Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 340: Visiting the Guild

On our next free day we decided to visit the adventurers guild and inquire about the price of corpses. While I did not want to buy anything right now, an offer I could show to Helena's father would be helpful. My friends and my undead accompanied me, so I had quite a bit of protection, in case something happened.

We took the carriage and even brought Coffee along. My horse was exercised regularly by the staff of the academy's stable but it might be nice for him to be out at times. Thankfully Coffee was used to my undead and he did not care if Frank rode him. We also had Bob with us, who sat next to Kaito on the driver's bench.

"While we are in town we should check what a bunch of shields for your goblins would cost." Helena suggested.

"If you buy in bulk you should get a discount." Skadi said.

I nodded, then something occurred to me: "Valeria's duchy is famous for its wood, isn't it?"

"Yes." Cassie confirmed.

"Do you think I can make a deal with her? How expensive is that wood and would it be worth it for shields?" I wondered.

"Hm. The Korrah Forest has some almost magical wood but that would be too expensive. They also have some high quality alder wood, if I recall correctly. That should be suitable." Skadi replied.

"You know, there are some alchemical wood treatments." Cassie said. "I never thought about it too much but if you want equipment for a lot of undead I could look into it."

"That would be great! The more work we do ourselves the cheaper it would be." I replied.

"In that case we can skip the weapon and armour merchants for now. Or do you want to look into hiring a blacksmith? Even if we get the wood and Cassie's improvement we still need someone to make a shield." Helena said.

"Let's talk to Valeria first." I concluded.

"We can stop by the alchemy shop. I could use a few things." Cassie mused.

"Sure, after the guild we should have enough time." I said.

It had been a while since my last visit to the guild. Since they kept running out of corpses, and charged way too much, there had been no reason to come back recently. I wondered if they remembered me.

We parked next to the guild and exited the carriage. Frank and Bob stayed behind as guards while we walked towards the front door. As we entered I could see two groups of adventurers drinking near the bar. Their eyes immediately fell on Kaito and some even put their hands on their weapons. Then their eyes grew even wider as Garm entered.

"Hey, isn't that the beast Archie's group lost?" A man wondered. He was big, bald and had a large axe next to him leaning against the wall.

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"Why does it have a cat skeleton on its head?" Someone else asked.

"Cause it's a dog and they eat cats!" A dwarven woman explained.

Garm's left head sniffed the air. "Are we sure this is a reputable establishment?" The right head asked.

"Huh, it talks." The bald man said, staring at us.

"Probably knows even more words than you do!" A woman said, while laughing at her own joke.

We ignored the adventurers, who started talking and pointing at us. So far they made no hostile move and seemed to relax again.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

We approached the man who studied our group.

"I am looking for some specific corpses for necromancy." I explained.

"Certainly! We can procure a wide variety of monster corpses. Are you here to fill in a request or do you need consultation?" The man asked.

"Consultation, please." I said.

"Very well, follow me." The man led our group to a private room with more comfortable seating. It had two couches and a chair next to a low table. There was even a fireplace inside the room. "Please make yourself comfortable, someone will be with you shortly."

The receptionist left while we sat down. It did not take long until a portly man appeared. His hair had some grey in it but it matched his grey suit. He smiled at us warmly.

"Greetings valued customers! My name is Berkley and I have heard you are here to request our premium services!" He said.

"Premium?" I asked.

"You want some specific corpses, correct? I can see from your servants that you value quality, young lady! Do not worry, we have helped a lot of necromancers to acquire some exemplary specimens! Ever since the increase in demand we have worked tirelessly to improve our services!" The man said.

"Ah. My name is Koyuki and I do need some light affinity corpses." I said.

"Light affinity? For necromancy?" He asked.

"I believe my existence should be proof of my Mistress' skills and knowledge." Kaito pointed out.

The man smiled and nodded. "Of course, of course. It was not my intention to suggest otherwise. The request simply caught me off guard. So, what creatures did you have in mind?"

"This is where I could use your help. What sort of monsters can the guild provide and at what price?" I asked.

"We expect a discount for a bulk purchase and we intend to get multiple offers before we commit to anything." Skadi added.

"I see. What size of monster are we talking about?" He asked.

"Hm, maybe something between a cat and a horse? The important part would be that the corpse is in a reasonable condition. I would also take other corpses, like goblins, without an affinity." I said.

"Hm. I could add a note to the request that you are willing to pay for additional corpses. There is a good chance that the adventurers will have other encounters during their hunt. It might lower the cost to get light corpses but it will increase the overall price." Berkley said. "What amount were you thinking about?"

"Um, maybe ten?" I asked.

He nodded. "Ten corpses with light affinity. I will have to consult our books about monsters but I do know of a certain crystal badger. They can use their powers to become almost invisible while sitting still, which makes them hard to catch. Ten corpses would be at least 20 platinum in addition to any other corpses you would pledge to buy."

"20 platinum?" I asked. That was 200 gold! That was insane!

"A team would need a way to spot them and avoid their ambushes. They are not strong in a straight fight but their teeth can be deadly. This needs a specialist and that comes with a price. Also, I was not kidding about the demand for corpses. You would think someone is raising an army with the amount of requests we get!" The man joked.

"An army? Who is buying so many corpses?" Skadi asked.

"Ah, that would be confidential." The man said.

"The price still seems rather large." I mused.

"I can consult a few books and see if there are other suitable creatures. If you want I can prepare a few offers and send them to the academy?" Berkley suggested, while looking at our uniforms.

"That would be appreciated." I replied.

We said our goodbyes and left. As we walked to our carriage I asked my friends: "When Berkley said an army, do you think he meant a real army?"

"Unlikely, you need a licence if you have too many undead." Helena replied. "Then again, it could not hurt to tell a teacher about this."

"I think they are monitoring the guild and any corpses that are being brought in but it is better to be on the safe side." I agreed.

"For now, let's head to the alchemy shop! Or should we get some food first?" Cassie asked.

"Food." We all agreed.