Dead March

This spell animates multiple corpses or body parts without making them undead. Up to 40 once-living objects can be raised up from 1 to 14 feet above the ground and sent in a single direction so that they drift along in a straight line on the indicated route with a speed of 30 feet. The caster can redirect them at any time by concentrating, so as to allow them to follow a winding road or simply to change direction. The spell is not ended, nor contact lost, if the caster engages in other spellcasting. The spell works underwater, so that the animated army of the dead can march down into a river, across its bed, and up the far bank. The magic is not broken by long falls; an animated band that marches over a cliff continues on its way at the bottom.

 The animated corpses can be dressed in uniforms to deceive observers or be used as light transport by strapping pouches or weapons to them, but the spell cannot keep single items that weigh even a trifle over 200 lbs. Aloft, so pack trains of the animated dead are impractical. The spell can be ended before it expires if the caster so wills. At the spell's end the dead fall abruptly to the ground or sink gently down, as the caster desires. The animated dead have no sentience or hostile intent and cannot be affected by magic intended to affect or control undead, neither can they be turned.

10 more once-living objects can be raised for every spell level above 4th.