Chapter Fourteen - Boney Battalion

I gave the gathered undead a friendly, skeletal grin. It had been some time since I’d seen so many of the walking dead in one place, and of such variety too. Skeletal warriors, zombies of all sorts, and most interesting of all, grafted abominations.

There was definitely some nice variation among the hundred or so undead around us, and I could sense far more below the flattened earth we stood upon.

A glance revealed that many of the fish skulking about were little more than bones as well, and many of the buildings had the bleached-whiteness of skeletal constructions. This entire fortress was a large, unliving creature.

“Impressive work, lieutenant,” I said.

“Master, do you know this, um, skeleton?” the limpet asked. She was eyeing the many undead around us with something nearing nervousness. Perhaps she imagined they were all on a level similar to Alex or myself, which wouldn’t be a terribly unintelligent conclusion to reach. Entirely wrong, but not unwise.

“I know of him, yes,” I said. I turned to the lieutenant, and before explaining, asked a rather simple question. “Do you have a name?”

The skeleton stood taller. “I have been addressed as Seventeen, my lord. That is the recorded name I used in my union papers.”

I nodded. That would make things simpler for the limpet. “I see, then I hope you don’t mind me addressing you as Seventeen.”

“Of course not, my lord. It would be an honour.”

“Now, how can I explain this,” I began. “See, some time ago, I found myself in need of an army. This is merely a few hundred years after I discovered planeshifting, and before I’d killed more than a few gods. As it turns out, some of the very interesting worlds I wished to study were somewhat hostile. I didn’t wish to clear them out on my own, so I decided to raise an army of the undead to do so for me.”

The limpet blinked.

“Now, the issue, one that I suspect you’ll learn eventually, is that when raising the undead, you need to actually do a fair amount of work. As you gain experience and skill, this is made easier, but still, it’s not as simple as waving a hand and conjuring an army, especially when that army will be operating far from home.”

“Okay,” the limpet said. I wasn’t entirely sure she was keeping up, but understanding most of what I said was good enough for now.

“That is why I created something of a shortcut. Most traditional armies have officers at their heads, and I decided to copy this chain of command. Some sorts of undead are smarter than others, and more suited to leading forces. Others can use magic of one sort or another, making them quite versatile. Seventeen here is an example of a lieutenant, one of the lower officer ranks.”

The limpet nodded slowly, then looked over to Seventeen. “So, mist--Lieutenant Seventeen was made by you a long time ago?”

Seventeen shook his head. “I’m afraid I never had that honour. The Father of Bones, hollowed be his marrow, created the Major who made the Captain who gave me unlife.”

“Self-propagating military forces are wonderful at avoiding some logistical issues,” I said.

“Wow,” the limpet said. “That’s really neat. Could I do something like that?”

I tapped my chin. “Perhaps one day, but not anytime soon. First, let’s see if you can improve to the point that you can raise one undead. We will have to see from there.”

“I look forward to it, Master!” the limpet said. She looked a little less nervous now that she was aware of the chain of command.

Lieutenant Seventeen saluted. “Sir, if you wish, I can have guest rooms prepared for you and your companions. Or, I can marshal our forces right away. We can be ready to raid any city within the hour.”

I nodded. “I believe we will be staying here, at least for the night. Alex, that is, my maid here, can prepare things, if you don’t mind. Merely show him the guest quarters.”

“Of course,” the Lieutenant said. He snapped a finger with a bony crack that let out a faint pulse of magic that traveled through the waves. A pair of skeletons slid out of the ranks to the side. They moved with a strange floatiness, and I suspected that they were more used to marching under the waters than above them.

Alex packed up a few things from the carriage, gave some to Rem, then followed after the skeletons. “Um, should I stay?” the limpet asked.

“Follow with them, if you wish, I have some things to discuss with Lieutenant Seventeen here.”

The limpet nodded, and soon she, and her dog, were following after the others.

“What do you wish to discuss, my lord?” Seventeen asked.

I clasped my hands together at the small of my back. “A few things. Am I right to imagine that the forces arrayed here are but a portion of the army garrisoned at this fortress?”

“My lord is quite astute,” he said.

“No need for such compliments, it was little more than an observation. Would it be bounderish of me to ask if I might inspect them?”

Seventeen saluted, his suspenders snapping as he let them loose. “Oh of course not, my lord. They are at your disposal. Please, follow me.”

I followed after the skeletal necromancer as he led me to the great turtle in the middle of the fortress. “I came here on account of some curiosity, I didn’t expect to find such a force awaiting me,” I said. “Though, it might be for the best. I was looking to raise a small number of undead very soon.”

“We are entirely at your disposal, my lord,” Seventeen said.

“Ah, but it isn’t I who needs the army,” I said. “It’s my limpet.”

“Your limpet, sir?” Seventeen asked.

“The young human female following me around.” I tried to recall her name. “Fen Fang.”

“Is she a necromancer? I didn’t recognize any part of her outfit as being part of the official uniform, though perhaps she wears something more casual while travelling,” Seventeen asked.

He was obviously trying to be inconspicuous about his questions, but I could nonetheless feel some of the hesitation and worry he was hiding. I imagined raising an army for so long only to let someone as inexperienced, young, and occasionally dumb, as the limpet was worth some worrying.

“She is on the path to become one. I haven’t yet found her good enough to join the ranks of the union. The limpet is something of an experiment, and a tool. I wish to clear out some of the undesirables in the local Empire, and rectify some wrongs. That, and her class has me curious. I’ve never seen it, and I wish to see it grow.”

Seventeen opened a door in the side of the great turtle skeleton and allowed me in. The interior was lit by glowing undead fish with will-o’-wisps captured within their skeletal ribs. The lighting was a little faint, but it did follow us as we moved in deeper.

“May I enquire as to her class?” he asked.

“She’s a warlock,” I said.

“Surely the great Father of Bones has seen warlocks before.”

“Of course. But she’s a Warlock with me as her patron.”

The lieutenant almost tripped. “Incredible!”

“Do you think so?” I asked.

“Indeed, my lord. The potential alone! Please forgive me for ever holding so much as a shred of doubt.”

We reached the end of a corridor where a platform stood atop a hole. All along the walls to the sides of the platform were pegs jutting out at even intervals, and bony arms stuck out from beneath the platform where they held onto these.

Seventeen pulled a small cord and a bell rang below. The arms started to grab the pegs below them, while others let go of those above. In that way, the platform lowered itself down with only the slightest of jerks in our motion.

“Interesting bit of engineering,” I said.

“I had a surplus of arms,” Seventeen explained.

The lieutenant had been creative during his time under the ocean, at least.

The lift lowered and lowered, and if it wasn’t for darkvision, I would have been blind to what we were descending into.

As I suspected, the fortress was an unliving entity. From below, the extent of its size was revealed. Structures of bone rose around us, and massive ligaments that had to be fused together from some great undersea monsters linked together distant bones. Our lift moved along a spine with vertebrae that were nearly a necrometer tall.

“What sort of creature does the fortress resemble when deployed?” I asked.

“Merely a very large abomination, similar to a turtle with the underside of a jellyfish. It hasn’t moved in some centuries though. I’m certain that I can have it ready to deploy within a day or two.”

“Hmm. Quite tempting,” I said.

The lift reached the ground below, and I stepped out and onto rocky soil. The great cavern below the fortress was filled with caves from which I could make out hundreds of undead stacked like corded wood. Not the intelligent sort of undead, of course. Merely weaker skeletons and zombies, with the occasional will-o’-wisp-filled fish illuminating things.

Some shades were wavering through the stagnant waters to one side, and I noticed a row of caves within which larger undead resided.

“I have spent some time creating this army,” Seventeen said. “As of the latest tally, the battalion has two companies of skeletal warriors, with mixed squad compositions. That is, one thousand units in each company. One company of zombies, though their numbers have been thinned a little by rot. One heavy-assault company of larger abominations and their supporting troops, and one aerial-assault company composed of shades and will-o’-wisps.”

“So, five companies,” I said. That was approximately five thousand undead. A decent number for a beginner’s army.

“Indeed. I have squadron-sized units of mummies, nightshades, and a few squadrons of more aquatic-based undead forms, though those are generally unsuited to land combat.”

I was quite impressed. “Very well done,” I said. “I’ll have to find and inform the union about your excellent work. You seem to have spent a great deal of time experimenting on undead forms as well?”

“Merely shaping them to better suit the environment, my lord,” Seventeen said. The necromancer’s bones were practically rattling with all the praise.

“Perhaps a commendation is in order, that is, if you can provide detailed notes about your process.”

“Certainly, my lord!”

I pat him on the shoulder. “Now, if we’re going to train the limpet, it wouldn’t do to give her an entire army. Perhaps a day or two spent learning about small-unit tactics, then larger deployment strategies wouldn’t be amiss.”

“I would be honoured to assist, my lord,” Seventeen said.

“Do you have any officer units?” I asked.

“Nothing higher than a sergeant-class undead.”

So, nothing smarter than a less-than-brilliant human. Creating entire armies that weren’t entirely sentient was a fine way to do things, but I had always found that cleverness often trumped sheer overwhelming force.

Oh well, the limpet could figure that out on her own. I wouldn’t just hand her the reins to an entire army, of course, not until she deserved it, or worked some of it out on her own.

I was sure there were some small, less challenging foes she could cut her teeth on. Maybe a village or two?

We’d have to see. I was certain that no matter the end result, things would be very interesting.

***