Chereads / The Legend of Orcus / Chapter 3 - And The Cult That Follows

Chapter 3 - And The Cult That Follows

Having sat for approximately 45 minutes, Orcus finished converting the faith energy to its death oriented counterpart. Looking back to the still prostrating slaves, Orcus told the skeleton bandits to find them clothing, before speaking.

"Now tell me, what skills do you have? I will need to know your abilities if I am to rule over you." he stated, narrowing his eyes.

"W-we are but simple farmers, My Lord..." a girl, barely 12, spoke this time.

"Tch, I guess I will have to train you from scratch. Now, can any of you fools read?" Orcus spat, irritated by his overestimation of these mortals.

Cowering from their master's displeasure, the simple farmers admitted to being illiterate, causing Orcus to sigh. While it wasn't difficult to brand knowledge onto their souls, Orcus would not have the time to do so in the future when his forces expand. As such, it was best to prepare an education regimen beforehand.

Thinking for several minutes, Orcus took out an aged grimoire labeled: Neophyte Necronomicon. Tossing it to the slaves, he said:

"Look at it until it makes sense." before turning around and heading into the bandit chief's tent, freshly cleaned by the skeleton bandits.

Inside there was only a simple yet high quality bed, with fine blue silk blankets over a wool and cotton mattress. It was set at the back of the tent, leaving a wide central area unadorned. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Orcus channeled his magic to create a green runic circle on the floor.

On the other hand, the new recruits were sitting in a circle around the tome their master gave them, confused. They opened the book to the first page and could not understand a thing about the characters within them, apart from noticing that some images were repeating. After several hours without progress Orcus realized a few things he had overlooked and sent the skeleton mages to teach his servants how to write.

Both mages took out a quill and paper, drawing surprisingly lifelike images of various creatures, before writing down the name underneath them. The doodling continued for while, with the mages switching between teaching and drawing. As the day progressed, Orcus had the undead bandits search for potential mounts or beasts of burden. They returned later to inform their lord that there were no suitable beasts in the immediate area.

Cursing, Orcus had the same unit move out to hunt some creature or another for its meat, not willing to let his followers live on a meager menu of only water and rye bread. And while he himself did not need to eat, Orcus was not one to simply abandon the pleasures of flesh, especially when he thought of dragonheart steak and krakenblood vodka. Orcus could almost taste the meaty aroma and smooth yet fragrant scent of the two, vowing to taste them once again.

On the next day, Orcus left the mages to teach his new acolytes while he went on a little adventure of his own. Taking only a single skeleton knight with him, Orcus ordered the bandits to start stockpiling wood to make some proper fortifications before leaving. As he and his knight traveled, Orcus had changed out of his bone armor and simply wore matching black shirt, pants, and boots, with his armor replaced by a leather chest piece with arm and leg guards. A hood covered Orcus' face as he made his way to Matyr.

While their master had left, the newly 'converted' cultists were being taught how to read and write, with great importance on learning about the undead and how they are made. Both mages had also written Orcus' name on a sheet of paper for their students to study, surprised to find themselves rather content with their new role. They also debated about asking their master for a name, as it was harder for them to earn the trust of their students if they had no name to be called by. In the end, the duo decided it wouldn't hurt to ask, as they knew that their master, though chaotic in his actions, never lost his temper in most situations.