NOVEL NEXT Chapter 93 – Back in Safety
"Now that I have lived as one for twice as long as I had been mortal, I have to admit that being unliving… has its conveniences. Being able to enjoy what we used to while alive, yet at the same time spared from some of the less pleasant parts of being alive, has its charms. That said, the very idea of immortality has both caused excitement in some, and dread in just as many.
I am uncertain as of yet under which camp I fall into." - Diary of Aideen Fiachna, the First Unliving, year 75 VA.
Tohrmutgent
Central Ptolodecca
Lichdom of Ptolodecca
1st day, 1st week, 8tg month, year 75 VA.
The carriages stopped before a housing compound near the Palace of bones. The area used to be housing for acolytes and the priests of Tohrmut that served in the cathedral itself, but when the Bone Lord had looked to house the Unliving that gathered in a nearby area, they had volunteered their place, as there were vacancies anyway.
Tohrmutgent had temples for all six of the deities, with the other five arranged at equal distance to the Palace of Bones in the center, like spokes to a wheel, and the area between were reserved for housing of the clergy. The area used to be the old city, the original Tohrmutgent before its expansions, of which the current would have been the third, and was far oversized for the relatively small number of clergy and their families that lived there.
For this reason, many small businesses had taken root in the region - with permission of course - to help supply the needs of the people living there, but out of tradition and habits, generally people reserved the area for the clergy, their relatives, and those who helped make their living more comfortable.
Over the years, with how small their congregations were, people that worshiped the other deities have taken to living near their clergy in these areas, but the region where the clergy of Tohrmut lived kept to the age old arrangement, and thus easily had room to offer to host the unliving that had gathered.
It was there that they dropped off Jerrod, Illyana, and their families. Others who lived in the area, be it other unliving, their families, clergy who happened to be off duty that day, or their families welcomed them warmly, and Aideen bid them farewell as she and the rest of the group proceeded to the Palace of Bones itself.
Barely two hours later, they had a meeting with old Myrddin, reported everything that they had done, any information they ran into along the way, and for the agents, the reasoning behind any action they had taken. Aideen was exempt from making such a report, but she learned much from them and stayed to listen anyway.
Myrddin pored over their reports with a critical eye, the old therian praising jobs done well, and in one occasion reprimanded one agent lightly for having overstepped her bounds. Said agent was of orcish descent, though it was not obvious in her case, and on one occasion had wiped a company of slavers while rescuing one unliving, unnecessarily, as they could have rescued the man and left unnoticed.
Orcs and goblins were generally viewed as "lesser" in the empire, however, and thus formed the majority of their slaves. Most of the slaves under those slavers were the same, which led to the episode which the empire ruled as a case of minor slave uprising, where the slaves had broken free, slain their masters, and then disappeared.
Most of those former slaves lived in Ptolodecca now, only a few stubborn ones staying in the empire to search for their families or friends who were still enslaved. Aideen wasn't in the empire yet at that time, but she did see the former slaves arriving right as she departes to the empire herself.
Rianna was not reprimanded for her actions, but was instead promoted to team leader, as Myrddin judged her actions appropriate. She had not caused unnecessary damage, and her actions was done to ensure the mission in the most efficient manner possible to boot.
Aideen had congratulated the girl when they left Myrddin's office, and from there she separated with the agents, going deeper into the Palace of Bones. A few servants and members of the clergy that passed her by nodded in greeting, which she returned.
"Oh, you're back, aunt Aideen?" Greeted Éirynn as she walked by, hand in hand with Mimia. Behind them Haon followed, his whole frame renewed now, looking like a slightly crude sculpture of a wolf, with the blades on his back arranged to look like folded wings.
"Just did, yeah," she replied as she hugged her niece. Éirynn had officially become the Bone Lord's disciple on their return from Vitalica seven years ago, and had resided in Tohrmutgent since.
Her parents also resided in the city, as the Death Guards had found themselves feeling more comfortable in Ptolodecca - even if what used to be the old lands of Vitalica is now Ptolodeccan territory as well - and had as one chosen to return as well.
Diarmuid and Kestera naturally returned with them, and although Diarmuid officially still held the title as the leader of the unit, he had mostly retired and delegated his responsibilities to younger people. Instead he spent most of his time with his family now.
Maebh and Clovis remained in La Fiachna, where they oversaw the area that was once Vitalica. The past seven years had seen much of the damage rebuilt, and the people recovering. Immigrants from Ptolodecca helped the villages, depleted of its working adult population, tide the years even as the older of the children left behind stepped up to fill the vacancy.
Last time Aideen had visited, it was early in spring this year, just before she left for the empire. At that time Maebh had just recently given birth to her fourth child with Clovis, a second daughter, and had looked satisfied enough with her life.
