A good old gathering over breakfast.

“I really need to build some sort of alarming system.” Uklag mumbles as he walks out of his room, staff in hand, a new, clean, robe on him. “Like make some torches change colour or some stuff when I pull a leaver. Finding all the people I have under me now is really annoying….Ah, Zal, exactly where I expected you to be.”

Zal had heard his Master already but the First-Servant had long picked up on the fact that Uklag liked his monologues to remain exactly that. “Good morning, Master. How may I help you?” he greets with the usual bow. “Gather the people in the dining hall. All of them, put something good on the table we will have new food soon anyway.” “Right away, Master.” Zal bows a second time and starts walking off, “And send somebody to wake up Catherine.” He shouts after the bald man. “As you wish.”

“Or how about a sound system? Can I make stuff vibrate at the same frequency as my voice? Oh, that sounds like a thing I should try out, now I am sad I didn’t put that meeting on dinner instead.” Uklag muses to himself.

He sits in his broad chair for a long time, before the first person comes in. To Uklag’s surprise it’s Meltzer. “Hello, Boss.” The guy looked just as tired as always, but his dry smile has become surprisingly wide. “Ah, my treasurer. How are you fairing?”

“Pretty well, only thing bugging me is that I have to sleep in the same room as the slaves.” “Indeed. That is unbecoming of one of my core-members, lucky for you I have just the place, come to me after breakfast we have much to talk about anyway.” Meltzer nods and sits down at the right hand table. Then the rest of the gang arrives one after another. Uklag grins happily when his wives join him on the chair. “This place has certainly grown since we ‘adopted’ Celine.” Aelana says and looks around.

Zal and his favourites, according to Droy he calls them his maidens now, are busily running around the place to set everything up. The pleasure slaves sit in the back of the room. Meltzer sits alone at the right hand table and seems very content with that. On the left hand table Droy, Alratha and Celine are joint by a tired looking Catherine that finally arrived.

“Of all the things you could be bad at, you are bad at being awake.” Droy says and gets rewarded by the over-the-top sound that is Alratha going full insane laughter. “At the very least I can incinerate your arse.” Catherine answers and the banter continues until Uklag raises his hand to get the general attention. Silence only the sound of a few last plates getting put into place. Zal moves up the stairs and takes his usual place at the side of Uklag’s table.

“Thank you, Zal. Of course also thanks to your maidens.” The two of them bow, of the soldiers that had once defied him remained next to nothing. ‘Ah, the effect of condition their behaviour with a simple reward system. I love you ‘Psycholo Kompedi’’ Uklag thinks. “So, good news. Celine you no longer have to hunt, you can concentrate of being of service to your mistresses from now on.” The blonde looks very excited about that, as do the twins. “For the how that is possible, I believe Meltzer has already told you. But just to reinforce that: I have made a deal with some locals and now they will supply us in exchange for our baths and women. Meltzer I want you to work out some kind of schedule, I want at least one day where the baths are unused and a few hours every day where I can go into there alone, I don’t want to drown in dick.”

“Will do that, Boss.” “Very good. With the added traffic we need to expand our cleaning crew. Droy, Zal, when they visit us tomorrow I want you to pick out some worthy individuals and give them some reasons to change into our camps. For people that we deem unworthy, send them away. They can get angry at us for all they want but we have the local monopoly on whores and warm water so they will come to us all the same.” Zal and Droy both affirm their understanding and Uklag continues.

“With that out of the picture, let me tell you exactly what has happened over the last few days.” He retells the story that he told his three favourites already. “To put it short, I have the Orichalcum and there is some more of it west from here. I will hand out some mining equipment to Glenn’s people and urge them to find more, you can never dig too deep after all.

And that urges the next question: Which resource will I go for next? Well, I actually decided already. I will put as much time between me and any great mass of bark as possible and transporting blessed clay takes a load of preparation. So by crossing these two out of the picture I hereby declare the Dragonbone in the capital my last goal.”

Catherine coughs, “Yeah, about that.” She says. “I got curious and used my weekly trip to Brikstrat to gather some information on the matter. The Dragonbone has been moved around a year ago, to the treasure fort of Arlheim.”

Uklag makes a questioning face, “What now?” Stunned Silence. “Catherine, I am not all knowing just absolutely unbelievably smart. So what in the name of he-who-can’t-fly, my favourite Arch Demon, the King of Carnage, is Arlheim?”

Catherine speaks up. “Yes, sorry, Master. Arlheim is a fort to the north that guards some of the most sacred or feared artefacts the Queendom of Estara has managed to collect over the years. For example the Mace used by Queen Lydia the First is kept there. Because of its highly valued insides it is a fort that is kept well manned even in times of great piece, like we are currently experiencing. Some would even say that, besides the great border forts, Arlheim is the greatest fort in the land.”

“Oh, you seem pretty knowledgeable on the matter.” Uklag says, “I was stationed in the area, not the actual fort, when I went through the basic military training that is mandatory for mages that want to serve the army.” Catherine explains. “Good then you will come with me as well.” Uklag says and smiles, “Makes sense, I have to teach you some stuff anyway, on that note come to me after we ate, I want to check on your progress in Evocation and maybe talk about some demonology.”

Uklag waits until somebody asks the obvious question, Aelana takes the bait. “You said as well? Who will be going with you then?” Uklag smiles, “Oh, how attentive of you. Well, sadly I can’t take you two with me, it will be a long trip and the fort will have just as many people that can see through your Illusions than the capital. Seeing how this is a stealth mission taking an Albino in a captain’s wardrobe with me is just asking for attention. Zal stays here because I don’t trust you two, my dear wives, to keep the place clean while I am gone, this place will be drowning in sexual fluids at the end of the first day. On that note Zal, you will be getting a key to my room during my leave.”

Zal bows deeply. “I am honoured, Master.” “I can see that. So Celine stays because A. She is yours not mine and B. Droy will feel lonely without her. Meltzer is a new guy and also my treasurer, so keeping him away from the treasury defeats the purpose of having him in the first place and that leaves us with.”

Uklag points at the insanely grinning assassin in her black leather outfit. “The only person here actually equipped for and capable of stealth. Because I sure as hell am not I throw lightning.” Aelana sighs, “Okay, so you will go with the blood-whore and the book-whore. Got it.” They both take offense to that, but know better to do more than a little mumbling.

“When are you leaving then, Master Uklag?” Analea asks as her sister has taking up her old habit of pouting again. “I don’t know, I have some stuff to take care of and I want to try a few new enchantments I thought of. In a week is likely, but I have yet to decide.” Analea nods satisfied, a week is plenty of time to have some more good fucks.

“With all of that out of the way. We can eat.”

After the meal is done and Uklag has received a good old under the table blowjob from Analea, the warlock steps down from the upper level to the duo of Meltzer and Catherine that is already waiting for him. “You look like the unhappy couple out of one of these forbidden character dramas where the men aren’t all bad.” Uklag jokes.

Catherine with her braid, the black lipstick and the generally a bit arrogant expression and Meltzer with the dark bags under his eyes, the slightly slumped body language and the whole ‘I-absolutely-could-not-care-less’ attitude give of exactly that vibe. Well if it weren’t for the vehement denial he gets from both sides.

“I would never give myself to another man than you, Master…Unless you told me to of course.” Catherine says while Meltzer sticks with a simple, “Not my type, speaks too much.” They both follow Uklag into the servant’s quarter. “So, first things first, you get your own room with a soundproof door, because as Droy has ensured me when Alratha is not ‘praying’ aka masturbating she is laughing vehemently or holding a ceremony OR all of that at once. She is nice when you get to know her though.”

“I do doubt that, I don’t particularly like people.” “That reminds me of something.” Uklag looks at Meltzer, “Can you actually read? Because Droy had to get some help from Celine, Zal learnt it as part of being a drone but I don’t know about you.” Meltzer gives him a typically dry smile, “Yeah that is the reason I had to run in the first place. Mistress used her slaves to help her with some financing and when she to the feeling they knew too much she killed them. Had the luck of getting wind of that ahead of time. So I am pretty good at numbers and writing, I am not dumb enough to try and trick you, Boss.”

Uklag is happy with that explanation and walks straight to the last of the three rooms that he had dumped the Transmutation waste in. He is slightly annoyed by the fact that no one asks him what the giant pile of metal is doing here. “Dammit this was more fun the first time around.” He mumbles and kneels in front of the pile. “What kind of room do you want, Meltzer?” Uklag asks, “A comfy one, but befitting of a treasurer.”

‘Which translates to: Do what you want Boss, just don’t forget to give me a nice big couch.’ Uklag thinks with a sigh. The room transforms with the usual effect of liquid but solid matter. A desk of wood, a multitude of chests, stacks of paper, ink, pens, a nice comfy couch, a bed. “There.” Uklag says when he is done. “Now to your workload. Besides the schedule I want you to grab one of Glenn’s people to help you organize our stocks, Zal has enough to do already. Once you have done that come to and ask Droy accompany you, I want us to start and get some money flowing into this place.”

Meltzer looks around, the chests have locks made of gold, and similarly some of the other metallic parts are made of gold. “Can’t you just make money?” he asks, “And wreck the economy with hyperinflation? No, that is not how I role.” Uklag says and turns, “Have fun with this.”

“Now for us two.” Uklag says and walks towards the enchantment quarter. “We have a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong lesson in front of us, I need to improve your Evocation so I can teach you some advanced stuff.” “You NEED to do that?” Catherine asks, confused at his choice of words, “Yes, I need to do that because otherwise I will be bored out of my mind. Basic Evocation is so dull…”