Chương 14

The knowledge I'd obtained from the lich was incomplete. Vorulsht filled in many of the gaps when I agreed to destroy the world. But he did not direct me on how to fulfill his task, except in broad strokes. First, I must conquer the world. And I needed an army to do that. I was powerful, but I could not be in more than one place at a time. Unfortunately, ever since the Zozheimian Wars of Aggression, most bodies were burned. If I was to raise an army of corpses, then I needed to make an army of corpses.

I spent a day coming up with a plan. Then I walked back to Pash-nasa. I still wanted to ask the lord of the city why he had betrayed me. It did not particularly bother me that he had, I just wanted to know. I had thought I understood him, and the betrayal was a gap in my understanding I wished to correct. So I marched through the day and the night, arriving early in the morning without any horses to slow me down. The guards at the gate saw me and recognized me. They blew a horn.

Six guards mounted on horses in full armor came out to meet me.

"Did you succeed?" he asked.

"Is the troll dead?"

"Yes," I answered.

"And the others?"

"They are also dead," I answered. Then, for perhaps the first time in my life, I lied.

"They were killed by the troll. Only I survived." The captain frowned, then nodded.

"They knew it was dangerous. Their families will be compensated. Come, the people will want to celebrate. Let's march you through the city with a full honor guard." I did not see the point.

"I wish to see the lord."

"The lord will see you after the parade to announce your reward," he promised. Satisfied with that answer, I cooperated. They marched me up and down through the streets, and the men and women and children came out to see and cheer me. Some musicians showed up and began following us, playing music and singing a song about my heroic deeds, although I knew the song and they had simply changed the names of the heroes and the monster they had killed to fit the occasion. Not everyone was happy.

We passed the families of the dead guards, who were openly weeping. I did not see any malice in their eyes, and I smelled only sorrow from them. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. We arrived at the lord's manor, and he was there to greet us. He gave a grand speech about my heroics on the day of the fire and my further heroics in slaying the troll 'threatening' the city. He spoke with confidence, describing a battle he'd never seen.

Poorly. He played up the actions of the guards who had gone with me, ensuring that in his tale they died heroically. They had not. As for me? I was given my share of accolades. He spoke as if everything had gone according to plan, with me distracting the troll so that the others could whittle it down from afar with fire arrows. But the casual listener would know that the true heroes had left their blood on the snow of the pass.

Then, tapping the ring on his finger against the podium that had been erected for him, he bid me to come inside the manor so that my renumeration could be discussed in private. I felt the compulsion, ignored it, and followed him anyway. When we were alone in the foyer, he turned to me, his face cold.

"How did you survive?" he asked.

"Why did you betray me?" I asked"So it was like that, was it?" he asked.

"You actually killed the troll? Good job. For an abomination you're quite powerful."

"Why did you betray me?" I repeated.

"Because you're an abomination. It is one thing to have an automaton walking around town doing chores. It's another when that zombie develops a will and makes decisions on its own. When it became clear that is what you were, I set a fire, intending to order you inside to burn to death. When that didn't work, I thought of the troll. Now, I will have to think of something else. But at least the ruse is over." He rubbed his control ring, smiling.

"It must be infuriating, having finally gotten a will to have it stripped from you." I considered that. How would that feel? I wouldn't know.

"Go into the cellar and wait. You will stay there until I figure out how to dispose of you for good," he ordered. And I obeyed. Closing the door behind me, I considered what to do next. I had my answer from the lord. I thought for an hour or two. A rat came into the room. I looked at it, it looked at me. I extended a hand, and a flash of light connected us as I electrocuted it. Singed, the corpse twitched a few times before going still. Then it moved again. It's movements were unnatural, awkward. Undead.

"Go," I said, and it vanished through the crack in the wall through which it had entered. I closed my eyes, And became that rat. I tracked down its nest and slew its young and its mate. They were all old enough to be useful, and so I put them to use. They spread out through the city, killing their own kind as they went. It was easier than I'd ever thought it would be, controlling so many little things, directing them effortlessly with my mind.

The lich's memories had made it seem like this would be difficult, but within an hour I had cleared the city of all the rats. And the cats. And the dogs. And then I began to act. I opened the door to the cellar and walked calmly toward the parlor where the lord was sitting with his wife. His wife was upset about something, and she lit up with joy when she saw me.

"Oh Tal, thank goodness you are alright, I was so worried when my husband sent you to fight Wek'bah." I killed her then as I killed the rat. A single arc of electricity to stop her heart. She was stunned, falling over. A few moments later, her soul left her body, even as her husband shook her and called for her to "Breathe! Breathe, dammit Dalia, Breathe!" She didn't breathe. But she reached up and kissed him. His eyes opened in surprise. She bit him, spitting out his tongue a moment later.

The rats rushed into the room then. I needed an army. But I could waste one body. The lord died screaming as he was ripped apart by a hundred hungry maws. I walked out of the manor. And began to build my army. One corpse at a time.