《Whispers of A Dead Empire》Chapter 23
Advertisement
I sat in my office and read over the notes that I have compiled. So far, I have fleshed out the lore of this stronghold; now I just gotta write the books and other stuff I will leave lying around. But for now, let’s work out uniforms and equipment for the undead that live here. But the question is, how will I mold the military units. Should I base them off of Rome? Or Greece? I mean, really, there is a lot I can do here.
I chewed on the back of my pen as I thought over my potential plans. I can always pay homage to the civilizations from earth and design my own. That would be a lot of fun, and I have the resources to do it now. I went through my menus, brought up the creation screen, and looked it over for a moment. Let’s start with basic gear. I should outfit all the undead with simple armor. Nothing too extreme because I don’t have an income of steel or other resources, but how can I overcome that issue?
I stared at my notebook as I kept drawing blanks. A quiet groan escaped from my lips as I placed my head on the table. Maybe Kharon will have some ideas. I summoned my menu and quickly typed a message out to him, and sat up. I should rely on him a bit more. It is his job, after all, and I can’t do everything on my own. I glanced around my office as I waited and noticed how lonely it felt. Alessia was away, training a bunch of the undead, leaving me here by myself. I missed talking to people.
The undead was nice since it left me on my own and didn’t bother me too much, but it was still very lonely. I sat there for a few more seconds before the familiar grey light filled the room, and my spirits lifted slightly. “Hello, Kharon!” I called out as I shifted in my seat.
“Hello mistress, what can I do for you today?” He asked as he crossed the room and grabbed a chair to drag over to my desk.
“I need help portioning out equipment to the undead, but in a way that lets me keep a reserve in place since I don’t want to run through what I have.” I set my pen down, sat back in my seat, and interlaced my fingers as I watched him sit down.
Advertisement
“Ah. You can do a patchwork build with them. Give them minimal gear, but enough to make sense to have in a military.” His voice chittered out into the room, chasing away the ever-encroaching loneliness.
I bobbed my head and gave myself a mental facepalm. That was such an obvious way to do it. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it in the first place. Oh well, it can’t be helped now. I nodded my head and shifted forward in my seat. “Okay then. With that being said, I need to figure out armor designs, and I can’t draw for shit.”
He leaned forward in his seat and grabbed the notebook, and extended his hand for the pen in my hand. “What do you have in mind?” I gave my pen to him, and he looked at it quizzically for a moment as he fumbled with it until I reached out and clicked the tip for him.
“I didn’t know you could draw Kharon. Are you perhaps a skeleton of many talents?” I interlaced my fingers and rested my elbows on the desk as I stared at my skeletal companion.
“I am a system companion; of course, I have many talents.” His scarlet red orbs met mine for a moment before turning back to the paper. “But anyway, what did you have in mind for the armor design?” He asked once more, and I thought it over.
“Well, currently, I want to give you and Alessia specialized armor since you two will play some of the biggest roles in the dungeon. Since you are here, how about we work through what you want first?” As I told him that, I started looking him over and trying to connect the dots. I wanted him to be the ferryman that guides people into my domain, much like the man of myths back on earth.
“I’m fine with that. Can I tell you what I would enjoy having and would mesh well with my class?”
I nodded my head since it slightly intrigued me. I don’t remember assigning him a class. “Of course.”
“Good.” The sound of the pen scribbling on paper filled the room as his skeletal hands danced across the page. I really have talked little with Kharon since I’ve been here. We have both been swamped since he was born. I really should look into spending time with him more. Cause if I’m feeling this lonely, there is no telling how lonely he must be feeling.
Advertisement
We sat there in relative silence as I tried to think of something to say. What do I even say to him? I didn’t want to talk about work all the time since I knew that could be boring. Maybe I should ask personal questions. “Kharon. what is your class?”
His scarlet orbs glanced from the paper up towards me before going back down to the drawing. “I chose the maestro class.”
Where have I heard that before? That seems familiar, though I couldn’t place the word. “What does the class do?”
“I use music to direct weapons or magic. A symphony of death, one may say.” His response was offhanded as if it meant little, but the more I thought about it, the more badass the class became in my mind.
“That’s actually really cool! Any idea what instrument you want to use with the class?”
He shook his head as he finished the drawing and slid the notebook back to me. “I am not sure yet. I have a few ideas in mind. But here is the design that I have in mind for me at least.”
I took the notebook and looked over at the drawing. It was a long flowing cloak that sat over a hastily drawn model and almost scrapped the floor. It looked a lot like what I had in mind, and I was happy to oblige. I glanced at it, nodded, pulled up my creation menu, and shot a look towards Kharon. I visualized the cloak wrapping around his body. Sure enough, an outline appeared, and I adjusted it to fit his figure.
Really, the only entities important enough to me to do personalized fits like this would be my bosses and my closest companions. The rest can have mass-produced equipment unless they prove themselves worthy of this honor. Once I was happy, the last touch I added was turning the cloak as dark as possible and confirmed my choice. Since I didn’t have any cloth on hand, the essence cost was a lot more than I was expecting, but not enough to break the bank.
The familiar motes of sky-blue light fell from the ceiling and coalesced into one object. As he stood there patiently, I tried to create an instrument for him to use. It wouldn’t be the best instrument ever created, but it would be the thought that counts. But what instrument would be the best for him to use? Something that could be easily portable. Not a flute cause that was a little cliche.
How about a violin? That would be an elegantly beautiful instrument and easily portable. I brought the menu up and imagined a violin before me on a desk. I’ve never used one before so I couldn’t quite imagine everything down to the most minute detail. But I did my best. I tweaked the body the best I could and gave it a few strings. Once I was happy, I confirmed my choice and saw that I only spent a handful of essence on the item. Not bad, but it did cost me a bit of my reserve material.
A template unique to your domain has been created. Would you like to name it?
I quickly typed the name I had in mind for it and moved on to the next one.
Cloak of the Ferryman Unknown item created. Would you like to name it?
My screen blinked as it awaited my input. So this world didn’t have violins. I typed the word into the menu and confirmed it, and a new message appeared.
You now have the template of the item known as ‘Violin.’ You have been awarded four hundred essence for your contribution to the system's index.
Nice, I made a small payday from that, but I almost forgot to create the Bow that goes with the violin. How else would he play his music? I created the image of the bow in my mind and quickly brought it into existence. As I did, I felt excitement well in my chest. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of music he would play.
Advertisement
- In Serial6 Chapters
Catecholamine Web
Life as a neuro-based cryptocurrency miner is far from easy, but there are perks to living on the NeuroWeb. Perks Sendai lost when his long-term home, BlackStar Galaxy, went offline. Without his longtime avatar, his gear, his guild, the in-game cryptocurrency earnings, or even most of his friends, Sendai's going to have to hustle if he wants to make rent in the real world without spending sixteen hours a day pushing algorithms through his skull. His time in the fight pits of New Idaho mean he has a strong Neural-Affinity for melee combat, but the unfamiliar martial arts world of Wind of the Eight Kingdoms will take more than a brawler's instinct to master. If he's ever going to gather up his old crew and take revenge on the jerks who brought down BlackStar he'll need to become top dog in dozens of game worlds, especially if he doesn't want to starve while doing it. At least he's still got his reflexes, his two girlfriends on different sides of the planet, and his real-world pet cat, Mancini.
8 205 - In Serial52 Chapters
The Blackgloom Bounty
In the dark days before the end of the first millennium, Scotland (or Scotia as some called it) was a leaderless hodgepodge of tribes, clans and warring factions all bent on the same thing--domination of the land. Wizards, sorcerers and magicians still plied their trade, though much of their power had given way to the machinations of men and their war machines. To the south of Scotia lay the realm of the Saxons ruled by Ethelred the Unready and his ruthless minions. To the west, Ireland had just come of age. Everywhere else the constant threat of a lightning swift Viking incursion loomed over the land.Growing up in this lawless world is a displaced Daynin McKinnon, heir to an ancient familial keep on the island of Rhum. He and his grandfather Ean scratch out a living amongst the Saxons, careful never to divulge their clan heritage. That all changes when Kruzurk Makshare chooses Daynin as the ideal prospect to help him bring down a vile sorcerer named The Seed of Cerberus, ferreted away in his impregnable fortress at Blackgloom. Little does Kruzurk know that in so doing, he will launch young Daynin, himself and others on a vast, dangerous quest that no one could have foreseen. *****One Hollywood producer has dubbed this three book fantasy epic from Jon Baxley as, "BRAVEHEART meets THE LORD OF THE RINGS." Real places, people and events flesh out this fast moving, multi-faceted semi-historical series but fear not fantasy readers. There's more than enough of the magical, mystical mayhem you have come to expect from great fantasy. Romance readers, too, will enjoy the 'spice' in these characters--and there are a lot of them--both human and otherwise. And if you're into Viking lore, this series certainly is for you.When someone asks the author about his series, he answers with, “There were far more surprises in this tale than I ever expected and it's not over yet! This volume and the next two contain hundreds of pages filled with rollicking good times, fast moving action and a page turning adventure you will not soon forget."Books In The Scythian Stone Saga:THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY Episode 1 - 500 pagesTHE REGENTS OF RHUM Episode 2 - 800 pagesTHE SCIONS OF SCOTIA Episode 3 - 800 pages
8 142 - In Serial10 Chapters
The Runaway Wolf
Noah is a werewolf who has always wanted a mate but discovers that his mate is someone he doesn't have a good history with and gets rejected. This makes him impulsively leave his pack together with his best friends in search for something fulfilling with the help of a strange girl he just met. Little did he know that something has been waiting for him beyond the outskirts of town. New Chapter every Friday Also available to read in Tapas and Wattpad
8 131 - In Serial12 Chapters
Dead Reckoning
[A Sci-fi Fantasy story with Space Pirates, Necromancers, Zombies, and anti-hero lead.] Karla Elwis has to pay the bills somehow. Fuel isn't free. The problem is when you're a necromancer not too many of the living want to hang out. She's on a trek across the stars looking for her brother and that isn't cheap either. The Valraiths are in the habit of pressganging anyone they run across to man their ships, and that's just what happened to him. It was either work in the reactor room or take a plasma blast to the head. Karla doesn't know where the space pirates went, but she doesn't need to interrogate them. Once they're dead, they'll tell her everything she needs to know. Now she just has to follow the trail of broken ships and looted bodies floating through space. The only problem is the one thing people like less than pirates are necromancers
8 84 - In Serial17 Chapters
Jiharu: A Story of The Hunt
Venn and Guff were born ready for the hunt, as were a thousand generations of the reptilian skern before them. But the balance of power is changing. Their favourite prey, the mouse-like levin, are organising... and retaliating. When the two young predators risk a forbidden trek away from their clan, they uncover worrying evidence of a wider union of their enemies. The call of the hunt grows strong within them, but they must accept exile to reach out on their own and face the mysterious heart of their kind’s troubles - Jiharu. A novella-length fantasy of seventeen chapters.
8 160 - In Serial31 Chapters
Funtime Foxy x Funtime Freddy
This story is based on another story I read and loved so much. The writer is really talented but I can't remember their name right now. But this story focusses on the view of Funtime Freddy and his crush on the animatronic Funtime Foxy. After a terrible accident, the pizzeria is closed down and abandoned. Leaving all the animatronics there to count down their days until getting scooped. But they are not alone, there is an evil presence, with 2 things on his mind: Revenge, and tacos(because tacos are delicious).
8 135

