Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

The next day Valeria showed us around her home. I especially enjoyed the gardens, they included stones, ponds, small bridges, flowers and perfectly trimmed bushes and trees.

"How do you stop the water from freezing?" I asked, as we stood upon a stone bridge crossing a small stream. It led towards a pond filled with water lilies.

"We use enchanted stones to heat the water. They need to be recharged every week, especially in winter, but they keep the water just warm enough." Valeria explained.

"Oh, there are fish in the pond." Helena stated.

Nyx licked her boney lips.

"No! No fishing in this pond!" I told the cats.

Valeria's eyes widened. "Mother would be really mad if you killed her fish, please don't."

"Um, Thorn likes to eat some rodents, that's ok, right?" Rose asked.

"Thorn?" Valeria asked.

"My horse!" Rose replied.

"Oh, right. Um, is your horse hunting rodents? Isn't it in the stable? It might be a problem if your horse runs around freely…" Valeria stated.

"He is in the stable but so are rodents, usually." Rose replied.

"That is fine, he is not eating any cats, right? There are some cats around to keep the rat population down." Valeria asked.

"Meow!" Nyx stated.

"He would never eat a cat! Well, unless the cat attacked or something." Rose replied.

"Ah, it should be fine then." Valeria said.

After we finished our tour we were informed that Valeria's mother wanted to talk to us in her study. We followed Valeria towards the room and found a frowning guard in front of it.

"Lady Barkworth has invited you, not your undead." She stated.

"It's fine, Cerys." Valeria replied.

"Lady Valeria, there are eight undead with your guests. There is no reason for them to bring such a force to this conversation." Cerys replied.

"I can assure you we are no threat to Duchess Barkworth." Kaito stated. "We are allies and we have been invited."

"Meow." Nyx nodded.

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"Did Duchess Barkworth instruct you to keep my undead out?" I asked.

Cerys hesitated. "No, however I am responsible for her security."

"Splendid! Lady Barkworth will be a lot safer with us in her room." Kaito said, with a smile.

"Cerys, open the door. Mother will be fine, these are my guests!" Valeria insisted.

Cerys hesitated, then she finally gave a nod and opened the door.

We entered the study and I saw a woman in a fine green robe sitting in a comfy chair. She had long brown hair and the same green eyes as Valeria. However, her ears looked a bit different, not quite as pointy as the ears of the elves but definitely sharper than the ears of a normal human. Her lean body and smooth face made her look rather young, perhaps in her thirties? I did not know her true age but surely she had to be older than that.

"Greetings Koyuki, Helena, Cassie and Skadi! It's a pleasure to finally meet the friends of my daughter!" She said.

"Greetings, Duchess Barkworth." I said and gave her a respectful nod.

My friends offered similar greetings while my undead gave a respectful bow.

"Ah, you can call me Cathleen. Please, have a seat, we have much to discuss!" She said.

My friends and I sat down on the two couches while Valeria took another chair. Garm sat next to her on the floor and received occasional pets. The cats decided we made good chairs and Nyx settled on my lap. Kaito, Hatsumi and Rose stood behind me.

"Bring us seam tea please." Cathleen said and a maid standing in the corner nodded.

"Mother, Cerys did not want the undead to enter." Valeria said.

Cathleen sighed. "Undead have a bad reputation around here but I am working on it. I apologise for any inconvenience."

"It's fine!" I assured her. "She did not stop us in the end."

"She did not but I have to make sure that no one gets any ideas about slaying an undead. If they see your servants as a threat it will lead to disaster. I am hoping that we can work together and my soldiers need to realise that you are not the enemy. If Ilestria makes a move they will fight side by side, after all." Cathleen said.

"Um, I don't think I have any say where I am deployed, if they deploy students." I replied.

Cathleen smiled. "I think you might underestimate your influence on the royal family. Further, my duchy is the most likely to bear a frontal assault. Also, let's not forget that the Ashfields are not always agreeing with our king and the Winstons haven't made any friends recently."

"How likely is it that a war breaks out?" Helena asked.

"Who truly knows? Our kingdom keeps having problems, from the vampiric nightshades, to the Brotherhood to this new drug. We are certainly doing a good job of weakening ourselves, I doubt that the Ilestrians will simply stand there and watch. They might even be behind those nightshades, or this drug." Cathleen said.

"Lady Cathleen, I am still a student and I am not sure how much of an impact I could make during a war." I cautioned.

"My dear, you have revolutionised necromancy, you are on your way to become an archmage and you sit here with eight tier three undead. I am not as blind as some others to your true potential, that is why I would like you to demonstrate some of your powers to my own men. Ilestria will not necessarily attack this year, or the next, but they will attack at some point. No one expects you to defeat them by yourself but you will be an asset, an asset that will grow with every battle." Cathleen paused and took a sip from her tea. "I have a proposal for you, Koyuki."

"What is it?" I asked.

"My scouts found a goblin camp a few days ago. They must have come somewhere from deep within the Korrah Forest and are now preparing to raid my villages. I want you to help my troops to eradicate them. You can keep any of their corpses and do with them as you will. I will also send some people with you to watch, some people who might need convincing." She said.

"Mother, how sure are we about their loyalty?" Valeria asked.

"I will send some loyal guards to ensure nothing bad happens but the chance of an ambush is ever present." Cathleen stated.

"How many goblins are there?" Skadi asked.

"It looks like a small warband. Probably around 300, including some hobgoblins and several shamans. I am not expecting you to defeat them alone."

"You will get so many corpses!" Helena said enthusiastically.

"We will need weapons and transportation for any new undead Koyuki creates." Kaito stated.

"Lady Cathleen, I would like to buy some of your wood for spears and shields." I said.

"Oh, and I would like some barley for my brewery!" Cassie added.

"Brewery? I was unaware that the Ashburns ran a brewery?" Cathleen stated.

"It's a new business I started." Cassie replied.

"My family has started a trading house with the backing of Countess Ashburn. We will help with transportation and distribution." Skadi added.

Cathleen was silent for a moment, then she smiled. "Oh my, it seems that your group has even more to offer than I thought. You did a good job forming this alliance, Valeria." Then she looked at me. "I can offer you wood, for a certain price, of course."

While we did not make an official deal yet we continued to discuss the details of our future partnership. Cathleen was far more eager to ally with us than I had expected. Then again, she had inserted her daughter at the academy to befriend me, maybe I should have seen this coming. Overall it was a pleasant conversation and hopefully I could get a few more corpses soon!