Alexander thought of Dayle and the citizens who’d been lost in the various battles. “That is true,” he answered solemnly. “I have enemies. And Elysia as a nation has enemies. And you should consider that seriously.”
He looked up to find that several hundred orcs were gathered around in the open spaces and streets. All of them were looking on curiously as they mumbled questions. Several minotaurs were mixed in here and there.
The shaman hopped up on the low fountain wall and raised his staff. The crowd instantly grew quiet. Alexander didn’t blame them. He’d seen what a shaman could do in the battle on the bridge. “We elders have spoken with King Alexander and Queen Jules of Elysia. This is their land, their forest. They have invited us to become Elysians. They offer a good life, one of freedom and honor. And resources. And the opportunity to fight alongside them to earn glory!”
He waited while the crowd reacted. Some with shouts of support, others more angrily. “We have decided to accept their offer! Those who wish to follow our advice and do the same may take an oath and remain. All those who do not wish to follow us must leave the forest and return to the plains. Or take your own path elsewhere.”
A voice shouted out from the crowd, “Do all the elders agree?” One by one, the elders stepped up next to the shaman and confirmed their agreement. Then they all stepped down and moved through the crowd, answering questions or, in a few cases, cuffing objectors on the head. Five minutes later, they had all returned to the fountain. Some twenty orcs could be seen gathering belongings, and within a few minutes they were headed north out of the village.
Alexander called out to them, “Beware the beasts in the forests! Do you have weapons to defend yourselves?” When they ignored him and kept walking, he added, “If you change your minds, you will be welcome here.”
Kai stepped up onto the wall, raised his hands, and in a deep, ground-rumbling voice, said, “Your oaths shall be sworn on your lives. Bound to your souls. Violation of your oaths will cause you to be incapacitated until you can be judged for your violation. A judgement of guilt means death. One last time, any who do not wish to utter the oaths, stand aside now.”
None of the remaining orcs moved.
“Very well. Repeat this oath: ‘On my life, I swear my loyalty to the kingdom of Elysia, and my obedience to its king and queen.”
He made some simple hand gestures as he spoke and a blue aura extended from him, encompassing all those who stood in the crowds. As one, they spoke the oath. A few fumbled with the words but managed to follow the lead of the others. Dawn and Molgo held their tongues, as they would take the oath with their people.
Then Kai instructed the orcs to approach in a line, beginning with the elders, touching each of them on the shoulder and speaking a word. As he did, a black dragon icon appeared above the head of each one, then faded away. It took a while, but eventually all had passed by and been accepted. And just like that, Elysia had over two hundred new citizens.
As Kai was accepting the long line of oath-takers, Silverbeard began to quietly discuss logistics with the elders. He made a list of items they needed and resources or craft items they wanted to sell. By the time Kai was finished, the dwarf looked satisfied and the elders looked hopeful. The shaman stood in front of Alexander and Jules and took a knee before bowing his head. Immediately, all the others did the same. “Thank you, King Alexander. For giving us a new start.”
Alexander nodded gravely. “Please, stand. You are most welcome. I need all of you just as much as you needed me. And please…” He changed his voice to a loud whisper that many of the nearby orcs could hear. “Unless there are other kings or queens around, it’s just Alexander.”
The shaman smiled. “Fair enough, Alexander.”
Silverbeard called out, “Fer those of ye who wish to serve as soldiers. We’ll be needin’ about forty to start. Make yer way down to the garrison tower on the other side o’ the bridge tomorrow. If there be less than forty of ye, that be fine. We’ll make other arrangements. If there be more than forty, decide among yerselfs who be first.”
The silver-haired elder asked, “Can those who stay serve as guards to protect the village?”
Silverbeard said, “O’course. We’ll assign ye a few o’ the paid soldiers, orc or otherwise, ta guard the village. If ye feel ye need more, then ye can pay them yerselves or petition us fer more. And if an attack be comin’, ye’ll have a way to reach us to call fer help.”
Alexander added, “There is a bank and an auction house at the keep. You now have access to both. You can sell your goods to us at a fair price, or sell them through the auction house. And for those of you wishing to protect your gold, you can deposit it at the bank where it will be safe.” Looking at some of the battle scars on the orcs around him, he added, “We also have a temple and healers. I don’t know if you have healers among you, but they are there if you need them.”
When it seemed there was nothing more that needed their immediate attention, Kai teleported them to the minotaur village. Molgo and Dawn led them into the village center and the process repeated itself. Only more quickly, to start with. The minotaurs already knew the deal, and when Molgo called for any who didn’t wish to become citizens to leave, not one minotaur moved. Kai administered their oaths and that part took longer, as there were something close to five hundred minotaurs.
As Kai was doing his thing and Silverbeard was talking over logistics with Molgo, Dawn, and the elders, Alexander stepped to one side and said, “Jeeves, are you there?”
“Of course, Majesty. You are in the center of one of our villages. How may I serve?”
“There are more minotaurs here than I expected. I don’t know that the housing here is sufficient, even with the longhouses. I know you are pulling stone from inside the cliff to create the market square. Can you build more here as you do that?”
“I can, Majesty. Removing the stone is not technically constructing anything. It is resource gathering. So I may add more structures while I gather stone.”
Alexander waved at Dawn, then motioned for her to join him. When she did, he said, “Dawn, meet Jeeves. He is the spirit of Elysia, and controls the physical kingdom development. Jeeves, this is Lady Dawn of the minotaurs. She will serve on my council and may have requests from time to time. Please relay those requests to me for approval.”
“Pleased to meet you, Councilor Dawn.”
Dawn’s eyes flicked around as she tried to locate the source of the voice as she said, “Pleased to meet you as well, Jeeves.”
Alexander clarified, “Jeeves communicates through the structures around us. He can hear you and speak to you as long as you are close by any building, mine, or on the bridge. You can use him to call for help if needed, and send along any important information. Or if you’d like a meeting.” When Dawn nodded in understanding, he said, “We were just talking about housing. It looks to me like you don’t have enough.”
Dawn said, “We are managing. Our people will cut timber and build more homes in time. It is still warm enough to sleep outside in tents for now. We should have shelter for everyone before the snows come.”
Alexander shook his head. “Not good enough. I want your people to have proper stone structures that won’t catch fire if the village is attacked. Would you prefer more longhouses? Or more single stone homes?”
Dawn scratched her head. “The longhouses are useful. Many can sleep there, and after we build more homes they can be used for storage. Maybe one more longhouse? Then a few dozen of the homes?”
“Jeeves, start on another two-story longhouse. If I remember, that takes a full day, correct?”
“Yes, Majesty. That is correct.” Alexander noticed Dawn’s eyes still darting about and smiled.
“And how long will it take you to construct each house?”
“That will depend on the type of structure you wish? The standard huts here are simple structures with one great room that includes a fireplace and a bedroom. More advanced housing with extra rooms, kit
chens, bathrooms and such take longer.”
Alexander looked at Dawn. “I have not seen many children. Did you bring families with you?”
Dawn nodded. “Twenty of our families have children. One or two per family.”
Alexander said, “Jeeves, Dawn will give you a list. For individuals or couples without children, build a simple hut with a bathroom and kitchen added. For families, add a bedroom for each child. Start with the twenty families and let me know when that is done.”
“Of course, Majesty. Each of the houses will take half a day at most. Would you like me to construct a central water supply and sanitary system and connect them?”
“Yes! Please, Jeeves. I didn’t know you could do that.” Alexander grew excited.
“I could not, before I reached my current level. The longhouse, the twenty family houses, and the plumbing system will require twelve days in total and approximately one thousand two hundred stone units. I can gather some of those units by forming the underground chamber below the longhouse. The rest will come from stone gathered at the keep. Upon completion, I estimate you will have a surplus of nearly two thousand units of stone.”
“Thank you, Jeeves,” Alexander said as he turned to a wide-eyed Dawn. “You’ll make up the list for him?”
She nodded her head, not speaking. Alexander took her arm and led her back toward the group. She immediately began to whisper to Molgo, likely about the disembodied AI that was going to magically nearly double the size of their village. Molgo approached Alexander. “Thank you again, Alexander. For all you are doing for our people. I would make one more request about the building. Would it be possible to add a lookout tower for guards and archers?”
“Of course. I should have thought of that. Let’s take care of the housing first. It will take almost two weeks. After that, we’ll work on defenses.” Molgo agreed.
Kai finally completed the oaths for the roughly five hundred minotaurs in attendance. Silverbeard had finished his logistics discussions with the elders and Jules was pulled away from playing ‘sneak up on the minotaur children.’ With a last round of thanks and goodbyes, Kai teleported himself, Alexander, Silverbeard, and Jules back to the keep. He immediately took his leave and disappeared back to his roost to check on Lia.
Chapter 5
Death & New Life
Alexander and the others went to find Lola, then he teleported all four of them up to the keep’s control room.
“Hello again, Jeeves. Please display the kingdom’s status sheet,” Alexander asked.
“Of course, Majesty.” The familiar blue hologram appeared above the control desk.
Elysian Keep: Level 22/50
Physical Status: 4,100/5,300
See Infrastructure tab for details
Resources: 234,000 units
See Resources tab for details
Current Population: 1,201
Citizens: 1,197 Guests: 4
Defensive Capabilities: 100%
See Defense tab for details
Ancillary Structures: 30
See Ancillary Structures tab for details
Production Rate: 56%
Production will increase with population and use of ancillary structures
“Thank you, Jeeves. I should have asked. Do you have new abilities available since you gained level 22?”
“I have unlocked several new blueprints for structures and other keep systems. Including defensive weapons. And you have the option of upgrading my current abilities. No new abilities were unlocked.”
Alexander looked at Jules and the dwarves. “Last time, we discussed upgrading the stone golems. Or upping Jeeves’ interface to level three.”
Silverbeard spoke first. “With nearly eight hundred new citizens, we’ve less need o’ the golems fer battle. They still be handy for daily work. They do no’ sleep and can do nearly any simple job ye give ‘em.”
Jules asked, “Jeeves, what would Improved Interface III give you?”
“Several improvements, Lady Jules. My area of detection will increase by twenty-five percent. I will be able to anticipate the needs of the kingdom more easily and with more detail. This holographic status can be displayed anywhere within the keep or an ancillary structure upon demand by authorized individuals. I can maintain a detailed roster of every citizen and their status, including skills and abilities. I can also communicate directly with allied keeps to relay messages on your behalf. As long as they also have Improved Interface III or higher.”
Jules’ eyes moved from Lola to Silverbeard to Alexander, gauging their thoughts. “Sounds to me like we’re going with Improved Interface III. Anyone disagree?”
Alexander didn’t answer. He was off in space imagining all the ways he could make use of the new interface. By the time he blinked and came back to the present, the others were staring at him. His brain had half-registered their conversation and he realized they were waiting for him to give the order.
“Jeeves, please execute Improved Interface III.”
“Thank you, Majesty.” There was a short pause as the upgrade took effect. “That feels much better. Now, I can inform you that the elves and dwarves have both upgraded their interfaces sufficiently to allow us to communicate. I have already established connections. Stormforge and Antalia are both at level 2, unfortunately. Also, with my extended detection range, I have discovered a natural chamber in the stone below, not far from the area I am hollowing out for the market square. It is located approximately five hundred yards north and twenty yards below the back wall of the current opening.”
“Thank you, Jeeves, we’ll look into it later. Please relay my greetings and best wishes to Thalgrin at Broken Mountain and Ithaniel in the elven kingdom to let them know of your new ability.”
“Of course, Majesty.”
*****
Matt picked up his groceries and managed to calm himself as he walked through the aisles of the store. Back in his truck, he drove carefully back to the neighborhood of his current safe house and parked. A shortcut through a back alley, and five minutes later he was back in the house. He put away the groceries, then stared at his headset.
“Are you done with your petty punishment?” He spoke to the drow as if they were standing there with him. “You need me to capture Damerion for you. I can’t do that if you kill me every time I log in.”
Taking a deep breath, he took a seat and placed the gear on his head. A moment later, he was in the game. Once again, he sat on his throne. He quickly lifted his arms and inspected the arms of the chair. Sure enough, there was poison smeared there. So the apple he’d eaten, it wasn’t the fruit that was poisoned, it was his glove. And then he’d stuck it in his mouth like a fool. “I bet you’re getting quite a laugh from this, you sick bastards.”
As he uttered those words, both dragon observers froze. For a moment, they’d thought he had discovered them.
“If you’re done punishing me now, I’d like to go about the business of torturing the prince and gaining access to the city.” He stood and moved toward the doors. His lock pick was sitting right where he’d dropped it. Now that he knew it might be poisoned from previous contact, he left his gloves on as he picked it up. He worked slowly, using the pick to probe the lock. Only, the probe was telling him that the door was already unlocked.
To make sure, he reversed his work and locked the door. Then he unlocked it. When he shoved on the doors, they didn’t budge. “Oh, come ON!” he shouted, pounding on the door. “Since when do drow have earth magic? Why seal me in here? Even if I starve to death, I’ll just come back again! And every time you kill me it makes me weaker when I need to be getting stronger!”
He kicked the doors in frustration. On instinct, he reached for his inventory bag, forgetting it had been taken. “No teleport, then. No way out. Unless…” He jumped up and moved the secret panel at the back of the throne. When he opened it and found the portal orbs missing, he howled in anger.
The two dragons shared a look and the elder closed his eyes.
A moment later, the ceiling shattered and tons of water from the underground river poured in. The last thing the dragons saw as they teleported away was the Dark One’s body being crushed by tons of water slamming him into the sealed doors.
Matt didn’t even see what killed him. He heard a cracking sound and a roar, and began to turn to look. But he was slammed into something hard and died. He’d had a vague feeling of cold and wet. He stomped around in limbo, waiting for his timer to run out. As he waited, he looked at his stats. He’d been level 75 when last he’d seen the prince. He was already down to level 69.
When the countdown ended and he re-entered his body, he found himself underwater. He instinctively began to hold his breath and stroke upward. The water was dark, all the torches in the room had been extinguished. By the time he approached the high ceiling, his lungs were complaining. When he bumped his head on the ceiling without finding air, he began to panic. He pounded on the stone above in frustration. Ahead of him, he could feel a current. The water still rushing in from the ceiling. He tried to swim out through the opening when he found it but the current was too strong. He had just managed to latch onto a jagged edge of the opening to pull himself through when his oxygen ran out and he drowned.
Back in limbo and down to level 68, Matt was frustrated but in a better mood. “Now I have a way out. I just have to survive long enough. The pressure from the current tells me the room was either still filling, or the water is exiting somewhere. If I wait a few minutes, it should be full. Then the current won’t be as strong and I can swim out of the ceiling. If the water is escaping somewhere, I’ll find it. And follow it out.”
Ten minutes later when his timer ran out he respawned in his throne again. Holding his breath, he swam upward. Quickly locating the opening in the ceiling, he pushed against the current, which seemed weaker but was still difficult to overcome. He pulled himself up through the hold by grabbing its edge. Then he moved with the current of the underground river as he pushed upward, trying to reach the surface and fresh air.
World At War Page 9