“Yes, sir!” Both Dean and Andrea spoke at once, their backs straightening as they unconsciously stood at attention. Helen just nodded her head.
“Good. One last thing… I expect the two of you to be the strongest. People find it easier to look up to strength and wisdom. That means you going out there to forage and fight. Killing whatever monsters you can, both for leveling up and building your combat skills, and to help keep the surrounding area safe. Especially the corridor between the Silo and the Mall. We need that patrolled regularly, if not daily. Clear the roads, secure the buildings along the route. You get the idea. But beyond levels and fighting ability, I want you two to spend a little extra on training scrolls for skills, spell scrolls, etc. I want you to read all you can about the System, and share what you learn with each other and myself. I’ll pass it along to the other leaders, and do the same for you. Ramon has been creating duplicate scrolls for the healing spell, among others. I’ll have copies sent to you.”
Helen, inspired by Allistor’s planning and enthusiasm, called out, “Group hug!” and pulled them all together for a moment. Andrea laughed, and Dean blushed for some reason.
They chatted about details for a few more minutes, then rejoined the others in the food court. After checking to confirm whether the population was sufficient, Allistor decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. Several folks had wandered off to explore, so Allistor shouted to be heard by everyone up and down the promenade. “Okay, everybody! Hold onto something. I’m about to upgrade this place!”
Allistor pushed the button to complete the Citadel transaction.
A thunderous gong shook the entire building, followed by the expected golden light, and a chorus of trumpets and chimes. The ground shook violently under their feet. On Allistor’s interface, golden fireworks were flashing in bursts here and there, and a message in fancy silver lettering appeared.
World First! Baron Allistor has constructed the first Citadel on UCP 382!
Congratulations, Baron Allistor! May you rule long and wisely!
Next was a second message in normal text that appeared after the first one had faded.
You are the first on your world to successfully gather the noble title, land, resources, and people to enable the creation of a Citadel. The creation of your world’s first Citadel has earned you a unique set of rewards. First, your title of Baron has been upgraded to Viscount. Your Citadel will receive complimentary upgrades to its perimeter defense, communication, and morale bonuses. In addition, your Citadel will be fitted with a Teleportation Hub, and licenses for up to six substations free of charge. During the Stabilization period, the Hub will only connect with others located on your world. Lastly, you have been granted a Library. This is a rare and valuable collection of knowledge that exists nowhere else on your world. Protect it well.
When Allistor blinked away the notifications and looked around, everyone else’s eyes were still vacant. He waited a few moments until Andrea focused on him.
“Oh, shit,” was her first reaction.
“I know; that was awesome!” Allistor held out a fist for bumping.
She obliged, but she corrected him. “Sure, awesome Citadel, woohoo. But that first thing, it was a world notice.”
Allistor’s enthusiasm left him as Helen and Dean listened in. He faintly heard Bjurstrom somewhere behind him echo Andrea’s sentiment. “Oh, shit.” All the gamers in the room knew what a worldwide announcement of an achievement like this mean. They’d just had a big red target painted on them. It happened in games all the time. A guild would reach the top ranking on a server, and other guilds would immediately begin planning to take them down.
In this particular case, why struggle to create a citadel of your own if you could just take one from the other guys?
As Andrea explained it to Dean and Helen, Allistor’s shoulders slumped.
“Well, shit.”
Chapter Eighteen
The Citadel
Allistor spent the rest of the evening on housekeeping. The first order of business was the improvements to the Citadel. He told everyone gathered about the information he’d received. They all practically ran outside to see the changes. The first and most noticeable was a second wall outside the first. The original wall was dwarfed by the new one. Forty feet high, with six massive stone towers that extended up another forty feet above the top of the wall. The wall itself was about two hundred yards farther out than the first. Also new, the entire area now sat upon a hill. While the mall had previously sat on level ground, Allistor’s best guess was that it was now at an elevation about a hundred feet higher. From where he stood, he could see over both walls and look out over the city. The road leading up from below zigged and zagged through several switchbacks carved into the stone of the hill, making any approach difficult for enemies looking to storm the castle.
And castle it was. The blocky mall building had transformed into a multi-story stone and steel keep with a tower at one corner where his quarters had been located, and another on the opposite side. A steeply pitched roof still held extensive skylights, with the addition of a battlement around the perimeter.
Goodrich made everyone jump when he shouted, “Yeeeeehaw! We got us a castle!”
To one side of the inner gates was a wide metal pad with symbols etched into it. Atop the pad was an arch that rose twenty feet at the top. A pedestal stood to one side. “That must be our teleporter.” Dean stared at it with awe. “Is that really a real actual thing now?”
Allistor grinned at him. “Really real. Who brings you all the coolest toys?!”
Helen snorted and said, “Doesn’t do you much good unless you have a place to teleport to.”
Allistor smacked his head. “You’re right. We need to get them at the other strongholds. If our people can teleport between them, that eliminates the risk of traveling the roads. Hold on a second.”
He pulled up his Stronghold interface and found the Install Teleportation Substation option. There was a little counter next to it showing six units available at no cost. Or rather, the licenses to install them were available. The actual installation of the structure cost two thousand klax. Allistor wasn’t about to argue. When he selected the Warren, a three-dimensional map appeared on his display with a movable round icon that he could place in the location he wanted. He thought about it for a moment, then asked his three advisors.
“Hey, guys. I know this is just a wild guess kind of situation. But if we have a teleporter, do you think it could be used to invade this place? Like, could aliens use it to attack the Citadel once our year is up? Cuz if so, I’m thinking hard about where we place these.”
Dean nodded, thinking. “I see your point. But, I mean… they have to have some kind of safeguard, right? An authorization code or something? Otherwise who would ever use them?”
Helen snorted. “Maybe they’re some kind of cosmic joke? Like… ‘look at the foolish humans installing teleports everywhere so we don’t even have to fly over to kill them in their sleep.’ or something?”
Andrea sided with Dean. “I mean, I think they have to be securable somehow. But for today, and the rest of this year, the aliens can’t come here, right? So all we have to worry about is other humans. And my guess is it will be a while before anyone else earns the ability, or the funds necessary, to buy them. I say we take advantage while we can.”
“Good enough for me.” Allistor placed the pad for the Warren next to the garage as a sort of compromise. Inside the wall, but outside the securable underground levels. Then he did the same for the Silo. He decided not to place them at the outposts.
Calling everyone together, he told them that a teleport system had been set up between the Strongholds. There was a brief pause of shock while everyone absorbed the news, then a loud cheering began. Goodrich did some kind of weird cowboy dance that fascinated Fuzzy. The bear seemed to think the man was afflicted somehow, and he walked over to sniff at him. Then very kindly set the Fibble at his feet as some kind of ‘get well’
or sympathy offering. Much to the delight of the crowd.
“So… who wants to be our lab monkey? I mean, this thing might be a hoax. Some cruel joke by the system, or an attempt to wipe us out like lemmings,” Allistor asked, sobering the mood quite a bit. But Goodrich couldn’t be deterred.
“I’m your huckleberry,” he replied in a bad southern accent. He practically skipped over to stand on the pad. Allistor moved to the pedestal next to it, reaching out to touch it. The moment his hand got close, a holo-display appeared. There was a message asking for biometric confirmation of his identity, which he gave permission for. Then he had to choose authorized users. He chose himself, his three advisors there at the Citadel, Fuzzy, Sam, Meg, Luther, George, and Amanda. And he authorized each of them to add more people to the list.
Once that was complete, a menu popped up. It showed one sentient being on the platform and a choice of destinations. Turning to Andrea, he said, “Hey, maybe call the Silo and warn them we’re transporting a man over? Ask them to tell us if Goodrich shows up in one piece? Or, you know… a pile of quivering meat, or something.” He grinned at his guinea pig, who suddenly looked less enthusiastic. Andrea laughed and used her handheld to call the Silo.
While they waited for a response, Allistor mumbled to himself, “The alert message said something about improved communications too. I need to figure out what that was about. Maybe we won’t need the radios?”
“That is correct, Lord Allistor.” A voice echoed out of nowhere. It had a monotone voice with no accent and scared the bejeezus out of everyone within earshot. Fuzzy growled and picked Fibble back up, looking around suspiciously.
“Uhm, and who are you?” Allistor asked, suspecting he knew, but still looking around with his hand on his sidearm.
“I am sorry if I alarmed you, Lord Allistor. I am your Citadel’s interface. Your link to the operations of this facility. I can also answer basic questions about the System’s operations. You should find details about me in your Citadel Operations information.”
“Typical. He hasn’t bothered to read the directions for this place yet!” Helen smirked at him as the others tried not to smile. Allistor grinned back.
“Alright, thank you… uhm, do you have a name?”
“I am called Interface or Link by most users within the System. However, you may assign a different moniker at your discretion, Lord Allistor. Though, if I may, I would prefer you not assign me ‘Sweetie’. This has been a recent trend among noble ladies after a popular Queen chose that moniker, and I find it… off-putting.”
This time Allistor did laugh. “I promise not to call you sweetie. We’ll figure out a name later. For now, what can you tell me about communications?”
Goodrich, realizing he wasn’t about to get teleported, took a seat on the platform and acted casual.
“Communication between facilities owned by a Lord such as yourself is one of my simplest functions. I can facilitate private conversations between individuals or facility-wide broadcasts, or anything in between. At the moment, only audio communications are possible. But with some upgrades, I can provide visual and even three-dimensional holographic connections.
Andrea’s radio crackled, and airman Redd worriedly reported she had a visual on the teleport pad, but there was no Goodrich. Andrea answered that he hadn’t been sent yet. Allistor decided to test the link. “Please give me an audio link to airman Redd at the Silo. Broadcast it so that everyone at both ends can hear.”
“Connection established, Lord.”
“Hey, Redd!” Allistor unconsciously shouted.
He placed a hand over his mouth when he heard her startled response. “What the hell!? Allistor, is that you?”
“Yup. Sorry about the shouting. Not used to the new speakerphone system. Pretty cool, huh?”
“I’m gonna go with creepy,” she replied. “Can you see me, too?”
“Nope, at least not yet. That’s an upgrade. Anyway, there’s an AI of some kind that lets us communicate between our bases. Whatever you do, don’t call him sweetie.” He paused while the others chuckled. “Okay, sending Goodrich over in a few seconds. I gotta figure out which button to push. One is green and says Initiate Transfer. There’s another one that’s red, and it says Deresolution.”
“The green button! The green one!” Goodrich was back on his feet and looking like he was about to leap from the pad. “Never hit the red button!”
Allistor couldn’t help but laugh. “Relax, my friend. There isn’t really a red button.” As he said it, he touched the green button, and a cursing Goodrich blinked out of existence.
“Damn,” Bjurstrom said. “That was quick. I expected it to be all sparkly-wavy particles like in Star Trek.”
A moment later, Goodrich’s cursing could be heard over the loudspeaker. Then Redd’s louder voice said, “He’s here, boss. Fell on his ass as soon as he appeared. He looks a little disoriented but in one piece.”
There were hoots and applause, and several more volunteers to try the thing out. Andrea held up a hand and silenced everyone. “Let’s bring Goodrich back, if he’s willing, and check him out. Make sure he doesn’t … de-res like Allistor suggested. If he’s still good in the morning, we can let everyone have a turn.”
There was some disappointed grumbling, but the crowd quieted after watching Goodrich return. This time he stayed on his feet, saying, “Takes a bit of getting used to.” Then a thought occurred to him. “Hey! I’m the first human ever teleported! I’m like… famous!” He stuck out his chest and marched off the platform, only to be pummeled good-naturedly by his buddies.
While Allistor had everyone gathered, he passed out rings to the rest of his citizens. This quickly brightened the mood among Dean’s people. He also turned over two stacks of the snake meat to Dean, who grabbed Thorne and a few of the others and headed toward the kitchen.
Allistor, Helen, and Fuzzy moved inside and went to explore the tower. It was a wide structure with an elevator in its core and a stairway that wound upward along the outer wall. Stepping into the elevator, he didn’t see any buttons. So he said, “Top level, please.”
“Certainly, Lord Allistor.” The doors closed and the lift rose silently, with no machine noise or vibration that Allistor could detect. A moment later the doors opened onto a wide covered balcony. There was a half-wall that encircled the entire area, leaving a four-foot glass window that provided a breathtaking view of the city all the way around the tower.
Fuzzy immediately put his paws up on the wall to look out the window, then just as quickly shrank back and cowered against the wall. He gave a little bear whimper and put his paws over his nose.
“Don’t like heights, buddy?” Allistor reached down and scratched his ears. “I don’t blame you. We’re pretty high up here.”
Between the newly risen hill and the height of the tower, Allistor estimated they stood something like twenty stories above the city’s ground level. The view was amazing, with the forest and the mountains in the distance. They could easily see the walls of the Silo not so far away. Allistor thought this would be the perfect place for a lookout. They could place telescopes up here, and observe any activity for miles around. He walked around the outer edge, taking in his surroundings. Most of which was now under his control. On the back side of the elevator shaft, he found a step ladder leading to a hatch in the ceiling. Climbing up, he stuck his head through long enough to observe a platform with a railing around it. “Perfect place to mount that .50 cal,” he whispered.
Also on this back side was an open trap door to a staircase leading downward. He called to Helen and Fuzzy, who was more than happy to leave the high, open space. They walked down one level to find a large open room with rounded walls and windows facing each of the cardinal directions. It was completely empty, just the stairs leading up, and another leading down on the opposite side of the room. To one side was a small enclosed bathroom. Helen whistled, and the sound echoed off the walls. “This place is huge. This room must be… what? Forty
feet across? So thirteen hundred square feet?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking we could make this a guard station. Put a few beds up here, a desk, dining table and chairs, store some weapons and ammo. The upper level is a perfect lookout.”
They descended the stairs to the next level, which was more sectioned off. The stairs stopped at a short landing, then continued straight down rather than being across the room. This was because a wall blocked off the remainder of the space, with a thick metal door standing open at the landing.
Directly inside was the elevator, and the rest of the level was taken up by a residential suite that encircled it. There was a sitting room with a wet bar, a study, and another door that led to a bedroom and luxurious bathroom with separate tub and shower. The bed was the largest Allistor had ever seen. Off the sitting room was a small bedroom with its own basic bath. Each of the rooms had a window. “Looks like we found the Lord’s quarters.” Helen poked Allistor in the ribs.
“Actually, these are designated as guest quarters for visiting nobles. This level and the one below are identical. The Lord’s quarters are the level below that and encompass the entire top level of the main structure in addition to the tower level. Excluding, of course, the atrium area in the center.”
Allistor laughed out loud, seeing the look on Helen’s face. “This I have to see!” They descended two more levels and found a wider landing with a massive set of double doors made of what looked like mahogany. The doors stood open, and the group stepped through. Directly ahead of them was, of course, the elevator. Surrounding it was a series of sitting rooms and small bedrooms. Behind the elevator was another set of double doors, this set made of some kind of metal core with thick wood on either side, that led to the library.
Both stood with mouths agape. The library was two stories high, and the walls were floor to ceiling bookshelves of dark polished wood. There was a spiral staircase that led to a narrow catwalk around the upper level, giving access to the shelves there. The place smelled of rich Corinthian leather. To one side of the room sat a massive desk with a plush leather chair. In front of the desk, there were two similar chairs facing it. The other side of the library sported a fireplace and sitting area with three sofas, and two long reading tables with six chairs each such as one might find in a public library. The doors on the opposite side of the room were at least a hundred paces away.
Shadow Sun Survival Page 40