Skadi returned with a big plate of food. Cured meats, sausage, cheese, bread... the perfect snacking plate.

  “What are you laughing about?” She inquired, as she set the plate down.

  “Hatsumi has already put Leo in his place.” Cassie answered.

  “Leo was getting really pushy lately. Maybe it is a good thing…” I was still uncertain about that. He had influence. But I did have power. I was a senior mage with two tier three undead.

  “Of course it is a good thing. People need to respect you, Koyuki. He is nothing.” Hatsumi said.

  “He does have access to corpses. But I think we can get some in the north when we visit Helena’s family.” Skadi suggested.

  “Yeah! We can go hunting. There are always some bandits and plenty of monsters.” Helena said.

  “It would be my pleasure to hunt things for you! I will try to not turn them myself.” Hatsumi offered.

  “I wonder if I can use your bite. Could you kill them by adding necrotic mana to their blood without turning them into undead? And letting me raise them? Actually, do you want your own undead?” Of course there might be some legal issues with a tier three, even a bound one, raising an army.

  Hatsumi pondered that. “Maybe later, once my core grows a bit. For now I prefer to keep my mana available. But I will happily explore my abilities in order to help you.”

  “What are your thoughts on living creatures? Including people. Do you see them differently, being an undead?” Cassie asked.

  “Hm. I am not sure how living beings see other living beings.” Hatsumi said. “However, I do not hate them, if that is what you mean. I have no desire to kill someone just because they are not undead. That said, I have no particular problem with killing either.”

  “So what sort of role do you want to have in our group? A frontline fighter?” I asked.

  “I have not really considered that. I see myself as a hunter. I think I would like to fight close. I think I would like to taste my enemies’ blood…” She licked her lips as she said it.

  “Hey, I just realised you are eating sausage.” Helena mentioned. “Do you like normal food?”

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  “This is blood sausage. It is acceptable. I would prefer fresher blood though.” She replied. “Actually, Koyuki mentioned you might be able to help me, Cassie.”

  “Huh? Oh! You want me to make some blood potions?” She asked.

  “Would it be possible to properly preserve blood and keep it fresh?” Hatsumi asked.

  “Oh. Sure. I think I can do that, at least for a while. But I am not sure how it will affect taste or effectiveness. Just because I can prevent spoilage does not mean it retains whatever a vampire needs.” Cassie cautioned.

  “So, back to the group. Skadi is our frontline fighter and will be a spellblade. Helena is a mix between ranged and melee. She will focus on large scale ice magic but also knows her weapons and can create an ice armour. That way she is our most flexible member. Cassie provides alchemy support and I am mostly controlling my undead, enhancing them and adding some death magic. Nyx is also a frontline fighter and bodyguard.” I explained our setup.

  Hatsumi pondered that. “I would like to become your bodyguard. But I would also like to hunt for you. I could see myself leading a charge… I am uncertain.”

  “You should be an assassin, or a spy! You could seduce the enemy, then kill them and turn them.” Cassie said with a grin.

  “You got that idea from one of Skadi’s books, didn’t you?” I accused her.

  “I might be interested in such a book. Does it feature vampires?” Hatsumi asked.

  I groaned.

  “We should go book shopping. I am sure there are great vampire stories.” Skadi suggested.

  Helena nodded. “It will take us some time to reach my home. We will spend a lot of time inside a carriage, or on a horse.”

  “We could train some magic, read a few spellbooks.” I suggested.

  “I believe that learning needs a lot more concentration than entertainment. Perhaps having both available would be good.” Hatsumi pointed out.

  Cassie grinned. “I like her.”

  “She did not completely rule out training.” Skadi pointed out. “We should definitely spar a bit when we camp in the evening.”

  Cassie pouted.

  “It will take me a few days to organize the trip. Everyone is coming, right?” Helena asked.

  “Yes. I am going to write to my mother tomorrow and tell her.” Cassie said.

  “I am going to inform my parents as well. I can invite them to stop by, right?” Skadi asked.

  “Of course!” Helena said.

  “Does your father know that we are coming?” I asked.

  Helena shrugged. “Well… I told him I would bring friends. Don’t worry, my dad is great!”

  “What is his opinion of undead? Should I bring the skeletons?” I asked.

  “We do fight quite a few undead in the mountains but he does not hate them particularly. He is fine with competent necromancers. Bringing your undead might be a logistical problem, though. We want to travel faster than the wagon we used for our trip. Could they keep up?” She asked.

  “Undead do not tire in the conventional sense. However, they consume mana. If they were sprinting the whole day? I honestly don’t know if they would collapse at some point. I am not sure if I could give them additional mana through the bond. The undead healing spell might help. But I don’t think I need to bring all my skeletons. Or the Iron Beaks. Maybe just Frank and the cats and the magical skeleton? And Hatsumi, of course.”

  “If you leave the magical skeleton here all party members could look alive, from a distance. Frank might not pass close scrutiny but in armor he certainly does look like a person.” Skadi suggested.

  “Would it be a problem if we had a visible skeleton?” I asked.

  “We might get ambushed less, that means less corpses! If we go by carriage without too many guards somebody could try to rob us.” Cassie said.

  “Are people really getting robbed that often on the main roads?” I wondered.

  “Not really. Most guards are there to protect from monsters and the main roads are well patrolled.” Skadi replied.

  “But you could put Frank on Coffee and everyone else travels inside a carriage.” Helena suggested.

  I nodded. “That does sound reasonable.”