Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

After setting up our tents we went to the river. Nyx provided us with privacy as we took a quick bath. Sadly she did not fish for us. So we were stuck with our nemesis once more, crackers.

“I can’t wait to have proper food again.” Helena sighed.

“Only two more days of travelling. I will buy everything the mess hall has when we return. I will just keep eating until I explode.” Cassie said.

“That is taking the love for explosion a bit too far.” I teased.

“Nope. Exploding because of food is a worthy way to go.” She countered.

“Hey, what if your goblins fish?” Skadi suggested.

“How would I instruct them? They don’t understand the command to go and fish.” I answered.

“They are undead, they don’t breathe. You can have them standing underwater and just stab a fish if it comes close.” Skadi suggested.

I thought about that for a bit. “You know, that could actually work. Do you think we can add some bait to them or something?”

“Where would we get bait from? Just look for worms on the ground?” Cassie asked.

I shrugged. We were still at the shore of the river. We had a fire to boil some water and help dry our clothes. Since we did not have towels we put them back on while still being wet.

“I don’t think we will have some insects here that we can use. Just send them in and hope for the best.” Helena suggested.

We could always change our strategy later so I followed her advice. The goblins dutifully marched into the river. I ordered them to just stand underwater and stab any fish that came close. Nyx watched them from the shore for a while, then she joined us at the fire.

“Maybe I am imagining things but Koyuki’s technique did help. Or maybe it’s the training while marching. But I am progressing with my fire magic.” Cassie said.

“I have never tried learning spells without it. So I would not know how much it changes.” I admitted. “Major Charles did not make it sound that amazing. He was mostly excited that it allowed him to intensify my training.”

“It does make my magic feel more natural.” Helena mused.

“If it’s that great, why aren't more people doing it?” I wondered.

“We struggled when you just explained it. We could not do that if you had not guided us through it. I doubt many people would be trusting enough to let someone put mana into their body like that.” Skadi pointed out.

“That is one part.” Helena said. “But there is more. If this is a significant advantage, a lot of people would not share it. Imagine if you could keep something like that inside your house.”

“Oooh, so we are now the guardians of a secret technique! We should come up with a cool name for it!” Skadi sounded rather excited.

“But… I just did what felt natural. How secret can that be? Major Charles knew about it!” I protested. Was this really a big deal?

“He knew about a similar technique. It’s possible he didn't quite understand what you did.” Helena pointed out.

“Nobles are very interested in the power of their bloodline. That is why they are so concerned about their marriages. They are sometimes keeping certain spells a secret to get an advantage.” Cassie said.

“Secret spells?” I wondered.

“Oh yeah. The kingdom has come a long way in creating schools and sharing knowledge but not all spells are taught. Of course, eventually people are bribed and the information spreads. How many truly secret spells there are these days is debatable.” Helena explained.

Suddenly I felt something from my undead. “I think a goblin caught something!”

We all looked towards the water. The skeleton emerged with a fish on its spear.

“Yes!” Helena shouted and started dancing. “No crackers for us!” She cheered.

That drew some attention. The other students could not really see the goblin in the river. Or maybe they just ignored them. Actually… “Why is no one else fishing?” I wondered.

“Because even if they have fished before, servants organised the bait for them. And I doubt anyone brought a fishing rod.” Skadi said.

A valid point I suppose. Not that it mattered, we had a fish! Helena collected the prize and the goblin returned to the river. I ordered it a bit further away from the other one, hoping it would increase our chances for more fish.

“Hey, you might have started a trend.” Cassie said while pointing towards Leo. Apparently he had observed us and now ordered his skeletal wolf to fish as well. I also saw Tim and Tom watching. They had not animated anything bigger than a rat so far.

“Well, I will handle the grilling.” I got up and took the fish. Then I started preparing it. Helena was already salivating while she watched me work.

Just as I started grilling, the second goblin caught something. We would have a really nice dinner tonight! I ordered my undead to change their spots every time they caught a fish. And I commanded them to go deeper into the river. As a minion returned with the third fish, Shin approached us.

“Um, hi! Would you be willing to sell me a fish?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

“Depends on how many we catch.” I replied. “I think we might be able to sell one if the goblins keep up that pace. Skadi can handle the finances.”

“Thanks!” He said and started negotiating with her. Meanwhile, I prepared the third fish for grilling. I cut off the head and threw it towards Nyx. She had played with the other two before eventually devouring them.

We ended up selling two fish and eating four ourselves. It was a great success! The goblins performed well. Necromancy was really handy. I should consider animating more creatures. Maybe I could shop for some skeletons in the adventurers guild when we returned?