Whispers of a Dead Empire

The world around me shifted as the teleport function finished, and I appeared in the courtyard. A few of the undead were moving in squads around the outskirts of the stronghold. They were becoming more unified and a little more intelligent, though considering what they were, anything improved.

I crossed my arms and looked around for Aaron, though much to my annoyance, I had no clue where he was. “Come along, Alessia, let us find our wayward officer.” I waved my hand towards her and walked towards the main building. I’ll have the captain send a detachment of undead back to the mines, so I can start building up my stone supply once more. I had no clue how much was left there, but I might as well dry it out while I still had the time to do it without interference from the adventurers.

I walked up the staircase and pushed open the massive wooden door, revealing a large lobby. A dozen undead were positioned around the large lobby watching over everything. Sadly, however, there wasn’t much to guard over right now—just an empty stronghold filled with the undead. I strode past the zombies and skeletons and puffed my chest out just a little. I have some acting to keep on. I made a quick motion, pulled up the map of this building, and started walking through it.

I could have just teleported to where Aaron was, but really, I just wanted an excuse to explore the area a bit and see my handy work. So far, it looked good, but I would go through and touch the rooms a bit more once my stone reserve was fixed. Hell, I’ll even expand the building a bit along with adding in a few more. I still have a little longer left on the protection period. I glanced at the map and saw that he was in a room in the far back of the building along with the officers of the legion.

I went onwards through the hallways, checking out the rooms and planning out what they were going to be. Since this was the main building, I guess each room would have to fill an administrative purpose and a few bunk areas. I’ll even make a few rooms for my officers. Though the stress was real, I had such little time for everything. Maybe I should cut back on the sleep a bit and go from there.

A small sigh escaped from my lips as I felt a tension headache build up. This was so much work. I’m just thankful my bosses could manage the undead for me. Otherwise, I may just implode from the stress of everything. I pinched the bridge of my nose and pressed on a little more as I mapped out more of the building, until I came to a set of wooden doors that were propped open. Coming from the inside, I heard the familiar chittering of Aaron and a reply in the form of a guttural moan from Rikard.

I puffed my chest up and pressed the door open, which swung silently on its hinges, and I strode into the room. Appearances Calixa gotta keep it up when you are in public. A handful of lifeless eyes locked onto me as I marched in. In the middle of the room was a large table with a large paper map of my current domain on it, which looked like ti was hand-drawn. More than likely, that was Kharons doing. A large window on the far stonewall let a handful of rays of light into the room, basing everyone in the soft twilight glow. Rikard and Aaron stood next to each other, with the skeleton pointing towards a spot. A few of the elites were here as well, staring at the map. I had yet to decide on their ranks, but for now, I may just settle on calling them warrant officers. Considering that I had a lieutenant already, and a captain, so it works out. Maybe down the road, once the domain grew and I could afford to field larger armies, promotions would be in order.

“Greetings,, everyone,” I called out as I crossed the distance towards the table. I could feel Alessia’s presence on my right. It was slightly comforting, though I did suffer a slight chill in response. All the undead gave me a small bow, and Kharon spoke up.

“Welcome, Mistress. What brings you here?”

“I was actually searching for the lieutenant here. I wanted to get back to training. But what’s going on?” I asked as I leaned against the table and looked over the map. The location on the mine was already marked and circled along with a few key areas.

“The captain here wanted to begin defence preparations, and you were away at your office. So we were working out troop deployments and key locations to hold. They wish to be prepared for the invaders once they return.” Ah, the map was making a little more sense. But that was an odd term. Usually, he just calls them Adventures, so I’m not sure what’s up with that. I’ll have to pull him to the side and see why. I’m also just thankful that my leadership is competent and can make choices on their own.

“I see. That is a perfect call; thank you, captain. What are we looking at doing?”

Kharon pointed towards the first circle on the map. The thin tip of his finger pressed against the paper crinkling it slightly. “This is a key route towards the stronghold. The forest here is thinner, so we will tear down a few trees and create a road and a small defensive area around it. We will also send a few detachments towards the mines to hold it there since we don’t want to lose a precious resource. The rest are just areas we may deploy troops to hold for now until we get reinforcements.”

Wow, I am actually thrilled that they can do this on their own. Though a part of me felt bad that I was essentially useless. I lacked experience with troop deployments, though in my defense, I didn’t have to worry about that back on Earth. “Very good. Effective immediately, I will promote all the elites to warrant officers, and they will be the best fighter for their specified detachment. I want all free hands to be out collecting plants and fibers so I can convert it into uniforms. All the plants collected will be placed by the fountain for collection. I will also have weapons made and produced shortly to shore up defenses.”

The captain nodded his head and shot a look towards one of the skeletons in the room. They stared at each other for a moment before the skeleton ran out of the room. I wish I could communicate with the other undead like that. But I don’t mind the delegation. It saves me time in the end. “Thank you, mistress.” Kharon gave me a small bow, and I waved him away.

“Anyway, how are the undead in the domain doing? Any close to evolution or unlocking a new class?” I asked as I placed both my hands against the table and leaned into it.

My companion nodded his head and crossed his arms. “Yes, a few of the feral skeletons that roam the outside of the stronghold have displayed some bone manipulation skills. We can send a few of the honor guards out to gather a few and see if we can force an evolution into them. It would be nice to increase our resources.”

“Fair enough. Why are they considered feral, though?” Such strange words were leaving my companion’s mouth and left me with a sense of confusion. Things have been changing quickly since that trait changed a few days ago.

“We refer to them as feral since they are not a part of the army. They keep to themselves and have often clashed with the legion. Some may not come willingly.” I scrunch my eyebrows as I realized the severity of what was occurring.

“Thank you Kharon. Alessia, please send a few spirits out and capture a few of the skeletons that have bone manipulation. Place them wherever we can and keep them safe for the time being. Kharon, will you accompany me to my office? We have a few things to discuss in private.” I glanced towards Alessia and saw that she hesitated. A look of longing danced across her eyes before she nodded and disappeared with her poleaxe clasped firmly in her hands.

“Of course, mistress. I will meet you there." Then, with a muted display of grey light, Kharon vanished, leaving me in the room of undead.

“Rikard, for the detachment going towards the mine, if possible, I want a smaller section to accompany it for continued mining. I want to rebuild our resource reserves. For the troops going out to create a road, I have a few key things I want done. First, we can either refine the wood and get it into our stockpile, or we can build with it as we work on the road. Whichever is the easiest. Second, I want the road to extend out towards the lake’s shore and stop there. I plan on working on the entrance a bit more in the coming days.” I actually didn’t have a plan going on, but since my bosses took the initiative, I could build on it as I went.

The captain nodded his head, and I glanced towards Aaron next. “As for you, Aaron, once I finish my conversation with Kharon, we are going back to training. I want to master that skill, along with another from you.” The skeleton bobbed his head, and I flashed everyone in the room with a quick smile. “Thank you everybody. You are doing a fantastic job so far. Keep it up!” Encouragement was key to morale, though I wasn’t sure how that affected the undead.

Aaron gave me a nod and chittered his teeth. I had no clue what he said, but I’ll take it as a yes. I gave one last cursory glance around the room before I too teleported out, and back to Kharon to figure out what was going on in my domain and why it was changing so fast on its own.