Luna and I caught up quickly with the student protest caravan. When Luna smelled we were about two hundred yards away, she dropped me off and snuck back off into the woods. I ran and joined the caravan, jumping in one of the wagons. Few students even noticed me, and the few who did must have thought I'd been with the caravan the whole way, and just gone off for a moment to relieve myself. They continued chattering non-stop in the wagon, the subjects being the typical student subjects of how insane the tuition was and how they should curve the grades more.
More students joined the caravan as we passed through the villages along the way. Classes didn't start for another week, so usually the students wouldn't be heading back to campus yet, but word had spread and we had picked up another hundred new wanna-be protesters by that evening, when we camped in the woods near the base of the mountains.
The following day we began the long climb on the mountain road. That night we camped near The Bronze Citadel. The wealthier students got rooms inside and enjoyed the spa and volcanic springs. I was camped outside with what must have been three hundred other students at that point.
We sat around campfires, singing along as Markho played the mandolin. The giant wolf Buddy was there, laying on his side while one orc girl scritched him behind the ears and another gave him a tummy-tub. He looked to be a rather happy wolf.
Then I remembered that I was supposed to be a spy, so I went off to find where the student leaders and the ghost-cat were, so that I could do some proper spying.
They were all gathered around a fire a small ways off from the camp. Viggo and Bula were both there, as was the cat, sitting on the glowing coals at one side of the fire. They were joined by about twenty students.
“You wizards today, with your ‘books’ and ‘theory’ and studying in a ‘classroom,’” the evil ghost-cat was saying as I sat down next to the other students. “It is just pathetic. In my day, we trained students out in the field, doing practical work. Much more effective.”
“Then why do they teach us like this, Lord Lothar?” asked one of the orc students.
“It’s that old wizard Cradel who makes the plans for your training, right?” asked the ghost-cat. The students nodded to confirm. “He probably doesn’t want you to become stronger than he is. He was never that great of a wizard. He preferred to sit among his books of supposed ancient wisdom, rather than be out there in the field, helping me conquer or punish.”
“Did Jend learn in the field, or with Cradel?” asked Spegat, one of the College of Magic students.
“Your Jend, yes, we had him out in the field, doing proper fighting against proper monsters. It made an orc out of him. You see how effective my methods are? We could take a student like Jend, and make something of him. Imagine if I could train all of you fine students using the same methods? You could seize a proper power for yourselves,” said Lothar’s ghost, with a cackle at the end of the speech.
I think Lothar must have really been angry at Cradel's treachery to have said something nice about Jend. Even if it were only to get the students turned further against the administration.
There were a lot of excited murmurs among the magic students in the group. They felt they were being held back by the College not allowing them to fight monsters. As a student healer, I had a different perspective on it.
Even the engineering students were becoming nostalgic about the old times when they were ruled over by a dark wizard – a time they had never actually known. I overheard two of the students talking about how their grandparents had had it better.
“Lothar’s right. We are orcs. We should be fighting giant centipedes in the mines, then raiding the human lands for gold. These modern times with comfortable houses and cooked food are making us soft.”
“Yeah, we need to bring back the evil wizard diet,” said his companion, nibbling on a croissant.
“I like the ghost. He tells it like it is,” said a buggebear sitting next to them.
I fell asleep that night around the campfire in a big group of orcs and goblins. Buddy was there, and let me and a few of the other goblins use him as a big fluffy giant wolf pillow. He howled us a lullaby and I began drifting off to sleep. I felt the primordial connection with the hunting parties of my ancestors, as I watched the stars move across the sky.
- - - -
After a rather un-scholarly early start in the morning, the growing protest caravan made it to campus by mid-afternoon. The protesters began to set up a camp in the field next to the fraternity-house of PPPP.
Phee Phi Pho Phum had begun a hundred years previously as a fraternal organization for giant biologists and healers studying at the College of Blood and Guts at the University of Frakas. It had spread to four chapters around the world, one of which was at the University of the Northern Lights.
Most of the students still had their weapons, shields, and even some armour from the battle against the humans, and they were polishing their weapons and putting on the armor. Those students who had been appointed corporals or sergeants for the battle against the humans were re-assuming their former ranks and organizing the students into squads.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
While the student-soldiers were preparing, the leaders of the rebellion were setting up a command post inside the frat house.
Viggo and Bula were two of the leaders. I wasn’t sure if they were self-appointed, or the ghost-cat had appointed them, for being the first two students he’d met. They were joined by two of the frat’s leaders, both magic students: a skinny, black-haired orc named Otor and a chubby ogre from a southern desert magus family named B’lugo.
The ghost-cat and his four rebel lieutenants were meeting in the dining room of the frat house. A number of the other frat brothers joined them, including Spegat and a dwarf and a goblin whom I didn’t know but I think were engineering students. Two history grad students who were also teaching assistants showed up and were accepted in, and together they formed a type of second-tier officer corps for the rebellion.
There weren’t many students in the camp from the College of Healing, and none in the leadership meeting, so I self-appointed myself and walked into the room. Nobody challenged me. I’m such a good spy. I think I was just considered one of the original rebels at that point.
Viggo stood at the head of the table, while the ghost-cat sat on the table in front of him. The rest of us either sat at the table or stood around it.
“Now my children, let us write down our demands to the College Board,” said the ghost-cat to the assembled team. “When we take them hostage, our demands must be in order. I am a professional, you know!”
“Well for starters, the grade for Combat Wizardry 201 should be an ‘A,’” said Bula. “They signed us all up for the course, then made the required assignment of the class that we join the army and fight the invading humans. Which we did, successfully, but now they say that they are going to give everyone a ‘B+.’ That should be an ‘A.’
“Oh, get real. It's impossible to get an A at this school,” replied Spegat.
Bula pondered for a minute. “You're right. That may be too big an ask. How about an A-minus?”
The ghost-cat put his palm to his face. Frustrated black tentacles shot out from the cat toward Bula and Spegat, but impacted harmlessly.
“Children, do you not have a powerful weapon with immense destructive power?” asked the ghost-cat.
“Yes,” cried out Viggo. “We have a trebuchet!”
I looked out the window, and not just one but two trebuchets were indeed being pulled into the field. The students must have liberated them from whatever lab they’d been developed in. They were now preparing them for battle.
“Then make your demands mean something! Or destroy all before you!” yelled out the ghost-cat, raising his paw in the air like an adorable fist. Even I had to admit he had a certain point.
“Yeah, we should not only get an ‘A,’ but should get an A plus a bit more!” said Bula.
“And they will have to recognize our grad students assistants’ guild!” said one of the orc history grad-students. “No more threatening to blow up the graduate assistants, either from the students or the professors!”
The undergrad students looked at each other, wondering who had let the grad student in their meeting. They shrugged and moved on. I guessed that the grad students’ guild was approved.
“No tuition!” shouted B’lugo.
Otor yelled out “No tuition” again, and a chant began through the whole room. The ghost-cat looked very pleased with himself.
“Yes, my children. Unleash your anger! Let it flow through you. Good. Let anger consume you. Yes, yes, good!” said the ghost-cat.
The chanting went on for a minute, and was joined by the students preparing for combat in the field outside the window. Soon it had spread through the whole camp.
As the chanting continued outside, the ghost cat turned back to his officer corps, saying, “Excellent! It sounds like my soldiers are ready to fight. We attack at sunset. We will now review the plan.”
“Right!,” said Bula, as she read some notes off a parchment scroll. “This should be easy. The administration has about two hundred elite zombie guards, who are vicious and will kill as they command, without hesitation. When we get through the zombies, there is a massive, impenetrable door of wood and iron, two feet thick, impervious to any magic, and which could withstand the battering of a troll. Then, after we get through that, there are of course dozens of deadly traps throughout Komtogk’s Tower. We go through those and we should then seize the administration in their meeting room at the top of the tower.”
“I’m sorry,” I spoke up, raising my hand, “but none of that sounds easy to me. How are you going to get through the traps?”
“Gharol, Gharol, don’t worry so much Gharol. We are students here. We know all the traps. The upperclassmen handed us a list when we first arrived, and we’ve figured out the rest along the way. It is how we sneak around,” explained Otor. “Such as when we are stealing the test answers for our fraternity brothers.”
“Oh. But then the massive door? The one impervious to magic?” I asked.
“We have a trebuchet,” explained Viggo. “The target isn’t that big, so it is slightly tricky, but we should be able to take out the door in just a couple of launches.”
“Yes, we hit smaller targets at a longer range against the humans,” explained the dwarf standing next to Viggo.
“Oh, right,” I said. I had seen the trebuchets demolish the human catapults in the battle at four hundred yards. Which was a hundred yards further than the human catapults could shoot, and three hundred yards further than even a strong wizard like Cradel could call down fire on a target.
I tried one more time. “But what about the hundreds of zombies, and the other guards they have?”
“Well, the non-zombie guards are mostly students with campus jobs, and we’ve been chatting with them, and they are going to join our side as soon as the fight begins. We’ve talked with some of the professors too, and I don’t think many will fight for the administration. It’s not in their contract, you see,” set Otor.
“Okay, but two hundred zombies!” I said.
“Sweetie,” said Bula. “Cradel is a bit lazy, you see, so most of the zombies were built by us students in his class Advanced Zombies 310. Since we built them, we know how to take control of them. He still charged the university for all of them though, as if he’d built them.”
“Bula, you said ‘us.’ You are a necromancer? I thought you wanted to go into divination?” I asked, stunned.
“Gharol, but, like, necromancy is the future! This is fifteen eighty-eight! We need to automate!”
The other presumed necromancer, Spegat, said the last part of the phrase with her. It was evidently some sort of necromancer cheer.
“But it’s an unholy abomination!” I said.
“You disapprove of necromancy,” asked the ghost-cat, eyes trained on me.
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” I said, suddenly aware of his scrutiny and not wanting to give myself away.
“Gharol, it really is okay. You know how all the companies are complaining about how hard it is to find good employees,” explained Bula.
“So you want to replace employees with zombies?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s the whole point!” said Bula. “It is going to be so cool and modern!”
“I assure you that zombies are much better employees than living humanoids,” said the ghost-cat. “I used them whenever I could. Half my army was made of zombies and the undead.”
And look what happened to you, I thought. Jend and Aida crushed your army and now you’re a ghost. Which is what I’m worried is about to happen to Cradel and Komtogk.
