Jacob Farstrider woke up, he would have to get used to having a roof over his head and not a tent. Between his time living off the land as a ranger, and then as a bandit, finally having a roof over his head that was his own was a huge change for him. He could hear the people moving out in the hall getting ready for the day, either eating or taking work assignments from Jigibs or Eiloma. Time for him to get going, he still needed to talk to the Seneschal before he and his War Party headed off to the Mines to explore and claim them. He could hear some of them gathering their gear for the day, others were probably already out in the hall or about.
Jacob started equipping his armor as he went over everything that Matt and Jared had told him about Oaths and Primal Powers. It was important to uphold the meaning of his oath, more than anything. Also, he would probably be tested with random Quests popping up. They also said that it would be smart to talk to the old vampire librarian, sooner rather than later. Characters like that usually had a valuable tidbit of information that might help him later.
As he walked out of his room, he banged on the door that housed his Bonded encouraging them to hurry up. He could hear the occupants scrambling to finish whatever they were doing. Jacob chuckled at himself and at the joke the two Drow had played on him. He would figure out some way to pay them back sooner rather than later. As he came out into the main part of the hall he saw Jigibs gathering up some tools and Eiloma working over some ledger and desk she had acquired somewhere. Before the Goblin took off, Jacob stopped him and had a quick chat before letting him continue with his day. "What was that my lord?" Eiloma asked Jacob.
"That was me offering asking him to take up the position of Engineer of the Fortress of Midnight and the Bond. I plan on asking Thorgron Shadowsteel to take up the official Guard Captain for the fortress and the Bond. Now that the Fortress has been claimed to any of the Unbounded have Forestry or something similar that will help them harvest wood as well as maintain the Dark Oak Grove we discovered and do we have any miners with the group? Also, where is Thorgron?" Jacob asked the Eiloma in rapid fire.
"I believe we have someone skilled in Forestry, I will have to check the registry to make sure. We can use unskilled labor for cutting and hauling the wood though and a team of ten Guards should be enough to cover the work crew, provide them assistance, and escort them to and from the site. We do not have any miners though. That I am sure of. Thorgron is standing right over there' pointing behind both of them 'and why would you want that miserable Goblin as the official Engineer he..." Jacob cut her off before she could continue.
"He is blunt and honest, both of which I would prize over kindness and a liar. Works hard and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty and does not sugar coat anything. Truth, good or bad, is something I am depending on with everyone that I am inviting within my house my Senchal. That includes when coming from you." With that, Jacob patted her shoulder and walked over to the relaxing Duergar.
"Well, I assume you heard my little offer over there. Well, it is a serious offer. You have impressed me, and you have a history of duty, both good marks in my book. Like I told Jogibs, take a week to decide and let me know. I could use someone like you, I could find someone else to fill the role but I do not think I could find anyone better at it though." with that Jacob started to walk away but Thorgron stopped him immediately.
"I accept with one condition, make me a Minion as well as a Bonded and I will become your Captain. On my dept I swear to be your Sword and Shield, your Enemies will be Mine, for as long as I draw breath I will do everything to protect you and yours. This I swear." with that Jacob took up Thorgrons' hand and activated the Bonding skill and made sure to designate him as one of his Houses Minions when the skill activated. A pulse of energy and a link was forged, Jacob just made one more step forward in completing his House.
"As your first duty by Captain, work with the Senchal and talk to her about going back to the Tomb and getting a team of Miners and I want you to also recruit 10 new Guardsmen. If anyone from the Pit gives you a problem tell them the Royal Executioner would appreciate their assistance." With that, he walked away from the newest member of House Longstrider. He had a mine to explore and make sure was safe so that his people could continue to grow and become stronger. As Jacob and his War Party left the hall he quickly called over his shoulder "Eiloma please do not drain what little money I have in hiring new people!"
Spoiler: Spoiler
Fortress of Midnight Posts
Seneschal (AKA Steward)- Eiloma Silverleaf (increases Admin related Skills and Abilities by 5%, Increases Experiences gained from duties by 10%)
Guard Captain- Thorgron Shadowsteel* (Increases Warrior related Skills and Abilities by 5%, Increases Experiences gained from duties by 10%)
Engineer- Vacant
Blacksmith- Vacant
Carpenter- Vacant
Mason- Vacant
Map Maker- Vacant
*Know this each post has duties and privileges related to their posts, see wiki about such.
Other Positions will be avaliable as your Fortress evolves and grows
Spoiler: Spoiler
House Minions- Minions have a cloak of Authority about them that increases their health and abilities, it will also increase the likelihood that others attached to your House will listen to their Authority, Bonded and Unbonded alike
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45 minutes later and some Slime monster kills, they approached the Iron mine door. "I do not understand why we are not exploring the Silver Mine, it was the first door and it is more valuable the Iron," Chalxae stated as Jacob approached the door.
"Yes, in the long run, the Silver Mine will prove to be a better benefit, but right now my people need Iron to construct a settlement. Without it, construction will stall and the Fortress will fail. I will not allow that. So, right now Iron is far more valuable to the Fortress of Midnight then any weight of Silver. Now once we are done exploring the Iron Mine, if we have time today we can explore the Silver one as well. If not we will tomorrow at the latest. Ok? Now once the Mine is open Chalxae, I want you to scout out the immediate area and report back to us. Once you have done that everyone will go in." Chalxae nodded as June rolled her eyes. They might have buried their mutual animosity, but they still were far from best friends. As he touched the Mine door a notice popped up...
Attention...
Do you wish to reopen the...Iron Mine of Midnight? Yes/No
Know this, once it is open nearby Monsters within the Underdark can move in and occupy the Mine.
Know this, it has been...2457...days since this mine has been opened. The Iron Mine of Midnight is in an Unknown state of repair.
With that, the door swung open and the Rogue activated Stealth and darted beyond while the rest of her party prepared and waited for her return. After 5 minutes Jacob started to worry, at 10 minutes June suggested that they find out what had happened to the errant rogue. Soon after Chalxae appeared, slightly winded and worried?!?! "Well Master, you definitely know how to show a girl real good time. You defiantly got my blood pumping with this place. About 10 feet down the shaft its safe, after that...you have ghosts and skeletons everywhere. The initial levels of the monsters are 15 - 17 from what I saw. Whatever is keeping them around has got to be really nasty to survive this long without anything new coming in."
"Ok people, we all have dealt with worse before. Let's go in and clear these guys out." Jacob said before leading the way. Over the next 30 minutes, they cleared out the first level of the mine it was only difficult when the Mines shaft narrowed and limited the damage that the party could deal out. The first Mini-Boss was an Orc Foreman 'Silug the Miner' a level 19 that wielded two pickaxes followed by two level 18 skeletons. The fight was not that difficult, it became a problem though when the Orc dropped below 30% health. That is when the Foreman activated an Enrage ability that doubled the damage he dealt out and due to wielding pickaxes, half the damage he dealt bypassed the armor Jacob wore. Jacob wished he had a Paladin or a Priest to deal with all the Undead. Maybe when he was done with this he would finish filling out his War Party. An off-tank, a priest, and another damage dealer would be nice. For now, though, he had to worry about the Undead. The Foreman did drop both pickaxes, they were useless to him, but to a miner they were gold. They added benefits to both the Mining skill and passive benefits to finding rare materials while mining.
The next, and finale, level of the mine had more of the same. Ghosts and Skeletons, all were level 17-19 though but this part of the shaft had been opened up more so Jacobs companions were able to support him more. The Boss was a level 20 Necromancer, Ugrurow the Defiler, with a level 19 Death Knight, Morgus Knightfall, as a bodyguard. Jacob had Shigna summon his Golem to play off-tank with the Necromancer while Jacob dealt with the Death Knight and any adds that spawned when the fight started. As soon as Jacob appeared leading his party the Necromancer started a speech, but Chalxae backstabbing him shut him right up before he monologues too much. It took 15 minutes before they managed to down both of them, both enemies dropped several items and gold. Clearing the Iron Mine netted Jacob 15 Gold for himself, he would add it to the growing War Chest.
Chalxae scouted out the surrounding area to see if she could find any hidden areas while the rest of them started looking through what the Necromancer had. All the books and the Alchemist set went into his inventory and would be donated to Abraxxus to see what he could make of everything. "Jacob, you need to see this. They Necromancer had a Dwarf that he was torturing in a side room. He was also experimenting on him. I gave him a healing potion to start healing him and I covered his eyes in case you want to let him go." Chalxae warned Jacob as he followed her through a small tunnel into a poorly lit room.
Hanging from a rack was a Dwarf, he was probably a Mountain Dwarf variant based on his size and coloration. He had been beaten, carved up, and partially skinned, it was brutal work and it had not broken the Dwarf. "Have you come back to finally kill me. You must because you cannot break me, I will never tell you the secrets of my home or my people. So either slice my throat or give me the knife and I will do it." Jacob studied the being before him. He wanted to help him, but if he did he would forever be bound to the Tomb. Never allowed to return home, but Jacob could not do that to the proud Dwarf.
He also would not kill him. "I am not one of your torturers, they are dead and the spirits of this place have gone to their final rest. You, on the other hand, are a problem I do not need. Sir Dwarf you have two choices ahead of you, but they are choices that you will make. One I will set you free and send you into the Underdark as you are, you will not get far and will die a very bad death far from your home. Two, we will keep your eyes bound and take you to our home. You will be healed and fed when we get there, and once you feel strong enough to make your trek home you will be escorted to the edge of our lands and allowed to leave. If you take the second option you must stay in your room until you heal, you must never ask who rules and controls this place if you do you will forever be bound to it and never allowed to go home. If you take the second choice I will trust in your honor to keep your word"
The Dwarf considered the choices before him, he had been taken from his home whisked away with magic by the cursed Necromancer. To be offered not only safety and succor, but freedom as well was almost too much for the abused Dwarf to bear. The being before him only asked for his anonymity in return was a good bargain. "I will take the second option stranger and my thanks for the assistance in getting me one step closer to home. I will never forget it, I swear by Moradin."
Although the Dwarf could not see it, Jacob nodded his head and whispered some silent commands into Snaggletooths ear. Silently the Shaman cast a few spells of sleep and healing so it would ensure that the Dwarf would not wake while they took him home to the Fortress of Midnight. Although Jacob had done the right thing he was sure bringing the Dwarf into his home would cause no shortage of problems for him, Chalxae started working on the Dwarfs cuffs while staring at Jacob. "Yes dear one, since we have time we will check out the Silver Mine after we have dropped the Dwarf off at home." Chalxae smile was her only answer.