Chapter 66: Book 1: Chapter 24 (Part 2 of 3)

Congratulations! You are the leader of a new faction and settlement. As the ultimate leader of the faction, how would you like to be referred to? How would you like designated leaders of settlements within this faction to be referred to? Lawless settlements may change this designation at will.

As it appeared that I could change the terminology whenever I wanted, I didn’t spend long making this decision. The Kraken King for me and Kraken Lords for anyone I designated as a leader of another settlement under my control.

We have detected that you are an adherent and principal actor for a deity, the Shattered Goddess. Would you like to dedicate this settlement in her name?

This will increase her influence within and around the settlement while decreasing the influence of other deities.

Again, not much of a choice if I wanted to complete the quest and follow through with my pledge. I selected yes.

Finally, would you like to keep this settlement’s former name St James Township or give it another?

It was nice that it was letting me know the process was almost done, I had started to believe I would be here forever.

I had nothing against St James Township, but it didn’t really suggest the right tone. I may have referenced the Kraken in my title but something like Pyke, while perhaps impressive to off-worlders, would just make me seem like an unoriginal fanboy hack to any local rivals.

I typed in Khaos Keep and accepted the confirmatory prompt.

Yes, I really did like alliteration.

<Quest ‘The Corsair’s Canon 4’ completed. 20,128 XP awarded. Equipment Cuirass of the Bound, Shattered Gauntlets and Drainer’s Whip awarded. Settlement Khaos Keep has been automatically upgraded to Town status. Hidden bonus, all unoccupied or available buildings within Khaos Keep’s sphere of influence are now owned by Torin Carter. Capital Slave Market, Capital Black Market, Capital Shield Generator, Capital Palace, Capital Dockyard, Capital Plexus Gateway and Secret Undersea Trove built. You have also incurred Sholmdir’s ire.>

We all stumbled as the ground beneath our feet shuddered. Many of the surrounding buildings, roads, and landscape, including the school beside us, collapsed in on themselves and rising from the ground were several massive structures that replaced them.

Amazingly this only took, maybe ten seconds. This was particularly awe-inspiring as before us, replacing the school, its car park and much of the land nearby was a grand crenelated castle. The castle was huge, the outer wall was made of large dark grey bricks, but the towering palatial buildings inside were made from gleaming marble of various hues.

The palace hadn’t just replaced the school, the exterior walls extended for at least half a kilometre further back. The castle walls had also spread deep into the island, it had to be as wide, if not wider, as it was long.

In fact, what had been the school was now just a covered gatehouse that led to a drawbridge as the heavily fortified Palace was surrounded by a dry moat. Although if this massive stronghold extended as far inland as I suspected, it had to reach Font Lake, so that moat might not be dry for much longer.

Our eyes were drawn away from the epic arrival in front of us by a cacophonous rushing sound coming from the bay. We ran down to the shore to see what apocalyptic event was happening there and saw that water was surging into the bay at great speed creating a swirling whirlpool at its centre.

“What the fuck is happening Quix?” I yelled over the near-deafening sound of frantically thrashing fluid.

<What is happening is that the Shattered Goddess really didn’t skimp on these new buildings> Quixbix started. <They are Capital level, Torin. You’ve seen what that means with your new Stronghold-cum-Palace. She has also given you a Capital Dockyard. Well, the bay isn’t large enough for a structure of that size, so the Framework had to excavate down to accommodate and has created many levels of subterranean docks.

<The maelstrom you see before you is water from the lake pouring into the sudden extra space. The excavated area will fill shortly and then the surface will calm down again.>

“I’m guessing this isn’t normal, Quix,” I understated.

<No, not even remotely. You shouldn’t be able to build Capital level buildings in a settlement that is only a Town at all. They also cost a frigging fortune, seriously, nobody on Earth should be in a position to buy even one of these buildings for years, if not decades, and you have six, not including the Trove> he said in a conflicted tone.

Quixbix didn’t need to give a reason for his conflicted description as Anastasia whispered loudly. “Every greedy fucker on the planet is going to want this place when they find out.”

<Not just this planet> the imp added unhelpfully.

I felt him mentally prod me to stare out to the bay. Several hundred metres out from the bay was a vast semi-circular structure made from the same crystal as my ship. The plexus gate was very reminiscent of a stargate from the eponymous movie, except much, much, larger and without the chevrons. There was a stone building, with a large platform on its roof that connected the gate to the island about halfway along my new Palace walls.

The platform element ended at the shoreline. The building, which I thought of as an arrival terminal also led to the stronghold walls where a second very heavily armoured gatehouse was sited.

I analysed the gateway quickly.

 

Khaos Keep Plexus Gate (Capital)

A gate for travelling to other gates within the Plexus network using the Plexus Gate’s Mana.

Owner: Shattered Storm (Khaos Keep)

Access: Shattered Storm members and Khaos Keep residents.

Gate Status: Hidden (Only the Gate’s owner and those with authorisation may pass through. The existence of the Khaos Keep is withheld from the wider Plexus network.)

Mana Pool: 10,000,000/10,000,000

Status: Earth Plexus Gate destinations only. Earth Plexus conduits are currently not connected to the wider Darkwyrlds network. (There are no other revealed gates on Earth currently.)

Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000

You are reading story Corsairs & Cataclysms at novel35.com

 

I looked out across my new settlement. There were two very large, though not nearly as large as the Palace, buildings that had sprung up in the town. One was over on the other side of the bay on the hook portion of land. The second had formed in the area where the post office used to be. I analysed these as well. The one nearest the Palace was the Capital Black Market.

 

Khaos Keep Black Market (Capital)

Black Markets are connected to and act as regular markets with the addition that illicit goods can be sold through them. Sold items can be collected in person or transported via the Plexus network using the Black Markets Mana.

This is a Prime market.

Owner: Shattered Storm (Khaos Keep)

Access: Shattered Storm members and Khaos Keep residents.

Mana Pool: 1,000,000/1,000,000

Status: Other Earth Markets only until Earth Plexus conduits are connected to the wider Darkwyrlds network. (Currently 15 regular Markets +2 Black Markets)

Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000

 

And the building on the other side of the bay.

 

Khaos Keep Slave Market (Capital)

A Slave Market is for the sale of those bound by collar, contract, or conviction into indentured service. Purchased slaves can be collected in person or transported via the Plexus network using the Slave Markets Mana.

This is a Prime market.

Owner: Shattered Storm (Khaos Keep)

Access: Shattered Storm members and Khaos Keep residents.

Mana Pool: 1,000,000/1,000,000

Status: Other Earth Slave Markets only until Earth Plexus conduits are connected to the wider Darkwyrlds network. (Currently 2)

Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000

 

I’d like to tell you I was shocked that mine wasn’t the first slave market built on Earth, but I wasn’t. At the beginning of the week, I may have been conflicted about this, but I’d changed significantly and made a pledge that would be very difficult to complete.

For that, I would need to build a significant power base of my own and that would require people. Buying those without a choice could prove much easier than convincing the free willed to join me. Either way, it was another option at my disposal and as Quixbix said, a freebie is a freebie. And these appeared to be big fucking freebies.

There was also a third smaller domed building, which, unlike the Palace walls and Markets which were built from dark grey bricks, was made from the black crystal.

 

Khaos Keep Shield Generator (Capital)

Provides a protection field up to level 50

Owner: Shattered Storm (Khaos Keep)

Access: Only those authorised by Torin Carter

Mana Pool: 1,000,000/1,000,000

Status: Shield limited to level 30 by the settlement size. Upgrades for City and Capital level shielding have been paid for and will be available when the settlement is upgraded. (Shield not currently activated.)

Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000

You can find story with these keywords: Corsairs & Cataclysms, Read Corsairs & Cataclysms, Corsairs & Cataclysms novel, Corsairs & Cataclysms book, Corsairs & Cataclysms story, Corsairs & Cataclysms full, Corsairs & Cataclysms Latest Chapter