Rita immediately paused and straightened. She and all of her siblings at once moved closer to the "raw material" bodies, trying to appear like they were working harder than they were.
A dozens seconds later, Aleric walked into the castle with an escort of several undead. To the siblings' nervousness, he left his bodyguards behind and immediately approached them.
"Apprentices. I see that you've made some progress… That's good," he said, looking at the finished slaves.
From Aleric's gray face and his cold, assured demeanor, no one could have thought that he was actually five years younger than Rita, the eldest of the siblings. Even Rita herself had no idea.
"We are happy to serve, Master Fenn," Karl said, bowing.
Aleric smiled. The sight made Fiona shudder a little.
"I have just made something to help you and your pathetic mana reserves out. These trinkets are near-useless to me now, but to you, they will be major boons."
