After reanimating the salvageable corpses from the battle, Lieze and Drayya began the long, tiresome process of escorting their thralls back to the hideout.
Lieze's MP - 170 / 815
Hours passed as the lush forests of the Sovereign countryside made it difficult to tell whether they were headed in the right direction. Once they broke out from the treeline onto the highways, they were forced to take the long way around Tonberg in order to avoid being spotted by any of the surrounding farmsteads' inhabitants. The sun was moving to kiss the horizon when Alma welcomed them at the mouth of the hideout.
"Lieze. Drayya. Welcome back." She bowed courteously, "Marché also returned not long ago. He's asleep at the moment."
"Yes, he did mention something about being tired…" Lieze recalled, "Not that it bothers me in the least. Our mission was a success, so we're all entitled to a little rest. How are the Dwarves getting on with their traps?"
"I have to take their word for it. I don't know the first thing about setting snares or pitfalls…" She admitted, "It doesn't seem like you lost too many thralls, all things considered."
"No. A few Gravewalkers, nothing more. It's a boon that we were able to keep the Flesh Elementals and Horrors safe." Lieze allowed her guard to drop as she and Drayya crossed into the caverns, "But there's no time to celebrate. This was only a diversion to increase the strength of our forces. We still have Helmach and the entirety of Tonberg to deal with."
"About that…" Alma walked by the girl's side as she wandered, "I was in the city a few hours ago, and I noticed that the streets seemed awfully empty. Then I heard a town crier just moments later. He was yelling something about a sickness that was spreading through the city…"
"A sickness?" Drayya sounded elated, "It's about time those Nightcrawlers started to pay off. Tonberg's prosperity has already plummeted thanks to Master Sokalar's conquests. The city will grind to a halt if everyone isn't pulling their weight during a plague. Quite the dilemma, wouldn't you say?"
"The Church's priests will eradicate a plague if they're forced to." Lieze replied, "-But it will keep them busy for quite a while. It presents an opportunity to make some risky plans."
"Just once, I'd like it if our plans weren't risky…" Drayya sighed.
"For now, I'm only interested in transforming our most recent victims into Briarknights. A trio of captains to lead the thralls in place of ourselves would allow us to divert our attention to more pressing matters."
"Like Helmach?" Drayya finished, "You're talking about Helmach, aren't you?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Not at all. But if I must be honest, he's proving to be quite the thorn in our side. Why, if it was only the Acolytes we were contending with, we could crush them like insects. It's a damn shame they have a madman with the power of the Blackbriar at his command in their ranks."
"Well, we knew this was never going to be easy…" Lieze replied.
"I'm sure we'd all love to sit around and wait until he dies of old age, but that won't win us Tonberg before Master Sokalar returns." Drayya continued, "...Speaking of - Alma."
"Y-Yes?" The girl jolted up.
"Have we received any correspondence from the Order? A letter, perhaps?"
"I'm afraid not." Alma shook her head, "May I ask why?"
"Considering how much time has passed, I'd have thought Master Sokalar would have arrived by now." Drayya paused, "We lost an unbelievable amount of thralls during the siege, but those numbers should have been replenished by now. Master Sokalar isn't the type to bide his time like this."
"He could be observing our efforts." Lieze pointed out.
"I'm not certain of that. I don't think he's even aware that you're still alive." She replied, "-Well, don't let my worries distract us from the real problems. It was just a passing thought of mine."
Passing, perhaps. But Lieze had been ignoring the Order's advent just as carelessly. Her father's honest disregard for her livelihood had unsettled her devotion. Lieze's loyalty was in flux. From what she'd heard, Drayya also didn't seem too keen on bending the knee after experiencing what she was capable of beyond the cult's reach.
"If I could be so brave as to suggest an alternative- '' Drayya began, "-Why don't we hatch some plans to destabilise Tonberg further before we turn our collective gaze towards Helmach? We still have the Briarknights to create, as well as that reward for slaying the Drake to claim."
"Yes… that's not a bad idea." Lieze agreed, "Alma, how are Marché's followers coming along with the recruitment of new thralls?"
"Most of them have retired for the day, but we're still receiving new groups of Gravewalkers." Alma answered, "Progress has slowed, however. The Wraith seems to have been permanently… uh, injured, during your battle with Helmach."
"As long as we're still gathering strength, then Marché can make use of it for as long as he wishes." Lieze replied, "Drayya and I will spend the rest of the evening creating a Briarknight. Tomorrow, I'll pick up the reward from the guild. Drayya, I want you to start attacking the farmsteads on the outskirts of the city."
"Attack the-" Drayya blinked in surprise, "That's… quite aggressive, isn't it?"
"Didn't you say it yourself? We're wasting time." Lieze explained, "We have a continuous supply of thralls and enough followers to put them to good use. It's time to start accomplishing our goals. The city is already suffering from supply problems thanks to my father's conquests. If we eradicate what few farms remain, the ensuing chaos will be the perfect backdrop to obfuscate our operations."
"Huh. Like father, like daughter." Drayya crossed her arms, "Very well. I'll see to it that the season's harvest is a poor one. But I will be attracting some attention, as I'm sure you already know."
"All I ask is that you don't lead any pursuers back to the hideout." Lieze requested, "Better yet - try to do it without being seen at all."
"I can't promise anything. But I will try."
"That's all I ask."
A renewed sense of purpose surged through Lieze's chest. Her obsession with ending Helmach's life had settled her into an uncomfortable, pitiable attitude unbecoming of a necromancer. She was worried about Baccharum's retribution if she couldn't fulfil her end of the bargain, but why was it worth considering? Baccharum was a disposable tool. She couldn't allow herself to be controlled by him.
Fanrae was a land corrupted with the suffering of life. The Gildwyrm - ironically - had granted her the means to alleviate that suffering. Not only Tonberg, but unknown frontiers to the north. The Dwarven Mountaintops, the root-cursed labyrinth of Akzhem…
"Alma." Lieze called for the hideout's steward, "When Marché awakens, instruct him to bring a Briarknight along to Saptra. He can use it to push further into the city and take control of more powerful thralls. We'll need more than simple Gravewalkers."
"Y-Yes. Of course." The girl bowed her head, "Are you going to be creating this… Briarknight right away?"
"Yes. I'll be turning in for the night afterwards. In the morning, I want to pick up our reward from the guild and make a few more purchases."
There was no time to be worrying about Helmach, the Church, or Ricta. Every second wasted was better spent reinforcing the hideout or planning the cult's next move. As soon as Lieze was finished instructing Alma, she escorted the thralls from the battle towards the empty chamber near the top of the hideout, before visiting the alchemy chamber where Drayya awaited.
"You're going to help with the Briarknight?" Her eyes darted to the side, where an actively-rotting Stürm stood, "I didn't think you were as powerful as that."
"I wasn't." Lieze replied, "-But I am now. It'll take half the time with the two of us working together."
"It's not very fun. I'll tell you that for free." She turned her attention to the blood-filled barrel, "But it's worth the trouble. Shall we get started?"
"Let's."
Briarknights were, in essence, empowered Gravewalkers. They required no investment of blood - only a suitably high-level corpse, skill, and patience. Though incapable of speech, Briarknights could understand commands, both mental and verbal, with far more clarity than the average thrall, making them prime candidates for leading smaller divisions of undead on loose patrol routes.
"If we're going to start shamelessly attacking Tonberg, we should consider establishing a base of operations within the city." As the alchemic ritual began, Drayya voiced her concerns regarding Lieze's plan, "We don't have the option of moving thralls past the gates without a fight, but we could always… procure and store more of them somewhere safe."
"We're not using the sewer hideout, before you recommend that." Lieze replied, "It's an excellent place to hide thralls, but it would take too long to mobilise them. We need somewhere on street level, ideally."
"Street level…"
New Quest Received!
'Monster House' - Establish a hideout within Tonberg