//------------------------------//
// Laying Plans 
// Story: Mark of the Wyld 
// by DarkParable 
//------------------------------//

	A week had passed since I found a purpose for myself here in this world. A week since I'd decided to kill everything in Equestria and let them all know the peace and love of death's embrace... Or some such bull shit. Really I'd just decided I wanted to do something I knew would get Celestia or Luna to kill me. Figured it'd take something akin to a god to do it now, and honestly, who wouldn't want to be able to claim they caused so much havoc they forced a physical goddess to end them?

Now then, getting back on track here, in that week I'd been rather busy with... Things. Mostly learning more about the body that was mine now... And get your minds out of the damn gutters people. I wasn't sitting in the woods getting acquainted with Ida Palm and her five friends for a week... Just thinking about that makes my fur crawl. I'm a guy damn it, I'm tab A, not  slot B. Gah, anyways, I'd figured out I was essentially a max level Death Knight in terms of my powers, but I sure as hell had no idea how to use most of them. I was basing this on the time I ran into a unicorn who freaked out and tried hitting me with some spell. Dark Simulacrum took care of that. Granted I only got to launch a stunning spell back at the guy because of that... And how the hell I did it is beyond me. I blame reflex.

Powers aside, and my lack of ability to properly use most of them, my physical abilities were about what one would expect from what's basically a werewolf enhanced through dark magic and robbed of it's soul. You know, bench press a small car a couple times before calling it quits for a month. Super human, but not superman here. Either way, I was your typical Worgen DK.

Now that I've recapped the things I found out about myself, and no I'm not telling you all how... It's embarrassing to talk about... I mean really, who'd be comfortable talking about the time they spent five days trapped under a fallen tree because of an exploding unicorn? Anyways... To current events. I was seated at a rather crude table with the leaders of my little cult in the very same warren I'd slaughtered not too long ago. It was... odd being back here again, but I couldn't help but smile when I'd caught sight of Junior the D-Dog ghoul tending to the chores the cultists had given him and looking like he'd fall apart before too long. Rather satisfying to know that the rusty red round his muzzle was all that remained of Black Jaw.

"Great one, Thank you for answering the request of your humble supplicants. We wished to offer you a few... Choice targets for your glory to touch next." Rang out the gruff, but well cultured voice, of the spokes-dog for the cult. I rather liked the fellow. He had a gentlemanly moustashe and was rather pleasant... When he wasn't doing his other job. Gods... Flencing*... Nasty business.

I turned my attention to him, suppressing a chuckle at the look on his face when I gave him my full attention. You'd think he had a woman under the table the way he was grinning at me. "Get on with it then." I said, snapping him out of whatever little fantasy was running though his sick as fuck head.

"Yes mistress. We've come across two other border settlements of the ponies that would be easy to take, but have a sizable population and enough resources to help sustain this cult until we can establish a more secure and agriculturally viable base of operations." He cleared his throat and looked over a bit of what passed for Diamond Dog writing scratched onto a thin piece of shale. 

"There's Brier-Bush, two days march from here with a population in the upper three-hundreds. Roan Oak, five days march from here and in the opposite direction, larger population and a booming trade with the inland cities. They send grain and other such goods as far as Appleoosa. Finally there is Fleet Hoof. Of the tree it's the smallest, likely the most well defended, but also the most isolated. Taking it would provide little more than we have now, but would be a good test run in my humble opinion."

My mind had pretty much shut down at the mention of Roan Oak. I couldn't help but find it funny, and I knew beyond a doubt that I wanted to take that one first. Seriously, a lost town named Roan Oak... Too good to pass up for anyone who's ever lived in North Carolina.

I waited a few moments before I said anything, may as well make the damn cult wait... Not like they had anything to do as of yet anyways. "We take Roan Oak. I'll raise enough ghouls to do so, but I want you to begin digging in it's direction. We'l take it in the middle of the night in one fel swoop. I want nothing disturbed in that town. You are to tunnel into the houses of residents however you can and direct the ghouls I assign you to drag the residents back with you. No blood is to be split anywhere in that town... Under it is another matter." I could her Pravus chuckling at that and ran my hand slowly down that haft of my axe, a feral grin on my own muzzle.

My cultists took that the wrong way. It's odd watching things with fur go pale ya know, shouldn't be able to see it what with the fact that they're covered in fuzz. Apparently they decided to take the grin and the petting of my weapon as a veiled threat to their lives should they fail in any way. I wasn't going to tell them it wasn't, that'd ruin my fun.

"Yes mistress!" was the rather resounding response after everydog had managed not to piss themselves... Every one of them save Moon Moon, but he was mostly there just so everyone would have something to laugh at... Even if the one he followed also lost a finger for bringing him along.

My grin stretched a bit wider as I watched them all scurry off to do as they were told. "Hey Pravus... Hear that sound?"

What sound, my wielder? ...I hear nothing that you do not  Morgan Freeman's voice dosen't even sound bad when confused,

"Someone just gave the Drums of war a light tap..."