[sub]in collaboration with [@shagranoz][/sub]

[center][i][u][h1]“The Night of The Undead Bird”[/h1][/u][/i][/center]



Rebecca headed into the castle gardens. She'd heard Elizabeth was here, and she wanted to find out her role in the General's plans.

The dragon knight was writing some sort of orders in the main pavilion. "Greetings, Elizabeth. How goes the plotting and scheming this fine day?"

Elizabeth looked up from her papers to view Rebecca, the girl's name was spreading through the castle like wildfire, but Elizabeth hadn't the time to worry about rumors. She noted the girl's rotting flesh, and shrugged, it wasn't the strangest thing she had seen. [color=magenta]”Hello Rebecca, please take a seat.”[/color] She pointed at the benches the lowly demons had arranged before her. Right now the demons were inspecting the gardens to see how the food was growing, as she had commanded them to. 

Once Rebecca was seated, Elizabeth's face hardened slightly. Rebecca was a summoner, one of the many witches who would be on the front line, protecting the castle and triggering traps for unsuspecting victims. It was the hardest job, and so far all the younger summoners had cried when they were finished. 

[color=magenta]”So, Rebecca, you will be one of the many summoners positioned on the front line.”[/color] Elizabeth pushed a packet towards her. The contents included a list of rules, and another list with the map of traps that would be closest to Rebecca's station. There were also a few pages on what to do if caught under enemy fire: [i]fall back immediately and soldier witches will be dispatched to your post[/i]. [color=magenta]”Tell me what supplies you will need to keep a steady stream of magic going, if you would. Can I have a brief description of your ability as well?”[/color] 

"Hmm. There won't be much I'll need you to give me, save time and some servants to go hunting. I'll be after wolves, bear, and boar mostly, though I could adapt some spells
to find use for other creatures. As for what I do, I raise the dead. Zombies and shades a specialty."

Elizabeth was curious to learn more about Rebecca's interesting power, but instead of prying, she kept a cool face and nodded along. [color=89fdc5]”Of course, I can do that immediately. I have a few demons under my command at the moment, and I will give you three to hunt with.”[/color] That would leave Elizabeth with one demon, but she didn't have much work to do anyways. [color=magenta]”If you need subjects that are more...fresh, come to me and I will see that you get what you want.”[/color] 

"Actually, there is something fresh I need. A bird corpse, preferably a robin, but anything similar will do." She looked around. "Truth be told, I have no idea whether I can make this spell work. Moving consciousnesses around is... something I haven't been able to do yet. Some of the masters of the art could do it, though, so I know it's possible."

Elizabeth snapped, and in an instant all four of her demonic servants were there, ready to do whatever she asked. She called one forth with the crook of her finger, whispered something in its ear, and sent them all off on their task. [color=magenta][i]God, I can get use to that.[/i][/color] She gave Rebecca a lopsided smile, and continued their discussion. [color=magenta]”We'll see what they can do about your bird problem. As far as your power being unmastered, that is okay. All of those who are unsure about their strength will be sent with two soldier-witches, you will also be triggering traps...so you are going to be able to participate.”[/color] She tried to encourage Rebecca, hoping it didn't sound too rough. 

"Oh, don't worry. Calling the dead back is surprisingly easy, once you know how it's done. The bird is simply something special. I'm going to try to transfer my mind into its corpse so I can spy on the hunters." Rebecca smiled. "Like I said, I've never been able to actually get this spell to work, but I know I'm close."

Elizabeth nodded, Rebecca was a genius. If she managed this spell, she could be given a special opportunity to join the espionage group. [color=magenta]”If you can pull this off, I'll give you another option.”[/color] Elizabeth said softly, tapping the stone table she was using as her desk. 

"Oh? And what might that be?" Rebecca asked, intrigued.

At that moment, the demons returned, three carrying robins, the fourth, a bluejay. One of the robins was missing a wing, the second had a cleanly snapped neck, and the third was... decapitated, macabrely enough. The bluejay, meanwhile, was such a mangled mess, Rebecca needed several seeconds to identify it. She glared at the demon holding it. "You don't do subtlety well, do you?" Her eyes turned to the second demon. "Well, I'd say it's obvious which one is in the best condition." She took the bird in her hand and laid it on the ground. "The body I'm in now will be inert when I'm in the corpse. I'll need someone to stand watch while I'm away."
 squeezed her hand
 
Elizabeth patted the demon who had been glared at on the back, a strange noise emanated from its gut as it pushed against her palm. After that, she slowly retracted her hand. [color=magenta]”Good job, all of you. Go observe the workers in the gardeb, come back when I call.”[/color] They dismissed themselves, and Elizabeth watched Rebecca with piqued interest. [color=magenta]”I'll be doing that for now, later it will be either a soldier-witch or a member of your new group.”[/color] 

Rebecca started drawing sigils and runes in the dirt around the bird, going over her work several times. She knew from experience that the spell would fizzle out if the symbols were made incorrectly. Then, she went over to a diffent spot and dug out a wriggling worm. Placing the worm's tail in the bird's mouth, she intoned, "As he feeds upon thee, so death feeds upon life." Rebecca completed the ritual by squeezing the worm to death.

There was a bright flash, and Rebecca's human body slumped to the ground, utterly still. The bird hopped to its feet and opened its mouth, speaking in an unsettling voice (though the fact that it was speaking at all was unsettling enough.) "I-I can't believe it! The ritual actually worked!"

Elizabeth bent down, gently picking up Rebecca's body and carrying it the way one would a baby. Surprisingly, the dead weight didn't seem to affect Liz, all another perk of being a Dragon Knight. She looked down at the bird before her, watching its limp neck crane as words burbled out of it's mouth. [color=magenta]”That's an impressive feat, Rebecca. I'm sure the body of a bird is much different than that of a human's though, why don't you stretch your wings? I'll take care of your body, when you're done, come back and we'll discuss your new options.”[/color] 

With a quick flap of her wings, Rebecca took off, rising to a height of about twenty feet before going into a power dive. Unfortunately, she didn't pull up in time and crashed beak-first. "Ouch! You're right, this is going to take some practice." Mentally, she intoned the counterspell, and her normal form came back to unlife.

Elizabeth flinched at the failed dive, but she assumed it couldn't get much worse for the dead bird. Suddenly, Rebecca woke up in Elizabeth's arms, and the bird went limp on the ground. Elizabeth set Rebecca down on a bench, just in case she was a bit dazed. Then, Elizabeth picked up the dead robin, tucking in its wings respectfully and handing it off to Rebecca.

[color=magenta]”I believe, you may have earned yourself a position in Espionage. That is, if you want to take it. What you accomplished was something that could be perfect for stealth missions, and it could spare a lot of lives if a bird was to be caught instead of your teammates.”[/color] Elizabeth picked up the Espionage packet, showing it off to Rebecca and waiting for her answer. 

"A most intriguing proposition. However, I have a question for you, before we begin. I know little of Hunters and their ways. Do they have some method for detecting a witch's mind? If so, that could well prove fatal to me."

Elizabeth thought, scanning her memory of all the hunters in Seren's Folly. None had the amazing ability to detect a witch, unless they were revealing themselves quite obviously. [color=magenta]”No, there aren't any who can sense the minds of witches. As long as you act like a bird, you'll be fine. There are two wolves, one named Mishka, they can sense demons but I'm quite certain they can't sniff out the mind of a witch in the body of a bird.”[/color] 

Elizabeth's brow furrowed, there would always be a chance of them sniffing Rebecca out. She didn't want to risk it, but Rebecca’s bird could save many, and it could flee much faster than a group of witches. [color=magenta]”If you are caught, you will know because of their barking. The second you hear that, you flee. The one of main concern would be Flint, if he's...still alive.”[/color] She choked, clearing her throat and carrying on. [color=magenta]”This position is optional, I'm only asking you take it into consideration.”[/color] 

"I will gladly take it, and help with the defenses as well. Don't worry, when the fighting comes, I won't shy away." She picked herself up and took her bird with her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I have some flying practice to do."

Elizabeth smiled brightly at the girl, watching her walk off to go explore her new wings. Elizabeth was glad Rebecca was so receptive, definitely one of the easiest meetings she had had all day. There were a few more she had to have with those she knew, and the one she was least excited about had to be Triss’. The mind witch was sure to be difficult, with no concern about punishments from Lorelai. She snapped her fingers, calling for her demons. They came, and she made them play in front of her. It was entertaining, and sometimes the would toss her a pine cone to include her. Despite everything she had once known about demons, these four were starting to grow on her.