It was good to be home, as Thorgron and Jacob walked into the cavern that housed his new home. He could see in the distance that the work crews had collapsed another portion of the old wall and had almost finished with the first section of the new. He could see in the distance that the work crew working on the Fortified Hall were placing the roof on it. As soon as that and the interior were completed, he would be able to claim the Fortress finally. If Jigibs estimate was right the Hall would be completed by tonight and the four days from now. "Now I am beginning to understand your predicaments, and why you are trying to recruit driven individuals. From what I can see though, you got a good foundation so far. Looks like you got yourself some strong guards as well." Thorgron stated.
"I wish they belonged to me. They are on loan from the Tomb Guardians, just like the Unbonded. At the end of the month all the Guards have to go back and if I cannot convince the Unbonded to stay, they will as well." Jacob responded.
Thorgran started laughing "Good thing I ignored your statement about not having debt. You will be needing me soon enough with all your guards leaving. So, do the guards need to be Bonded to you to have them as part of the Guard of your House?"
This is what Jacob had been thinking about, he could not expect to bond with every single person that was attached to his House. Even if he created 6 other Vampires tonight he still would not be able to have enough Bonded to run everything in the House. "No, the regular Guards will not be expected to have a Bond with me or any of the Vampires of my House, but the Guard Captain will be made a Minion of the House."
"Ahh, the great and powerful Lord Jacob Longstrider decides to grace us with his presence...." Eiloma stated.
Jacob winced, he knew he would have to pay a price, to have his Seneschal mad at him, could prove bad in the short term. "Thorgron Shadowsteel, may I present the Star of House Longstrider, Eiloma Silverleaf Seneschal of my House. Eiloma Silverleaf, this is Thorgron Shadowsteel former Captain of Clan Hammerhead." Jacob introduced the irate High Elf.
"Don't think because you brought a guest that I will hold my tongue because of your flattering me that I have forgiven you for leaving without one of your War Party or a Guard. Mr. Shadowsteel, it is an honor to meet you. I must thank you on behalf of everyone here for escorting this young idiot around after he was stupid enough that he thought he could not be killed in the Underdark. Also, mylord your War Party is waiting for you. Your Bonded Chalxae Freath, is being stubborn and pigheaded as you." with that she stormed off and Thorgran started laughing so hard he started to cry. Eiloma whipped around and flung a ball of light at Thorgran which struck the Duergar in the forehead and knocked him on his ass leaving him stunned. This caused Jacob to burst into laughter, he never saw the second ball of light slam in his head and knocked him ass over heels backward. Jacob struggled to sit up as he watched Eiloma had turned back around and continue to walk away.
Thorgran sat up, Jacob expected him to be pissed for being treated like that but the Duergar just chuckled before standing up and pulling Jacob up as well. "You know that woman cares because she yelled at you and she blasted you in the head. My recommendation is to never let her go," he said before he walked further into the Fortress grounds.
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Jacob considered his words before he headed toward his Bonded tent. Shigna was off again, Jacob was sure he had been roped into work by Jigibs, while June was there inspecting her Arrows and checking them for flaws and replacing where it was needed. Snaggletooth and Chalxae were arguing in front of the tent, it was obvious that it was if she was ready to go back into battle or not. "I am glad to see you up and about Chalxae. How are you feeling?" Jacob asked the pissed off Drow.
"I am fine, but this stubborn Orc will not listen to me. I know my body and its capabilities, I am fine and ready to go into battle. I do not need to be coddled." Chalxae said.
"I assume you disagree?" Jacob asked the Orc shaman. "Well then, since you are ready. Fine, you can go into battle, but you must pass two tests. Agreed?" Jacob asked the stubborn Drow and Orc.
"June I will need you for the first test. Chalxae, stand against the wall, June will fire her practice arrows at you. She will have five shots, you have to stay near your starting position and all you can do is dodge the arrows or deflect them with your blades. If you get stuck, you will fail the test. if you pass you will face me in a combat circle. You will have to dodge or deflect everything for 30 seconds. If you fail either test 3 times you rest for the rest of the day. June, begin when Chalxae calls out she is ready." Chalxae took off her cloak and started taking off her armor "No, you wear what you would in battle. If you need to take that off to win, you already failed." Jacob told the drow. Plus from what he saw, she would distract anyone with what lay beneath her armor which was a weapon Jacob hoped to use against her.
While June and Chalxae started to prepare for her bout, Jacob started gathering large rocks in a 10ft circle he remembered when he acquired the Swordmaster sub-class. He still had his practice blade from those days and he would be using it again today against Chalxae in the circle. Within moments both Drow were ready and Chalxae commanded the other Drow to begin. She managed to dodge or deflect the first three arrows but the fourth slammed into her leg and dumped her onto the ground. "That didn't count, it wasn't a kill shot," she complained.
"If that had been a Fireball from one of the Imps we encountered the other day, it would have blown your leg off. That is a kill shot and your first fail." Jacob responded. Chalxae snarled in frustration and to cover up the pain she felt from hitting the ground. She was a Daughter of Lolth, weakness was not allowed. If you were weak you died. She signaled June again, this time Chalxae succeeded in passing the first test.
"Congrats on passing your first test, on to the second. Stay within the circle of stones, if you step outside the stones you fail. You may dodge or deflect my attacks, you cannot counter attack, this is a straight defense for you." As Jacob spoke he shed his armor and his shirt leaving him with only his pants and leather boots on. Chalxae was distracted and he could feel June eyeballing him as well. "We start when you are ready," Jacob told the distracted drow. She jerked her head slightly and Jacob thrust the practice blade at her throat, Chalxae barely stepped to the side and avoided a crushed throat. Jacob followed the thrust by shoulder charging the lighter woman out of the circle. "Fail," Chalxae grunted and returned to her feet. "Do not be distracted by this" Jacob waved at his body "in battle we have a thousand distractions, the only things that matters in battle are your enemies and allies. Nothing else matters. I am glad that I know never to send you into battle with an Incubus Demon or we will all die." Chalxae blushed but didn't respond to Jacobs biting comment, she had only one more try left.
"Let me know when you are ready." Chalxae took a moment to breathe in and out, she centered her mind and body. "Begin." For the first 20 seconds, she dodged every slash, thrust, and punch he threw at her. Then he distracted her again by slapping her ass when she dodged, she was stunned long enough by his actions that he grabbed her and lay the blade against her throat. "Dead, for the record though I have wanted to slap your ass for a while now. Enjoy having the rest of the day off. Stay out of trouble and no real fights. If you want to have more mock combat with June or Snaggletooth I am sure they will oblige you." Jacob said as he walked away.
He noticed June openly laughing at the other Drow. Jacob decided it was time to have a talk with June about the mutual dislike she had with Chalxae. "Enough June, she failed but that could have been you easily. I understand that you two have problems but someday soon, all our lives might depend on you two trust each other. So find some kind of common ground and get over it, understand?" she nodded her head at his command, "Good and don't think that I did not notice you eyeballing me as well. I am flattered that you find me attractive." The last part Jacob whispered in Junes ear before he gathered his gear and walked away.
As Jacob walked away from his Bonded he noticed Thorgron leaning against a partially burned out building. Jacob waved the sturdy Duergar over. "So that is my War Party. The one that I was sparring with was the one that was stabbed yesterday, Chalxae. She thought she was ready to go into battle again today. I just proved her wrong, hopefully in a way that will not damage her confidence to bad. Any suggestions?"
Thorgron looked like he was considering his words with care "Not really, but being the one that leads them you might want them to spar against each other more. Include that Shaman as well, all of your War Party must be able to fight and survive. It was an interesting way to defeat her though. Using the sexual appeal you had over her, it will not work again though. She will remember it and will use that to motivate her in the future. Now, what do you plan on doing?"
Jacob thought about his mental checklist on things he had to do tonight. "Go check-in with my Foreman and see if he needs anything from me, then I have to track down my Seneschal. I want her close by when I summon my Minion to get them used to working together and in case he is pissed. Let's go." With that, he set off toward the hammering he heard coming from the Fortified Hall.
As he approached the construction area he noticed the Goblin Jigibs bringing order to all the madness. He was like a ship Captain in a storm, keeping his ship and crew together. "How goes it Jigibs? It looks beautiful. If you two have not met yet, this is Thorgron Shadowsteel former Captain of Clan Hammerhead." Jacob introduced the two. Jigibs just glanced over and nodded to the former Captain before he continued to yell at the work crew. They really had done a beautiful job with the hall. The outside was mostly complete, with only some of the roof undone, Jacob could hear more work coming from inside the Hall though. What surprised him the most though was the Motif hanging over the main entrance, it was the same symbol he had on his Executioners Trinket.
"See that did you. We all thought whoever entered this Hall would best be reminded who lives and commandes here. Until you get your house insignia, that is the only symbol people will know you by. So, I had Magrum whip that up for you. Its nothing too special but anyone who isn't loyal to the crown will find it...difficult to have a pleasant stay in this Hall. Foreign Guests will be exempt of course. Now get out of here mylord, you have my word that we will let you know as soon as the construction is done so you can claim it with your Keystone." With that Jigibs ignored them. Jacob tore his eyes away from the Motif. Jigibs played it off as nothing special but the carving was done very well in Jacobs' eyes and looked that it might jump down at any time and start killing with its ax.
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It took them another 15 minutes before he found the Seneschal, based on her face at the sight of him, Eiloma still had not forgiven him. Jacob darted forward and grabbed her gently before she would leave. "I am sorry, you were right I should not have left without any escort through the Underdark and you have my word I will not do it again and that I will try to listen to your advice. Captain Oren already tore me a new asshole yesterday for what I did and Thorgron insisted on keeping me company. He was there for most of my trip through the Underdark. So will you please forgive me?" Jacob pleaded.
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"I will forgive you if you agree never to leave again without either your War Party or a detachment of the Guard. Until you appoint your own personal Captain of the Guard, you listen to me. When you appoint someone to that position, they can take care of your safety." Eiloma responded.
Jacob hugged her "I promise Eiloma that I will not leave unless it's with my War Party or with some of the Guard and I will listen to you about personal safety matters until I appoint a Captain of the Guard."
Eiloma blushed a little bit then patted his cheek "Now, why don't you tell me why you tracked me down. I am sure it wasn't to earn my forgiveness and give me a hug."
Jacob nodded his head at her statement. "I am going to summon my first minion, I need to talk to him about the Noble Undead and I think I will need him sooner rather than later. He might have requests or suggestions and if he does I think you would be the best person to be there to help out. Now you two, he is a Lich so don't be surprised that he is dead and he is probably going to be mad at me for summoning him before the Alchemist Lab has been built too." Jacob took out Abraxxus Phylactery and triggered the summoning.
"Finally, I was beginning to think you would never let me out of there. I needed some time off Jacob, but not that much time. Thank you for letting me out, now where is my lab that was promised?" Abraxxus had changed since the last time he had seen him. The minion, although had not been a part of his travels, had still absorbed some the experience through the bond they had. He also seemed less worn down by life.
"I am sorry my friend a lab has not been constructed yet. We have a mobile Alchemist set though and you will have your own tent until a lab is built. I summoned you because I need your help, the Noble Undead faction has made themselves known to me and sent a Deathwalker to warn me not to become a threat to their people. I need guidance in dealing with them and you are the only sentient Undead I know. So will you help me?" Jacob asked the Lich.
The Lich started pacing of all things in front of the three "I am sorry, but I have no idea why they would reach out to you. When I helped found the Noble Undead faction they were isolationists and the Deathwalkers were created only as a defense if we had no choice but to eliminate a threat to our people. A young vampire, such as yourself, even a full-blood would not be a threat to them. So I have no idea why they would send a Deathwalker to warn you. I am sorry mylord."
Jacob was stunned "You are one of the founding members of the Noble Undead? Can you use that to reach out to their leaders and find out why they think I am a possible threat to their people?"
Abraxxus considered what he had available before he responded, "Yes I will reach out, if you can show me to my tent, I will get to work immediately."
Jacob smiled at the Lich "Thank you Abraxxus for your help and willing to talk to your old friends. This is Eiloma, she is my House, Seneschal. She will show you to your tent and equipment. If you have any requests please let her know. Once you have a response either let her know or find me. Eiloma can you please let everyone know that Abraxxus is up and about so we don't have any misunderstandings."
Thorgron had been strangely quiet "You keep very odd company mylord. A High Elf Seneschal, a Goblin Foreman, an Undead Lich for an Alchemist, let me guess you got a rock worm for a pet somewhere...." then he started laughing, "On top of that you are bedding all three elven women in your life. Ballsy, but stupid."
Jacob tried to get a word out but the Duergars last statement left him stunned "I am not sleeping with any of them, I swear on my Sword and Shield." at that Thorgron whipped around in stunned astonishment.
"Well, then you are stupid for not sleeping with at least one of them." With that, he roared with laughter as he walked away.
Jacob was confused, why would he think that he was sleeping with any of his female bonded, much less all of them. He wondered this as wondered over to the wall. He saw Shigna with several Unbonded talking and working. He signaled the Kobold over to and talked to him quickly, making sure he wasn't getting overworked. Then he brought up what Thorgron said, "I assumed that you were sleeping with the Drow, I thought that was one of the reasons you acquired them." Shigna quickly responded. Jacob facepalmed and walked away and made his way to his tent to put all his equipment away. He was going to have to talk to all the women and make sure they knew he had no plans to have sex with them and that he had not hired any of them for those reasons. Jacob lay down and closed his eyes, he would take a quick nap before he had to go claim the hall tonight.
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Sometime later he was woken by Eiloma, her idea for waking me up was to have a sphear of light burst above me. Not the best way to wake up. "I am awake, what do you need?" Jacob called.
"The construction of the Hall is complete, Jigibs and everyone else that can be free are waiting for you to go and claim it. Hurry up, get dressed and get your ass in gear, mylord" Eiloma stated as she left the tent. Jacob heard more laughter...Assholes. He threw on a shirt....it was the dam monkey suite and his sword. He made a mental note to burn the dam clothes after this.
All his Bonded were present. Either in formal clothing or their respective armor buffed and clean. "The way you all are dressed make me think we are going to a funeral. Relax, this will be done quickly. Now, what do I have to do to claim the hall and link the Keystone to the Hall?"
Eiloma quickly responded "Sit in the Seat of the Hall and you will be able to claim it. Now the people will expect some words, just a little speech mylord Longstrider." shit, he hated speeches and formal gatherings.
Time to face the noose, maybe his Bonded are dressed properly after all. "Ladies before I forget when we all have a moment, we all need to have a talk. I got to make sure that we all understand something." Jacob told the Drow and High Elf, the only response he received was a slight tensing from the two Drow and a raised brow from the High Elf. Jacob blushed and walked away before he could make things worse.
The walkway leading to the entrance had torches lining it, the entrance had Guardsman on either side. The main hall took about half the building size, the remaining area had sleeping and private quarters. Dozens of people waited on Jacob with more Guards lining the Hall. He hated being the center of attention but he did not have a choice. As he walked toward the chair....wait it was a dam throne. The throne was made up of Dark Oak, Stone from the local quarry, and the two skulls from the Sisters of the Damned that had been here when they conquered the old fortress. As he approached the stairs he made sure the Keystone was in his hand so he could access it when he sat on the Throne. His Bonded lined the stairs as he approached the seat of his power. but before he sat he turned and looked out on the assembled crowd. He saw Jigibs, Magrum, Captain Thardan, and his new friend Thorgron. "All of you, I want to thank you for all the efforts you have put into this place. Without any of you, none of this would have been completed. You all are the strength that supports this new settlement. I want you to remember that. It does not matter, if you choose to stay or not, this place will still be here standing against the dark and evils of the Underdark. When people look upon this fortress they will see the Evil we threw down, so we could build something of actual worth. Not built on the backs of slaves, but of free men and women. In a hundred years from now, or a thousand, it will still stand because of your efforts. The Underdark will know that you all stood here and built something that will stand against the Sisters of the Damned and those like them and that we will not bow, that we will never bow to tyranny, darkness, or evil." with that Jacob sat on his new Throne.
Attention...Jacob Longstrider...Do you wish to claim this fortress?? YES/NO
What will you name this new fortress, know this once Named it cannot be changed?? Fortress of Midnight
Attention....Regional Alert....Attention
The Fortress of Midnight and surrounding lands have been claimed by Lord Jacob Longstrider of House Longstrider. Let all who see it know that this Fortress will stand against Tyranny, Darkness, and Evil.
Lord Longstrider, will you bend a knee to another ruler or will you forge your own kingdom? Tomb of Eternal Night
Know this, in bending a knee to another ruler, you will have to pay tribute to the Ruler of the faction. Consult with the ruler about what tribute/taxes that are required of you and your lands.
Know this, in bending knee that the Ruler of...Tomb of Eternal Night...will provide additional benefits as well as responsibilities. See fortress sheet for more details*
Attention....Regional Alert....Attention
Lord Longstrider has claimed the Fortress of Midnight in the name of the Tomb of Eternal Night, its lands are subject to the Laws of the Tomb of Eternal Night.
What Jacob had failed to notice but no one else had missed was that the Keystone had started glowing with light soon after he had started his speech. Some oaths are taken with blood and bone, others with Power. What no one in the Fortress saw that night were two beings standing behind the Throne, A man, and woman. Both looked upon the young Lord with Pride. Light blasted out from the Throne and Jacob that affected the surrounding lands. The last thing Jacob thought before he blacked out was that he had put the Tomb of Eternal Night back on the map again...FUCK!!!!