Taking Messinghof was proven more a chore than a battle, as the ruling Vampires had fled before the army arrived, leaving their monsters free to roam and eat the few humans that lived there.

On the other hand, cleaning up and picking off disorganized zombies or ghouls was much easier too.

Then came the building and re-building part, including the ruined fort that guarded the pass into the World's Edge Mountains. Already Goblins and Orcs were testing the pass for an easy loot campaign, but I wasn't willing to share my loot with them.

Then we also took Zherden easily and began preparing the army for the march on Wartenhof, another citadel of the Vampire Counts.

We were already feeling the strain of having a too small army for such a large territory, since I wasn't willing to split up my army for garrisons.

Instead, the new Nobles were given the right to recruit troops from the local populace, while fresh conscripts and immigrants began to arrive from the Empire and Kislev too.

I also had to carry out daily raids into the wild to massacre whatever monsters lurked in the bogs and woods in my new territory, and sometimes finding more survivors that had fled before they were drained of blood or eaten.

Several of them also had talent for Magic, and thus were invited to join my Wild Guard. Wizards that survived their training could live hundreds or even thousands of years, baring combat, where a Wizard may die from an arrow or claw just as easily as any other human.

I had hopes though, as Odin began to manifest a stronger type of Amber Hood, and could even grow bear claws made of solid Ghur.

Thor took another route, going deeper into the animal lore, either by transforming into a beast, or calling on them for battle.

Thus, when I was time to visit Nuln for more guns and cannons, I also visited Martak and showed him my nice Book of Nagash.

My teacher measured me with tired eyes, and ignored the priceless book. "Wizard Pef, I hear you're conquering Sylvania now. With no effort at all." he said in a dubious voice.

I nodded gently. "Plenty of effort. But you realize I could do it all my myself. I just want to train an army able to fight anything. And also prevent the Vampires from hitting the Empire in the back while our forces fight elsewhere."

Martak nodded back. "Yes. Your million men army, I remember. Not a childish fancy anymore."

"The Amber Order could help more. Send beasts to search and fight the undead." I asked with a mild voice.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The wild shaman took a piece of amber and held it between his fingers. "Your apprentices, they still live?" he asked instead.

"Getting stronger too. Found their inner beasts, a bear for Odin and a White Wolf for Thor." I explained patiently, while pouring more tea for my teacher.

Martak sighed and sipped his tea with a thoughtful face. "And that Wild Guard?"

"Training my elite unit, of course. They are meant to operate in the wild, as scouts and hunters for the army. One day." I said and sipped my own tea.

Martak motioned his arm back, and a pure spear glowing amber formed, ready to be thrown. "Give this spell to the kids. The Amber Spear is the only weapon that can kill Daemons."

he offered while flicking the amber stone into my hand.

The process of forming and stabilizing the spell entered my mind, so I obviously tried to make the spear too. A faint glow of Ghur formed around my hand, yet no spear appeared.

"Hah! Always so reckless, young Pef! And no, you're not a poor Wizard for failing to form the spear at first try. It took me decades, but you're half way there already."

I grimaced at these words. Was my failure a big success? Why all this delay? Decades? I already spent 5 years on this world, and my Magic still sucked.

"Anyways, Odin managed to shape bear claws out of pure Ghur. But I can't manage to copy his spell." I continued with a calm voice.

The cave of my teacher was quite relaxing, in a rustic way of furs and bones and familiar scents. It smelled like home.

Martok smiled and formed a pair of talons extending from his nails. Also made of Ghur. They felt dangerous, even to me.

"Amber Talons. Quite useful if you are caught in a melee fight. They can cut through steel and bone with ease." he explained in a reminiscent voice. Probably fought quite a few battles with those talons, given how easy he formed them.

"Are they your own nails, grown longer? Or some external aid, like that Amber spear?" I asked to make sure.

"What do you think, mighty Wizard?" My teacher asked me with a teasing tone.

Yeah. That's why Magic sucks. You cannot be told how to do things. Only what it feels.

"So, external aids can be imprinted on amber. Like an extra memory. But internal ones..." I realized with a spark of genius.

"Maybe. Anything is possible with magic, just look at the Elves' Vortex or the Old Ones works. Or maybe I am not a good teacher." Martok mused, mostly to himself.

I also mused in silence for a minute, then gave up. Neither the Elves nor the Old Ones were limited to a single Wind of Magic. Melding different winds would produce far stronger spells.

"About steel. I have some ideas how to speed up the process, using coal and more heat. The guns get worn out too fast by using mere iron." I said with a tap on my magic breastplate.

Martak shook his head. "Better copy the Dawi methods, I think. Invention takes too long, and will not produce good results fast enough. I remember the first guns, like 400 years ago. If you think your guns are bad, you should have seen the poor things back then."

The old Wizard opened my eyes with his wisdom. It was likely the Dwarves already had what I needed, maybe an old furnace abandoned somewhere. It was no challenge between human and dwarven metals and forging skill. The short guys had us beat soundly, even if they were not at their peak strength anymore.

"Is there a good place to keep this Book of Nagash?" I asked as I rose to my feet.

Martak glanced down with distaste. "I'll take it to Altdorf. They have another one just like it." he revealed with distaste in his words.

I shrugged and waved goodbye, then left the book and flew away. It was time to loot some Dwarves now.