With a wave of his hand, dark energies sought out the bodies of the fallen men. They rose effortlessly one after another, shambling onwards as their flesh sloughed off. Wielding their blades against what was once their allies, the tide of this battle quickly shifted as the humans of the gate were overrun with the undead. Volodar walked by as some of the humans fled inwards towards the safety of the inner walls. Looking towards Doppel, he redirected some of his magic to heal his wounds. Volodar spoke jovially, "I see that you have arrived at the party just in time."
"My lord," Doppel's voice echoed, "where is that traitor at?"
"Do not mind that for now. Let's go to the keep and pay Boar a visit. Slaughter any of his soldiers without hesitation. They share in his blame for what happened to my men. I've forgiven enough people today." Doppel acknowledged his master's words as he ran through pushing his way towards the keep. Hunter followed behind as he quickly bowed to the lord and got to work taking care of the archers along the walls.
Really, Volodar thought, was it really this easy? Or have I just grown to immense strength that old Volodar couldn't imagine. He mulled it over in his mind as he walked behind the jotuns and Doppel. Their forces never became smaller and only swelled as Boar's men died. An army consisting of his own men would be his undoing. It was enough to bring a smile to Volodar's face. So much for having bludgeoning weapons against the tough exterior of the jotuns.
Adelia caught up to Volodar as she looked around at the death of this city. She didn't appear to be in such a good mood as he did. "Volodar," she said, "this city is collapsing from what you're doing. Innocent people are certainly going to get hurt from this. Please redirect your anger towards the leadership of the city."
Volodar thought about it for a second, "I never ordered my troops to kill the civilians from what I know."
She replied in quick fashion, "They haven't been ordered to not do it either, and I've seen some of the destruction first hand that happened to the people of this city. Be their liberator, not a destroyer. You will be accepted more if you do so."
Agreeing, Volodar issued an order to all that could hear. "Spare the life of any civilian you see. Even if it's questionable if they are, only kill combatants. Keep the destruction of the terrain to a minimum." Glaring towards the keep, he spoke once more in a sharp tone. "I have done as you requested."
Her demeanor seemed to soften as she spoke, "It is a good thing, what you did. Even if you don't understand yet. The townsfolk will be on your side should you keep reducing the damage to structures."
Volodar assented to her as the troops of Boar seemed to be on the sharp decline. Fear was sown into their ranks as the lower class militia simply fled at the sight of their undead counterparts. This made for an easy path to the keep. At times, he could see Stokrar and Cederic attacking the militia of the town. They were certainly skilled if you measured them among the ranks of adventurers that he met in the past.
It didn't take long until he reached the keep. His undead were already running rampant as he walked through the halls looking for this noble. Maybe he already died in combat, Volodar thought as he couldn't find anyone of use in the keep. Just when he had started to look at his own undead to see if any resembled the noble, Hunter and the shade were dragging someone along the ground who was still conscious.
This man was in full plate and he looked to be quite rugged. Nothing like the leader of the bandits when Volodar first met him. "Interesting," Volodar said, "I guess there are nobles with good physiques."
"Indeed, my lord." Hunter said, "this one was squirrelly, but we ran him down with poison from Gratia's magic until he collapsed."
Pleased with this turn of events, Volodar patted Hunter on the back. "You have done well Hunter, you certainly deserve a reward when we get back home. I'm thinking a promotion to your next type is in order. We'll test it out for sure."
"I'm honored that you would consider it."
Looking towards the crippled noble, Volodar couldn't help but to feel no satisfaction from this. Perhaps it's because I didn't get to him first, he thought.
Boar looked towards Volodar, "I'm not going to beg for my life if that's what you're looking for."
Extending his hands outward, blood shot out of his fingertips as it pierced the debilitated man through the neck. Blood trickled down as Volodar wiped his hands off and whispered to the dying man, "I don't need you to beg. You can die on your own watch now." He nodded to the shade as it started to drain what energy was left of the man. "Should he die by your hands, shade, he'll become one under your control. Make sure to kill him before he bleeds out naturally."
Grabbing Hunter, he walked back to the town. "There's no need to talk to someone this uneducated. Dispose of the trash and be done with it, we have a conflict to resolve."
"Yes, my lord." Monitoring the situation of the town, Volodar could tell that it was in the latest stages of its conflict. Barely any noise could be heard from the city and smoldering ashes rose with the wind. Adelia sat next to Volodar along the top of the keep.
"The city is yours, my lord."
"That's good." He paused as he looked out towards the city, "So you believe our actions will elevate our name in the public space?"
"Well," Adelia said sheepishly, "I wouldn't say that they'll love you or anything. But, they won't hate you as much as they would've if you destroyed everything."
"I see." It doesn't matter one way or another, Volodar thought. I'll simply return home once I'm done here anyhow. "So be it, I'm not here to change public opinion on necromancy."
A moment of silence fell upon them as they simply enjoyed the moment together. "I should've heeded your counsel about Lucas. It was blatantly obvious what was in front of me the whole time. Someone who was created by my father couldn't have been mine as well."
She smiled, "I believe a wise ruler is able to admit their mistakes, my lord. I don't know if Doppel or Hunter would hold you accountable otherwise. It's up to you to decide if your actions are good or not."
"You're right, to an extent." Volodar thought about the adventurers and people that he met until this moment, "I know of plenty of people who could hold me to a higher standard though. I want to become the greatest necromancer and surpass Valdier himself."
Adelia laughed, "We may need a bit more time for that."
"Time is all that I have at the moment, Adelia." Ideas for how he could become even more renowned than someone who ascended to godhood was beyond him, but one thing stood out more than anything. "I want to adventure with them once more."
"Who?"
"Gaulk's party," Volodar replied, "I learned a lot when we adventured together and it appeared that the minds of some of the adventurers were changed that day. I think they made me a better person."
"It can be a handful to watch over you, Volodar. However, Hunter and Doppel should be able to hold down the fort in our absence." Thinking about ways to leave Doppel and Hunter behind in a sustainable way was difficult. Doppel could learn to create minor undead like shamblers or some skeletons whose bone structure was weak, but that wouldn't be good enough to defend the motte and bailey for an extended amount of time.
Thinking about the strides made in his craft, he thought about opposing covens once more. Perfect, he thought, I could simply find more covens to destroy. Those actions would be seen positively by the public for his image abroad and further his knowledge on the subject. No single noble should attack him from this moment forth unless they have the backing of Strosa, itself. Volodar's numbers from this combat swelled from triple digits to quadruple as he reanimated the soldiers from the conflict.
"We're going to need a larger settlement, Adelia. That fortification could hold maybe two to three hundred of the mast most."
Adelia had a solution for this. "With this much labor, my lord, you could simply have them chop down the surrounding forests and expand its reach." There was some merit to her ideas, but Volodar was drawn to the core that he saw much earlier and thought about how he could use a pocket dimension at this moment. It would allow for security and take off any eyes prying into his business.
That would be a pain to find, though. Sighing, he took one last look at the town before messaging Hunter. "I've grown bored of this place. Loot their armories and the lord's manor. We'll leave after."
"Of course, my lord."
Good. I don't care to wait in this place for another moment, he thought. Spotting the three others who he was locked in with, he decided to go meet them one last time before he headed off. Stokrar's arms and legs were tinted with a dark red as he wiped a rag along his arm. Instantly, blood would fall along the sides of the rag and drip to the floor.
"You seem clean," Stokrar said plainly.
Volodar shrugged, "I didn't need to get dirty. Without adventurers assisting them, their home split apart easily." Other tengu found their way into the combat as they pilfered what they could from the surrounding areas. "I've ordered my undead to loot whatever they found. Don't know if they'll find much."
Blackjack scoffed, "The Stone Crows have found money in more desolate places than this. We thank you for avenging our members, though. The Stone Crows will remember this."
What? What members needed to be avenged? "I'm not quite sure if I know what you're speaking about. We simply killed some old enemies of mine. They sealed their fates months ago."
"Fate is absolute," Blackjack said with confidence. "You found yourself here at this moment to do what was necessary. From one who killed men to another, there is no such thing as coincidence."
Volodar nodded as if he understood whatever this tengu was spouting. Although his mind was already flooded with the list of tasks he needed to perform when he arrived back at his motte and bailey. "My original plan was to kill the men who slaughtered my army," Volodar blurted out. "However, I feel no need to kill either of you. Afterall, you spilled the blood of Boar's men."
Stokrar looked around at the town before looking back at Volodar, "Tell me something, Necromancer."
"What?"
Placing down his rag, he allowed Cederic to perform first aid upon him. "Why did you spare the townspeople from the killing? Wouldn't you simply want the bodies for your army?"
"I was taught from a young age to protect my own and to hold my head high. Never did I receive a lesson to kill random people." He thought about the people of Millstone as he animated them to bolster his army. "I try to reanimate only the guilty when possible. However, my life matters more than the simple rest of an empty vessel."
Nodding, Stokrar looked over to Doppel. "I still want to spar with that beast."
"Come to the motte and bailey by Millstone if you wish. I'll allow you to spar whenever you want. Perhaps you'll come to hate my way of living less." No response came from the three of them as Volodar stepped away. "It's time, Hunter. Go ahead and send a message to the people of Tamarak. Provide them safe passage to relocate to Millstone. They will be under my protection. That is how we progress into this world. Let us prove to the surrounding nations that we coexist with them just fine."
Hunter grinned, "Of course, my lord."