"What do you think you are doing!"
Hero and her comrades stood ready with weapons drawn before this party of bandits who in turn were ready themselves to fight. The two harpies continued to flap their wings as they eyed the trio of women ready to swoop in and use their talons, the two padfoots drew out their swords while two of the humans drew out their daggers while the last went for his bow and arrows. Boss Centaur stepped forward, his broad sword still resting on his shoulder as he eyed the women.
"This is none of your concern, I'd suggest you leave."
"You bandits are taking advantage of these poor people's plight. Have you no shame? Have you no honor?" Sword Saint tightened her grip around her sword as she looked at the devastation around her.
"Come now, do we look like bandits to you?" Boos centaur smirked as those around him chuckled at their boss's comment. "We're just a band of traveling entrepreneurs who are out to make a bit of coin here and there."
"If that isn't the biggest load of horseshit I've ever heard." Hero had a scowl on her face as she stared up at the centaur.
"I'd choose my words carefully little girl, not everyone here shares your sense of humor." Boss Centaur had an annoyed look on his face as he looked toward the Hero now holding his sword at his side.
"I find that her comment suits you just fine. Here we have padfoots running with their tails between their legs and harpies ready to fly away like frightened hens." Sage had a small smirk, normally the calmer of the two, but even she could not help but join in.
"Well said, now if only we could find a proper analogy for these human bastards." Sword Saint smirked now as she looked to the trio of men.
Their comments did not go unnoticed as now all the bandits were visibly angry and ready to fight, but Boss Centaur held out his hand for them to keep behind him but stay ready.
"Calm yourselves, don't let these three little girls provoke you into doing something stupid." Boss Centaur too was angry from their comments but old enough to know it would be foolish to charge in and attack. "I'll only tell you one more time…leave."
"And I'll only tell you once more, not a chance in hell!" Hero readied her sword to attack.
It was clear that neither side had any intention of backing down and there seemed to be only one course available for both groups.
"Fine, then have it your way you stupid…"
"WAIT!"
The two parties turned to see an old man rushing toward them followed by two adult villagers and a couple children. The old man and the others moved between the two groups, facing the Hero and her party while keeping their backs to the bandits.
"Sir you need to move away from there immediately, we don't know what these people may do!" Sword Saint grew nervous at the thought of the bandits trying to take them hostage or kill them right there in front of her.
"Don't you worry, we'll deal with these bandits and then we'll…"
Before Hero could finish, the village elder was quick to clarify the situation before it got out of hand any further.
"You don't understand, these people aren't robbing us, we're paying them for their services."
There was a pause from the Hero and her party as well as a look of confusion while Boss Centaur and his men lowered their weapons, with the two harpies landing beside their comrades. Soon enough more of the villagers gathered around the groups, both thankful and leery of the adventurers who had arrived.
"You're paying them…no that can't be right. I'm looking at the items they're taking and the damage to the village, I'm sure they're trying to rob you! You can't fall for their tricks!" Hero was quick to try and convince the village elder to move aside.
"I can understand for your initial reaction to seeing this, but I assure you we agreed to what they are taking. It is payment for saving us from the horde of monsters." One of the male villagers aided in defusing the situation.
"They saved you?" Sage was confused by this comment as she looked back toward the bandits.
"Our people started to transform into these horrid creatures, someone had seen two men in black robes nearby, they must have done something to our well." It was another villager who spoke up about what had happened.
"The Faceless Men. That damn Necromancer and his servants." Hero gritted her teeth as she tightened her grip on her sword then looked back toward the bandits. "So how do you figure into this story? You all don't look like adventurers trying to help others out of the goodness of your hearts."
"It's true we're bandits, no point in lying about it." Boss Centaur was calm in his delivery, though none of the villagers seemed to mind him admitting to this. "We had been watching the village, assumed it would be an easy target, rush in scare the locals, use violence if necessary, but then we heard the screams."
"The screams?" Sage frowned as she could only image the sight of people turning into monsters all around them.
"Yeah, we saw what looked like monsters attacking them. At first we thought, just wait for the creatures to finish the place off and we'd swoop in, but our conscience got the better of us." One of the harpies said with a bit of a sad expression on her face as she looked to one of the children. "Hearing the kids scream out in bloody terror and for their parents was a bit much for us. Always easier when it's just adults."
"We originally had 13 in our party, five of them were lost to the horde of monsters and those two…two…I don't even know what to call them, they were beyond monsters." Now it was a padfoot who replied while shaking his head.
"What two are you talking about?" Hero was confused by this statement.
"I imagine they are those Faceless men you were speaking of. The two men in black robes transformed into hideous abominations, I took care of them myself though it was not an easy fight and they had killed two of my subordinates." Boss Centaur replied with a heavy sigh before looking back to the trio. "We made sure to burn the bodies of those who transformed and moved the others away from the well, figured that was what was causing the changes in the people."
"So you saved the village and now your taking their food and goods for yourself, not very noble is you ask me." Sword Saint was still hesitant to drop her guard around these bandits even with the villagers around her.
"As if anyone does anything for free these days, I highly doubt your working for free yourselves." One of the human bandits was quick to point out.
"The Hero of the world stands before you, we are changed to vanquish the forces of evil." Sword Saint proudly pointed to her comrade.
"Oh a thousand pardons, allow me to pluck the feathers from my wings and lay them down for her to walk on, we wouldn't want her to walk on the same dirt as the rest of us." The second harpy sister was quick to retort. "Hero or not, I'm sure the king is going to reward you for all your work, and I'd be surprised to find you give it up."
"Please allow me to explain, we wanted to offer our gratitude to these men and women for saving our village." The village elder was quite stern in his reply as he looked at the village. "After all we had endured with our people becoming monsters, no price was too great. Food and goods can be replaced, but a village and it's people cannot."
"We are not completely heartless ourselves, we only asked for a third of their food and goods. We must make a living ourselves, but even with the world ending it doesn't seem quite right to fully turn on others…as strange as that sounds." Boss Centaur replied as he looked at the devastation of the village and the wagon of goods. "So there you go, now if you'll excuse us we'll be on our way."
"Wait!"
Boss centaur and his men turned to see the Hero walking past them towards the well, one there she used the rope to pull up a bucket of water. The villagers were quick to warn her not to drink it, but instead she placed her sword within the water to which a bright glow could be seen. Once she finished, she poured the water back into the well and the same glow they had seen radiated from within the darkness.
"The well has been purified, you should be able to drink freely once again. As for you all…" Hero sheathed her sword and bowed her head toward Boss centaur and his men. "Thank you for saving this village; if you have not intervened, then it would have been lost completely. Though I don't agree with your motives for helping, you have my thanks."
Sword Saint and Sage followed their comrade's actions and bowed their heads towards the bandits who were surprised by the actions only to see the rest of the villagers follow suit and bow their heads as well.
"Wow boss…feels kind of nice to be thanked by everyone, different for sure, but nice." Another one of the human bandits smiled a bit.
"Yeah well don't get used to it, we're not here to be heroes, just to look out for ourselves." Boss Centaur snorted as he prepared to move on but stopped himself as he looked toward the items in the wagon. "Damn it."
"What's the matter boss?" The first harpy sister flew toward the right of Boss Centaur.
"I must be getting soft or going senile…leave the stuff. We'll push on."
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"Boss you can't be serious!"
"What about all the trouble we went through?"
"ENOUGH!" Boss Centaur stomped on the ground making his subordinates back away as he turned to face them. "I own this decision, the next score we get, I'm not helping myself to it, you can take that. Leave these people their items, they've been through enough."
The bandits were hesitant as they eyed the gold and food but begrudgingly nodded as they prepared to move on when the village elder called out to them.
"Wait. We want you to take these items, you earned it saving our village."
"Seeing your village and hearing your thanks…it's a lot easier for us to be hated than lauded. We are bandits after all." Boss Centaur grunted as he tried to maneuver around the old man.
"Then let us make a compromise. What if we were to pay you to act as our body guards." The village elder had a smile on his face. "Even if we don't have that much money, we can make sure you have plenty of food to eat and roof over your heads where you can rest. Many of us are still injured from the attack, so we'd be grateful for your continued service."
"You want to hire us as guards?" Boss Centaur was slightly taken aback by the comment as he looked toward the village elder.
"You can stay on as long as you would like, even if it was just for an extra day we would be grateful."
Boss Centaur frowned as he thought over the idea, he turned and looked toward his men who were at a loss for the idea, never before had they been given such a task. They had always been used to stealing and killing to survive, but now to do it in protection of the people they had originally intended to steal from.
"I think it would be a good idea. Those monsters are not the only ones to be concerned with, many have overrun villages and are still present in the dark woods ready to move on other settlements." Hero smiled as she looked at the group of bandits. "We are going to stay and at least make sure the village is safe for another night before moving on, there is much for us to do, but you could help them where we can't."
Boss Centaur continued to frown as he thought carefully on what was being said, a quick glance of the village and the nearby tree line told him all he needed to know.
"If there is another attack coming, this village is nowhere ready to fend it off. I'll need every able-bodied individual to aid with repairs, that includes you three as well Hero." Boss Centaur had a visible smirk on his face as he looked toward her and her party.
"We're ready to get to work…Boss." Hero too had a smirk as she looked at this group of bandits. "Just like that half-demon I'm friends with, all they need is a push in the right direction to guide them to be better."
"Alright men, we got a job ahead of us. You ready to work for your prize?"
"Ready Boss!" Boss Centaur's gave a quick yell as they were ready to follow behind their leader.
"Alright then, let's get to work."
xxxx
It was late in the afternoon when Goblin Slayer and his party reached the village Half-Dragon Daughter from the sky above. Over the three days on the road they came across another settlement and much like the first was completely decimated by the monsters created by the elixir. Upon reaching the village, the party could see that much of it had been destroyed but there appeared to be some signs of life. The villagers, many of them badly wounded were shocked to see the adventurers and those who could rushed forward to meet them with a mix of relief and anger.
"Thank the gods you've come!"
"You damn bastards, my family is gone! Why didn't you get here sooner?"
"Please tell us you are here to save us? We won't last another night!"
Heavy Warrior, Female Knight Spearman and High Elf Archer were clearly annoyed by the sudden barrage of questions and accusations, they themselves knew what they must have endured was tough but that was no reason to blame this group. Cow Girl, Guild Girl, Half-Dragon Mother and the others more sympathetic to their blight frowned as they could clearly see the wounded, and off to the side were several blood pieces of cloth used to cover the remains of the victims of the attack. Cow Girl, however, was also concerned with Snow, the dire wolf was beginning to whine and was anxiously looking around the area.
"Very soon now, we'll have to find a spot for her to rest." Cow Girl hopped out of the wagon to move toward Snow's side to comfort her but also looked ahead to see her friend and Wolf walk forward.
Goblin Slayer did not so much as say a word as he and Wolf moved through the crowd, the villagers quickly moved away at the sight of the man in armor and the massive black wolf by his side. The villagers turned as he passed by them, his attention focused on the structural damage of the builds and the signs of the monsters moving through the village. The rest of his comrades and colleagues watched him to see what he would do
"You there! The strange-looking adventurer!"
Goblin Slayer turned to face towards the villagers who stared at him, most had a curious look about their face while one, a woman angrily glared at him.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing? You walk right past us as if we were nothing! Are you blind to the damage around you?"
"I am not blind. I am investigating the damage done to this village."
His tone was without emotion, the villagers were at a loss for how to respond to him, but the woman who had been speaking was furious with his tone.
"How dare you, you damn bastard! Our people are dying and you act as if nothing is happening!" The woman screamed at him as hot tears ran down her face. "My two children are lost to me. One turned into a monster and then murder his sibling! I have nothing and here you are acting so calm in the face of all this devastation."
There was silence as everyone registered what had been said, the woman continued to sob as Goblin Slayer stood for a few moments before approaching her. He stood before her as she continued to sob and firmly placed his hand upon her left shoulder.
"We have all suffered loss. You are right that we were not here earlier, but we are here now, and we are going to kill the ones who have attacked you. We must calm down, being too emotional will not get us anywhere."
The woman looked up at the Goblin Slayer, though she could not clearly see his face she felt comfort in the firm hand on her shoulder.
"You…you're going to save us? You're going to slay the monsters who attacked us?"
"I swear it." Goblin Slayer gave her a final nod before removing his hand from her shoulder.
The others smiled as Goblin Slayer handled the situation rather well and disembarked from the wagons to begin their own inspection and determine what had transpired. Much of the village had been damaged with certain buildings having been destroyed, various splashes of blood were seen on the walls of the houses and ground.
"Just what happened here? Many of the other villages and settlements we visited were completely destroyed or we had reached them prior to the attack yet I can still see survivors." Dwarf Shaman grimaced at the sight of the damage and bodies still being dragged away from the site of battle.
"We're a large village, more than 300 people…or at least we used to be." The female villager sighed as she led the party further toward the village center. "A couple days ago we noticed people beginning to complain of sickness and it seemed as we gave them water it only made the situation worse. Our people began to transform into horrid monsters…men, women, children it didn't matter."
"The well water, the Faceless Men have been here." Spearman clicked his tongue as he thought about what those damn monsters were doing to the innocent villagers.
"I don't know what these Faceless Men are, but our own people turned into monsters and attacked us. There were those who fought back but many were torn apart while others ran for safety." The female villagers covered her face with her hands as she began to cry once again. "With the coming dawn, they ran back towards the woods. We lost so much in last night's attack…there are barely a hundred of us left while many more were slaughtered."
The adventurers were saddened to hear this of course but knew before they planned out the defense of the village, they would need to know just how many had attacked this village.
"How many of the villagers were affected by this sickness?" Female Knight frowned as she worried about the number. "For a village this size, I'm expecting at least 20, probably used a few of those giant brutes."
"After counting survivors, the dead and vanquished monsters…though there weren't too many of those…at least a third of the village has been transformed."
The look on the faces of the adventurers was one of shock, save Goblin Slayer, at the sound of such a large number of the monsters that had attacked.
"A third of the village have become monsters? That would mean a hundred or more of those mutated creatures are still present!" Priestess tightened her grip around her sounding staff, the sound of trembling present in the jingling.
"A…a hundred of those things." Fighter too was nervous as she found herself clenching and unclenching her right fist.
"With that many…things could be quite…troublesome."
"We have no idea when they will attack us. Our village leader was killed last night so many of us are on the verge of panic. Please don't abandon us!"
"We're not about to abandon anyone! You heard that hack in the cheap armor, we're here to deal with the monsters!" Spearman had the normal scowl on his face as he gazed over toward Goblin Slayer.
The other adventurers also turned toward Goblin Slayer who continued to overlook the village even while the discussion was going on, he calmly turned his attention back toward the others and nodded.
"We will kill the creatures."
"As if I would run from a fight." Heavy Warrior smirked before turning his head back toward the frightened villagers. "We are here to put an end to the nightmare you've endured. We'll do all we can, but even against a force that large we may need some assistance from those who can still move."
The villagers were shocked to hear this but smiled and bowed their heads in appreciation of the adventurers coming to their aid.
"Thank you. We may not be able to fight as well as you, but we'll help out in whatever way possible."
"Why don't you all tend to the injured first, make sure they're safely secured, and we'll start planning out our strategy." Female Knight had a gentle smile on her face as she placed a reassuring hand on the female villager's shoulder.
The villagers once again bowed their heads before turning to finish dealing with the injured while the rest of the adventurers met there in the center of the village.
"Do you really think we'll be seeing a hundred of those monsters? I haven't seen a fight like that since the goblin horde attacked the farm." Half-Elf Light Warrior frowned as she remembered the various waves that were fought that night. "And this time we don't have the full guild to aid us."
"I know what you mean, the last major conflict was fighting the undead at the end of the last year. They numbered in the thousands, but we had an army in the hundreds, even then it was terrifying." Rookie Warrior took in a deep breath and exhaled.
"A hundred of those monsters. We are going to be in for quite the fight." High Elf Archer sighed before looking toward Goblin Slayer and smiled. "Knowing you Orcbolg, I'm sure you're got some of plan."
"If you're thinking of employing those same tactics you used against the goblins, you may have to rethink your strategy there Beardcutter." Dwarf Shaman frowned as he looked toward Goblin Slayer.
Goblin Slayer was silent as he continued to think things carefully until the sound of a thunderclap from further away drew their attention, they looked off toward the left and could see the grey storm clouds moving towards them.
"Given how the creatures act, there are some things I can use and others I will have to rethink. We will need to hurry in setting up our defenses before the storm rolls in."
xxxx
While the adventurers were busy talking with the villagers about what had happened, Cow Girl and the others had moved the horses and wagons further into the village. With the wagons closer toward the buildings, it was time to unhook the horses and move them into one of the barns.
"If we lose the horses, then the wagons will be useless to us." Cow Girl led one of the horses into an open stall in the barn. "We'll probably have to make sure the horses are kept safe while the others deal with the monsters."
"Rest assured that my fire will keep any wandering monsters from trying to help themselves to the creatures in here." Half-Dragon Mother smiled as she led the last two horses into the other open stalls and carefully closed the door behind them.
The girls looked around the barn, they could see signs of claw marks where the monsters had clearly tried to get in to attack the various livestock and were a bit concerned with keeping the area secure.
"We can easily bar the doors to the front to keep the creatures from gaining easy access." Half-Dragon Mother continued to look around for ways the creatures could get into the barn.
"But the problem would also be there is only one way out of the barn." Guild Girl had a frown as she too looked over the building. "Should the monsters get in, we would not be able to get out as easily."
"I saw a damaged wagon on our way in, perhaps we can ask the others to push it up against this…"
"Excuse me! I think something is wrong with Snow!"
Cow Girl was unable to finish her sentence as her little sister drew their attention away toward the large white direwolf. Towards the back of the barn, Snow was panting heavily as she paced around the hay on the floor, scratching at it to make a hole in the straw. By her side was Wolf whining as he stayed close by Snow's side watching his mate anxiously moving around.
"Oh no. She's getting ready to go into labor and trying to make a nest." Cow Girl looked around the barn and soon found an old blanket near one of the horse stalls. "Let's get everything set up for her."
Cow Girl calmly walked over toward the spot where Snow had been getting her nest ready and unfolded the blanket enough to lay it down for Snow to rest upon. Cow Girl calmly knelt down and motioned for Snow to come over; the large dire wolf followed over and moved around in place about two or three times before finally laying down and curling up on the spot set for her. Wolf moved toward Snow, both whining as they touch noses which brought a smile to Cow Girl's face.
"Is there anything we need to do for her?" Guild Girl nervously looked toward the large wolf. "I've never assisted with the delivery of anything before. I want to be of some help to them as well."
"I've only ever helped my uncle with the cows on the farm. I'm not completely sure about wolves, but I do remember the dog in our village having puppies at one time. My mother said the dog will know what to do, she'll fall back on instinct, we only help if she looks like she's having trouble." Cow Girl had a gentle smile on her face as she reached over to gently Snow. "We don't want to crowd and stress her, just check on her from time to time."
Just then, the four girls heard the sound of footsteps approaching and a quick turn revealed Goblin Slayer coming in.
"The villagers have told us to expect a large number of the monsters, the largest we will have faced so far."
"I know you and the others will be prepared Goblin Slayer, but we also have another development to attend to." Guild Girl smiled as she motioned for Goblin Slayer to move toward Cow Girl.
Goblin Slayer calmly walked over to join his friend and took a knee to carefully examine Snow who was panting quite quickly and whining from time to time.
"She'll be having her litter tonight. I know you'll be focused on protecting the village so we'll protect her." Cow Girl smiled before looking around the barn at the various items it held. "There's enough here for us to defend ourselves and Snow."
"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer turned from his friend toward Snow and calmly reached out to pat her head. "We'll do all we can to keep them from this barn."
"And should they break in, we'll do what we need to keep them out." Half-Dragon Mother added with a nod of her head. "You all have enough on your hands to worry about."
"I see." Goblin Slayer stood and turned his attention toward Wolf. "We must be ready for tonight."
Wolf barked once, his tail wagging before his touched his noses to Snow's, then followed behind Goblin Slayer to continue setting up for tonight.
xxxx
"It is an honor to have you in our presence Master."
The Faceless men bowed before the Necromancer who eagerly looked over the large number of creations that lay in wait here within the woods. He smiled at the sight of nearly a hundred beautiful creations, from the arachnids to the harpies to the devilish little imps.
"Each one more lovely than the last." Necromancer smiled as he reached out to gently touch the side of one of the werewolves. "I assume that everything has been set up?"
"Yes sir, this horde is prepared to finish off the village before we disperse them elsewhere." The first Faceless Man bowed his head.
"We have also prepared the "signal fire" you had requested some time ago. Our location had been set on the map as had the others so now we only wait your word to send the signal to our brothers in the capital." The second Faceless man added to his brother's remark.
"This location was the primary focus of course, no one else is to start their fire until they have seen this one. Highway Man and the others in the capital know the instructions, the moment they see at least five of the signals then it will be time to share my miracle with the Capital." The Necromancer had a wicked smile on his face as he imagined what would happen in the massive city.
"Master, before you give them the signal, would you care to tour the village we gathered so many wonderful followers from?"
"Hmm…I have been looking forward to seeing the effects on a larger scale. This village is quite large as it were, so let's take a look."
xxxx
A howl could be heard coming from the barn, many of the villagers stopped themselves as they heard this sound but were quick to redirect themselves back to preparing the defenses as the adventurers had suggested. Goblin Slayer and the others were also in the process of getting things ready when some of the adventurers stopped to look back toward the barn.
"Something wrong with Snow, we've been at this for nearly an hour and she keeps howling?" Half-Demon Thief looked toward Goblin Slayer who was in the process of finishing placing weapons in different locations.
"Snow is going into labor."
"Wait what? Orcbolg, why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"We needed to prepare for the attack tonight. The others in the barn will watch over here."
"Then that's all the more reason to make sure we don't fail tonight." Dwarf Shaman smiled as he then reached over to pet Wolf's side. "I'm sure you're even more excited than the rest of us. Soon there's going to be another proud father in our group."
The others gave a brief chuckle as Wolf wagged his tail and barked with the others.
"Before we lose sight of what's important, let's go over everything once more." Heavy Warrior calmly wanted to evaluate the given situation.
"Right, we've already had Priestess purify the well water, we've gotten the villagers to help us set up defenses." High Elf Archer began counting off on her fingers what had been accomplished.
"On the negative side…there is a force…of at least…one hundred…to battle with…as well…as rain."
"Not to mention we might be able to get about ten more people to help with the defense of the village when the monsters come, but there is no guarantee they'll be up to the task of sticking around to fight." Spearman frowned as he thought about the given circumstances of the coming battle.
As Goblin Slayer finished with the weapon placement, Wolf's ears began to twitch as he heard new sounds and a quick sniff of the area made him growl as the foul scent filled his nostrils. The others quickly took notice of this and readied their weapons, but there was no indication of the monsters about to attack them.
"What the hell had gotten into your mangy mongrel? Stupid fat dog!" Spearman was rather annoyed as he looked over at the "fat dog" as he had called him.
The others ignored his petty comments as Wolf continued to growl at the scent and the sounds he was hearing.
"Can you see what he is growling at?" Goblin Slayer turned his attention toward his sword.
"I can't travel too far from the sword Beloved but I can at least tell you what I see from a high vantage point."
The ghostly visage of the Lich Queen appeared before floating upward to examine the village, at first glance she could see no signs of the monsters but towards a few of the ruined houses she could see three figures in black robes calmly walking around.
"Beloved, I see three men in black robes, they must be those Faceless Men."
The moment Lich Queen returned to the sword the group quickly yet quietly moved to investigate the sighting of the Faceless Men. From a hidden vantage point, they could see the three men, two wore the same plague masks the others had been wearing but the third man appeared much older, perhaps in his early fifties with long black hair and a pale complexion.
"The destruction my creations have left behind is quite impressive given it was such a large village and after only a few short hours. We are indeed ready for further testing on a larger scale."
"Congratulations Master." Both Faceless Men bowed their heads in unison.
Suddenly there was the sounds of objects colliding with something, the trio of men turned to find two arrows and a few knives clatter to the ground, stopped mere feet from hitting the men. The looked to see more than a dozen armed figure emerge from various hiding spots with weapons drawn, some cursing that their first attack had not worked.
"My you adventurers are quite annoying. First I find myself having to deal with the Hero and her comrades and now this large group here. I would kindly ask that you refrain from interrupting my research." The older gentleman clearly annoyed waved them away with his right hand as if they were nothing more than flies.
"Damn it, why didn't my arrows work?" High Elf Archer tightly clenched her bow as she readied another arrow.
"That….you are using Protection." Priestess was at a loss for how he could use that spell.
"Good eye my dear, but of course you're an Earth Mother Acolyte…just as I once was." The man smirked as he now turned to face the party. "Seeing how you caught me in a good mood, allow me to introduce myself. I am the future God of Resurrection, though many know me by the moniker of Necromancer. So, what can I do for you foolish adventurers?"
Author's Note: This may not have been the usual action filled chapter, but that was only to because I want to set up my readers for the next one. The Siege is on! Hero & the Bandits in one village while Goblin Slayer and his comrades in another. With the appearance of the Necromancer, what terrible secrets will our party discover? And what of Snow, the horde is coming as well as her litter!
(Cliché, maybe, but would you want it any other way?)