Well, it had been a bitch to manage and I had to add in a soul for more oomph to the spinal coils I had grafted inside his thicker forearms. The rogue’s leather armour had now fully encased it’s form, granting an even more vivid visage of a walking dried up mummy without wraps or something. However it had these vampiric fangs showing from beneath the almost puckered snarl that the “lips” of his mouth had become.

I gave him a little more armour in the shape of a sort of bone scale mail as a stop gap for later. I had used a pair of almost kunai like daggers to form the tip of the tiny and maneuverable yet very durable spinal column like bone rope.

I watched as the rogue moved around a little and shot the spikes out and then moved them around before retracting them back into his palms. I made the forearms look like bone gauntlets instead of his actual forearms and hardened it considerably to be of actual use as half shields.

Well if that was all I’d still say the rogue would be impressive, however, he also had a special soul within him. I had used shadow infusion to create a shade as I did at the black market with my other four spectres and then used the shade to make a spectral skeleton. The bone’s had blackened and teeny tiny wisps of smoke come off him, almost like he has tiny holes inside his bones which it was coming out off. His eyes weren’t an ethereal blue but rather a deep purple instead, which I thought gave him a sort of shadow ninja feeling or something.

However, the leather around his emaciated form gave a rather eerie feeling to me. I wouldn’t be able to take him… or any of my minions for that matter, out in public. I sighed a little and decided to move on to another experiment of mine. Deciding to give him a name later.

Using soul crafting I tore out one of the Lycans from one of my rings and moulded the soul into another shape. Giving it a human skin look to it’s now unnaturally long and thin limbs almost human limbs. I draped a scrap of cloth over it which worked as a hood around the raven skull the size of a human mans. In the new creations hand was one of my throw away steel swords which rusted and pitted as the shade soul bound itself to it.

When it was over I smiled as I watched the creature hover before me. The scraps of cloth had elongated from barely being made into a tiny hood over the raven skull but now would easily cover most of my upper body with a few ripped up tips would reach to my thighs. The being was sort of blue-skinned with the cloth a deep purple almost a black colour. The raven skull was the lightest shade of blue while the very tip of its beak was a deep black, no ethereal flames burned in this spectres eyes. No that fire was reserved for the sword in its hands. The rusted and pitted metal had scant areas that allowed one to look beneath all the rust to see the obsidian like steel beneath.

The spectre floated there as if a sea creature swimming around, though below its exposed ribcage there was nothing any lower save empty air and trailing pieces of cloth. It moved with odd grace as it moved around me before raising the sword to its chest, pointing the tip straight up, in a salute as if a knight.

I smiled and looked it over. I thought of another few types of this creature, long sharp claws to rend and reach into mortals, chains to bind and tear into foes and then lay my eyes on the armours Morice had bought for me. I smiled widely. Especially since this new spectre counted as just that, a spectre bound to the sword and my will. I could still fill up some spots in my Spectral skeleton slots but I had sadly neglected my spectres.

I went on to remedy that. I created another sword-wielding spectre out of the second Lycan spectre. The two wolfmen became the type with razor-sharp claws and wolf skulls instead of raven skulls. I liked symmetry sue me.

Now the wooden armour was a doozy for me. First off I got a new skill out of it. Possession, it allowed me to force a soul into an object or person to animate the object or person. I think. The wording was rather vague. What the wooden armour turned into however were these sort of blobs of wood and the rusty metal ones turned into living armours.

The wooden blobs just sort of stood there and I decided to focus on them last. But the Living armours did need weaponry, I’d at least give them steel weaponry. I decided they’d become Abhorash’s first subordinates, his lieutenants in a coming knightly order. I wonder what I shall call it. The Void swords? Nah way to edgy, I think. Hmm, Order of the Bone? NOPE!!! Sounds like a porn studio or something much worse.

Fuck it! Black Knights. Why not let the edge flow every once in a while? Maybe I’ll make the spectres with the swords become the order of the void swords? Hmm, I’ll have to look into it at a later date. As the Living armours saluted me and turned to go to guard stations, I noticed that the armours back seemed a little crinkled. Perhaps the armours would develop after evolving a few ranks? I mean they’re ranked and named as Rank 1 Living squire. Hopefully, I’ll be able to change the material they’re made out of in the future.

The spectral units I just made were named Ghostly squires and Ghostly howlers. Turns out the Wolf skull and claw one’s had a skill called terrifying howl that well terrifies and a ghostly howl that hurtles out a shock wave of sound and force from them at their enemies. The Squire’s could shot out almost ghostly waves from their swords though very short-ranged and elongate their weapons a little with spectral fire.

I looked over and saw that Vashanesh had finished with the other three Anubai skeletons to turn them into Lesser Ushabti. I proceeded to raise them and granted one another great bone Kopesh while the other two I looked over curiously. I then looked to the wooden slimes? and had an idea. Mentally I commanded one of the free and unarmed Ushabti to go and equip the wooden armour. It looked towards the wood and then made slow pondering motions towards it.

To my utter astonishment, the wood seemed to seek out the Ushabti and formed around its bones and then sinking into them. The bones gained an ebony wood-like texture and the creature had even grown by a head in size. The wood suddenly began to expand and then warp a little before it took on an even more flesh-like look yet still held the ebony wood make. It even gave the face a partial skin mask as if this was a very dried up Anubai body. Though the very front of the skull was still visible.

I smiled wide and ordered the other to do the same. I watched it transform in much the same manner as the other and ordered them towards me. I infused them with shadow and flinched back. Once more a ripple overtook the wood and it changed to a much more leathery look before tall spears sort of grew out of the Ushabti’s hands. They saluted me as they stood at attention with their spears butt on the ground and their free hand in a fist over their chest.

They now reminded me quite a bit of the army of Anubis from that mummy movie series. However, their spears were more like glaives if I had to describe them. Their names had even turned to Lesser Ironflesh Ushabti. They also seemed to just disappear from my skeleton list and appeared in a new designation, possessed undead. I found that rather interesting and remembered that Necroshade guy and smiled widely. He might be an interesting experiment in trying to combine spectral skeleton and possession as a skill combination. After all, having an actually experienced necromancer at my beck and call might be good.

It was at that time that the hunting pack returned to me and I looked towards Morice. “Time for your experiments.” I almost sang in delight and he looked at me from staring at the Ironflesh Ushabti. A smile grew as he saw the six-strong wolf pack and even two stags that had been brought for him.

He moved over to the corpses and I began to direct him in trying to visualize the changes he’d like to have on the creature he was going to raise. We started on the stags and the first was…. A miserable failure. Oh, he raised a zombie all right, the thing just… yeah, let’s just say the abomination he somehow twisted it into would give my nightmares of John carpenters the thing a run for its money.

The second he turned to me and asked for my help and once it was done we had a huge wolf-like creature. The skin tight and torn with flecks and strings of flesh clinging to the now exposed wolf skull. The stag’s horns were gone but instead around index finger length spikes grew out of the creatures back all razor-sharp like its teeth and claws. I looked to Morice who had a very wide and proud smile on his lips.

“Well then Frankenstein, want to try without my help on one of these wolves?” I asked with a smirk. He gave me a strange look and I gestured for him to forget it, though he didn’t and asked me to explain… so I did. I told him the story of Frankenstein and his monster and I noticed the strange glint that began to grow in his eyes.

“So this Frankenstein was a master necromancer who used the elements to infuse his creations with power huh?” He said and then looked over to his success before looking to one of the wolf corpses and then to me. “Let’s try shadow infusing this corpse before I raise it.” He said and I smiled at his idea, seems he was getting the hang of this creative use of skills thing.

A minute later I stared at Morice with an angry scowl on my lips and murder in my eyes. He gave me an apologetic smile as he helped pull the teeth out of my shoulder. That had been a bad idea. “Maybe if you try to infuse them with shadow once I have raised them?” He then asked and I glared at him.

This time it was a success, though I was behind a wall of the minions I had raised today. I wasn’t going to risk getting bit again. Then the Stag that became wolf howled. The success exploded. I ran a finger along my chin and flicked off the flesh that had stuck there. Bits and pieces were scattered all over the place with Morice having stood maybe eight or so steps away from the epicentre. “Good job you’ve discovered a suicide bomber that activates via howling.” I grumbled sarcastically. Morice seemed a little shell shocked as he was almost covered in unmentionable liquids, guts and bits of flesh. He looked rather miserable as he stood there.

I felt a little bad about my comment and then cleared my throat to get his attention and pointed at the stag wolf with a pointed look at him. It had, after all, I think, made the other explode.

He looked to the Stag wolf and then at the spot where the other had used to be. He then walked up to the stag wolf and looked into the hollow sockets of its eyes. Then he looked at me. “I think this zombie wants to be the first to be infused with shadow, it’s the alpha.” He then said with a rather confused look to his face. I gave him a disbelieving look with one eyebrow raised as well. Could he be as skilled as me when it came to necromancy just focused on zombies alone while I seemed more on the skeletal? I’d have to test that out.

I infused his alpha with shadow and then made the skeletons of the other wolves a little bigger and deadlier with spikes and claws and teeth. Then once raised I infused them and we watched as they all howled before a ripple ran over their flesh and they began to change.

Before Morice could even look to his side where I had been I had wraith stepped behind the wall of undead behind us. I did not want to get torn apart, I had one of the Ironflesh Ushabti pick Morice up and put him next to me.

A burst of shadow came from the wolves and out stepped nightmarish creatures. All flesh had turned pitch black except their claws, visible spines and most of their skulls where bleached white bones. A deep red flame burned in their eye sockets and the spikes that adorned the alpha looked much more vicious than before. “Amazing.” Morice said next to me and I had to agree.

“They’ve become lesser shadow hounds.” He said and then looked at me and hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe.

I tapped frantically at his arm, the kid was much stronger than he looked that was for sure. He seemed to realize what he was doing and let me go with a sheepish look of apology. “First minions?” I asked to which he nodded once more with a sheepish manner.

I smiled at him. “Congratulations are in order then.” I said with a smile and placed my hand on his shoulder and gave him a proud smile. He’d even gained the flesh crafter skill for this little achievement of his. I watched as he got used to commanding his new minions with verbal commands first and mental ones after that.

I thought it through and looked towards the living armours and Ironflesh Ushabti. I then moved my eyes to Vashanesh who seemed to be messing around with a few bones to try and create something. An idea came to my mind but I needed one last component for it to actually work. I summoned Ashes and Dust. The two bone ravens hopped around a little bit and then looked up at me. I snapped my fingers and had Garm and his pack come with a few large bones out of the miscellaneous pile.

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I created a work table and stool to sit on. I had the hunting party go out once more, Garmur and his pack stayed behind along with the older undead. I handed Vashanesh a storage bag I had yet to have my ring devour to increase the space I had available. With that, I told him to go out and hunt with the newest undead. Morice even managed to put his pack at the command of Vashanesh, though through some difficulty. That had made me curious about a new experiment to do at a later date.

With the hunting party gone out, the warrior skeletons riding their mounts while the rogue moved along the tops of the trees. His new form allowing him much graceful movements and strength. I still needed a name for him.

Morice went on to see if he couldn’t manage the three corpses that had failed. I suppose he wanted to see how much was needed to actually raise something. I, however, looked at the Soulstone before me. Eight souls left within it and behind it, Ashes and Dust looked from it and up to me. I smirked at them.

“Let’s see if this doesn’t work.” I placed both hands on the stone and began to try and will my soul crafting power into it. I began to pull, twist and almost breaking the souls within the stone, grinding them upon their confinement as sweat ran down my face.

After almost half an hour of mind-numbing and laser-focused concentration I managed it! I split the soul stone into four smaller stones. Each with a pair of souls within it. I went on to polish them as well as I could through the same method I had used to create them. Then once that was done I took the two souls out and forced them together discarding all will and identity from them before putting the combined soul back into its stone.

Once I was done I had Ashes hop closer to me and I began to fit the stones in her eye sockets. I didn’t know why but I thought of Ashes as a female and Dust as a Male. I suppose having flying lovebirds is a strange whim of a fractured mind? I hope not.

With the pale blue stones that had a starry night pattern of white dots within their depths fitted to Ashe’s eye sockets and she was granted the ability to blink, I felt it was a partial success. I then pulled out the souls of one of the stones and infused it with shadow before binding it to half of Ashes’ body. I then repeated the process and combined it all, four souls combined infused into Ashes’ bony body.

The change was gradual but interesting. From beneath her feathers made of bone a creeping shadow began to spread, staining the bone black and preceding a pulsing to the bones as they began to warp and change. A smokescreen of inky and oily black smoke came off of Ashes, concealing her from my sight. Then after a full five minutes, I heard the distinct flapping of wings and the smoke was blown away.

Ashes had changed significantly. Her feathers were all black and she looked much like a normal raven would safe a few distinctions. The outer feathers at her wings had white at their very edges, so too did her legs. Her legs clearly made of bone with her face a black-tipped white-bleached raven skull with a sort of receding feather line. The eyes were filled with the deep darker blue gems where it seemed a galaxy was swirling around, it’s centre acting as the pupil. She looked up at me and then towards Dust who hopped closer and looked her over. Then both looked at me and I got the distinct impression Ashes wanted me to do the same for Dust. So I did.

With both black shadowy ravens hopping around one another they suddenly spread their wings, soft smoke emanating from between their black feathers which I suspected would leave a little trail in their wake. Then both took flight and flew high into the air. I simply watched on with a wide happy smiled, my lips almost tearing at the sight of them flying for the first time.

They then landed on the table after a few circles around the clearing. Both looked up at me and let out soft caw’s and moved to rub the top of their nearly bald heads against my chest. I could now clearly see a distinction between the two. Dust’s beak was much more angular and sharp, like a roughly forged axe or knife. While Ashes’ beak was much smoother and curved like an elegant knife or stiletto. Though still, both had the clear look of being ravens, just slightly bigger.

With that all done I smiled wide as I took out a single storage ring and put it on Ashes’ clawed toe. “Try storing Dust inside it.” I commanded her and she looked at Dust as if she was about to pounce before moving her wing to touch him and he disappeared from in front of me. I smiled widely at that. “Try getting him out now.” I said and I saw Dust shake himself when he appeared next to Ashes. I laughed as he looked very peeved at being treated like that.

Morice started screaming and I saw a fleshy horror squelching its way after him as he ran from it.

It took almost five whole minutes to kill the thing with both myself and Morice. We were joined by Garm and his pack along with shadow bolt firing ravens in Ashes and Dust. Seems they gained some new and interesting abilities from their upgrade. Well, they did take up slots in my spectral undead now so it made sense.

Once the horror was dead we decided to burn it just to be safe, I wouldn’t even use the bones for anything. I then looked over and noticed the untouched pile of ghoul corpses and smacked my forehead. I made my trollings appear and told them to go and skin the ghouls as best they could, I had another experiment I wanted to do later tonight.

I went on to increase the size of Garm and his pack to the size of the wargs I had seen in the lord of the rings movies. Garmur was the biggest with handles he could push out of his shoulders for when he would be ridden. I almost spent everything out of the miscellaneous bone pile, leaving quite a few rib bones, claws and some griffon skulls behind. The bones were used to grow and strengthen everything to do with Garm and his pack, they increased to normal skeletons and took up slots accordingly.

I thought about Svadilfara and decided that he and Garmur would get the same treatment as Ashes and Dust when I had the materials for it. The full soulstone that I had left would be used with the necroshade. I’d make him into a very powerful minion though I’d hammer in loyalty to me or I’d destroy him utterly.

I suddenly felt a jolt of panic from Abhorash. Panic? Why would he panic? He’s supposed to be guarding Akasha at the inn. All colour drained from my face and I let out a mental scream to my minions. Morice noticed how all the skeletons around us jolted and looked towards me. “What’s going on?” He asked me with panic as he saw my angry face.

“Someone just caused Akasha to let out Abhorash.” I growled angrily. No one fucks with my daughter. Pack bonding mentality or Roomba insanity be damned.

I only had to wait a minute for my minions to come rushing in. I had my ravens fly ahead and used some rib bones to strap Morice to one of the horses as I mounted Svadilfara and put all the other minions into my soul space. I didn’t even give Morice a warning as I had both horses gallop at full speed towards the town.

I’d have some souls for another soulstone tonight if someone had dared to mess with my daughter. Morice and I rode hard, only taking half an hour to get to town, barely managing to dismount before I took both horses into my soul space and the two of us ran towards the gate.

I was frantic but I hadn’t gotten any news from Ashes and Dust that I felt perhaps everything was all right? Who was I kidding? My mind was going from kidnapping to a hostage situation to much worse things as the two of us raced through the streets.

I came to the plaza where the Likeable Owl inn was situated in. A crowd was gathered outside the inn and my heart sank. Brandishing my blood drinker longsword, I charged towards the crowd. I jumped into the air and with a step on a cart to the side of the crowd sailed over them.

Once I landed I looked around and towards the inn. There stood Abhorash over two men in guard uniforms who seemed to be guarding a rather muscular man behind them. The man was blond and had a sort of half-made half-plate looking armour on with the same crest that the city had.

“What is going on here?” I growled almost letting intimidating growl go from my throat but it seemed to have given me the edge to my voice I needed.

The guards whipped their heads towards me and paled at the sight of my face when Abhorash spoke their faces fell even more. “Master, lady Akasha is all right but I’m trying to help Leila and Aldis on lady Akasha’s order.” I looked from Abhorash towards the blonde warrior who was getting up, using his longsword as a crutch to help himself get up.

“I don’t know what your motive is giant but I am here as a hired guard of the mayor's tax collector.” He said before steadying his feet and standing tall once more as he brandished his sword.

“He is my daughter's guard.” I said with a cold voice as Morice ran up next to me and looked from me towards the blond and gasped.

“Jonah?” He uttered as he looked at the man and then towards me. “Master Vlad, what is going on here?” He asked me and I noticed a tinge of worry in his voice.

“He is about to tell me.” I said pointing my sword at this Jonah or whoever.

Jonah seemed to almost flinch when he met my eyes before he lowered his weapon. He seemed to be about to say something to the other two guards when a crash and scream came from the back of the inn. I didn’t give anyone a chance to intervene when I blasted forwards and past all of them, almost kicking the door open in my haste.

Inside I saw the so-called tax collector, standing over Aldis who was grovelling before the man Leila on her knees next to him. “You should know that you should always pay your debts on time.” The nasally voice of the tax collector came.

Leila looked up at the man, tears in her eyes. “WE paid you already! Our debt was cleared. Just ask Jarred!” She cried only to get a contemptuous snort from the man.

“He wasn’t authorized by the guild to make that call.” The collector said with derision thick in his voice. “You have yet to pay the remaining hundred gold of your loan.”

“But that’s six times the original loan.” Both cried before freezing as both father and daughter noticed me.

“I care not, interests are what they are.” He said before noticing where they were looking. He turned around only to feel my chitin covered hand grip his mouth and raise him into the air. I then slammed him into the wall as hard as I could, I heard the clear sound of cracking wood at the impact.

Before I could even say anything I felt a sword against my shoulder and aimed at my throat. “Let him go.” It was a barely restrained voice, calm on just it’s surface. I looked to see Jonah look at me with a stiff expression.

“So is this, this cities tax collection? Extortion?” I growled at him which seemed to take him back a little. I let the tax collector go who began coughing and almost gagging.

“You idiot?! Do you know who you’ve offended?!” The nasally voiced man began to shriek only to stiffen as I looked at him angrily.

“Do you?” I answered grimly in return.

“I-I...” He began pausing as he visibly talked himself up in his mind. “I am the debt collector of The Cobalt Knife Syndicate.” He said and while his face seemed to be expecting me to tremble in my boots as Jonah did a double-take. The collector’s face began to pale slowly as it fell, I had begun to laugh.

“That is such a stupid name.” I laughed before the collector was once more slammed into the wall. “Now I don’t care all that much, a syndicate is simply a collection of rabble like you.” I growled. “What I want to know is this, where are you all located and how many of you are there?” I asked angrily.

“W-why are you defending those two so much?” The debt collector asked me fearfully.

“They were kind to me and even helped me keep an eye on my daughter while I was out hunting in the forest.” I said simply before placing my sword tip against his belly. “Now answer or die.” I said so calmly, so matter of factly that it seemed to be the last straw for the collector.

He told me everything and while I, Jonah and Morice listened to the collector, Abhorash helped out by keeping everyone out of the inn in the meanwhile. Once finished I was about to run the collector through when I remembered where I was, so instead I slammed the pommel into the collectors face hard enough to knock him out twice.

I looked at Jonah and almost growled. “Take this piece of shit to jail or something.” I then was about to walk away past this Jonah guy and he gripped my hand.

“What are you going to do?” He asked me with concern.

I only looked from him towards Aldis and Leila still on the floor looking almost fearful but much more relieved than anything. “I’m going to take out the trash.” I said grimly and walked out of the kitchen.

“Abhorash you are coming with me. Morice!” I barked causing Morice to flinch back a little. “I’m going to trust you to guard my daughter, don’t make me regret placing my trust in you.” I almost growled but I tried to be as civil as I could.

“Where are you going?” He asked me almost in a whisper.

“I’m going to see if this so-called Cobalt Knife Syndicate is of any use for us as materials.” I said in a whisper as well. “I doubt the city will miss them.”

With that said I walked out of the Inn and was about to head to where the syndicate held their little clubhouse. I stopped and looked at the stairs leading up to my room and then went up there first to console and let Akasha know everything would be all right. I’d also leave Garm and his pack inside my room to guard her and keep her company.

As I had suspected she was terrified and I spent almost four hours just calming her down and getting her to sleep. I had let the rogue loose so I could get some eyes on the hideout but I didn’t leave Akasha until she was sound asleep.

Then with Garm and his pack inside a spatial ring with Ashes watching over her, I told Leia and Aldis what I was about to do before leaving Morice as their guard. The blonde Jonah was nowhere to be seen which only made me scoff at the supposed honourable guard he was supposed to be.