The necromancer looked down from his high tower. He looked out the window at the people below. Down below humans in rags followed orders from undead armored knights. The slaves carried pickaxes or bundles or rocks depending on their role. Slave runes marked their arms. The slaves continued their work without complaint. Lines of tents circled the site. It had been long enough that all of the humans knew the rules and didn’t disobey. If they failed to follow orders pain would follow. If the pain did not dissuade them then their fate was to become a slave in death instead. The necromancer turned back from the sight of the workers. There was a knock at the door and the necromancer turned.

“Come in.”

The door opened and in stepped a lich. Its skeletal hands closed the door and it bowed. The interior of the room was light with mage lights. It illuminated the lich’s melted face. Pieces of its jaw bone bent and twisted unnaturally as it spoke.

“Master. I have returned with news.”

“How was your trip?”

“It went well. But I thought you would want to hear this from me right away. One of our followers passed along this message before they were caught and killed. The gnomes and elves are in a tough position because of our campaign so they have prepared a unique war golem creation. Our source wasn’t able to get much info about the golem but identified the metal shell as processed dragon scale ore from the dwarves. This is only half of it. They have found a way to power the golem using a dungeon core. I was hoping to get your advice on this matter.”

The necromancer paused considering his options.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Where was the golem last spotted? We need to know where it is at all times.”

“The golem was being shipped off to kill the dwarven dragon in accordance with some agreements for using the dragon scale ore. I have already set watchers at the ports for ships matching the right description.”

“Good. Good. I will have to convene a meeting with the others to create more concrete plans. Lord Desmond is busy fighting around the outposts, but Lady Andrea may have a way to deal with the golem. How are yours and hers experiments going?”

“She has been busy tampering with the magic attuned slaves. Most of them will be turned into wights or revenants depending on what suits them best. After securing the last of the human cities we found more of them able to protect against our siege rituals. I suspect some information about them has been passed on to the gnomes which is why it has been so hard to make progress now. I am hoping that my legion will be able to break their front lines soon enough. The souls I have collected and refined have been a great boon for my army, my life, and my power. I thank you again for allowing me to take up this large position.” The lich said as he bowed.

“I will always reward those who especially one such as yourself who have grown in power and eternal life alongside me. Once you are done with the immediate needs of your legion I would like you to begin work on researching the ancient golems and their designs. There must be some records still hidden away. Start with the capital and search again. If that human was able to collect one of the copies so easily and bring it to the gnomes and elves then we should be able to find similar copies elsewhere. Some things may have changed with the implementation of the dungeon core, but there should still be similar flaws within the design. Find out how war golems were best destroyed in the past. It must be our top priority to destroy it once it comes to the battlefield. They will try and stop us, but we must also make it too costly to try and stop us. I will take over this continent one city at a time. If we can take the gnome capital before the golem returns then it will benefit us in the long run. We must take as much ground as we can. Tell Lord Desmond to accelerate our plans. The remaining outposts in our path must be cleared out.”

“I understand my Lord. I will inform the others and Lady Andrea will see you as soon as she is available. Is there anything else you need me to pass on to the others?”

“Not really. If they ask about the vampires tell them that I am still working on it. They aren’t the best at working with others, but they should at least not be interfering with our work here as long as they get their cattle stocks.”

“Then I will see myself out.”

The lich bowed once more before leaving the tower. It exited through the door and quickly walked down the stairs. Torches lit the stairwell and cast its gaunt shadow onto the wall. It exited the building and summed his corpse bird. The undead creatures took to the sky towards the human capital. The necromancer of the tower returned to the window his mind now wandering. He watched the lich fly by the tower before speeding up.

The necromancer soon followed the lich out. He left the tower and walked through the slaves. They parted ways as he descended the path carved by them. He followed the tunnel until he was met by another armored knight. It stood eight feet tall and frozen in place until he came. It moved aside to reveal a shorter tunnel. Fewer slaves worked in this tunnel, and he moved them aside.

“I can feel you, my old friend. Let me bring you back to the light.”

The necromancer stopped at the end of the tunnel. With a flick of his finger, the walls of the tunnel dissolved, and he walked forward until he found the open room he was looking for. In front of him sat an old, robed corpse resting with a gold crown on its head.

I wanted to define Arthur's armor eventually instead of having it be some nebulous metal. I will probably go into more detail at a later date. But for now, this is what you need to do.

*Dragon Scale ore is made from the fossilization and then compacting of the scales of dead or living dragons. Depending on the type of scales used it can bring different effects.