In the middle of what was once a barren and dead wasteland was a hotspot of bustling activities. Exarchi’s fort had attracted a sizable number of human warriors looking for glory and riches. Captain Rems and his Aviognese serjents had been circulating rumors of an enigmatic warlord who paid holy warriors to smite the undead with weapons forged by the flames of Humanos. Though this sounded too good to be true at first, curiosity had proven to be the greatest bait for humankind.

Hundreds of warriors and fanatics packed up from the safety of the human fortresses and journeyed towards the forefront of the warzone. Once there, warriors would hunt and turn in heads of zombies or, even better, the cores of the undead to the drones in exchange for weapons, armor, and jewelries. The area around Exarchi’s fort was slowly cleared of the undead, thanks in part to the overly enthusiastic humans.

Who knew the promise of wealth was a very good carrot to attract the donkeys? Not even the archpriests of Humanos could convince so many warriors to move their arses out of their fortresses and to attack the undead!

Although the drones didn’t allow the humans into the inner keep of the fort, they still built rudimentary defenses around the outer castle, creating a new section of the castle for the humans to stay in. The burgeoning fort was expanded slowly as more humans moved in.

As for the drones, Exarchi mostly stayed on the ramparts of the outer sections, coordinating his forces and managing the constructions around the fort. Despite the fact that the humans were allowed to be on the outer walls, they were smart enough to leave the mysterious warlord alone, for fear of inadvertently insulting the current lord of the castle.

‘They’re moving to Section Theta-Three? I’m going to have to move fifty warrior drones to match their strength. If possible, this would discourage them from moving to the vulnerable Section Theta-One…’ Exarchi thought to himself as he looked over his command map in his mind.

After moving his men around, he went back to his normal mode only to find Rems, the Rhankish captain, leaning against the rampart walls. He, too, was staring at the deadlands.

Just as Exarchi was about to leave, Rems spoke out to him, “Did you know this land used to be owned by a once mighty group of people?”

“What?”

“Surprising, isn’t it? The lands used to be so fertile, so rich. An empire was built upon these stretches of endless graveyards. Back when our ancestors used to live in mud huts, these people would build stone towers that would reach the skies. While our ancestors would eat meager amounts of berries, these people would feast upon meat and grain of every kind. While our ancestors were content with their wooden sticks and clubs, these people would be armed with legendary weapons that could cut forests in half.”

Exarchi turned to scenery outside the castle and asked, “And where are they now?”

Rems turned his body towards the drone and shrugged. “I don’t know. This story is only passed among the serjents in Rhankia. Even then, it is passed with hushed tones. Some say that if the priests and faithfuls of Humanos heard this, the rumormongers would be caught and bled to death.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s because…” Rems paused for a moment before finishing his sentence, “they weren’t humans.”

“They weren’t?”

Rems shook his head and explained, “It is said that they were large creatures that wore ash-colored crowns over their heads. Their screeches were so loud, you would be aware of their domineering existence from clouds away. Their skins were so leathery that not even the spears of our ancestors could pierce through them.”

“So why are you not allowed to talk about them? You people talk of the kojans openly, no?”

Rems twirled his finger in a circle and said, “Politics. The first defenders against the kojans were actually these people. They stood their ground for over three hundred years, defending the rest of the continent against the dark and foul demons. The old sages claim that they only fell because the humans, led by the Church, attacked this ancient empire from the back.”

“So?”

“Simple. The firebrands of the new faith, the Humanosians, didn’t want to acknowledge that it was the humans that unleashed the kojans to the rest of the world.” Rems waved his hands dismissively and added, “Though, it’s all rumors, so I can’t be sure. They said that the empire fell centuries ago. The story’s bound to have a lot of discrepancies.”

“And nobody knows what happened to the people that lived here?”

“Not that I know of. Anyway, it is best we don’t speak about this matter around your employer, Archpriest Agrianos. Speaking of which, he’s very worried about you and your army.”

Exarchi crossed his arms and pointed out, “I send him a report every day.”

“You do? But he doesn’t know where you are or the fact that you have a castle.”

“So? I report what I have to.”

Rems paused for a moment before asking, “If I may ask, what do you report?”

“That I am alive.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Exarchi answered with a nod. “What more does he want?”

“Never mind. I won’t meddle into other people’s business…” Rems replied. “I shall be taking my leave as it seems that you have visitors.”

Close to the fort’s entrance, Exarchi could see men wearing orange tunic over their chainmail marching in a straight, well-ordered line. In front of them, there was a particularly large man leading the warband. He took off his helmet, somehow realized that Exarchi was the one standing on the castle ramparts, and happily waved towards him.

Once they got close enough to the gates, the large man shouted, “Hi hoh, Warlord Exarchi! It is me, Oyuf af Kentfeared! Do you remember me, northman?”

“Yes, I remember. Would you prefer we continue talking like this or would you rather go inside and speak to me at a closer distance?” Exarchi replied loudly.

“You’ve a very strange sense of humor, northman!” Oyuf laughed.

“That is not one of the previously defined options, Human named Oyuf af Kentfeared!”

The human section of the fort was busy and thriving. Daring and adventurous merchants had set up stalls here and there, some even managed to snag a ‘box-quarters’ the drones would build and rent out.

In one such quarter, a baker filled a large tankard with beer, letting the froth at the top build up. He then used a knife to scrape the froth at the top and dropped the bubbly mixture onto a large bowl of brown flour. After adding water, he began kneading the mixture into a dough. But before he could go any further, there was a minor commotion outside.

Taking this chance to take a break, he rubbed his hands against his apron and went outside. “What’s going on this time?” the baker asked his assistant who was manning the bread stall outside.

“Hello, Master! It seems that an army of northerners arrived,” the young man said.

“Ah. Just like the ones who own this fort?” the baker asked.

“I don’t know, Master! I just heard that they just came from the north. They’re all the same to me.”

“Hmm. It might be a good time to spike the prices again,” the baker thought loudly as he went back into his shop.

Meanwhile, Oyuf and his warband waited in front of the gates of the inner section, waiting for Exarchi to let them in. However, the drone commander simply came down from the outer section ramparts and explained, “Nobody but us Varangians is allowed inside the inner sections.”

“Ah? Really? Not even for your old pal Oyuf?”

Exarchi studied the human from head to toe and said, “Old? I’m not sure what your age has to do with this, but I am not what you would define as a pal.”

“Bahaha! You jest!” Oyuf laughed heartily and was about to slap Exarchi’s shoulder but stopped when the drone and his surrounding bodyguard suddenly backed off and had their hands on their weapons. Oyuf mischievously smiled and explained, “Just a joke.”

Exarchi nodded slowly. “Ah. Yes. A joke.”

When the drones had returned to their usual pose, Oyuf changed the topic as if nothing happened just now, “My folks and I had heard that you give you rewards for annihilating the dead, so now the crows have smelled the scent of blood.”

Exarchi looked up to the skies then turned back to Oyuf. “It just happened so that I need a handful of warriors to supplement my next incursion.”

“Ooooh! A good fight is always welcome to me! Let’s go!” Oyuf enthusiastically replied though his men behind him didn’t look as happy.

“Now? What about your men? Do they not need to… recharge, that is to say, rest?” Exarchi asked.

“A warrior never rests if a battle looms on the horizon, right men?!” Oyuf cheered, though all he got was a few loud groans. “I also heard that the northmen’s weapons will be enough to buy farmland in Vyssium, and they’ll be happy to reward us a few once we’ve done this work!”

“OOOOOOOOH!” the Vyssians erupted. Oyuf nodded happily, but whispered to Exarchi cautiously, “You will reward us, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

At his reply, Oyuf cheered along with his men.