Standing just behind the central light post, Alexander began to pull stone from the earth. He raised it in sections ten feet thick by fifty feet long, and ten feet high. Moving the stone from in front of the wall created a trench that would serve as the beginning of the moat. Each of the mages would need to raise twenty-five similar sized sections. That could be done in a day, if they maintained their stamina and mana. Sasha had provided potions for that purpose.
Alexander left a twenty-foot-wide gap between the first two sections of wall. Above the gap and on either side, he created a gatehouse. This stood twenty feet high, instead of ten, and was twenty feet thick. It would serve as a combination guard tower, barracks, and trap for any invaders trying to push through the gate. The masons would shape murder holes in the walls and ceiling. When an enemy broke through the outer gate, or in this case the drawbridge, they would be delayed underneath while they tried to break the much stronger inner gate. While they were grouped up inside, fire would rain down on them from above and arrows from the sides.
But all those surprises would come later. Today’s mission was just to get the wall up and usable. Finishing the gatehouse, Alexander began to move to his left. He pulled section after section, fifty feet in length, melding each one to the last. Edward tagged along, bow at the ready. When he’d pulled a dozen sections, he took a break. This work was much easier than pulling obsidian from deep underground, through hundreds of feet of other stone. There was no resistance here, other than the weight of the stone sections themselves. He was simply pushing up bedrock through a layer of soil. Still, there was a drain on his stamina. Magic didn’t completely negate the physical strain of moving tons of stone. After a rest, he got back to work. The hours passed.
Being the least experienced of the mages on the field, he was slower than the others. He was on his twentieth section when Fitz, who had started at the ridge on the left side, met up with him. The wizard had pulled thirty sections, the last one connecting to Alexander’s twentieth.
As it was past lunchtime, the three of them headed back to the kitchen. The other two mages had completed their sections, and met Fitz, Edward, and Alexander at the gate. In just over five hours, the four of them had pulled a hundred sections of stone wall, merged them to their neighbor, and shaped it. Each section took an average of ten minutes. Those with stairs and covers took a bit longer.
After all that work, four very hungry mages took a seat at the table nearest the kitchen, and Mattie brought them heaping platters of wolf steak with sautéed onions, steamed vegetables, fresh bread, and baked potatoes with butter. The entire thing tasted better than Alexander had ever had at any five-star restaurant. Master Silverbeard joined them, and brought the lead mason along. The group took some time after the meal was finished to discuss the wall.
Silverbeard had had the idea to place structures against the inside of the wall. Single story, with stairs leading to roof hatches that would allow quick access to the wall. The structures could be used for storage, stables for work animals, simple shelter for livestock, even housing for those who wished a little more privacy and space. The dwarves, in particular, were interested in these. The mason outlined housing units with a ground floor entry, and two or three underground levels. These would also make good defensive holdouts if citizens didn’t have time to retreat after an attack. The mason assured him that dwarves could make doors leading to the lower levels that none would see. The stone for all of this, plus a roadway to connect it all that would run parallel to the wall, could be pulled from outside the wall, increasing the size of the moat.
Alexander loved the idea! This would create needed housing without reducing the available space in the inner keep structures. The proposal solved several problems all at once!
Fitz and the two guild mages went with the master mason to begin work on those structures. Alexander, meanwhile, went back to the gate house, after sending Edward to see if he could find Beatrix. Or to man the inner wall if he couldn’t find her. It was mid-afternoon, and he still needed to create the bridge sections and support for the drawbridge.
As he walked across the now enclosed field, he saw the farmers moving about, marking off sections and hauling equipment on wagons. A contingent of hunters had already moved onto the wall itself, and were keeping an eye on the logging crew and the tree line.
Building the supports wasn’t really building, per se. He was really just removing the rock around them, and leaving them in place. He did need to raise them just a bit, as he wanted the bridge to have some arch to it. Not enough to make it difficult for wagons, just enough to keep water from pooling and freezing on it.
So, he widened the moat trench to forty feet, and made it forty feet deep. He moved all the excess rock underneath and inside the wall. They’d use it for towers, or shelters, or simply cut it into blocks for keep resources. He left a five-foot-long by twenty-foot-wide section of stone in front of the gate to serve as a base for the drawbridge. Then twenty feet out, a support rose up from the bottom of the moat. This marked the near end of the twenty-foot-long stone section of the bridge, which extended to the far side of the moat. So, anyone crossing the bridge into the keep would first cross twenty feet of stone, then twenty feet of ironwood drawbridge. Alexander designed it this way with the moat monster in mind. With the drawbridge raised, enemies would be tempted out onto the stone section, where the monster could pick them off with ease. It would also give the monster something to hide under, if it was so inclined.
With that done, he began to make his way along the left side, widening and deepening the moat by pushing the rock under and up inside the wall. Unfortunately, widening the moat also required him to relocate his light posts. So he moved them along the outer edge of the moat.
Skill level up! Earth magic +1. Rank increase: Adept
Through repeated and creative use of your earth magic abilities, your skill level has increased to Adept. Mana cost of Earth spells -15%. Range of earth spells +10%
As he approached the ridge a couple hours later, he noticed old Lars, the fisherman, sitting on the grass by the lake. He had a couple fishing poles set up, lines in the water with cork bobbers… well, bobbing.
Waving at Lars, he approached. “Catching anything?” He smiled. A quiet afternoon of fishing suddenly seemed like a really good idea.
“Aye, lad, there be all kinds of tasty lil buggers in this lake!” Lars was excited. “Won’t feed many folks using poles, though. If we’re depending on fish as a staple, I’ll need a net. And a small boat. And a dock,” he added.
“Well, some of that I can manage right now. We won’t be depending on fish. But maybe having enough for everyone once a week would be good? And if you don’t think it’ll empty the lake, you could trade some to the Broken Mountain dwarves for your own profit.” Alexander picked up on the enthusiasm.
Asking Lars to pick his spot, he pulled some stone up from the lake bed to make a pier that extended a couple dozen feet out into the water.
Then, to one side, he built a six-foot stone box that could be filled with water and used to store Lars’ catch during the day, to keep them fresh.
Stepping back onto land, he built a small, single room stone hut sixty feet back from the shore that the old man could use for shelter in case of bad weather, or if he just wanted to get out of the sun. He raised a long stone bench inside against a wall, for sitting or sleeping. Next, he extended the roof forward to create a porch. Lastly, he raised a stone hearth with a wide shelf three feet off the ground. Lars could clean and cook some fish there if he felt the urge. As an afterthought, he raised a stone table and bench near the base of the pier. It was a good place to sit and work, or eat, while enjoying the view.
When he was done, he turned to the old man. “You’ll have to see the carpenters about a boat. As for nets, I don’t even know who would make those? We could buy you some in the city on our next trip.
“Don’t worry, lad, I can make my own net. And I can throw it off the pier, for now. Until a
boat can be made. Thank you for all this. The comforts of home!” Lars smiled, and shook his hand. “With that wall popping up behind me, I was starting to figure you’d decided to lock me out!” Alexander laughed. “I’m going to seal the gate for the night when I’m done here. Would you like me to teleport you back inside?”
“Naw. I think I’ll sleep out here tonight,” Lars said.
“It’s not safe out here, Lars. You can make this your home, if you wish, once we’ve removed the threat. It’s all yours. And I’ll improve it in whatever way you see fit. But for now, I’d feel better if you slept inside the keep at night.”
The old man nodded his head. He pulled in his two fishing lines, and stowed the poles in the hut. Then Alexander teleported him and his day’s catch back into the keep.
Moving back to the wall, Alexander finished widening the moat until he reached the stone wall of the ridge. On a whim, he continued the trench on into the ridge face to a depth of about a hundred feet. Thus creating an underground cave for the moat monster to call home.
Sunset was approaching by this time, so he teleported himself back to the outer wall gatehouse. He saw that the lumber crew had placed some split logs across the unfinished bridge span, making a temporary foot bridge that they were now crossing, along with three hunters. He greeted them as they passed, and confirmed that no others were outside. Not wanting to leave the area unprotected, even with the moat in place, he sealed the gate with a temporary three-foot-thick stone wall.
While he’d been outside the wall, things had progressed nicely inside. He could see several structures attached to the inside of the wall, spaced widely apart. The closest was a stable that already held two plow-horses, and a set of plow blades.
Standing in the middle of the field between the two gates, he called out, “Jeeves, can you hear me?” There was no answer. Apparently, he needed to be closer to a structure. He walked the last hundred yards and passed under the bailey gate. Standing in the tunnel, he repeated, “Jeeves, can you hear me?”
“Yes, master. Though I could hear you before, I could not answer,” the interface replied.
“About that. If we were to build a stone road that led between the gates, would that count as a structure? Could you speak through that?” Alexander asked.
“Yes, master. And once the outer wall and gate is complete, I will be able to speak though those, as well. Also, the addition may be enough to grant me a level increase,” Jeeves said.
“Jeeves, can you detect when people are on the wall?” Alexander had an idea.
“Yes, master. There are currently six citizens at various posts along the wall,” Jeeves replied.
“And, if I were to remove those hunters from the wall, could you alert me anytime someone was up there?”
“Yes, master. Thought the structure is not yet complete, the consecration of the land allowed me to extend my awareness out to the distance of your light posts.”
“Okay, Jeeves, please monitor the outer wall. If anyone crosses the moat and comes into contact with the wall, please let me know. And can you put me on loudspeaker just at the outer wall?”
“I’m afraid not, master. Not until the structure is complete. I can currently transmit your voice to all citizens directly, or to individual citizens that you name, via what you have dubbed the ‘emergency message’ system.”
“I don’t know all their names yet, but please transmit my voice to any citizens on the outer wall, or anywhere outside the keep wall.”
“Go ahead, master,” Jeeves said a moment later.
“Attention, all of you who are outside the original gates. Please return to the keep. We will not need to keep watch on the outer wall tonight. I will be closing the inner doors in thirty minutes. Thank you,” he said.
He’d been worried about manning the outer wall. He had twenty-four full-time guards, and six hunters who were citizens. Having to cover two long walls twenty-four hours a day with so few would be impossible. He also had ten new players in the guild, but asking them to take regular guard shifts seemed wrong. Alexander had been thinking about going back to both kings to request more men. But if Jeeves could monitor the outer wall at night, that would reduce the problem significantly.
“Thank you, Jeeves. The next chance we have to upgrade, I’m choosing to improve your interface. You’re a handy guy to have around!” He chuckled.
“Thank you, master.” Jeeves actually sounded pleased.
Continuing into the courtyard, he found Edward and Beatrix waiting for him. The little gnome smiled and waved as he approached.
“Hi, Beatrix. Did Edward fill you in on the water situation?” he asked.
“He did. We’ve been to the cisterns. They were pretty moldy inside. I’ve disconnected them until I can spend some time cleaning them. And we’ve actually just come from the lower levels. Edward escorted me down to check the water supply. It’s clean and clear. And I think the consecration magic is putting a buff on it. Though I can’t tell what it is.”
Thank you, Beatrix. Well done. I’ll ask the priests to check on that buff. They’ll be serving dinner soon. Do me a favor and keep my squire here out of the dwarven spirits?” Alexander winked at her.
“He’s bigger than me, but I’m a water mage. If I don’t like what he’s drinking, I’ll freeze it to his lips!” She giggled. Edward somehow managed to include them both in his eye-roll.
Heading inside the donjon, Alexander made his way to the chapel. He found both priests there, talking quietly to Mattie.
“Ah, Alexander, just in time!” Alric said. “Please affirm your approval of Mattie’s request for divorce.”
“I so affirm,” Alexander said.
“I so witness,” Father Ignatius added.
“Then by the power granted me by Asclepius, and by the ruler of these lands, I pronounce citizen Mattie divorced of her husband.”
Mattie smiled, bowing to both priests. “Thank you. Thank you all. That’s a heavy weight off my shoulders. I must get back now, they’ll be needing me for dinner service,” she said as she practically ran out of the chapel.
“Thank you both for that. Her husband was arrested trying to sneak into our compound in the city. He meant to drag her back by force,” Alexander said to the priests.
“No need to thank us. That girl deserves a chance at some happiness,” Alric said.
Alexander pulled out the two pendants he’d made for the priests. He handed one to each of them. “My gifts to you, for the consecration of Dire Keep. This is no longer a place of death and abomination. Thank you.” The two priests looked at the discs in their hands.
Salvation Pendant
Item Level: Epic
This pendant will allow the wearer to use regenerative light magic to restore 2,000 hp to a friendly target. Charges: 20/20. Undying: Should the bearer receive a mortal blow, the wand will maintain bearer at 1% health, preventing death
Ignatius smiled, and nodded his thanks. Not having seen Silverbeard’s medallion, Alric was taken aback. “This… is a wondrous thing,” he said. “But I cannot accept payment for consecrating my own chapel.” He tried to hand the medallion back.
“Then accept it as a tool for healing citizens who may very well need your help soon,” Alexander said. Remembering that the pendants only had twenty charges, he pulled out two of his smallest soul crystals. Holding them up, he asked, “Do you both know how to use these?”
“We can use the charges within the crystal to recharge depleted items. Or to power our own magic. The church has a supply of these, and trained us in their use. Though they are rare, and never given to humble priests,” Ignatius said.
“Well, they are yours, if you swear to me you’ll use them to power healing magic for my citizens here, or the citizens of Whitehall,” Alexander offered.
Both men bowed their heads and said, “I do so swear, as Asclepius is my witness.” There was a brighter than normal pulse of light from the altar. Alexander handed them each a crystal. The smaller crystals had
100 charges each.
“I hope you never have need of those, but if you do, and they lose their charges, come find me and I’ll recharge them,” Alexander said.
“Thank you, Alexander. But there is no need. We can use the magic of the altars to charge the crystals. It is slow, a single charge per hour. But it should more than suffice,” Alric said.
“Dinner should just about be ready. Join me?” Alexander asked the two men.
“We’d be honored,” Ignatius said, as they fell in step with him. They walked the main hallway across the ground floor and turned to the wing that held the kitchen. As they walked, Alexander withdrew a thousand gold, and handed it to Ignatius. “Please, hold this in trust for the citizens of Whitehall. We gave them 5,000 gold from the dungeon, but I have no idea how fiscally responsible the mayor is. So, if you see they have a dire need, use this to bail them out.”
The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands Page 29