I saw the arrayed enhanced puppets numbering s thousand each one equal to a Draugur and with my swords they could hopefully surpass them. Their weaker brethren helped fluff the ranks and comparable to the lesser skeletons. All in all our forces numbered ten thousand, some where completely unequipped and where in the back, some possesed weapons others had scavenged armor.
The thousand though, they were fully outfitted and equiped. I had drafted a strategy, Anastasia was best at on the fly decisions and I knew how to best place troops. Anastasia because of talent and me because an obsession to grand strategy games and medieval war strategies.
Such as the one I had planned, I had mapped out and created a model of the caves we where in. The plan was to have the scouts enrage the groups of lesser undead and then lure them into the caves there they would meet the superior puppets. The weapons and armor would be passed down, the elite puppets taking the better gear and passing their hand-me-downs and weaker gear down to the lesser puppets.
The goals where three fold, one outfitting the puppets, two slaying the weaker ones first to limit their number advantage, and thirdly luring the Jarl and possibly the Seer into a more aggressive stance. This would be in our advantage, as I had made the entrances into clockwise staircases and narrow corridors to maximize Defenders advantage. Meanwhile Anastasia would be leading the army while I waited in case a flank was overrun or the two remaining elites came to scuffle. The hope was to gain the numerical advantage as I held off the elites.
The effectiveness of the strategy was dependent upon the counter strategy that the Jarl chose. He could play around until it was too late and end up with a massacred army of alternatively he could come out full force as soon as we repelled the main force. The one big mystery factor or should I say two now that I think about it, one being how powerful are the Jarl and the Seer compared to the raider, and two are the Jarl and the Seer Working together?
I didn't know but I had a feeling that the Seer did the ritual, this was primarily based on the name 'seer' so it was bit shakey.
I felt the probing of Anastasia's mind as she tried to communicate telepathically agreeing to it I heard her voice which was calm and somewhat excited.
'Hey, Boss we've got the first waves coming all lesser skeletons and an odd ghoul, most are without armor mostly having farming tools and such' she stated, hmm it did make sense that majority of the undead would be former farmers and laborers with only the warriors having weapons.
'for now give the farming tools to the unarmed until we have better options' I replied as I waiting for something more interesting to show up.
'beat you to it Boss' Anastasia replied before turning off the Telepathic communication.
...
30 minutes later...
...
'Boss, First Draugur spotted' Anastasia reported as I finished resharpening a kitchen knife, one of the few remaining from Earth.
'Is it engaging in combat?' I asked her, as I stood up, stretching slowly and methodically.
'No it is watching from tree cover, I have two scouts on its location, what should we do?' chuckling to myself, for some reason Anastasia would periodically ask me what do to. She knew what to do, she did it all the time whenever I was wrecking havoc like a daemonic pinball. Now that I was not engaging directly in combat she kept on asking my opinion.
'I think you know, come on Anastasia!' I replied and after pause where she didn't respond she responded anxiously.
'I let it go to drag the rest their' she stated more like a question.
'Yep good job Anastasia!' I replied cheerfully as I was ready to go. These dumbasses didn't know, the caves where my domain not theirs.
...
An hour later
...
I stood out of a cave entrance elevated from the dirt floor of the cavern ahead. Swarming through the forest was a horde, like an onion the army had layers. The first layer was Lesser Skeletons, outfitted in tunica and wielding nothing or random tools of their trades in life. Next up was a thin layer of Ghouls and wispy figures reminiscent of the [Elder Plauge Elemental]. I had a feeling they where going to cause problems for our all melee army. Targeting those that I could see I activated [Floramancy] and spent a non insignificant amount of mana to wipe them out.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The bad thing about fighting mindless zombies is that they don't have moral and marched unaffected by their allies getting swooped up by the local vegetation.
...
In the Forward War Camp
...
"Seer, what's happening what news do you bring?" The Jarl asks not looking up from the outdated cave map. How had they changed the layout of the caves so thoroughly, on such a short notice?
"My Jarl the enemy Challenger has used his magic to destroy a good portion of our Wraiths" The Seer stated taking the front line of Wraiths off the war board. This time the Jarl looked up concentrating on the puzzle before him. Being born in a minor and prosecuted tribe his mind was sharp and experienced when It came to warfare.
"He exposed a weakness so readily, he's an amuture a powerful one but inexperienced nonetheless, his army is weak to magical enemies how many Wraiths to you have in reserve after the attack?" The Jarl stated the question, he knew how many she had total but it was a different number on how many of her troops did she want to sacrifice.
"500 is the number I can spare, my liege" she stated moving some of the Wraiths from the reserve camp to the far back of the second wave.
"Your commitment is Appreciated" the Jarl stated to his follower.
...
Back to Kien
...
The skeletons poured into the entrances, the flanks held the elite puppets able to easily hold off the skeletons. Every now and again a flank would have a small hill of bones build up causing the skeletons to hold confused until they eventually pulled the bones back and out. Resuming the battle the farm tools where being pulled back to back lines.
If I remembered correctly Anastasia had created four types, the smallest group being the Elite Puppet with the copy of my [Knight's Bulwark] skill, the others were the same size three hundred and three. The Bricks as Anastasia called them had four totems, one from rank two salamanders, the second one from Draugurs that granted them better sword skills, three and four I couldn't remember as they where less active and more passive.
The second group were called the Stabbers, creative I know, they where designed to Skirmishers with extra combat abilities, one totem being from a venomous snake, a second from the Hares, the third I think came from a wolf? I wasn't sure.
The Third and final where called the scouts Anastasia did not have affinity for grandiose naming, they where well the scouts and I could hear their screeches reverberating off the caves. They did only minor damage to the Lesser Skeletons, but the few Ghouls they tested it on were heavily effected by them.
I knew that about a hundred scouts laid in hiding obscured in the forest watching and waiting. I had to be careful with their use cause as soon as the enemies became aware of them it would become a bloodless slaughter for the scouts as they would be overwhelmed and would give away the existence of the more powerful Puppets.
...
The first wave of the Undead came and passed and I recognized it for it was, a probing wave as the the third layer filled with Draugur never marched. No doubt the Jarl wanted to see if he could wipe out my forces without committing to much to the charge. None of the puppets fell and the Scouts afield remained undiscovered.
The blood red sunstones dimmed creating a simulation of night something I hadn't noticed In caves forging away. I stayed on edge if they where going to attack it was going to be later tonight under the cover of the darkened crystals.
I had sent a thin tendril of Mana to see if I could destroy their Warcamp to discover it had been warded, or at least thats the term I called it when the flow of magic prevents my [Geomancy].
It would cost me all my mana to break through and all it would do would kick the hornets nest. Besides I needed them to ware down their numbers before a direct fight.
...
My eyes snapped to the movement of the forest, they had been sending small parties to walk through the forest no doubt trying to cause a boy that called wolf situation. luckily we had posted and unsleeping scouts on watch. The movement of the forest was that of a full wave, and I heard a whisper from the forest. A powerful adversary was coming, the forest would tell me no more or more accurately couldn't. The plants held a low level of awareness so they typically didn't notice stuff so although I was able to Commune with them it was very rarely useful.
Reading I watched as ghouls and Draugur poured out from the trees. Perfect, commanding the Puppets around me they pushed giant boulders and burning coals onto the approaching army.
The sweet screams of the undead unnerved me but it was promising nonetheless. They poured into the caves meeting the ready Elite Puppets which given the terrain advantage cut their otherwise equals to pieces.
Then I saw a Draugur that stood a foot taller then His peers and was eerily familiar. Inspecting it I got my answer.
...
[Draugur Raider] Lvl: 29
Rank Two Elite Undead
...
I had feeling this replacement for a lack of a better term was weaker then his counterpart, and unlike his predecessor he had no Necrotic Fire as far as I could tell.
Jumping down from my perch in the upper cave. I fell into the enemy ranks, now I wasn't an idiot I knew they where wearing me down before ganking me when I was tired.
This item i wasn't holding back, grasping my Club tightly, I activated my domain.
"[PSEUDO-DOMAIN OF GEOMANCY: ROVING TIDES]" I bellowed and the earth around me heeded my call as it became Imbued with my will and the strange energy of the Eldritch Realms.
Ignoring the fodder I closed towards the New Raider. Using two tentacles I arrested it's movements before slamming into like a human sized comet.
