Corrupted blood lord

The summons arrived before Teclos had finished sleeping off the previous night.

Someone hammered on the tavern door until the hinges rattled.

Teclos opened one eye.

Serenna was still seated in the booth across from him, one arm folded beneath her head. Empty bottles crowded the table between them. At some point, the innkeeper had stopped bringing cups and simply left the last bottle within reach.

The pounding came again.

"Teclos," a man called from the other side. "Count Veyron wants you at the fortress."

Serenna lifted her head and looked toward the door.

"Tell him you died."

"He saw me survive Selrik."

"Then tell him it happened afterward."

Teclos pushed himself upright. His mouth tasted of stale ale, and one side of his neck had gone stiff from sleeping against the wall.

He opened the door.

A fortress servant stood outside with two guards behind him.

"The count said immediately."

"Did he say why?"

The servant glanced at the wreckage of breakfast, bottles, and Serenna’s dark hair spilling over one shoulder.

"No, but he did say you were not to stop for another drink."

Serenna reached for the unfinished bottle.

Teclos took it from her hand before she could pour.

"He knows you too well," she said.

—

Veyron was waiting in the smaller audience chamber.

A map had been spread across the table, along with a sealed letter bearing dark green wax. The count looked rested, which irritated Teclos more than it should have.

"You look terrible," Veyron said.

"You summoned me early."

"It is nearly noon."

Teclos glanced toward the windows.

The sun was indeed high.

Serenna entered behind him wearing the amulet. She had altered the disguise again. The face was female this time, with dark brown hair, pale skin, and features close enough to her own that she would not have to constantly remember how someone else was supposed to move.

It was still not her true face.

Veyron looked at her for several seconds.

"I thought Seren was a man."

"The glamour was damaged," she said. "This form is easier for the amulet to hold while it recovers."

The count appeared to consider asking more.

Then he looked at Teclos instead.

"I have decided how you will begin paying for the southern district."

Teclos walked to the table.

"You said your steward would calculate the cost."

"He did. You complained for ten minutes."

"I pointed out that one of the houses was already falling apart."

"Yes. Several times."

Veyron tapped the sealed letter.

"Count Edric Maren holds the territory west of mine. We have traded together for twenty years, and his soldiers reinforced my northern road during the last border dispute."

"What does he need?"

"Help."

"That much was obvious."

Veyron ignored the comment.

"Graves have been opening near three villages. Two patrols disappeared, and several farms were attacked by corpses wearing armour from a war that ended forty years ago."

Serenna moved closer to the table.

"Necromancer?"

"Count Maren believes it is a lich. His court mage reached the same conclusion before disappearing near the old monastery."

Teclos studied the route marked across the map.

"How certain are they?"

"Certain enough to abandon two villages and lock the castle gates before sunset."

"And you want us to kill it."

"I want you to find out what is happening, aid Maren’s forces, and destroy the lich if one is there."

Teclos looked up.

"That sounds worth more than four houses."

Veyron leaned against the table.

"You also destroyed part of a tavern, an abandoned tax office, several sections of road, and one of my patrol captains claims you melted enough stone to repair half the southern wall."

"The vampire melted most of it."

"Then recover the cost from his family."

Serenna looked away, but Teclos saw the faint movement at the corner of her mouth.

Veyron continued.

"I am assigning ten soldiers to the expedition. They know the western roads, and they have experience fighting monsters. Captain Dalen commands them."

"I don’t need ten soldiers."

"They are not for you. They are for Maren."

"Then send them without me."

"I did not say this was optional."

Teclos looked down at the map again.

A lich would possess more mana than most of the creatures he had hunted since entering Tessania. Perhaps far more.

"When do we leave?"

"Within the hour."

Serenna folded her arms.

"We have not agreed that I am going."

Veyron looked at her.

"You charged Teclos twenty gold to fight one vampire. I am sure the two of you can discuss another payment."

She turned toward Teclos.

He sighed.

"We’ll discuss it later."

"That usually means you intend to avoid paying."

"It means the count is listening."

"I already know you are cheap," Veyron said.

—

Captain Dalen waited in the lower courtyard with ten soldiers, four horses, and enough supplies for a week.

He was in his late thirties, broad-shouldered, with close-cropped black hair and a scar running through one eyebrow. His men wore Veyron’s dark armour beneath green travel cloaks.

Two carried heavy crossbows. Two more wore broad shields across their backs. The others carried spears, swords, axes, and enough oil to set a small forest on fire.

Dalen looked at Teclos first.

Then his gaze moved to Serenna.

Veyron’s men had probably expected the male mercenary from the count’s report. Instead, they found a pale young woman standing beside Teclos in a fitted travel coat, her dark hair tied loosely behind her neck.

One of the younger soldiers forgot to look away.

Dalen noticed and struck the back of his helmet.

"Eyes on the horses, Pell."

"I was checking whether she had a weapon."

Serenna looked down at her empty belt.

"I don’t."

Pell swallowed.

Dalen gave him another look.

"That answer should worry you, not encourage you."

Teclos inspected the supplies while the soldiers prepared to leave. There were silver bolts, fire salts, healing mixtures, rope, and three small jars marked with symbols from the Church of Dawn.

He opened one.

The smell made Serenna step back.

"What is that?" Teclos asked.

"Consecrated salt," Dalen replied. "The count’s priest says it burns undead flesh and weakens necromantic bindings."

Serenna rubbed her nose.

"It smells terrible."

Dalen looked at her with renewed interest.

"You can smell anything through that wax?"

"I can now."

"Useful?"

"Usually."

The captain waited for more, but Serenna had already walked toward the horses.

Pell watched her go.

"She isn’t very friendly."

"You spoke six words to her," said one of the shield bearers.

"That was enough to notice."

Dalen tightened the strap on his pack.

"Leave her alone. The count did not lend us to Teclos so you could get thrown into a tree."

Pell looked toward Teclos.

"Would she do that?"

"Yes," Teclos said.

Serenna glanced over her shoulder.

"I would use the wall. It is closer."

No one tried speaking to her again before they left.

—

The western road remained clear for most of the afternoon.

Dalen kept the group in two loose columns, with the crossbowmen near the center and a scout named Jaro ranging ahead. Teclos walked near the front. Serenna stayed several paces away from the others, close enough to hear but far enough that no one accidentally brushed against her.

The soldiers relaxed once the fortress disappeared behind the hills.

Pell and another young spearman argued about whether a lich could still become drunk. One of the shield bearers claimed undead lacked working stomachs. The fire mage insisted alcohol would burn inside them if properly ignited.

Dalen allowed the discussion to continue for several minutes.

Then he looked at Teclos.

"You have fought undead before?"

"A banshee."

"That is not the same thing."

"I know."

"What killed it?"

"I didn’t."

Dalen waited for the rest.

Teclos looked toward him.

"A life mage and several Church warriors handled most of it."

"That would have been useful information before we left."

"You didn’t ask."

Dalen breathed out slowly.

Serenna rode past them on one of the packhorses.

"He means you should stop expecting complete answers from him."

Teclos looked up.

"You aren’t better."

"I answer properly when the question is worth answering."

Dalen glanced between them.

"How long have you two been working together?"

"Not long," Teclos said.

"Too long," Serenna added.

Pell laughed from behind them.

Serenna turned her head.

He immediately became interested in the road.

They reached the first ambush shortly before evening.

Jaro returned from the ridge at a run.

"Movement ahead. Small bodies on both sides of the pass."

"Goblins?" Dalen asked.

"Looked like them. More than twenty."

Dalen raised one fist, stopping the column.

The road narrowed between two rocky slopes. Dead branches had been piled near the top, and a freshly cut log rested behind a row of stones.

Teclos examined the shadows beneath the ridge.

"They have more behind the log."

"How many?" Dalen asked.

"Eight. Another twelve near the road."

Dalen looked toward the fire mage.

"Edrin, watch the ridge. Crossbows with him. Shields at the front."

The soldiers moved without confusion.

Pell and the second spearman led the packhorses behind a low section of stone while the shield bearers advanced into the pass.

A goblin shouted from above.

The log came rolling down.

Edrin raised both hands. A burst of fire struck its side, but the timber was too thick to stop.

Teclos sent two tendrils across the road.

They wrapped around the log and tore it apart before it reached the formation. Splintered wood flew across the pass.

The goblins stared.

Dalen pointed his sword uphill.

"Crossbows."

Two bolts struck the ridge almost together. One goblin fell. Another spun backward with a bolt through its shoulder.

The rest charged down the slopes.

They wore scraps of armour and carried short blades, clubs, and rusted spears.

The shield bearers met the first group on the road.

One goblin struck a shield and was thrown onto its back. Pell stepped forward and drove his spear through its chest before it could rise.

Three more came from the right.

Serenna left the horse.

She caught the first by the throat, turned, and threw it into the second. The third tried to stab her from behind.

Without looking, she caught its wrist and bent the arm until the elbow broke.

The goblin screamed.

Serenna took its knife and pushed it beneath its jaw.

Pell stared.

She looked at him.

"Watch your side."

He turned just in time to block another goblin’s spear.

Teclos moved through the shadow beneath the broken log. He emerged on the ridge among the archers.

The nearest goblin swung a cleaver.

Teclos stepped inside the attack, caught its wrist, and drove his elbow into its face. Darkness wrapped around two others and pulled them off the slope.

The ambush collapsed within minutes.

The surviving goblins fled into the hills.

Dalen did not order a pursuit.

"We still have two days of road," he said. "Check the wounded and recover the bolts."

One of the soldiers had a shallow cut across his forearm. Another had been struck on the helmet hard enough to leave him dizzy.

No one had died.

Pell retrieved his spear and looked toward Serenna.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"You warned me."

"You were about to be stabbed."

"Yes. That is usually when warnings help."

Serenna seemed unsure how to answer that.

She gave him a small nod and returned to the horses.

Pell watched her leave.

Dalen walked past him.

"Do not make this strange."

"I only thanked her."

"You were thinking loudly."

—

They camped beside a stream that night.

The soldiers shared food, checked weapons, and argued over who had killed the most goblins. Teclos sat near the fire with Dalen, studying the road ahead.

Serenna chose a tree beyond the edge of the light.

Pell carried a bowl toward her.

Dalen caught his sleeve.

"She does not eat much."

"I know. I thought I would offer."

"She will either refuse or frighten you."

Pell looked at the bowl.

"I can survive both."

He continued.

Serenna looked up when he approached.

"We had extra stew," he said. "I wasn’t sure whether you wanted any."

She glanced toward the camp.

"There isn’t extra. You gave me yours."

Pell hesitated.

"I wasn’t very hungry."

"You ate two bowls yesterday."

The soldier looked back at his companions. Several immediately looked away.

Serenna took the bowl.

"Thank you."

Pell smiled and hurried back before she could change her mind.

Teclos watched him sit down.

"He seems pleased," Serenna said through the shadow near his ear.

"He survived speaking to you."

"I spoke normally."

"That was why he was surprised."

Her gaze found him across the fire.

A small pebble lifted from the ground beside her and struck his boot.

Dalen noticed.

"What was that?"

"A stone," Teclos said.

"I saw that."

"Then why ask?"

Dalen shook his head and returned to the map.

—

Kobolds attacked the following morning near an abandoned tollhouse.

They had barricaded the road with carts and fired clay pots from behind the ruined walls. The first shattered near the horses, spreading burning oil across the dirt.

Dalen shouted for the men to pull back.

Teclos raised a wall of darkness before the next pots landed. They burst against it, flames rolling across the black surface without reaching the formation.

The crossbowmen fired through gaps in the wall.

Edrin sent fire through the tollhouse window, forcing several kobolds onto the roof.

Serenna climbed the outer wall with her bare hands and disappeared over the edge.

The screaming began seconds later.

Dalen looked at Teclos.

"Does she always do that?"

"Usually."

"You could have warned us."

"You saw her climb."

The captain muttered something and led the shield bearers through the broken gate.

The fight ended quickly after that.

The kobolds were poorly fed and carried bags already packed for travel. Several had black mud on their feet despite the dry road.

Jaro examined one of the bodies.

"They came from the west."

Dalen looked toward the distant hills.

"That is Maren’s territory."

Serenna dropped from the tollhouse roof.

"They were running from something."

"How can you tell?" Pell asked.

She held up one of the bags.

"Food, tools, and everything they could carry. They weren’t waiting here to rob travelers. They were trying to force a wagon away from the border."

Dalen’s expression darkened.

The group continued west.

By afternoon, they crossed Count Maren’s border.

The farms there were empty.

Doors hung open, fields had gone unharvested, and black cloth had been tied around roadside shrines. They passed two wagons carrying families east under armed escort.

Near sunset, Maren’s castle appeared above the valley.

It stood on a steep hill surrounded by stone walls and crowded camps. Refugees filled the land below the gates. Smoke rose from funeral pits beyond the northern wall.

A mounted patrol met them on the road.

Its commander looked over the twelve travelers and the four packhorses.

"You’re Veyron’s help?"

Captain Dalen rode forward.

"Ten soldiers, two contracted hunters, and supplies for a week."

The commander glanced behind them as though expecting more.

"That’s all he sent?"

Dalen’s expression hardened.

"It is what he could spare quickly. We crossed his border yesterday."

The man looked toward Teclos, then Serenna.

"These are the hunters?"

"Yes."

The commander seemed unconvinced, but he turned his horse.

"Follow me. Count Maren has been waiting since morning."

As they approached the gates, Teclos expanded Dark Sense beneath the ground.

Something moved below the castle.

Not one corpse.

Hundreds.

Serenna rode closer to him.

"You felt that too?"

Teclos looked up at the crowded walls.

"Yes."

The fortress gates opened.

Beyond them, bells were already ringing for the dead.