Even though many Elders wanted to beat him to death, they had to admit that the Lich King was right.
The Gargoyles had maimed several people, but nothing that a few breaths of Invigoration couldn't fix. The more mistakes their apprentices made now, the more their chances of survival would increase after learning from them.
"On top of that, we already have a rough understanding of the quality of your education. Those who refused to collaborate need to be disciplined." The plus sign disappeared from the holograms of a little less than half the expedition.
"Those who instead are actively promoting teamwork will become leaders in our army." Another plus sign appeared on the remaining members, bringing them to two. "Yet, words are cheap.
"We have yet to see how they will actually conduct themselves once they find the baits that I left all around Urgamakka. I'll keep you posted. Inxialot out." The Lich hung up the call before turning around.
There was a reason why he had taken human form after centuries, and unlike what his colleagues believed, it wasn't another of his attempts to hit on the human representative of the Council.
"Is lunch ready or not? I'm starving." Human bodies needed maintenance which usually led Liches to turn into rotting corpses to not be bothered with chores like feeding and personal hygiene.
"Almost." Ratpack whined. "You can eat appetizers while waiting."
He served the two Liches an excellent beer that they drank in one gulp and some salty snacks.
"Something is wrong with my body. Why did the beer end on my robe instead of in my tummy?" Zolgrish asked.
"You need meat, master." Ratpack started cleaning with a mop the beer that had gone through the Lich's mouth and onto the floor through the space where his neck was supposed to be.
"Then why did you serve the beer before the steak, you stupid creature?" He said.
"On your bones, master, not in your plate."
"Damn, sometimes I'm really dumb." Zolgrish turned human and happily choked on his beer by sending it down his windpipe. It had passed so much time from his last meal that he had forgotten how to drink.
Being a Lich, however, death didn't stick and he came back to life a few seconds later with a gasp.
"Drinking is way more painful than I remembered, but at least the beer tastes good."
"Ratpack, something is wrong with me as well!" Inxialot said while pointing at the pool of urine under his seat. "My beer is leaking."
"Your body fine. You just need bathroom." He replied.
"What's that?" Both Liches asked in unison with a puzzled look on their faces.
Only then did the small undead realize that Inxialot's control center had no restroom. Ratpack had prepared a huge meal that would be up to him cleaning once his guests had finished digesting it.
***
Meanwhile, even though the Awakened disciples couldn't agree on how to split their discoveries, organizing a common safe house was unanimously approved.
After sharing their respective contact runes so as to be capable of sounding the alarm in the case another defensive mechanism activated, they also established a place where they would assemble to fight together and everyone contributed fortifying it.
Once they were done turning one of the biggest mansions in Urgamakka into a makeshift fortress, most people went back to explore the city.
"Thanks for your help, Lith." Trevan the Nightwalker said while giving him a small bow. "If not for your generosity and for your sword's ability that allowed us to study the energy core while it still worked, we would have learned nothing."
"Don't mention it." Lith said.
'The more I think about this place, the more it reminds me of the White Griffon academy's mock exam.' He actually thought.
'You are just being paranoid.' Solus mocked him. 'No one in their sane mind would endanger their apprentices' life just to teach them a lesson.'
'Maybe. But even if I'm wrong there's no risk in sharing useless knowledge with others. Everyone knows how to make power cores and the energy core barely qualifies. If I'm right, instead, I might reap benefits from the Council.'
"If you need a place to rest, you can come to our place." Trevan said while offering Lith his hand. "I want you to know that the Undead faction has cut their ties with the Courts the moment they triggered that stupid war.
"Those like me have no interest in foolish conquest nor in being forced to follow the Horsemen. We've known for a long time how Dawn and Night treat their subjects. We have no intention of becoming cannon fodder for their madness."
Lith shook the hand, yet he found it hard to believe a single word coming out of the mouth of a Nightwalker.
Just like Blood Witches were prototypes for the Horseman of Dusk, Nightwalkers were Baba Yaga's first attempt to fix her children's weakness to the darkness element.
Aside from Night herself, Trevan was the first person that Lith had ever seen with such pitch-black skin.
Nightwalkers had an affinity toward a single element which allowed them to store huge amounts of darkness inside their bodies and gave them a level of mastery over it so great that it almost resembled Domination.
On top of that, the same darkness element that painted their skin black also made them resistant to all kinds of spells. Alas, it wasn't enough to overcome their natural weakness and their unusual appearance made it impossible for them to hide their nature.
Trevan looked like a fine man in his early thirties, about 1.79 meters (5'10") tall, with gentle features and a warm smile, yet Lith shuddered at his sight due to the Nightwalker's resemblance with Night.
"And if you have any trouble deciphering some writings or understanding how to use an artifact, feel free to call me." Aalejah said while taking down her hood and revealing her pointy ears and delicate features.
"I'm an apprentice of the World Tree and aside from the biggest secrets of magic, there isn't much that I don't know about old stuff like that we can find in Urgamakka."
Aalejah looked like a young woman in her early twenties despite the fact that she actually was over 200 years old. She had long golden hair that reached the small of her back and part of it had been braided into tresses that kept her hair from moving too much while fighting.
She was about 1.80 meters (5'11") tall with blue eyes and a lithe body for someone that tall. Her clothes resembled a hunter suit like those Lith had used during his youth, consisting of a shirt, pants, soft-soled shoes, and a utility jacket.
Unlike normal suits, however, Aalejah's kept changing its colors according to her surroundings, making only her exposed hand and head be clearly visible while the rest blurred the moment that she was still.
Luckily, it didn't happen often since she kept jumping around and looking at everyone like a kid during their first visit to a zoo. She was polite yet cheerfully childish, making people feel at ease.
"I don't mean to be rude, but aren't you an elf?" Lith asked while pointing at her ears.
