Underdark- Unending Abyss Region

Eternal Night- Upper City

Shadows Fall Keep

I looked at the timer on my HUD, if this was a normal session I would have less than twenty-four hours before I could log out, but with my first test at long-term immersion, I had nine days left, including today before I had to logout. Three whole days of immersion felt odd right now but I wonder how odd it would feel when I did a longer period here. The modified pod Blackrock had dropped off at my apartment ate far more space than my Visor, but I understood the necessity since it would be impossible to due long-term immersion with the visor interface.

"I hear you are going out after the rebel, Frederick Dasgon?" I looked up to see Isiah standing in the doorway.

"I am, if you are here to warn me about him, don't. Oren already did." I told the other Vampire.

"No, I am not here to warn you about that. I assume once the lower city is secure, I assume you will explore the nearby Underdark?" the Captain asked and I gave him a small nod as I started equipping my gear. 'When we first appeared, we deployed troops to find a suitable place and establish an outpost. The Queen requests that you find this outpost and determine their status." Isiah told me as a Quest Notification popped up.

<<<>>>

Quest Alert: Royal Request

Description: When the city of Eternal Night first appeared in the Underdark, the Queen deployed troops to establish an outpost and monitor the surrounding area. The troops have failed to report in. Find the outpost and ascertain their current status and report back to Queen Talia Sunstrider.

Quest Class: Uncommon

Quest Difficulty: Moderate

Success: Find the outpost the City Guard established outside the confines of Eternal Night and report back to Talia Sunstrider.

Failure: Do not find the outpost the City Guard established outside the confines of Eternal Night or do not report your findings to Talia Sunstrider.

Rewards: 1,000 Experience, Increased Reputation with the people of Eternal Night, the City Guard of Eternal Night, and with House Lightsbane.

Accept? Yes or No

<<<>>>

I read the Quest information and accepted it without a second thought. "Of course, we will find out what happened to them. How many of the City Guard did you deploy?" I asked and Isiah frowned.

"I believe it was a little over two hundred about two months after we emerged. They had enough supplies to establish an outpost and keep them fed for three months if they rationed it right. However, shortly after that, the band of Orcs and Goblins arrived and occupied a large portion of the lower city and cut off any communication with the outside.' Isiah replied as I finished strapping on my armor. 'It would settle a lot of people's worries to find them. Alive or dead at this point, we just want to know what happened to them." the Captain replied and I gave him a small nod in agreement.

"Can I ask you something?' I asked the man and he gave me a cautious nod. 'What parameters do you set for recruiting into the Heart Guard?" I asked thinking of James as I did.

"It's a long drawn-out process to vet recruits and train them to my standard. Why?" Isiah replied and I smiled at his cautious response.

"I am not judging you or your people. I was thinking of a man I know in the guard. A Sergeant called James Shadowstrider." I replied and a smile broke out over Isiah's face.

"I offered him a spot within the Heart Guard, but at this time he has not accepted. Feel free to encourage him to make the transfer, I could use a man like him within our ranks." the Captain replied before turning and leaving.

Drex joined me soon after the captain left. "Did you manage to find a place to keep the bodies of your comrades secure until we can return them to your Tribe?" I asked the Orc as I continued to eat my breakfast.

"Yes, thank you for providing your assistance in recovering them. A merchant of all things is storing them free of charge for a couple of days." the Berserker reported as the others filtered into the room.

Sessa blushed and looked away and I heard June snicker at the other woman's blushing. "June...' I called the Drows attention making her smirk a little and Sessa blush deepen. 'I think we all have a firm understanding of what I expect from my Thralls and what I don't expect so we can avoid any more embarrassing situations. Agreed?" I asked and all three shifted uncomfortably with what we were talking about.

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Drex just looked confused causing June to giggle at the situation and she started explaining. "Most Elders expect their Thralls to take care of their needs in and out of the bedroom." the Drow explained causing me to blush as she threw a heated look my way. "Our girl Sessa here surprised Jacob last night, expecting him to be more than receptive but he screamed like a girl when she woke him and fell out of bed. Not very dignified my lord," she added causing Drex to snicker and I shook my head and glared at the Drow.

"I was unprepared and had a long day just like everyone else. I didn't expect anyone to surprise me in my bedroom." I tried to justify my reaction and caused the others to laugh even more.

"To hell with all of you...' my response elicited another bout of laughter so I pressed on with my plans. 'Now I am going to buy some potions, if all goes well today tomorrow we will head out to return Drex here to his Tribe. Just be aware Drex I know part of why the dead are swarming this part of the Underdark and if we cannot stop them we can weaken them and should stop any more from rising." I told the Orc as I thought of the artifact fragment House Dhalmass had deployed.

After a few moments, the Orc gained enough control of himself to nod in acceptance. I grabbed a bread roll and headed for the door as I slung Moonlight over my shoulder. I slapped June's ass on the way out causing her to yelp in surprise as another bout of laughter broke out behind me. "See you all at the gatehouse in an hour, no less!" I called over my shoulder as I left them there.

Two hours later we approached a fortified compound and I knew why Oren or anyone else was hesitant to attack the rebel Vampire. Sneaking up on this place would be impossible without attracting the attention of the defenders. Thus Fredrick could coordinate them or run depending on the number of attackers. For the first time, I wished we had a Rogue with us but June was still more than a competent scout.

Twenty minutes later, she dropped out of stealth in front of us. "They have four sentries on the wall, random intervals. There is no approach where we won't be spotted, but from what I could see of the main structure there are three entrances. So if we can surprise and overwhelm the sentries, we might be able to sneak inside the building. Can you tell how many people we will face?" the Dark Ranger asked after finishing her report.

I frowned and closed my eyes to recheck what I heard earlier before responding. "At least a dozen besides the sentries, but depending on how thick those walls are, there might be more inside. Until we get closer I can't confirm one way or another. You have eight on the first floor and four I can hear on the second floor. Based on their heart rates, I think two are sleeping or near death." I told them as I opened my eyes.

"Buff up and hit them hard?" June asked and I gave a reluctant nod. I pulled up my Class Skill Tree and invested in my Skill Points I had decided on yesterday. I had unlocked several Class Skills when I hit Level fifteen and I had no doubt I would need them now.

<<<>>>

Skill Name: Shadow Forge

Skill Level: Initiate

Skill Type: Active

Skill Description: As a champion of the Dark, you can call upon both Shadow to combat your enemies. Infuse your weapon, and your allies' weapons with Shadow energy to battle your enemies.

Damage: N/A

Effect 1: +50 Shadow Damage to all allies within AoE.

Effect 2: +5% Critical Hit Chance to all allies within AoE.

Effect 3: Permanently imbue weapons with +20 Shadow Damage + (Character Level X 0.1). Requires an open enchantment slot.

Effect 4: Permanently imbue armor, shields, jewelry with +10% Shadow Resistance + (Character Level X 0.1). Requires an open enchantment slot.

Range: 30 Yards

Duration: 20 Minutes

Cast Time: Instant

Cost: 450 Spirit

Cooldown: 10 Minutes

Skill Name: Shadow Armor

Skill Level: Initiate

Skill Type: Active

Skill Description: Call upon the dark power within and wrap yourself in a barrier of dense shadow, diminishing the damage from melee attacks while simultaneously exacting retribution against your attackers.

Damage: N/A

Effect 1: 15% Melee damage is absorbed.

Effect 2: 20% of absorbed damage is redirected back at the attackers.

Range: Self

Duration: 20 Minutes

Cast Time: Instant

Cost: 400 Spirit

Cooldown: 10 Minutes

Skill Name: Bog of Plagued Shadows

Skill Level: Initiate

Skill Type: Active

Skill Description: Summon a bog of creeping shadows that temporarily ensnares your enemies, badly hindering movement while slowly damaging them. The Shadows of the bog are infused with a Plague from deep within the Shadowverse, damaging all your enemies while they are snared.

Damage: SS X 0.1 Plague Damage per Second

Effect 1: Enemy Attack/Movement speed is decreased by 70%.

AoE: 10 Yards

Range: 60 Yards

Duration: 30 Seconds

Cast Time: 1 Second

Cost: 125 Spirit

Cooldown: 2 Minutes

<<<>>>

While the damage dealt by Bog of Plagued Shadows was minimal for me, more importantly, I could use it for crowd control. I triggered Shadow Forge and a cold power burst from my core and doused everything around me with black and purple flames. They lingered on each of our weapons and slowly sunk into them infusing them with power. I watched as my Spirit gauge refilled before triggering Shadow Armor, before a deep black and purple energy burst around me but quickly wrapped around me and settled into me as another icon appeared on my HUD.

"Ready?" I called to the others once my Spirit had refilled and we moved out.

The first sentry spotted us easily, he started to shout but an arrow from June slammed into his throat silencing him causing him to disappear from view. I frowned and heard a faint 'thump' and I assumed the man fell or jumped off the wall. Either way, he was beyond our grasp for now. We made our way to the open gate and June ducked inside as she activated Stealth and faded from view.

I looked for the sentry June how downed and saw him crawling away, his Health Bar strobing over his head. My Shadow Bolt slammed into his back and finished him. I looked around and someone emerged from the building. His eyes bulged in surprise before turning and darting back into the building. SHIT! I hissed out a curse and did my best to sprint after the fleeing enemy.