The next day I visited Gronir to discuss some of our upgrades for the carriage.

"Koyuki, what can I do for you?" He greeted me warmly.

"Sir, I do have some questions. My friends and I have bought a carriage recently. We are now considering upgrades to make it safer." I said.

"Safer? Are you worried your carriage will break?" He asked.

"No, I was more thinking about assassins, ambushes, monsters, thieves,..." I replied.

Gronir chuckled. "I see. You do attract a lot of attention. Having your carriage enchanted will cost a lot of money though."

"What about adding undead, instead of enchanting it?" I asked.

"Oh! I see. Yes, you could do something like that. Theoretically you could construct an entire bone carriage and animate it. It has been done in the past but the mana expense is too big and in the end it's not that helpful. There is no natural creature that instinctively uses wheels, meaning it would not drive itself very well. And the durability gained would not be significant enough, there are easier ways to armour a carriage. It's better to deploy your undead around the carriage as an escort."

"What about a warning system? I could attach an animated skull to it." I asked.

Gronir pondered that. "I suppose that could work. But why not have a skeleton standing guard? The mobility would be beneficial. What you could do is animate a door, simply out of convenience, or to show off. I guess a skull could be imposing as well but it would not need to be animated for that."

"We were wondering about an Iron Beak cage at the bottom." I added.

"Hm. You would have to make sure that they can't be used to blow up your own ride. But with proper precaution it could be doable. It would not be different than having a stash of bombs with you." Gronir mused. "Actually, how are you going to draw the carriage?"

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"Kaito is looking into horse corpses, we were thinking about raising some just for the carriage." I replied.

Gronir nodded. "Would that not solve most of your problems? They could alert you and guard the carriage in your absence. You don't need to stable them, you can keep them right next to your carriage all the time. They would not be able to fight during an ambush, since they are attached, but you have other undead for that. If you are truly concerned during travel, use some of your forces as a vanguard and others as scouts."

"I suppose that makes sense." I replied.

Gronir studied my face. "I guess this was not the answer you were hoping for. A lot of ideas that seem good at first are not that practical in the end. But also remember, not everything has to be useful. If you want an animated skull, go for it. You certainly have enough mana to spare some on indulgences."

I nodded. "Thank you, I will consider that. One more question, is there a good way to enhance an undead horse for a carriage?"

Gronir smiled. "Now that is a good question! First, a horse is an excellent choice. Especially if you go for a tier two. Do you know why?"

"Because of its instincts?" I wondered.

"Exactly! A domesticated horse, raised as a tier two, will have some instincts left when it comes to drawing a carriage. A zombie would be even better, because it could use a normal harness. But bones are easier to come by. As for enhancing them, I would use a mild tincture for tougher bones. You can pour some mana into their bite, if you want them to fight in an emergency. Death mana enhancements won't be ideal to make them run faster but you could try to strengthen the joints. Maybe a bit of water mana for the hooves, it could help in some terrain. Especially if you take the carriage north during winter." He stood up and studied his bookshelf, then he grabbed a volume and handed it to me.

"Thank you, sir!" I replied.

"No problem, I enjoy your enthusiasm for necromancy! Especially when they don't cause me a headache." He replied, with a chuckle. "Oh, and I have made my own travel arrangements, together with Mary. We are taking a boat up the river. It will take us three days. Your carriage can likely do it in two days. But Sir Edward has reserved two rooms for you and your friends at the capital. Here is your official invitation."

Gronir handed me an ornate letter with a red wax seal.

I said my goodbyes and returned to my room, carrying the book and the fancy invitation. I placed the book on the table, sat down on my bed and opened the letter.

We were staying at a place called the Golden Chalice and had a room for an entire week. The letter also contained some information about the conference. It was only three days long. That would give us some time to explore the city, and go to the palace.

I studied the letter some more. Only three groups would hold an actual presentation and we were one of them. There would be plenty of stalls though, where necromancers could present minor findings, or sell their products. There was even a note that they expected a large number of visitors and to prepare accordingly.

Would people sell their undead? A necromancer needed to maintain them, making that impractical. There were only so many undead you could create, selling them would weaken you. Maybe they just offered rentals?

I was looking forward to the conference, while also being nervous about it. And I was slightly concerned about ambushes. Hopefully Kaito could find some horse corpses in time, the conference was getting closer.

"Meow." Nyx jumped onto the bed and placed herself in my lap. I started petting her and she purred.

"I guess I have nothing to fear with my mighty feline protector." I said and she purred louder.

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