Chapter 60. Kingpin

“Is all this really necessary?” Abe said as zombies carried furniture through the wall.

“It’s a tiny sum in the grand scheme of things, Abe. And it’s good for morale. The girls need something. They lost their home, remember?” Viara replied as she directed the zombies through the camp.

“Fine. I just hope it’s worth it.”

“Oh, it will be Abe. We’re not like your second-rate ghouls and skeletons.”

“You better be,” Abe said and returned to his room.

The delivery date for his Astral ship was drawing near, but rumors of street wars had reached a feverish pitch in the Necropolis. The Reavers had declared themselves unaffiliated with either side. But word had it that Slayers were being recruited by a spore-emperor servant of an ancient and powerful dreamer who had come to Lantern in search of stolen treasures.

Abe knew the situation wasn't good; even if he could take on the big mushroom alone, it was just too much. Even if the banshees proved their worth, it would be a big ask to expect them to fight off an army of Slayers supported by sporekings. And Abe knew how much wealth Old Silveroot had. This problem just wasn't going away anytime soon.

He aimlessly shuffled through his belongings, packing them on the shelves Viara had delivered. Unfortunately, the mundane tasks failed to take his mind off his worries.

Ordering his ghouls and skeletons to line up, Abe had them practice some basic tactics. He was no general, but he had seen the banshees fight and figured that these ragged soldiers would be best served as a meat shield for them. As long as they could keep the enemy at bay, their combat effectiveness didn't matter too much.

He had them march out, form a line, and raise shields. He hoped they could work similarly to how the Reaver’s guild skeletons worked. Those skeletons hadn’t been very useful fighters but had been defensively sound.
Abe had also saved some of the weaker wererats and fed them to his new army. Of course, he wasn’t surrounding any brains that were useful to his own growth; those had been greedily consumed. But anything he deemed not particularly valuable to himself went to his budding army.

He purchased spears to go with the shields of the front line, which were mostly skeletons—and swords and bucklers for the ghouls that supported them. He had realized that the average skeleton was hardier than the average ghoul but slower. A stiff front line of spears and shields made of skeletons supported by quick, sword-wielding ghouls would make for an adaptable force. And the powerful blasts that the banshees brought to the battlefield could provide his force with artillery.

They were far from elite, but he was proud of how well his hastily trained army followed his instructions, even if it wasn’t in the heat of battle. And Abe was beginning to feel confident about facing the wererats if they attacked again.

Returned to his room, Abe held the black acorn in his palm and funneled deathly and dreamer energy into it. It no longer looked like an acorn. Filling his entire hand, the corn’s shape had begun to shift, pointing out in the direction of a suit of armor. Still, it was a long way from that, and if not for the fact that he knew what it was supposed to be, he would have just thought it was a strange, mutated acorn.

A knock sounded at his door, and Abe beckoned them in.

“Finally,” Viara sighed, stepping inside. “This place looks halfway habitable now. No thanks to you.”

“It’s my coin, isn’t it?”

“Okay, fine. A little thanks to you.”

Abe crossed his arms, “Okay, so, what now?”

“Really? Do you think so little of me? I’m not coming for your coin, Abe. It’s about your parading out front. It has the girls worried.”

“What about it?”
“Some of them think you’re actually going to try and fight this army of dreamers. They’ve heard the rumors on the streets like everyone else. They think you’re going to send us marching into a battle we can’t hope to win.”

“Oh, that. It’s that obvious, is it?”

“Abe, we’re not idiots.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Abe waved unconvincingly. “I don’t have a death wish either. I’m still hoping my order comes before things spiral too far out of control.”

“That wasn’t the deal,” Viara huffed.

“Deal? How am I supposed to do that? Are we supposed to just hunt down the wererats and pretend these dreamers don’t exist? Do you really think they’ll just turn a blind eye to you after we’ve concluded our business?”

“My responsibility to my clan. To provide them with a home, and that’s what I plan on doing.”

“And why does it need to be here, in Lantern? Neither of us hopes to take out Old Silveroot, and I doubt he’ll stop sending his underlings after us, even if we do find a way to get through this. Not yet, at least.”

“You really do have high ambitions, don’t you?”

“Look, all I’m saying is that I think you should trust me on this. Come with me; leave this place. It’s not safe. There are too many enemies here. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find somewhere more suitable,” Abe said, waving his hands.

“You want to lead your beautiful army of banshees off into the stars? How cute, Abe.”

“Come on, you know I’m right about this. Even Elder Kilik agrees with me.”

“She does? She hasn’t mentioned anything to me,” Viara raised a brow.

“She doesn’t think you’ll agree.”

Viara stared Abe down.

“Look, I get it. But wandering the Vale was how your little clan found its home in the first place.”

“A home we proceeded to lose.”

“That’s the Vale,” Abe shrugged. “Every decision comes with risks.”

“You speak like you understand the place. It was barely months ago that you stared out into the darkness with wide, child-like eyes.”

“It’s not that complicated. Kill or be killed. You don’t need a PhD to understand that.”

“Fine. Say we follow you. What’s your plan? Where are we setting off to?”

“My mistress's domain,” Abe smiled.

“The vampire?” Viara’s brow curled. 

Abe nodded.

“And why would she accept me and my sisters? We have no blood oath with her, and from my understanding, vampires care little for minions they can’t control.”

“She won’t need to. I want you to serve me. She’s already agreed to make me her captain. And if I’m going to sail the Vale on her behalf, I need underlings I can trust and rely on.”

“Underlings? It wasn’t too long ago you were humbled before me. Now you want to make me your servant,” Viara sighed.

“I mean, if you don’t like it,” Abe glanced around. “You can take your chances here. But when my ship comes, I’ll be leaving. I know we had a deal, but just like your girls don’t want to throw their lives away for someone else’s silly ambition, neither do I.”

“You really got stubborn, didn’t you? Fine. If Kilik agrees with your plan, then I shall, too. But you better not betray us.”

“I won’t promise. If I can’t convince Mistress Nia, you can have the ship and some ducats to go along with it, okay?”

“You’re really just going to give us an Astral ship and free coins?”

“I’ve got spare,” Abe shrugged. “Besides, I want you to know I’m serious. I’m pretty confident in my own strength these days, but having your clan by my side when traveling the Vale would be a great aid.”

“I suppose all this was a bit of a waste then,” Viara said, looking around at the furniture.”

“I did try to tell you.”

Abe tried to remain positive but hadn’t told Viara the truth. His zombies had gathered all kinds of information while he waited, including news of the looming vampire war.

An heir of Umbrial had been forced from her domain, and now her conqueror, a vampire countess, appeared to be the heir apparent. 

The news had been tearing him up inside. He wanted nothing more than to find out what happened to Miss Nia. Had her domain really been taken? And if so, she would have put up a fight, surely? Did that mean she was dead?

Slapping his face, he shook the thoughts away but crawled their way back in within seconds.

But his senses told him she was alive. Somewhere. Whatever she had laced her blood with back when Abe had last fed had provided an unexplainable link, and he couldn’t put the sensation into words; he knew she was out there somewhere, waiting for him.

Note: Sorry if this feels rushed. I'm struggling with the schedule and might have to reduce releases for quality. I will update you before doing anything.

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