Fortress of Midnight

Fortified Hall-Main Hall

Jacob looked at the display before him, the system explained it as a perk for sitting on the Throne but it was just a holographic display and interaction of his Fortress/Settlement. From it, he could look at it from above and plan out construction, look at Morale, see his defenses and plan strategy. He could see everything his land claimed including the three mines and Dark Oak Grove, the production rates, and workers toiling away. It was extremely valuable and Jacob had not even known about it until Jigibs had pointed it our when he asked why he had never sat upon the throne. It also highlighted everything they were lacking...

"Yes, mylord we can upgrade the two Mines, both upgrades are considered minor construction jobs. I have the plans for the R&D building, but its considered Advanced. Until we construct it, we will not be able to produce our own blueprints for more Advanced buildings. We have all the resources we need to construct it except glass, we need 10 units of glass to be able to construct it. Now I would suggest we either build a Storage Yard or the Mess Hall addition for the Fortified Hall, both would be boons for us at this point." Jigibs stated as Jacob looked at the display.

Jacob considered his choices, then decided "Build the Mess Hall, then Storage Yard, then we will do the upgrades for the Mines. We will consider the R&D building after we construct the Long Houses." Jacob told the Goblin who moved off to eat his dinner. With that Jacob had to wait before more resources were available, but after the Minor jobs were completed he would have to add Cabins to the construction queue. They only took 2 days to build but only housed 10 people while the Long Houses could house 30 people for level 1 Long Houses. The basic Barracks would house all his new guards once they arrived, and Miss Dotts would like the kitchen the new mess hall would provide. Both the Storage Yard and Warehouse would be constructed behind the Fortified Hall so they could build more of either once they needed to expand the storage capabilities of the Fortress.

With those additions done and more things to worry about, Jacob joined his people in eating dinner. In a few days, he would be gone for the better part of two weeks he had to enjoy these small things before the trip.

Tomb of Eternal Night

Middle City

"So what can we do? Those idiots tried to launch a military coup and failed, all of their noble lines were executed. Everything that upstart does strengthens her position. Everything we have done for the last 500 years is being undone. Now he realizes he can open foreign trade and from what we have been able to discover he intends to travel to the City of Ineford within the next few days. We need to kill him now before he gains any more power." One cloaked figure stated.

"No, once he became a full-blood, everything has changed. He is favored by the throne and several of the minor houses now support him. If we assassinated him, it would just bring another purge and although she could not prove our compliance with the last coup attempt, the Master of Shadows will have no problem making sure we have 'accidents' if anything happens to the newest Noble. I say we stop everything." Another responded.

"I say wait and see, this young one, although has promise, will insult someone and end up in a duel sooner rather than later. It does not matter what contacts he makes there once he is dead and he will have to be at the Remembrance ceremony in a couple weeks. We can arrange something then." The third and finale responded.

The first shadow snarled at the other two "Cowards, it was bad enough we failed to support the others and now you two do nothing when everything is on the brink of failure. I will do what I must." with that, the shadow turned and fled.

The second moved to stop the first but the third spoke first "That one has always been short-sighted and will die bloody. We need to make our plans for then the Remembrance ceremony, come." with that, the finale two conspirators against the Crown disappeared.

Fortress of Midnight

76 Days until release and 1 day until Jacob and company leave for the City of Ineford.

Jacob felt his ribs crack as the practice blade slammed into his ribs, it brought a snarl from him as his body tried to heal once again. He had been fighting all three of the newest members of his House for the last 20 minutes. He had cracked ribs, a black eye, a broken nose, and he was pretty sure his right cheekbone had been fractured as well before healing. The wounds were starting to slow him down and he had not had any blood today so his ability to heal was hampered.

"Yield!" Eiloma snarled at him as he continued to try and circle away from the 3 women. Overall they were kicking his ass and him trying to back away was only buying him some time.

Chalxae grabbed him from behind and laid her blade across his throat, "Yield Jacob, we are only sparring. No one will think less of you for yielding to us after lasting this long against all three of us."

Jacob looked at the Drow in the stocks...he shook his head slightly. Jacob snarled and threw his head back, he heard Chalxae nose snap from the impact as he threw an elbow that caused her to scream as her rib cage cracked. Jacob threw himself at June sweeping her blade wide and pulling her close and turning into Eilomas' blast of light that threw them both. Jacob had been prepared and quickly regained his feet even though he just wanted to sit down and drink some blood. He threw his practice blade at his Seneschal and followed it in, he hoped it would distract the woman. She battered the blade aside which left her wide open for Jacob to grapple her in close and bring his talons to her neck. "I will fight as long as I draw breath, I will fight and die for everyone here. Yield Eiloma!"

Eiloma smirked as Jacob felt three blades poke into his rib cage "Well fought Jacob, I would be dead but they still lived and now you are dead." Jacob smiled as he withdrew his hand from her throat and looked at the two other sparring partners. All of them were bloody and hurt now.

"Time to eat people, well done. All of you!" Jacob said as he strode over to the rack to replace the practice blade.

Thorgron smiled as Jacob limped to the rack, "Sore mylord? I apologize for my bluntness but you look like shit. You need some blood"

Jacob smiled at the Captains candor "You are right my friend. Are the guards ready to march tomorrow?"

"Yes sir, we are ready to get going. We have the supplies set aside for everyone going, we will load them into a couple carts tonight so we are ready as soon as you are tomorrow." Thorgron responded. Jacob just nodded to his comments and headed toward the Hall, time for some food and a bit of rest.

"Any reason why you were fighting so hard Jacob?" Eiloma asked as he gazed at the victory display before him. The Skull and Broken Banner were the centers of the display but renderings of various stages of the battle were shown. He could almost feel the blood and hear the screams of the dying.

"Just my instincts telling me something bad is coming. Last time I felt this way was right before I ended up here in the Underdark. Considering what is ahead of us though and what we will eventually face...It is no surprise my instincts are screaming at me. I just need to take it slow for the time being." Jacob responded to the inquisitive Seneschal who handed him a cup of blood to speed his healing.

"Drink and eat mylord. You will need your energy to heal after the sparring session and your injuries are no excuse for delaying your plans for tomorrow. Now as far as your plans for today are you were thinking about heading to the city to price Glass so we can construct the R&D building. My advice is to purchase the glass, we will need the building to save money in the long run. You have queued the upgrades for both the Iron and Silver mines, you might want to price the cost of coal though. Once the flow of Iron increases and our rate of construction slows we will need it to produce Steel and High Steel. From what I have been told once we can produce High Steel we can easily make Blood Steel. Before you ask, Blood Steel is a form of metal that can absorb enchantments easily but unless the weapons are used in battle they will degrade at a faster pace. Thus why it is called Blood Steel and requires Vampire Blood to produce. So, once our presence is well known then we can start exporting, until then we can only wait. Next, you wanted to contact your Immortal friends and give the location of your rendezvous point. Our guest is ready to head home, he was told that you all would all be on the road for about 1 week and then he would be released to his Kin. The new miners are settled in and have started working, Abraxxus cleaned out all the skeletons from the new mine and absolutely loves having all the new work material and he promised to have something special for you when you return. All I know is he has a large pile of bones now and is using all types of magic and alchemy on them. Whatever he is creating will either kill us all or be a nice boon for the fortress." Eiloma stated with a shudder.

"Chalxae, how do your ribs feel?" Jacob asked as he approached where the two newer Vampires ate and drank.

"They feel much better lord, but you are more than welcome to check for yourself." Chalxae smiled and bit her lip while June giggled at her flirting.

Jacob looked at her before shrugging his shoulders and gestured for her to rise which caused both Vampire-Drow women to gasp in surprise while Eiloma giggled.

Jacob approached her and pulled her shirt up and looked at the exposed skin, trying desperately to concentrate on her ribs on nothing else. It was still bruised but based on the way her ribs looked none were broken so he ran his fingers along both sets of ribs while he closed his eyes and concentrated and what he felt. "Chalxae, breath in deeply and hold it please," Jacob told the Rogue. She quickly responded as Jacob continued to feel her ribs. "From what I can feel, you have no breaks but you still have nasty bruising and minor fractures. Drink and eat more with no more exerting workout today. Rest, I do not want you hurt because of what I did to you please." Jacob told her while his hand was still on her.

"I will do as you say, Jacob. You will need to rest as well though, perhaps you would keep me company?" Chalxae asked.

Jacob smiled at the invitation "If I kept you company in bed, neither one of us would rest much I promise you that Chalxae." Jacob walked away and signaled for June to rise which caused her to start in surprise before standing and striding over to Jacob. "You were struck in the upper chest, correct?" Jacob asked June.

"Yes, Eiloma blast hit me in the upper right-hand side. Yes, it still hurts and is still healing but I am sure I will be ready to leave by tomorrow." June responded quickly.

Jacob pulled her shirt to the side to look at the wound, the bruising was worse then Chalxae and from what he could feel both the skin and bones would need the rest of the day to heal at least. "Eat and drink more, have at least two more cups of blood later and see Snaggletooth for some healing to speed up your natural healing process. Other then that rest please, you need more then Chalxae." June just nodded at his assessment.

"What about you lord? Do you need us to check on your injuries?" Eiloma asked.

Jacob considered her words before responding, it could be a learning experience for them as well. He signaled them all to come closer as he removed his shirt which caused them all to gasp, he looked much worse than all of them. First, he raised his right arm above his head which caused him to groan, "Feel along my right ribs, do not push on them, please. They will feel like wood, rough. Now feel my other ribs, they are smooth. The difference is because my ribs are still healing from being broken, fractures are all along the bones. Now feel my right shoulder as I rotate that arm, it was almost dislocated so the rotation is not as smooth as it should be. My right cheek, my left eye socket, and of course my nose are all still healing. Last but not least when we use our enhanced speed we strain our muscles if we do not tear them, so muscles in both my legs and arms are healing. Now if you are all done looking at the peep show, I would like to sit eat and drink so I can go rest." Jacob last comment caused them to smile although Eiloma still looked concerned despite that.

It would be a day of rest and relaxation, no more training and very little activity. Being a Full-Blood meant he would heal at a quicker rate, but even he needed some time to heal.