As clever as the planning had seemed from the outside, it immediately came against a barrier far more devious than any of us had ever considered. Despite the heavy secrecy at the warehouse, the wagon’s path from the warehouse went directly out the east gate, took the first fork away from the coast, and then through a gate. Ignas and Kilik were back before dinner.

  “Ozo Mines,” Ignas reported. “Couldn’t see much through the trees but didn’t see other paths out. Walked around area, following fence to make sure.”

  “So unless they’re transporting the cargo through the mine, which is unlikely, that’s our best source of information,” Faith said.

  There were nods around the table at that.

  “So, what’s the plan?” I asked after a moment. “We need information and we don’t know for sure how complicit this group is.”

  “Walk in, ask for information. Take it if they don’t provide things,” Ignas provided.

  I could see Kilik restraining a groan at that. Given that they had been watching the warehouse for three weeks without being noticed, Ignas was clearly practiced at stealth. And yet.

  “I doubt they’d respond well to that,” I said diplomatically.

  Ignas shrugged, “Most direct and easiest solution to problem. They either tell us what we want when we ask or we make them.”

  “Orrrrrrrr,” Kilik said following up, “We could try to sneak in, see what we can’t find and sneak back out.”

  “I don’t like it. Leaves you two out on your own if things go awry,” Cecilia said, shaking her head. “No guarantee we could get to you in time to stop you from getting run through.”

  Kilik looked offended at the implication that he would get caught, but didn’t press the point.

  “Modify it instead. Have one of them come to you and then convince them to tell you the information.”

  I knew exactly how Rin would tell me to convince people and I still was not okay with using my body in such a manner, but the principal was sound. I pitched her suggestion to the group, without the sexual overtones.

  “Could work,” Cecilia conceded, “We’d need some coin or something to convince someone with. Any idea on where they went after they dropped the wagon off?”

  Kilik and Ignas shared a look before shaking their heads. “No sign that they left,” Ignas said. There was a pause where they swallowed before continuing, “No real sign anyone leaves besides with wagon.”

  So much for that plan.

  “Well, good idea at least,” Cecilia said to me, before turning to the group as a whole. “Any other ideas?”

  “We’re Starborn,” Faith interjected, “Direct envoys of the Gods.”

  We turned to them, with expressions ranging between confusion and incredulity.

  “And?” I asked.

  “Say as much to them. Walk forward, proclaim who we are. Most of the common people will support us. If they attack us, we know they’re our enemies.”

  Kilik gave a slight laugh at that, “So Ignas’ plan, but with divine authority.”

  Faith and Ignas both slumped at the comparison.

  Acting quick, to avoid the inevitable bickering that would ensue, I turned to Cecilia. “You haven’t proposed a plan yet.”

  She nodded and held up a finger for us to wait while she swallowed. “We don’t have enough information. We need more before we can make a solid plan. What I propose is that we send in Kilik and Ignas, scout and map the outer compound as safely as they can from the trees and report back. Keep them where we can safely reinforce them but also gets us information” She paused and took a sip of her drink, “Most gains for the least risk.”

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  “I can support that,” I said enthusiastically.

  There was grunting support from Ignas and Faith, followed up by Kilik’s nod.

  “Tomorrow then,” she said.

  *************************************************************************************************************

  It had been nearly a quarter of a bell since Ignas and Kilik had went ahead of us towards the mine proper. Cecilia, Faith, and I were spending time hiding in a particularly thick copse waiting for their return. My tails were drooping in the heat and I was idly wondering if shifting to a human form would help keep me cooler with less fur to keep the heat in. I dismissed the thought as impractical however. I wasn’t sure if disguising myself as human was a drain on my magical abilities yet and given how close the last fight I had been in was, I wanted every bit of power I could get.

  “I will say,” I whispered to the two of them, “I’m grateful for all the armor training. Makes this waiting around a lot easier.”

  Cecilia laughed at that, “At least there’s shade here. Try wearing plate in the middle of the desert.”

  “That sounds awful,” Faith cut in, “Why would you do that?”

  Cecilia patted the armor, making a small sound as she did. It didn’t sound like metal, or at least metal I was familiar with. “When the creatures move faster than you can dodge, the only option is to have armor that deflects the blow.”

  Kilik popped out of a brush besides us, “You’re lucky they don’t have patrols in these woods. You are not nearly as quiet as you think you are.”

  There was a tense moment as everyone’s hands went to their weapons before easing back. I was just grateful I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t heard him coming.

  “What’d you find?” Cecilia asked after a second.

  “Buildings around the mine are empty, or at least are mostly so. Only things moving are the workers unloading the wagon. Long wooden boxes,” he said, starting to sketch in the dirt. “About six feet long, three feet wide. Maybe two feet deep? Anyways, they were taking them into the cave, here.”

  He pointed at the impromptu map he had drawn, “I only counted four, but who knows how many are in the cave.”

  “Workers shouldn’t be that hard to handle,” Cecilia said, appraising the map.

  “About that,” Kilik said with a shake of his head. “They’re not moving right. Dragging their feet too much. And their skin is all wrong. Different colors. I’ve only seen that once before.”

  “Undead,” Faith cut in, their voice sharp. “Some kind of zombie possibly, or maybe a golem cobbled from the mottled flesh?”

  Kilik nodded, “Yes, that was my thought too.”

  “Makes sense,” I said thinking back to my walk through the undercity. “I know servants of Cantilla use zombies for mining.”

  Faith’s mace swung free, “New plan then. Smash them all.”

  “Though apparently you disagree with that practice,” I quickly amended.

  “The Lady Pecholesse is a firm ally of the Steel Father and deems undead an abomination that needs to be destroyed.”

  “Regardless of personal beliefs,” Cecilia cut in, “Undead acting in a direct manner means someone controlling them. Which means mage. So we have to do this smart.”

  Faith nodded, “Everything we’ve been trying to prevent happening to Kara is what we should be aiming for here. Focus them down, when they start chanting or gesturing hurt them as much as possible to disrupt the gathering of magics. As for the undead, destroying them is often a matter of cutting off their connection to their animating force. That can be done by destroying the focus for the spell or disrupting the connection, neither of which are particularly easy in the middle of a fight.”

  They paused testing the feel swing of their mace before nodding satisfiedly and continuing. “Damaging the body to a point where they aren’t functioning is the simplest way to handle the undead. However, given enough time, the animating force will repair that damage and make it so the creature can come after us again. Removing limbs is an easy way to make sure that even if they do get back up, it won’t matter. But given enough time even that isn’t a certainty. In short, if I don’t handle the body, assume they’re going to get back up. Also, since the flesh is magically animated, most of the concerns about touching dead flesh aren’t directly there, but I will want to treat and wash any wounds we do receive.”

  Cecilia nodded, drawing her sword carefully. “Well, that means I’m in the front. Hard to get scratches through armor. Kilik, Kara, when we find the mage you’ll be able to attack them first with your range so make sure they’re your focus. Faith and I will work to keep them off of you and prevent us from getting swarmed. Where’s Ignas?”

  “Watching the mine to make sure nothing changes while I’m getting you,” Kilik supplied. As he spoke, his hands were moving quickly, mixing various vials and then stuffing them into pouches on his chest.

  “Right,” Cecilia said standing, “Let’s grab him and get going. I’d rather not be fighting zombies in the dark.”