Book 3: Chapter 8

“I know you wanted to start a war and all, but shouldn’t we have at least told Vur and Tafel where we were going?” Alice asked Mr. Skelly as the two followed behind the woman wearing a grass outfit with the little meatball girl in her arms. “We came here as a party. Parties are supposed to stick together.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine,” Mr. Skelly said and gestured at the woman ahead. “She said the village is pretty close. We’ll be there and back in no time; those two won’t even know we’re gone. Besides, isn’t it more exciting to adventure alone with me?”

“You’re not a healer or a ranged attacker,” Alice said as she slapped away Mr. Skelly’s arm that he was trying to wrap around her shoulder. “We’re both frontline fighters; there’s a severe imbalance in our party composition without Vur and Tafel. We have to be prepared for anything when entering new lands.”

Mr. Skelly chuckled. “You say that, but you’re following me anyway without informing Vur and Tafel ahead of time. Actions speak louder than words. You protest verbally but comply physically; it’s clear what you want.”

Pink tinged Alice’s cheeks as she turned her head away. “I only came along to keep an eye on you. Who knows what kind of trouble you’d start without someone to watch over you?”

“What? Me? Cause trouble?” Mr. Skelly leaned back and covered his open mouth with his hand. “Just what kind of person do you think I am? Back when I was still alive, people praised me for resolving all kinds of trouble. I’ve slain many a ferocious beast threatening the kingdom I belonged to, and I helped many an old lady cross a busy marketplace street.”

Alice rolled her eyes, but before she could reply, a clearing came into view as she walked past some trees. The woman ahead of them turned her head and smiled at the two. “We’re here. Welcome to Sacrifice Village.”

“I think you should change the village’s name,” Mr. Skelly said. “It sounds like something terrible is going to happen to it if you don’t.”

“Please don’t be the cause of that calamity,” Alice said, pulling Mr. Skelly’s shoulder. She walked in front of him and frowned. Though it was called a village, town or city would be a more apt word to describe it. Wooden walls encircled the village, and clay roofs of buildings peaked over the top. Smoke drifted out of chimney tops, but the gray mist dispersed before rising beyond the treetops. Clamoring sounds that accompanied large populations of people rang through the air. “This isn’t what I was expecting at all.”

The woman tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

Alice pursed her lips and shook her head. “Never mind.” If a group of young women doomed to be sacrifices were able to build a town inside of the wilderness, then who was she to question how? Maybe the dragons helped out, but she doubted it. Alice grabbed Mr. Skelly’s wrist, stopping him from marching up to the wooden gates. “Can you tell me what you’re planning on doing before you actually do it?”

Mr. Skelly frowned. “But that’ll ruin the surprise.”

“I don’t like these kinds of surprises.”

“Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you should avoid it,” Mr. Skelly said. “Gathering new experiences, even if they’re unpleasant, is one of the thrills an adventurer lives for. How can you call yourself a guild master if you avoid a core part of adventuring because you find it unpleasant?”

“Alright, I’m a terrible guild master; sue me,” Alice said, her grip tightening around Mr. Skelly’s wrist. “Now tell me what you’re going to do.”

Mr. Skelly sighed. “You’re not going to let go of me unless I do, huh?”

“That’s right.”

Mr. Skelly sighed again. “It breaks my heart to see you suspect me like this. What have I done to warrant such distrust?”

“You tricked me into signing a declaration of war by changing its appearance into that of a mundane document’s through the use of fairy magic,” Alice said. “You deceived a fortress of dwarves by claiming the war was over and marching into their fortress under the guise of peace talks. You made me accept a kidnapped baby griffin by lying to me and telling me its mother was dead. The list goes on and on; shall I continue?”

Mr. Skelly scratched his cheekbone. “It’s embarrassing for me when you list out all my glorious deeds,” he said and sighed. “Alright, I’ll tell you my plan so you can brag about it to Vur and Tafel later.” He cleared his nonexistent throat. “If we’re going to start a war, then what’s the most important thing we need?”

Alice frowned. “An army? You’re planning on recruiting these people?”

“Nope, guess again.”

Alice furrowed her brow as she chewed on her lower lip. “Oh! Supplies,” she said. “You need a source of mana crystals before you can raise an undead army.”

“Nope. Guess again.”

“Huh? Really?” Alice asked, lowering her head. If it wasn’t an army and it wasn’t supplies, then what was the most important thing required for war? “Weapons…?”

Mr. Skelly clacked his teeth and shook his head. “Your thinking is too narrow. The answer is a reason! How can you rally an army of people without a reason to declare war? How can you convince people to give up their food and mana without a reason? Why would blacksmiths create weapons for you without a good cause? The peasants need a reason to pick up their pitchforks to fight against their rulers!”

Alice’s eyes lit up, but they dimmed shortly after. “I get it now, but somehow, I don’t like hearing it from you,” she said. “You didn’t have any reason for starting a war against the dwarves way back then. And you didn’t rally anyone with your reasons. You kidnapped people and forced them to join your cause.”

“But I had a reason,” Mr. Skelly said, straightening his back and sticking out his chest. “Because the mistress told me to.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed into slits. “That’s a horrible reason.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit it was,” Mr. Skelly said with a shrug. “But back on the eastern continent, I already had an army of skeletons. I don’t have that here; thus, I need an actual reason to rally these natives to my cause.”

Alice nodded. “Yes, an actual reason would be nice. And you’re going to ask around the village to find their grievances against the ruling class, right? She did say rising taxes were a problem.”

“Eh?” Mr. Skelly eyes widened. “Why would I do that? I was thinking of burning this village down and blaming it on the king. Isn’t that a great reason? The king burned down a bunch of villages for no reason at all. If you don’t want that to happen to your village next, then you’ll have to pick up your weapons and fight!”

Alice chopped Mr. Skelly’s head off with her shield.