to tour around as an undead! Whether you like it or not, people will attack you!” Sarjay tried to flank me with his impressive points. However, you underestimated me, fool!

“I’ve thought of an impressive disguise,” I retaliated with my stronger and more impressive points.

“Impressive disguise? Is this another one of your dumb ideas, Boss?” Sarjay scratched his skull and sighed.

“Beor! Show me my disguise!” I shouted to one of the skeletons carrying around a crate. He took out pieces of cloth and a metal mask, then gave it to me. I showed Sarjay with a triumphant look.

“I am right! This is one of your dumb ideas!” Sarjay snapped at me.

“Hold on, you’re jumping horses here, Sarjay. Watch the magic,” I said as I put on a hood matching the color of my white robes. I slid the mask onto my skeletal face and turned to Sarjay. I started flexing around and swung my arm around.

“Impressive, huh?” I boasted to Sarjay. He gave himself a facepalm then contemplated about his life for a minute. With a breathe, he replied, “No. Not really.”

Arc1_Illustration1 [http://i.imgur.com/Nq152j8.jpg]

“Tsk. Tsk. Look closely. Would an undead really go around wearing fresh white robes? I think not! Every undead except us have terrible sense of fashion, it’s common sense.” I shrugged my shoulders.

I looked around as most of my companions were also starting to put on the white robes and anything to cover their faces - Some chose very large hoods, some scarves around their head and some chose a metal mask like mine. The white hood tightened around the head concealed our skulls, with an amulet with my insignia around our humble robe. My companions also wore the thin metal shoulder pads akin to mine which served more as decoration than defense. Though my companions chose to wear leather gloves, I wore white gloves made from the silk of a forgotten beast. Comfy - knowing it stretches and deflects magic bolts!

Of course, not all of my companions wore robes, the ones more inclined to wear armor simply wore their armor over their robes or just wore more armor. The widely decorated varieties of robes and armor-over-robe gave a beautiful sense of individuality, something that was uncommon among the undead. On the other hand, I humbled myself with plain white robes, choosing only to wear my amulet as my only accessory.

Tied around my waist was a sheathed sword. Decorated with a beautiful symbol on its hilt, this sword was taken from a stray adventurer group one or two decades ago. The sword broke Sarjay’s sword in an epic duel between the strongest in the group and him, but eventually Sarjay won by catching the enemy off-guard by throwing his skull at his opponent. Although, I tried to give the sword to Sarjay to replace it, he had a grudge against the sword and attempted to destroy it until my other lieutenants insisted I keep it instead.

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But the sword was indeed high quality. For an adventurer group to possess such a sword, was it just by chance and fate they had it? Or does the outside world all have high-quality weapons? The answer wasn’t definitive as the rest of the adventurers’ equipment were poor.

‘Fatebinder’ - The name engraved upon the sword. I liked the tone of it. Sarjay...not so much. I tightened the belt around my waist to keep it from falling from my bony body and continued to observe the packing process.

Small dog-like beasts ran amok the stronghold trying to carry as much goods as they could. Skeletons moving crates and luggages everywhere. I smiled as I enjoyed the sight of it all. The stronghold hadn’t been so busy since it was first attacked, a few hundred years ago. Recently, we’ve grown so lethargic.

But who wouldn’t be energetic? A thousand years of sitting around would make one really want some good old breath of fresh air. Moreover, one should really go and see how much the outside world changed. Not many could get a chance like this.

Eventually, we finished moving all the things we had to move. It took us two days to fix everything. Everyone gathered at the entrance, with the large pool of treasure just piled up near it.

I counted, perhaps a hundred or more of us are here. Skeletons, beasts and such were gathered, it probably looked like an undead army about to invade a city. Well, it wasn’t far off. We were about to invade the tourist spots of every place, after all!

“Ah….huh. It’s been a thousand years. Thank you all of sticking around with me for so long,” I started my announcement. Everyone had been eagerly waiting for my departure farewells. It would be suspicious to have a hundred or so robed men with knights running around in one area so we agreed that we’d all tour the world separately.

Everyone had their cup of tea, of course. Some wanted to see the beaches, some wanted to see their homeland, some...some had dreams.

Although most of my companions were skeletons that had been my vassal for the last thousand years, some of the companions were either late-comers or created by me.  One of such was the abomination named Ts’tsku’Rook, whom of which we nicknamed ‘Rookie’ because of how we couldn’t pronounce his name.

He was created when we had left some food to rot in our stronghold, partially because we didn’t need to eat and partially because of our chef. Eventually the rotten food gained sentience and got stronger as it fed on animals in the nearby forest. He would come and go, but he usually stayed with us for long periods of time.

“So...ugh...ts...ts….Rookie, what’re your plans? It’s going to be a long time before our vacations end,” I asked Rookie.

“Me…” He let out a deep gasping voice. His voice and presence emanated death and despair. His every gasp tied to his every victim, his sorrow and anguish for being unable to control himself from killing. His forgotten memories, all gambled up. What could his dream be?

“I would like to finish my PhD in Mathematical Elemental Theory," Rookie replied.

“Oh! That’s wonderful! Which magic academy are you going for? Assuming that academy still exists," I inquired him.

“Perhaps in the Vallen Empire...My choices should be weighed upon the credibility of the educational institution. I am, of course, a being of logic,” He replied.

A sound man. I liked his idea. “Well, good luck, Rookie. I hope we meet somewhere, someday. Then we’ll have to call you Dr. Rookie, right? Ha ha!” I laughed along with Rookie and all my companions.

Even Rookie had plans for his future. Life seemed rather peaceful, perhaps in our tours, we could all find something that could inspire us for greater achievements. With this in mind, I continued my farewell speech, “Everyone, though we will separate for a long time. Perhaps months, years. Or even decades. Just remember that we’re all in each other’s hearts.”

My speech went on including safety and how they shouldn’t fear anything or such and that I hoped that they get to see what they want to see. Until eventually I ended with, “Let’s get ourselves a well-deserved rest!”

Everyone cheered and had a small party. I did not have any use for large amount of treasure so I had it divided evenly among everyone. Although some insisted that I should take a larger share, Sarjay warned the companions about my questionable spending habits and that I would be happier with equal share.

Well...I don’t have questionable spending habit, alright?

Once the party ended, groups of undead started separating, moving to distant places or without any direction. I don’t have any fear for them, they were capable enough to fight off hardened adventurers for centuries. But, it’s kind of heart-warming, it’s like seeing your children off.

“Now, Boss. Before you think that it’s like seeing your children off, you should remember that you’re the ‘child’ among us,” Sarjay commented.

“Hey! Just because I tend to cause a bit more trouble, doesn’t mean that I’m not fit for the description of a mature adult,” I defended.

“Yeah, yeah, Boss. Where are we headed off to now? I heard there’s a road far north from here. Since we’re one of the first groups to head out, we should go that way. Perhaps there’s a city,” Sarjay suggested.

Sarjay, a few other companions and I were going together in a group. Although some of them were coming with me because they’re madly loyal, the rest just came along because they thought I would attract the most fun.

Whatever that meant...