Lord Reginald Hightower wasn't having a good morning, but that was to be expected after the last month of work and trouble. Ever since those blasted rebels got into his Holding he had to do actual work trying to weed them from his property. He glanced at his [Status] with a sniff of discontent.
Name: Reginald Hightower Race: Human? Age: 36 Years 9 Months Level: 41 Strength: 52 (Average 8) Constitution: 43 (Average 8) Dexterity: 109 (Average 8) Intelligence: 46 (Average 8) Wisdom: 40 (Average 8) Charisma: 79 (Average 8)
Not even a single level in all this time hunting the rebels, and some of them almost gave him a challenge. That's how it always was though, if the fight didn't give risk then there was no rewards. It helped him that the King had given him several items that made such conflicts even easier, but he silently hated how many of the rebels he kept finding. And, when news of the Dungeon rising out of the ground came back to him it complicated plans further. He had to go recruiting to the nearby towns and garrisons to replenish the bodies he lost, and began to work on a plan that would secure the Mana Well, the Dungeon, and the rebels.
This was the reason he wasn't having a good day. He had spent the last couple weeks away from the Holding, and building a wall as close to the Dungeon as he could manage. His mages could see the wall of power that was it's Domain now, so they didn't have a problem with understanding the distance. Yet, the twice-furred thing kept sending out these dog sized ants into the woods. It had made his people very nervous, because the monsters would hunt and then drag the victims away still screaming. Then there was the various sabotage of the rebels to deal with every night and day. They rarely killed the labor, since they had been picked because they were Beastkin and decently healthy for now. But, they found their way into the supplies, food, the architects, and even the caravans that brought supplies. The frustrating part is that it didn't take him or his soldiers much time to get rid of them, but they kept running away or turning into vines. Which he knew meant Remus the Shaman was here or close by.
"My lord, today's report," A man of medium height, and completely covered in plate and chain said from a kneel. Reginald sighed, but waved for the man to speak, "My Lord, there was no attacks during the night or this morning thus far. All the usual and standard searches turned up nothing, and the daily supply wagon said that nothing odd occurred on the road." Reginald frowned at this. In most cases this would be a delight to hear. However, the twice-furred beasts wouldn't be quiet without a good reason. Something must have happened somewhere else, or they were planning something. He had been building this wall as a bait to get Remus to commit to entering the dungeon, since he always did with new ones. No one really knew why, but he always came out being stronger except for the one time he had fled for his life. The Gates of Madness was a heavily guarded place near Yorkshire, the capital of the kingdom of Masire. It was one of the oldest dungeons, and the only one that Remus had entered and ran from looking nearly dead. It was also the only one that took him out of the rebels for a substantial amount of time.
While this Dungeon wasn't as old, it had already proven itself quite lethal, and his mages told him that the designs of the castle were astoundingly solid for something Dungeon built. Though he could have told them that, after he threw a rock at one of the pillars by the main castle. It had sunk into the stone, but not destroyed it or bounced off like it would have in most Dungeons. This one seemed to have a grasp on design and architecture that gave him a slightly unsettled feeling. He couldn't rationalize why this Dungeon would be different from all the others, even considering the Mana Well below it. Though he had heard others speculating that some lost relics of the Imperials or the Faerun were below ground. Reginald didn't care about pre-Kingdom history but found it hard to think either of those would make a big difference.
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"The wall is nearly finished, so send some extra patrols to the nearby towns. Specifically, send strong groups of twenty-five to Lolacal and Restibue. Those are the major resupply points, and I could see the rebels trying to do something to them both," He said tapping his chin, "In fact, recruit more labor and conscripts for a Dungeon delve in two weeks, and make sure the reason is well know. Tell them to only talk about it in whispers at the taverns though. Ignore questions otherwise." The Knight nodded his head before bowing deeply and marching off to his duty. People loved gossip and Reginald had used such tactics in the past to get things he wanted. Such as this posting, it had only taken a couple of whispered conversations and a loyal servant babbling drunkenly in a seedy tavern. Then it had spread among the nobles and eventually lead to the King. Mutterings of his own foolish ventures that would bring his house shame if they didn't complete, and a deadline set for the following month. Discontent with his standing in court and a greedy desire to take any offered position.
He had doubts that the King actually took them seriously, but the rest of the court did and that put the King in a prime spot to win some points. Even if it gave Reginald what he wanted it would look like he was being quietly put in a political corner. He smiled to himself as he toured and checked the security of the base. The nearly finished wall stretched out and rose to nearly fifteen feet with deadly spikes of metal randomly fixed in the wall to prevent climbing from either side. Only the gatehouses were safe entrances to the wall and it's internal workings, since the wall had a narrow series of hollows and rooms for the defenders to live and attack from. At it's foot the wall was nearly thirty feet thick to allow for the slightly sloped fortification to contain the passages. The real trick had been sourcing the stone for the work, since Reginald didn't like half measures for constructions like this. He even had the labor dig the soil down until they hit solid stone to act as a brace for the whole structure. Restibue had been a lucky break since they quarried a lot of limestone, but also made fine bricks of Dolomite often found along side it.
This made the wall appear like a gray-brown sheet to those from a distance, and it would be perfect for his plan. Then he would have all the prizes in a single bag.
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Remus watched them finishing up their little wall with a sigh of discontent. It was impressive to have gotten done considering all the sabotage that he had been trying on them. Granted none of it was a direct attack or anything too mana draining, but it was a constant series of stress he thought would break at least a few of them. Yet, this Lord Reginald was turning out to be quite the leader, and a paragon of human ideals. Which meant he abused and used people like they were nothing more than a deadfall branch. Remus had long ago tried to harden himself to the cruelties of life, war, and the humans. Yet, he still sometimes found his feathers wet with tears when watching the young ones. The crystal in his hand flickered slightly again, and he gripped it tightly. It didn't work anymore like most of the relics of the Faerun, but it was a reminder that humans were the invaders to THEIR home. The Beastkin had been here long before they had arrived, and it wouldn't be long before he would have the key to it all. Then, he could kick these invaders back through the Realm Gate, and then they could try and rebuild all they had lost.
The wall wouldn't be a problem to him, but the Dungeon within could be. He was hoping the last Dungeon he needed to gain access to Everest, what the humans called the Gates of Madness, would be weak and easy to deal with. However, the Domain shell looked complex and strong for such a young Dungeon. Then there was the odd burst of Dungeon level magic in that human town, Lolacal, and the girl he had seen there. It was the worst time for the game board to begin changing, which is why he couldn't leave anything to chance. First this Dungeon, then he would find out why the Faerun crystal started to glow when his golem got close to that girl.