Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

It turned out that healing was complicated. The runes for the spell were complex and I had trouble forming them in my mind. I would need a lot more practice to pull it off. Oh well, I suppose my draugr had to regenerate by himself.

“I never realised how complex healing an undead is…” I said.

“If every spell was easy to learn, we would have already graduated.” Cassie said.

“I suppose.” I had to admit, my success at raising undead might have gone to my head. I needed to keep working hard on my magic!

“Meow.”

I looked at Nyx, who was sitting in front of me. The salve made her bones really shiny. She looked good. I picked her up and started petting her.

“Sorry, for ignoring you. I should have helped with your salve. It was a reward after all.” Then I addressed Cassie. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s fine. We all love Nyx.” She said.

“That is true.” Helena confirmed. Skadi nodded.

“So, I think it’s time to call it a day. Shower, then food?” Cassie suggested.

We all agreed. It had been a long day.

My draugr accompanied us to dinner. He was reasonably useful at reserving a table, while we grabbed food. I just instructed him to tell everyone that this table was taken. While he was not able to respond, that should not be needed. Nyx waited on his head.

When we returned I realised that I might have been a bit naive.

“What do you mean, this table is reserved?” I heard Archibald say. He had his whole group with him.

“This table is reserved, please move along.” The draugr responded.

“Outrageous!” Florence protested.

“There are other free tables, you know.” I said, as we arrived.

“You, of course it’s you.” Florence said.

“One would think that was clear, considering that the draugr has Nyx on his head.” Helena pointed out.

“Your servant has insulted me! Why are there even servants here? I don’t think that is allowed!” Archibald protested.

“This is an undead minion. Was that not obvious?” Helena asked.

“He can only repeat the one line I ordered him to. So he can’t have insulted you.” I pointed out.

“This is an undead?” Eva asked.

“Of course. No living thing would serve this animal.” Florence said while pointing at me.

“GRRRRR” Nyx was not amused by her comment. I wondered just how smart she was. Was she understanding the words, or simply interpreting the tone?

“Is your cat threatening us?” Simon asked.

“No. I think she is just offended by your smell.” I said.

The look on Florence’s face was priceless. “You dare?!?”

Huh? I would not have rated that insult so high. Helena was sniggering.

“Clearly she prefers the smell of rotten things. She has no taste.” Jack tried to console Florence.

“She has no class. That 2nd undead just gave her a boost in confidence. I wonder what she had to do for it?” Simon said.

“Magic. Maybe you have heard of it?” Helena said.

“I would offer a demonstration, but it seems that you are all alive.” I smiled.

Eva’s eyes widened. She glanced at the draugr.

“Just wait. You will regret ever defying me.” Archibald said. Then he left with his friends.

“I am proud of you!” Helena announced, while smiling at me.

I looked at her. “Huh?” Was my coherent response.

“You are getting better at putting them in their place. You might not have a title, yet. But in the long run you are going to be far more important and powerful than they are.” Helena said.

“Do you think he has something planned? His last statement sounded like a threat.” Skadi said.

“Eh. He probably wrote a letter to his father. He still does not understand how powerful Koyuki is.” Helena said.

“I am not sure if that would stop him. He is a typical noble. He thinks there are no consequences for mistreating commoners.” Skadi said.

We all sat down at the table. “You never told us why you dislike nobles so much.” I said.

Skadi sighed. “You are right.” She took a sip from her ale. “You know that my parents are merchants. If you want to trade inside Nethena, you need a licence. Those are often granted by the local lord.”

“Wait, aren’t they granted by the kingdom?” Cassie asked.

“Depends. In a city, you often need a local licence for a shop. That is handled by the city administration. If you want to trade inside Nethena, or across the border, that is handled by the kingdom, in theory.” She took another sip.

“My parents worked at an auction house. They saved up some money and wanted to start a trade caravan. But they needed a licence. We were in a small barony and the local lord handled those personally. The cost should be one gold but he charged five platinum.”

Helena gasped.

“My parents refused and decided to move to the next city. They could simply get it there. But when they tried to leave town, the guards stopped them. They accused them of trading without a licence and confiscated everything they had. Luckily, my parents managed to hide some money under their clothes. They reported this incident in the next city. Nobody cared. It took them years to recover from that loss.”

“Who was that baron?” Cassie asked.

“Bruno Lewis, that was before I was born, about 20 years ago. They had more bad experiences with nobles since then. Now they are running a successful business though. But my point is, when a noble breaks the law, or hurts a commoner, there are often no consequences.”

“Hm. Lewis… Their barony is part of the Duke Harold’s duchy.” Helena said.

“I do know some poisons…” Cassie mused.

I was not sure if she was serious.

“Um. That is not why I told you this…” Skadi blushed.

“I know. Thanks for sharing.” I said. “But maybe, one day, an undead horde finds itself in this barony…”

Helena slapped me on the back. “That is my girl! Now you need to follow that with a laugh! Muahaha…”

While we did not join her laugh, we all smiled.