Valkyrie's Shadow

The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 2, Chapter 4

The Tiger and the Dragon: Act 2, Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“At least let me wash the dishes.”

“I will not! If some grim fate befalls you, I will not be able to forgive myself as your adjutant.”

“You are joking about that, I hope.”

“Perhaps, but you have also been working very hard. Save your energy for what must be done today.”

Alessia returned to her task once Themis retreated, scrubbing away at a stubborn fragment stuck on the clay dish in her hands. Warden’s Vale was a place of many dangerous temptations that tested the will of the faithful.

The first danger was that when one fell asleep at night, they might not wake in the morning. One might laugh at this assertion, but it was surely true. The rooms were warm and cosy; the beds well-crafted and soft. Sturdy walls of thick granite protected those within and the air was crisp and pure and green. All was well with the world and it was agony to leave such a comforting embrace.

If – if – one managed to overcome that challenge, they were confronted by a generosity of provision and spirit that could surely make visitors weep in shame at their own meanness. Bounty overflowed and no one was hungry or otherwise in need; they lived free of the fears that those in other places might have and readily gave of themselves to nurture their community. The experience was such that right-minded people were forced to stop and reflect on their lives and conduct.

She wiped the dishes dry, setting them aside for later use. Walking over to the latrine door, she gave it a knock.

“Themis,” she said, “are you alright? Do you need me to wipe your butt?”

“Wh-what?!” A strangled voice drifted out, “What are you asking all of the sudden?”

“I just thought I would ask.”

“No, thank you! J-just go out and do that thing you wanted to do. I will come out later.”

Come out of the latrine, or come out of the house?

Alessia went back up into her room and put on her armour. The equipment shifted slightly as it settled onto her form. She poked the light green plackart over her belly. Were they feeding her too much? An inconvenient thing about enchanted armour adjusting to the wearer was that it could be embarrassing if one did not keep a good figure.

She grabbed her warhammer and hooked it to her belt before picking up her helm and heater shield. Her boots tapped down the stairs and she made her way out the door. A thin mist blanketed the barren stone of the village square in front of the house, shrouding the landscape in all directions. The barest traces of dawn outlined the mountains to the east, but the magical lighting kept the surroundings brightly lit.

The humid chill of the morning seeped through her armour, so she cast Endure Elements using an item in one of her pouches. Darkvision came after that, causing the darkness in the surrounding shadows to recede in her sight. She walked around the perimeter of the building, checking for problems as best as a Paladin could.

A bang sounded as Alessia passed one of the windows and she jumped in shock. Themis had slammed the shutters of the latrine window shut.

She’s still in there?

Alessia shook her head and completed her circuit before crossing over the corner of the square. Barely any of the villagers were out, though a few homes had lights in their windows. She stopped in front of Baroness Zahradnik’s home, which had an exterior that did not look much different from the other shophouses lining the plaza.

The greenery in the window rustled and Lady Zahradnik poked her head out.

“Good Morning, Sister Alessia.”

“A good morning to you, domina,” Alessia bobbed her head slightly. “I must thank you again for accommodating my selfishness.”

“Think nothing of it,” the Baroness smiled. “You have come to take a break from the stresses of the city. I am more than happy to help someone who has done so much for us here in E-Rantel.”

Lady Zahradnik vanished from the window. Alessia shifted from foot to foot as she waited, a sense of happiness swirling in her heart. The Baroness was an excellent Noble, which was to say that she excelled at managing her territory and her subjects. This also meant that she was one who excelled at identifying talent and making judgements of people. If she expressed her recognition of someone such as Alessia, then it must be so.

Moreso than that, Lady Zahradnik was…what? Alessia had learned that she was Undead some months ago, but it took her a while to figure out what it might mean.

As Surshana held purview over the souls of humanity and their ultimate fate, one could reason that Lady Zahradnik had been retained to serve their god now that he was amongst them once again. Supporting this was the well-known fact that she was not just an adherent of Surshana, but a living paragon of their ways. Well, unliving now.

Even that part called to attention the touch of their god. She was Undead, yet Human. An Undead Human…which sounded stupid unless one considered the whole rather than the individual. When a Human died, there were two avenues for the soul: the faithful would be granted eternal peace while infidels would be granted eternal suffering. Ludmila Zahradnik was a living saint who was granted neither. Instead, she was bestowed the honour of eternal service to the god of death.

She was chosen by Surshana – an enviable existence for any follower of The Six, particularly by adherents of Surshana.

Despite this incalculably lofty distinction, the Baroness did not change. At least as far as Alessia could discern from those who were well-acquainted with her. She continued her observance of their tenets and did not falter in her duties. She did not exult in whatever powers she had been granted but remained humble and pious. That she continued to be what she always was served as proof that she was worthy of being chosen.

As far as Alessia knew, not many were aware of what Baroness Zahradnik now was. Countess Corelyn knew, as did the Elder Lich captain of the Ruin’s Wake. The Sorcerer King of course knew and the Baroness had confessed her new state of being to Themis, who had served as her Cleric since she had been ordained. Beyond that, they didn’t know who knew, so they continued to interact with her as if she were still a Human.

Alessia released a wistful sigh. To serve their god for all eternity. How wonderful would that be? She would rather be doing that than being eternally peaceful somewhere. Not that she was ungrateful for Surshana’s peace should it be His will for her.

The door to the Baroness’ home opened and Lady Zahradnik appeared. Following her was a tree, followed by another tree which was carried by a Death Knight. The first tree was a Dryad known to the villagers as Glasir, who was treated as Lady Zahradnik’s daughter. Alessia was not sure what to think about that yet.

Behind the Death Knight came Countess Corelyn. After her followed Aemilia and Taiya, the two Nobles’ Lady’s Maids. One of the Death Knight footmen standing guard at the entrance fell into step behind them.

They made their way over to the wagon stop, where they boarded an open-air passenger wagon that could accommodate Glasir’s tree. The wagon’s Soul Eater conveyed them south towards the citadel district.

“So this army base,” Alessia said. “You mean to start raising Rangers for the Royal Army, domina?”

“They already started training last spring,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “My training regimen for Rangers is very different from that of Squires.”

“How so?”

“They do Ranger things,” the Baroness said. “If I understand it correctly, the curriculum for Squires and Acolytes is one part basic education, one part religious education – including their role in the ministry – and one part combat education. Combat education is divided between classroom lectures, martial drills and live combat. For Rangers, we have one part basic education, one part survival education and one part combat education.”

Alessia nodded. Despite how distinct from one another vocations could be, curriculums were still structured similarly. The question was what went into the parts that differed.

“What goes into survival education? How is instruction handled? I believe you were away for much of the winter, so do other Rangers teach them?”

“I have a combination of things going on,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “Rangers have several areas of expertise that overlap with those of other vocations. Civilians in forestry, for instance, share much of the same natural knowledge and woodland skills. It’s to the point that I suspect that they are ‘Rangers’ themselves, or at least they partially are. Alchemists can identify and forage plants and other natural resources. Druids can do the same and they have a survival skillset as well.”

“But does that not present a risk of them advancing as those other vocations?” Countess Corelyn asked.

“No more than Miss Alpha teaching arithmetic turns her students into Monks,” the Baroness answered. “Temple education is much the same, is it not? Squires and Acolytes both undergo religious training, but having a Priest as an instructor does not mean that the Squire is suddenly an Acolyte. At any rate, the survival portion is split into ‘classroom’ education – where the students are instructed on natural lore – and a practicum that has them out in the woods around Warden’s Vale.”

“…you don’t make them wrestle Ogres and ride bears, do you?”

“Maybe later,” Lady Zahradnik said. “For the time being, the Ranger apprentices function as my village’s Rangers once did. They patrol the woods around their homes, trapping game and foraging for food and useful resources. Their home villages are quite appreciative of the variety that they add to local cuisine, and our Alchemical reagents are always well-stocked.”

This was the way of many villages that bordered the wild. While Rangers were commonly seen as warriors, the day-to-day roles that they served were far more significant to the civilian population.

“They don’t get attacked by wild animals?” Countess Corelyn’s brows drew together in worry.

“Rangers have Skills that help them deal with wild animals,” the Baroness replied. “If all else fails, they have Undead escorting them as well.”

“What about their combat training?” Alessia asked.

“Combat training has not started yet.”

“Eh…I suppose it is not necessary in the Royal Army…”

“It is not so much that it is unnecessary in the Royal Army as it is unnecessary at this point in their training. Rangers do not need to fight to become stronger – they need only function as Rangers. More importantly, they need to learn how to survive in the wild before anything else.”

“That sounds ridiculously ominous when you say that,” Lady Corelyn frowned.

Lady Zahradnik rolled her eyes.

“When they are not attending classes, they are out in the woods performing their duties. All of them come home before sunset…for now.”

She was very good at making things sound ominous, even when explaining why things weren’t ominous.

Their wagon went right after it entered the citadel district heading towards a set of long buildings. Alessia eyed the grey granite structures, which formed a row along the road to the dam.

“These look like the dormitories on the other side…no, they are your army barracks?”

“They are,” the Baroness nodded. “The occupants are one hundred per cent Undead at the moment, but my Ranger trainees will join them once I deem them fit to begin army training.”

“Hum…barracks for Undead. The ones in the city usually stand around the same places forever.”

“They will happily do so if they are assigned to some active duty, but the duty of those assigned here is to wait for orders. In the meantime, I have them train and learn what they can alongside their units. Since it is much like what living soldiers would do here, I decided that they should live like soldiers. My Rangers will be working alongside the Undead for their entire careers, so they need to learn to live with them as well.”

The wagon stopped in front of what appeared to be an administrative office and they disembarked to go around to the other side. The clash of blades filled the air long before they came into view of a stony field. There, two rows of Death-series servitors were watching a duel between a Death Knight and a Death Warrior from the sidelines.

“Who is the instructor here?” Alessia asked.

“No one,” Lady Zahradnik answered. “Though the more experienced ones might count as that. If many of them spar every day, they gradually improve…well, they learn how to fight each other better.”

“They are probably overwhelming enough as they are,” Alessia said. “Heathen Priests around the world will probably cry if they find out that someone is training the Undead to become stronger.”

“Do you know much about religions around the world?”

“No,” Alessia admitted, “but most appear to dislike the Undead. Ours are uncommonly nice, yes?”

Naturally spawned Undead were generally accepted to be the enemies of the living, and this was no exception in the Theocracy. Intelligent Undead could vary widely, but they were few and far between. All religions came up with some justification to destroy them – the primary ones being that they were ‘evil’ or were detrimental to the world somehow. Most did not differentiate summoned Undead from ‘wild’ Undead so the development of Necromancy-school magic for all categories of magic casters was usually limited to anti-Undead spells.

“I wonder about that,” the Baroness said. “Mindless Undead are Mindless Undead, but I would like to find communities of Undead in other places to see what they are like. Large negative energy zones like the Katze Plains must exist elsewhere.”

Lady Zahradnik seemed strangely optimistic about her prospects, so maybe becoming one of the Undeadhad changed a few things about her after all. Alessia didn’t think that any living being would consider her outlook very reasonable.

The two sparring Undead ended their match, which looked like they had simply been trying to outlast one another. Like Paladins, Blackguards and other defensive warriors, Death Knights had strong defence but weak offence. Death Warriors were the opposite, though Alessia thought that a Death Warrior would have the advantage if it employed its ranged weaponry before closing.

A Death Priest tended to the damaged combatants while the next pair started their bout.

“If they must heal after sparring,” Alessia said, “they cannot train indefinitely, yes?”

“Each squad has its own schedule,” the Baroness said. “They used to go on patrols every few days, but more Undead show up every week so patrol slots are becoming increasingly scarce. When not on patrol, they still stay with their squads and will spar like this until their healers reach half mana. Between sparring sessions, they will attend lectures and reviews by the Elder Lich sergeants. Outside of that is time to rest.”

“Rest?” Alessia frowned, “But I thought Undead do not tire.”

“They do not physically tire, but mental fatigue can still build up. I suppose you can call it a relaxation period rather than a time for rest. They are free to pursue their interests if they develop any.”

“Hmm…what sort of interests do they have?”

“Spectating fights, for the most part. Sometimes they will go watch the league battles. It is not much, but it is a start. At some point, I want to see if they can be taught to read. They are not as smart as the Elder Liches, but, at the same time, eternal illiteracy doesn’t sound very nice at all.”

“What would Death Knights read?” Alessia frowned.

“Romance, perhaps? Once the living join them, my hope is that things will become more lively and they’ll pick up new things faster.”

The next pair of Death-series servitors finished their bout, which looked very much like the previous one. Alessia wondered whether it was because they always fought that way or if they all just ended up fighting that way after so many matches.

“Are you ready, Sister Alessia?”

“Y-yes, domina!”

“Are you sure about this, Sister Alessia?” Countess Corelyn furrowed her brow worriedly, “This is a Death Knight you wanted to fight…”

“I have been wanting to fight one since I first came to the Sorcerous Kingdom,” she replied. “They are the strongest Undead warriors known to manifest in the Katze Plains, so it is much like trying something you have only heard about before…I think?”

“She sounds like this whenever she discovers a new food stand as well,” Lady Zahradnik smiled slightly. “I do not believe you will be able to digest this meal so easily, however.”

“Well, I do not think I can win,” Alessia replied. “I just want to see how I fare. Maybe I will come across some inspiration for further improvement.”

She unclipped her warhammer from her belt. Its head glowed faintly with cool, holy light as she activated its passive effect. She followed the Baroness out to stand in the exercise field.

“We have a special guest with us today,” Lady Zahradnik’s clear voice sounded over the wind. “This is Alessia di Altamura, a Paladin of Surshana. Sister Alessia has expressed her interest in your training and would like to have a practice bout with one of you. I hope you will take this opportunity to learn new things from one another.”

Alessia turned and bobbed her head in greeting to both sides.

“Good morning,” she said. “Erm, I do not know how you select combatants here, so please choose one Death Knight to come and fight with me.”

The Undead all around the exercise field exchanged glances with one another. Several Elder Liches conferred for a minute or two before they split up again and one of the Death Knights stomped out in front of Alessia. Its apparent strength aside, its two hundred thirty centimetre height was imposing relative to Alessia’s one hundred sixty-five.

“Thank you for accommodating my request,” Alessia lowered her head politely. “I will be in your care.”

Shifting metal plates sounded as the Death Knight returned her bow. Did it not have magic armour? No, that should be correct. Undead came with whatever they came with, which was usually unenchanted equipment suitable for their strength. Any naturally-spawned Undead had to upgrade its items much like anyone else would.

She eyed the crimson tracery flowing over its black armour like veins of blood, and then her gaze went to its flamberge, which was shrouded in a pulsing black-red aura. Did that mean that the seemingly-magical effect was simply for appearances as well?

I guess I will just have to find out.

“How do we start?” Alessia asked.

The Death Knight lowered itself into a defensive stance, tapping its shield with the tip of its weapon.

It wants me to start, huh. In that case…

“?Lesser Strength?.”

“?Halo of Smiting?.”

“?Protection from Evil?.”

Alessia raised her heater shield and let out a laugh as the Death Knight’s weapon slammed into it. Lady Zahradnik said they weren’t as smart as Elder Liches, but they still understood that allowing an opponent to layer enchantments on themselves was a bad idea.

She pushed her shield up slightly and drove her warhammer into the Death Knight’s exposed wrist. The pressure against her shield vanished as it jerked its sword hand away.

Nothing broken; its defence is very strong…

Alessia sidestepped around the Death Knight’s left, who kept its shield between itself and her. It would be difficult to inflict physical harm, but, at the same time, its strikes did not require Martial Arts for her to defend against. It was also not so fast that she required enhancements to her perception to follow. Since it was Undead, however, it could fight without tiring and those who used mundane equipment would find their shields and weapons being taken apart.

Power flowed through her as her Halo of Smiting refreshed one of its charges. The spell was one of the ways through which a Paladin compensated for their poor offence relative to other types of warriors. Every twenty seconds, it would refresh one charge – up to a maximum of three. A Paladin could allocate a charge to one of their attacks, which would deal additional damage if it connected with its target. If they missed or the attack was otherwise successfully defended against, the charge would be wasted.

Since Paladins usually spent more time defending than attacking, the spell had the effect of making the attacks that they did perform count for a bit more.

She took an experimental swing at the Death Knight, but her weapon simply bounced off of its shield. The charge in her halo dissipated.

This shield is too crazy…

The thing was taller than she was by more than a head and wider besides. Normally, an opponent with such a large and unwieldy shield would tire quickly, but being Undead negated that. She blocked three more strikes of the Death Knight’s flamberge before activating Ability Boost and striking back. Her attack was thwarted again.

Should I wear down and break its shield with sundering attacks? No – if it cannot be repaired, it would be too pitiful for the Death Knight.

“?Greater Ability Boost?.”

Alessia pushed forward, locking her shield against the Death Knight’s. Her warhammer came in low, reaching around to smack the Death Knight in its left thigh. It tried to push her away, but didn’t appear to be strong enough to do so. Finally, the tip of its sword came in over her shield, as if in imitation of her own attack.

She drove her shield upward, deflecting the sword away and backing out of melee range. Her steps scraped over the stone as she resumed circling around it. From the way it moved to face her, it appeared that her attacks against its leg hadn’t done enough to hobble its movement.

If it will not take significant injuries against me in melee, then why does it not press in?

Was it being considerate of her? Or was it fighting under certain assumptions that it had developed? It could probably wear out its opponents by simply struggling in close quarters with them…or perhaps that was the reason why. If it assumed that Alessia functioned as one of the tireless Undead, staying in close quarters and taking damage without giving any back was a losing prospect.

Alessia cast a spell.

“?Banehammer – Undead?!”

Her weapon flared with bright blue flames. The Death Knight roared and charged forward, its shield leading the way. She didn’t wait for it to arrive.

“?Shukuchi?!”

She closed the distance to her opponent’s right side in an instant. Pivoting as the Death Knight continued to charge by, she took her warhammer in both hands and directed it against its right hip.

“?Boneshatter?!”

It was a combination potent enough to destroy an unprepared Elder Lich in one hit. The Death Knight, however, simply kept going, slowed to a stop and turned around with its shield raised. Alessia felt that she had done a good amount of damage to it, but it betrayed no sign of injury.

The Death Knight renewed its assault, alternating between its sword and shield as it bashed at her defences in rhythmic cadence. It only gained momentum as it drove her back, so she led it around to mitigate the buildup. She tightened her manoeuvring, exploiting its size and mass against it. The Death Knight only humoured her with its single-minded determination, growing less threatening as it struggled to make effective attacks.

It is just like fighting the Undead…but why does that seem strange?

More than strange, it was annoying her – but not because she was being slowly worn down. The principal advantages of the Undead were that they were untiring, did not need to eat and did not suffer from critical damage. Debilitating injuries were only so if they lost a part of their bodies.

What was annoying her was that the Death Knight was relying solely on those advantages combined with its raw power. If she were a rank-and-file soldier it would surely have been a terrifying thing, cleaving limbs and entire bodies apart with every swing. She was not a rank-and-file soldier, however, and the Death Knight only felt like a stronger copy of Alessia flailing away with tireless, yet mundane attacks.

“?Fortress?.”

She stopped the Death Knight in its tracks, but it continued beating away at her shield.

“?Repulse?!”

As the Death Knight stumbled back from her Martial Art, Alessia cast a spell.

“?Second Wind?.”

Her fatigue vanished. The Death Knight caught its balance and charged forward again, but Alessia simply straightened, raising her weapon before her visor as if in salute.

“?Mark of Justice?.”

The dark flamberge of her opponent cleaved down at her shoulder.

“?Fortress?.”

Crimson eyes glared down at her. A smile crossed Alessia’s lips.

“You should not attack so thoughtlessly,” she told the Death Knight.

It roared in response, raising its flamberge and bringing it down in another savage swing. Her shield intercepted the attack and the Death Knight resumed its barrage of blows. After five hits, however, it stopped and drew back.

“?Shukuchi?.”

She didn’t give it any time to think about what was going on. The world shifted as she appeared beside the Death Knight again, warhammer already cocked to attack.

“?Penetrating Blow?!”

A satisfying sensation travelled up from her hand as the head of her weapon buried itself in the Death Knight’s armoured leg.

“?Holy Strike?!”

Alessia channelled holy power into her weapon. A bright blue flash emanated from the gaps in the Death Knight’s armour as she sent the Skill’s energy straight into its body. Then it punched her in the head.

Her head snapped back. She flew several metres and rolled over the ground. The Death Knight came running after her and she continued rolling along to avoid the series of vicious stabs sparking against the stone in her wake. When she finally stopped and looked up, she found the Death Knight towering atop her with its tower shield gripped overhead in both hands.

Eh…

“?Fortress?!”

The shield whipped down and stopped against her body. It went up and came down again as the Death Knight tried to smash her flat against the stones.

“?Fortress?!”

This time, Alessia gripped the giant piece of black metal with her shield hand and went up with it. She arced through the air, flipping over and landing on the Death Knight’s shoulders. Gripping its helmed head between her thighs, she started whacking it with her weapon.

It took the Death Knight several tries to dislodge her. She was sent spinning through the air as the Undead warrior flung her across the field. Her vision swirled and she landed on all fours, gauntlets and boots scraping over the ground.

Alessia rose to her feet, lowering herself into a defensive stance as the Death Knight charged forward again.

?The match is over.?

The Death Knight instantly stopped. They bowed to one another before returning to the sidelines. Alessia healed herself and used her Trooper’s Towel to clear away all signs of her duel.

“I am afraid to ask, domina,” she said, “but how badly did I lose?”

“You made it about a third of the way through the Death Knight before you yourself reached half,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “I do not believe I have ever seen you fight seriously before, but this was quite a surprise. Your fighting style is distinctly ‘Paladin’, but at the same time it is very different from what most would probably expect it to be.”

“Mmh…I hear this all the time from the fellows at the Adventurer Guild,” Alessia said. “To be fair, they are probably at least half-correct. Even in the Theocracy – which I believe has the most advanced Paladin Orders – many fight in the way that you are likely thinking of. Those who fight as I do are in the minority. In most cases, it is far easier to outlast your enemies and bludgeon them to death. They go around dispatching armies one enemy at a time.”

“Still, I find your way of fighting very impressive. Was that ‘Holy Strike’ one of the Martial Arts you spoke of with holy attributes?”

“No, that one is a basic Paladin Skill,” Alessia replied, then frowned. “Now that you mention it, I did not use any of those. I would have done much better had I…you see? Even I fall victim to that mentality.”

“I suppose we will see them the next time,” the Baroness said. “Actually, have you had any…episodes with Holy energy damage?”

Alessia tilted her head curiously.

“Episodes, domina?”

“Well, this happened before the winter, but I was damaged by a holy weapon and I may have broken down on the spot.”

“Ah…yes, what you speak of is something that happens. People with incomplete understanding attribute holy element attacks to the will of the gods. This happened with me two years ago, but in reverse.”

“In reverse?”

“It is a funny story…probably. I learned my first holy attribute Strike Art around two years…no, over two years ago and used it on Brother Marcus while we were sparring. Since he took damage from the attack, I somehow convinced myself that he had been possessed or replaced by some evil thing. Then I spent the rest of the day trying to kill him.”

She had very nearly gotten a number of other people to join in the hunt for Brother Marcus. It was a good memory.

“…that is pretty funny,” Lady Zahradnik smiled slightly.

“How is that funny?” Lady Corelyn frowned, “I have dozens of Squires who cannot mentally keep pace with their physical growth. Am I going to have a bunch of murdered Paladins on my hands at some point?”

“Eh…that is not likely, comitessa,” Alessia assured her. “Most Squires do not learn those Strike Arts until after they are ordained. If it does happen, you may consider yourself blessed for having a promising Squire in the local ranks.”

An Elder Lich came over from where the Death Knight was being healed.

“For the sake of mana efficiency,” it said, “we request that you dispel the curse you placed upon your sparring partner.”

“Ah, sorry about that,” Alessia said with a wave of a hand. “Done.”

“You cursed the Death Knight?” Ludmila asked.

“Mark of Justice was the curse,” Alessia answered with a nod.

“Aren’t curses Necromancy-school magic?”

“They are. What, you think Paladins cannot cast Necromancy-school spells? They are quite handy, you know.”

Baroness Zahradnik had fairly extensive knowledge when it came to spells and their applications, but, by her own admission, she had recently gained that knowledge from her studies in demesne development and military affairs. They started making their way back to the wagon as they discussed the match.

“So what does it do?” Lady Zahradnik asked.

“Mark of Justice? It is a curse that triggers when a certain condition is met. This one is mostly used in law enforcement. Say that there is a thief who is a repeat offender. A Paladin can cast Mark of Justice on them. The condition would be ‘do not steal’ or something along those lines. If the target attempts to steal again, they will be punished by the curse – usually inflicting damage on the target to dissuade them.”

“What was the curse condition that you placed on the Death Knight?”

“You may not have heard it, but I said ‘You should not attack so thoughtlessly’. The Death Knight did not heed me, so the curse was triggered many dozens of times. Speaking of which, domina, I recommend that you find a combat instructor for these Death-series servitors. They are, how do you say…you are correct that they are developing bad habits in fighting only themselves.”

“That is one of the many things that I need to see to,” the Baroness sighed. “The northern army group is far better trained because they have a larger variety of experienced warriors to spar with. My current thought is to suggest rotating squads between army groups, but what we really need is instructors to not lag behind and develop combat techniques for the training environments here. I am falling behind on my personal training as well: there is so much to do and so little time.”

“What about Adventurer training sessions?” Alessia recommended, “Things only continue to improve with them. Many think highly of you, so they would welcome your participation with open arms.”

“I would very much like to,” Lady Zahradnik replied. “The past few months have taught me much and I would like to see how I fare with what I have learned. Unfortunately, we will have our hands full between the Draconic Kingdom and everything else that will be going on.”

Baroness Zahradnik’s Undead state lent her many advantages. One of these was that slow, careful development based on her accumulated experiences was a viable option. Mortal Human beings had limited time to achieve what they could in life and so had to take risks with their growth.

“I believe that your trials are a blessing from the gods, domina,” Alessia told her. “All sorts of interesting experiences relevant to your vocation always seem to flow your way. Most are not so fortunate.”

“Of course, Sister Alessia,” Lady Zahradnik nodded. “My impatience often makes me forget this. Thank you.”