Real World...

Kevin opened his eyes and slowly sat up. His body was sore and he felt like he had not gotten much sleep but he was back in the real world. "Ahh, Kevin glad you are awake. We pulled you out about an hour ago and if you are ready we can get started. We are thinking we can walk and talk to exercise your muscles and make sure everything is working correctly."

"When can I head back in?" Kevin asked the Doctor as several med techs scrambled around him checking various feeds from monitors

"After we finish the questions and get some real food in you, we will put you under. Other members of your group are still asleep and should be waking within the next hour or two. So, if you will follow me, we can get your questioning started." the doctor replied as they walked out of the lab. As Kevin walked into the Cafeteria he saw Marc with another man. When they saw him they waved him over. "So, how are you feeling? Still, know the difference between reality and the game world?" Marc asked as Kevin sat down.

"Of course I do. I can honestly say that people will love the long term immersion option that you guys are going to have a lot of people lining up for the option to go in." Kevin responded.

"Well, we are glad you like it. I will make sure the Board of Directors know that you are enjoying the Tech. I am Max, by the way, consider me the middle man between you and the Board." Max said as he introduced himself.

Kevin shook the mans hand, "Well, relay and thank for giving all of us this option and protecting us from the Big 10. I am sure they are looking for us."

Both men looked at each other before Max responded, "Don't worry about them. The Board has made sure that the leadership of every major guild knows to leave you alone. They will not be a problem in or out of the game for now. Now we have ordered various foods for you since I know you are required to eat some solid foods before going back under. The remaining Alpha Group members should be joining us in a little bit."

"Thank you for ordering food. So why are you here Max? What do you guys want to know?" Kevin asked.

Max smiled before responding, "Honestly, we want to know why you choose to support the Queen and why you continue to support her? We know you have begun to mend fences with her, why?"

"She is the Queen and as weak as she is politically, she has more political power then I do. What else could I do?" Kevin asked and Max's face twitched a little.

Max, nodded his head in acknowledgment. "True she is the current Queen. Well, we just wanted to point out that you have the support of your neighbors and the Non-Aggression treaty is contingent upon you. It all is on you and their Alliances are contingent upon you. Moving on...Do you have any questions for us about anything?"

"Yeah, in the fortress interface it shows the Kingdom as the Tomb of Eternal Night, why isn't it the Empire of Night?" Jacob asked and Marc immediately responded.

"To have a kingdom or empire requires you to control a certain number of people and land. To control the land, you have to build fortresses or control the ones already there. Only the Overminds know the exact formula for what is required, but controlling cities, towns, and fortresses go toward it. Having subject nations does help in that formula, so keep that in mind for the future." Marc responded.

"Ok, thanks for the info. Now, what is the story about the Titans and the Blood Lord?" Kevin asked which caused both men to flinch this time.

Max responded though, "According to in-game Lore, the Titans were once part of the Pantheons but a civil war caused them to be cast out and now they are considered Forgotten Ones. Although immensely powerful still, they are no longer part of either Pantheon. We will confirm that the Blood Lord existed at one time, but beyond that, you will have to figure out the rest on your own. We would highly suggest you complete the Blood Lord set to help secure your factions and guilds future. Next?"

For the next hour Kevin and Max asked questions or made a suggestion and before he knew it Kevin was given the all-clear to head back in. "Next time you come out we are going to have the Doctors ok a longer-term inside, we will have news in one weeks time about that. About a month for you in game time. Good luck Kevin, remember you are the one that rallied all the support. Not the Queen." Max said as the Techs led Kevin away.

Fortress of Midnight

Personal Quarters

As Jacob opened his eyes several pop-ups came into being alerting him of everything that had happened while he was away.

Construction Complete...

Spoiler: Spoiler Major Construction...

Chapter House of Balance (LVL 1)

Master of the Order: Thelgrum

Priestess: Traya

Inhabitants: 0/30

Durability: 5000/5000

Description: This Chapter House is a first, but hopefully it will not be the last for the Paladins of Balance. This Order was founded by Thelgrum Orcbane under the direction of the Primordial Power of Balance. Unlike other Paladins, they do not judge based on the Pantheons or race, but on the choices people make. Only time will tell if the Order will die in its infancy or thrive and grow as other Orders have.

Bonus: Thelgrum Orcbane was once a Paladin of Moradin before a campaign the god blessed ended with the death of children. Even though they were racial enemies of his people, it was too much for Thelgrum Orcbane, so he left his people and his order behind losing himself to the Underdark. He later found a new path and became the first Paladin of Balance ever (Increases both Experience gained by locals +10%, trained by Thelgrum and the order Paladins will fight harder and longer to protect this place). Random Locals will seak out this place to learn and be taught as new Paladins or Priests until the Chapter House has reached its limits.

Minor Construction...

Moselium (LVL 1)

Durability: 1000/1000

Description: The Moselium is a place where the honored dead are entombed and left so that their descendants might visit (Decreases death timer from 12 to 8 hours and decreases death sickness time from 30 minutes to 20 for Immortals).

Animal Pen (LVL 1)

Animals: 36 Anglo-Backs, 6 Void-Wolfs

Durability: 500/500

Description: The Animal Pen will help keep your domesticated animals contained and controlled (Increases reproduction rates of animals by 25%, health and wellness of domesticated animals is increased).

Quest Complete: The Order of Balance

Description: You have fulfilled the demand Balance made and constructed a new home for the emerging Paladin order. Honor them and remember that everything requires Balance in this world.

Rewards: 2000 Fort Experience, Hammer of Balance

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Hammer of Balance

Level: Artifact, Unique, Scalable (LVL 1)

Damage: 50-65

Properties: Increases all stats by 10%

Properties: Upon striking the target, the bearer of this weapon his a 50% chance of being healed by half the damage dealt.

Properties: Upon striking the target, the target has a 10% chance of being Judged and receiving 5% more damage from all sources for 1 minute (cooldown 30 seconds, stacks 3 times)

Properties: Ability Unlocked: Judgement of Balance (24 Hour Cooldown)

Durability: 1000/1000

Requirement: Paladin of Balance, LVL 10, Strength 20, Constitution 20, Wisdom 20, Soulbound to the Orders leader

Description: This Hammer was crafted by the Primordial power of Balance for the very first Paladin of Balance, Thelgrum Orcbane. It has hidden properties that will be discovered with time and as it gains strength.

World Alert...

The Order of Balance has come into existence, let all know that the Paladins of Balance judge those based on actions and NOT if they are of the Light or Darkness. Be warned.

World Alert...

Alert...

Your R&D efforts have yielded the Blue Prints for...Platinum/Titanium Mine LVL 2...See your Interface or Fortress Engineer about the plans.

For accruing over 20,000 Fortress Experience, you can now build 2 Major and 2 Minor Construction jobs ongoing.

Alert...

The flurry of alerts bombarded Jacob, but he was glad that the World Alert did not point to his home or his people. Having the ability to have more than one Major construction job ongoing was a huge boon to his fortress and people. Time for him to get back to work, he lost a whole day here because of the mandatory check-in. Based on the sounds coming from Hall everyone was up and about and Jacob had to try and get on the road and deal with the Cult. Suddenly he heard a scream and crash.

Coming into the main hall he saw a Human that had a dagger to Eiloma's throat. 6 others were with him, each with some weapon or implement holding the Dawn Guard at bay. "We want to go home. We don't belong down here and you all are going to help us get home or you are going to die..." Jacob didn't even think, he dashed forward and slammed Moonlight through Humans' head. The other attackers turned at the sound of their leaders dying and the Dawn Guard took advantage of their distraction lunging forward and quickly killing or subduing the remaining idiots.

"Those that are alive, restrain them and we will send them to the Tomb. Now, can someone tell me what the fuck happened? I was gone one day and I come back to a hostage situation." Jacob asked as he looked around at the Hall. 2 had survived the Guards lightning assault and subjugation. The rest either died immediately or were currently bleeding out.

"It was that idiot human that thought we could get him home just because we rescued them. It seems he was able to recruit some other disgruntled survivors and managed to get their hands on some basic weapons mylord. I apologize they managed to enter the Hall armed like that. I will implement a rule that only those of the Dawn Guard or Tomb Guardians may enter armed from now on." Thorgron responded will bowing before Jacob.

"I trust you, Captain, to do what is best. If any of the Guards are injured make sure they receive healing immediately and get those two out of my Fortress before I decide to have them for breakfast. You two, because of your actions and decisions, will never see the surface again. You will forever be bound to the Pit only working the lowest of jobs and never Bonded to a House." Jacob said as he glared at the Wood-Elf and Dwarf.

Alert...

You have cast your first judgment, your people will hear of your proclamation and will enforce your will. Be careful not to be too harsh for you might seed the very trouble you are trying to prevent.

Crime is something every settlement will eventually have no matter how large or small of a settlement. Due to your swift actions, the chance that a crime will be committed has decreased

Alert...

Eiloma was still staring at the body, "Eiloma, are you alright? He had a knife at your throat, you could have done very little."

The High-Elf Vampire quickly shook herself and started directing some of the Dawn Guards to drag the bodies out, "I am aware of what I could or could not do Lord Longstrider. I do not appreciate you telling me that."

Jacob was a little surprised at her reaction and quickly grabbed her hand before she could move away, "Mylord, people will see and.."

Jacob cut her off, "I care for very few peoples opinions about me, you are one of them. Now, what is wrong? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I am fine. He just reminded me where I was before you found me. I just wanted to go home too and then you found me and made me feel welcome. This is my home now and I couldn't act against him because he wanted to go home." Eiloma responded while staring at the corpse.

Jacob pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek, "If I could have taken him home, I would have. When he choose to harm my people though to try and get what he wanted, he became an enemy. I will always chose my family and do what is necessary to protect them. Do not feel too sad Eiloma, he would have killed you to get what he wanted." Jacob gently forced Eiloma to look at him, "Do you understand that?"

She nodded and hugged him harder before stepping away.

City of Ineford

Soldier Street-Broken Vow

Darren watched as the Portal close as the last of the 10 new recruits went through it, with them half of the armor they had ordered. Since they were stepping up the time table, Jacob had also increased the number he wanted to be sent home every other day. Darren and the other Rogues had been able to get the routines of all the targets down and the first 3 targets would be hit today. They would use a slow acting poison that would kill a target within 24 hours so the deaths would not be directly linked to their group. Darren actually missed the Fortress of Midnight and its people there. In the 2 years since he had joined Fate, he had very few homes and that place was something he considered home.

Chalxae waited for him staring after the Portal with longing while drumming her fingers on her dagger hilts. "What is wrong?" Darren asked her before he went back inside the Inn.

"Something happened earlier, blood was shed and He killed someone He didn't want to. It involved one of my sisters and they are both angry for some reason. My instincts are to go back but my orders are to stay...It frustrates me." Chalxae stated before turning back toward the Inn. The lithe beauty had been hit on by almost every male that resided at the Broken Vow and everyone had been turned away by words or daggers. It had been a challenge almost to see how close they could get before she drew blood. Darren considered pulling out the communication stone to try and figure what was going on with Jacob but they had their own problems here. The armed standoff the Sisters had incited over a month ago was back in effect but this time it was caused by Jacob.

It was split between two groups, one who wanted to join and those who wanted to go down fighting. At first, those that wanted to fight had been the majority but whatever the joiners were stating were winning over votes and the ratio had drastically changed over the last 24 hours since Darren had left. Darren was curious what side Lord Merchant Dudrik Goldflint was on and Darren was tempted to check with the Merchant Lord, but they had too many responsibilities and his presence could affect the vote. They always had their back up plan in place, one that was a long shot but with the way Jacobs luck had turned he would not be surprised if it worked. Those were thoughts for another day, it was time to hunt and kill.

Fortress Ill'Gargon

Lady Amada Illinn looked down at the pens that contained the hundreds of slaves that awaited transport to various parts of the Underdark. If it was far-flung Duergar Clans or one of the 8 clans of the Drow nation, it did not matter. Ill'Gargon sent hundreds of slaves throughout the Underdark every year and was very remote, but its remoteness protected it and made it vulnerable without the Portal Pad. It was the only way reinforcements could arrive if anything ever happened here. Lady Illinn heard her bedroom open and close and new her Swordmaster had finally returned from the War Room. "Well, what happened?"

"I am sorry, but I only bring bad news Lady Illinn. We lost contact with two more of our Outposts and three of our spies in Ineford have gone silent. The others are nervous and have requested to be pulled from the city. They believe something has happened with the Merchants Council because fighting might break out in the city any day. They cannot report why though because the Council is in closed sessions." the Swordmaster finished.

"I do not care what they have to do, order them to find out what is going on with the Merchants Council. Whoever finds out will be pulled from the city, that should give them the proper incentive to find out what is going on. Send scouts to confirm that those Outposts are gone as well. Now go and come back here once you have relayed my orders, I need some stress relief." Amada said as she turned back toward the view. She did not see the Swordmaster snarl as he left her room. The last Swordmaster that had helped her relieve some stress had been carried away in pieces. He had avoided that fate for 2 years so far and he would not die at her hands.