Chapter 3:

Deidra surveyed her army from atop the whipping stage.  Her hair whirled back and forth as the wind blew through it.

Of the one-hundred thousand dead bodies that existed in the pit, she could control one-tenth of them.  As it stood, she owned an army that could rival a small kingdom.  She just wasn’t sure what to do with it.

Her hatred wasn’t appeased, even after enslaving Gregor and killing her grandmother.  She planned on destroying the world itself, including its inhabitants.

“The world has existed for far too long,” she muttered aloud, insanity raging through her eyes, “If I don’t end it, the cruelty will never stop.”

She turned towards the newly resurrected Gregor who stood by her side.  No emotion was visible in his eyes as he looked at her.  He was now her puppet.

“Do you think the escaped slaves will cause a problem?” she asked him, referring to the slaves who managed to run away before the gate closed.

“No,” her thrall said in a monotone voice, “They are defenseless and without food or water.  They stand no chance at escaping the mountains alive.”

“Good,” Deidra nodded.  She didn’t want to worry about loose mouths telling someone about her army before she was ready.

“I need more power,” Deidra sighed.  After three years of practice she could control ten-thousand corpses simultaneously, but that was her limit.  She knew that without the knowledge from the other books of decadence, her power wouldn’t increase.

After a moment of thought, she turned to Gregor, “Where’s the biggest library?”

“The largest library is located at Sindak Academy in the Tolbera region,” Gregor answered without moving.

The Tolbera region was a grassy plain land, located about a month away from the harsh mountains where the hestus mines lay.

Luckily, Deidra had not been a slave her whole life.  Her parents were merchants, they taught her the basic qualities of life before they were slaughtered.  Her face grew dark.  Her parents’ deaths were another cruel injustice of the world.

She took a deep breath and shook her head.   She needed to stop focusing on the past and worry about the present.

“Get a group of undead and gather all the valuables in the compound.  I want to see what wealth I’ve accumulated.”

Gregor bowed, then immediately set off to follow her orders.  It wasn’t long before large sacks were placed in front of her.

Deidra walked forward and used her rusty dagger to slice one of the bags open.  Instantly, gold poured out of the cut in a flood.

Deidra’s eyes lit up in surprise.  She walked towards the next bag and repeated the process. 

“Are all these sacks filled with gold?” she asked Gregor.

“No.  Two-thirds are filled with gold.  The other third is filled with silver,” he replied blankly.

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

Deidra grinned in satisfaction.  Apparently overseeing a mine was more profitable than she realized.

“Where’s the closest city from here?” she asked thoughtfully.

“Corat is a week’s travel due south.”

Deidra nodded slowly.  Corat was on the way towards Sindak Academy.  This would work perfectly.

“Good.  Fetch a half-dozen of the healthiest looking undead you can find and give them all headgear.  I don’t want anyone to realize they aren’t alive.  After that, go grab a wagon.  I know you have a couple.”

Gregor nodded and set off to complete her task.  In a matter of minutes six undead were lined up in front of her, wearing the armor of deceased guards.  Closed helmets covered their faces preventing their dead eyes from being seen.

Deidra pointed towards the six.  You are to be my personal guards.  Don’t let any harm befall me.”

The undead fell to their knees with a thud.

She then pointed towards an undead that was standing by the side, “You’re going to steer the wagon.”

“Gregor.  You’re going to be my attendant.   Understood?”

“Yes milady,” Gregor replied, instantly falling into character.  Deidra was glad the undead weren’t stupid.  Though according to the book, their intelligence directly correlated to her ability as a spellcaster.

“Hook up the wagon and load it with the gold.  Then fetch me a carriage and horses for each of my guards.  We’re going to travel to Corat.”  The compound contained numerous wagons and carriages to transport the mined hestus.

Four days later on a forest trail, a wagon could be seen slowly plodding forth.  Surrounding the wagon were six men on horseback, keeping a steady pace alongside it.

Hidden farther up the road, a group of bandits waited in ambush

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” one the bandits asked their leader, a nervous look on his face.

“Don’t be a coward,” the bearded leader grunted, “There are fifteen of us and only six of them.”

“When they get close the archers will pick them off from the trees.  The rest of us will surround them and pick off the guards.”

“We’re obviously robbing some snotty noble,” he laughed, pointing towards the carriage and the wagon following it.

Just as he finished talking, the wagon approached.

“Attack!” he roared.  Instantly, the air filled with the whizzing of arrows.

The archers’ aim was perfect.  Three of the riders immediately took arrows to chest and were knocked off their horses.  The rest of the bandits followed up quickly.  Before the rest of the guards could react, daggers and swords impaled them.

Another barrage of arrows followed closely.  The people steering the wagon and carriage were riddled with arrows.

“That was easy,” the bandit leader laughed, ripping his sword out of a fallen guard’s chest.

He then turned towards the carriage and yelled, “Come on out!”

Slowly, the door to the carriage opened.

The bandit leader was instantly bewildered.

“A slave?”  Standing in front of him was a dirty looking girl in disheveled clothing.

“What’s going on?” he barked towards her.

Before he could get an answer a squeak of fear stole his attention.

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked angrily, turning towards his nervous comrade.

“Y-y-your sword!” the bandit said, pointing towards the bandit leader with a trembling finger.

“My sword?” the bandit leader asked, his eyes furrowed in confusion.  He looked at the blade in his hand.  His face drained of color.  There was no blood on it.

The girl in ragged clothing opened her mouth, “Attack.”

The fallen guards surged to life, grabbing the bandits by the ankles.  Tooth and nail sank into exposed flesh.  The bandits let out howls of pain.

“Leave none alive,” Deidra ordered.  With supernatural strength her undead soldiers leapt into the trees, dragging screaming archers to their doom.

The bandits tried to fight back.  Their weapons sank into the bodies of the guards repeatedly. 

“Cut off their heads!” the bandit leader roared, but it was no use.  The undead were too strong for them.  After a few minutes of bitter struggling the body of the bandit leader slipped to the floor.

Deidra sighed.  Her guards were a mess.  Numerous stab and arrow wounds existed on their bodies.  Thankfully, she had new, fresh, corpses she could use.  After dismissing her older soldiers to the grave, she raised new ones.

“That was fun,” she grinned.  After a moment of thought she looked down at her clothes.  She sighed.

“I need new clothing, don’t I?” she internally grumbled, “Just another thing to do when we get to Corat.”

She gathered up her entourage.

“Time to go,” she yawned.