"Take your last looks and mount up!" Allison said. After two days of preparation, they were eager to escape the charnel house the fortress had become. The continuous patrol of zombies atop the walls had kept at bay any bandits with dreams of glory.

　　The remains of Narooka were invaluable in moving the heaviest of the treasures. However, Jeremiah couldn`t bring himself to look at the enormous creature, nor could he reduce Narooka to a nondescript pronoun as he had with so many other zombies.

　　Jeremiah also avoided Delilah whenever he could. She had witnessed his moment of weakness, and it was only her concern for him that had rescued him from becoming the type of necromancer he swore he`d never be. He felt exposed before her. Part of him wondered if she had told Bruno or Allison. He had a feeling she didn`t. The sympathetic smiles she flashed whenever he hurried past reassured him that the incident would stay between them, but he still felt a pang of shame each time.

　　Jeremiah jumped as Allison clapped a hand on his shoulder. He had been lost in thought as he watched Bruno check the attachments of one of the bandits` carts. They had decided to appropriate several carts to help haul treasure back to Dramir, with the aid of some of the bandits` horses that had been killed during the battle. "What are we doing with these?" Allison asked, gesturing toward the zombies and skeletons milling idly around the courtyard.

　　"I`m guessing I can`t keep them?" said Jeremiah.

　　"No chance."

　　"Can I request something akin to a proper burial?" asked Bruno, coming up behind them. His eyes traveled across the haggard faces of the undead. "They didn`t choose this."

　　The undead shifted at once in response, and Jeremiah`s friends jumped. The zombies began spacing themselves evenly around the courtyard, filling in the ranks as they descended the walls and streamed in from around the fortress. Narooka took up his position in the center.

　　Dig.

　　As one, the undead hoard stooped and clawed at the hard-packed earth, weapons and fingernails clawing through the crust to scoop out the softer soil beneath. They dug straight downward with ferocious speed, descending deeper into the earth. Soon the courtyard became a tilled field, sown with bodies that continued to dig. When just the tops of their heads protruded from the deep but narrow holes, Jeremiah ordered them to stop.

　　"Shouldn`t we say something?" Allison asked. She cast a wary glance at the spontaneous burial site, unconsciously edging her shield side towards it.

　　"Umm." Jeremiah racked his brain for something appropriate to say, but his necromancer training hadn`t exactly covered this. Seconds ticked by. Finally, he thought back to the many funerals he had attended in Dramir. "A moment of silence," he said, "for the passing of hard lives, at last, into rest."

　　They bowed their heads. Jeremiah released his hold, his mind stretching the fill the space left as hundreds of bubbles popped and bodies collapsed. All that remained was Narooka, who moved among the piles, using his huge hands to push loose dirt back into the holes, covering his former comrades. Finally, Narooka climbed into his own massive grave and scooped the earth over himself. At last, he too was still.

　　"We done here?" Bruno asked.

　　"I think so," said Jeremiah. He turned to go, but Bruno stopped him.

　　"Allison, you and Delilah go on ahead for a minute," said Bruno. After a moment`s hesitation, Allison returned to where Delilah waited by the carts. Bruno turned Jeremiah to face him. "Alright, tell me."

　　"Narooka begged me not to reanimate him. Right before he died." The words came forth like bile, poisoning the air as he spoke them. Jeremiah watched Bruno work the confession over in his mind.

　　"I`m guessing you told me that just now because you feel bad about ignoring his last request?" asked Bruno.

　　"Yeah, I think I do. He was noble, courteous. Even though he was trying to kill us and lead some sort of army."

　　"Jay, what you do is beyond me. I`m just a thief, I pick locks and pockets. I don`t know anything about magical ethics. If you`re looking for me to tell you that it`s okay, well, I don`t know. I think that`s something you need to decide for yourself."

　　"Well&I`m a necromancer. That means I have dominion over death. And If I had to respect every enemy`s dying wishes, I`d probably never raise another undead. So, I guess even though it feels bad to turn them down, being a necromancer means accepting the responsibility of these decisions. I have to be okay with that."

　　Bruno nodded along with him. "If that`s what you believe, I can go along with that. I trust you, and while I never want to hear you say dominion over death` again, you`re not wrong."

　　"Could I raise you?"

　　"What?"

　　"If you died in combat, could I raise you? As a zombie or a skeleton or whatever else I need?" Jeremiah suppressed a smile as Bruno`s face paled.

　　"Um. Zombie only. I can`t handle that liquid flesh thing. But you know what? I`d be happy to continue to be of service. Just, you know, please don`t make me a pet? Proper burial eventually?"Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"Deal."

　　Being in their own carriage, finally about to leave the fortress behind, was a relief. Allison winced as she rested her head against the wall. They were all still injured to varying degrees, consequences taking root in their joints and scars. "Take us home Jay," she said.

　　The carts began to roll as the caravan pulled by undead horses strained against their load. They passed into the sun-bleached desert, adrenaline finally ebbing.

　　"Everyone okay?" Allison asked. Everyone nodded or grunted their affirmation.

　　"You okay, hon? With everything?" Delilah asked Allison. She placed a reassuring hand on Allison`s knee.

　　Allison`s gaze flicked to Jeremiah and away again. Jeremiah recognized that there must have been a prior discussion between Allison and Delilah concerning him, but he was too exhausted to wonder as he waited for her answer.

　　"Yeah," said Allison, "I think I`m okay. It was a bit&well, nightmarish."

　　Bruno snorted. "A bit."

　　"But I`m good," Allison finished firmly.

　　The carriage crawled across the desert. Jeremiah, his mind finally free of the burdens of the last several days, thought of something. "Delilah, we had right of salvage, right? Anything we found was ours?"

　　Delilah stirred from her fatigued stupor. "Huh? Oh, well there are a few clauses that muddy things when you really drill down, but not many. Why?"

　　"We went out there expecting to find a bunch of tents and such. But we found a fortress. Can we salvage a fortress?"

　　Delilah froze. Her eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and Jeremiah though he detected a high-pitched whine just beyond his range of hearing. "I guess we`ll see," she managed eventually, her voice strained.

　　The rest of the journey passed peacefully, seeming much faster than the journey forth despite their load. At the outskirts of Dramir, Delilah hired several couriers to transport the bulk of the goods into the city proper so the undead horses could be left behind. Only the disguised skeletal horses remained under Jeremiah`s control as he directed their carriage back to Delilah`s house.

　　The house waited for them as though no time had passed at all, although Jeremiah was sure he had aged several years in the intervening weeks. He trudged to his room, shrugged off his gear, refreshed Gus`s water, and collapsed onto the bed. It was over. Well and truly over.

　　Jeremiah was tidying up in the lab a few days later when a distinct wail made his blood run cold. Delilah had been busy since their return, so he was trying to help keep the laboratory productive in her absence. She had disappeared in a flurry of errands, returning the map, filing reports with dozens of official bodies, and meeting with Colonel Valen. She was tight-lipped about the latter—"I`ll tell you when there`s something to tell," was all she`d said when Jeremiah had pried. She had also arranged for their treasure to be stored in a warehouse as it was brokered piece by piece. None of them dared estimate its value for fear of jinxing it.

　　The wail came again. Jeremiah abandoned his work and rushed downstairs.

　　Delilah was at the table, her face buried in her arms. She was bawling uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking with each sob. Allison rubbed her back soothingly.

　　"What happened?" Jeremiah was suddenly incensed, preemptively enraged at whoever had traumatized Delilah.

　　"You want to tell him, girl?" Allison asked.

　　Delilah looked up, her eyes red and puffy, face streaked with tears.

　　"I-I-I asked, I asked if the fortress counted for salvage rights!" She sniffed. "And they said it does, but instead, instead of&" She broke into sobs again.

　　Jeremiah sat beside Delilah and took one of her hands, stroking his thumb across the back of it. He had guessed something as critical as a military fortress would be one of the caveats to salvage rights that Delilah had mentioned, and it appeared he had been correct. "Go on, it`s okay," he said.

　　Delilah managed to continue. "Instead of-of selling it, or returning it, they said that I get to own it and all the land around it!" She wailed and collapsed back onto the table.

　　"Oh! Well, that`s good, right? Owning land and a fort? I mean, it`s not the best land, but—"

　　"No! You don`t understand!" Delilah wiped away fresh tears. "You can`t own land unless you`re a noble! So, in recognition of what we did and of my role as the party`s chief administrator, I get to be&I`m&I`m gonna be&they`re going to make me a Lady!"

　　Jeremiah stood. "That is indeed a vital step toward your goal of becoming queen. Let me be the first to congratulate you, Lady Fortune." He gave a deep bow, hoping it was the proper way to address a noblewoman.

　　Delilah`s sobs stopped abruptly. She stared up at Jeremiah with wide, shocked eyes, her mouth hanging open. Suddenly her features scrunched and she extended a shaking hand as regally as she could. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance!" The nicety morphed into the loudest bout of wailing yet.

　　"There there, come on." Allison patted Delilah`s shoulder and grinned at Jeremiah. "She`s a good news crier. And this is the best news she`s had in a long time."

　　Jeremiah returned the grin. "Good news for all of us! An actual noblewoman in the party could give us some real clout."

　　It took a few weeks for Jeremiah`s prediction to come to fruition. He started accepting odd necromancy jobs again just as an excuse to get out of the house, but without any real expectations. Until Colonel Valen came through on his promise to provide a real opportunity, he was just killing time.

　　Jeremiah staggered home one evening in a dull stupor. He had endured a dreary day of reanimating a group of ancient monks to participate in a ritual of solemn prayer—that was, to kneel in the monastery alongside the living monks, motionless and silent, for fifteen straight hours.

　　"There you are, finally!" Delilah materialized at his side and seized his arm. "Gather round, everyone, and listen closely!"

　　Jeremiah blinked as he was ushered to the table. Delilah buzzed with unmistakable vibrancy. "What`s going on?"

　　Delilah cleared her throat impatiently as Bruno and Allison joined them in the kitchen. "We`ve been invited to a royal ball in recognition of our service to the city of Dramir! It`s going to be held at the palace in a fortnight and more importantly, we`ll be meeting with Colonel Valen about Jay joining the military operations up north."

　　A rush of excitement and fear broke Jeremiah`s fugue. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Going into a war zone?"

　　"It`s the best chance to get you off the hook. Likely the only chance. Even after everything we were able to report from the bandit camp, Valen had to pull a lot of strings just to get you this opportunity. You`re doing this, and we`re going to help you."

　　Delilah looked to each face around the table, inviting objections. Finding none, she continued. "I want everyone to get new clothes for the ball and briefing. This isn`t like dropping by Corbyn`s, this is the real deal. Jay, do you know how to dance?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Then we`ll need—wait, really?" Delilah eyed him closely.

　　"Yes, really! A girl in my town was obsessed with dancing and always wanted a partner, so I obliged her. I`m sure I`m a bit rusty, but I know the steps of any of the classic courtly dances." Jeremiah was suddenly aware all three were staring at him.

　　"Well, that`s adorable," said Bruno.

　　"Excellent, that`s one less thing to worry about," said Delilah, pointedly ignoring Bruno. "Now, we`re all going to learn about how to properly address different noble, military, and religious rankings!"

　　"Oh...good."