A Necromancer in New Vegas
Chapter VII: Focus, or The Benefits of Organization
A clean and safe home really did wonders for the mind. It was difficult for Arrelus to really pin down exactly what about it allowed him to think more clearly. Perhaps it was the lack of distractions and the ease of mind. Regardless, he was merely happy to see that two days of unbroken labor by his horde was enough to bring the prison up to his standards.
Thankfully, the prison did seem to store a number of cleaning solutions. They were, apparently, meant to be diluted with water as in concentrated form they posed 'severe health risks' to the cleaner. Well, his cleaners were all undead, and he wanted to be rid of the smell of not only blood but also several dozen grown men going days, if not weeks, without showering as soon as he could. One thing he would grant the College is that its strict hygienic regulations were leaps and bounds above the so-called civilized people of this Californian Empire.
His food stores did start to run a bit low by the time they had finished though. Angela and he remained in the warden's office more or less for the duration of it. On one hand, it allowed them to relax. On the other, it served as an effective way to close themselves off from the fumes the chemicals gave off until the cleaning was complete. The beds in the building were more or less comfortable enough to sleep on, though the warden's was – obviously – of a much higher quality than those the guards used.
Thus, the moment that he was able to emerge from the safety of the first building to be cleaned and come back to the Yard, the Horde was sent off. Some were sent to go hunting. These were not as fast as he might've liked, so he ensured they were actually able to manage to gather anything edible through the use of Invisibility and Muffle. He also removed the ability for them to make any vocalizations without much issue, just so that there was no chance of anything scaring away the game they were sent after. Corpses had an uncanny way of groaning at the worst possible times.
The others were divided up between patrols and guards. The primary merit of patrol groups wasn't actually to have them relay information to him. That was definitely a perk, but it was actually to determine what areas were hostile. He could observe the world through any of his Horde, but he was still limited in how much information he could make use of at any one point in time. However, if he could feel any of the patrol groups disrupted, it was a signal that he should tap into their senses. This way, he could figure out which areas needed to be culled and who the perpetrators were without placing himself in any danger.
The guards, on the other hand, were mainly a first line of defense in the prison. If anyone was so daring as to attack his bastion directly, then they could take the brunt of the damage, and also be the first point of contact. If anyone attempted to attack the base, they would be so engaged with the horde of undead seeking to rip them limb from limb that a pair of invisible and inaudible individuals would go unnoticed enough to blindside them or escape if need be. He could always make a new Horde, after all.
Arrelus knew that the Powder Gangers had likely made more than their fair share of enemies. They were, effectively, no better than the bandit gangs that he'd had to deal with in the wilds of Skyrim. The Civil War had created just the right atmosphere for lawless behavior in the areas that the Jarls influence waned, after all. Out here in the wastes, where there was effectively no governing structure to speak of, such banditry would flourish even more easily. Though they had their prison and slave labor out here, the actual effective force projection of the Californian Empire was nowhere near strong enough to retain this territory after the riots that saw them losing the fort.
It led to a difficult decision on Arrelus' part. On one hand, he could have them continue to raid, even in undeath, in order to gather more resources for himself. The Gangers already held a certain reputation, after all. On the other hand, he could utilize their manpower to secure the roads, leading to trade flourishing between Goodsprings and the nearby settlement of Primm. Letting others know that he was the reason that the Gangers had been dispatched and the trade route was once again safe also had its own consequences, both positive and negative.
Ultimately, he'd decided that it was in his best interest to nurture the reputation he had gained in Goodsprings. They would be a good testing ground to see how his necromancy was regarded in this world without magic. They were small enough in number that he should be more than capable of wiping them out even without his horde, but still large enough that if they were on his side then it could offer some benefits down the line should he need to utilize them.
Rather than deal with the matter of informing Goodsprings himself, though, he left that up to Angela. He had more important matters to attend to than diplomacy missions, after all. Plus, she was able to tell them that she had been bound to his service after he brought her back from the dead, putting them at ease. Interestingly, the villagers of Goodsprings had been all too accepting of the fates of the Powder Gangers and seemed happy that they were forced into a reversal of the roles they held in life during their service in undeath.
Whether in Tamriel or the American Wastes, it seemed that humans could be equally vindictive and spiteful. Arrelus was not one to argue with good fortune. Especially since it would be quite hypocritical of him to do so since his own vindictiveness and spite had driven him since his exile almost exclusively. No matter, it was hardly worth worrying over such trivial matters as the shared human experience across reality.
"Arrelus, I know you can sense them." The inward musings of the necromancer, nearly caught up in a spiral of philosophizing, were abruptly ended at the exasperated tone of his Thrall's voice. Despite the telepathic connection, the two of them found it more comfortable to vocalize their communications. It was a novel experience for him to be able to speak with one of his Horde. For her, she clearly did not enjoy having additional voices inside her mind. She obeyed her orders without resistance by this point, so there was little reason to be sadistic.
"Do you mean the group of soldiers on the hill overlooking the prison, by chance?" Arrelus wondered with a hint of amusement that only barely touched his lips. "Yes, I've been keeping an eye on them since they began their journey from Primm. The Hunters make excellent scouts, after all." This only served to make Angela sigh. "Is there a problem?"
"Are you going to do anything about them? I have my doubts as to exactly how willing to part with this place the NCR would be. Even with the Powder Gangers no longer raiding traders and their scouting parties, there's no way they wouldn't have order to at least make a meager attempt to take it back."
"You would be correct about that." He stood from his place at the desk that formerly belonged to the NCRCF warden, adjusting his cloak slightly. As he began walking out of the office he'd claimed as his own, his Thrall followed right after him. "I've been listening in on their conversations from the moment they left their outpost. They have notions that I will allow them to plant explosive charges on the wall so that they might rush into the fortress I've claimed and begin slaughtering the Powder Gangers with their superior firepower."
Angela pursed her lips as they made their way downstairs, feeling the, by now, all-too familiar surge of Magicka through her system as Arrelus coated them in both Invisibility and Muffle. As they made their way to the door, it opened on its own, one of the mindless drones on the other side. The duo passed by before it walked inside. Clearly, Arrelus was using his Horde to hide the fact that they had come out of the office.
Similarly, another drone walked out of the entrance building, allowing them to enter. One final corpse opened the front door for them so that they could make their way out, soundless and untraceable. In her time under his service, Angela noted just how careful every action Arrelus took was. He used his Horde like an extension of himself and seemed to be hyper-focused on ensuring that his presence was always as unnoticeable as possible. Despite this being the first actual time that there was anything approaching a threat to their base, he insisted on doing this at each and every instance of them leaving the office.
It did not take long for them to make their way around the prison, up the hill and upon the group of NCR Troopers that were still preparing their ambush. There were only a dozen of them, but each of them had the standard issue service rifle that were so common to see back home as Troopers made their patrols to keep the roads between the various settlements safe. They used to make her feel safe when she was a little girl. She doubted even the entire New California Republic army could stand against her new master, though.
Arrelus couldn't help but smirk a bit at the surface thoughts of his Thrall. Perhaps the Californian Empire's military might one day fall to him, but at the moment he knew he was far from prepared to take on so many, even with the overwhelming advantage of his magic. No, at the moment these Troopers would have to do. They were gathered in a group, going over their plan of action a final time before they made their push.
Unfortunately for them, their close proximity was far too wonderful an opportunity to lay a Frost Rune to pass up. In a moment, all but three of them were on their backs, making a wonderful impression of the moans his Horde made. The shrapnel of his Frost Runes were quite deadly to groups packed so tightly. There was always the risk of them hitting his Horde or himself, of course. He didn't bring his drones along with him, though, and the Troopers gave him plenty of cover with how little space existed between them as their commander gave them orders.
The commander had been spared grievous injuries, but was on his behind as he stared at the mortally wounded and bleeding out half-corpses that were his men. One soldier managed to avoid almost any injury whatsoever. He seemed to get it in his head to run away, but it was trivially easy for Arrelus to snatch his soul right out his body and add it to his Magicka reserves the moment his Invisibility dropped. As the life left his eyes, he fell forward and began rolling down the hill, only stopping with a rather loud thud when he hit the very wall they were intending to blow wide open.
"I do not appreciate those who wish to take things from me, things I have rightfully earned." Arrelus' tone was sharp, emotionless. These insects weren't worth losing the reins on his emotions. Their plan was a nuisance that he needed to take care of. They were termites trying to gnaw through the walls of his house, and he needed to exterminate them or else he'd have to make repairs.
As he spoke, he stepped over one of the near-dead half-corpses and snatched away his soul as well. From the perspective of the commander, it must have been quite a sight indeed. They intended to use explosive munitions, but instead an explosive of icy shrapnel put his entire squad out of commission. Then a man appeared out of thin air, and a purplish energy connected his hand to his men. As the energy left the soldiers he needed to rely on, the life left their eyes for the last time, and their groans of pain abruptly ended. In his cloak, he must look the very image of this world's Grim Reaper.
With each half-corpse he passed, he stole the last of their life essence. "Any rights to this place that the Californian Empire held were null and void the moment they lost control to the rabble that were formerly known as the Powder Gangers. I fixed your country's mistake and took the prison and its inhabitants for myself. This is my domain now." Finally, Arrelus was only left with the commanding officer, who looked up at him silently, fear keeping him from even breathing.
"In life you made the mistake of serving a weak and corrupt leadership, an Empire doomed to crumble and attacked my domain. You and your men will pay dearly for this misjudgment of yours. Your punishment will not merely end with your death." Crouching down until he was on eye level with the man placed in charge of this particular suicide mission, he smiled a smile that was never meant to reach his eyes as he placed one hand on the commander's shoulder. "Welcome to the Horde, Captain."