Chapter 49 - Gaining the Keep

 

Advanced Class: Hexblade Class Abilities: +20 HP per level Hex Level 40: Mettle - +30% resistance to magic and elemental effects.

Hex (Passive – MAX) All Melee strikes gain the ability to hex an opponent. Duration 60 Seconds. Up to 5 Hexes may be stacked on the same opponent. Stacked Hexes share the duration of the last Hex applied. Each Hex applies one of the following effects (chosen by Hexblade): 5% Debuff to one Attribute 5% Debuff to Armor 5% Debuff to attack speed 5% Debuff to movement speed 5% Debuff to one Resistance

With my choice made, I thanked the trainer, and turned to leave the shrine, my people following me. As I went, I checked the guild chat, and saw Lexichan and some of the others were back in Mylenoris after hunting down the undead, so I called them to meet me at the palace when I went to make my report to the King. I still had to give Lexichan her toy, anyways.

We made a fairly impressive group when we had all gathered, and made our way to the palace. We were almost fifty armed men and women in my train, half of them drow wearing slave collars. Lexichan, Raunaeril, Cookie, Bercilac, Ruva, and Athtar were there, as well as a few other guild members. Lexichan was pleased beyond measure to have the drow ranger, Kilyn Keltris, transferred to her ownership, already making designs on heading to the Underdark to explore. I noticed several guild members watching the enslaved drowesses with looks that could be politely called ‘hungry’. I expected they would go and work out some frustrations in the local brothels later on.

When we entered the throne room, I bowed to the king. He shook his head slightly, a bemused expression on his face. “Rise, Sir Darkmore. I believe you have news for Us? When last We saw you, there were only three others following your train. Quite different from what We see before us now.”

I rose, and said, “Indeed, your Majesty. Some of those you see with me are comrades from the worlds we Travelers have visited before we came to this world, trusted friends who have fought many dangers by my side in the past. The rest I have met upon my journeys here, a few friends, and more than a few enemies who fell under my power.”

“Before I begin my tale, I would first make an offering to the Princess Aravae.” I motioned, and Larrel Leokiam, the drow fighter, stepped forward, clearly displeased by the collar around his neck, among other things. “This Drow is a fighter of some skill, who may be used as either a bodyguard or however else the Princess sees fit.” The king nodded, and waved Aravae forward. It was a simple process to transfer Larrel’s ownership to Aravae, who gave me a quick peck on the cheek before returning to her place behind the King, her new slave in tow, eyes beaming.

I took a breath, and then began my reporting, first of my adventures in the Depraved Pits, then the fight for Ullelone Village, my fight with Kali, and then conquering the Scheming Caverns. The king looked grave as I described the fight with Kali, but merely nodded when I cautioned that Travelers were people, as any other, which meant the whole range of personalities would be present there.

The king nodded when I finished my tale, and said, “You have done many great things for this kingdom, Sir Darkmore, in quite a short time. Indeed, my advisors tell me that, without your aid, the undead would have caused a substantial amount of damage to the kingdom before they could have been put down. We would reward you for your service. Is there something you desire?”

I took a breath, and said, “Your Majesty, by your leave, I would like to take my guild and restore Lithaes Castle to the glory it had before the Scourge, and reestablish the town around it as a source for trade. Too long has the castle remained untended, leaving it open to the use of bandits and cultists.”

The king nodded. “Indeed, We have been considering what to do with the old keep since word came to us of the demon cultists you dispatched there. And as a Knight of the Realm who has three times now done great services to the kingdom, it is a fitting task for you to bring Lithaes back to her glory of old.”

He paused, and then said, “Sir Darkmore, We give to you this choice. Will you take up the mantle of Lithaes Castle and the surrounding lands, defending them and their people and holding them in trust for the Throne?”

“I will, my Liege.”

New Perk Unlocked! Lord You have been granted a fief by the king, and are charged with defending your land and the realm. You may claim taxes from those living in your domain, and administer them as you see fit, provided that your actions do not go against the King’s will. +300 Fame +10 Leadership For being the first Traveler to become a feudal lord, you gain: +200 Fame +20 Leadership New Stat: Leadership While Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom are all important in a leader, there are times where strength of arms or other concerns take precedence. Regardless, a Leader must always be able to get followers to do as he wishes. Leadership is added into all skill and ability use when they involve leading, controlling, or inspiring a group of people pledged to serve you. For example, it will apply as a bonus when you are using a social skill to rally your troops before battle, but not when attempting to seduce a woman to your bed.

New Quest! Claiming Lithaes Castle The King has charged you, as a Knight of the Realm, to travel to Lithaes Castle and claim it and the surrounding townlands as your fief. The keep lies abandoned after a band of adventurers recently killed the cultists living in the dungeons beneath the castle. You may need to do extensive work in order to secure your claim.
Rank	D
Success	Gain control of Lithaes Castle.
Failure	Allow others to claim the castle.
Reward	Experience Ownership of the Castle, Lord of the surrounding townlands.
Consequences	Reputation with Wyrmwood greatly decreases.

I blinked the windows closed, and bowed to the King once again.

After being dismissed from the royal audience, there was a brief discussion about the next steps, and then people began breaking off into different groups in order to prepare for taking the keep. We would head there the next day at dawn with all the guild members that were left in the city.

For me, it was a long day of moving from one place to the other to get my pets their advanced classes. Della picked the War Priestess route, which apparently boosted her combat abilities, giving us another person who could go toe to toe with the enemy, if need be. Severa became a Duelist, enhancing her ability to utterly destroy single targets, and focusing on speed and agility. Yukiko became a Meijikira, or Mage-killer, and gained a fairly awesome ability to slice spells with her sword. I was a bit envious, actually, because that sounded badass. Nithroel’s being a Blackguard and a half-Celestial unlocked a secret ‘Fallen Angel’ advanced class. Basically, it enhanced her ability to royally fuck up good-aligned creatures, though she still held her own against evil creatures.

Of course, we hadn’t gone up against too many good-aligned creatures so far. But killing people for their stuff generally works better when they are people no one will miss. As a guild, though, we’re building our power base, and soon we’ll be able to REALLY cut loose and have some fun. I could see myself leading Legions of Terror a few years down the road.

Speaking of which, Hrozne picked the Pale Master route for his Necromancer Class. It basically focused less on the general magic and debuffs, and more on controlling as many undead servants as he could. He even got a nice daily ability that allowed him to create a permanent undead with no costs. Sure, it was just a skeleton or zombie, but there was a big difference between a human zombie and a zombie created from the body of a troll, for instance.

Looking at my core team, it looked like this:

Zayn Darkmore Incubus Male Level 40 Hexblade (Warlock) / Dominator Titles: The Executioner, The Sexecutioner, Corrupter, Master Chainmaker, Machiavelli, Dragonfriend, Dragon Consort, Slave Trader, Trophy Hunter, Harem King, Stud Horse, Undead Bane, Leash Lord

Della Smith Human Female Level 40 War Priestess (Priestess) / Ice Sorceress Titles: Slave, Sadistic, Undead Bane, Devoted

Severa Rex Human Female Level 40 Duelist (Rogue) / Battledancer Titles: Slave, Heartseeker, Shadow, Undead Bane

Kiyabu Yukiko Kitsune Female Level 40 Meijikira (Samurai) / Dark Paladin Titles: Slave, Devoted, Unholy Blacksmith, Undead Bane

Nithroel Crana Half-Celestial Elf Female Level 40 Fallen Angel (Blackguard) / Priestess Titles: Genius, Fallen One, Slave, Broken One, Masochist, Undead Bane

Hrozne Bosorka Drow Elf Hermaphrodite Level 40 Pale Master (Necromancer) / Death Knight Titles: Elfslayer, Lichloved, Scholar, Spiderkissed

Not a terrible mix, all told. We were a little lacking on magical damage dealers, since my spells tended to be ‘battlefield control’ or ‘debuff’ spells. Hrozne’s Necromancer class focused almost entirely on debuffs (and some damn nasty ones, too), including some area debuffs, but they were short on direct damage. That left Della’s Ice Sorceress subclass as our only source of magical asskicking for area effects. Sure, she had some spells that fit that bill, but they were expensive suckers, and not spammable. On the other hand, she had some sustained wide-area debuffs that could paralyze a battlefield without costing too much. She was really good at that ‘Blizzard’ spell. It did some damage, but primarily it clouded vision, slowed movement, froze liquids, and reduced equipment durability.

Of course, that was more than balanced out, in my opinion, by the fact that I had three healers, three tanks, two DPS, and so on, all in just a six-man party. As long as we weren’t going out and trying to win a war all on our lonesome, we were in a far better position to take on most challenges than some other groups. For one thing, all my girls could at least hang in melee for a bit if they had to. No glass cannons here. Thinking about it, we were a team that was damn near perfect for hunting bosses and clearing dungeons. Well, so long as they were bosses like the ones we’d faced so far.

But I didn’t have time to wax philosophical about party composition and game strategy. We still had supplies to lay in for the trip to my new castle. More of the Guild was coming, having finished the quests they were on, and so forth. We had craftsmen in our ranks, but finding supplies in the wilds until the ruined town could be rebuilt would be problematic.

There was a bonus in this whole thing that I didn’t expect before. Seems that included in the lands I’d been given, there were a few potential income sources. Mostly the game and herbs from the forest, but there was also a nearby lake which should have fish, some farmland, and a couple nearby mines. Not to mention that, once the guild’s Enchanters and other craftsmen started working, we’d be a source for all sorts of magical goodies. And then, of course, there’d be the normal trade moving from city to city, and anything that the guild brought in… Yeah, we’d be fine.

Anyways, between my pets, the guild, and some wily (or just adventurous) merchant, farmer, and craftsmen types who wanted a chance to try and reclaim the old castle and town (and, not coincidentally, have a chance to ply their trade with little competition), we had three hundred people in our little convoy. As the size of the expedition began to become clear, it was decided that we would take another day to prepare. May as well do things right.

After tiring myself with my girls (and allowing some of the guild to enjoy the drow) I drifted off to sleep, only to find myself in the middle of what looked like a stone room filled with a white mist.

Now beginning the Trial of Ascension.

Previous Chapter                             Table of Contents                             Next Chapter