75 The undead Apocalypse?

'So I won't be able to meet Sven and Nerida for now. I really wanted to do some catching up. Oh well, now that I have a humanoid body I can finally discuss things over alcohol with friends and half of them aren't around. Let's go get drunk!'

"But Aldi and the dwarf."

'They could wait before, they can wait now.'

So we headed to a nearby tavern. Upon entry, I noticed that most of the customers were dressed like soldiers.

"Lord Völsung, you're early today. Did you have another emergency meeting with the others? Need to drink away your sorrows?"

From the looks of it, Völsung was a regular here and there were some troubles he was hiding from me.

'Emergency meeting?'

"Let's not talk about that for now."

Since he wasn't willing, I wouldn't push him for now. We got ourselves a table and a jug of ale and proceeded to sit there in awkward silence.

'So... You come here often?'

"..."

"Eldar, can you please talk normally. Everyone is staring at us."

'I kinda like the telepathy mind talking, so how about no. But anyway, you grew quite a bit during these years. You are a duke magus now and a governor to boot.'

"Don't make it sound so grand. My powers as a magus rely solely on my bloodline, I barely train them. My talent for comprehension is poor and I'll probably never reach the level of a chosen one. I am just a muscle head who can do nothing but train. How does one even physically build a domain based on dragon strength?"

'Firstly, you underestimate yourself. Secondly, you just have to see your body as the domain where your strength reigns supreme. Of course, you'll have to comprehend that yourself and me telling you has no point but I did so anyway. Thirdly, disregarding your talent, you kept this place running for 73 years, that's some achievement.'

"Where do you get all that positivity from? Look, things aren't going so well. A few years ago the plane of the dead suddenly saw a spike of activity. The undead can't cross over the lake Gjöll and don't threaten us directly but if they go around they will eventually reach us. The dwarven side isn't so much of a problem because Night Owl became a chosen one and has an alliance with the dwarves. However, the Jotun side had large losses in the war with us and couldn't withstand the onslaught of the undead.

Since the other major forces didn't want to fight in their own territories, we sent them reinforcements and support. Over the past two years, we had countless emergency meetings to discuss how that handle the situation. Despite all our efforts, we have only reached a stalemate."

'That really doesn't sound so good. But still, you retained control over the situation and resolved the immediate problem. Just continue doing as you have so far and it will be fine.'

"Can you at least meet that dwarf? Aldi has been pestering me for weeks now."

'Sure, sure let's go get it over with. I think I've had enough drinks. Waiter, tab!'

Only now did Völsung notice the twenty-plus pitchers laying on the table and floor around me. While he had been engrossed in the conversation, I had been continuously downing more alcohol. One of the benefits of talking in people's heads was that others couldn't hear you after all. I casually handed the waiter a solid bar of gold that made him drop to the ground from the unexpected weight.

"You drank so much! Are you alright?"

'My body was condensed from a giant tree. My tolerance is way above yours and I only feel a little tipsy. Now lead the way.'

Sighing in resignation, Völsung paid for his tab and brought me back to the mansion and we entered the guest wing. No sooner had we set foot in the guest wing that Aldi came running.

"Lord Völsung, have you thought about my proposal? Talking to Lord Eldar is very important to the dwarves and could play a vital role in defeating the undead."

Before Aldi could go on, Völsung raised his hand and gestured towards me.

"He's here, talk to him yourself."

Having said that, Völsung turned around and left without another word.