A rude interruption

The crater is silent except for Gromna's heavy, thoroughly satisfied breathing. Nenetl covertly rearranges her clothes to cover up. Ichika, the Mizuchian spirit caller, appears to be dissociating. Ignar, the Kaldish blacksmith, coughs quietly. Tiana's thoughts quietly prod at your mind, and you grin. You can feel her through the link - the heat of her embarrassed blushing over the link, the fear held in check by millennia of practice, the elevated heart rate - and even without the pheromones, a twinge of buried arousal.

<My lord, that was... ah... did you mean to include me in... *that*? When you said you claimed my body as well... I mean, will I also be expected to-->

<All things in good time,> you reply, letting your knowing smirk bleed into the link. <We'll discuss it later.>

Suddenly, Ichika's head snaps to the side, and her eyes seem to focus sharply on something you can't see. Then the young Mizu woman speaks up, her voice gentle and uncertain, but urgent. "O Sixth Great Dragon who Brings Life, my spirits tell me that enemies approach. The dragonlord of this place sends more of the local priesthood, stronger ones. And in numbers."

You hide a wince. You understand and respect the land of Mizuchi's penchant for granting dragons grandiose names, but you're not overly fond of the spiritcaller's first attempt - especially if she'll insist on using it every time she addresses you. Still, it's a problem for later. If she's right, you have more urgent concerns.

You nod. "Thank you, Ichika," you say, tone all business. "Alright, then. As much as I would love to draw this out and make a stand here, we've just gained a large tribe that needs protecting. We need to move. Those from Ixtacotak, do you know a place we can hide out?"

Xixi speaks up, voice hoarse and raspy. Though his host body is still young, the parasitic spirit's current form is clearly on its last legs - the jaundiced, sunken skin and atrophied muscle of are more than enough testament to that. He clings to a walking stick as though it's the only thing keeping him upright - and for all you know, it could be. "There is a cave network nearby. Cramped, dark. Unpleasant. But obscure. Safe enough, I think. And with clean water; there is a cenote there, hidden from the surface."

You nod. "Lead the way."

<Tiana, regroup with us. We have incoming, and need to get your people out of here. I can add some arms to our escort, but we'll still need to stay quick and quiet.>

<Understood, my lord dragon.>

You quickly pace the crater, taking inventory of the dead and determining which corpses remain mostly intact. As you do, you address the large Kaldish man. "Ignar, formal introductions will have to wait. For now, know I have heard your wish, and all the metal you see is yours." With a snap of your fingers, the dragonite strewn around the crater suddenly vanishes. You don't normally have pocket dimension access, but the lingering ur-embers allow this as a special case. "To be utilized *later*, once you have access to a facility and the time needed to work with it."

"No objection, m'lord," he says, nodding gravely. "No point in gettin' all this if I die before I use it."

"Good man," you say, as you finish your quick assessment. Half the corpses are too fragmented from the Balefire explosions to raise; their states of bisection or dismemberment would render them immobile. But the remainder will do for now. "The rest of you, get Gromna back on her feet and group up. And try not to scream."

You ignore their looks of apprehension and gaze out over the dead; your first challengers, and the first soldiers in your nascent army. You kneel and place your palm to the dirt - purely for dramatic effect, of course - and cast your third spell.

Animate Dead.

Purple lighting traces arcs along the ground from your hand to the viable dead. You watch as their eyes ignite with arcane flame, burning out the sockets until nothing remains but glowing pinpricks of your violet energy. The first body spasms and jerks, goes still - then, in a smooth, controlled, lifelike motion, it rises. Bone grows over the charred flesh, forming armor plating thick enough to turn a blade or stop a hammer blow. The risen soldier burns with a ghostly green aura that separates itself into three spectral copies of its form. By the time the ghosts have resolved themselves, the process is well underway with the next soldier. That one instead emerges from their animation cloaked in shadow, moving with the intentionality and quiet of a stalking predator. In the end, where there were once six dead amateurs, two dozen expert warriors stand under your command - twelve knights, eight assassins, and four liches, the last spawned from the priest you ended up close.

And the spell isn't finished - as you stretch your power out through the area, you realize there are more than just humanoid corpses you can make use of. The lighting arcs out again, this time from each of the soldiers, and shoots outwards along the ground past the treeline, into the darkness of the jungle. You hear the echo through the trees of enormous bodies rising from the dirt as some of the surrounding dead animals answer your call. There's a loud, trilling howl from the woods."Triceratops," supplies Xixi, the spirit projecting total calm while the rest of your companions gawk at the grisly display. "Impressive."

As if on cue, eight hulking undead dinosaurs, physical and spectral, burst forth from the jungle. They stop a few feet from you and stand stock still, like trained war beasts awaiting an order.

You turn to the first of your physical shambling corpse army. Infusing your words with power, you order, "Specters, form a perimeter around us and Tiana's pilgrims. Lich, be ready to move fast and support any spirits that enter combat. If you can kill a pursuer, do so. If not, prioritize slowing them down and stalling until reinforcements arrive. Soldiers, unless you're needed, you're on corpse patrol. Shuttle the dead to me, and protect yourselves as you do."

The dead do not comprehend. But they respond to the magic in your words, the pure will and intent behind them granting you control. And they obey.

You then look to your spiritcaller, and see most of your companions visibly unnerved by this new development. Even Ignar has taken a few steps back and seems to be contemplating whether it's too late to change his mind and flee into the night. Nenetl looks like she might vomit. Only Gromna, who's still too blissed out to pay much attention to anything, and Xixi, the native of the spirit world, seem unaffected.

"Ichika," you ask. "Can you communicate with them?"

She jolts at your request, startled out of her shock, but, after a moment of thought, nods her head. "That should be within my power, o Sixth Great Dragon who Brings Life. I believe I can maintain a bond over distance as they surround us."

"Good," you reply. "I want to know immediately once there's contact, or if we lose any of the specters."

She nods. "And so you shall."

Turning to the rest of the group, you ask "Are there any urgent last-second questions before we leave?"

There is only silence from the assembled companions. Tiana's voice again echoes in your mind, this time with a mix of concern, revulsion, and resolve. <I have many questions,> she sends, <but none so important that they should stay our march.>

<Good,> you reply. Then, to her and everyone, you say, "Alright, then. Time to move out!"

Resource Gained: Army of the Dead

4x Lich, 12x Heavy Infantry, 8x Heavy Cavalry (Triceratops), 8x Assassin