A minion is a minion...

"Um... sure?" You say as you grab the stick. The badger lets out a grunt in happiness before a popup appears.

Wild badger has joined!
Got a minion! +8 (Expanded)
Got a minor minion! +1
First time bonus! +5
Adoration recruitment! +2
(!) New Material:
1x wood, Oak

Fame: 355

"That's a fair amount of fame. I wonder..." You tail off before opening your character sheet. Its the same as before, but at the very bottom is a tab you neglected to noticed. Its labeled fame. Clicking on it, you are presented with a large list of mostly greyed out question marks. But, what is uncovered is most helpful.

Fame: 355

Elven leigelord 1/10 (Unique racial ability): 20 fame
Rumors have started to sway the local monster population to your banner. Each day, there is a small chance that local creatures will spontaneously convert to your side and ask to join you. Increases the odds of positive Diplomatic checks with other monster tribes. You may also receive gifts from monsters seeking to stave off your wrath or gain your favor.
Empower minion
Grants a boost towards a single minion's stats. Each empowerment requires more fame.
Evolve Minion
Warning, minion must be at least level 10. Evolve a minion into a more powerful form. Fame cost dependant on minion.
Summon lair minion (0/10): fame dependant on minion
Summons a minion which cannot leave your claimed land. Summoned minions will respawn some time after being destroyed, or can be brought back instantly for a minor fee. Minions (Expand)

"Hm." You think to yourself as you re-enter your lair. The badger is right behind you and it looks around, interested in its new home. You stop when you are right next to the back of the cave.

Opening up the building menu, you decide to change up your game plan. Last night scared the crap out of you, and without your unknown patrons help, you probably wouldn't have survived. Cancelling the current plan you start fresh on your lair. First you make the entrance bigger, now 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide, giving you much more breathing space. You then stratecically place a few holes in the caves facade, allowing airflow and entry and exit for any small critters. Then you start shaping the path to the main chamber. The first part goes down about twenty feet in a natural decline, for about a hundred feet before branching off. One side goes the correct way while the other splits off another sixty feet in. Those two branches lead to abrupt ends, one a rough dead end around a corner, the other a sheer thirty foot drop with a facade on the other side to make it look like it keeps going.

The main path swirves to the side before curving around and branching once more. This branch leads to a small open cavern where you hope to have something unpleasent waiting for adventurers in the future. The true path ends after another curve roughly 100 feet, where a stone arch will be waiting. There it leads to the actual dungeon, so far, just a circular room. But that will be enough for now, and you have a few other things you have planned that takes priority before the rest of the dungeon. You quickly look at the entrance to your little hidyhole, and while the waterfall makes good camouflage, the path up is relatively easy to spot. You decide to place two large stone doors that swing into the cave at the entrance, hoping that it will help deter any would be raiders. Even if they would be a pain to open yourself.

Stone doors material requirements:
40 stone
10 ore (any)

Before you head out you decide to spend some fame to help make things easier. First you buy another level in leigelord, hoping it will increase your standing with the population around you. Then comes the fun part. After searching through all the possible summons, you decide on summoning two very basic elementals. A Shadow, and a Pebble golem.

Fame: 105

The two elementals start to form before your very eyes. The already dark room, grows darker as a black inky being coalesces on the cavern wall, its shape vaguely humanoid. This is your sentry, at least for the cave entrance. In this light, the shadow is nearly impossible to notice, but once your in the light it is quite visable. The other added benefit to its form is it's speed. It can quickly change its form into something faster and race towards the maim entrance, warning any minion in its path, giving ample time for them to prepare.

Next to it, the spare rocks around the cave seem to have moved together until it formed a small two legged humanoid only a few feet tall. It's head sticks out from it's chest, and its hands have three small fingers sticking out. This was the most expensive of the bunch, costing you a hundred and fifty fame. But the price was worth it, as it is stronger than its weaker cousin the dust golem. It could propell its hands and reshape them from the earth into more suitable weapons, while also taking some damage before it collapses. And in case of emergency, it looks just like a pile of rocks.

"Shadow, guard the door. If anyone other than me or this badger appears, inform the pebble golem of it before hiding yourself. Pebble golem, you are to being excavation of the lair. I want you to follow the basic design of what i created, but you are allowed a bit of creative freedom, add stalagmites, crevasses in the walls, bumps on the floor, make it look natural. Just don't add anything major like add another path or anything. Understood?"

Both elementals give a nod before assuming their duties. The shadow changes form into that of snake and slides up above the entrance, essentially hidden from almost everything. The pebble golem glances down at its hand before the stony appendage starts to rotate at a relatively fast speed. It then slams it's hand into the wall, creating a horrible sound that leaves you holding your bleeding ears. You quickly grab your new badger minion and leave the cave.
"Our job for today, is to gather materiels. Got it?" The badger lets out a grunt as the two of you saunter down the path. You arrive in the same hills that you had harvested from the previous day to see that the boulders had returned.

It seems your level up has helped you quite a bit. You still have no idea about the skill penalty, but your content for the moment as your harvest speed has over tripled. For the next several hours you harvest the boulders, getting a large amount of stone and ore.

Harvesting: Skill penalty, Tool Penalty, Harvest speed 20%
(!) New material:
(!) 1x Gemstone ???

"This could be useful. Too bad i can't tell what kind it is." You say before sending it to your lairs inventory. "Badger?" You call out. It appears from behind a boulder, mouth full of materials. "That's disgusting." The badger drops its loot in front of you, and with a grimace you accept it into your stockpile.

"You any good at hunting?" You ask. The badger just stares at you, unable to comprehend your question. You rub your temple in annoyance before motioning for it to follow you. After a few minutes the two of you are staring at an open hill, devoid of boulders, but teeming with jack rabbits. The badger is nearly jumping in excitement at the thought of food, but you manage to rein it in long enough to come up with a plan.

The badger is now on the opposite side of the hill from you, and without your spear, this is going to be much harder than usual. You pull out your two throwing knives and start rushing the rabbits, channeling them towards the badger. The badger lets out a yip as it jumps from its position, sinking its teeth into a hare's jugular. You quickly throw your knives, killing another rabbit and missing another. The badger has moved on and already taken down another rabbit. In the end you have five dead rabbits. You quickly skin them and cut the meat off of four of them, letting the badger consume the last one, hopefully keeping it content for the day.

"That's a pretty good haul for today. Lets grab some wood and head home." You quickly enter the forest and spend about an hour picking up branches off the forest floor. Luckily this doesnt trigger any kind of debuff to harvesting. As you finish up, the forest grows quite, unnaturally so. You grab your badger friend and quickly hide behind some thick underbrush just in time for a few zombies to wander through your area. "What the hell is up with the undead in this area?" You whisper. One of the zombies stops and looks around, seemingly to have heard you. You slap you hand over your mouth.

The zombie stares into the underbrush for a moment before it continues onward with it's horde. After a few minutes, the forest returns to it's more cheerful tone. You decide not to risk it and hurry back to your cave. When you do, you decide to ask the nymph about the undead.

"Water nymph? Are you there?" A few moments later the nymph's head immerges from the water.

"Yes Yazas?" She asks.

"Sorry to bother you, but do you know what the deal is with all the undead around here?" You ask.

"They moved in a few days before you showed up. Now their one of the bigger factions in the area." She says rather bored.

"One of the bigger factions? But what about the Raven King and Daemon Lord?" You ask.

"According to a friend of mine, those boss's territories end about three days in the direction you came from. And as an added buffer that human settlement stops any encroachment in this direction." She explains before returning to the water. You sigh, she must still be upset about last night. When you arrive at the top of the path you see a small pile of stones gathered up outside your archway. After gathering them up you enter your home to see that the renovations have been coming along quite well. The first chamber has been resized and looks more natural, and the cave system path appears to be progressing nicely. You can barely hear the pebble golem's ear piercing noise now, sounding similar to a fly going about the room.

You return to the archway and click on it once more.

Add Stone doors to Lair Entrance?
Available resources:
206 stone
27 copper ore
1 gemstone ???
34 wood, oak
(!) 3 wood, pine
Required resources:
40 stone
10 ore (any)
Add Stone doors? Y/N.

You hit yes and two ethereal stone doors appear in the entranceway. Deducing that this was similar to harvesting and renovating, you quickly start hitting it with your hand, allowing a small green progress bar to appear.

Building: Skill bonus, Tool penalty, building speed : 5%

"Oooooh that's what Stonemason is actually for." You finally realize. When ever you craft something from stone, you get a bonus. You tap the door twenty times, only for the first door to appear without its twin. The other door is still ethereal, but this does give you a better chance to observe your new doors. They seem to be carved from stone, instead of made of blocks, and two large copper door knockers will rest right in the middle. You experimently give the handle a tug, only for the door to stay shut. After applying all your strength the door budges slightly open. Hopefully your next level will give you more strength.

But this is exactly as you had envisioned. Any hero with lower strength will have a much harder time entering your dungeon. Unless they explode the door open. But there isn't anything you can do for that right now. By the time you finish the second door the sun is already setting. You close the door, greatful that the golem added those smaller holes to the wall already. You eat some rabbit meat, still raw, but it fills you up. You quickly fall asleep, your badger minion next to you, the light hum of your golem working lulling you to sleep.