Chapter 15: A Secret to Uncover

Step by step Lorthic and Annabel walked through the forest, its thick canopy keeping the light from fully touching the floor making the forest floor have a gloomy air. The deeper they went the darker it became and the stranger the creatures that lived there became.

"How much longer"

Annabel asked, the two have them had been walking for what seemed like hours to her, without rest. Being pampered since young this was the first time she had to exert herself to this extend, not to mention that the forest floor was not easy to traverse due to the uneven slopes, slippery stones, and all other kinds of natural obstacles.

"It should not be far now, we will rest before making contact, Ok?"

Lorthic said, Annabel could only nod begrudgingly, even after this long Lorthic did not look any different from the time they started, he walked over this difficult forest floor like it was an evenly pathed road, his footsteps so light that she who was walking with him could not hear it no matter how she tried, he was like a ghost moving through this spooky forest.

"You said you're going to take me home after this, yes?"

Annabel asked after she made it up a mother steep slope.

"Yes, as per our agreement I will send you to your home in return for the sturdiest set of armor your family has"

"What's even the point of having a set of armor when you are obviously a mage, you don't make any sense. Why don't you ask for mana stones or other natural treasures to help with your spell casting?"

"I have no need for anything like that at the moment, but a good armor set could be of great use to me in making a [Helmend Horror], although with the quality of souls I have, the creature won't be that powerful, it could still be used as a decent servant."

"Whats a... whoa!"

Annabel asked something but slipped on a rock, luckily Lorthic quickly caught her by the arm and lifted her back to her feet.

"Careful", He said.

"Thank you", Annabel said as she pushed some golden locks that fell in her face.

"No problem", Lorhtic responded as he continued walking and Annabel followed.

"Like I was asking, what's a [Helmed Horror]?", Annabel asked with curiosity.

"A [Helmed Horror] is a special type of undead, it is created when a set of armor is haunted by a spirit or a ghost."

"So you want to create haunted armor?"

"In a certain aspect, it can be seen as haunted armor or possessed armor. Some people even claim it to be cursed armor which in itself isn't entirely wrong. [Helmed Horrors] can be naturally formed when a spirit of vengeance possesses the armor, it usually happens when the owner of the armor died with deep hatred in his heart either to the one who killed him or the one who instigated his death. Another way is for the armor to be cursed in a way, and after it has accumulated too much resentment it will give birth to its own evil spirit becoming a [Helmed Horror]."

"They sound very pitiful", Annabel said softly, but Lorthic heard it and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What, don't you think it's sad for something like that to be born? From your explanation, both ways are nothing more than tragedies!" Anabel said in indignation.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not laughing at you, it's just that when I first learned of them I thought the very same thing, how cruel it is for such creatures to exist. Luckily the chance of a natural [Helmed Horror], forming is incredibly slim, making them quite the rare undead, though if you think about their natural birth."

"On the other hand, creating a [Helmed Horror], is less of a tragedy, by purifying a soul to its purest state, after branding the soul one can then tempt the soul into possessing a set of armor which then will turn it into a [Helmed Horror], the difference is that the soul will be under your command thanks to the brand, making it a most loyal servant."

"An interesting thing about any sort of undead created through purified souls is that they will start learning from the day they are born, in a sense, they are like children learning as they grow older."

"What about the orc zombie you created?" Asked Annabel

"That is a bit of a different aspect, it will still become smarter as it grows older, it is not under my command but under the command of the one that wields its control rod. The rod can also be used to banish the undead into its own dimension, so as to be able to summon it anywhere you want. If I had to compare it's like how a golem maker controls his creations."

"How long have you been a Necromancer?", Annabel asked

Lorthic smiled at her question and answered.

"Long enough to know a thing or two about it"

...

After another hour of walking the two finally made it to a large cave that appeared at the bottom of two slopes creating a small valley. The area in front of the cave had somewhat flat ground, so they hid just outside the clearing behind a few bushes.

Standing in front of the cave entrance were two humanoid creatures, they like a beautiful human woman except for their somewhat reddish skin, a pair of horns growing from their heads and tail that ended with an arrow head-like shape.

"Those are Tieflings", Annabel said with disbelieve.

"Oh, what's so special about them?", Lorthic asked having never heard of this type of creature before.

"They are humans that have demonic blood in their ancestry," Annabel said somewhat unsure.

"To think such a thing would exist, its truly baffling", Lorthic said as he looked at the two Tieflings with interest.

"Yeah, from what I read, Tieflings are not seen by the demons as one of them due to the weak amount of demonic energy they possess,s and Humans shun them due to the uncomfortable air they have around them and due to their demonic traits," Annabel said

"Seems you are quite educated", Lorthic commented, causing Annable to put herself up with pride.

"As a member of the great Frostbringer family, it is required to learn about all types of races and creatures, not to mention we have two Tiefling maids within the castle"

"I see, well that means that Tieflings arent hostile towards humans", Lorthic commented.

"They are not supposed to nor is that other creature with the scorpion body the Girtablilu. In fact, they don't even appear in this type of area, they are usually found in the desert in fact they have their own kingdom far South from here." Annabel said confused.

"That would mean that either this one is especially evil or there are some circumstances that caused this creature to act so abhorrently."

"Yeah", Annabel nodded.

"To think you would be so knowledgable, you have impressed me today little one", Lorthic said out of nowhere and patted Annabel on the head causing her to blush.

"I~It was~It was nothing~" Annabel stammered.

Lorthic smirked at her reaction, but his face soon turned emotionless again.

"Well we won't find our answers waiting here, let's go and see what is the reason for these sacrifices," Lorthic said as he walked out of the bushes and into the sight of the two female tieflings.

When the two saw him they immediately retrieved their weapons, the left one who had a short yet slender body pulled out two daggers from behind her waist while lowering her body low to the ground as if a predator ready to pounce, her 'armor' which merely covered her private arias revealed her reddish skin and well define muscles.

The other Tiefling was also clad in 'armor' to which one can question its actual protective worth, but her weapon was a long wooden spear with a steel point on both ends. She lowered her center of gravity while bringing her spear up so that it was horizontal with her eyes that stared at Lorthic sharply. Her skin wasn't as red as her partners and her body had more 'defining' traits than her slender companion.

But no matter their body proportions both had beautiful faces, unblemished skin, and large purple-colored eyes.

The two women scanned Lorthic with their eyes. Wearing a simple black and tattered robe there was nothing of note to it, his bone-pale skin and hair made him look somewhat sickly while the dark circles under his eyes only further increased their thoughts of him being sickly and weak person.

Having said that they also felt creeped out by him, he had no presence at all, in fact, they doubted he even breathed. When he walked out from behind the bushes her made no sound, when he walked out into the clearing the rocks and sticks under his feet were undisturbed. If not for his corporeal form they might have thought he was a ghost, thus they were hesitant to outright attack a potential threat.

"This is no place for you, leave immediately before we are forced to attack"

<Sytem>

<Name: Unknown>

<Race: Tiefling>

<Class: Thief>

<Level: 35>

<Rank: Warrior>

<Tier: Silver>

<Difficulty: Effortless>

...

<Sytem>

<Name: Unknown>

<Race: TIefling>

<Class: Spearwoman>

<Level: 45>

<Rank: Warrior>

<Tier: Silver>

<Difficulty: Effortless>

...

After looking at their stats Lorthic was somewhat surprised, not because they were strong but because they could have probably destroyed the Dark Forest Tribe.

' So why didn't they, the only conclusion is that whatever is inside the cave is more important than the sacrifices, the sacrifices might even be for whatever is inside the cave, which would make it logical to leave guards and not attack with everyone.'

"Hey!"

A shout brought Lorthic out of his contemplation as he looked up at the woman that shouted at him, it was the one with the spear.

"Yes can I help you?", Lorthic asked seemingly completely oblivious to his situation.