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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FitzTheRuke" data-source="post: 7850909" data-attributes="member: 59816">NEXIVM7N7 rebooted standing in the middle of Julkoun's town square. His sudden movement after days of inactivity startled the locals, who scattered before him. He immediately began to help wherever he could be useful, carrying lumber and holding up a wagon while its wheel was replaced. After a few days of doing useful odd-jobs, just when the Julkounians had grown used to his help, he calculated that he would like to build some things for himself. The best tools and parts were not in Julkoun - they were in Gwaereth's old laboratory in Daggerford.Without a word, N7 stopped what he was doing in Julkoun, and he marched out one of the town's gates, surprising Lady Morwen's guards. Unlike the others, who had taken the road or the river, N7 followed the exact path they had taken to get to Julkoun (in reverse) - through the Laughing Hollow and the southern foothills of Mount Illefarn. He passed by the watchtower that overlooked the old switchback-road, and again it was filled with orcs. With no one to protect but himself, N7 walked right past. The orcs hunkered down and took a few shots at him with stone-launching crossbows, but they did minimal structural damage as he passed.N7 returned to the Ducal Castle, and to Gwaereth's Laboratory. Trista, the aging court mage was there, and she congratulated N7 on his victory in Julkoun and then stayed out of his way as he sent her servant to procure any materials that he needed that were not already there. He made some new armaments, and a new orb.At night, because Trista had asked him to stop banging away in the laboratory (her rooms were nearby), he scoured the Library for any information about where he had been built. He knew he would recognise it when he saw it, either in a drawing, or named on a map, but he could not bring it to mind. Nor could he find any reference in Gwaereth's Library. The information was simply not here.Duke Maldwyn learned that N7 had returned to his castle, and he demanded that the accomplished Shield Guardian be made his personal bodyguard. With nothing more to be done at the time, N7 agreed, and he stood vigilantly in the court hall as various tedious matters were attended to. N7's sensors perked up as various reports came in from Scoutmaster Kelson Darktreader and his men:Orcs were amassing in the north, having taken over the ruins of Harpshield Castle. Some new chief had aligned three orcish tribes, and they had already tried once (and had been repelled) to assault the Floshin Estate (an elvish manor house belonging to Sir Isteval's elf friend Darfin Floshin, who was also Kelson's uncle.) They would, perhaps, return in greater numbers.Further north, in the Ardeep Forest, where Waterdhavian nobles held hunting lodges, Gnolls had taken a wealthy hunting party prisoner. They had demanded a ransom, (a strange thing for Gnolls to do) and when the noble family's agents had tried to pay it, the Gnolls took the money, and killed the agents (a less strange thing for Gnolls to do). The family feared that the Gnolls had killed the prisoners as well, but no-one knew for sure.A tribe of lizardfolk had been spotted near Rock Tower, carrying metal swords and wearing helmets. Lizardfolk were fierce, but usually primitive, and easily kept in check by occasional raids into the Lizard Marsh as a show of force. If the lizardfolk were properly arming and training an army, it could be very bad for the Duke's lands near Cromm's Hold and the hamlets that were nominally under his protection.All of these reports did nothing to make the Duke choose to send aid. Instead, in every case, he chose to pull back support to Daggerford. To double the city watch and to close the city gates, searching everyone who comes or goes. The Duke grew increasingly paranoid, believing that Thayan Wizards were behind it all, and that they would send shapeshifting undead assassins to kill him while he slept - which he did very little.</blockquote>

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