Today is a day of celebration as I just hit chapter 80 on my backlog! I will be spamming chapters soon :)
I was on high alert as I rummaged through my bags. All the vital potions were kept on Alinore's person, so I wasn't worried about them getting tampered with. My biggest concern was our food supply. I brought out all of the food and quickly laid it out. "Alinore, Carter, I need you to check over our food supplies for any sort of tampering. Mostly magic, and or poison."
I started pulling out whatever equipment I left behind and quickly inspected it. I ran my fingers across them, looking for any breaks or any spell residue. "Foods clear, Redrick. No sense of any magic in it." Alinore's soft voice filled the cabin.
"No poison, at least from mid-tier down, is present. I doubt anyone would use anything higher than that here." I nodded my head and sat back.
"Just check over the equipment, Alinore, see if anyone left a spell on it." It was stupid leaving our equipment here. I was fully expecting us to be alone here, and no one else was allowed in the domain until we completed our investigation. But the presence of a high-level teleportation spell was troublesome.
I stood up and limped over to the window and glanced outside of it, and looked around. This place has defied all levels of expectations. Nothing here makes sense. The undead was unlike anything I have ever dealt with. They were utterly devoid of any controlling factor and seemed to make choices on their own. They were even fighting amongst themselves. It really made me even more curious. Who was the Empress? What power did she possess to make them act this way? Was she a friend or foe?
With a sigh, I tore my gaze from the outside and limped back over to the couch. Alinore was still busy inspecting the bags and equipment. Gunther had already passed out on one of the couches. The cuts on his body were rapidly healing from the potion he had drunk earlier. Those praetorians were powerful. I probably could have beaten them if they weren't spirits, but that was neither here nor there. We would have to be more careful and not split up anymore; if any of those praetorians caught us on our own, we would be screwed.
We all sat in silence until Carter spoke up. "So, Redrick, what's the plan for now?"
"For now, we lie low. I have no idea what ringing that bell did, and to be honest with you, I'd much rather lie low for some time, at least until we figure out what's next." I settled onto the couch and laid back. Little flairs of pain coursed through my body. I really hated having to use side-step more than I needed to. This pain sucks.
"Fair. Alinore and I will take our first watch then. Once you wake up, we can rotate out." I nodded my head in agreement as my eyelids grew heavy.
"Alright, I'll only be a moment," I told him as I threw my arm over my eyes in an attempt to keep out some of the ambient light from keeping me awake longer than I had to be.
When I woke up, my body was pulled taunt, and my muscles were sore. I pulled myself off of the couch and could feel my bowels twisting, crying out to be relieved. I sat up and wiped away my bleary eyes and glanced around the room. Gunther was awake and was staring outside. His hand on his staff, poised and ready for action. I shoved down whatever I was feeling and kept myself low to the ground as I made my way over to him.
"What is it?" I asked as soon as I was close enough to him to whisper."The undead are on the move. But this time, it's the military." I tore my gaze from his face and looked outside and saw a small formation of undead marching down the road. It was composed of primary zombies, all using swords, followed by a few skeletons that wore heavily padded gloves. Leading the front was a spirit with a spear. They were all equally spaced and marched with purpose down the road as if they were looking for something.
"Ah, well, now we finally know what that bell did. It seems the military here is still very alive and well. What are your thoughts on the matter?" I pulled away from the window and walked over to the table. Ignoring the desire to use the restroom, at least until I knew we were safe.
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"I'm not sure, Redrick. I detest the undead with everything I have. To me, they are nothing more than mindless husks, but the ones here are different. They are smarter and more dangerous than before, and it doesn't bode well for the rest of the world." He pulled away from the window and walked back towards the couch.
"I disagree. Maybe we should find this Empress that the ferryman was talking about. If we find her, we can get some questions answered. The mobs here are tough, but they don't seem interested in the outside world. All they really seem to care about is staying here and patrolling." I rifled through the papers on the table, seeing if I could find anything of use. Something that would give us more information about these lands.
"While that may be true, think about what the rest of the world will think. Unless we can prove beyond any doubt that this domain means no harm to the outside world, Velcrest is going to be up in arms about destroying this place. I know you don't want this place destroyed, but from where I'm standing, this place is unnatural. The dead walking once more isn't right." He glared at me, anger burning in his eyes.
"I understand that, Gunther. I do. The undead bothers me just as much. With all the stigmas surrounding them, it's only natural for them to be hated, but just think about what this place can offer. Actual combat against foes with classes and not monsters. Gunther, two of those mobs who pressured us to no end almost killed us, and we aren't pushovers. Imagine what the adventurer's guild can get out of this; better yet, imagine what Corinthinia's military can get. We can finally rise out of the shadows of Velcrest, and most of all, we can retire and never have to do this ever again." I put the papers down and stared at him, begging him to understand what I was coming from.
"Yes, but what if this Empress decided she was tired of just sitting here and set her sights on the outside? Redrick, necromancers, do not control these zombies. The skeletons do not have a core, and ghost and spirits are wandering around here without a worry. Hell, just one of those praetorian neophytes could tear through an entire squad of infantry without a problem, and if we infer that a neophyte is the lowest of the ladder, just imagine what something higher can do. This place has too many variables, Redrick. There is too much that we do not know."
I gritted my teeth and clenched my fingers around the edge of the table. He was right. I know he was. But I needed this place to exist. I need the rewards and the fame. I can't keep living like this. "Listen, Gunther, let's find the Empress then and see for ourselves what this place is. I just can't let this place get destroyed without a fight. We change the world with this discovery, and most of all, we can finally stop being adventurers."
The vein on his head twitched, and he clenched his jaw. I know he doesn't want the undead to live, but all I had to do was convince them and the rest of my team. "Fine. We will find the Empress and figure out her plans." I released a pent-up breath.
"Thank you." He nodded his head and stood back up, and walked back towards the window. I looked around the kitchen before I used the restroom and finished exploring this place.
Once I returned, I looked at all the newspapers and thought about what I had to do. I needed to talk to Carter and Alinore. We really have spoken little since we arrived, and Alinore was a woman of few words, and Carter was, well, Carter. I needed to get their input on the matter, and I just felt as if I was neglecting them lately.
I sighed as I went through the stack of papers, hoping to find something of use. Something that could shed some light about the area that I was in, and most importantly, the location of the Empress. Using what I knew as a noble, I had two thoughts. The first is that I would be in the capital. Seeing as how this place isn't quite that large, that left me with a second option. A heavily fortified military encampment.
There was an even louder bell that rang out before all hell broke loose. So we would have to look there. If we were unlucky and couldn't find her there, I still had the summoning stone. I wasn't even sure if the Empress was the core of the domain, so I was rolling a die on using it. If I used it and found out she wasn't, I would risk my life and the teams. If I used it, and she is, I could still potentially be risking my team. I knew how hard mobs fought to protect a dungeon core, and I would be a fool to think that a domain core would be any different.
"Gunther, once Carter and Alinore wake up, I'm going to talk to them and figure out how they feel about this place and tell them about the plan. Afterward, we are going to explore more." He nodded his head but said nothing else. No doubt he was still angry about how things went.
As I was looking through the newspaper, I caught a mention of the praetorians. I set the rest of the stack down and skimmed through it. It really only mentioned how, under the guidance of Alessia, the praetorian guard was reorganized and subject to a new training process by decree of the Empress. As I read, I realized precisely what they were. They were the personal guard. That would explain why they were so strong. I set the paper down on the table with no small amount of stress. This was going to be much harder than I thought. I gave my hip a pat and felt the stone press against me. Perhaps I would use this, but I would have to find the right time.