ALL NOVEL 62 - The Bigger Picture
The next morning, Lieze wasted no time gathering her allies in the newly-decorated living chamber. Yellowed maps - regional and otherwise - were spread across the table, the most detailed of which focused on the layout of Tonberg and its complicated districts. Such spoils had been liberated from the abandoned homes of Saptra by Marché’s followers, among other things.
“Let me declare quite frankly that our objective is to conquer the city completely.” Lieze spoke, “I am not interested in infiltrating the gentry’s political sphere or petty vandalism. Like my father before us, our thralls shall march towards the gates and bear the brunt of Tonberg’s standing army to decidedly overwhelm the final bastion of humanity in this cursed world.”
“It won’t be easy - but we already knew that, didn’t we?” Drayya rubbed her eyes, having only awoken moments ago, “Master Sokalar has already debilitated Tonberg’s army. Most of Ricta’s soldiers fled before we even arrived. It’s no wonder the siege was tilted so heavily in our favour. If only it wasn’t for that damned Gildwyrm…”
“That’s very true. But Alistair is willing to sacrifice the entire city if it means repelling the Order for good.” Marché replied, running an exasperated hand through the curls of his copper hair, “No doubt he’s already drafting citizens into the ranks of the Church. A pot-bellied commoner is no Dragon Cardinal, but…”
“A soldier is a soldier - and one less we could be doing with.” Lieze finished, “I would prefer the innocent men and women of Tonberg to remain unarmed and defenceless, if possible. Unfortunately, we have neither a strategy to take the city nor the numbers to accomplish such a feat. The second problem is fixing itself, thankfully, but the first will require some thought.”
“You can’t expect us to take the whole bloody lot at once!” Drayya argued, “When we do attack the city, it will be to establish a foothold from which to launch the rest of our attacks - and plan the first of our many defensive skirmishes.”
Lieze clicked her tongue with enough volume to catch Drayya’s attention. She was more thankful for their rekindled friendship than she would care to admit, but as a result of that, she’d been allowing the girl far too much leeway in deciding matters for herself.
“This is true.” Lieze admitted, “But turn your attention to the overabundance of manpower present within the Church’s ranks. Frankly, we don’t have enough necromancers to recuperate our potential losses from any battles, especially considering the logistics of recruiting other thralls from Tonberg’s undead-riddled sisters.”
“Well… what would you propose, then?” Drayya asked, expecting no less than a stellar response, “A war of attrition is the only way I can see this going.”
“Strategy never was your specialty, was it?” Lieze smirked, “Meeting the city head-on isn’t necessary - not after we gain a foothold, anyway. Let me remind you that beneath the streets and alleyways sprawls a labyrinth of thin, dark, and interconnected passageways - Tonberg’s foetid circulatory system.”
“...The sewers!” Marché raised his head, “Of course! Even the most zealous defenders of Tonberg would get lost in those tunnels! If we can predict the movements of soldiers above ground, we could create ambushes behind enemy lines!”
War was a game of numbers. The constitution of undead thralls numbed that disadvantage ever-so-slightly, but Lieze wasn’t about to rely on manpower to decide the fate of Tonberg. Instead of mounting an assault on the city proper, the cult would do as necromancers do and lie in wait to snap at the mistakes of their enemies, making use of every underhanded tactic available to ensure victory.
“Yes, yes, yes - this is all well and good, but we still have to barge our way into the city with thralls to gain a foothold first of all, don’t we?” Drayya asked, “They’re not just going to open the gates for us, you know? Even if we ask nicely.”
“One thing at a time. We’re still many weeks out from launching an attack. Perhaps a month or so.” Lieze replied.
“Can we afford to waste that much time?” Marché asked, “-Before the Order arrives, I mean.”
The stinging reminder of the Order’s impending arrival was something Lieze could have gone without hearing about. As soon as her father returned with a replenished army, her authority would be superseded. No longer would she be in command of the situation, but bundled in with the rest of Sokalar’s Deathguards to serve as a convenient tool.
She detested the thought. Her destiny was suddenly her own, and she had every intention of keeping a hold on it.
“Most likely not.” She admitted the fact with a frown, “All the reason to work faster. I assume your followers haven’t run into any problems gathering thralls from Saptra with the traffic that’s been moving out of the city?”
“Not at all. You would have to be a fool to stray close to a city filled to bursting with undead. Or a necromancer.” He replied, “What else are we to do while our numbers swell? As you’ve just said, there’s very little we can do to undermine an entire city from within.”
“I appreciate your attempt at temperance, but that isn’t entirely true.” Lieze pointed out, “Our Nightcrawlers continue to spread sickness and disease, diverting vital manpower from the Church’s institutions. This would be a fine time to liberate the forbidden grimoires gathering dust in the Library of Uke. Your followers could learn a thing or two from them.”
“Always plotting, aren’t you?” Marché sighed, “Very well. But I must oversee those returning with thralls from Saptra. You did request that I improve their capabilities using alchemy, if you’ll remember.”
“I do. And I wasn’t implying that you should stop.” Lieze glanced over to the other side of the table, “Drayya will accompany me. She’s quite well-suited for these sorts of clandestine missions.”
“What a flattering way of calling me a dirty thief.” The girl in question joked, “-But I have no objections. I’d quite like to see the contents of these grimoires myself, if I must be honest.”
“It’s settled, then.” Lieze lifted her hands off the table, “The two of us will depart for the Library at sundown. Until then, we should focus on improving the capabilities of our weaker thralls.”
With so much going on, Lieze hadn’t enjoyed many opportunities to practise her [Necromantic Alchemy]. A few hours of spare time would be the perfect chance to test her newfound enhancements. As Marché and Drayya departed from the chamber to see to their own duties, she wandered up through the granite chambers towards the Crypt, forced to hold her nose as the familiar stench of rot filled the air.
The rotting scalps of countless Gravewalkers filled Lieze’s vision as she stared down from the ramped platform into a sea of undead. The room was already coming dangerously close to being filled completely. It wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as the intricate catacombs of the Order, but having an idea of the hideout set aside for the mass storage of thralls was saving Lieze and the others a lot of hassle.
Ability - Necromantic Alchemy (Lesser Intelligence)
Description - Gift a thrall of level [5] or higher with a modicum of basic intelligence. When improved by this ability, a thrall can perform basic actions, such as picking up objects or interacting with simple mechanisms (levers, buttons, etc).
Ability - Necromantic Alchemy (Madness)
Description - Loosen your control over a thrall in order to increase its offensive capabilities. When affected by this ability, a thrall's combat ability (speed, power, etc.) is approximately doubled. However, it will no longer have any allegiances and will freely attack any living creature, including yourself. Undead affected by this ability still contribute to your maximum thrall limit.
“Hm. [Madness] could prove useful, but I would need a method of restraining a thrall while performing the alchemic ritual…” Lieze thought, “On the other hand, [Lesser Intelligence] could make these Gravewalkers useful as more than just meat shields…”
There was also the matter of her other enhancements. She had upgrades to the speed and power of her thralls to consider, or infusing lower-level undead with blood in order to increase their effectiveness. Each and every decision she made would have a time investment - a resource that was becoming scarce as the cult continued to grow.
Lieze’s troops were disorganised and unruly. If she wished to contend with a tried-and-true army, her thralls would need to be more sophisticated. With three Briarknights available, she could afford to create a few specialised groups of Gravewalkers lorded by an independent mind.
“Hm… our Helmach-Briarknight is the most powerful, so it’s only natural that it should be given a unit befitting its strength.” She muttered, “If I picked out the highest-level Gravewalkers from this crypt and granted them upgrades to their power and speed, I could organise a group capable of rapid and powerful attacks…”
As far as Lieze was concerned, any attempt to ready the cult against potential attacks from the Church was worth the investment. Over the course of the next few hours, she ferried powerful Gravewalkers from the crypt to the alchemy room before using her [Necromantic Alchemy] to improve their capabilities.
“It takes 1 hour to improve a single thrall….” She thought, “It’s not an efficient use of time to strengthen the weakest. We only have so many necromancers to spare… I’ll have Marché and the others divert their attention towards organising our forces into groups rather than aimlessly trying to improve every last thrall.”
She would set an example by establishing templates for the specialised Gravewalkers, starting with a ‘spearhead’ group capable of fast and powerful attacks. From there, the cult could consider alternative specialisations to counter the Church’s tactics.
Lieze’s MP - 981 / 1015
Lieze was able to create 3 improved Gravewalkers before the sun was gracing the horizon, totalling 6 hours of work. By roping in Drayya and Marché to her plan, the three of them were able to improve 9 Gravewalkers by working together. Physically, the thralls didn’t seem any different, but the difference in their speed was apparent from the comical improvement to their habit of shuffling about.
“You’re really counting on Briarknights to lead some of our forces?” Drayya asked, “Call me paranoid, but entrusting a mindless thrall with commanding our hard-earned troops doesn’t sound like a fantastic idea to me.”
“We’re still in control of them. Briarknights aren’t mindless - they retain a level of intelligence far in excess of the average thrall.” Lieze explained, “By using them in place of our own necromancers, we can launch attacks without placing them in harm’s way.”
“Hm… would Master Sokalar approve of this?” She wondered.
“Whether he would approve of it or not doesn’t interest me in the slightest.” Lieze declared, “This is our battle. Our mission. To make use of every advantage to claim victory - if you can claim that doesn’t symbolise the Order’s ideals with any level of sincerity, then I would like to hear you say it.”
“No. No…” Frowning as she was forced to surrender the point, Drayya averted her eyes, “I suppose it does.”
“Excellent. Marché-” Lieze redirected her attention to the curly-haired necromancer, “-From now on, focus on reinforcing thralls using alchemy in this manner. Stop when you reach 50 of them, then consult me on further improvements.”
“Of course.” He replied succinctly, “Are you headed to the Library?”
“In a moment, yes.” Lieze answered, “Expect us to return in a few hours. If you plan on taking another trip to Saptra, then bring the Briarknight we created from Helmach’s corpse with you. It can raise thralls using its own initiative, so don’t hesitate to put a few of them down if they get in your way.”
“I appreciate the help. Good luck in the Library - I doubt it’s unguarded.”
“Even if it is, that won’t stop me.”
With their duties sorted, the two necromancers parted ways - Marché to command his followers, and Lieze to depart with Drayya for Tonberg.