Jacob was enjoying the slow plodding of the convoy as it made its way to his new home. A dozen wagons and twice that number in carts protected by 100 Tomb Guardians. It was one of the biggest convoys he had ever seen. Acquiring Eiloma Silverleaf as his Senchal had saved his ass in more than one way. She had thought of everything that we would need, from a mobile smithy to masons to woodcarvers so we could make furniture. In the end, we had 20 Unbonded that were specialized in one job or another and 30 General Laborers. The pace of the convoy allowed him to process everything he had learned last night about Fortress and House management.
After his friends calmed down from laughing at his choice to strike an unstable Artifact with a sword (Funny....) they were not surprised that he had fallen out of favor with the Sisters of the Damned faction. They were well known throughout the Underdark for dealing with the nastier side of the Blackmarket (I.E. Assassination, Slavery, Etc...) and they had no problem dropping KOS (Kill on Sight) orders on anyone who slighted them. Gaining Neutrality with the Noble Undead Faction was a pleasant surprise according to Jared. Those few that encountered the faction always started out as Hated due to them being among the living. No one knew where they were located beyond being somewhere in the Underdark. Jared's only piece of advice was to leave them alone and don't do anything to piss them off. According to him even though they were isolationists that had no problem sending assassins after you and they were the best assassins in the game according to him. According to his friends, it would take about a week to get the central building completed so he could claim the Fortress and gain the benefits of having one. Once he was done with that he planned on having the wall and all the essential building completed. The Ziggurat would be leveled and the resources from that would be used to create a Fortified Hall. Once that was complete with a Throne he could access his Fortress Interface and see what he was lacking, nearby resources, dungeons, etc...The Keystone was pretty useless until that was done. His friends also stated he needed to start creating other Vampires for his House so he could bring in more Bonded and progress the Rise and Fall quest line. They were sure I had more than one stage before I could unlock the part to take out the last King. Having the Earthsplitter Tribe and the Bloodfang Clan would provide allies in case of war and possible trading partners if my house could produce something to trade. All of this was food for thought.
His newest War Party member, Chalxae, was ahead of the convoy and scouting the surrounding area and making sure we did not fall into an ambush. The supplies and craftsmen would not be easily replaced so everyone was on their guard. Besides the occasional Slime, Undead, or Clanless Orcs and Goblins they didn't have many problems. When they were less then 10 minutes from the Fortress, Chalxae un-stealthed next to the wagon Jacob was in to give him the all-clear "If you don't mind me saying but your home looks like shit...The Ziggurat looks like someone blew it up and you have no wall to keep any hostile monsters or raiders away. Why would you want that dump....?" the Rogue asked.
Jacob blushed when she mentioned the blown up building "For starters, I am the one that blew up that building. I planned on leveling it anyway....so it worked out in the end. I am aware of the security issues that is why the Queen tasked so many of the Tomb Guardians to come with us. My House consists of me and my 6 bonded, that's it. Yes, I know that's embarrassing but I am the beginning of a new House so...not much I can do about that yet. We can only expand and get stronger."
June showed up then on the other side of the wagon. She had been trailing the convoy and making sure no one had been following us to our new home, "You are right. We can only get stronger and we will. I had my doubts about you when you offered the Blood Bond but you have proven to be a worthy leader and someone I have no problem fighting beside. Although you do take foolish risks at times that can and will kill you eventually." With that last statement, she darted off toward the back of the convoy again.
Odd, he would never understand the opposite sex. "Before I forget Chalxae, take these daggers. I believe that they will serve you well." Jacob handed over the twin dagger Night & Day, they had been sitting in his inventory for a while now. He could not use them and if he did not hand them to his new bonded they would just end up in his new Fortress gathering dust.
Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Night & Day (Twin Daggers)
Level: Rare
Damage: 40-50 MH, 30-40 OH
Properties: Increases the Wielders Dexterity and Agility by 15, Increases the wielders ability to blend with the background by 40%
Duribility: 200/200
Description: Leftover twin daggers from the War of Survival. One is dark as night, the other light as day. The wielder of these blades will find light and darkness working together to obscure the wielder
Chalxae was stunned silent at the sight of the daggers. At first, she just stared at Jacob before she turned away and darted off, she disappeared from his view within a few feet. Yeah, he was never going to understand the opposite sex.
The broken fortress hadn't changed much in the last day, the only difference was that all the fires that had been caused by the explosion were now out. The walled area claimed about 1/8 of the cavern so it left plenty of room for expansion but that was months away of not years down the road. Right now they had to get all the supplies stored and people settled in. Thardan Dulkam, the Captain of the Tomb Guardians, had agreed to let his men that were not on guard duty to assist in construction efforts but the defense of this place was his primary concern. So that meant he would get between 30 to 40 additional laborers for a couple hours out of the day. He had already set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the winding passage that led to this cavern, that was manned by 10 warriors and one shaman. Another checkpoint would be set up at the very mouth of the cavern as well manned by a similar number of warriors.
Eiloma Silverleaf turned toward Jacob after viewing the ruined fortress, "I guess you were not kidding when you said our new home would need some work but this is ridiculous mylord. You do plan to tear down the Ziggurat so that should provide the majority of the stone for the Fortified Hall and any leftover stonework can be used to help finish the wall. IT should take us about an hour to get everyone settled. While I do that I will have the Foreman/Overseer and Mason take a look at that Ziggurat to tell us how long it will take to tear down and how long it will take to build a new Fortified Hall and complete the wall." with that the High Elf dismounted from the wagon and darted further back into the train. Jacob signaled one of the nearby Unbonded to take over driving the wagon so he could help with the sweep of the fortress to make sure no remaining enemies remained.
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Thirty minutes later, they had finished sweeping the fortress. They had found a few Undead and a handful if Goblins, the Undead had been dispatched and Goblins were turned over to the other Unbound. They would return to the Tomb later or go to the Bloodfang Clan. Eiloma was directing the madness as the carts and wagons had to be unloaded, I couple of intact buildings had been turned into temporary storehouses for the supplies they had brought with them. Until a warehouse or storage yard was constructed, this was the best they could do. Unbonded and Guardians were putting up tents in the main square, while other Unbonded had already started on demolishing half-destroyed buildings to make room so they could stable the lizards and store the wagons and carts.
Eiloma was leading over an oversized Goblin and a Duergar to see him. Guess its time to play lordling...."Mylord this is Magrum Stonehand, the Mason I told you and about and Jigibs the Overseer." Eiloma introduced the Duergar and Goblin. Seriously a Goblin Foreman...well he did have a mean looking knife at his belt so...maybe.
The goblin Jigibs dove right in "Sir, from what I saw if we used every available hand we could easily tear down the remains of that Ziggurat within a day and we have plenty of supplies to build a Fortified Hall within 3 days and from what I can see we should have enough stone to repair and finish the wall." the Mason nodded his head in agreement to the Goblin.
"Are we going to have enough resources if I want the wall 10 feet tall and 5 feet thick opposed to the original design of 6 feet tall and 4 feet thick?" Jacob asked the Goblin. The Goblin winced and shook his head in denial.
The Duergar jumped right in "The people who controlled this cavern before we set up a quarry, once we get done tearing down the Ziggurat I will take 6 Unbonded and re-open it. By the time Jigibs has used all the available stonework I will start producing stone that he can use for construction." Jacob nodded his head in agreement to the Masons request.
"I am going to assume sir that after we build the Fortified Hall that the wall will be the second priority??" Jigibs asked Jacob.
"Yes the wall will be second and after that, some housing and a smithy, and the list goes on and on..."Jacob responded to the inquisitive Goblin.
"Well, it looks like I have plenty to do and not a whole lot of time. I am going to go talk to those lazy Guards and conscript some of them into work." Jigibs responded and darted off while fingering the dagger at his waist.
Jacob turned to the mason "If you need more hands then 6, let me or Eiloma know and we will get some more help for you."
Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Jigibs
Race: Goblin
Class: Overseer/Foreman
Level: 21
Description: Most think that due to his small stature and race that this Goblin can't do his job. This was the mistake of House Nightfall for every construction he has overseen since he became Unbonded has been under budget, faster, and better done then most Foreman at the same experience level. This Goblin has a quick mind and has no problem using the dagger he bears to enforce his will on his work crews.
Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Magrum Stonehand
Race: Duergar
Class: Mason
Level: 22
Description: This Duergar was cast from his home due to the love of stone over the love of battle. He made his way to the Tomb and swore to keep its secrets as long as he was allowed to continue his study of stone and crafting of it. Do not underestimate this Duergar, just because he loves building things does not mean he will not crack your skull.
Eiloma nodded and checked off a couple things from a list she was carrying around. "Making sure I stay on task Eiloma?" Jacob asked her.
The High Elf blushed "Mylord, those were probably the easiest decisions you will have to make in the coming days. You still need to meet with the smith Torgan, scout out the nearby Underdark, expand your Household, compose and send off messages to Captain Oren at Blood Haven and the Queen also so they know we all arrived safely. From what I understand you can still bind 10 beings to your house, I would suggest you offer that as an incentive to work harder and better. This is the literal foundation of your House being built out there. You need skilled and loyal people to do that. I understand you also need Minions, do you at least have any of those yet??"
Jacob stared at the High Elf until she blushed again and looked away "This is why I need you Eiloma, you keep me on track. Yes, I have one minion, a Lich that is proficient in Alchemy. He told me not to summon him until I had an Alchemy lab so I will be waiting a while before I summon him. Yes, I need to meet the smith, but right now the security of everyone is my priority so I will be going out shortly with my War Party to check the nearby Underdark for threats or anything else that might benefit us. As far as expanding my household I like your idea and agree with it. Make sure everyone knows about it as well. Please let Jigibs know that I expect most of that Ziggurat torn down if not completely demolished by the time I get back tonight. Also, try and convince the Goblin to accept the Bonding offer, I think he would make an excellent addition to my House."
As Jacob walked away from his House Seneschal, he called out to his newest War Party member "Chalxae I know you are there. Do me a favor please and round up the rest of the War Party, we have a scouting mission and I am sure we will have killing to do as well."
Chalxae quickly whispered in his ear "Yes Master." before she disappeared again. Dam rogue...