Orc Wars 2 : Lazarus

Chapter 67 - Maintaining Cover

The next few times Ash went in as Lazarus, he encountered the Keeper, Battle Master and Anya.

The Keeper was tactful and discreet in the change of her Lord. Lazarus was the same but at the same time he was different. The young lord was unusually carefree and overly charming to everyone which made her suspicious. He spoke in an easy-going flirtatious way and teased the maids mercilessly when they came in to serve him. The pretty NPCs always left his chambers blushing and giggling at his naughty jokes. All of them suddenly volunteered to do even the tiniest task if it meant they could go near their playful handsome lord.

The brutal attack on his home must have left him in shock, thought the Keeper. Maybe this was his way of dealing with his trauma of dying repeatedly during the siege. She smoothened out her furrowed brows, no use worrying, she told herself. Lord lazarus was a strong resilient young man who had proven himself repeatedly. He would sort himself out and overcome it. She should trust him.

Then she stopped and gasped as another thought struck her. Her Lord was still young, maybe he was going through another puberty phase. Who knew what the Ghost Lords go through? Her motherly instincts gushed to forward filling her with trepidation. She would keep an eye on him and keep the pretty maids away. The Keeper frowned, come to think of it, all of them were pretty. Maybe she should go through her list again and select the older ones? Hmm, where was her list again? She trudged to her workroom muttering under her breath. Boys!

Dimitri had to check out this new change for himself. If someone was posing as Lord Lazarus, it would mean a serious security breach. There was only one way to find out. He invited the boy to practice. Any imposter would fail miserably under his strenuous training. First strategy planning, than archery and hand-to hand combat. 'Lord Lazarus' performed as expected. His strategy was impeccable, solving the presented situation in an ingenious way.

The gatekeeper excelled in archery and any long ranged combat so it was a relief when he shot accurately and threw his knives killing the set-up practice dummies efficiently. The Battle Master wondered at the slower speed but brushed it off. Lord Lazarus was not well and practice did not have a 'real battle' situation. It was not a crucial life or death situation. The Battle Master was positive the ghost lord would be faster in an emergency. He passed and Dimitri was assured.

Anya was another matter. She was confused when she neared him. Something was different.

"Chosen?"

She stopped. The mind-link felt off.

"Yes Anya?"

What? Yes Anya? Why was he talking like that? She padded over to him and sniffed discreetly. He smelled the same. He looked the same. Lazarus looked at her and smiled. She frowned. Why was he smiling so broadly like that? Even his teeth were showing! He usually only smiled slightly with lips closed, but his beautiful eyes would light with real pleasure at seeing her. It was uncharacteristic of her Chosen to smile like that. Why didn't he reach out to ruffle her thick white fur lovingly and scratch her behind her ears like he usually did? Anya tried again. She wiggled her head under his hand expecting him to finally scratch that persistent itchy spot. He moved his hand to pat her big furry head several times.

She backed away growling, hackles raised. This human was not Lazarus. He was an imposter!

"Who are you? What have you done to my Chosen?"

"I am your Chosen."

"Do not lie to me human, you are not. He would never pat me on the head like that!"