47 - The Scene after the Credits

  All-Seeing Tower, Winter’s Heart

  LeDuke sat up in bed. He knew something was amiss. While he couldn't put his finger on what had changed, there was something different. When Jenny had come to stay with him, it had always taken him several hours to leave his chambers. But now that Jenny had disappeared with Fweb, he never even left his room. He didn't bother with the morning ritual of making sure every garment was perfect. His chin had stubble, his bedtime clothes stank, and his sheets were yellowed from sweat. It was like Duke had lost all will to live, mainly because he couldn't even find her in a seeing stone. The moon mage had vanished as quickly as she had appeared.

  His mom had come to the door a couple times.

  "Oh, chin up," she had said, her voice muffled on the other side. "You are better off without her. She doesn't even have a castle, or a tower, or minions for that matter. You can bet she was fortune-hunting, that one. Probably off to marry a warlord with an actual army."

  She had also said, "I bet that warlord takes her in his arms every night with his rippling biceps. Do you really want a woman who treats you like a meat product?"

  The very worst was when she had said, "If you come out of your room, I'll introduce you to your cousin. She's a sturdy woman and can handle the oxen better than any man. Moreover, she's good breeding stock. You'll be whipping up grandbabies in no time."

  Feeling odd on this particular morning, LeDuke pushed open the door. Motar stood on the other side. The orc saw his lord and stammered, "The... the... soul... soul engine."

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "What about the soul engine?" LeDuke demanded.

  "It's red."

  LeDuke ran down all the flights of stairs, taking two or three at a time until he was in the bowels of the tower. There was a massive orb on a pedestal in a cavernous room under the building. It had been dormant ever since his defeat. Now it was glowing blood red, with bolts of energy crackling across its surface. A foul stench rose in the air.

  LeDuke grinned with mad glee. It was a failsafe he had enchanted years ago. The spell was a long shot, and he had forgotten all about it because Ralicuk had been lost in the Catacombs of Eenewi. It was assumed that the vampire was burnt and bones ground into dust because that was the only true way to destroy the undead. However, the foul being must have found a way to keep fighting in the Sky Lord's name because the orb spell would only activate when the creature drained the blood of a king.

  From the noise level and intensity of the blood-red sphere, LeDuke knew it was almost time, and he wanted to see it. He bounded his way up the entire tower, all the way to the top. His mother spied him and followed.

  Shortly after he stood on the apex of his tower with the wind whipping him around, threatening to blow him off, it happened. The ground began to tremble. LeDuke cut his arm and magically glued his feet to the roof with a tune so he wouldn't fall off as the tower swayed with the quake.

  His mother came out of the trapdoor next and held on for dear life. "What's this madness, then? Doesn't seem right taking your life. Sure, she is probably with some hunky man with thighs the size of tree trunks and likely the biggest wanker she's ever seen, but you have so much to give to a woman. I think you're funny. A real laugh hoot, but it's going to take a special woman to see that."

  "Mom, shut up and look!" LeDuke pointed to the surrounding lands. The soil churned, and thousands upon thousands of arms punched their way from the ground. Orcs, humans, elves, halflings, and even dwarves climbed up from the dirt. They were in various stages of decomposition, and their weapons and armor were rusty, but could no doubt still pack a wallop.

  They marched towards the tower and lined up in an orderly military fashion. Every creature that died in the Battle of the Four Armies had returned from the dead, and they were LeDuke's to command. He hugged his mother and gave her a kiss on the forehead. For once, he was happy to have his mother. She had been the one to suggest it. Though he definitely wasn't planning to use his undead army for help around the farm.