“Undead.”
Undead… undead.
That word echoed again and again in their voices, no matter what else they said, but it sounded in my head like the rattling of a grinding machine, mechanical, repetitive and diminishing.
I sighed and tried to tune them out.
It had been an accident… but, who would believe me? And did it matter now?
White mana still raged through my veins, and my mind was fogged and jittery as a result. Thinking was hard, but I stubbornly tried to make sense of it all.
This was better than failure. Undead meant not dead. It was another form of life. Of not-life?
Ugh, whatever! This was confusing!
She wasn’t a ghoul. Not a zombie. She had her mind, her free will. She didn’t feed on the living. She wasn’t driven by hunger, or by some curse that demanded she tear life from others just to exist. She had her own energy, her own kind of existence.
I turned my head and looked at her again. She was perfect. This was no failure!
Though… there was that unsettling faint glow in her eyes. From all of them only Alice had it. Why? When I used my identification skill, they all showed up as
But there was an orc with higher level, Olomuc, the first one where I’d seen the resurrection light. Level eighty-eight.
So, what was it?
I shrugged, let out another sigh and smiled at her. She smiled back, a timid, candid smile that warmed my heart and made me happy. She was still the same Alice I had known. She remembered everything. Her personality was intact. I had already talked to her and the orcs and... asked them to call me Lores, not mother.
Yes, now she considered me her mother.
Considered? No! I was her mother. That’s how it worked with the undead.
And honestly? That was fine. I had always seen her as part of my family. Now, she truly was, but I preferred if they would call me Lores. It was enough that I had Sid running around and calling me mom. My eyes went wide when I imagined Alice and another seven orcs running around and calling me mom. Hell! I'm eighteen! Am I? Actually... oh, forget it!
As the others saw me resting, Lynx and the two orc commanders approached, but to my surprise, no one scolded me or even asked why I had done what I did. At least not yet.
“Can we talk now?” Lynx said. “It’s urgent! We need to decide what to do next.”
Wrapped in the blanket Alice had gently draped over my shoulders, I looked up at him from my perch on the chapel’s wooden steps. I let out a short, dry chuckle, shook my head a bit too vigorously and bumped it right against the door's frame.
“Ow,” I muttered, rubbing the spot. “Lyn, I’m completely drunk and completely spent. All I’m good for right now is drinking some more… then lying down and sleeping.”
I paused and tilted my head. “Oh, that's a good idea!”
I started rummaging through my inventory, searching for something to drink. And then, I found it.
With a triumphant grin, I pulled out the bottle of troll-mojo and took a long sip. My eyes lit up with delight. As the familiar taste spread through my mouth and warmed my throat, I let out a satisfied breath, then realized it was impolite to drink alone.
I held out the bottle.
“Here, have some!”
That bottle had to be enchanted. Either it slowly refilled over time, or it was bigger on the inside than it looked.
“Lores, we don’t have time for this! You shouldn’t—” Lynx began to protest.
“You don’t want some troll-mojo?” I exclaimed, waving the bottle.
Drackar looked puzzled, so I caught his sleeve and pulled him closer to me to explain.
“Dracky, look into my eyes. See the swirls? No? I see them!” I gestured vaguely at my face. “Any time I cast a white magic spell, it scrambles my mana channels and fogs my brain. Makes me act and feel like a drunk girl. Only way out is to speed it up, get totally drunk, and let the system flush. Then I’ll be back.”
I added some dramatic hand movements with my free hand, all while still holding out the bottle with the other.
Lynx let out an exasperated sigh.
“You just made that up, to drink some more!” he said, then let out a sigh and glanced past me into the chapel. “And you call that a white magic spell?” he muttered.
I snorted.
“Lyn, you’d be surprised how much white magic went into that spell,” I said, nodding solemnly at every word like that alone proved my point. Then I shook the bottle for emphasis. “The last troll-mojo bottle in the domain, and no takers? Too bad!”
I took another deep, satisfying sip. I was happy that I managed to save them. Why were they trying to diminish my success?
Lynx shook his head.
“Lores, I don’t know where Tina is. She was with Alice’s group earlier, but now she’s nowhere to be found. This is important!” His voice carried a rising note of exasperation.
“What?” I gasped, shocked, and my aura flared instantly.
I looked around instinctively, but this time, no one collapsed from my aura spike. Maybe it helped that I was now surrounded only by high-level people. I turned back to Lynx.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“What did you say? Tina’s missing? Since when?”
He nodded with worry in his eyes.
“Yes. She was with Alice today, but now she’s gone. I thought maybe she was hiding somewhere, like Michael did, with those two orcs who were smart enough to drag him away, but she’s still missing.”
And now he tells me? I turned toward the chapel.
“Alice, did you see Tina during the fight?”
She shifted into shadow - as if it were the most natural thing in the world - and reformed beside me, startling Wortar.
“Yes,” she said calmly. “She ran with Niobum toward the river. But, he had to sacrifice himself so she could escape.” She then turned toward another orc. “Niobum, come here!”
But speaking with Niobum didn’t bring much clarity. He had seen her disappear into the underbrush, fleeing toward the forest. That was the last he saw of her before his death.
“And you? Where have you been?” I wondered turning towards Lyxn. Had he not been there?
“I was in Huiesta with Tom when I heard the alarm horns.” he explained “I ran as fast as I could. By the time I got here, Alice and her group were already dead, and those three were loitering around.” He gestured toward the battlefield. “I fought them. Later, I found Michael and one orc and learned that Tina had been with the group too. Then you arrived, just as I was trying to track her.”
“Did you try to find her trail?” I asked, attempting to stand, but nearly faceplanted.
Alice and Wortar both rushed to catch me. They exchanged a sharp glance, clearly not pleased with each other, but worked together to steady me. With their support, I turned to face Lynx again, while Alice gently tucked the blanket back over my shoulders.
Lynx nodded, his face tight with worry.
“I did try. But her trail just ends. I’m afraid… it may be that she’s been kidnapped.”
That pierced through my fatigue. A growl stirred deep inside me, my inner lynx baring its teeth. Tina had a special place in my heart.
I drew in a long, controlled breath.
“Would they want a ransom for the girl?” somebody asked.
I sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting it take my weight. With a shrug, I pulled the blanket back over my shoulders where it had slipped.
If that's the case we'll pay the ransom, then... OK what I'll do after is another story.
When Alice stepped in to adjust the blanket again, I decided it was better to just wrap it around myself properly and leave my arms free. That way, I wouldn’t need her to fuss over me every time it slid down.
As we exchanged glances, my mind had already started to turn, gears grinding through the haze. A dreadful suspicion wormed its way in. Why hadn’t I thought of it before?
My face tightened as I turned to Lynx, searching his expression. Did he have the same thought?
His brow rose questioningly, he didn’t seem to suspect what I was beginning to fear.
I drew a deep breath.
“Could these be some blasted… Krawags?” I asked, doubt creeping into my voice.
Lynx’s expression shifted. Confusion first, then slowly morphing into something closer to horror.
“You mean from Adrai? Krawags? I’ve never met them… but… they would fit the description. But why? You think he sent them?” He swallowed. “But how would they even know where she was?”
I took another deep breath, trying to shake off the lingering fog in my head.
The Krawags, as they called themselves, were a nation of dwarves. The Krawag Republic occupied the mountainous heart of Adrai. It was a mid-sized country, bordering several others, including the Golden Empire. Unlike most nations, the Krawags didn’t migrate in the long winter; they simply retreated into their fortified mountain homes. It was said they lived in vast caverns carved deep into the mountains.
It was rumored that the Golden Emperor kept Krawag mercenaries among his personal guards. Supposedly, they never left the Golden Palace.
But… what if they had?
What if he’d sent them?
What if the dwarf Lynx said he killed, if that dwarf was red-haired, then…
Dwarves from this continent didn’t think much of their cousins from across the sea. The Krawags were easy to tell apart: broader in build, red-haired, and unmistakably foreign in both look and manner.
Isolationist to the core, the Krawag Republic kept to itself, engaging with neighbors only when it suited them, usually for war or tribute. They were infamous for their powerful armies, fighting with magically reinforced armor, golems, and all kinds of magic-driven machines. Their lands were closed to outsiders, but their demands were well-known: gold, food, livestock, and young boys and girls which ended as slaves or adopted as servants.
“If not ransom, then what would they want?” Wortar asked, frowning. “Why take the girl?”
I snorted.
“Because she’s the runaway wife of the blasted Golden Emperor. Wife number four hundred fifty-seven or something like that. I helped her escape.”
“Oh...” Drackar muttered. He turned to look at me, brow raised. “Maybe we should’ve known that.”
“Drats,” I cursed under my breath. “How long since the attack?” I asked again, trying to guess what best we could do.
“It’s coming up on three hours,” Lyn answered.
“If Tina was their target,” I said, lifting a finger toward the horizon, “then they must be far away by now.” I sighed. “Still, I’ll make a round. It’s worth a try.”
I turned toward Drackar and poked my index finger into his chest, the troll-mojo bottle still clutched firmly in my palm.
“Check if the dwarf Lynx killed was red-haired. If he is, then we’re right: it’s the Emperor’s elite guard. Anyone under level eighty should run if they see them. Over eighty? Sound the horn and don’t engage unless you outnumber them. Clear?”
Then I spun - too fast - and nearly tipped over. Wortar caught me before I could fall flat.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, then focused on Alice. “Alice, take care of my children. Act under Lyn’s or Drackar’s command if needed.”
She nodded, steady and serious. “Should we take weapons?”
“Of course!” I said, giving an exaggerated nod that nearly sent me sideways again. If we’re up against Krawags, we’ll need everything we’ve got, even if some might fear the undead more than the Krawags themselves.
Then I paused, tilting my head back with a breathy laugh.
“Actually… there’s still hope! Now that I think about it, maybe there’s a commando waiting to ambush me nearby. The Emperor did put a pretty bounty on my head, thanks to that little jailbreak I helped with.”
“Then don’t go wandering into a trap drunk out of your mind!” Lynx snapped.
I waved the bottle at him with a smirk.
“Oh, Lynx… man of little faith.” I shook my head slowly, mock disappointed. “Let them come to mama. I’m just now getting in the perfect mood to meet them.”
My mana was slowly recovering, and with it, my mood.
I was going to get Tina back, there was no doubt in my mind. Dwarves were too mercantile to just vanish; they’d stay close, waiting to collect the ten-thousand-gold reward.
I turned toward Drackar just as Lynx tried to cut in.
“Maybe that’s exactly why you should stay!” he said, clearly trying to talk sense into me.
I ignored him and tugged Drackar closer, whispering in his ear with conspiratorial glee, “You know what, Dracky? I have an even better idea. I’ll go have a chat with Yisila.”
“Yisila?” Lynx repeated, frowning as he exchanged a glance with Wortar, who only shrugged, completely clueless. I might have whispered a bit too loudly.
Still clutching Drackar’s shirt like a life ring, I nodded sagely. “If anyone knows where they are, it’s her.”
Then I added, “Bring the dead dwarf to the castle, I’d like a word with that blasted idiot before I send him to hell. And by the way, Mike’s at the entry post with some friends in a carriage. Make sure he gets a proper escort to the castle, okay, Dracky? We’ll meet at the castle later.”
Letting go of Drackar’s shirt, I carefully stored the bottle back into my inventory. Then I dissolved into shadow and vanished. I might be drunk, but my magic wasn’t.
“Dracky?” Wortar repeated, clearly amused.
He earned himself a sharp look from Drackar, one that wiped the grin right off his face.