It seemed like eternity, when these three odd souls had laughed so freely and carelessly, opening up their heart. The kids felt they were again with their loving parents. Arin felt exactly the same, surprisingly. They joked and teased each other long before both of these kids fell asleep on Arin's lap. He kept patting them, to help them sleep better. He too wished to fall asleep, but he had lost his longing for sleep. Therefore, he decided to make plan for upcoming future. There are many things he had to find answers of.
Questions like-
- what did his status of 'Champion of Nerthazir' actually entailed, what were the perks;
- what rule did govern the nature of the resurrected minions- as some dead had risen as Revenants, some as Specters, some as Draugur and one as Skeleton Crossbowman
- What was even the difference between a Revenant and a Draugur?
- Why did the two Revenants were acting strange, as if they still had retained their ego.
- Why did he even feel pain or mental fatigue, despite being an undead himself?
- Was there anyway for him to gain another mana-core so that he could learn and master another school of magic?
-How many minions he could have at a time?
-Was there anyway for them to communicate better with him?
And last but not the least, he didn't even know anything about this place he was in right now, the nearby settlements, their nature, political alignments or anything.
All he knew that staying buried here, in this middle of nowhere won't help him much in future. One thing was clear, if the guards were here then it meant that there was a large enough settlement nearby, or there won't be any guards to begin with. He doubted a small village or hamlet even have four guards to spare for such 'excursion'. So he decided about what he had to do next. He would look for a nearby settlement to gather information.
Now the next problem was how should he visit a settlement. He doubted that a necromancer would be welcomed in a human settlement, especially if it was an undead like him. He needed proper clothing to roam securely in a city or town, and also, he needed money.
And then he got an idea, on how easily his urgent necessity of money could be resolved. The four guards he had killed and then raised a while ago; - they were still wearing their uniform. It meant, they must had been carrying their belongings with them even now. So, he decided to search whatever possession they were carrying with them. Arin summoned all four of them. This newly resurrected Corpses answered his summon and appeared before him standing in attention. He ordered, "Give me every possession you have except the uniform you are wearing and your arms and ammunitions."
They heed his command and handed him over their belonging- coin pouches, some keys. Saunder, the great sword guy was having a backpack. He gave Arin the entire backpack. Arin searched the backpack and found a bottle of ale, two silver bars, and a few spare clothes, a rope. Arin realized, being the strongest person of the group, he must had been used to be the group's pack mule. "Go inside the castle and clean each room one by one until I give you further command!" Arin gave command, and then pointed towards the sleeping kids, "Protect these kids when they are around you!" The four nodded and went inside the castle. Arin called back Vireon, the Skeleton Archer, and ordered him, "Find to the highest point in the building you can access, go there, and if you see any enemy or rabid animal approaching the castle, snipe it down". Vireon the Skeleton Archer nodded and went inside to fulfill his duty.
Arin decided to try all those spare clothes, make necessary alteration, as well as clean the backpack for so that while carrying the backpack in town, no one recognizes it as one belonging to the guards. Rest of the night was spent in doing all these chores.
Next day morning, when the kids wake up they saw their big brother Arin had made a makeshift clothesline tying a thick rope (which Arin had found in the backpack) between two trees and had left clothes on it to get dried. He was now cleaning the leather backpack meticulously.
"Lisse Aure Melethron" Lumiyan spoke to Arin.
"Li..what?" Arin was puzzled.
"Don't mind this idiot" Auriya spoke, "He wanted to greet 'Good Morning Dear Brother'. 'lisse Aure' means 'Happy Day' in Mannish Tongue, I mean the language humans speak. And 'Melethron' means 'dear brother'."
"Okay" Arin nodded.
"We used to greet each other in our language only, but did not our parents teach us to greet 'Good Morning' to humans?" Auriya spanked Lumiyan's head. They started fighting, as Lumiyan said, "Big Brother is not human, so why would I speak human to him."
Arin thought a bit about this comment of this little kid. Well technically he was not a human. Nor he actually mind that. For he hated humanity to the core. But as the little boy pointed out now, suddenly he felt a bit sad. As if something very near and dear to him has been lost.
Auriya noticed this and whispered to Lumiyan, "se what you have done you idiot, you made melethron sad!"
Lumiyan rushed to Arin and said, "I am sorry brother, I didn't want to hurt you!"
Arin patted his back, "and you did not. Don't worry. Now let me introduce you to some of my people. Steel your nerve and don't get scared, okay?"
"We won't be" said the kids together.
Arin summoned all his minions, and all of them appeared to them.
Four grim looking Revenants, four scary Specters, three Draugurs and one Skeleton were standing in front of the kids.
They gulped but did not flinch or closed their eyes. They too had to prove they are not coward but brave kids.
Arin spoke to his undead minions, "These two kids are my beloved siblings. You should protect and follow them accordingly. From today onwards, their wellbeing and protection are your duty. Never forget that"
Then he looked at the kids, "you don't need to get afraid of them, they are your friends only. Alright?"
Then Arin commanded one Specter, "You will always be with them from now on, till I give you further command. Accompany them wherever they go, and protect them at any cost"
He dismissed the other eleven minions and ordered them to resume their assigned tasks. Arin advised the duo, "I am going to the nearest city. I have to do some exploration and information gathering. You two stay here, always stay together and take care of each other. I will come back soon."
"Are you leaving us?" asked Lumiyan in a teary voice. Arin knelt and hugged him, "no brother, I am not. I just need to find something there. Also, you two have an important duty. You see this castle. It is your duty to explore. I need to know everything about this castle. It is your duty now to perform it. I hope you will help your brother."
Lumiyan puffed his chest and said "yes brother, it will be done."
"I knew it" he ruffled Lumiyan's hair and said, "never be away from your sister or Mister Specter! Don't go alone, anywhere and don't take any risk!"
He then spoke to Auriya, "take care of yourself and your brother, and also there is a huge library. If you two want to explore it just ask Mister Specter. These Undeads are there to serve and guard you. So, now I am leaving. See you soon" and he waved them goodbye.
Arin also wanted to check the Adventure Guild and see if these poor kids' parents and uncle aunts were alive, so that he could reunite them. But he didn't tell this to the kids, so that they don't keep any hope only to get sad later.
He wore the hooded cloak, carried the ale, the silver bars and three pouches of gold in the backpack and one pouch of gold in his belt, and went to explore the forest in hope of finding an way to the nearest town.