Iris explains

You gather in the living area, settling in the couch, with Maya and Kali beside you. Iris sits, straight backed, in a chair across from you, and the other girls find places to sit around the room. You can hear everyone talking amongst themselves, and you’re not surprised to hear many of the conversations turn to her looks. She is very attractive, after all, even if she is undead.

Shaking your head to clear away those thoughts, you address the banshee, who is sitting unmoving, waiting to be addressed. “So, first things first. Everyone, this is Iris. She is a banshee, from the undead kingdom, come to us for aid and shelter. I wanted everyone to hear what she has to say to help come to a decision. So, to start, what is hunting you?”

Iris looks at you, and you see a hint of fear in her eyes. “The vampire-queen will have sent her hunters, ghouls brainwashed and trained to hunt down defectors. They will hunt me until they or I are destroyed.”

You nod. “Two questions. First, and forgive my ignorance here, but are all undead sentient? I’m from the new world, and in our stories, most are not.”

Iris nods. “Yes, undead retain their minds when reanimated. These ghouls have had their free will destroyed, however. They are now simply killing machines, but they will only attack their target, those who defend their target, and animals they need for food.”

Kali looks at you. “That explains the livestock deaths we’ve heard of.”

You nod, and look back to Iris. “Which leads to my second question. How did they get your trail? You said you came through the barrier.”

She sighs. “They have been hunting me since before I left. Once, I was a noble in the court of the kingdom. We were ruled by a wise and powerful lich. We fled into the ether when the demon lord came to power, once we found he could not be beaten. Unfortunately, doing so drained our king of power, leaving him wasted and weak, and he soon died.”

“He was succeeded by his wife, the vampire Mayella. She had a reputation for being kind and understanding, but the death of her husband changed her somehow. When the vampire-queen took control, she became monstrous, evil. Despite our reputation, most undead are not evil, we are simply people who have been reanimated. She began hunting down anyone who disagreed with her, even in small ways.”

Iris looks away into the middle distance, clearly reliving these events in her mind. “Something had to be done. I worked in secret with several others to find the magic needed to return our kingdom to the real world. We were successful, in a way. Most of the co-conspirators died from the magnitude of the power we unleashed. And once we returned, we found that time had traveled much faster here than for us.”

She looks back to you with sad eyes. “We found that people had occupied our one-time home, and not only that, the demon lord was as powerful as ever. The Queen used a powerful item to shield the kingdom, and used the isolation to begin hunting. I formed a resistance group, comprised of both living and undead, but we are far to weak to fight back meaningfully. We had begun to lose hope when your battle happened.”

“Even within our shield, we felt the demon lord die. And even the weakest seer could see your power, blazing like a beacon. We decided to act, out of desperation. I volunteered to go, since I was hunted already. I had stolen an item to escape the barrier, and I used it to flee, and led my hunters away. I followed your trail to find you here, and now I am asking for your help.”

She shakes her head. “I know this is a lot to consider. I know I am asking you to take a lot on faith. But I give you my word that I have told you the truth.”

You look over to Yura, who nods. “She is telling the truth as far as I can tell.”

You nod. “You’re right, Iris, this is…a lot. How big of a threat are these ghouls?”

She looks down. “I am no fighter, I could not fight them, and my power will not work on other undead. A competent fighter would be able to dispatch one, but they operate in packs of five or six.”

You smile. “No threat to Uzume or Clarissa, then. You said they’re brainwashed…could they be cured of that?”

She shakes her head. “No, once they become what they are, there’s no return.”

You look to the other girls. “As long as there’s no objections, I say we can protect you. I cannot promise more until we look into this more. However, you can stay here where it’s safe. What kind of accommodation do you need?”

There’s hope in her washed out eyes when she looks at you. “I…I can stay here? Thank you, you are very kind…I only require a bedroom, somewhere to rest.”

You nod. “We have plenty of those. We will set up a guard schedule to be ready for the ghouls. I doubt they will be a threat to any of the girls who can fight.”

Uzume grins. “Dibs on the ghoul smashing!”

You laugh. Kali, Clarissa, and Samara all volunteer as well. Next to you, Maya crosses her arms. “I want to help, but I know you won’t let me!”

You shake your head. “You’re too far along, love. You can barely walk normally, much less fight. I let you fight when you were a couple months in like Clarissa and Kali are, but now it’s too risky.”

Iris looks at you, and then around the room. “All these pregnant women…yours?”

You smile. “I wouldn’t put it like that, but yes, they are pregnant from me.”

The banshee manages to look surprised. “I…see. You are quite…popular, then.”

Sadie giggles. “Joshie is the best! You should try it!”

Iris blinks. “You allow such…informality?”

You laugh. “Again, not how I’d put it. Sadie does what she wants. But yes, we’re family, not slaves. We are all equals.”

She nods. “Interesting…it seems I have things to think about as well. Would it be acceptable if I retired to a bedroom for a while?”

You smile. “Of course. Anna can show you the way.”

Anna leads Iris away, and Maya nudges you. “She’s interested, my Josh!”