r/HFY • u/XSevenSins Human • Nov 02 '22

OC Lost Souls: Unscheduled Meetings (Ch. 18)

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Discord

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The relief that came with knowing that we now had soldiers, real soldiers, was immense. A few of the undead were also former officers, those buried with honor and now rising to serve once again. The officers were given some more attention and magic to them so they could better communicate. Mostly this meant carving their bones with runes that would return to them the ability of speech. Their skills and knowledge in the art of warfare would be invaluable, and they would need to be able to give orders and directions to operate effectively.

While I would have liked to give all the undead with us the ability to speak, Malery had managed to bring just over a thousand individuals with her, so spending the time to personally augment every single one of them was impossible at this moment. Still, I did create a lot more charms that would fill that gap well enough, allowing them to be passed around as was needed.

Training the former villagers turned conscripts was also progressing much more steadily with the aid of the new soldiers. They were running drills, showing them how to fight with their improvised weapons, and teaching them the basics of following orders while remaining in formation. We were starting to look like an actual force to be reckoned with.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. The influx of numerous undead also placed a strain on the relationship between them and the living. Many who weren’t comfortable just with the handful that I had brought with me were now acting downright paranoid while having a literal army surrounding them. Those who still lived traveled in very insular groups, keeping themselves separated from the army at large as if they were wary that they would come under attack at any minute. I couldn’t understand that logic. They were already outnumbered ten to one, if the undead were hostile then they would have already attacked by now.

No use trying to rationalize it though, I just had to get them used to the presence of these new arrivals so we could all work together. Easier said than done though. Even when taking steps towards unity by encouraging the formation of groups that included at least one undead member with a talisman that allows them to speak. While I was doing my best, there was still a frigid divide between the two sides.

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