AN: "Cookies" → Speech / spoken air quotes

"Cookies" → Thoughts

"Cookies" → Spells / Martial Arts

"Cookies" → Message/ Command Mantra

I don't own Overlord

Have fun, enjoy and please review

Chapter 19

→ Arwintar / Jircniv ←

The trip back to Arwintar went without any stops, aside a few exceptions to relieve themselves, and thus only lasted one and a half days. When they arrived in Arwintar the last rays of the sunset touched the ground and a giant sigh was heard from everyone and Jircniv had made his plans. He had decided to play along with the undead and become the ally of that monster, if only for the survival of his species for a small while longer. He might even be able to preserve his species, if goals would be discussed.

When the carriages stopped in front of his palace, he immediately went to the carriage of Arachama and looked her over.

"I will speak with my military staff. Afterwards Leinas will bring you a summary and guard you again. I fear that war is coming fast and I will need your service" Jircniv told Arachama.

"Please don't leave me in these daring times" Jircniv thought.

"Your majesty, even if the revelations are shocking for us both, I stand firmly with the empire in these daring times." Arachama told him. He looked at her face. The forehead and eyebrows together with her eyes showed determination while her lips stood out to him. He didn't realize that some time went by, until Leinas coughs in her fist.

"My emperor, if you summon the military staff, we might as well move there ourselves. Though most of them would understand the reason for being late" Leinas snickered and Jircniv felt his cheeks blush.

"Ara ara. Don't worry. The tomb told us to contact them if we need help on Re-Estize. I will look into a way to contact them while supporting Fluder in his experiments" Arachama reassured Jircniv and he felt his heartbeat increase. His former worries are washed away.

After Arachama was lifted in her carriage and she left, Jircniv nodded to Leinas and both left towards the war chamber. Once they were inside there were the leaders of his 8 legions. Every legion kept the strength of 10 000 men. The lower the number of the legion the more senior they were, meaning that in comparison the first was the strongest while the 8th was the 'weakest'. They were organized into centuries and those centuries were organized together into a legion by a staff. The staff consists of generals, messengers, cooks etc. The generals and centurions were collected within the war chamber. That structure allowed more complex maneuvers than what Re-Estize could offer, though a general with the name Gaius Marius Novius, a former centurion who proved his valor and became a general, was working on further developing this idea.

The generals and centurions waited with baited breath when Jircniv opened the room.

"Gentlemen. We have a dire situation. It seems that the Slane Theocracy lost its capital. I also bring grave news, which I got before I departed for a visit. Re-Estize is trying to gain territory in the north of the former Theocracy, which they do to beat us in the coming wars. I don't want this to happen. What do you say, could we deploy our troops to gain a part of the former Theocracy?" Jircniv asked.

"If the network is reliable and thus the news is correct, I recommend punching into the northern part of the Theocracy as fast as possible. I would also recommend that we don't go further than the cities of Shuryanma and Colognium in the west and not further south than the island of Rhodium. Once we settle we can keep watch on our supply lines and on the populus." The grizzled general of the second legion suggested.

He wore the armor from the former army's elite. The former armies were filled with citizen-soldiers. Those had to buy their own equipment and were organized as such. This one wore the armor of a Triarii, the former army's elite soldiers and last line of defense. His name was Plumbus Pugnus Pulsus.

"That is a sound Idea, though I would recommend that we also provide rations for the civilians, seeing as our future territory isn't known for grain and more so for pottery and smithing. To further decrease the chance of a hostile native population I suggest to keep our soldiers in a firm line" The leader of the sixth legion, a man wearing the typical uniform of the infantry centurion thought out loud. He was the aforementioned Gaius Marius Novius.

"If that is true, we might get more information from the peninsula of Koransa in the south, just north of the wasteland," the general from the 8th legion, Inanis Sacci Anguis, recommended. He was wearing golden plate armor and one of the few nobles from before the purge. But that only came from luck and not skill, as he fell ill before Jircnivs trap sprung. Jircniv smiled and decided who to send.

"I want Inanis Sacci Anguis to lead the vanguard with his 8th. The 2nd will hold the northern city and the southern one. I want the fifth to keep the piece. The vanguard is to not advance more south than the island of Rhodium. I also want the rest to watch over our borders with the empire with 3 cohorts guarding the Thopolae-passage north of the dwarven kingdom. The 6th, will also manage the logistics of our incursion into the former Theocracy. This plan may be altered, but we have little time for now. Any questions?" Jircniv asked.

"None" was a chorus of his generals and all nearly ran to fulfill their duty. Once everyone, except Leinas and Jircniv left, Jircniv looked at her.

"I want you to bring a summary of the meeting to Arachama. I want her to work closely together with Gaius Marius Novius. It can only bring good results. Otherwise you will fall to the previous assignment, meaning you will protect her." Jircniv ordered and saw Leinas running to fullfill her orders.

→ Arwintar Nazarick-mansion / Arachama ←

Arachama was sitting in her carriage and had to control herself, since she was fidgety. She could already see her kids and her mansion. She took a deep breath and Fith opened the door.

Nothing.

She went through to the northern part and changed to her true form. The cracking of her joints was audible and Arachama felt better than ever, if exhausted. Then she regretted looking inside her office, as she saw a giant pile of paperwork.

"I will do that tomorrow, first checking in on the children" Arachama hissed at her strengthened nemesis.

She walked to the western part, while yawning and saw everything in the dark. She opened one door at a time, looked at the sleeping child and gave them a good night's kiss. She had to fight hard to keep herself under control.

She then proceeded to the eastern part, in which Fith made herself ready for bed.

"Good night, Fith" Arachama smiled.

"Good night, Lady Arachama" Fith replied and continued while Arachama went to Yuri's office

"Good evening, Lady Arachama" Yuri bowed.

"Good evening, mother" Enti ran to Arachama and hugged her as strongly as possible.

"It is good to be back." Arachama sighed and scooped Enti up, snuggling with her.

"Did everything go according to plan?" Yuri asked.

"Everything. Now I need to cuddle and get a healthy dose of sleep and then I will be as fresh as ever. At least enough to tackle the paper tower in my office." Arachama shuddered and Yuri and Enti chuckled.

At that moment Leinas came into the eastern part and Arachama grinned.

"Good evening, little Leinas. Anything new?" Arachama asked.

"Good evening, Lady Arachama. Not much. Jircniv was skeptical about your loyalty, though I, with the unsuspecting help of Nimble, worked that to the ground. It also helped that he is steadily falling for your wheelchair form. He also thought about turning against your side, but decided against it, since he doesn't see a chance in doing it. Though he wants to test the strength of Nazarick against an enemy. This means we will be acting against Re-Estize in the former territory of Slane." Leinas reported and took out a scroll.

"This is the summary and Jircniv hopes that you will work closely with General Gaius Marius Novius." Leinas continued and Arachama took the scroll.

"Can we sleep before we look into it?" Arachama asked while yawning.

"When would you meet the General, so I can tell the General of this cooperation?" Leinas asked.

"Tell the General that tomorrow afternoon seems right. I need my time to rest. Besides, the trip was hard for me" Arachama sighed and winked at Leinas who nodded.

"Then I will go. I am also under the previous order to protect you" Leinas told Arachama.

"Your room is free" Arachama replied and Leinas went to do her part.

"I will go now. Enti can help me get a nice sleep" Arachama said while rubbing her cheeks against Entis 'face'.

"My cute Enti." Arachama thought while Mini-Arachama placed a sleeping cap on her head and fluffed a pillow.

She went out of the eastern part and into the northern and then to her bedroom. She stood a second before her bed before falling forwards and snoring. Enti hugging her was the last thing Arachama saw before waking up.

→ Peninsula Koransa city Korsika ←

The Peninsula of Koransa had a rich history within the Slane Theocracy. It was the main defense against the incoming problem from the wasteland to the south. Though whatever lived there seemed to have learned that it had big problems at getting past Koransas fleet. It was integrated into the Slane Theocracy, not by force but by treaty. This gained the city much autonomy. They would gain support in the form of resources and defense. Though the surplus from their fishing and farming was taken in in compensation. They had a council of elders, who ruled over the former city-state. The city itself was positioned in the middle of the peninsula and controlled 5 ports. 3 were for their navy, which was constantly upgraded and improved, and 2 were for fishermen and trade. Their position was unique, as they could trade with the Draconic Kingdom, The Baharut Empire and Wyvern Tribes. All those gave the Slane Theocracy a major advantage, as they detested each other to some degree. Though in the last months a major problem arose.

The official from Silksuntecks didn't come to the city council. He didn't even arrive at the Gates of the city. It also seemed as if he never crossed the border of the city's land this year. Which made the council suspicious. They then sent a messenger, who came back this noon and needed rest.

The council was collected and 7 elders were sitting in their seats. The messenger came inside, caring for himself fearfully.

"Good evening, Messenger. What did the capital have to say?" one of the elders asked.

"Nothing. We didn't even reach the capital, as it is overrun with pest-spreading undead. At least that is our observation. It seems that it has festered there for a while, which explains why there never arrived an official to collect the surplus." the messenger reported.

"So the rumors were true?" another elder thought out loud.

A while back a rumor from Baharut sailors had spread like fire through the ports. It said that the capital of the Theocracy had fallen. Back then they got laughed at, now the elders were shivering.

"The problem is not what happened, but what we will do about it." the oldest amongst them chimed in.

"We need protection, at least in the case of an emergency. Our forces are strong at sea, but now we lay bare on land. We didn't need to defend ourselves on land for nearly 500 years. We either prepare ourselves or we seek a strong partner." a former admiral explained.

"We shall vote now for one of both actions, since we need to make a good decision now before it is made for us." an elder proclaimed.

They voted with their hands. 7 voted for a new partner, or a new ruler. They wanted to make a similar deal like previously.

"Then we need to go through our options." the oldest announced.

"There are not many options. We can not become a vassal to the Wyvern Tribes. Our population would not support that. The Draconic Kingdom couldn't defend us. That leaves the Baharut Empire as the only option." the admiral concluded and the council voted, with all in favor of the Empire.

"Then we shall send a messenger. Luckily we have one here already. You will go to Arwintar in the Baharut Empire. We will give you a night's rest. The scroll shall be given to you by tomorrow and you will depart with a trader to the Empire." The oldest announced and the council nodded. The messenger bowed and left.

"Let's hope it will work," one of the council sighed.

→ Arwintar Nazarick-mansion / Arachama ←

Arachama woke up when Enti stirred, which caused Enti to accidentally poke into Arachamas nose. Though, at least this time, it wasn't an invasive voice calling in her mind.

"Ara ara. Why do we need to wake up, Enti?" Arachama yawned and Enti stirred more, this time more carefully.

"Because Ure and Kuude would eat our hair if I don't prepare breakfast." Enti sighed and Arachama, who was definitely awake by now, grimaced.

"I am also hungry. While they tried their best on the trip, the food is by far worse than in this mansion. Though Nazarick was a break from the stress." Arachama told Enti, who hugged her again.

"Such a shame that humans fear my appearance, otherwise I could have accompanied you. Though in hindsight, it was good I remained here and kept my sisters in check." Enti proudfully exclaimed.

"Ara ara. While you prepare breakfast, I will go and tackle the paper tower in my office. Then I might prepare for my meeting with a visitor." Arachama proposed and Enti jumped off the bed.

"I will do that, though I need more cuddling afterwards." Enti replied and Arachama simply nodded.

Enti left and Arachama decided to be more comfortable with her clothes today. She decided to wear a big dress which was made from her silk. She also prepared one for her wheelchair form. She then walked into her office and started to do paper work. Most were reports on eight finger operations. Then she found what she liked the most.

"So Re-Estize is falling for this trap? Though the most intelligent person of that palace is not there to prevent them" Arachama mused and marked a day in a calendar at the wall. Wouldn't want to miss her small spy.

"Mother, breakfast is prepared" Enti announced and Arachama followed her to the breakfast table.

"Ara ara. I missed you all" Arachama exclaimed and hugged every single child of hers.

"Mother, please. It only took a week" Ninya tried but Arachama was relentless.

"Ara ara. It felt like years" Arachama smiled and Ninya simply gave up.

The breakfast was quite a number, since Enti probably wanted to impress Arachama. She got cookies, made of Entis favorite ingredient. Then there were buns, bacon, eggs and the usual pudding, which was made by Enti to ensure all ate the proteins needed. Though there were two things that stood out to Arachama. Arche got a wart on her nose, which also seemed to be a bit longer. The other thing was that Ure and Kuude had grown quite a bit. Though that was to be expected, since they were children.

"Ara ara. Ure and Kuude, you have grown quite a bit." Arachama said.

"Of course we did," both said in perfect unison.

"Ara ara. But what is with Arches nose?" Arachama asked in a whisper.

"She is winded about it, that is the main reason why I had my hands full" Enti chimed in and told Arachama.

"How so?" Arachama was confused and now she needed answers.

"She grew the nose and wart seemingly overnight and when we checked the next day we realized that she is now much stronger than before." Enti reported.

"She is also sad and hides in her room" the twins whispered, which made them seem like conspirators.

"I mean, I understand the teenager and everyone was young I never had to deal with a big wart on my nose." Arachama thought and looked at them.

"Please keep an eye on her and tell me if it changes" Arachama told the twins with an exaggerated voice and smile. They vigorously nodded.

After the breakfast was over Arachama finished the paperwork and then played with her children, though Zesshi was a bit more reluctant. This was only a short phase though as Leinas would later ask Zesshi for training, which Zesshi liked. Ninya and Tuare were learning from Yuri and Enti, so they were busy.

Arachama also learned of the steep progress from Arche, Kuude and Ure in regards to the summoning. Arachama also learned that Kuude was more interested in healing the summons of her twin-sister. Thus Arachama decided to help Kuude in that regard while keeping teaching Ude the summons, at least for now that should help both and give them something to do when she wasn't around.

"At least Enti will not have to deal with so many pranks while I am gone" Arachama sighed in her head and Mini-Arachama fell on a bed.

Another development was that Leinas grew quite font of Kuude and Ure. Leinas, from time to time, would be seen playing with the children and helping them to plan their next prank. This garnered Leinas much love from the twins and dismay from Arche. Leinas was also helping Zesshi with their training together. She learned new ways to fight from Zesshi while Zesshi grew more comfortable with her body and became nearly as deadly as before.

Arachama was daydreaming when Fith came inside and brought her wheelchair, blankets and a "Doppelganger Ring". Arachama looked outside the window and saw that it was already noon.

"Is it already time for this?" Arachama asked.

"Yes, Lady Arachama. While your children will remain within the western part of the mansion, I will bring your lunch to you today" Fith answered and Arachama simply sighed and prepared her role, again.

Lunch was an easy affair, since Fith brought in salad and cotlet. Arachama ate it and afterwards read through her information about this Gaius Marius Novius.

"Hmm. He is always looking to improve logistics, training and formation. I see why Jircniv keeps him around. Also extremely loyal to the empire itself. Though that could be dangerous later? He also seems to be slightly 'special' and brown-nosing towards higher ups. It also says that he slightly disregards normal soldiers" Arachama thought and then closed the booklet about Gaius Marius Novius and read the scroll she received from Leinas the day before.

In the afternoon Fith brought a new face towards the northern part. Arachama looked up and was shocked. The person before her was wearing the usual version of a centurion's armament. The plates were slightly thicker than the armament of the normal infantry and they wore red garments underneath, showing the normal soldiers who they were. The helmet was tucked underneath his arms and Arachama could see the dirt under his boots and on the floor on the general's path. The face was slightly younger than expected and looked more like mid 20s rather than the late 30s the General was. He bowed respectfully and Arachamas became more alarmed by the minute.

"I feel the same air…" Arachama thought and hoped to be wrong.

"Ahh. A good day, Lady Arachama. Our great emperor wants us to work together. For that purpose I am here. My name is Gaius Marius Novius, General of the 6th Legion. My speciality is logistics." Gaius introduced himself.

"Ara ara. I am Arachama. I am not the leader of a legion, since I am a civilian. I help my friend Yuri Yamana for her trading and am, as far as I am told, good at entomancy and summoning. I also like to think that I know at least parts of logistics." Arachama tried to not sound sarcastic, though the General didn't seem to mind.

"I already sent my plans to you with Leinas yesterday and want to hear your thoughts on them. I think that we should lessen the burden on the normal soldier and let them gather food in their regions, sadly we can't deploy that strategy, as we expect the territory to be barren. Thus I will build forts with food and garrison…" Gaius began and Arachama listened intently and was quite shocked how close his idea was to modern corporations in terms of logistics. Not that those were 'nice', except for the company's wallets. Though she was close to vomiting, she wanted to know one detail.

"How much rations do you plan to dish out to the civilian population?" Arachama asked.

The General thought, thought more and then thought even more. Then Arachama saw a rhetorical light bulb lighten up.

"Ahh. I see what you think. Of course that is a genius idea. With that we could keep the public order in check while also helping them to help themselves." Gaius ranted and Arachama tried to hide her fear.

"It is one hell of a nutcase. How come that I can't escape those?" Arachama thought in dismay and decided to give up.

The rest of the meeting would be one of the most bizarre things Arachama had the displeasure of attending. She was frightened by this individual, as he managed to imitate Demiurge to an extreme extent.

"He has the same devotion, cunning and post-action-rationalization. He is damn dangerous and under normal circumstances probably does not fit in his role. I hope that at least his poor subordinates are safe from this nutcase" Arachama thought and looked shocked at Gaius and his rant.

Gaius meanwhile ranted , ranted and ranted even more, while Arachama only asked something only to receive more devout ranting than before. She didn't even get a chance to propose to use "Gate" to bring the resources closer to the frontline forts.

Deep in the night, which Arachama announced by a long yawn, Gaius stood up, bowed slightly and thanked Arachama for her help. Then he turned and walked straight out, not even waiting for Arachama to wish a good night. Arachamas fear rose as she remembered his last words that evening.

"I wish you a good night's rest, Lady Arachama. Such a clever mind needs to be used and thus I will certainly enjoy working together with you for the foreseeable future" Gaius had said before he left and Arachama began to feel fear crawling up her back.

"Please god, no NO! I can't stand it for that cruel eternity. We did nothing but exchange hot air. We accomplished NOTHING." Arachama shouted in her head while Mini-Arachamas were jumping into bunkers.

While Fith cleaned the path of the General, again, Arachama was at her wits end. For the first time in her life, she thought about playing ill to avoid this mental asylum on two legs.

→ Nazarick / Albedo ←

Albedo was in the office working on the reports, documents and other important papers to ensure that the supreme beings would be pleased. She had a wonderful week till now. First she had some dates with Lord Ainz. He had led her out to a lake and had a picnic. Another time he also brought her along to a clearing in the forest and they had a 'barbie-que' as Lord AInz had called it. She found it fantastic.

Then came the most important part of the week. They were to meet with this emperor from this Baharut Empire. Initially she was against using Lupusregina as maid in their plans, but sadly none of the other maids, aside from CZ, was free. Thus Lupusregina fell into that role and she jumped at the chance to redeem herself with so much vigor that Albedo couldn't deny the poor battle-maid.

Lupusregina proved capable of the task and managed the reception well. Then came the hard part and many guardians were stunned at finally meeting Pandora's Actor for the first time. While he was eccentric, he was her loved one's creation and as clever as her, even if it was in another field than her. The bigger surprise was that Pandora's Actor used the form of Lady Arachama and played some kind of dialog. Afterwards Pandora's Actor explained that this was planned and that the shock on all their faces was needed. Though Albedo didn't like the idea of being left in the dark.

Then came the aftermath. A few dates and some good nights with Lord Ainz managed to help Albedo relax after that. Though Albedo had one more thing to go over before she could relax for her loved one on this wonderful evening. Demiurge was coming to report. Sadly an emergency on his farm kept him from reporting before and now he had time. A knock came from the door.

"Come in" Albedo ordered and Demiurge came in. His smile as ever and Albedo's curiosity was still running in her veins.

"Good evening, Albedo. Here I have the reports on the numbers. We are going over the scrolls and how many for which spell we have. I took the liberty to have Entoma collect a few for "Gate", "Message" and "Teleportation". Those are for emergencies. In the other reports we have the results of the research you wanted. Sadly only a "Doppelganger Ring" is, as far as we know, able to bridge the gap between species" Demiurge began and Albedo looked a bit disappointed.

"That is sad, though his Incubus-form has quite the looks" Albedo drooled and Demiurge waited. It seemed Demiurge also wanted something else. Albedo knew that Demiurge only waited like this when he wanted something.

"What do you want?" Albedo asked.

"I heard that the Supreme Beings want to implement a sort of timetable. It is so for us to relax and, as they say, have fun. I would like to take that concept, according to their plans, a step further. After we have won, I would like to have something called a party. For that we would need to convince the supreme beings to take off their immunity to alcohol for a limited amount of time" Demiurge smiled and Albedo looked at him.

"Is that really in their plan?" Albedo thought and looked over the possible signs for that. Where he got the idea is obvious, as he stated it himself. The conclusion was a bit leaning, but it was understandable.

"I will try to clear the throne room for that. I might be able to convince Entoma to help us. I can convince Lord Ainz." Albedo said.

"That sounds beautiful. I will collect the beverages." Demiurge grinned and Albedo nodded.

"Anything else?" Albedo asked and Demiurge looked as if he was thinking.

"No. I am on my way now" Demiurge said and left through the door before Albedo could say anything.

"Well, I am back to my paperwork" Albedo sighed and resumed her work.

→ Near Cologium ←

A dark shadow was tending to a coach. It was moved by a horse, though cargo was not identifiable. It moved slowly and steadily on a dirt road near the border of Re-Estize and the former Slane Theocracy.

The man within the shadow was Alator, member of Zuranon. He was quite old in his mid 50s, though he kept himself in shape. Though that wasn't what his master used him for. His talent was more useful. It allowed him to use mirrors to scout. Sadly his countrymen thought that this was not honorable and thus he was shunned. He then disappeared and now served in Zuranon. He had received a plan to attack the city Cologium with a dark ritual. He smiled and couldn't wait. The ritual would allow a strong member of the organization to take advantage of the situation.

He came close to a shed within the forest and knocked 3 times. A priest opened and nodded. Then some acolytes came out and took care of the cargo. They placed the corpses within a circle and began to chant. Once the chant was over the priest healed the body to the best possible extent and then nodded again. Alator understood that the acolytes had placed a preservation spell on the corpse.

"Only a little more waiting and we will be able to do our chain of rituals. One will give us immortality and the other will revive this corpse. The leader wants her to take part and thus we will follow his order. Any questions?" Alator asked.

"What do you need?" one of the acolytes asked.

"Everything is as prepared as possible. Just make sure we are not found here." Alator answered and the acolytes nodded and went to insure their secrecy.

"I will go then and hide the carriage. Then I will get you something to eat." the priest told Alator, who fell into a chair and sighed.

"Do that. Once it is over we will gain our utopia." Alator grinned evilly.

In the circle was a crippled body. It was the body of a woman. Blond hair was covered with intestines and blood, teeth were missing, the rib cage was partly pressed in and partly bursted and the forehead showed signs of high internal pressure. Though that was how Alator had found her. Now she looked like a fit and agile warrior. She was, or rather is, known as Clementine.

"Soon we will fulfill his plan for this wretched land" Alator hissed and went to bed with a big smile.

AN: I hope you enjoyed and please: review.

I have a bit of an interest in history. I also want Baharut to send its legionnaires out with more than swords. I also plan on introducing a bit more in that regard, though that could take a while.

Yeah. Zuranon will play a bit of a role in this ark. Though I don't know much about them I will take creative freedom for them in this fanfiction.

To answer the review from LandOfChaos:

I didn't know for sure if they existed or not. In nearly all RPGs, with magic, that I have played they existed. Thus I was sure they existed in Yggdrasil.

I also knew that spiders react strangely, webbing strange nets, if they are on drugs. That includes caffeine. But then I am asking myself questions about the mixed biology of a spider and humans. This leads to a can of worms, which I quite frankly, don't want to open.

But thank you for the review and I hope it helped a bit.

See you next time