>>2262682
>>"You will." Chain her soul to your will.

>>2262682
>Other: "Now is such a chance. Serve me." Release our grip to see if she will serve of her own free will.

Man, no other voters?

>>2262697
Seconding.

>>2262682
>>"you will." Chain her soul to your will.

>>2262697
support

>>2262697
Pretty much this. Free willed people are better than slaves

>>2263350
Having people serve of their own free will rather than mental or soul domination means that the means of control is much harder to break than an anti-magic field or Macguffin of some kind.

I also consider it to be a mark of competence; any being of supreme magic can twist a peon's mind or soul to bind them to service, but it takes a competent Overlord to make minions swear loyalty of their own free will.

>>2262697
Support

>>2262697
support

Looks like this is stillborn.

>>2264944
I refuse to believe otherwise.

>>2262697
Supporting

It would have been better if people followed the twitter.

>>2262682
>"You will." Chain her soul to your will.

>>2262697
"I..." The witch feels your grip loosening as she falls to the floor. She grips at her chest and a ragged sigh comes from her lips. She looks up at you, her eyes filled with fear and desperation. She bows her head again and shivers.

"I will serve..." She whispers. She quietly kneels without another word, raising her hands to you, palms facing towards you.

"I will serve you, oh death, till you claim my soul." She says.
-------
"Master, your unholy deathknights await your command." Axton pounds his fist to his chest plate, allowing his armored gauntlet to clang against metal. Your deathknights are kitted in different armors that befit their roles in their previous life. Axton and Drason both wear heavy plate, while Axton's plate denotes his position within the deathknights. While Axton wields a sword and shield of grey and black metals, Drason wields a massive two handed mace. Meridian walks up behind Axton, her chain skirt glowing with soft magics as she bows to you.

"Master, we will help too." Aegis says as her sisters bow to you. You notice that there is a small hole open in their ranks as Iko slowly turns her head towards the spot and closes her eyes.

"We'll finish your mission, my Lord. Even if my powers weren't up to what I thought they were before, I'll be sure to complete our mission." Marla says as she forces the other clones to bow as she nods her head at you. Lia does not bow, but instead smiles a wide, innocent smile.

"I'll make them dead!" Lia exclaims. Marla groans and pushes Lia's head down.

"Bow before- Forget it..."

Maila walks up to you and bows as well. Behind her, Leader 001 and his guards are decked out in heavy armor and carries a large club on his back. He gets on his knees and bows to the floor.

"We will be like caged tigers, awaiting our chance to strike." Leader 001 says as his guards kneels and bows their heads.

Suddenly, you feel a ward being tripped. They're coming. Marla looks to you and nods.

"I got a way to get up undetected. Be careful." Marla motions for her guard to follow her as she leaves your lair to find the device.

So, they've come at last. From what you can tell, it seems a large mob of them are coming your way with mages and something else. Let them come.

>Shock and Awe: Your deathknights will act as your shock infantry, causing the weak willed with panic and flee while Leader's forces deal with those that stay.
>Hit and Run: Those that are adept at getting in and out of trouble before the enemy has a chance to respond will hit the rear units and run before the enemy can mount a counter attack.
>Leader 001: Let Leader 001 decide what is best for the defense.
>If they want me, I will go out to meet them. Let the see the power of a lich first hand.
>Other.

>>2265216
>Hit and Run: Those that are adept at getting in and out of trouble before the enemy has a chance to respond will hit the rear units and run before the enemy can mount a counter attack.
>Other: prioritize the spellcasters, and find out what that "something else" is.
We can always raise the dead mages as our own later.

What do we call those that aren't good enough to be deathknights but still more useful as thinking and autonomous undead?

>>2265216
>Leader 001: Let Leader 001 decide what is best for the defense.
A good leader works with his general.

>>2265244
This

>>2265216
>Leader 001: Let Leader 001 decide what is best for the defense.
We have him for a reason. Let him do his task so that we can do ours.

>>2265216
>>Leader 001: Let Leader 001 decide what is best for the defense.
He's the guy we have for this sort of thing.

>>2265244
>>2265247
>>2265358
Leader 001 bows to you.

"I will defend this place with my life, if need be. None shall penetrate this mighty sanctum."
-------
A few hours after your meeting, an automaton from Leader 001 comes up to you and kneels.

"Sir! Our first line of defense had clashed with the enemy! The fight will be hard fought, but our brave warriors will endure any storm! We will be of iron against the blows of these children masquerading as soldiers!"

The soldier seems to be... acting out his every feeling. He throws his right arm out in front of him and clenches his fist as he speaks.

"However, it would seem the enemy wishes to engage us in a war of fatigue and attrition by attacking in waves! Fear not, we will drive each wave back like it was simple silk against the wind!"

You focus your senses to see what is happening outside your sanctum. Outside, there seems to be fortifications, barricades, and a few patrolling soldiers outside of the village. However, on closer inspection, it would seem that many automatons are actually hidden within rubble or natural foliage. You look to the first line of defense to see bodies strewn about. Automatons raise their swords and spears above their heads and let out a mighty warcry as the last of the first wave is defeated. One automaton twirls around a massive halberd like it was a twig.

"Show them our fighting spirit! Show them the reason why Leader 001 trusts us with the first line of defense!" The automaton yells as it faces the next wave.

>Let's watch this wave. I want to see how this automaton fights.
>I want a report from Leader 001. I will project an astral image to his command structure.
>No, I trust Leader 001. I will simply wait until I receive another report.
>Other

>>2265429
>Other
Focus our senses to look at the rear of the enemy, find their spellcasters and that "something else" we felt.

>>2265454
Supporting!

>>2265429
Backing >>2265454

>>2265454
>>2265530
>>2265746
You begin to focus your attention towards the back of the enemy's lines. It is hard, at first, the mages of the enemy army have been careful enough to put up wards that prevent scrying of most magical kind. But, some are not as powerful as the others and you are able to slowly bring up an image of the army in your mind. It is a mob of soldiers indeed, ranging from armored knights to men and women in simple yellow robes wielding daggers and clubs. However, you did not expect that the queen could have easily moved this many troops down to the caverns below. It would have raised more than concerns, perhaps even rowdy peasants that were sick and tired of being treated like trash. No, something more is happening here.

Then, you feel something. It is small at first, but then you begin to focus even deeper than before. A song begins to whisper into your mind as you peer into a small tent in the back ranks, protected by veiled guardswomen. You hear giggling and moans before you focus on the beings inside the tent.

"It won't be long now, my perfects. Soon, all will be me and beautiful. Our justicar will see to that." A woman in fine clothing says to a few veiled women down below her. She caresses the cheek of one as you see a green spark jump from her finger to the woman's face. Blood spurts from her mouth as she falls to the floor, violently convulsing as her body begins to twist into something that resembles the original woman.

"Go, My Azelite, don your holy armor and prepare for combat. Bring me victory so I may turn my kingdom into a paradise."

Azletia reaches out to caress her new creation before the Azelite walks away. Azletia then stares upwards at the ceiling of her tent before quickly looking around.

"Someone watches..." She whispers as her slaves begin to rouse from their drugged states.

>Someone watches, indeed. Materialize in front of Azletia.
>Silent watch on. She can do nothing to stop you.
>Time to send out my deathknights to bring her to me.

>>2265842
>Other: Send a report of what we've seen to Leader 001, and that more powerful opponents approach.

>>2265868
This
Op didn't say we could add, but if we can than this is what I want.

>>2265842
Backing >>2265868

Also, weren't we keeping our deathknights in reserve in case Marla and Lia need backup?

>>2265842
Wait can we disassemble the clone vat and use it as bait to force the Empress into a poor position. That seems to be her the actual focus of her desires here.

They are trying to use attrition against a lich using living soldiers, are they stupid. Every man they loose is another undead soldier for us. If we send in the death knights, then we should raise all the enemy dead at the same time, that should fuck up the enemy morale.

>>2267788
Whatever the Queen is doing to her cult members to make them into copies of her, I don’t like it. I’m leery of raising anything of hers that’s stuffed full of magic like that, at least until we have had a chance to examine it within a containment unit in a quarantined lab.

>>2265868
>>2265879
>>2265887

"This is indeed troubling news..." Leader 001 says as he sits in his command chair, overlooking the battlefield. He notices a flag being raised in the distance and he motions forward. A cry is let out as you hear automatons marching to the raised flag. Leader 001 strokes his non-existent beard and hums to himself.

"If the queen has ridden with her army, then that means she is confident in her defenses. She prepares something as we speak and we have noticed that there are no experienced soldiers within any of the initial waves... If she has powers like your vats, then she may be creating a small squad of mages to send to the field. She is far back within her army, so reaching her will prove difficult. My initial plan of funneling in her forces into a gauntlet of arrows may prove to be our downfall. Every moment we spend attacking her cannon fodder, she spends creating these copies for one large attack. But..." Leader 001 trails off. An automaton comes running from the field of battle. She slides into a kneeling position.

"Leader! A small group of mages has infiltrated our back lines and have begun to make their way to the lair with some sort of stone device!" The automaton yells as he points to your lair. Suddenly, Leader 001 yells out in a foreign language and points to your lair.

"My lord! You must make your escape! Their front is simply a diversion for the real attack! They mean to teleport their elite warriors to your lair! To me, my loyal guard! We must protect our lord!" He raises his club and runs to the lair.

Suddenly, more wards go off as something begins to teleport within your lair. Then, a rumble is heard as your wards signal that there is a breach within the walls. Someone has invaded your lair.


>If this is the device, I cannot be anywhere near it. It is time I retreat to the surface with my allies, just in case.
>My deathknights will deal with these invaders. The rest of my guard will stay with me.
>Everyone goes, including my guard. If I stop them here, then the artifact is mine.
>Other

>>2268518
>Everyone goes, including my guard. If I stop them here, then the artifact is mine.
>Other: but I will not take chances; I shall retreat to the surface so I cannot be used against my own minions. But first, to give my minions magical aid.
Buff the shit out of our deathknights and guards before sending them into battle.

>>2268518
Backing >>2268589. Buffs win battles.

>>2268589
Support

Wait, guys, if the artifact was meant to bind a lich to the Queen’s will, could it work on other undead?

Would sending our deathknights just get them mind-controlled?

>Everyone goes, including my guard. If I stop them here, then the artifact is mine.

>>2269596
It can only work once before it breaks.

>>2268589
>>2268641
>>2269566
>>2269618
Your minions gather around you as you begin to speak.

"My minions, today is a glorious day. Today, we receive an army." Your minions look up at you, some of your clone guard gives you a curious stare.

"But bad men no want to help." Iko says, cocking her head to the side.

"No Iko, they will help by dying. The fools believe that their delusional queen can control a lich with a simple artifact. Even now, they race to find me within my lair. However, they only race to their doom." You begin to draw upon your dark energies as you begin to cast spells. "With these blessings, you will bring me victory. Through victory, the corpses of the defeated. Through these corpses, you will grant me the building blocks to create a new kingdom of the dead."

You are about to apply the final blessing. What should it be?

>CHOOSE ONE

>Death's Wind: While most mortals fear death, those with this blessing do not. When someone is blessed with this spell dies, they will quickly return to life as though they have never suffered that damage in the first place. However, with each death comes a piece of the blessed's soul. Soon, they will resemble the shambling bodies that you control, mindless and undead.
>Armor of the Sanguinaries: The blood of the blessed's enemies becomes armor. With this blood armor, most magical attacks are negated and many physical attacks are deflected away from the blessed. However, should the blessed be cut, they have a chance to contract a disease that had thought to have been eradicated long ago with the cursed infected. This disease bring about a mighty thirst and not for water or wine...
>Whispers from the Dark: Through countless voices whispering from beyond the grave, the blessed is granted a small boost in their magical powers. Those without magical powers or minor powers are granted powers from beyond the grave and beyond the realm of souls. However, should the blessed's mind prove weak, another being takes over until the blessing is dispelled.
>Vessel: Each person "blessed" with this power becomes a mindless vessel that you can control directly. They cannot feel pain, fear, or exhaustion and can continue fighting even if they suffer a mortal wound. When you speak, they speak your words. This lasts until the spell is dispelled. When this blessing is dispelled, the blessed comes to their senses once more.

>>2270311
>Armor of the Sanguinaries: The blood of the blessed's enemies becomes armor. With this blood armor, most magical attacks are negated and many physical attacks are deflected away from the blessed. However, should the blessed be cut, they have a chance to contract a disease that had thought to have been eradicated long ago with the cursed infected. This disease bring about a mighty thirst and not for water or wine...
I'm personally leaning toward this.

>>2270311
>Armor of the Sanguinaries: The blood of the blessed's enemies becomes armor. With this blood armor, most magical attacks are negated and many physical attacks are deflected away from the blessed. However, should the blessed be cut, they have a chance to contract a disease that had thought to have been eradicated long ago with the cursed infected. This disease bring about a mighty thirst and not for water or wine...
This. We need to give them some magic immunity if that fucked-up imprisoning artifact is any indication. Besides, we can always search for a cure easily if any of our valued minions gets infected. The infection itself is a chance, not a certainty.

>>2270356
The infection is becoming a vampire.

Any other voters?

>>2270311
>>Armor of the Sanguinaries: The blood of the blessed's enemies becomes armor. With this blood armor, most magical attacks are negated and many physical attacks are deflected away from the blessed. However, should the blessed be cut, they have a chance to contract a disease that had thought to have been eradicated long ago with the cursed infected. This disease bring about a mighty thirst and not for water or wine...
I don’t like accidentally turning our soldiers into vampires, but there are no other blessings that provide magical protection.

If necessary, we could remove the soul of an infected, purge it of the curse, then put it back in.

>>2270311
>>Armor of the Sanguinaries: The blood of the blessed's enemies becomes armor. With this blood armor, most magical attacks are negated and many physical attacks are deflected away from the blessed. However, should the blessed be cut, they have a chance to contract a disease that had thought to have been eradicated long ago with the cursed infected. This disease bring about a mighty thirst and not for water or wine...
we can kill them if they get infected.

>>2271148
I would prefer not to kill them, as that would mean losing an investment of time and resources into developing their skills.

Bodies are cheap, skills and experience require time and investment(until we knock out the kinks in our Memory Transferance and Skill Replication modules in our Cloning Vats).

Can we make a partial cave in on the queen?

And this is somewhat a hostage situation as she really wants the vats, we might be able buy ourselves a opportunity or some time if we say we are going to destroy the vats unless the queen does "x".

We need to have a destruction switch on the vats that we control so the queens task of stealing them gets much more difficult.

>>2271440
In the future I think it would be better if we create a massive emergency teleport array around the Vats, and set up a fallback position. We don’t want our labs or special projects damaged when our lair gets attacked every other month by some crusading god botherers.

As for right now, I think she is intelligent enough to see that she has to control or destroy us now, whether she can get the Cloning Vats or not, because we’re too big of a threat to her life now.

>>2270353
>>2270356
>>2270732
>>2271148
With one final word, you can hear the final blessing being placed upon your minions. You beckon for you minions to leave. Your minions stand up and salute you as they leave. All except for Maila, who seems to be deep in thought. As the final person leaves, Maila looks up at you and sighs.

"I worry about this new element. Why are they risking the artifact to simply rush here to you? There must be something more to this, Master." She says before pacing.

"This queen seems strange. She is narcissistic and young, yet she can still maintain her rule without any other nobles from raising up against her." She stops and stares at you. She smiles and waves dismissively, crossing her arms as she leans against a wall.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking this..."

>No, thinking like this gives us insight to our enemy. How do you think she maintains her hold over the nobility, if not through fear?
>It's not like you to worry about non-magical or scientific matters. I would not worry, however, this will soon be finished.
>And this is why I worry about these sorts of things. Leave the thinking to me, you worry about the invaders.
>Other

>>2271931
>>No, thinking like this gives us insight to our enemy. How do you think she maintains her hold over the nobility, if not through fear?

>>2271931
>No, thinking like this gives us insight to our enemy. How do you think she maintains her hold over the nobility, if not through fear?

>>2271931
>No, thinking like this gives us insight to our enemy. How do you think she maintains her hold over the nobility, if not through fear?

>>2271931
>Do you think she has the favor of a god?

>>2272109
>>2272149
>>2272155
"Well, if it's not fear, it could be through magical influence. There are some instances of mages creating an aura of compliance, making most who enter within a vicinity to become calm and obedient. That could be why the peasantry hasn't revolted en masse, because this aura is that big. However, those of strong will or of magical origin, like your guards and yourself, could easily wave off this aura." She taps her fingers to her chin. "It's not like Maila's mind magic, so there may be no known weakness other than the two I gave."

She is silent for a moment as you hear crashes coming from a distance. The fighting in your lair has already begun. Spells are being flung and metal meets flesh as you can hear screams and laughter from Adara.

"We should be looking into the possibility of Queen Azletia attempting to capture you, rather than subduing you using this device. Perhaps this device could be made an amplifier rather than a method of control." She looks up at you.

"Meaning?" You ask.

"Meaning that her powers would be amplified to an extent where she would no longer need a lich to control the populace. Everywhere she would tread, people would fall under her spell and serve her mindlessly. If they leave her area of affect, they would still be under her spell."

"That is correct, deary." You hear a small hiss and then a crack as you feel a portal opening behind you. Maila looks behind you and begins to cast a spell before she falls to her knees, an unknown weight tethering her to the ground. She grimaces as she tries to stand up, but something forces her down.

"Kalmedeus taught me that spell when I was a small child. He saw my potential for the magical arts." It's Queen Azletia. She is flanked by two guards in veils who stand at her height.

>You are a fool to appear before me.
>The Queen herself has graced me with her presence. To what do I owe this honor, my Lady?
>Say nothing, but dispell the bindings on Maila.
>Other

>>2272198
>>The Queen herself has graced me with her presence. To what do I owe this honor, my Lady?

>>2272198
>Say nothing, but dispell the bindings on Maila.

>>2272198
>>2272274
Oh and
>Ready to destroy the vats

>>2272198
>>Say nothing, but dispell the bindings on Maila.

>>2272198
>Say nothing, but dispell the bindings on Maila.
>Ready to destroy the vats
What is destroyed can be rebuilt, better than ever. As long as we have the knowledge in our mind, and on nothing physical for her to seize, Azletia won't lay a single hand on any of our cloning pods.

>>2272356
>Say nothing, but dispell the bindings on Maila.
>Ready to destroy the vats
>What is destroyed can be rebuilt, better than ever. As long as we have the knowledge in our mind, and on nothing physical for her to seize, Azletia won't lay a single hand on any of our cloning pods.

Are we going to destroy the queen, or break her mind and enslave her soul?
She’s obviously got magical talent that would be useful to have, and hasn’t insulted us with their weakness like the incubus did.
And having a puppet like her in control of the kingdom would help in keeping the Churches from crusading the shit out of us.

>>2273113
Nope. Too dangerous. We can keep a sample of her flesh for cloning or something but nothing more than that.

>>2273347
I think we need to keep her alive to transfer skills and memories; something to bring up with LichQM.

>>2272198
>>The Queen herself has graced me with her presence. To what do I owe this honor, my Lady?

My assumption is that she actually wants to believe that everyone falls easily to her spell. We should play beeing awed by her presence already, before she uses her artifact. Maybe this gives us the chance to surprise her.

>>2272198
Say nothing, dispel bindings