While Hatsumi left to fetch Gronir, we continued examining my newest undead. Cassie's finger slowly approached the blue flame coming from his neck.

"Careful, young lady. It is quite cold." He warned. "However, I shall try my best to keep it warm enough to not damage you on contact."

"It is so weird." Cassie mused. "It feels like a cold wind."

Skadi and Helena poked the flame as well. "True." Helena agreed.

"Is it ok if we touch it? You are not uncomfortable?" I asked.

"I do not mind." He replied, with a smile.

I poked the flames as well. They were right. Once my finger entered the blue flames it felt like there was an icy wind blowing on it.

While we were playing around with the cold fire, the door opened.

"Ah, what have you done this time?!" I heard Gronir, sounding slightly amused. I turned around to see him stop, and stare.

"Greetings sir, it is a pleasure to meet you!" The goblin said. He actually stood up and bowed, while still holding his head.

"This… this is remarkable!" Gronir finally said. Then he stared at me. "Also, another tier three that you have raised without informing me first."

"Sorry, I was so excited to use the corpse…" I replied. It was not a great defense but it was the truth.

Gronir sighed but his eyes sparkled as he examined the goblin. "A dullahan. A rather rare undead. It is not easy animating a body and a head together, without having them connected. Most people who try either fail, or the head becomes fully attached again."

"Attached, how?" Skadi asked.

"We tried sewing the head back on." Hatsumi added.

"Sewing does nothing, unless you include the thread in the spell. But take skeletons, for example. They are a magical construct. The bones are missing the muscle and flesh that would hold them together inside a normal creature. Yet they work. And if you separate parts, like the head, they are destroyed. They are destroyed because you damaged the magical construct. To create a dullahan you need a spell that animates two separate parts as one creature. And you need an air affinity… " He added, looking at me.

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"Air? Um, we used the corpse of a goblin shaman, he had an air affinity." I replied.

"How did he die?" Gronir asked.

"Captain Sarah cut his head off. She is a spellblade with air affinity." Helena added.

"Hm." Gronir stroked his beard. "That would help, especially if she used air mana to separate the head. You had the body preserved right after the battle?"

I nodded.

"Interesting. Finding a body suitable to create a dullahan is hard. You were lucky. Especially since you do not have an air affinity yourself. The shaman must have been at least a senior mage. Possibly with a dual water and air affinity even." Gronir said.

"So he does have air? Can he shoot lightning bolts?" Cassie asked.

Gronir shook his head. "No, not normally. A dullahan has a special kind of magic, a combination of air and frost. It is called frostfire. A lot of the inborn air affinity is used to keep the connection between the head and the body. The further they are apart, the weaker he becomes. Eventually he will go dormant until reunited. Of course, the body always knows where the head is. And if the dullahan is a bound undead, the necromancer can help to keep the body active by supplying it with mana."

"Why does it look like fire?" Cassie asked.

"Who knows? A whim of the gods? But it is essentially cold air. Well, not entirely. Frostfire spells can cling to someone and slowly freeze them. It is interesting magic but not quite as strong as simply using lightning bolts. It is more of a niche and rarely explored by mages." Gronir explained.

"But he can learn air spells, like a mage, right?" I asked.

"In theory." Gronir replied. "Remember, not every monster with a core is a mage. Hatsumi is a vampire, a rather strong undead. Her body is enhanced by her magic but she has enough left to cast spells, especially since she can use blood as a fuel. And you used a very potent corpse. Not even every vampire is a mage. A dullahan uses more magic for their inborn power, for their body. They can do quite a bit with frostfire, with proper training. But they have less mana left for real spellcasting. It depends on how big his core grows. He might be able to learn some simple spells. I would recommend learning a shield, since frostfire is mostly offensive. An ice shield should work well."

"I believe a simple spell might be possible, although I sadly lack the knowledge this body once held." The goblin answered.

While we had been talking the cats finally woke up. All four of them approached now and started sniffing the goblin. Nyx jumped onto his neck and started pawing the frostfire.

"Greetings, fellow undead. I am looking forward to working with you."

"Meow." Nyx replied.

"So, are you ok with serving me?" I asked. It occurred to me that I had truly rushed into this. I had not even thought of a name!

"Of course! I am happy to serve, mistress. I am uncertain what a butler is but Hatsumi has assured me I would be a great fit!" He beamed.

"Of course she has…" I mumbled. "And you do not have to call me mistress!" I added, louder.

"As you wish." He replied.

"Do dullahans eat anything?" Skadi asked.

"Like most evolved undead, they can devour the magic in the corpses of living creatures. I am unsure if they consume anything else." Gronir said. "But I would be happy if you need help to find out. Dullahans are still not completely understood."

"That is very generous of you. I shall do my best to answer your questions, as long as my mistr… as long as Koyuki does not object." The goblins said. "Also, might I inquire about my name?"

"Um… we have not thought about one yet." I admitted.

"But we are great at naming things!" Cassie added.

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