SubBasement

[Red Gypsy]

This is the SubBasement, a hidden area that rests below the dungeons. It's a series of extremely large rooms meant to hold created troops until they were needed.

For now, they were empty of everything but dust. All but two of the rooms, that is. One held Beauty, the great wyrm created for Ilea by Apollo, the last one to take her from Goh. She had smaller children that were constantly tunneling throughout Darkness Abounds. The perfect spies that would only give their information to Ilea.

The second room held a special troop of guards Ilea had been working on to protect her former Master. But she hadn't finished them yet. After the last incident, she was constantly working on these guards, wanting them to be absolutely perfect in an effort to please the one person she never could...

The rest of the basement was empty of everything but the dust left over from the dissolving of the troops Goh had created....  

[Red Gypsy]

Haeo

One moment, there was nothing but dust and ash on the floor. Then the shadows moved to a central point, spread out, and raised up. They held there for a moment then began to fade from Ilea as she moved herself and Shale with his force of golems into the room. Once she let the shadows go completely, she swayed on top of her mount.

It wasn't that she'd drained herself. Quite the opposite, actually. It was almost like a high to use the stronger power after such a long disuse of it.

One skeletal servant opened the door and gave a bone-rattling bow to them all then left to return to it's duties while leaving the door open for them all. Ilea blinked a bit and dismounted, staggering just a bit in the process before she found her legs again.

She patted the mount on the shoulder and looked up at Shale, "The mounts can take up the courtyard for the moment. There's plenty of space there. The remaining servants here were all created by me and will be no problem. Mostly bones like that one or better, cleaner undead for other jobs. There are a few living servants and guards, but not many and all easily dealt with. The servants will be frightened and easily commanded. The guards can either be killed off or bought off, your choice," she explained then lead the way to the open door.

She double checked on where she'd brought them in and gave a small nod before turning back to him, "We'll have to go up through the dungeons," she fidgeted a bit then but continued anyway, "There are cells that will have to be cleaned out, captives to be freed..." she warned him, not sure of the conditions she'd fine there but already knew that it wouldn't be a pretty sight.

She stopped fidgeting and continued on with what had to be said, "Avoid his study and private chambers until I can remove his protections from them. They're lethal unless you remove them in the right order. The lower chambers are empty but for two and the contents are harmless, they only answer to me," she finished then gave a small nod of encouragement for herself and turned on her heel to lead Shale through her home...  

[Haeo]

Red Gypsy

Shale paid attention and listened but he had a plan in mind already for dealing with the castle itself. It was the forces outside that could prove problematic. His eyes scanned the chamber, comparing it to his dream. Definitely the same structure but not the same room. Perhaps the setting was upstairs. Still, that was a matter for later.

"I want you to handle the take-over of this building. Keep in mind these priorities." He spoke clearly as he explained. "We must not advertise our presence. No battle. Death if necessary, but no battle. Any guards that will turn should be paired with a squad of golems to ensure their continued loyalty until it can be earned in truth. Living guards could be useful later, they can improvise and adapt better than golems. Any that appear likely to be more difficult should be dispatched by one of the golems. Their power should allow no human or simple demon to withstand even a single strike."

He walked to the center of the chamber and planted his staff on the ground. A spire of amber in the guise of entwined vines sprang from the spot to form a thick column from floor to ceiling. It glowed softly and grew leaves of living gold. Yet, its true nature was a portal to the Amber Forge. Those who had already been to the Forge could use it to cross back and forth. It also served as a remote interface so that Shale could craft copies of existing golems without leaving Darkness Abounds.

With a gesture, he called additional copies of the warrior type guardian golem. One after another they appeared, lining up silently to wait for orders. Yet, these were not for Ilea's mission. They were to be the first line of defense after she had succeeded. It was Shale's second gesture that brought forth the hunters. They seemed to be made of something akin to glass and were nearly transparent. Silent and swift, they moved to form up around Ilea. Each had a bow and a simple conjuration mark for high penetration arrows. No simple armor or shield would be able to either deflect or block such arrows. Even enchanted ones would find it difficult. They also had dagger-like blades that extended from their elbows but it was clear that they were designed for precision kills from afar and stealth above all.

"These Hunter golems are yours. You will be the Lady of this castle." Shale smiled at her with pride, and something warmer that he still lacked words for. "Take your home and make it yours." Through the bond there whispered the suggestion of celebrating in private once the matter of house cleaning was dealt with. "For now, I will withdraw to the forge. The golems I will need to control the countryside must still be designed and I cannot do that here." With no witnesses beside the golems he crossed the distance between them quickly pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers in a deep kiss as his fingers slipped beneath her leathers to caress her and his power slipped over her skin from the most sensitive parts of her scalp all the way to her toes, missing nothing along the way and carrying a hefty promise of exactly how well they would celebrate. Then, before he lost the will to do what had to be done, he broke free and flashed through the portal into the altered time of the Forge.

With his skills, it would not be long before he returned but he had left Ilea with ample resources. Dozens of Hunter golems had already appeared and more kept coming. Even if there was trouble, there was a large garrison building in that chamber. Those above would have no chance of actual victory, even if they had time to coordinate a defense. And, knowing Ilea as he did, Shale was certain that they would not.  

[Red Gypsy]

Haeo

Ilea's head spun from the kiss and the magical touch sent her senses reeling. She staggered back from him a bit when he let her go and had to lean against the wall until she could move without looking like a drunk. After a moment, she motioned the golems out ahead of her then pointed to two others, "Open all the unoccupied doors down here for the rest to move into as needed," she ordered simply.

Then she left the room to head up into the dungeon...

((Exit))  

[Haeo]

Red Gypsy

Shale wasn't gone long but returned alone. The golem was complete and already in mass production but he had no need for them just yet. He knew better than to tip his hand too soon. As soon as he appeared there were several things that he noticed all at once. First, the golem force was increasing according to schedule and there was no sign of trouble. Second, it was very quiet but there was something that he would have to look into later that was still nagging at the back of his mind. Third, and most immediately important, was that Ilea was above him and upset.

He walked quickly.


((Exit to Dungeon))  

[Red Gypsy]

Haeo

Ilea moved down into the subbasement and headed for one of the still-sealed rooms. She paused there briefly then pressed her hand to the door. She'd set up the door long ago to protect the contents so that she could work in peace. So the door was protected quite heavily.

The door under her hand heated up rapidly until she was biting her lip to keep from crying out over it. Another brief moment and it cooled just as fast and she was able to pull her hand away, leaving an imprint of her hand that smoothed away as the door swung open.

She cradled her hand briefly as the pain faded then moved inside to assess the contents of the room.

There were six of them, all sitting on bunks and looking at her. All of them were individuals in every sense of the word, though they were also all identical in purpose. She walked to each one and gave a nod of approval as they stood for her to look them over with her eyes and her necromancy.

After she'd checked the last one, she moved to the doorway and took in a deep breath then turned back to them, "Come... Your new master awaits..." she told them simply then led the from the room.

She took a bit of courage as they followed her in two rows, completely obedient to her for the moment. Once she gave them over to Shale, though, that would change. They would then be obedient to him in all but one aspect: they would protect only him.

That one piece had taken alot of work to put into them and she was adamant on it.


As she moved through the subbasement to the dungeon, a small green light moved out of the wall and hovered briefly, then disappeared again....