Underdark- Unending Abyss Region
Ruins

Abraxxus and Lia were conferring, while both Mug and Drax cast some last-minute spells on the Dwarf. I looked over at the Town Hall and the ongoing construction there. Three of the walls were nearly complete, only the front of the building and roof needed to be finished. The two new longhouses were almost finished and would probably be completed before the Town Hall was. 

"Well, that was interesting." I looked at Abraxxus with an inquisitive eyebrow raised. "From what Lia told me, the Necromancer was trying to rip the soul of the Dwarf out. Once he did that, he could force the Soul to answer any question he wanted and use the body for whatever else he needed. Not the best way to go about it, but perhaps the fastest since it's obvious the Dwarf withstood their intensive questioning." the Lich informed me. 

I frowned, "Ok, so if a Necromancer can call upon the soul of a dead person, why didn't the Necromancer do that in the first place?" I asked the Lich who shrugged.

"I do not know my lord, but if anyone does it will be the Dwarf. I already sent a message to the captain, he will be posting guards on the Dwarf until he leaves us or dies. Now if you will excuse me I must assist Master Jigibs with his efforts on finishing the Town Hall." the Lich stated before bowing and leaving. 

"Welcome back my lord." I looked over to see Sergeant Shadowsteel striding up, a quartet of guards with him. "This our charge?" the Duergar asked as he eyed the unconscious Dwarf.

"Yes, while he isn't a prisoner, he is a guest and probably a reluctant one. Keep him here and safe. If he wakes up, get him some water and food if he can stomach it." I told him and he nodded. 

"Will do my lord, can I ask when are you going to come spar with us. While you are competent with that thing, you can learn a few lessons from us." the Duergar commented and I grunted.

"When I have time sergeant, there are dozens of things that need to be done and only one of me. Combat training is up there and I need to discuss some things with both you and the Captain as well very soon." I told the Sergeant earning an inquisitive look but Thorgron didn't say anything else.

I looked over at the others ready to call them over to go explore the silver mine when screaming caught my attention. A Gnome was scrambling away from one of the lizards that worked as a draft horse. Thorgron started cursing and shaking his head and I moved at a sprint as more than one person laughed at what was going on. I pulled Moonlight from its sheath, ready to kill the lizard but shouting from another source caught my attention and I slammed the blade in front of the lizard causing it to pull up short.

The lizard looked up at me and hissed but I just growled right back at it causing the lizard to jerk back in surprise. "My apologies my lord, but Lucy here is protective of her eggs and Shawn there was told to stay away from her nest and did not listen." I looked over to see a Wood Elf glaring at the Gnome and trying to calm the lizard down. 

I looked back and forth between the two, "Well as understandable as that is, she cannot just go killing people because she gets annoyed." I told the Wood Elf before turning my glare to the Gnome who shrunk back slightly. "You need to keep your hands to yourself and maybe accept the instructions from someone who know what she is doing," I told the Gnome who nodded and looked away.

"I need those eggs back Harmon until we have a steady population, we cannot cultivate eggs or lizards." the Wood Elf told the Gnome earning a grimace from the man but he turned over the eggs he had been carrying.

"I am sorry my lord, but my wife asked for some eggs to help with dinner preparations and it just got out of hand," Herman replied before stepping away and bowing towards me before striding away as fast as he could.

The Wood Elf has a bemused smile on her face, "So you have the Animal Husbandry Skill?" I asked her and she nodded as I wondered. "Can you also handle Monster Eggs?" I prodded her and she cocked her head.

"It's dependent on what type of monster you are asking about. Fully sentient, no. Beast type monsters, yes." the Wood Elf replied and I pulled the [Spiderling Brood Mother Egg] from my Inventory and showed it to her. Her eyes lit up and she studied the egg and even the lizard forgot its animosity to sniff at it as the Wood Elf studied it. "Yes, but you need a cavern and tunnels dug and I would suggest you keep it away from the settlement in case they go, rogue. This egg is still viable and can be hatched or harvested for several more weeks." the Wood Elf stated before stepping back and I made the egg disappear back into my Inventory. 

I thought back to one of the surprises we had found while exploring the nearby Underdark, "I got the place, we just have to clear it out. When we do, will you have a problem watching over any nest?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"No, not at all my lord. I already take care of Lucy and her growing family and I am sure she would love some spider meat added to her diet." the Wood Elf responded as she patted the lizard causing it to rumble and shift closer to her companion. "I do have one request, my lord, I know the settlement is new but Lucy does need her abode and a small cavern within the walls would be more than acceptable to her. Can you see that one is dug out?" the Elf prompted causing a Quest to appear.

<<<>>>

Quest Alert: Feeding the Masses

Description: While creating core buildings will get your settlement up and running, it will only take you so far. Feeding your people is just as crucial. See that (2) Mushroom Farms, (1) Lizard Cave, and (1) Water Wells and Reservoirs are completed so that your people will have a steady supply of food to eat or you could risk starvation.

Quest Class: Settlement; Personal

Quest Difficulty: Moderate

Success: Have (2) Mushroom Farms (Complete: 1), (1) Lizard Cave (Complete: 0), and (1) Water Wells and Reservoirs (Complete: 0) constructed.

Failure: Do not create crucial resources for your settlements' continued survival.

Rewards: 1,000 Experience, +50 Loyalty, Morale, and Productivity, Unknown

Note* As lord and leader of the settlement, this Quest is mandatory and cannot be refused.

<<<>>>

"Of course, we will get it done as soon as possible," I told her and she nodded before moving off as I sighed in frustration. When it rains, it pours. Before I could move off I could see Jigibs running over and the Goblin gestured for me to follow him. I looked back at the others and shrugged my shoulders and followed the Goblin off to the side and away from any prying eyes.

The Goblin looked around one last time before pulling out an item from his Inventory and offering it to me. "Sorry about the secrecy my lord, but when we were breaking down the ziggurat, we found this, and I wanted to make sure you had it," Jigibs stated and I studied the thing. It was about the size of a small melon crafted from all sorts of metals with dozens of runes all over it, I pulled up the item information and frowned.

I looked at the description of the thing, which wasn't much, and dismissed it before looking at the Goblin, then back at the Magic Core, then back at the Goblin. "Ok...so what is it?" I prompted causing the Goblin to chuckle and shake his head.

"Magic Core's are one of the items required to make a magical Keep, like Shadow's Fall. You ever hear of magical smithies, or the Citadel of the Light, the great Wonders of Arakon?" At my nod, the Goblin continued as he pointed to the small globe. "Without that, none of those would have been built. I don't know what all is required to build something like that, but I was thinking if those Drow had a ziggurat, that nasty crystal, and this item, it wasn't anything good." the Goblin warned me and I nodded before shoving the Magic Core into my Inventory. 

Great I was sitting on a Kingdom Seal that gave me the key to unlocking Shadow's Fall and Magic Core that can create both great and wonderous things or evil caricatures that needed to be nuked from existence. Wonderful me! "Any recommendations on its use?" I asked the Goblin who frowned with a thought, before shaking his head.

"Yeah, one comes to mind immediately, don't use it until after the wall is built. After that, the possibilities of creating various magical buildings are limited to your resources and imagination. I would recommend you talk to your Seneschal, he is not only old, but he is also a master alchemist and enchanter. He would probably have a better idea of what it can be used for." Jigibs offered before walking off. 

Well, that was something I did not know about Abraxxus, but the Engineer had a point. I had proven this placed vulnerability and I would not compound the error House Dhalmass had made. I already knew the Drow were coming to take back what they had lost, and that was even before we had discovered the Magic Core. It was a concern for another day, we had some time and we had more important things to deal with, such as clearing the silver mine and dealing with a Demon invasion...fun times.

"Ok ladies and gents, let's get this crazy train on the road," I told them, and more than one confused look was thrown my way, I sighed in frustration. "We got to go scope out the silver mine and I want to get back in time for dinner," I told them and received nods of acknowledgment as the wounded Dwarf was left in the tent to recover from his wounds.