“Also, if he really wanted to build an army, the better strategy would have been to send thralls like the Treantling-Grendel you’ve faced and infect only the most powerful plant folk instead of random people.
“It would have taken time, but undead can wait. Consider that most plant folks wouldn’t reveal being infected in fear of being shunned or considered a traitor. All of this mess, even involving the three great Countries, is too dangerous even for Erlik himself.
“Not only did he make himself an enemy out of the entire continent, but even in the case his plan succeeds, Erlik will never be able to feed so many mouths. Undead are many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.
“The stupid ones never live long enough to become this dangerous. Undeath is something that cannot be spread carelessly, especially now that the human population has been dramatically reduced.
“I’m certain that even if Erlik somehow wins, he would weed out the weaker newborn undead as his first move as the new regent. In times of war, food is more important than gold.”
“What do you think his real aim is?” Friya asked.
“I wish I knew.” Jirni sighed. “Yet it must be something damn important and that can alter the status quo with the other powers of the continent. Otherwise the Undead Courts would have never allowed for this.
“One of the reasons why the Kingdom barely tolerates them is that the Courts are a necessary evil. They take care of rogue undead and often take control of the criminal underworld, preventing useless chaos.
“To risk their shaky truce with the great countries, it means that they either have no other option or that they finally have the numbers to step up their game.”
Jirni’s words made the mood turn gloomy. The burden of all those present had just become much heavier. Kamila quickly changed the topic, telling Lith that she had already warned his family and that they wouldn’t worry about his amulet being offline.
‘I can’t understand why Lady Ernas spoke like that. Her daughters are already under a lot of pressure, especially Quylla and Phloria. The former has been basically introduced as Manohar’s replacement, which means too many expectations for someone so young.
‘As for Phloria, I’m afraid she might become more interested in rescuing her career rather than Laruel, leading to bad decisions. In her situation, a single mistake could get her kicked out of the army.’ She thought.
***
Erlik the Draugr Treant’s Headquarters, now.
Now that the sun was set, Erlik the Draugr Treant could finally stand up and stop staring at his treasures like a demented man. Yet being able and being willing to, were two entirely different things.
It always took a Draugr considerable willpower to step away from their resting place. After making sure that all the protections were in place and that whoever violated his sanctum wouldn’t live long enough to regret it, he went looking for his second in command, Gremlik the Grendel Dryad.
If there were more bad news waiting for him, at least he could give that annoying pest a proper beating to ease his nerves. Gremlik was too clever by a half and way too powerful for Erlik’s liking.
One wrong move and all of his sacrifices, all of his plotting would bring fruits that Gremlik would reap after using Erlik as a scapegoat.
‘Dammit, I wish he was just some mindless goon. So far our interest aligned, but our ambitions never did. I can’t trust him.’
Erlik opened the door to Gremlik’s room, finding a pleasant surprise. The place was trashed to the point that there was not a single piece of furniture intact, the walls were covered in claw marks, and there was lymph splattered everywhere.
Erlik recognized the remains of the Grendel’s most loyal followers from their smell. They were unlikely to still be alive.
“What happened?” Erlik asked, pretending to not notice the grimace twisting the otherwise handsome face of the dryad.
“I underestimated the Awakened. I wanted to get rid of them before they could check our prototype and make sure that their death would further compromise the relationship between Laruel and the Countries to buy us more time.
“Yet not only did I fail to kill even one of those filthy humans, but I’ve also lost the most promising thrall of my herd. I spent years preparing him to handle the fury and power of a Grendel, but it was all for nothing.” Gremlik gritted his pearly teeth so hard that they cracked, only to heal a split second later.
The loss of the two undead was negligible, but his thrall was a huge deal. Grendels were almost extinct because they were plagued by a reckless bloodlust that consumed their senses once they assumed their true form.
Gremlik was a master magician in his Dryad body and an unstoppable war machine as a Grendel, yet to achieve the best from both worlds it had took him a lot of practice.
“That’s none of my business.” Erlik smirked. “I want to know about our plan.”
‘So my losses are my own, whereas Laruel is “our plan”?’ Gremlik needed his decades of self-discipline to not fight the Draugr to the death.
“Everything is going as we predicted. The infected feeding off anything they can get their filthy vines on are hiding the damages on the treehouses. We might have to leave this place in a while, but I’ve already prepared our next location. We’ve progressed by leaps and bounds compared to our first prototype.”
Erlik nodded, looking at the bark of the enchanted house surrounding them. Their control over the mold had improved and the side effects of their experiments had yet to show on the outside.
The Draugr placed his hand on the nearest wall and released countless vines that allowed him to take control of the agonizing tree. He made sure that all the damages would be hidden by a healthy layer of bark, making it impossible to spot them from the outside again.
‘The undead of the Garlen continent must have become soft after establishing their Courts for missing such an opportunity for so long.’ Erlik thought. ‘If my plan succeeds and I manage to not get killed by Gremlik, my dream will come true.
‘As Laruel’s regent, I’ll gain access to a World Sapling and if my theory is correct, I’ll Awaken. It will give me the means to build an eternal kingdom for the undead. A utopia where we will not need to hide and cower anymore.
‘Just by asking the Sapling to remove the dew covering the treetops, the city will be plunged into an eternal darkness that will free us from the tyranny of the sun. I want to believe that the plague was a sign from the god of darkness. That all this suffering after losing our homes has a meaning.’
‘Very soon, undead will not be the neglected race anymore. Our Awakened will not be able to continue ignoring us. We will not be just a worm hiding in an apple but the owners of the orchard instead. My race will thrive, and I’ll be acclaimed as its savior.’
Little did he know about the life poisoning accident or that the mold was still where they had left it. Leannan was a tricky enemy, who had lulled them into a false state of security before launching an all-out attack that had flushed them out, almost costing them everything.
