Heart of Darkness

by Cyricist001

Louise wanted a divine, beautiful, wise and powerful servant but many entities across the multiverse have those characteristics, and not all are benevolent. Meet the Necromancer.

9. Chapter 9

Halkeginia, Tristain, Mountains near the HQ

After returning back to the HQ the trio found Siesta and quickly teleported into the mines that were used for undead creation.

With a flash of light the quartet was left standing in the cold, dark tunnels that wormed their way under the nearby mountains.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and ghouls! Step right up!"

"Will you please shut up already" grumbled the pinkette as she cast a simple Light spell and followed the necromancer through the darkness. The small orb of light illuminated the empty way for the group so they could actually see where they were going, with Aeron being the exception since Shades posses the extraordinary ability to see in the darkness.

The mines were, as the two girls pictured them to be, unnaturally cold and heavy with the stench of rotting flesh.

While the necromancer was okay with that, the trio was forced to hold a handkerchief in front of their noses to block out some of the stench, though it wasn't doing the best job doing it.

"How do you stand it?" grumbled Louise as she glanced at the wizard.

"You mean the smell? A long time ago I made a few modifications to my nose so I can control my sense of smell at will. Though when in such places I disable it, an when in sterile environments I maximize it so I can detect invisible attackers and such. It's useful in my line of work."

"Or you could simply get a familiar with a strong sense of smell and spare yourself so much effort" said the elf.

"Also a good suggestion" responded the necromancer, completely ignoring the barb directed at him.

They walked a good distance down the tunnel before any undead activity became apparent. Their footsteps were slowly drowned out by the sound of colliding metal until they finally reached the main cavern.

Zombies slowly shambled from place to place as they transported the ore to be processed. The two girls cringed as one of the undead monsters turned its half decayed head in their direction and observed them with its milky white, dead eyes.

"Can we go now?" asked Siesta hopefully as she tried to suppress her shivers.

Aeron frowned, his reptilian eyes narrowing slightly "You should better get used to them, things like that will be what you are going to command against the invasion that is soon to come."

The warlock remained quiet, her pact with the demon made her more bold but it certainly didn't make her fearless. In fact she didn't wish to be involved in a war, period.

When she agreed to become a mage it was so she could protect her family and catch herself a good, rich husband...not to lead armies.

"Aeron..." said the bard, his voice warning the necromancer to leave the poor girl alone.

The wizard's gaze focused on the elf "The Reconquita is planing to land troops in Tarbas, you know what that means."

As soon as the necromancer mentioned her village Siesta's jaw dropped from the shock. The warlock's fists started to clench as she imagined her home burning, her resolve against participating in any fighting faltering rapidly. Husbands and marriages will have to wait, her first priority now was to protect the family she already had.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Zanven sighed, he didn't wish to burden the child with such knowledge at this time but... "Yes, our sources all indicate that your village is the first target."

The quartet stood there without a word as the elf's words sunk in. Only the rhythmic beating of clockworker hammers broke the silence between the group.

"I understand..." said the warlock finally as she resigned herself to what was to come. In a few a months she will fight...not for glory, power or wealth but to defend the people who she cared about.

Well...the road to Hell is paved with good intentions though the mind reading necromancer as he turned around and continued to walk passed the furnace and the working constructs under the control of the clockwork brain gear.

Soon they came upon rows upon rows of undead, standing at attention. The first lines were equipped with plain, dark colored plate armor and were holding pollaxes in their clawed hands. Though the appearance of the items was plain and utilitarian, all of it was masterwork quality thanks to a very specialized skill set in his clockworkers. In the end the constructs only job is crafting things so it's only logical that smithing should be the focus off all their abilities.

Unlike Zanven who was familiar with undead armies, the two girls were far easier to impress, especially with the 'discipline' the things displayed.

Thankfully the armor and the barrel helmet combination concealed most of the terrifying appearance that the monsters possessed so the girls were less frightened than they were of the zombies... regrettably the only thing that couldn't be hidden by the armor was the stench.

From the darkness a single undead appeared and slowly approached the necromancer "Master, the troops are ready for inspection."

"Excellent work Zarken" responded the wizard as he looked over the armored ghouls "seems you got better in corpsecrafting over the years."

"I also made their bones more nimble so the ghouls are now much faster than normally" responded the shaadee.

"Marvelous" grinned the assassin as he turned to the rest of the group "Ah, but I didn't introduce you to each other, have I?"

"Louise this is Zarken, he will be one of your generals. His primary role will be increasing your army's size, and keeping the ghouls in fighting condition."

The pinkette tersely nodded at the hovering undead, though the monster didn't seem to react to her at all.

"So what is the plan against the Albion invasion?" asked the sorceress.

"From what we have learned through scrying and Wardes, the enemy will land their forces in Tarbas, four thousand elite soldiers to be exact" explained the bard "the Lexington and its fleet will quickly take over the village and fortify their position for the inevitable retaliation by Tristain."

"I don't understand" mused Louise "why Tarbas?"

Zanven could only shake his head.

"Apparently it's to lure and kill Henrietta. I have no idea why they simply don't take Tristania. The ships could as well attack the Tristain Academy of Magic or even the capitol itself" said the bard "why they would waste manpower on a village is beyond my understanding."

"Aeron?" asked the pinkette.

"Truthfully I also fail to see why their main army would bother with a small village like Tarbas" responded the assassin "with their power they could easily take the Academy and get far more out of the whole ordeal. Noble hostages, nice walls, access to the magic vault and enough supplies for the whole force."

"Most likely because Tarbas is just enough" added Zarken "it offers little resistance and if it can lure out the Tristanian army it served its purpose."

"Hmmm you do have a point, but if Henrietta does nothing their plan fails completely. Basically it all depends on her acting impulsively" mused Aeron "in any case the village is simply bait to get the princess and the Tristanian army in the range of the fleets cannons. The capitol would be a hard fought battle and Tristain would be unwilling to attempt a frontal charge against the Academy in fear of endangering the students."

"But commoners are fair game is that it?!" hissed Siesta.

"Yes" was the necromancer's blunt reply "unlike the nobles in the Academy one village full of commoners is a trivial loss."

That comment earned him a death glare from all but Zarken.

"What?"

The elf pinched the top of his nose "I know this is asking much, but could you at least try to be a bit less of a prick? That would be great."

"How ca – never mind, stupid question" said the pinkette with a sigh "so how do we stop them?"

"We don't. We should let them land their troops in Tarbas and when night falls have the unarmored ghouls encircle and eliminate them in one hit. The wraiths will in the meantime deal with the ships above."

"I was hoping you had some brilliant idea how to defeat them without endangering the village" said the pinkette as she massaged her temples, there was a headache coming and she knew who's to blame for it.

"You expected brilliant ideas from Aeron?" inquired Zarken in surprise.

"Yes?" asked the puzzled sorceress.

"Aeron is no strategist or tactician, his ideas always boil down to swarming the enemy in ambushes, spreading pestilence and poisons amongst them or taking control over their leaders before shredding them from inside. He's more a disease people inject in what they want destroyed than a commander" said the undead in his usual deadpan way.

All eyes were again on the necromancer.

"What? It works!" complained the wizard.

"So now I find out you're a lousy military leader...any other surprises?"

I think your and Siesta's grandparents are somewhere in the ghoulish army "No?"

Louise was almost certain that was a lie "Then answer me this, what would you do with an army? It's obvious you are unfit for any kind of military command!"

Aeron shrugged "I think you are confusing the undead for your normal army here. The biggest problems commanders have in the field is making sure that the soldiers don't rout, the dead don't have that problem and are far more resilient than humans. As long as there are necromancers able to reanimate them it doesn't matter how many perish in frontal assaults. The other important factor about the undead is their lack of logistics, that fact alone makes undead far superior to the living in a war. Tactics are nice but far less important than having proper supplies brought to you on time."

"Logistics? Why would that be so important?" asked the pinkette.

"Because without logistics armies would be diseased, starving and out of ammo before the third day was over. When you send humans to fight they all need a lot of things, those consumables can't be all carried and require a long supply chain to work. Those on the other hand are usually very slow making the whole army in question very slow. If the food isn't brought every day and can't be foraged or pillaged fast enough then the army will disband in record time. If ammo runs out, your guns and muskets become useless. Then there's the whole problem with waste disposal and the possibility of diseases spreading through the ranks...now, that can realy decimate an army of any size. The dead don't have any problems like that, they can march day and night without rest, without food and water through any weather. here's an example, what do you think would arrive faster from Vindobona to Romalia, a ghoul or a horse?"

"I don't know, How fast is a ghoul?"

Aeron nodded at the undead soldiers "They can run as fast as an average human even in plate armor."

"Then a horse would arrive faster."

"Actually they would arrive at the same time" smiled Aeron "while the horse has a certain speed advantage on the flat terrain, the animal and its rider would get tired and would require to stop and rest, eat and probably sleep for a minimum of four hours. At the same time the ghoul wouldn't require any of it and would have continued to run without any interruption."

"A rider can bring more than only one horse but fine, I see your point..." grumbled the girl.

"And the last big advantage is their ability to multiply themselves by killing" grinned the necromancer "not only are they fearless, hard to kill and don't require any sort of compensation but they recruit in their free time making your army grow all around the clock. It's one of the reasons I suggested to encircle the Albion infantry in Tarbas, once the battle is over they all will join our side increasing your army tremendously."

"And as I said I want to deal with the enemy before they can threaten Tarbas, and with the least amount of dead on both sides!" responded Louise.

"Now that's a problem because the only way you can stop them from invading the village is by attacking first. And if you do that the Reconquista will pin the blame on Tristain and launch a war they actually can justify, and on top of that other countries will be either unwilling to help you or outright join Albion."

The sorceress could only blink once before she started to pull on her hair from the frustration "Brimir damn it! Then lets simply evacuate the village!"

"Well, I guess you could do that though the enemy might get suspicious why nobody is in the village, perhaps w-"

"No, we won't use them as bait!" said the pinkette "end of discussion!"

"What about using wraiths to turn Albion's citizens into undead? If we turn enough villages the country's economy and ability to wage war will be broken while your own will increase."

"Absolutely not!" said the enraged bard "Louise don't listen to him!"

"I'm not" deadpanned the girl "there will be no war against the innocent."

Aeron crossed his arms as a frown spread on his face "Then we have a problem, you are limiting your army's most potent abilities. To fight with such a handicap you will need to rely on strategy and tactics more often than not."

"I will manage."

"Well, it's your country and soul on the line" shrugged the necromancer making the pinkett's resolve falter a bit.

"If you don't have anything actually useful to say then keep quiet!" hissed the girl ready to unleash a few spells to shut the bastard up.

"Well, one thing actually. You need more allies, humans that are familiar with combat and tactics at least. I though that Zarken will be more than enough to keep your army in tact but with the limitations imposed by yourself that is no longer the case."

"And where should I find these commanders?"

"I have no idea, that part is up to you. But be quick about it, time is running out. Also political alliances should be made, I take it you don't know that the Tabitha girl has connections to the Galian royal family or?" said the grinning necromancer.

Louise openly gaped at that bit of information "What?!"

"A more convenient ally you can hardly find" added the wizard "If you know how to get her on your side that is."

Louise actually had no idea how to manage that...Tabitha never talked with anyone and usually hanged around the library or follows the Zerbst harpy around. So the key is Kirche...damn, I should really look more into the background of people I know.

XXXX

Halkeginia, forest near the Galian border

Shivering Touch and Enervation suck...especially with metamagic thought the pink haired girl as she lay paralyzed on the ground. Louise was only able to listen how the necromancer walked around taping the accursed spare wand on his shoulder whistling a upbeat tune the whole time...

The bastard had too many spare wands for her to appreciate...though she had to admit it was a good way to make sure you always had a lot of firepower at hand.

"I think that's enough for today" said the wizard as he removed the debilitating effects from the incapacitated children.

Both Siesta and Louise were more than happy to be able to move again, though in Siesta's case it was with a slight limp thanks to a rather embarrassing tackle she suffered from the assassin.

The pinkette scowled as she finally got up from the grass "I hate you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere" responded the white haired man "besides, you are making excellent progress."

"Progress?...I though we were going to die..." said the warlock with tears in her eyes...and mud on her face.

"That would be too easy for the bastard" mumbled the noble as she flexed her fingers now that she was finally able to move again...they laid too long in the grass as it was.

Under Aeron's advice she concentrated mostly on Transmutation and Conjuration magic because of the versatility of the spells the two schools possessed, though she also memorized a few Evocation spells like Isaac's lesser and greater missile storm.

Louise couldn't help but notice how the necromancer stuffed a lot of his spells in items like wands and other object. It made her more than a little bit irritated...mostly because he used them to beat the living daylight out of her. Even the warlock who was dragged along for training didn't have much luck in combating the bastard.

All those nice eldritch blasts never actually came close to hitting the wizard...though her Baleful Utterance managed to shatter one of the necromancer's wands. That has to count for something...

She herself continued to fight with a dagger as a side weapon and was advised to keep as many wands with her as possible in case of willpower depletion...easier said than done. Making the things took both time and expensive materials, and she was in short supply of both at the moment.

In the end they gave their best and still failed to defeat the necromancer, who, even when refraining from using any of his instant death spells, managed to incapacitate them and even her summons time and time again with utmost ease.

And so the tort-err training went day in day out...

"If we are making any progress how come we didn't win at least once?" grumbled the sorceress.

It was Zanven rather than Aeron who answered her question "That's because he has two centuries of experience more then you to fall back on. Most of the tricks and maneuvers you used he encountered and devised countermeasures already."

"I see..." said Louise before the elf's words hit her "WAIT! You are two hundred years old! But you told me you...grrr you lying bastard!"

"Actually almost two and a half" responded the shadovar with a smirk "and I didn't technically lie, I simply didn't tell the whole truth."

The wizard's words only made the pink haired girl scowl more, then again why was she surprised? Water is wet and Aeron is a compulsive liar, nothing new there.

"Ehh... you look good for an old geezer" was all the warlock could add.

"For a Shade being a few centuries old is still rather young. But enough about that, as Zanven told you I have a lot of experience that you lack so it shouldn't discourage you that I can react faster in many situations. The whole purpose of these training sessions is to give you some of that experience and raise your overall combat ability. I won't be able to teach you all the tricks but as long as you understand the basics you will be able to advance further on your own."

"Out of curiosity, how long would it take for us to overtake you?" inquired Siesta.

"It really depends how fast you learn when compared to me" was the necromancers reply "if by some chance you learn twice as fast, then you should overtake me in some...three centuries" though the chance of them both doing so was very unlikely, but still...

Zanven could truly sympathize with the girls, Aeron normally acted like a fool but he was actually considered a genius, a prodigy in the field of arcane magic even amongst the Netherese archwizards...a better and more flexible learner and innovator would be a gem seldom found and certainly wouldn't be coming in a 'take one get one free' package.

"WHAT?!" the duo screamed in unison making both Zanven and Aeron wince from the loud noise.

The wizard shrugged "You need to catch up to me as I am now, and I won't be doing nothing while you train. Even in this very moment my clone is conducting magical research in my demiplane, expanding my arcane knowledge as we speak." It sometimes amazed him how certain people though that if they worked hard they would win...like the idea of their opponent improving as well never entered their mind.

The two beaten and bruised girls could only groan in frustration We want some payback damn it! they both though simultaneously.

"So there is no way we can beat you as we are now?" asked the maid as she tilted her head to the side...so she could see Zanven's behind better as he was picking up a few of the thrown daggers used in the training exercise.

"Not necessarily" was the necromancer's reply "experience can be a double edged sword as well, when people see that something works they will almost always employ that method reasoning that a new one isn't necessary as long as the first one gets the desired results. It becomes something of a routine and innovation suffers because of that...it is there that the young, inexperienced shine. Because they lack the right skill to accomplish a task they experiment and try different and unorthodox methods in their attempt to solve problems. And right there is the key...do something new and unorthodox, surprise me."

Aeron then snapped his fingers as he remembered something else "Louise you asked about summoning another familiar, now wouldn't be a bad time to do so. Unlike your familiars, my ilk don't realy use the critters for defense so there are a few differences in criteria."

To emphasize the point his form shifted until his humanoid body was changed into that of a raven.

The bird flew to the closest tree branch and and sat down on it "Spellcasters can gain all sort of advantages from having a familiar, such as the ability to use them as messengers" then his body once again changed into that of a black cat "or as scouts, even if we can do all that with magic its to easy too block such spells."

The girls looked at the cat with divided interest, they knew how to use familiars efficiently so Aeron's words were nothing new...but the cat was so adorable that Louise couldn't do anything but hug it...naturally annoying Aeron in the process.

"Or you can have them as assassins" was the wizard's reply as he once again shapeshifted.

Instead of the soft, cuddly furball Louise was staring in a pair of over sized mandibles with eight legs planted firmly on her body.

The pinkette screamed as loudly as she possibly could before pushing the over sized arachnid away from herself, its alien...and rather frightening appearance engraving itself into her mind, making sure that she won't be able to touch another of the hairy beasts ever again.

The spider nimbly landed on its legs but before he could do anything else a barrage of explosions was unleashed upon him.

"DIE!DIE!DIE!" Louise screamed hysterically as she cast one explosion after another.

When she finally stopped all eyes were focused on the spot the pinkette bombarded...only now processing what happened

Unlike the two worried girls Zanven was calm as one could be, he didn't believe that the necromancer would die so easily...and even if he did, almost every single Shade had a Clone spell ready in case of sudden death.

Then the dust disappeared, leaving the girls gasping in shock and disgust.

Aeron's humanoid body was lying on the ground, large patches of skin were ripped off and the destroyed leather armor exposed the damage to the wizard's torso. The damage the shadovar took was bad...one could see the exposed and mangled organs where most explosions happened.

Louise slowly reached with her hand to cover her mouth W-What have I done!

Then the corpse coughed and rose from the ground.

"Man, that was painful" laughed Aeron even as his shadovar regeneration started to fix the damage to his body, mending bones, skin and other organs. Though his vision was a bit off since one of his eyeballs poped like a balloon from an explosion, even his voice was strained from the large hole in his neck and the exposed mandible, the white of the bone presenting a stark contrast to the otherwise chard skin.

The two girls immediately took a step back at the disgusting appearance of the man...by all logic he should be dead, but then again Shades were a bit more resilient than normal humans.

Aeron then turned to the bard "A little assistance would be nice."

The elf could only shake his head as he used his harp to play a melody that helped the necromancer to regenerate, now twice as efficiently.

In a few minutes all the injuries disappeared like they were never inflicted at all, and even the clothes were repaired by a simple Mending spell.

"Good as new" smiled the necromancer.

"Good to know" deadpanned Louise I was panicking for nothing! Again! "now I know that I can let loose without worry."

Naturally that didn't bother the sadomasochistic wizard at all, instead he snapped his fingers and an illusion of a tiny humanoid appeared in front of them "Perhaps a pixie would fit you better, she could be a good rogue replacement."

Zanven coughed "Though you would have a hard time to persuade one to become a familiar, at least willingly."

"Well, that is true...then how about the most dangerous and evil creature in existence."

With a flick of his wrist the pixie disappeared and instead of it stood a creature never seen in Halkeginia before.

The girls stared at it the strange life-form with undisguised wonder, and even Zanven raised his eyebrow...

"A penguin?" asked the bard.

"Of course, is there a greater evil?"

While the elf an shadovar argued, the conjured penguin looked confusedly around itself before it started to walk in a random direction, wondering where the hell it was.

Louise followed the creature with interest as it moved...it was funny and cute.

The penguin turned around and saw Louise squatting in front of it, holding her knees with her hands. The pink haired girl extended her arm and stroked the creature...its so soft!

She didn't continue that though when a loud snap made all eyes focus on her, a red imprint visible on her right cheek.

"Y-you l-litt-" hissed the girl before the penguin slapped her other cheek with its other flipper.

Louise was now utterly enraged by the animal's behavior, in fact she was so angry that she practically radiated killing intent...

Sensing the threat to its well-being the bird tried to run, but its short legs were no match for her speed. The furious pinkett clenched her fist and sucker punched the bird in the back, making the animal hit the ground hard, its beak burrowing itself into the dirt. But the creature was unwilling to go down without a fight and as soon as it managed to stand up it stared to bite.

Not far from them the others watched the strange brawl with undivided curiosity.

"Honestly...when will you stop with this nonsense, it is not funny" sighed the annoyed elf.

The necromancer then whispered in his ear "I don't care what you think, pranking the simple minded amuses me, so stop complaining already:"

"How can I stop complaining when all you do is torment the poor girl!" hissed the blond.

Having seen enough of Louise abusing the animal and the penguin in turn spanking her bottom from time to time, the bard decided to finally intervene. He pulled out of his pouch a wand and pointed it at the duo. The two combatants were instantly levitated away from each other "Enough already" said the tired elf.

"But he started it!" whined the noble.

"Actually it's a she, and dire penguins are rather intelligent and don't like humans that much" interjected the wizard "when you tried to pet her she got mad."

Louise crossed her arms and huffed "Whatever."

As the bard lowered Louise to the ground, so did Aeron cancel the spell keeping the dire penguin in this world.

"So what kind of familiar would you like?" asked the necromancer.

"To hell with familiars! They are nothing but trouble!

"How about lunch then?"

Louise glanced at the white haired man "How does penguin taste?"

"Like a duck...a lot of black meat" said the wizard "rather heavy."

Louise snorted "Not even good enough to eat...is there anything worse."

"Dwarf stew...tastes horrible" grimaced Aeron "really don't recommend it." Damned troll cook and his expired ingredients.

"It's getting late, we should call it a day" said Zanven as he observed the sun disappear behind the tree tops.

"Let's see if there's an inn anywhere nearby" mused the necromancer.

Zanven snorted "We are in the middle of nowhere, there's nothing man made nearby. That was the whole point in coming here."

"Nonsense" grinned Aeron "there is a small village a short distance away from here."

"How short?" asked the bard suspiciously.

"A three hour walk I'd wager" or a fifteen minute flight if we use Alter Self and change into an Avariel.

XXXX

Halkeginia, Inn near the Tristain - Galian border

Kirche frowned as she looked over the run down appearance of the coaching inn they were supposed to stay in for the night. Personally she would rather risk a broken tire then sleep in this place.

Tabitha wasn't bothered by the buildings rundown exterior, it wasn't her first time staying here. The road from the Academy to the Duchy de Orléanse was a long one and both the horses and the coachman needed to rest.

The small girl still remembered how the inn flourished while her father was alive, but after his death and the weakening of her families lands, trade withered away and once busy roads were all but empty now.

With a light push the door opened and the two girls entered the establishment.

Kirche wrinkled her nose as she took in the interior of the building...Perhaps we should have rented a stable somewhere mused the red haired girl at least it would smell better.

The petite bluenet approached the old innkeeper, and placed the money on the counter "Two rooms."

The owner of the establishment nodded "Would you like the meals brought up to your rooms or will you be joining the other guests in the common area?"

"Room" said the girl, though she didn't really care either way.

The old woman nodded again and took two keys from a drawer "Then please follow me to your rooms."

They made it halfway up the staircase when they encountered a familiar pinkette coming down.

"Louise?!" said the surprised Germanian.

"Kirche?! What are you doing here!" said the pinkette as she glared at her classmate.

The red haired girl smiled "I'm going to visit Tabitha's home, and you?"

"That's none of your business Zerbst" said the pinkette as she continued down the stairs.

The Germanian huffed So typical of her, even if her magic has improved she still has zero manners "Hey Tabitha, lets follow her!"

The blue haired girl shook her head and looked at the innkeeper "Room."

"Right this way" said the old woman as she guided the bluenette to the rented accommodations.

Well I guess I will have to do this myself pouted the red haired girl as she turned around and went after Louise.

XXXX

"We have to go!" growled the sorceress as she rejoined her companions in the common area, rudely interrupting their conversation about golem crafting.

"Why? We just got here?" inquired the necromancer as he placed the wine glass back on the table "besides Siesta is sleeping, let her rest for a few hours."

"Look, it's compli-"

"My, my so that's why" came the familiar voice from behind her.

Ah, that's why...both the bard and wizard thought simultaneously as they saw the red haired girl behind Louise.

"Kirche!" growled the pinkette as she turned around and faced her nemesis.

"I was wrong about you Valliere, you certainly had me fooled..." grinned the red haired girl as she walked passed Louise and took a seat between the two men.

Neither of them was surprised when the Germanian placed her hands on their legs, both saw enough of her behavior to know that she was a very passionate person.

"Mmm so what are your names..." she purred, completely ignoring Louise who was seething with rage and envy. It's not that she had any intimate relationship with the two, but they were her companions not Kirche's!

"Zanven Silverleaf, a pleasure" said the elf as he removed the girl's hand from his leg.

"Ronald McDonald" said the red haired man with a stylish goatee, as he also removed her hand.

Kirche wasn't dissuaded by their refusal, in fact it made the whole endeavor that much more interesting. What was the point of the hunt if the prey was easily caught? She then focused back on her angry classmate "So did they give you that amazing creampie you boasted about?"

Louise was so close to exploding the nuisance...

"Stay calm" advised the wizard through telepathy "she is only playing with you out of the same reasons I do, you are easy to anger."

Those words weren't really what she wanted to hear, but they did have the desired effect "Bastard."

The redhead smirked as she pressed her breasts on Zanven "Is he perhaps your lover Louise? Mmmm good taste."

"Associates would be more fitting" said Aeron as he covertly cast a Suggestion spell on the girl "it's already late, how about we continue this conversation tomorrow? The day was long and some rest would be welcomed."

Kirche could only nod as she fell victim to the magical compulsion "You are right, then I will see you two darlings tomorrow" said the redhead as she went back to her room.

Louise felt her mood instantly improve as her classmate left their company.

"Grr, I hate that harlot!" hissed the pinkette as she snatched the wine glass from in front of the necromancer and gulped down the alcoholic beverage.

As soon as the first drop made contact with her tongue Louise was left astonished...never did she drink something this tasty before! "What kind of wine is this?" asked the girl in amazement.

"Elven wine" said Zanven proudly "there is no better beverage on Toril."

Louise didn't even bother to hear him to the end as she poured herself another glass...then another...then another.

"Um, Louise I think you should slow down..." warned the bard.

"Too late" snorted the necromancer as he watched the rather expensive liquid disappear down the girl's gullet "it's always the same when humans get their hands on a bottle."

"What's that superposed to mean?" asked the irate sorceress as she gulped down the last drop of the heavenly liquid.

Aeron smirked "Elven wine is rather insidious, it flows very easily and before you know it the person drinking it is on the floor, drunk as a board."

"Well I'm not" said the pinkette as she returned the glass back on the table "I needed something to get over the Germanian pest."

"She isn't that bad, actually she reminds me of every priestess of Sune I have ever encountered" mused the elf. Almost all worshipers of Lady Firehair were passionate people both in duty as in love...though more often than not people compared her temples with free of charge brothels because of that.

"I think she would fit more with the followers of Sharees" mused the necromancer "as flirtatious as Lady of Love is the Lustfull Mistress is more up Kirches alley."

Louise blinked "Lustfull Mistress...you really have a goddess like that?"

"We have a god or goddess for almost anything" shrugged Aeron "though Cyric is actively trying to trim down the number of gods running around Toril."

"Sharees is the goddess of hedonism, though personally I don't see much of a difference between her and Lady Firehair" added the bard.

"Truthfully neither do I" agreed the assassin "though this is a good opportunity for you Louise. I took one glimpse into her mind and have to say she is a rather shrewd individual with a very powerful and influential family in Germania, the strongest nation here. It would be advisable to bring her over to your side...not to mention she is a veteran of love making."

It was fortunate for him that she wasn't drinking in the moment or else the wine would have found itself relocated from her mouth right onto the necromancer's face.

"Are you stupid or something? She's a Zerbst! Our two families-"

"Yes, yes I'm aware of your petty rivalries" interrupted the wizard "I'm simply pointing out that the Zerbst have both power and influence that can be used to strengthen your position in the future. The only thing you have to do is bury the hatchet."

"Why should I bury a hatchet?" said the confused girl "never-mind, if I was going to bury any hatchets it would be in Kirche's skull. And I don't care how powerful her family is, they are still filthy Germanians."

"Well, if you wish to help your princess, learning some diplomacy and tact wouldn't hurt. Also, I can guaranty you she could show you pleasures you didn't know existed" commented the wizard with a shrug "she has enough experience to give some succubi a run for their money. Use the Ring of Gender or the Alter Self spell to turn yourself into a male and broaden your horizons a little."

"Shut up already!" huffed Louise as she remembered the memories her clone saw in Wardes' mind...she had to admit, there was something arousing in the memory...observing someone she knew performing an act that should never be revealed to others...

Louise quickly shook her head Stop thinking about it! she chastised herself as she refocused back on the wizard "I'm going to take that step when and with whom I pick, so don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

Aeron shrugged once more "Of course, I was only saying that you should start with a experienced person who knows what he or she is doing. If done wrong it can give you a bad first impression, and first impressions are important."

"Whatever, I think I'm going to emulate the warlock and go to my room. The day was long and stressful without adding Kirche to it."

As the pinkette left the common area Aeron and Zanven were the last ones left.

"So what now?" asked the bard.

Aeron shrugged and pulled out another bottle from his bag "How about some more elvish wine? The best vintage from Evermeet I could get my hands on."

The bard smiled "Finally some use out of you. The roof?"

"The roof."

XXXX

Louise instantly loosened her clothes as she opened the door to her room...it was getting rather warm. The wine was obviously already kicking in as she felt her mood improve considerably, and her body felt full of energy as her fatigue disappeared.

It was pitch black inside but it didn't inconvenience her at all. She could hardly miss the bed in such a small place. Truth be told she wasn't physically tired, a notable side effect thanks to all the combat training Aeron had her do...but the mental fatigue from all the necromancer's nonsense was certainly something only some liqueur can cure, her stress levels were over nine thousand thanks to his antics. The former maid was no better off, though she did have her chores to do beside learning how to fight so it was understandable that the dark haired girl went out like a light as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The young sorceress quickly disrobed and crawled into the over sized bed, but when she turned around her face burrowed itself into something soft.

At first she thought it was a pillow but when she tried to push it away it always came back...in fact it was too bouncy to be one.

It kinda reminded her of sister Catleya's...

"Oh yes...squeeze them more..." moaned a familiar voice, a pair of hands quickly embracing her, and one of them went where it certainly didn't not belong! A feat made that much easier since she always slept in the nude...

Don't tell me!...though Louise as she wrestled herself out of the embrace and ignited a candle that was left on the small bedside table.

"Kirche!" shouted Louise as she spotted the molester "what are you doing in my bed?!"

The red haired woman rubbed the sleep out of her eyes "Louise? What are you doing in my room?"

"This isn't your room, this is my room!" growled the pinkette.

The tanned girl rose from the bed and looked over the room "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" hissed the pinkette "though I suppose you would know a thing or two about sleeping in other peoples rooms."

The Germanian shrugged "The owners never complained, in fact they were very pleased with my stay. Not like you would understand that."

"You think this is all woman needs do you" growled Louise as she grabbed Kirche's breasts and started to knead them "stupid, over sized udders!"

Kirche smiled at the smaller girl's antics "If you were male you would understand their appeal, once applied men become wax in my hands."

"Really..." mused the pinkette as she removed her hands from Kirche's chest. Once again images started to cloud her mind making her wonder...

Perhaps it was the wine, but her thought went from Wardes' memories to a newer explored corner of her mind where imagination ruled. She imagined herself watching the Germanian as she had intercourse with someone else...

The picture in her head was even more realistic since Kirche's nightdress showed her figure in detail.

"Then enlighten me" said the small girl as she opened the magical bag placed on the nearby table. She then pulled a plain old ring out...

The piece of jewelry easily found itself on her index finger. Though she didn't feel any different, from Kirche's dropped jaw she concluded that it worked.

"Louise? What just happened?" asked the confused Germanian. One minute the girl was standing nude in front of her, then she turned into a boy!

The pinkette smirked as she raised her right hand "This is a Ring of Gender, whoever puts this on turns into the opposite sex. So why don't you demonstrate your so called skills so I can judge them myself."

The change in gender was very superficial, Louise basically remained the same with the sole exception of having male genitalia between her legs.

Kirche smiled and licked her lips at the invitation...she really had to release some of her pent up energy, and since the pinkette was offering so nicely. She walked over to the girl...boy...whatever, and started to glide her fingers down his shoulders.

The Germanian smiled as he/she shuddered from the contact, it was too cute...then their lips touched, first softly then more forcefully. Louise was still left without breath when Kirche went to kiss her neck and her right hand started to caress the now erect member.

Louise never felt something like this before...not really surprising considering the circumstances. The way she was touched...from the neck to her nipples down to her thighs.

Then her eyes widened when Kirche finally focused on her new genitals. As the Germanian applied her tongue and hands so did Louise hold her breath, her back ramrod straight from the sensation...

When she challenged the red haired harlot to this she was expecting a mediocre performance she could mock, or at least successfully resist the attempt, after which she would call Kirche's boasts empty. But now her mind was empty and all she wanted is release...

And so she did...

"Done already?" mused Kirche as she gulped down what Louise just gave "well you are new to this" said the redhead as she easily picked up the pinkette from the ground and placed her on the bed.

Louise didn't say a word as Kirche again started to do her magic, and in no time Louise was erect once again.

"Now for the real deal" grinned the Germanian as she positioned herself on top of the moaning pinkette before she slowly guided Louise inside "mmmm, that's what I'm talking about" said the redhead as she started to move her hips, occasionally bending down to share a passionate kiss with her new partner.

And so it went for what appeared to be hours, the sorceress forgot anything else beside thrusting into her classmate...on the side, top or back...it didn't matter. Her mind was numb from the pleasure, leaving her instincts to take hold of her body and continue to move her/his hips even when she had no more energy to give...

XXXX

Louise slowly opened her eyes as the morning light hit her in the face. The sorceress winced from the mild headache as she tried to move...she then looked over the room with her blurry eyes.

At first she was confused about where she was, then the memories of yesterday started to flood in. The training with Aeron, the walk to the inn, the...Kirche...

As on cue a hand started to caress her belly...before going down to her crotch

"Good morning Louise..." purred the red haired woman laying beside her.

The pinkette quickly pulled the ring off her finger, changing back to her original gender. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy her time with the Germanian, though she would never admit it, but if she got aroused again they won't be leaving this room the whole day.

Kirche pouted as the toy in her hand disappeared "Now that was mean..."

"You milked me dry already, enough is enough" deadpanned Louise.

"You are again underestimating me" smiled Kirche as she embraced the pinkette and started to work her fingers.

"W-what do you think you are doing?!" screamed the girl as she felt the redheads fingers caress her intimate regions.

"Relax, you'll like it" said Kirche as she started to suck on her earlobe.

Louise felt her resistance melt away with every move Kirche's fingers made...the strength in her lower body leaving her gasping and moaning on the bed. But Kirche wasn't done, while she could do a lot of things with her fingers, it was her tongue that forced Louise into submission.

The pinkette didn't want her to stop...

Kirche smiled as she pushed her tongue inside the little prude...or former prude. The way Louise was twitching every time her tongue caressed her insides or the lower lips made the Germanian more than happy that she was staying in this rundown place. Her eyes then spotted the ring Louise used yesterday.

She grasped the magic item and removed her head from between Louise's legs.

"I wonder..." said the Germanian as she stood up and slid the piece of jewelry on her finger.

Unlike with Louise the effects were far more pronounced with Kirche. The pinkette watched as instead of a well endowed girl a well endowed, nicely muscled man appeared...gone were the big breasts as they were replaced by a firm masculine chest. But the biggest change that caused Louise's eyes to widen was the long, thick meaty appendage hanging limply between the Germanian's legs.

"Now this is a wurst!" grinned the redhead as she grabbed and stroked her new toy.

Louise could only stare and fume as the appendage that was more fitting on a horse than any human, started to get even bigger...it seems she was destined to be outdone by Kirche either as a male or female.

Kirche on the other hand had a sparkle in her eyes that was hard to miss and was a bit disturbing since her first thought was that if she could do herself with it. The slow stroking of the member made it erect in no time, and apparently sucked all of his/her blood from the brain leaving only a drooling redhead behind.

Louise tried to appear as small as possible but when Kirche looked at her she knew the game was up "L-look K-Kirche, there's no way that thing will fit..."

"Don't worry I experienced enough of them to know how to use them proficiently" said the Germanian as she returned to the bed.

"K-Kirche..."

"Relax Louise, I'll be very gentle" said the Germanian as she/he slowly glided the tip inside...

XXXX

Siesta yawned as she walked down the stairs to the common area. After a good nights sleep everything seemed better.

I will have to get myself one of those Rings of Sustenance mused the warlock as she made her way to the table where she last saw the others.

She wasn't surprised to see Zanven and Aeron siting at the same table, each reading a thick tome...what did surprise her was the blue haired girl siting beside them...

Isn't that Miss Tabitha? mused Siesta as she approached the reading trio. It was a bit unnerving how all three of them flipped the page at the same time...

She watched them for a few minutes as they read and simultaneously turned pages, and with every page she was becoming more and more creeped out by the sight.

"Um, isn't Louise here?" she finally asked.

"She hasn't left her room yet" said Aeron absentmindedly And thanks to the Suggestion spell Kirche will keep her there for a while...

"I see...Um, I think I'm going to check if she needs anything" said the warlock as she swiftly turned around and evacuated the common area.

The trio didn't spare her a glance as they finished their books and swapped them between each other. Their reading style was almost as creepy as twins or rather triplets who finished each others sentences...

Siesta stepped in front of the room Louise got and softly knocked on the door "Miss Valliere? Are you awake?"

She waited for a second when the door opened.

Siesta expected to see the pink haired sorceress, but what she actually encounter was a naked red haired man with...

Oh my GOD! Though the warlock as she stared at the monster hanging from between his legs.

"My, you came just in time" said the redhead as she pulled the former maid into the room "Louise decided to pass out on me but I'm not completely satisfied."

The warlock could only gulp as the door closed behind her...

XXXX

Usually Tabitha was a patient person but even she had her limit. It was passed midday and Kirche didn't leave her room...

The blue haired child closed the book she was reading with the two oddballs and went upstairs to the rooms.

She knocked on Kirche's door but didn't receive a response...so she let herself in.

Seeing how the bed was untouched Tabitha deduced that the Germanian didn't sleep in this room.

She went back out in the corridor and looked over the doors...it would be somewhat in Kirche's nature to spend the night in someone else's bed.

Tabitha walked to the first two rooms in the row, she then knocked on one door...and no response was forthcoming. She then went to the other door and knocked again.

The door opened and a flushed Louise poked her head outside "Yes?"

"Kirche?"

"Ah, yes she is here...come on in" said the pinkette as she opened the door for the bluenette.

Tabitha had no idea in what she was walking into...

XXXX

The next day...

Louise awoke with a terrible headaches...when Aeron said that elven wine was insidious he wasn't joking...grumbled the girl inside her head. Though it was true that Elven wine is more potent than the wines made by humans, the reason for her suffering from it even two days after consumption was more because of her abysmal constitution rather than the beverage's potency alone.

Speaking about her head she felt something heavy on it, she reached with her arm and found that it was Kirche's right leg...

Figures... The pinkette slowly extracted herself from all the limbs that she was entangled in and stood up.

Louise could only sigh at the sight of the nude trio that was still sleeping on the bed.

Truth be told, she enjoyed the time they spend together and she could certainly understand what drove Kirche into wasting so much of her free time fornicating. She felt...emotionally satisfied, as strange as it sounded.

Sure Kirche could deliver in the sheets, but more important than that was the companionship, she was happy that there was someone she could talk with normally.

She had no such feeling with Siesta. Sure sometimes she read some of her naughty books, but besides that they had very little in common. The former maid was against everything nobles stood for and she wasn't concealing her contempt for mages anymore...it was more than a bit annoying hearing her badmouth the nobility day in day out.

Tabitha was not much better when it came to having a decent conversation, she was too quiet.

Though she did seem to go with their bonding rather easily...Louise didn't see the bluenette as someone who opened up to others easily...especially not in that way.

So surprisingly enough it was the annoying Zerbst that she could trade the most words, especially the insults...Usually that role was reserved for Henrietta but when was the last time they could even talk as friends?

She was a queen now, her ruler...their social standing wasn't wide but it was still a insurmountable barrier.

Louise slapped herself on the cheeks to get her thoughts straight...there will be more time to waste thinking about it later, for now she had to get the two dimwits in order before Aeron caused some sort of disaster.

"Mmm, morning Louise" said the blurry eyed redhead.

"More like good day, we overslept the morning completely" responded the pinkette as she looked through the window.

"Huh? That late?" wondered the Germanian as she rose from the bed with a yawn "but I have to admit this turned out into a wonderful vacation" said the woman as she glanced at the magic ring "where ever did you get such a wonderful item?"

Should I?...then again why not... "It was given to me by one of my magic instructors. He was pestering me to experience intercourse for weeks now."

"Why? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy you more now then when you acted like a prude, but your body is your own business and no one else's."

"He had his reasons for suggesting that, from a purely pragmatic standpoint he even made sense. But that is not the reason I did what I did...it wasn't even the wine though it certainly did contribute" explained the pinkette "I simply wanted companionship, someone to talk to and embrace. Strange that I would actually find that in you..."

Kirche remained quiet after Louise said her part...she could definitely understand the need for love, even if it was simply limited to sex.

"So tell me, this teacher of yours, he's the reason you are now the top of the class... is he one of those two hunks from yesterday?"

"Don't you mean the day before yesterday?" smirked Louise "and yes, you are correct. Actually both of them are my teachers."

"Come on do tell" grinned the other girl "how did you meet them? Are they any good in bed?"

Louise snorted "A predictable inquiry, I can assure you I don't know of their expertise in that domain...you were my first."

Seeing Kirche's dumbstruck expression Louise couldn't but smile "As how I got to know them...as it turns out my humble familiar was actually an insanely powerful mage shapeshifted into a snake. Seems my boast to you before the summoning wasn't hollow, eh?"

"I'll be the judge of that after I see him." responded the other girl as she shifted her eyes from the pinkette to the dark haired girl that was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes "So what's her story? She's a maid from the Academy if I'm not mistaken."

"Was a maid from the Academy" corrected Louise as she approached the sleeping girl "Aeron made her the first commoner that can use magic and she has her own reasons for sticking around" commented the sorceress.

Kirche gaped like a fish at those words "He...certainly sounds powerful...which one was he?"

"The red haired one, though normally he looks completely different, Aeron loves to change his appearance very often."

"That's true" yawned Siesta "he was posing as a white haired maid when we met, fooled Guiche as well."

"Guiche?" asked the Germanian suspiciously "he and a few of his friends disappeared from the Academy. He was last seen with a white haired maid..."

That idiot! "If it was indeed Aeron I hope Guiche didn't provoke him, the guy has a sadistic streak a mile long."

"I see...shouldn't you report this to the authorities?"

Louise laughed at the notion "The authorities? What good would they be? If I reported this my life would be forfeit, and in the end it would achieve nothing except get a lot of people killed."

She then shifted her gaze from Kirche to the big mouthed former maid, she then raised her hand "Get up!" and brought her palm down on the former maid's plump, left butt cheek.

Siesta jumped with a yelp as a red imprint was left on her behind.

"W-What?!"

"I said get up, we have wasted enough time" commanded Louise as she used a Prestidigitation to clean herself up from the sweat and...the other stuff.

"That hurt!" complained Siesta.

"Not as much as Aeron's training" grumbled the pinkette.

The noise made by the trio managed to awake Tabitha who was clinging to Siesta. Both Louise and Kirche were aware when the girl called for her mother while asleep, it was hard to picture the stoic blunette as someone who actually needed anyone.

But unlike Kirche, Louise had already spied into the girl's mind and actually knew what was going on.

The Galian princess would probably be less than pleased if she learned about the intrusion, but she could feign ignorance very easy thanks to that bastard. Then again, the girl has pretty much resigned herself that she will most likely die thanks to her uncle, the current Galian king so there is ample room to make her switch allegiances.

Curing her mother if possible, disposing Joseph and being very intimate with each other were all valid options.

As Louise was pondering her next moves she used a few more Prestidigitation spells to clean the other girls and their clothes as well.

As soon as they were all dressed she will introduce the two to her teachers.

XXXX

Louise felt her eyebrow twitch "What do you mean, they left?

"As I said, the two gentlemen left yesterday" stated the annoyed proprietor.

When I get my hands on them! Raged the pinkette "Did they say where they were going?"

"No, they left only this" said the woman as she gave Louise the piece of paper.

The girl took the offered note and read it.

"..."

"..."

"What does it say?" inquired Kirche.

Louise showed her the paper without a word being uttered.

"It's a bill" mused the redhead, then she raised her eyebrow "you have to pay five hundred gold for the meals, rooms and for cleaning the mess left behind by an exploding cow?...what does that even mean?"

"It means Aeron got bored" was the pinkettes deadpan reply "good thing he didn't explode any of the patrons here."

The woman looked nervously to the side, but the move didn't go unnoticed by the other woman.

Louise felt her blood pressure suddenly rise "What?..." she hissed.

"Well we normally don't let cows in here, but a drunk turning into an animal was something I didn't expect..." said the owner of the inn.

"AERON!"

XXX

The ride to Tabitha's home wasn't the most comfortable one Louise had, but at least now she could relax. Teleporting perhaps made traveling instant but that only gave Aeron the excuse to beat the living daylight out of her in those torture sessions he called training.

"So we are going to the Lagdorian lake to kill a water elemental, is that correct?" inquired Louise as she sat opposite from Kirche and Tabitha. And after the last few days the carriage was a welcomed change...though both she and Siesta had to purchase two sets of very soft cushions thanks to the Germanian, or else this trip would be impossible to endure.

Tabitha only nodded since she was still very confused with the...'incident' with Louise. In any case, it was nice in a way...certainly better than sleeping alone or giving herself to some pedophile...and not dying as a virgin should count for something.

"A little more information please..." deadpanned Louise as she crossed her arms.

Tabitha shrugged.

Kirche frowned "You have none? So all we know is that the water elemental is flooding the area and needs to be stopped." She was a bit disappointed when she learned that the two hunks from before won't be coming with them but Louise and Siesta were for now good enough entertainment.

"Could the spirit be mad?" asked Siesta.

"Who can say, I don't even know if they are capable of emotion" responded the redhead as she glanced out of the window and observed the lake that flooded the fields and a few homes already.

After an hour their trip came to an end as the carriage stopped in front of the d'Orleans mansion, an elderly butler already awaiting them.

The man opened the door of the carriage and the four girls stepped out.

"Welcome home" smiled the servant, truly happy the small girl was back.

Tabitha nodded in thanks then proceeded to enter her home, the other girls close behind.

Percerin, as the butler was called, didn't expect Miss Charlotte to bring any friends but fortunately there were enough empty, clean rooms to use. He also gave them a short version of the tragedy that befell this family.

A grim reminder on how the Galian royal court dealt with the question of succession.

As she listened Louise also observed her surroundings, she could see that the building was a bit run down, but considering Percerin was the only one who took care of the place and the unfortunate duchess it was understandable.

Speaking about the duchess, the woman didn't look like she will last very long even with the care given to her. Though not very versed in medicine and water magic, Louise could approximate that the woman would last five years maybe nine before expiring.

As they watched the woman panic over seeing her own daughter the other girls could only watch with pity.

I wonder if Aeron or Zanven could help? Wondered the pinkette.

"Of course" said the familiar voice from behind them, startling everyone in the room.

Behind the girls two men stood, though they were not there a second ago. One had white hair and a big grin on his face, the other one was a blond man whose eyes betrayed pity at seeing the broken family in front of him.

"Who are you?!" inquired the butler as he was put instantly on guard.

"They're with me" said Louise, a certain sharpness in her voice "where were you?"

The necromancer's grin didn't disappear as he showed her the scroll in his right hand "I went to buy this from the djinni, Volkarion can drive a hard bargain sometimes."

"That doesn't excuse what you did in the inn we stayed!" she hissed irritably "good thing the woman didn't know a lot about magic so she though it was normal that a man turned into an exploding cow!"

"The drunk was annoying, his violent behavior also didn't endear him to anyone" responded the white haired man nonchalantly. Truth be told he was disappointed with her, he wished to see how Louise will conceal the illegal act but apparently she opted to do nothing. No memory alteration, no geas, she didn't even silence the witness for crying out loud.

"That is no excuse for murder!"

"Oh?" smirked the necromancer "what are you going to do about it?"

The girl could only glare at her mentor, she knew that trying to control the lunatic is impossible...

"As much as I dislike his methods, I support him in this case. The drunk tried to coerce the inn keeper into an intimate relationship by using force...if he didn't intervene I would have." said the bard. Though truthfully, the only reason Aeron got involved personally was because the drunk threw a bottle of wine at him...

Rape wasn't uncommon on Toril, and Aeron never bothered to discipline the shadovar auxiliaries he was given command of during the war with Cormyr. If a woman was cornered by 'his' troops and she pleaded for help, he would give her a dagger to defend herself from the attackers before leaving.

If she used the weapon to defend herself he would return immediately and help out, then dump her with Igran to be trained with the other recruits. Sure the mercenaries the shadovar employed would grumble but would accept his orders in the end..as long as he didn't interfere too much with their fun.

If the woman on the other hand didn't have the will to even defend herself from her would be rapists...then it was none of his business and he didn't interfere. If a person won't risk his/her life for himself/herself then why should he?

The sorceress sighed "Next time please let it be you, unlike Aeron you have common sense." Louise then turned to the group that was waiting patiently for their discussion to end "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Aeron Blackheart" said the pinkette as she motioned to the white haired man before turning to the blond one "and this is Zanven Silverleaf."

As soon as Louise introduced the duo Kirche was beside them grinning as she presented her cleavage to the two tall males "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is-"

"Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst" said the necromancer with a smile "yes, we know. We are familiar with everyone here except the good Percerin here, both myself and the elf make it our business to know as much as possible about everyone and everything."

The wizard's words made Kirche's smile falter and disappear completely as she processed the words "...elf?"

The blond man bowed to them, showing off his pointed ears "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, as you already know my name is Zanven and I'm an elven bard in the service of Miss Valliere for the time being."

If these people will serve Louise then they should know with whom they were dealing with, the awe factor of having elves work for the girl would certainly elevate her in the eyes of her peers.

"E-Elf!" stuttered the panicking Germanian as she took a step back. Unlike the red haired girl Tabitha was far more concerned by the white haired man...the way he spoke and behaved send warning bells ringing inside her mind, the newcomer was too similar to her accursed uncle for her to feel anything else.

"Dangerous..." said the blunette as she stood on guard, her staff pointed at the necromancer.

It seems Tabitha has very developed instincts mused Louise too bad I didn't have them when I summoned the bastard..."Calm down Kirche, he isn't the one you should be afraid off."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" the necromancer protested seeing how the pinkette glared in his direction.

"No, you're worse. You don't lie for gain, you simply enjoy deceiving others" added the elf "your sadism and disregard for life also don't help."

"But besides that I'm not that bad."

"..."

"In any case we didn't come here to socialize, or at least not exclusively" said the assassin as he waved the magic scroll around "this is a scroll of Greater Restoration, if it's used on the Duchess d'Orleans it will cure her of the poison induced insanity she is suffering from."

"How?" asked Tabitha. She truly wished that the cure was real and that her hopes won't be shattered again...but this person was not someone she would ever feel comfortable being around.

"It's a trade secret" responded the wizard with a wink.

Louise sighed "As you can see Aeron is rather good in information gathering. As infuriating as he is nobody can dispute his skills in both magic and cloak and dagger operations."

"I'm flattered but what about the scroll?"

The sorceress looked at Tabitha "I understand your mistrust of him and your assessment of him being dangerous is certainly true but if he says the spell can cure your mother than it will do so."

"Why?"

Louise glanced at Kirche "I need an interpreter for this."

The Germanian smiled "She wants to know why would you, or rather he, do this for her."

Good question...thought Louise "Why did you buy the scroll?"

"You need companions, by helping poor, little Charlotte out you would gain her support" said the necromancer as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The deadpan look he received from everyone was hard to miss.

"As you can see he's a bastard through and through" was the pinkette's only response "for me, I want to help you because you are my classmate and...friend. And even if we were complete strangers, nobody should suffer like that" before Tabitha could say anything Louise stopped her with a raised hand "but I would be lying if a small part of me didn't calculate this as my advantage."

"What do you mean?" asked Kirche in puzzlement.

"As you have probably heard there was a revolution in Albion and the Tudors are losing to the Reconquist-"

"Actually, they already lost" corrected Aeron.

"Only for the time-being!" hissed the sorceress "as I was saying the Reconquista has taken control over Albion and are now planing to conquer Tristain in their plan of unifying Halkeginia and taking the Holy Land from the elves. The reality is a little bit different, Oliver Cromwell is nothing but a puppet under Galian control. The current Galian king plans to use the Reconquista to spread chaos across the continent...something that I can't allow."

Kirche raised an eyebrow "So you are planing to stop him? Hate to point it out to you but Tristain doesn't have the strength to fight Albion let alone Galia."

Louise snorted and focused on Tabitha "Thanks to Aeron I have all the power I need, but defeating the approaching invasion will be easy, the hard part comes after...I would like to see someone trustworthy on the Galian throne."

"Me?..." blinked the bluenette.

"You."

A heavy silence descended on the gathered people as everyone contemplated the words that were just said...well, except Aeron. The necromancer was too busy with making a card house on a nearby table.

After a long silent pause Tabitha finally reached a decision, she gave only a nod but it was enough.

"Aeron..." commanded Louise.

"Give me a minute I'm almost done here..." responded the necromancer as he was looking how to place the next two cards.

Louise growled at the sight and slapped the card house down...or at least that was the idea, regrettably for her it was a cactus hidden under an illusion of a card house...

"Sonofab&#$%"!" screamed Louise as a stream of obscenities came pouring out of her mouth.

The wizard on the other hand had a expression of pure bliss on his face "Gods I needed that, let's see the patient now" he then walked towards the insane woman, who watched the tall man with a blank stare, not reacting to his presence in any significant way.

He then unrolled the scroll and cast the spell, the paper turning to dust as the magic energies enveloped the target.

As soon as the silvery blue mist disappeared everyone waited anxiously to what came next.

The woman blinked a few time as if she only now registered her surroundings, then her eyes stopped on Tabitha "Charlotte?"

XXXX

Lagdorian lake, ten minutes to midnight

"So this is the famous Lagdorian lake" mused Kirche "I heard that couples would come here to swear their undying love, but I fail to see the appeal."

"Well, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" said Siesta who watched the rooftops of the submerged buildings...even if they make the water recede the damage to the people here was already done. Even if Tabitha has pledged her support to their cause the fact still remains that this land belonged to the d'Orleans family and the duchess was responsible for her peoples well-being, Joseph's orders or not.

Louise then turned to the elven bard "Can you lure the spirit here?"

"I will try" said the blond man as he took his harp and began to play, the enchanting music resonating over the area.

After a few minutes of nothing happening the water rippled and rose into the air until it resembled the shape of the elf.

As soon as the beautiful melody stopped the water spirit regained its senses back.

"Oh, wise and powerful water spirit we beg you to listen to our request, we ask of you to stop raising the water level in the lake. Please grant us this boon." asked the bard, though without any mind influencing magic now. It would serve little purpose to charm her if it wouldn't be permanent.

"I refuse" it answered.

Then lets try a different approach "Is there a way we can persuade you to return the lake to its original size?"

The creatures watery body changed forms a few times before it once again appeared as the bard "There is a way. If you bring me back that which was stolen from me I will return the lake to its original size."

"What is the name of the item in question?"

"The Ring of Andvari."

Louise turned to the elf "Can you do it?"

Zanven frowned "Without knowing how the item looks like it will be difficult but not impossible. I believe that with your help I will be able to scry its locations fairly accurately" answered the bard as he then turned to the water spirit once more "we will find your treasure, expect us back in three moon cycles, this I swear. So could you lower the water levels?"

The spirit's form rippled again "It would take longer then three months to find my treasure at this rate so I will hold you to your word."

"And the water level?"

"It will be lowered" said the spirit "our meeting is now concluded."

With those words the water spirit retreated back into the lake, leaving the party standing on its shore.

Aeron couldn't help but yawn "A Finger of Death could have given us a favorable conclusion to this faster, now you have to look for a magic item whose appearance and location you don't know."

Louise snorted, rubbing her now healed hand "Do the world a favor and use it on yourself, I'm more than happy with Zanven's approach."

"So what now?" asked Kirche.

The necromancer smiled "Since you will be working with Louise you will need to get in shape. From now till the day before Reconquista strikes you will be training your arms off."

Well...misery loves company though the sorceress as they teleported back HQ.

---

Halkeginia, Tristain, Tarbas - three weeks later.

The wind dragon flew through the clouds at a leisurely pace, its rider keeping watch over the Albion Dragoons that were screening the Lexington and its fleet as it approached the village of Tarbas.

The villagers who have already witnessed the destruction of the Tristanian fleet moments ago were quickly running for the forest, trying to escape the ground forces that were making their way down.

From what he could see there was nothing that would indicate that the enemy knew about the attack...Didn't Louise notify the palace? wondered the Viscount.

Normally it would be easy to predict what moves an enemy would do, but he had to admit that didn't count for the brat and her pet sadist...he simply knew too little about their power and motives to make any accurate assumptions.

All their action so far have done nothing but help Albion to isolate Tristain.

Thinking over her moves really didn't get him any answers...I can only wait and see.

XXX

As soon as they landed Albion's soldiers quickly occupied the small village even as the fire dragons burned the fields around it...Sir Johnston's orders, no matter how unreasonable had to be followed to the letter.

Normally cleaning out the wheat helped them get a better line of sight once the enemy attacked, but seeing how the fields were empty it was nothing more than a show of power.

Musketeers spread through the village with haste, storming in the buildings as they went.

With a kick the door broke down and a soldier carrying a musket entered the room. He quickly started to pull out the drawers, turn over furniture and rip apart the bed mattress in his search for valuables...

What was the point of war if one didn't get to loot anything? It would be extremely unfair if only the commanders benefited from this.

XXX

Tristain, village of Tarbas

Sir Johnston listened as the soldiers gave their reports, all in all most people fled the village with the exception of the few stubborn elderly commoners. Nothing worth mentioning there...the spoils were also not the best...there was more gold than they expected from peasants to have, but at the same time their granaries were rather scarce...very peculiar.

That also presented some logistic problems since they took only limited provisions in favor of storing ammunition for cannons, it was expected that the soldiers will be able to live of the enemy's land.

So far the village could only supply their four thousand soldiers for two or three days at most.

Suddenly the door opened and a soldier rushed in "My lord, our spies in the capital send word that the Tristanian army has left the city. Princess Henrietta is leading them here, a few hundred mages and commoners altogether, all cavalry."

Johnson nodded, everything was going as planed "How long until they arrive?"

"All are on horseback in full gallop, so probably an hour or two."

"Good" said the commander "Tell the soldiers to garrison the buildings, twenty each. Tell one third to make some makeshift barricades and take cover, keep the other two thirds as reserves. The ships will bombard them from the sky when they come in range, any enemy that comes through the barrage is to be shot on sight...no prisoners."

Usually nobles were taken alive for ransom but such practices were those of the ancien regime, the new world order will take what the Tristanian nobles have once their corpses were rotting under the sun.

Suddenly the day turned darker, and the visibility in the room fell drastically. A few soldiers looked out of the windows to see what was happening outside "It's a solar eclipse, it should pass in a few moments" said one of them.

XXX

Hills outside Tarbas.

Louise glared at the black snake "You were supposed to warn the villagers!" said the girl angrily. Behind her Zanven, Tabitha and Kirche tried to restrain the enraged warlock who wanted nothing more than to melt the necromancer's face off.

"And I did" was the wizard's reply "I told them that their village will be attacked and that they should leave. It's not my problem some of them ignored the warning" defended the serpent.

"Then you should have made them leave!" shouted Siesta as she glared daggers at the traitorous wretch.

"That wasn't part of your command" responded Aeron evenly "I had to warn them and warn them I did, I even introduced myself as your messenger and told them that you will fight the invaders here, anything else wasn't my problem or my responsibility."

The pink haired girl was livid but she knew where it went wrong...she forgot that Aeron resented any kind of authority over him, and commanding him to warn the village was begging him to screw her over along the way "I won't forget what you did here, the blood of the people who will lose their lives today is on your hands!"

Aeron snorted and returned to his human form, so that his body towered over everyone present "Louise, I'm a mass murderer by choice, do you honestly think a few dozen more would make any difference? Beside, most people managed to escape the village perfectly fine. The ones that didn't run were the elderly and the stubborn. People who simply didn't wish to go no matter what you told them or what kind of threat loomed over their homes."

She wanted to understand him, perhaps even be his friend...but the divide between them was too great, he simply didn't care for people that perished through his actions..or the lack off...

Yes, she or rather her clone killed the traitors that plotted against Wales Tudor, but they were traitors to their king, such scum couldn't be called human.

Aeron on the other hand cared for nobody...how could she count on the support of a person who would hinder you for his own amusement?

It's not like she didn't listen to his council, even going so far as to make an illusion that would fool the invaders into thinking the people fled after seeing them...but somehow he was never happy unless people got hurt or even died.

They stood there staring at each other even as the undead slowly advanced on Tarbas through the surrounding woods, encircling the small village. Normally people would be terrified by all the living corpses surrounding them but spending time with the necromancer took out much of the impact since he used ghouls a lot in their training sessions.

"I have placed my trust in you one too many times" the pinkette said coldly "I will not make the same mistake again."

The wizard snorted "Please, you ask for my support because I have the easy ways out, not because you trust me. Once you acquire such power yourself you will do it on your own."

She turned around not too keen on seeing the bastard's face any time soon "How long can you keep the Eclipse up?" she asked in a cold, emotionless voice.

"As long as I want" was the assassins reply as he watched the marching ghouls. He advised her to dominate Joseph's daughter, have her assassinate her father and incite a civil war in Galia before eliminating the Pope and Cromwell quietly. The stubborn girl refused because she didn't wish to injure innocent bystanders...how foolish. He also wanted to advise her to only use the wraiths to silently eliminate the enemy and increase the numbers of the more potent undead but he discarded the idea...she should learn from her own actions. Even after all the time they spent together she was still too narrow minded, she could have easily enthralled the leaders of every nation of this world and ensured victory without a single life being lost.

Instead she was trying to sate her thirst for glory so she could get acknowledgement from both the princess and her mother...and also get her soul back through great deeds.

Well, she will learn...one way or another.

XXX

The Albion soldiers worked furiously as they prepared against the cavalry attack, nobody spared a second glance to the eclipse that shrouded the world and blocked out the sun, casting a deep shadow over the world.

Edward Smith looked curiously as his owl started to ooze unease through his familiar bond...then that feeling turned to fear.

The mage tried to calm the animal down somehow.

"What's wrong girl? What has you so spooked?" asked the wind mage as he petted the terrified bird...

"Commander...I think someone's in the woods" said one of the soldiers as he pointed his musket in the direction of the closest trees.

Edward scowled as he walked closer to the barricades. The soldier was right, there was someone moving in the forest...

The shadow of the eclipse made visibility as bad as if it was night...wait, the eclipse? It should have already passed! Though the confused mage as he looked to the sky.

"What the hell..." said the astonished man "why is the moon still there?!"

The soldiers followed his gaze and began to ask the same thing...no total eclipse should last for twenty minutes without moving an inch!

"What the hell is happening here?"

"I have no idea" said the stunned mage.

The sound of breaking twigs brought the men back to their senses and they focused back on the dark forest.

From the noise and the dark silhouettes it was obvious that it wasn't a single person but a group.

A strong stench of carrion filled the air, making the men gag or actually throw up if they were new to war.

Then they came...

"By Brimir!" gasped a soldier as the silhouettes turned out to be emaciated, gray skinned people. The things then suddenly rushed the barricades at full speed.

Edward didn't even need to order the soldiers to open fire on the approaching enemy, the frightened musketeers fired upon the creatures making the noise alert the other Albion troops.

Lead flew through the air piercing the putrid grey flesh, penetrating deep into the torsos or skulls of the attackers.

It didn't stop the ghouls at all...the dead felt no pain or fear and injuries that would kill or incapacitate a living person were insignificant to them.

They finally reached the barricades and easily broke through them as the musketeers reloaded their weapons.

Edward watched in horror as the creatures fell upon his men, biting them with their fangs or rending their flesh with clawed hands.

"What kind of monstrosities are those!" panicked the wind mage as the used his magic to push the creatures back from the make shift barricades.

"H-hel- e!" gasped a man whose throat was bleeding heavily from a bite wound.

And he wasn't the only one, seven musketeers were on the ground, dead or dying.

The second group fired at the still advancing undead, but like before the bullets failed to cause any real harm.

Once again the barricades were overrun by the things, including those that were pushed back mere moments before. The musketeers pointed their bayonets at the ghouls who rushed straight on the weapons not caring about injuries.

The blades found their marks and pierced deeply into the creatures, causing heavy damage to internal organs...the only problem was that, unlike the living, the ghouls didn't need organs.

It took the ghouls only a few moment to overwhelm the humans and butcher them as simple sheep.

Edward panicked and used his magic to fly away, abandoning his men to the swarm of undead that was emerging out of the forest...he was going to alert the commander when he saw that the same thing was happening all over the village.

One after another barricades fell under a sea of grey skinned monsters. The surviving musketeers from the barricades abandoned any kind of discipline and routed towards the garrisoned houses scattered across the village.

From the windows shot after shot was fired at the ghouls, but like before they failed to stop the undead.

With inhuman strength the ghouls slammed into the houses, splintering doors and shattering window shutters. The musketeers tried desperately to stop them but were swiftly killed. Some seeing that they were trapped in the buildings jumped out of windows and made a run for it, others managed only to injure their legs in the process and tried to limp away only to be eaten by the undead.

"W-What kind of nightmare is this?!" wondered the panicked wind mage as he flew towards the Albion ships floating over the village.

If he was clear of mind he would have asked himself why the ships weren't providing any assistance to their soldiers on the ground. So he flew towards the fleet and all the wraiths that were waiting for him there in the gloom.

XXX

"Hold the line!" shouted Earl Vance as he rallied the soldiers behind two dozen iron golems he summoned. The constructs used their iron greataxes with excellent precision and easily cleaved through the unarmored ghouls.

The corpses were perhaps entirely immune to any kind of piercing damage but the over sized weapons wielded by the golems were a different thing entirely, the blades easily chopped the monsters to pieces, their heads and limbs piling up under the golems iron feet.

Even if a ghoul managed to reach a golem, its bite and claws were ineffective against the constructs iron body.

The soldiers who have heard the Earl's command, puled out their sabers and joined the golems in the fight. They formed a wall that stopped the monstrous tide as they cut at the things even as their arms grew heavy from the muscle fatigue.

Not good...mused Vance, but when he saw the monsters advance from all around them he understood that they were surrounded with no help in sight.

There was no real hope that they will be able to hold, he wont be able to control the golems indefinitely and the number of soldiers was decreasing every time when the monsters managed to claw at the musketeers exposed sword arms.

He then glanced at the ships floating in the air...the crews of the Lexington and its escorts must be aware of what is going on down here, so they either decided not to help or were unable to do so...he was certain that it was the later.

"This is hopeless..." muttered the mage as the ring around the main village square tightened around them. The earl then used his wand and transmuted the earth beneath his feet, making his form sink into the ground.

Before any of the soldiers noticed what was happening the golems beside them disappeared and the ghouls swarmed them.

The undead finally feasted on their flesh.

XXX

Wardes could only watch in mute silence as he observed the village underneath...to call it a battle would be preposterous, it was a massacre.

His hands tightened around the railing as he contemplated his fate, what would have befallen him if he didn't switch sides. He then glanced over his shoulder and saw the wraiths looking at his back.

He could feel their hate...the desire to drain him of any life he had, but so far they did not act upon their nature. And now among the living dead stood the captain and the crew of the Lexington, their faces reminding him that he damned their souls for all eternity.

Not that it bothered him too much...he had other worries, like how to remain useful so that he doesn't become disposable and join the dead.

XXX

Louise watched as the undead devoured the dead soldiers, blood dripping from their gore filled mouths. It was truly a nightmarish scene unlike anything she has ever seen...

Everywhere they looked, only dead bodies could be seen, the faces that were still in tact showed expressions of fear and agony in their last moments.

"Seems all went according to plan" said Aeron as he observed his surroundings.

Louise didn't respond to his words as she walked through the blood stained street, right to the city center where the last stand took place.

"They destroyed a lot of ghouls" mussed the sorceress as she saw the large pile of decapitated corpses.

"They were fodder in the first place" answered Aeron as his gaze drifted over the ground, especially interesting was the iron pipe sticking out of the ground.

"Louise...I think I'm going to throw up..." said Kirche as she tried to look away from the horrible scenario.

A smile spread over the necromancer's face "This is only the first step. We still have to bury the Reconquista in Albion, as well as the Pope and Joseph."

"Hm, the Reconquista is our top priority but we shouldn't let those two advance their own schemes when our backs are turned...perhaps eliminating Joseph now would be the best option, we have a replacement for him and Albion is in no position to launch another invasion in the near future" mused the pinkette.

"Louise Valliere, the maker and breaker of kings..." chuckled the necromancer "but fun aside, we should really get this place cleaned up. You and the others should return to Mott's place, I will bring the corpses to the mines."

"That's a good idea, I'll see you there."

xxxx

Halkeginia, Tristain - no GPS signal.

Henrietta watched the eclipse with growing unease, there was something unnatural about it...like a bad omen telling her to turn around and close her eyes to reality...even the unicorn she was riding on felt agitated and frightened.

Her grip on her scepter tightened and she shook her head...she wasn't about to leave her people when they needed her the most...what kind of ruler would do that? Even the most self-centered noble would fight for his serfs if for no other reason than because his land and people are the foundations of his wealth and position in society.

Even Wales was riding somewhere with her musketeers, even when she said that he should stay in the palace, hidden from enemy eyes.

As a princess she was supposed to lead people...but at the moment all she wanted was to be with Wales someplace else...somewhere like the Lagdorian lake, away from the problems of the present.

"Princess, someone approaches" said Agnes as she moved closer to her.

It was a single Albion dragoon by its appearance, though the mage riding on the dragons back was more concerned with something behind it than what was in front.

Suddenly the low flying dragon lost control and fell, slamming in to the ground and throwing the rider from his back.

The mage rolled a few time over the ground, taking a lot of energy out of the impact before finally coming to a halt not that far away from the Tristanian army.

The armored dragoon instantly directed his wand at the direction he flew from and started to release fireballs at something that Henrietta couldn't see.

Then a fireball connected with the incorporeal target, making its shape visible for everyone to see.

The wraith shrieked malevolently from being attacked...though not in pain, the only discomfort it could feel was from positive energy and nobody here had any knowledge how to use it. Leaving the half-dead dragon behind, it flew towards the human that it was pursuing.

It didn't get far before it was assaulted by both spell and bullet from the army behind the dismounted man.

The undead shrieked once more and disappeared into the ground.

"W-what was that?!" said the astonished princess as she lowered her scepter-wand and made her mount walk closer to the enemy knight.

When the knight didn't answer Agnes came closer and placed her sword on the man's neck "You heard the princess, what was that thing that pursued you here?!"

"I don't know what it is!" was the knight's frantic response, though not because of the sword on his neck...he didn't even glance at it or care for the feeling of cold steel, he was far to frightened of what lurked in the gloom "our army is annihilated, those things have made sure of it!"

"What are they?" asked Agnes once more.

"How in Brimir's name should I know! These are your lands, you should know what monstrosities live here!"

A boot in his back send the knight down into the dirt.

"That is right, these are our lands, and you came to take them from us!" growled the musketeer captain "you should be grateful we don't han-" whatever Agnes was about to say was lost as the monster from before emerged under her horse.

The animal released a weak whine and fell on its side, nearly pulling the blond woman with it. Fortunately Agnes was agile enough to make sure that didn't happen and rolled away from her horse.

The wraith felt invigorated by the life-force it drained from the animal and immediately went after the enemy knight it had chased all the way from the village.

The man conjured up a wall of flame to separate him from the incorporeal unded but magic failed to connect with the target this time and the wraith made contact with the human...and instantly started to drain the knight.

His hair began to gray rapidly and his skin started to wrinkle...like seeing a man age decades in a few seconds.

Then a magical icicle pierced the knights torso, killing him instantly.

Henrietta gasped at what she has done...she wanted the Windy Icicle to hit the monster in the back...not the knight in the chest.

The wraith was about to leave when a lightning bolt slammed into it, making the undead turn on the army once again...or at least it would have if his master didn't command that it returned immediately.

The wraith hated to leave without killing anyone here...but it had to obey, so it used its ability to move through solid matter and disappear into the ground where no spells could reach it as it returned to the mines.

The Tristanian army stood in shock at what they have just seen...a creature such as that was a threat to anyone...even a mage.

The monster had to be hunted down and exterminated, it couldn't be allowed to live.

Agnes approached her horse and noted that the animal was too weak to carry her anywhere...it barely had enough strength to breath.

I will have to make it quick and painless... Agnes then saw that a number of commoner refuges are walking towards them and thought that perhaps the animal will be of some use until the day was over.

Little did they know that the stories the refuges brought will spark something far worse very soon.

---

A/N.

Sorry for the long wait, I had this for a while now (over a year) but couldn't get myself to correct the grammar and spelling. Every time I saw how much crap I had to correct I lost the will to do it (I still have 30k words/3Ch on the PC, but my eyeballs are burning up from looking at the text so for now this is all you get. I will update the 30K tomorrow or the day after).

Also - New rule. I will post smaller chapters more often, that way I won't get cold feet and eye pains from going through this. Spend the last four days staring at this crap, the 2nd chapter was supposed to be a single 70k word piece, but that is too bloody much so I broke it up into smaller chapters.

PS: Even though I checked the grammar I still found awkward word sentences and spelling mistakes when I read through this on the second try. So if you see anything wrong with something don't hesitate to tell me, your input helps me improve on my writing and points out the mistakes so I don't need to go through the story looking for the errors so often.