Chereads / Diary of a Necromancer / Chapter 23 - Twenty-third entry

Chapter 23 - Twenty-third entry

Sheesh. One bad man is all it takes to have your day ruined. I was handling a delivery earlier today to another guild member. I guess the drunkard that saw me giving the book away thought I was a postman or something because he came right up to me demanding his delivery. It was clear he was intoxicated beyond his mind so no amount of telling him truth was enough to convince him. I wasn't afraid of using my abilities to keep him at a distance, I was just worried that, if I used fire, I would have torched him alive since the smell of the alcohol was so obnoxious. In the end the guild member found several City Guard officers that came to the scene and dragged him away after he tried to attack them. I had to give my statement and I could possibly appear on his trial. As for the drunkard he is facing assaults on a minor and City Guard officers so I hope his delivery was worth it. And to think the day already started bad for me with the rejection.

After the Longsong expedition ended there was no threat against any of the colonial cities. It's clear that the Prince isn't the one to stay put so he decided to go on an exploratory expedition to the west. According to the treaty there are some islands that are supposed to be under our control, but no one knows what's out there. So he split half of his force and went exploring. At this point he has earned such a reputation so people don't care about this anymore. Instead they care more about all the spoils and territory we are about to seize. Not sure if this is a good mindset, but considering all the years of exploration missed because of the fear of unknown and the lack of finances to support this, this was somewhat expected.

Anyway, while he is out there exploring, the guild has been trying to organize expeditions to the newly annexed cities of Laoc Fen and Vlefolm. Yes, cities. Apparently the Prince has bought an underwater settlement from the Emerald colonies. A quick long-distance negotiation was all that was needed because to Raelis' administration the city had almost no value and the explorers were desperate to get more funding. One of the advantages that the long-distance communication has brought as well as the ability to govern the colony while not in his capital.

As soon as this news came the guild wanted to organize the expedition there since this was a unique settlement ruled by a previously unknown race called the Nynevians. Merlin seems to know about them that I wanted to use so I applied for the expedition. Today I received the news that I was denied. The reason? I am too young for such an expedition. Shame really, but I understand. Too bad this rejection came in the same day as the incident with the drunkard. Misery lives company, after all.

Speaking of Laoc Fen, the council seems to be trying to foster a relationship between us and the Fey. It's clear that there could be some resentment due to the annexation so they want to slowly change their minds about our presence there. The last thing they need right now is bad publicity so there aren't too many planned convoys for now. Builders and explorers are prioritized since it needs some major city works as soon as possible and they also want a start on creating records since it doesn't look like Fey kept any written ones.

I was eligible for this expedition, but in the end I said no. I am no that interested into this one and I'm sure there are far more interested people looking for this chance. Plus the climate would horrible for me. A savannah climate would be real life hell. There is one thing that I am curious about. According to the old records from the Emerald Council, the Fey society is a matriarchy and a well known at that. This could become a problem if this isn't addressed. Though considering the fact the dryads are considered some of the most beautiful creatures by all races, I am sure the people wouldn't mind bowing down to them and listening to their orders. Hell, if the depictions are any accurate to the reality, I wouldn't mind it having such a beautiful creature waking up beside me every morning and listening to their every word. It's a shame our neighbours don't see eye-to-eye with us on this. Though it's also strange that many merchants are yet to return due to the protest. While we have managed to negotiate for Vlefolm, the relations still seem cold for some reason. I wonder what's going on down south.

One last thing for now. A while ago pictures of that undead army came out to the public. I mean the close ups and the pictures of their corpses after the battle. I am not interested in furthering my necromancy so I ignored them at first. However there was something in several of them that got me really confused. I noticed grenades amongst several corpses. Now, there have been reports of grenade usage since the Middle Ages so their presence doesn't surprise me here. If I recall correctly, the most famous usage was for Greek fire in Carigrad before it fell to the Ottomans. What's strange is the shape the colour of them. To me they look like similar to the grenades we used in the Commonwealth army. That, along with the strange reports about the corpses, confuses me. Is there something going on with that undead army? Is there an invisible threat somewhere in the archipelago? I hope not.