Blood of the Righteous

What A Mess...

Outside the armory, steam rose from the cold floor as the warmth of the spilling blood oozed across its length. Along the walls, blood and entrails had splattered every few feet, creating a morbid gray and red pattern. Broken bodies, mouths twisted in silent, horrified screams, littered the room as soulless forms ransacked the weapons rack for anything useful.

"What a mess," Dameus said to himself. He hadn't realized that there would be so many guards at this time of day in the armory. They had been able to take them by surprise, but he had lost almost half of the lesser undead he had created. The greater undead had also taken some injuries, but they were easily repaired. The guards who had been stationed here were a different matter. Out of the 57 that had been here, only 21 were still intact enough to be raised.

The door creaked open and General Sagaroth stepped into the room. The gruesome sight didn't appear to disturb him. One of the skeletons hissed at the sight of the intruder and it raised its sword, stepping forward to strike.

"NO!" yelled Dameus. "He is one of us!"

The skeleton lowered its sword and bowed in an apologetic manner. Sagaroth shuddered. He still hadn't gotten used to the sight of the walking dead. Stepping over a body, he approached Dameus. The skeleton dropped to one knee at Sagaroth's feet.

"Oh, get up. You have work to do." Dameus pointed to the weapons rack, and the undead creature nodded and walked off. The apprentice necromancer turned his attention to a nearby body.

"Everything seems to be going well, Dameus." Sagaroth surveyed the room with a combination of pride and revulsion. "Now that you have eliminated the main force of guards and confiscated their weapons, the rest of the castle should fall relatively easily."

Dameus pulled a dagger out of the body's abdomen. He tossed it aside and it landed with a wet clatter in a puddle of blood.

The skeleton that had attacked Sagaroth came back with its fist closed around something and offered it to him. Sagaroth held out his hand, and the skeleton dropped several gold coins into it.

"Oh, thank you." He turned his attention back to Dameus. "Just a few more hours, and we shall bring the Ki Kalendeens and the Branvolds to their knees!" Sagaroth laughed wickedly. Dameus continued to examine the body. The laughter died. "Dameus, are you listening to me?"

The necromancer looked up. "Hmm? Oh, yes. Knees. Right." He went back to his work.

Sagaroth looked at him in disbelief. "How can you not be excited at a time like this? This is going to be a glorious victory."

Dameus looked up at Sagaroth for the first time since he entered the room. "General, playing the ambassador may be glorious and exciting, but please forgive me if trudging through cold sewage tends to generate a lack of enthusiasm on my part. Now, if you are finished, I have work to do." With a dismissive gesture of his hand, he waved the General away.

Sagaroth's eye twitched in anger at the comparatively small man's insolent words. An urge to reach down and snap his neck crossed his mind, but he brought his anger under control before speaking. "Dameus, I appreciate the personal discomforts you have had to endure during this mission, but it is in service to our Master."

Once again, the skeleton walked over to Sagaroth, hands clenched around something. Sagaroth held out his hand a bit nervously and the skeleton handed him a wedding ring and gold pendant.

The necromancer continued working without visibly acknowledging the large general's words. A flash of energy surged from his hands and the corpse opened its eyes.

"Stand!" Dameus commanded. The newly-created undead obeyed. "Well, Lord Sagaroth, you had better get back to the warm splendor of the main castle. I have things under control here. The attack shall begin as scheduled, although I do have to warn you, the undead will be outnumbered three to two."

The skeleton once again cautiously approached the large general, hands clenched around something. Sagaroth sighed and held out his hand again. His eyes widened in disgust as the undead creature dropped a kidney, dripping blood and urine, into his hand. Sagaroth let go quickly and it fell with a splat to the blood soaked floor.

Dameus shook his head in frustration. "Will you leave those bodies alone and find the rest of the weapons?" he shouted. The skeleton bowed and quickly obeyed.

"You still have my sword?" Sagaroth asked, wiping his hand on the inside of his cloak.

Dameus nodded without looking up.

"Good." Sagaroth turned to leave. "Oh, and one more thing. I want you to make sure that Lady Arianna Ki Kalendeen is delivered safely to me after the battle. Dameus, listen to me, she must not be harmed. Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard you. With a voice that loud how couldn't I hear you."

"She must not be harmed, Dameus." His face lit up a bit as he thought about the dark-haired beautiful woman. "I want her brought to me right after our victory." He stroked his moustache lustfully.

"I heard you the first time. But I don't think she will be willing to lie with you after you destroy her family."

"That's not what I want her for!" he said, defensively. "She's the sister of King Nicolae. He may not be as eager to retaliate knowing she is our prisoner."

"Is her prison going to be a cell in Ironshield or your bed chamber?" asked Dameus. "Not that there would be much difference," he added under his breath.

The comment brought a sharp slap across the back of Dameus' head. He fell to the ground hard under the strength of the large general's blow, landing on his face. "I have had enough of your brazen remarks. Lord Kadeus put you in my charge, and from now on, you will show me the proper respect, you spindly little demon."

Dameus rubbed his bleeding lip and smiled at the demon comment. "As you command," he said. He tried his best to not let the mocking show in his voice. His words and his eyes told different stories, as he glared at Sagaroth.

A gloating expression appeared on Sagaroth's face. "Good. Keep up your work and I shall see you again after the battle." He walked towards the door and opened it. "Dameus, if you try, I'm sure you could become a first-rate servant." He chuckled and closed the door behind him.

Dameus picked up the dagger next to him and threw it at the closed door. The hilt landed against it with a thud. "First-rate servant. We'll see who's the servant when I hang you with your own entrails."

He felt his mouth to make sure none of his teeth were missing, and then turned his attention back to the creating of undead.