Earth

North American Alliance- Greater New Your City Area

Queens District- Bruce's Bar

"So, where are we going?" Jared asked in-between bites of his burger and I snorted in amusement as Bree smacked the back of his head in annoyance.

"Don't talk with your mouth full idiot. Didn't your mom raise you better than that?" she asked as she glared at him as the rest of us held back our laughter.

I smiled and shook my head at their antics, "Some city called Ineford." I told them and got a lot of vacant stares but Jared nodded his head in recognition.

"It's deep in the south in the Arathia Basin Region. It's one of those cities with two main sections, part of it on the surface, and part in the Underdark. It's an independent city-state, a major power for that region, but it's centered on the Underdark portion. Not the surface." Jared stated and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't even know where it is in relation to where I am at. Not yet anyway, but I will be launching an expedition to find it soon enough. Another thing, found a Dwarf from Slate-Cavern Fortress, any of you got contacts with them?" I prodded and Matt nodded his head.

"Yes, I have been there and the Swords have regular contact with them. About two weeks ago, one of their Clan Elders disappeared." Matt replied while eyeballing me and I smiled.

"Guess what I found, a Mountain Dwarf by the name of Glagor Ironbreaker. He is an older Dwarf, but I have no idea if he is an Elder." I told him causing Matt to shake his head.

"My rough timeline to find that city is two weeks, in-game not the real world. Plan to link up then." I told them and got nods and spotted someone I didn't want to see. "Ahh, the arrogant asshole Daniel Combs just got here," I told them with a grimace.

"Ignore the weasel, that's what I do," Bree commented as Jordan rubbed her back.

Daniel smirked and came over to our table, "Ahh, it's so good to see you all again. Jared, the job offer is still open and word is you are about to leave the Shadow Daggers, so you are more than welcome to come to the Titans." the swarmy bastard stated and Jared just snorted before going back to ignoring him. "Ahh don't be like that Jared, we all know something big is coming down the pipeline. Wouldn't want to make any enemies now, would you." Daniel prompted and I snorted.

Daniel looked at me, "Something to say?" he asked and I smirked at him.

"Haven't you noticed, no one wants you here. You might be a Titan, but I have no doubt those lackeys you got are not real friends, these people are my friends though and they want you gone. So buzz off, have your so-called friends give your ego its normal blowjob, and we will all be better off." I told him and anger flashed across his face as more than one chuckle was heard from not only our table but the surrounding tables.

Daniel did his best to loom over me, "It's not the smartest thing to piss me off." he warned me and I chuckled as I waved my hand in front of my face.

"No kidding, you need a breath mint if you are going to threaten someone like that," I told him earning more laughter. Before Daniel could say or do anything else one of his friends pulled him back and shook his head before looking at us.

"You folks have a nice night," he stated before walking off, Daniel threw one last sneer my way before joining them.

Jared glared at me and shook his head before laughing, "Seriously, did you have to make fun of him." he asked me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"He should stop being an asshole. Now are you guys all on board?" I asked them and got nods in return. "Good, and for the record, I need all my hidden funds, I need a cash infusion for everything going on," I told them and got more than one frown.

"Why?" Bree asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Settlements and running them cost money. While I have some, I want to make sure my cash flow and liquid funds are more than enough." I told them and earned more than one nod. "So why didn't you tell me about the grind to build a settlement?" I asked them earning more than one snort of laughter. I went back to eating my food and thought of everything I had to do.

Ithea

Underdark- Unending Abyss Region

Nightwell Fortress

Shouts and a lot of ongoing work greeted me when I returned. The foundation of a barracks and smithy were near completion or completed, and work crews were working on tearing down the old wall while Geomancers from the Earth-Cracker Tribe and those that had followed me from Eternal Night were working on the new walls and assisting in creating the moats. Everything was on track for the settlement's continued expansion, but more importantly, we would soon have a means to not only smelt ore and craft necessary items, but a means to house and train people. Both were essential for different reasons.

I quickly brought up my Menu and panned over to my new thrifty-looking Settlement tab and brought up the Construction Queue.

Current Construction Projects...

--- Barracks, Level 1 (Projected Completion: 2 Days)

--- Smithy, Level 1 (Projected Completion: 2 Days)

--- Wall (X 2) and Moat (X2) (Projected Completion: 3 Days)

Projected Construction Projects...

--- None ---

Note* Projected Completion is for in-game time, not real-world time.

I quickly added a Mushroom Farm, the Lizard Cave, Water Well and Reservoir, and Engineer's Hut to the Queue. After some fiddling, I figured out I could switch up with tasks that could be prioritized and in which order as well, so if I needed to insert some emergency construction into the queue I could do so. I closed out the building queue and brought up the list of official positions within the settlement.

Nightwell Fortress Officials...

Settlement Seneschal/Administrator/Steward: Abraxxus (Probationary)

Effect 1: +10 to Loyalty, Morale, and Productivity (Daily) (Locked)

Effect 2: 10% Increased Chance to detect Citizens with negative Loyalty and Morale (Locked)

Effect 3: +5% to Loyalty, Morale, and Productivity gains (Locked)

Effect 5: Unique Building opportunities are unlocked and Available (Locked)

Settlement Engineer: Jigibs Steadyhand (Probationary)

Effect 1: Decrease Construction Time and Costs by 10% (Locked)

Effect 2: Can have (3) Construction Crews working at a time (Locked)

Settlement Guard Captain: Thardan Dulkam (Probationary)

Effect 1: Decrease the training time of all military units by 10% (Locked)

Effect 2: +5% Combat Skill gains for all Guards (Locked)

Settlement Healer: Zanitra Wiggleheart (Probationary)

Effect 1: Decrease the Recovery Time of all injured by 20% (Locked)

Effect 2: 10% Decreased chance sickness and disease will spread within the Settlement (Locked)

Effect 3: 5% Chance preventative measures will affect chances of a breakout of sickness or disease (Locked)

Settlement Scholar: ---

Effect: ---

Settlement Blacksmith: ---

Effect: ---

Settlement Alchemist: ---

Effect: ---

Note* Probationary positions are due to lack of Oath's of Loyalty and Allegiance to the Ruler of the Settlement. Once Oaths are given, the effects of Settlement Officials will be Unlocked.

Note* New Settlement Official positions will be unlocked as your Settlement level increases and new buildings are constructed. The above-listed positions are the basic Settlement Official Positions.

I needed to go to Eternal Night, pick up the Dryad, ask for temporary reinforcements, and report everything that had been going on here. Not to mention the long overdue visit I had been putting off since we had discovered the warren of tunnels and caves. It would be perfect for the spiders, but we needed to get its current occupant out which would be difficult if not impossible.

"Welcome back my lord." Abraxxus strode up and I gave him a small nod. "Everything is on schedule and I am happy to report I have been here long enough that I have been able to create Portal Scrolls and have started to create them." the Lich stated before handing me a half dozen scrolls.

Portal Scrolls were one-off items, since only a few classes had the Skills to either Teleport or create Portals over long distances, they were a necessity for everyone else. Due to Nightwell Fortress being only level one and the current state of Eternal Night, it would be some time before either location had either a Teleport or Portal Pad. I am certain the city had both at one time, being the capital of a kingdom and Racial home of the Vampires, but the battle that had destroyed the city would have damaged or outright destroyed both.

Item Name: Portal Scroll

Item Class: Common

Description: Portal Scrolls will open a one-way Portal to a predetermined destination. The Portal will stay open for a predetermined time and while open, anyone can pass through.

Destination: Nightwell Fortress

Effect 1: Creates a one-way Portal from users' current location to target destination, Nightwell Fortress.

Effect 2: Portal will stay open as long as being that triggered Portal has not passed through, or (5) Minutes have passed.

Restriction: Only items of small and medium-size or people my pass through a Portal.

Instructions: Break seal to activate scroll

I quickly inspected them before shoving them into my Inventory, "Thank you, my friend, I will be heading to the city soon to report everything to the Queen. If anyone wishes to go, they need to be ready to depart soon." I told the Lich.

"I will notify people, but most are busy with the work efforts or currently training under Captain Dulkam, he has taken it to heart to ensure everyone has at least one hour of training per day. He is also happy that a barracks is being constructed as well." the Lich replied before walking off. I turned back towards the town hall and entered it and headed for my quarters. Before I got there, Jigibs flagged me down and I followed the Goblin to my office.

"We dug out a little hidden compartment. It won't compromise the structure, but provides more than enough space to store multiple items." the Goblin stated before indicating for me to stand on a specific spot. "Now grab the coat hook and pull it down sir," he advised me, and the stone I was standing on sunk a little bit into the floor causing another section of the floor to sink into the ground to form a stairway.

I looked down the opening and saw several globes of Magelight appear as the stairs settled. I looked at Jigibs who gestured for me to continue. The stairs dumped us into a small chamber that was a little bigger than my outstretched arms, but a doorway had been carved on the wall in front of us and a makeshift door filled it. "Sorry, once the smithy is complete and a steady stream of Iron Ore is coming in, I will craft a better door and your Seneschal can enchant it." the Goblin informed me and I pulled the door open to reveal a slightly larger chamber with several shelves and three lockboxes within it. "Those lockboxes are keyed to the Settlement Ruler, Abraxxus did the enchanting. Say what you will about Lich's, they can be skilled allies though." Jigibs mused and I snorted. With one more hasty bow, the Goblin left me to my own devices.

I opened up the nearest lockbox with a touch and thought. While these were not a fortress vault, it was far better than nothing at all. I quickly shoved the Magic Core and grimoire into the lockbox before willing it to close. The most dangerous items were hidden away now. I quickly dumped all the items I planned on selling off at the auction or handing them over to Torgan in the future. Time to face the piper and pay for all the choices I had made.