The army of the dead marched inside the castle, led by Aleric, Danit, Samuel, and the most elite of Aleric's undead soldiers. They walked in even rows and had their weapons raised. Behind them went the skeletons and lesser zombies, ready to drown the living in their bodies.
Aleric still expected resistance. There really were people in the courtyard, but they had already lost the will to fight. Now they just watched Aleric, waiting for him to go through with the deal or abandon it entirely.
A moment stretched as everybody awaited Aleric's next words.
"Danit, command these people to surrender. As I promised the countess, they would live."
"Lay down your weapons!" Danit ordered his soldiers. "Kneel, and peacefully await Master Fenn's judgment!"
At first, people exhaled with relief that they weren't going to be slaughtered. Then, they looked at their lord more closely.
