Scourge Fifty-Two - Formation

Scourge Fifty-Two - Formation

Scourge Fifty-Two - Formation

The troop of Templars rebuild their formation and then start moving along the road at about the same slow pace as before.

I dont feel like following them. Not only are they giving me and my friends dirty looks, I need time to build the army that Ill need to strike Algecante.

That means that I need to start producing more and more monster friends. I can supplement that with local monsters too.

While monsters arent cowardly, they will back away from the defences of a city, and a big army walking through the countryside should be left alone unless the monsters that run into it are really annoyed, have been ordered by my mom to attack, or if that army happens to corner the monster.

Most monsters are clever enough not to pick a fight that theyre clearly going to lose.nove(l)bi(n.)com

That should mean, obviously, that the area around Algecante should be relatively thick with monsters, especially if the undead have been patrolling far outside of the citys walls. Theyll have pushed back the local monsters.

I get onto one of our birds with Felix while Esme and Bianca hop onto the other. Then we take off into the sky and look for a dark pool.

I find one after barely ten minutes in the air.

That one served to make a dozen or so large raven-like monsters, each one as tall as I am with boney wings and long, sharp feathers. Alright, birb boys, I say to the murder. They stare at me with intelligent eyes. Were looking for more friends. Scour the countryside for gatherings of monsters or even just random strong monsters and send them towards the road. Tell them to avoid the undead and not to attack anyone unless theyre attacked first. Were forming a wave.

My new bird pals take off with a chorus of ominous cawing.

That done, I return to the dark pool and then hesitate. What kind of monster would be best against the undead?

Right now, the undeads big advantages are the tirelessness of their army, and their overwhelming numbers.

Theyll have bigger, stronger undead mixed in too, to make things complicated, but for the most part well be dealing with a lot of skeletons and ghouls and zombies. At least, thats what I think well have to deal with. Im not an expert on the undead, but I imagine those are the types that are easiest to make with few resources.

I consider it for a bit. I need to counter a large number of troops. Eventually, in a war of attrition, Ill win. Its almost guaranteed. But were trying to strike fast and hard.

Can I afford to make a lot of monsters thatll all die quickly with the limited time and supplies I have?

I suck some air between my teeth and make up my mind. Im not going to make quick and disposable monsters. Theyll just die when theyre overwhelmed, and being smaller they wont have much of an advantage against the average zombie or whatever.

Esme stomps over to us, only pausing for a moment to stare at the two mantis-monsters Ive made so far. I found something, she says.

Oh? What is it? I ask. I need a bit of a break. Only two monsters down, hundreds to go, and Im already a tiny bit tired. Spacing things out will make it easier, I think.

Esme raises a book. Its a thick, dark tome with a binding thats made of old leather and blackened iron. The book that the Templars stole from a necromancer who in turn stole it from Semper. This has a bunch of information about necromancy. But its mostly stories. Not... direct information.

Like how some stories about heroes will teach you a bit about how to fight, and some history stuff too? Felix asks.

Exactly. I can see why the necromancers stole this one. Its a lot of allegory, and I think most of it is probably useless, but... well, maybe itll teach a necromancer how to better apply their own skills? You know, give them examples to work from.

I nod along. That seems reasonable.

Anyway, the fourth story in here is the tale of Hector Collado, who was a necromancer about two centuries ago working from the Vulture Plaines. He took out three entire towns, turning everyone there into ghouls before Heroes Templars found him. He died, obviously.

Whats the story then? I ask. Im going to start the next monster creation, but I can listen and work at the same time.

Its a long story. But the main bits at the start. Hector found a way to create undead that can create more undead. It took a lot of sacrifices, but his plan was to start with a few towns, then take over a city, then go from city to city until everything was undead.

Oh. I say. Couldnt he have raised the dead himself?

Esme nods, but I sense a soft no coming. How long does it take you to make a monster?

It depends on the size and complexity. Ten minutes, if I know what Im doing? Twenty on average, I guess. Tiny monsters I can make in a dozen seconds.

Its longer for a necromancer to make a ghoul or zombie. Even if Altums cult has a hundred in the city, they can only raise about a hundred people an hour.

And theres thousands of dead in Algecante, I say. The math makes sense, I suppose.

So, theyre making these undead-making undead?

I think theyve made them already, Esme says. And I also think that theyre spreading them around.

Oh.

***