SS - Chapter 25 - Fortified

Not going to lie, wrote myself into a corner with TBoB yesterday. Don't get me wrong, it's exactly where the plot needs to go, but I didn't think about HOW they'd look for the hive, or what they might run into while searching. Opps.

Might take me a little extra time today to come up with some ideas.

Also! I forgot to mention this when I initially posted, but I couldn't come up with a ton of internal upgrades (as you'll see). If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

“It’s a lot larger than I thought,” Selena muttered  as we slowly made our way towards the Citadel’s main gate. “It’s definitely more intimidating up close.”

I nodded, slowly taking in the sharp angles and high walls. At first I thought the bright white walls kind of took the edge of the structure, made it less threatening, but when we got up close I realized it actually added to the menace. This was a structure made of, and protected by magic, and it wasn’t going to be broken easily.

“The Iskel Citadel felt like a palatial estate, but this… this is a fortress,” I whispered. “But why the difference?”

“Maybe it adapts to the will of the royal family,” Camille suggested. “The only thing the Rothchild royal family cares about is themselves, so the Iskel Citadel became a pleasure palace, while you want to protect your people, so the Hoarfrost Citadel became a fortress.”

“I guess that’s possible,” I said, “We still don’t know much about the stones, but I have a feeling it’s more complicated than that.”

As soon as we got close enough I ran my hand across the nearest wall. The flawless white stone hummed slightly, and was warm to the touch. There was still some magic running through it, although I didn’t know if it was just residual charge or a feature of the Citadel. 

We slowly followed the strange star shaped walls around to the west side, to where the main gate was located. I couldn’t exactly say the structure was inviting, the front entrance had two massive portcullises and the walls were covered in arrow slits. I couldn’t help but notice that the two ‘arms’ of the star on both our left jutted out far enough to have a clear view of the gate, and they had ample room for additional archers or riflemen. If anyone wanted to attack the front gate they’d be stepping into a killzone.

When we finally approached the intimidating gate, I noticed there were half a dozen little figures standing guard in front of it. I was used to seeing the little maids running around, doing busy work and trying to be helpful, but these ones were still. Each unit each had two maids standing at attention, pikes held upright, with the third maid standing a couple steps behind, rifle at the ready. 

As soon as they noticed us the maids all threw a simultaneous salute, “Hup!”

“At ease!” Camille declared as she skipped up. The maids apparently accepted her as an authority because they immediately went back into their guard stance.

The area inside the walls was fairly barren, just a massive dirt covered courtyard surrounding the main keep. It seemed a little out of place, compared to how intricate the outer wall was. 

From here I could see there were dozens, maybe even hundreds of maids patrolling the area and manning the walls. They’d been building up steadily over the last two weeks, but always ran off to perform their duties as soon as they arrived. Only now, after seeing how many were garrisoning the Citadel, did I realize exactly how many must be running around. 

The keep itself was a massive rectangular block, sitting in the dead center of the compound. It had what I considered a more traditional castle design, with a rounded tower on each corner. Although I couldn’t tell them apart, based upon the design it was quite possible that the original tower that had been sitting here during the terraforming was integrated into the keep. 

“I was expecting something a little more…” Camille trailed off, trying to find the right word.

“Magical?” Selena suggested.

“Yes! Magical!” shouted declared, waving at the keep. “While the outer walls are impressive, this pretty much looks like every other border fort I’ve ever seen.”

“And I’m sure you’ve visited a lot of border forts in your time as a lady in waiting,” Selena said sarcastically.

“More than you’d think!” Camille declared. “As you’ve probably realized, Medea wasn’t exactly a typical lady of high society. We spent just as much time training, and visiting the fortifications, as we did in tea parties. As far as keeps go, this is pretty basic.”

“Let’s reserve final judgement until we take a look inside,” I said. “Who knows, it might surprise us.”

As I strode towards the front of the keep the maids at the door jumped into action. They grabbed the chains hanging down from the doors, three on each one, and pulled as a group. Even when working as a group the heavy wooden double doors took quite a while to open. Once the door cracked a little I could see there was another group of maids pushing them from the inside. 

“Thank you,” I said softly, as I stepped past the fully assembled, and saluting group.

The inside of the keep was nicer than I expected, the smooth whitestone gave the interior a more elegant manor feel, but it was still spartan. No draperies, no carpets, nothing. There was plenty of space, but the design was very utilitarian. The lower floor had a massive kitchen, mess hall and barracks area, along with a number of storage areas, while the upper floor had a number of suites. Moderate bedrooms with attached office and bath areas. 

“Boring! It’s exactly like a military outpost,” Camille moaned. “Where’s all the magical stuff?”

“I have no idea…” I muttered. “I did have an option to upgrade the Citadel in my system, maybe this is just the most basic version?” 

“What kind of upgrades?” Camille asked, bouncing up right next to me and leaning closer.

“I don’t know… Investigating hasn’t been a priority with everything else going on,” I replied, nudging her gently until she wasn’t as uncomfortably close. “I guess it can’t hurt to check now.”

Camille nodded enthusiastically, and attempted to lean forward again. I had to push her back with one hand just to have a little space.

Summoning my window under my breath I swiftly navigated to the domain tab, before tapping the Citadel upgrade option. A little subwindow popped open.

Citadel Upgrades:

Magic Available (20/100) [See current drains]

Change Citadel Form  [See Options]

Upgrade Citadel Walls  [See Options]

Increase Keep Size  [See Options]

Add Courtyard Upgrades  [See Options]

Add Keep Upgrades  [See Options]

“You can change the way the Citadel looks. I bet I know what’s in there,” Camille grinned. “Noble mansion, Royal palace, Castle, and whatever this is.”

“A bastion,” I confirmed, clicking on the option. “There’s also an options for a grand hall, and public assembly, otherwise right on.”

Camille pumped a fist in the air. “Well, that explains the difference. The Iskel Citadel must be set to castle.”

“Are you going to change it?” Selena asked from my other shoulder.

I paused for a moment, considering my answer, before finally shaking my head. “Maybe one day, but for now I’d rather have one massively secure location where we can evacuate everyone too in the case of an emergency. It’s not like I need creature comforts, I live in the back of the village hall right now.”

“When Siegward showed her the original plans for her house, she told him she’d rather stay in a tent permanently than waste the resources,” Camille whispered conspiratorially, leaning closer to Selena. “You could hear the two of them arguing on the opposite side of the village. Guess who won?”

“Most people didn’t even have houses, I wasn’t going to let them build a massive lodge I didn’t need!” I explained, flipping back to the previous menu and diving into the Keep Upgrades.

Keep Upgrades:

Magic Available (20/100) [See current drains]

Add Cold Room [See Options]

Add Escape tunnel [See Options]

Add Decoration [See Options]

Fortify Keep Walls

Change Sanctum access point [See Options]

Change Internal Structures [See Options] 

Not many exciting upgrades there, boring,” Camille pouted.

“Still have a couple useful options. It might add more options later, if I increase the keep size, or change its form,” I replied changing over to the courtyard options.

Courtyard upgrades:
Magic Available (20/100) [See current drains]

Locations available (7/7)

Create Siege workshop [See Options]

Create Engineering Workshop [See Options]

Create Barracks [See Options]

Create Alchemy Lab [See Options]

Create Arsenal [See Options]

Create Forge [See Options]

Create Magic Tower [See Options]

Create Training Grounds [See Options]

Create Warehouse [See Options]

Create Create Resource Node [See Options]

“That’s much better!” Camille declared. “Look at those options!” 

“I would have expected some sort of beautification options,” Selena mumbled. “Gardens, greenhouses, gazebos…”

“Honestly it’s probably because of the form. Since this is the most military Citadel design, it has military themed buildings. The more social versions probably have more of those options,” I said. “Iskel castle did have a mage tower, but most of the grounds were covered in gardens.”

“I prefer Alchemy, potions for everyone!” Camille cheered.

“Yeah, but there are no options for herb gardens,” Selena pointed out, immediately taking the wind out of the girls' sails.

“So… each form must have its own advantages and disadvantages,” I said. “I’ll have to see if I can find a list of the different facilities in the reference.”

“Are you going to order anything upgrades? You have the spare magic,” Camille asked.

“Not until I do research. I don’t want to invest weeks into producing some facilities, then decide to change the Citadel’s form and get them all torn down again. Best to wait.”

“Awww… that’s no fun,” Camille pouted.

“I’m less worried about fun, and more worried about supporting the hundreds of people that are going to show up on our doorstep in a week or two,” I replied grumpily. “It’s probably better to leave a little surplus anyways, I don’t want to get caught investing all my magic into a project when I need it for something again.”

“Fair enough,” Camille chirped. “So… back to the village.”

“Are you really incapable of dwelling on anything for more than a second?” Selena grumbled. “Seriously, you go from topic to topic so fast, I feel like I’ll get magical backlash trying to follow you.”

“It’s part of my charm,” Camille smiled, before skipping towards the gates. “Home we go!”