The mind, the body, and the soul are intimately linked to each other within any living organism. Reanimation magic seeks to recreate this linkage to animate a construct made of formerly living tissue. Liches are an example of the apex of reanimation magic, injecting a living soul and mind into an undead body. Absent a living soul or body, most death category reanimation magics will create a pseudo soul and mind to animate the dead body.

  Golems similarly use a mana core as the pseudo soul and the mana circuit as a pseudo mind. While most magic categories can reinforce the vessel, mind category magic is unique in that it can reinforce the pseudo mind construct. This will allow the creation of the most stable and overall stronger construct.

  Soul magic can also be used in a similar method to greater effect, as the soul is by far the most complex of the three. Removing the vessel makes the undead construct ephemeral and easy to disperse, removing the soul makes the animation of the vessel weak, but while the weakest component, the removal of the mind, makes an undead construct inoperable. All undead have some form of pseudo mind, even if it is just something as simple as the urge to eat.

  -Traveler’s guild class on reanimation

  Weaving mind magic without a spell form is far more difficult than it sounds. Which makes trying to weave delve magic all that much harder, since it requires a mixing of mind and darkness magic. After a series of trial and errors, I find I need to move darkness affinity mana into the corpse without reanimating it. Then I could feed mind magic right as the reanimation process started. It’s not as great or as intricate as the spell forms I have, but recreating it with raw mana is the first step to understanding and improving the spell forms, without a training stone to rely on.

  Interestingly, I find that not only does it matter what kind of mind magic I layer in and the concentration of the mana, but also what I’m thinking while inserting the mind mana. As I experiment and the day drags on, I start to feel a bit hungry. The rat I continue to reanimate pulls on my subconscious hunger, gnawing on some of the sticks and grass around it. About the time it tries to bite me, I mentally command it to stop before dispelling it.

  “I think it is time to get something to eat.”

  I walk back to the house, and I’m just about to bite into a sandwich George made me when Alyssa pops in. “Good, you are here. The feces deliveries will begin tomorrow, but first we have a guest.”

  Alyssa pulls the sandwich away before I can take a bite. I raise my eyebrow. “Who’s the guest?”

  “Alicia Ashmore, second daughter of the head of the Ashmore branch, and her cousin Frank Ashmore.”

  I whistle, “So they sound important. I have no idea who they are.”

  She frowns, “Yes, they are important, and they are waiting outside with a half a dozen knights.”

  This causes me to perk up. “Are we in danger?”

  “I don’t know, but keeping them waiting doesn’t sound like a great idea.” She says with her hands on her hips.

  I eye my uneaten sandwich before seeing Alyssa glaring at me out of the corner of my eye. I sigh and head out.

  I walk outside to see a young man and woman in their twenties with red robes and a matching set of artifacts, including staves topped with an egg-sized ruby. The woman has long black hair pulled back into a braid, while the man has long flowing hair down to his shoulder. They are standing in front of a carriage with three knights on horseback flanking either side of the carriage.

  “Here’s our host,” The man says as he smiles and waves at me.

  “The famous Wilder in the flesh,” the woman adds as she smiles, while eying me up and down.

  “Hello, I would invite you in, but we are still putting the house together.”

  “Relax, wilder, we know of our distant cousin’s little prank,” Frank said.

  “That is actually why we are here; we have made a deal with merchant Evergreen. He will have your furniture back in your home before the day is out.” Alicia says.

  I’m a little stunned by the sudden turn of events. I don’t want to be ungrateful, but I’m also concerned there’s a trap in waiting.

  “I’m not sure what to say… Thank you for helping me. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  The two Ashmores grin as they make eye contact. Frank opens the door to the carriage while Alicia motions for him to enter. I’m a bit weary, but I follow them in. The two Ashmores get into the carriage, and it starts moving.

  Frank started, “Rumor is that you were the only one to come out of the dungeon and clear it.”

  I nod along.

  Frank continues, “Typical. The Heartbrans try to capitalize on the new level of the dungeon by favoring those who were most closely aligned with them. The first spot went to the Sandridge.”

  They both were grinning ear to ear at this point. “Cecelia Sandridge went in to clear the dungeon and came out bloody with two injured knights.”

  “Barely made it out with their escape tokens.” Alicia chimes in.

  “The next scheduled to go in are to be the Razorleaf branch, but they got cold feet after hearing how badly the Sandridge branch did.”

  “The Razorleafs were quite the adventurers until they had a child. Of late, they’ve been quite reserved. There are whispers they have lost their drive.” Alicia chimes in again.

  “So the Razorleafs traded their spot to me. Our spot opens tomorrow. When we heard the rumor about a wilder who accomplished what a vault Sandridge could not, we had to come meet the man ourselves.” Frank finishes.

  “And buy me a house full of furniture?”

  “A housewarming gift,” Alicia nods.

  “Quite the housewarming gift,” I reply.

  “Think nothing of it, now tell us what this new floor is.” Frank Ashmore asks, leaning forward.

  “I didn’t find an entirely new floor, but I did find a new boss. There’s an underground area filled with water. The boss is an Alarune, a flower-person hybrid who summons wooden weapons, mostly spears, but I saw a shield too. The kicker is the roots hanging from the ceiling attack, and any spears it throws will also come alive.”

  Frank’s eyes go wide, even though, and his smile barely falters. “Sounds like quite the challenge.”

  “Fire mana will be tight,” Alicia says.

  "Not to mention the decreased maneuverability in water. The humidity will make it harder for us to burn away any roots,” Frank responds.

  They continue to discuss the difficulties for a minute, ranging from the lack of visibility to the difficulty of keeping range.

  “So, the knights closed while you attack it from range?” Jacob asks.

  “No, the Alarune summoned spears under the knights when they closed. I kept at range and hit it with a few ice spears.”

  "The shield you mentioned isn’t an issue?” Alicia asks.

  “I took it by surprise.”

  “Sounds like it could be tricky but very doable,” Frank says to Alicia.

  “Actually, there is a second phase.” When I describe the second phase and how the plant rose from the ground and began crashing down, both of their faces turn white.

  “How did you and the knights fight the second phase?” Frank asks with a much more sober tone.

  “They didn’t. We had a bit of a disagreement, and things got messy.” I recount how the knights started strong with the shield and sword combo, but were later taken down by the spear roots.

  This time, the Ashmores are both far more contemplative.

  “It’s somewhat ironic that the Razorleafs, in their prime, would likely be the best suited to tackle the new boss,” Alicia said to her cousin.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Frank nods before turning back to me, “Thank you for sharing with us. You have done us a considerable favor by sharing your experiences.”

  A look flits between the two before they turn back to me.

  Alicia leads this time, “Lord Kelly, would you want to accompany us on a dungeon delve?”

  A little taken aback, I pause. “That’s quite the offer.”

  She shrugs, “You have done the dungeon to completion, your affinities complement ours, and you are a healer, which is a powerful enough boon on its own.”

  It’s not until later, with my lessons with Alyssa, that I learn there are other healers on the estate, aside from Benjamin’s mother; they are Sandridge healers with little talent for healing. One of their magi had a rejuvenation spell form, which isn’t quite healing but would speed up the healing process as a side effect. It’s a good spell when you know your patient will recover or only need a finger on the scale. Though nice, their abilities paled in comparison to my own, both magical and non-magical.

  “My own dungeon run is in two months; I just received a house full of furniture, and I have very little gold.” I pause before continuing, “I don’t have much else going on or other allies. What would be the details?”

  “Cautious, a good mindset when dealing with Heartbrans or nobles in general, but we aren’t going to take advantage of you. We will offer you four hundred and fifty gold to go with us.”

  I had to keep my eyes from popping out of my head.

  “That is quite the sum,” I say.

  “Not really.” Alicia says, “If you can keep your head above water a few more months, you will find this amount a small sum. For dungeon runs, you can be paid as much as a thousand gold.”

  I don’t want to push my luck, but despite how nice they were, I don’t want to be taken advantage of. “So should I be asking for a thousand gold?”

  Frank laughs, “I think you will fit in well.”

  Alicia gives a brief smile, “No, a thousand gold would be for a green run.”

  I later learn from Alyssa that a green run is a run where a mage will take several under-leveled nobles to get them gear and experience.

  “We are capable and don’t need you to babysit us. Four hundred and fifty is on the lower end, but that is before considering the cost of buying a spot on a dungeon run. I can promise you our offer is very fair.” She says reassuringly, and through my empathy, I can feel she believes it.

  I can see the house coming back into view. I’m not sure where we were going, but I’m a little confused why they drove me in a circle.

  “So why the carriage ride?”

  Alicia looks pointedly towards Alyssa, standing at the front gate awaiting my return. Then she cryptically states, “Your steward and house staff have been quite busy these past few days. They served house Heartbran for many years. I hope their work leads to your house prospering.”

  The meaning is clear, and as much as I’m relying on Alyssa, it is a wake-up call. Everyone in the house is there because Heartbrans placed them there. Just another reason I need to practice raising rats.

  As soon as I’m out of the carriage, the Ashmore carriage leaves, and Alyssa greets me.

  “What did they want?”

  I lean on my empathy, trying to get a sense of what she’s thinking. All I get is inquisitive probing, but any other thoughts are too complex for me to understand.

  “They are giving me a housewarming present, all the furniture with merchant Evergreen will be returned.”

  “Be careful of them, they have quite the rivalry with the Heartbrans. I’m sure such a gift will not come without strings. If you get caught in the middle between the Heartbrans and the Ashmores, furniture will be the least of your concerns.”

  “Our concerns.” I correct her.

  “Your estate’s concerns.” She responds.

  “They also asked me to escort them through the dungeon tomorrow.”

  “I would suggest you turn down such an offer. You barely made it out of the last dungeon run, and there is plenty to do around the house.”

  “I accepted, they offered me four and fifty gold to do the run.”

  I feel Alyssa’s frustration rise. “It seems you have made your decision… again.”

  “The day has just started, we have been promised coin, furniture, and have a potential new ally. This is a positive development.”

  “The Heartbran estate will not be pleased by this development; you are already in hot water with them.”

  I round on her. All the frustration and anger pouring out of me, “I saved their daughter from elves, from nobles, and pulled her back from the brink of death when she was pinned by crossbow bolts to a burning tower! I have clawed my way to this continent, sometimes literally. The Heartbrans have set the cadence of our conversations, not me. It’s not I who makes them my enemy, who positions myself against them.”

  I’m about to continue my tirade about how they are consumed by their fear, and it will lead to their downfall, but the wide-eyed look of Alyssa stops me in my tracks.

  I clear my throat, “Alyssa, I appreciate your advice, but I’m sure you have other duties.”

  “Um… yeah, sure.” She mumbles before scurrying off into the house.

  I go around the house into the woods where I’m practicing earlier. I see a pile of dead rats. I give a look as I feel Morgana approach.

  “Hey, Morgana, how are you?”

  ‘The hunt has been successful, but I can find more.’

  “You have done a great job.” I let out a long breath. “I’m not sure I’m doing a great job.”

  Morgana looks down at the pile of rats, then back at me. ‘If you want to learn how to hunt rats, I can teach you.’

  I smile wanly. “No, I’m failing at being a lord. I have no idea what I’m doing, how to act, or even how to manage people. Every piece of advice I get is the exact opposite of what I think I should do, and I’m only getting by because a few people decide to be a bit decent. Even if that decency is motivated by self-interest.”

  She tilts her head, ‘I didn’t know you wanted to be a lord.’

  I pause. I’m not sure I do. I have blindly pursued being a lord because it was offered. If I disappear tomorrow, everyone in the house will just be reassigned; no one will die or be counting on me. Even the Ashmores need me for my knowledge of the dungeon and powers instead of my position as a lord. The question echoes through my mind.

  Being a lord is a means to an end, a way to get stronger with the resources it offers. The merchant, the lords, and even my steward want me to act a certain way, but that isn’t how I got to where I am. I got to where I am by doing what I think is right. My actions are more reactive than I prefer, but in a way, it’s simple. I feel a fog of indecision lift. As if in response to my clarity of thought, I see a few workers across the field starting on my first project.

  “I will never be the lord they want me to be, Morgana.”

  Morgana just listens, content to sit with me.

  Feeling better, I sit down and begin channeling into the rats again. I will still learn the rules of the game, but I plan to break them so I can do things my way.

  Feeling determined, I create a ball of shadow mana and weave a string of mind mana. I funnel the combination into the rat. As the rat begins to rise, I see the mind and darkness mana blend into delve mana. It’s hard to describe, but I can feel it within the dark mana, fluctuating. I can feel the delve mana through the rat, but it catches on points. It takes me two more attempts to realize that those points are the neurons, and most of the delve mana starts to fight me as it hits its brain.

  I don’t lose control of the mana, but I realize that the neurons are causing the mana to follow pathways, but there’s not enough affinity mana. It runs down neuron pathways chaotically as it lacks direction. My first thought is to inject more of the delve mana to aid it in reinforcing the dead neurons, but I don’t want a dead rat with the intelligence of a rat, which is exactly what I get when I feed it more delve mana.

  The instincts and more coordinated movement are welcome, but for my purposes, I need memory and cognition more than muscle movement. Just enough to relay or remember simple messages.

  I experiment, pulling the delve mana into different shapes. The shape of the mana is hard to control since it conforms to whatever shape the neurons hold. Next, I experiment with trying to create a few spheres of delve mana to separate it into two pieces instead of just one. Once it starts to take hold, I feel the two spheres, the delve mana connects, but the connection is loose and different.

  I bask in my successes. To top it off, it’s a level higher than my constitution buff, though still not quite where I want it to be.

  The increase in intelligence will allow the rats a greater memory, but considering the rats’ low intelligence in life, it’s not much of an increase. The increase in sapience is a bit vague, but the increase moves its mind from that of a statue to that of an insect. It’s still less than that of a rat, but I have hopes that as I enhance it.

  The final spell form is more straightforward, helping with coordination and speed of movement. Again, the spell form isn’t as strong as I want it to be, but it’s a major step in the right direction. I’m tempted to try these spell forms out on Morgana, but I’ll wait until I have more practice rats more. I’m quite hopeful that I will be able to isolate each of the learn spell forms and experiment to increase them again.

  Feeling good from all the notifications, I head inside to check on Alyssa. I walk in through the back door into the kitchen to see George hard at work preparing dinner. I don’t see Amanda, but I can hear her. A quick peek in the other room reveals that the furniture has been returned. I find Alyssa flitting about in her room. I knock on the door.

  “Yes?”

  “Hey Alyssa, it looks like the furniture arrived.”

  “The first batch will be a few wagons, but merchant Evergreen has assured us that it will all be here before the sun sets.”

  “That is good. Do you need anything?”

  “No, the house is settling in.”

  “I see the manure has arrived.” I prompt.

  “Yes, I had them set your project out back.”

  “Good, I would like to hire a few workers to help process it. Can you do that for me?”

  “I can hire workers tomorrow while you are in the dungeon. Do you know how many and what tasks they will be doing?”

  “Two or three manual laborers. Mostly shoveling the manure from the pile into buckets so we can process it. I will want to also do some prep to properly store it, but most of that will be more shoveling and manual labor.”

  “Should we hire an Earth mage?”

  “No, if we need to accelerate our plans, we can, but for now I think processing will take a few weeks.”

  She nods in acknowledgement, and an awkward silence falls over us.

  “Alyssa, I really do appreciate your advice. I know I am new to these lands.” It is hard to resist not putting in a “but,” instead, I let it end there.

  “Understood, my lord.” She says before resuming.

  Not having anything else to do, I go back downstairs and sit at the table, relaxing as dinner is served. Once dinner is done, I retreat to my room. The b frames had been return the first day by Merchant Evergreen, but the last lord of the house slept on feather down beds. With the return of the rest of the furniture, I now had a much softer bed. It is exquisite, and I fell asleep almost instantly.