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After the battle, the Ollerinian troops set up camp on a neighboring hill overlooking the remains of the Bernish-Agelian camp. The soldiers had fought well through the night, and commanding lords allowed them to rest for a few days while they processed prisoners and plunder.
Within the new camp, Arthur sat slouched in his desk chair. He was tired. He couldn't recall a single instance in his second life where he had stayed awake through the night, so it was a new sensation to his teenage body.
"Young master, we've brought her as you asked." Foster announced from outside the tent's entranceway.
Arthur lifted his body and sat up. "Come in."
Foster and Jeren escorted Arianna inside. She no longer wore a potato sack, nor was her skin covered in mud. Arthur had allowed her to wear some of the more common clothes he had plundered so she didn't draw attention to herself.
"Now, why was your army running around with so much treasure?" Arthur asked, getting straight to the point.
Arianna sighed. "I would also like to know the reason, but sadly, I wasn't privy to such information. After the Agelians joined the war, all the priests and devout worshippers within Bern began espousing the same warning.
"They claimed Minaan granted them a vision to gather the nation's wealth and flee to Agelia along with a sizeable portion of the nation's population. They said that if we did, Ollerin would fall, and we would be rewarded for sacrificing our land to the invaders at that time."
Arthur shot her a look of disbelief. "And the Bernish nobility were fine with that? They freely gave up their lands and fled to a foreign nation based on the words of some priests?"
"Of course not. Some were unhappy, myself included, but what could we do? Many amongst the nobility are devout and witnessed the vision for themselves. So when they saw Ollerin in flames and heard Minaan's voice ordering them to gather their wealth and flee to Agelia, they didn't question it.
"Bern was already losing the war at that point, and with so many nobles fleeing to Agelia, there was little option left other than to join them, even if we had doubts. At least if we followed them, we could secure our wealth and had the promise of being rewarded by Minaan once the time came." Arianna explained.
Arthur mulled over the new information for a moment. It was certainly worrying learning that Minaan had directly interfered with the war, but if what Arianna said was true, then it meant there would be little resistance in his path to Helagaust. So, at least, his participation in the war would be short.
"Then why attempt to ambush us?" Arthur prodded. "Your army left Rothwel over a week ago. You could've escaped had you simply fled as you claim."
"It was the Agelian duke's idea to attack. According to the priests, the Agelians would be the ones to enact Minaan's great plan. The Bernish people would merely follow their lead. So we had little say in how we were used unless we wanted to be labeled heretics."
"I'm curious. How did you know we were coming to Rothwel?" Arthur asked.
"Duke Verac claimed his father had a collaborator in Ollerin." Arianna shrugged. "I don't know anything else about it."
Unfortunately, too many people knew about Ollerin's war plans, so it was impossible to narrow down the traitor. Still, it was surprising that someone from Ollerin with high enough status to learn the war plans was working with the Agelians and Minaan.
"You've made it seem as if your belief in Minaan is near nonexistent, but I wonder if that's true?" Arthur mused after giving her words some thought.
Arianna shot him a bewildered look. "How could one not believe in Minaan? If he were made up, then where do abyssals come from? Surely you don't deny his existence even if you don't worship him?"
Arthur was taken aback and realized he had misspoken in his weary state. If someone wasn't considered religious on Nithe, then all it meant was they chose not to participate in the act of worship. No one outright denied the existence of gods, at least as far as Arthur was aware.
"I meant you don't seem to worship Minaan like other worshippers I've met." Arthur clarified.
"Does everyone in Ollerin share the same level of devotion to your gods as your priests?" Arianna mocked. "I expect not."
Arthur laughed at the unexpected rebuttal. "I suppose that's a fair point. However, I find your honesty strange. Why tell me all of this? Assuming you speak the truth, that is."
"I told you earlier. I'm very fond of life, and I don't like pain. As long as I'm alive and whole, there is hope for a brighter day. So I have no intention of withholding information when all it leads to is torture and death." Arianna replied.
Arthur wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth, but it didn't hurt to take precautions. That being said, he wasn't exactly sure what to take precautions against.
Arianna didn't appear to know what Minaan's plan was or when it would be enacted, so there wasn't much he could do other than to notify Baron Iken. However, if he did that, Arianna would be taken from him, and he'd lose his new spell-crafting slave.
Arthur shook his head, deciding to keep his mouth shut. Undoubtedly, the Ollerinian armies in Bern would capture more enemy lords to question if they haven't already. On the other hand, there was no reason to give Arianna up, especially when she had little information to provide.
Arthur leaned over and opened one of the desk drawers, pulling out an unused leather-bound book and placing it before him. "Let me start off by saying that I'm not opposed to offering you limited freedom within my territory in the future. That is assuming you behave and prove yourself worthy of me taking such a risk.
"The first step towards earning that freedom is writing down every spell you know inside this book. The inverse will be true if I discover you hid or otherwise obscured knowledge of any spell. Your future will become rather bleak as I have a need for test subjects and little need for a disobedient Bernish noblewoman. Do I make myself clear?"
"I will be the embodiment of obedience, master." Arianna replied with a charming smile.
"Good." Arthur nodded. "Once you've finished that, you have two options. The first option is to create a spell that induces decay at an accelerated rate. For it to meet my needs, the decay process should completely strip away any flesh within a few seconds, but as long as you can induce accelerated decay at any speed, I will be satisfied.
"Creating a spell that halts or otherwise slows the decay process is also acceptable. If you choose this option, you're free to pursue whichever path you find more manageable.
"The second option is to create a spell or method to bind magic to an item. For it to meet my needs, the item must be able to act as its own medium to cast magic without being operated by a mage's mana. It's the more difficult choice, but if you have some insight, you are free to work on it."
The first option was obvious as Arthur needed a method to preserve his undead, and if Arianna could create a spell to induce accelerated decay, then Arthur could tinker with it to fit his needs. The second option was so he could find a way to use the mana cores he had collected from his puppets thus far.
As of now, those mana cores sat idly in his bedroom, but if she could find a way to use them as an energy source, it would allow Arthur to access the mana within at any given time. Of course, he didn't intend to reveal them until she proved a theoretical method of imbuing magic into an item.
Arianna fell into thought before tilting her head. "I'm confused. Is the first option not pointless? For it to work as an offensive spell, it would need to be a targeted attack unless you turned it into a projectile, but then its mana consumption would increase dozens of times.
"If you merely want to get rid of a body, burning it will do the trick. Why waste time creating something so complex when simpler solutions are available?"
Arthur shook his head. "You don't need to worry about wasting time. As I said, I'll be satisfied as long as you craft the spell. Besides, it's not meant to be used as offensive magic, so it doesn't matter if it's a targeted spell. It'll only be used to strip away the flesh from a corpse."
"Okay, then what of the second option?" Arianna asked, appearing exasperated with his response. "Without a mage to provide mana to the item, it cannot cast magic even if I discovered a method to bind a spell to it."
Arthur yawned before responding. "I told you, don't worry about wasting time. Since I'm asking you to create the spells, I obviously have use for them. If you're curious about that use, prove yourself by crafting them, and I'll show you."
Arianna opened her mouth a few times, seemingly ready to rebuke him. "I will do as you say. I very much look forward to seeing how these spells will be used. I hope you'll stick by your word at that time."
Arthur nodded before handing the empty leather-bound book to Jeren. "Have her looked after at all times, and let me know if she requires something other than basic necessities."
After sending them off, Arthur entered his bedroom to find Kyren and Marquis Bennet waiting for him. Now, it was time to secure the loyalty of another ghost, which Arthur hoped had magic for him to learn, unlike Kyren.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmWJAo7Jjp
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