First Patrol

Senani thought it would be nice to rest for a few days, unfortunately, as he remained in Yebin, people constantly came to him with questions. He quickly called a meeting with Maximus and Patricia to discuss several of the issues he had been presented with. First and foremost, the undead in Deviant Home would use the acre of marble to begin construction on a fortress like palace. The first rooms in need of being built would be a treasury, and an armory. They would then focus and building a blacksmith shop, dungeon, and private rooms for Senani. They would then create rooms for Patricia. Argent would require a separate foundation to be laid of an equal size to the original palace. His area would be known as a dragon weyr and would also house Maximus, his ally and rider. Together they had already proven to be an unstoppable force. Senani intended build upon that.

More than anything at present though, Senani intended to leave Yebin with one of the gladiator patrols. Patricia was more than happy to see Senani join a patrol; however, he was the Faction leader. She also added Maximus and the undead dragons. The dragons were currently in humanoid form. They would be slightly less conspicuous that way. With both Maximus and Senani gone, she could manage things without interference.

Each patrol possessed a minimum of 5 warriors. The patrols that moved farther from Yebin would generally contain at least 15. The patrol Senani joined contained 20. They would be venturing into the mountains near the battlefield in which Argent was created. The warriors that were selected for this patrol were therefore far above your standard quality and were a rather mixed lot. The leader would be a Minotaur named Kaz. Minotaur's possessed 2 humanlike arms and 2 legs with hooves on the end. Their heads bore horns and were rather bull like in appearance. Their bodies were covered in a tough hide. They lived for battle. In height they were like Orcs, though Kaz was massive even by minotaur standards. He stood a whopping 244 cm (8 feet) and 386 kg. (900 lbs.) The patrol also contained 4 humans, 4 orcs, 2 vampires (Cato and Alexus), 3 elves, 2 dwarves, 1 werewolf (Werewolves can shapeshift between their original form and that of a humanoid wolf. In wolf form, their combat abilities were greatly enhanced, and their claws were stronger than steel. Few would purposely challenge a werecreature.) 1 werebear (Similar to a werewolf, but werebear's have a humanoid bear form.), and 2 gnomes (gnomes are exceedingly small creatures that wear sharp pointy hats and possess a natural affinity for earthen magics. They vary greatly in appearance.)

Kaz was extremely honored and pleased to have Senani and Maximus both joining in his patrol. They were both legends in the gladiator circles and Senani was also the leader of the Faction he now belonged to. Kaz took the fact that Senani allowed him to command the patrol as a sign of respect. Kaz hastily commanded the patrol to head out of town and move toward the battlefield. He intended to pursue the goblins that fled back to their stronghold and eradicate them as a threat.

The first day was again relatively peaceful. With the patrols of the Deviant Faction, these roads were well maintained and cleared. The second day also proved to be uneventful, and they group soon arrived at the battlefield. During the trip, Senani had learned that the entire battlefield had been renamed Argent's Rise, and the goblin armies had yet to resurface since their defeat. Senani looked over the battlefield and was amazed to see the amount of scorch marks Argent had left in the earth. He found himself wondering if life would ever grow in those areas. Though he did not get to contemplate this long. Kaz called the patrol to continue moving toward the direction the goblins had fled. He hoped the gnomes would be able to utilize some of their earth magic to find signs of the goblins passing and follow them back to their lair.

The gnomes were brothers and were named Hibbi and Jibbi. They had long been utilizing their abilities to aid in tracking and quickly managed to feel the direction the army went from the earth.

With a clear direction in mind, Kaz lifted Hibbi and Jibbi into his arms and began to follow their directions. At nightfall, Hibbi and Jibbi guided the group into a system of caves to rest until morning. The brothers could sense that the army had fled into this cave system, but they were no longer able to discern exactly where the army resided. Some form of magic was blocking theirs.

Kaz opted to camp in the entrance to the cave system. It had the entrance they arrived in and two paths that lead deeper in the caves. As they would have to post guards at each entrance, this would be an ideal location. Kaz found himself hesitant to ask for help from Maximus with guard duty. He did not dare to ask Senani to take a turn.

Maximus could sense Kaz's discomfort and cackled as he spoke. "Kaz as I told you last night, I will guard you all in your sleep along with my fellow undead. We can see better in the dark than any of you and do not sleep or grow tired. It would be silly to waste our abilities and keep you lively fellows from your slumber. I assure you, you will all be safe."

Kaz hesitantly agreed. He realized the truth in Maximus's words, and yet he and his men still felt uncomfortable around the undead.

The living enjoyed a light supper and quickly went to sleep.

Maximus sent Cato and Alexus each into an exit. He hoped to determine which path they should utilize when the living awoke. He had calculated the risk, and with the stealth abilities of vampires at night, the risk was minimal. Besides, even if an army of goblins attacked, the 10 undead dragons would be more than capable of slaying them. Maximus could not even imagine a foe that would prove a challenge to the group.

After 2 hours of walking, Alexus telepathically informed Cato that she could see a larger cavern ahead that contained a lot living creatures. At least one possessed a high level of power and was preventing her from obtaining any further information about the enemy. She asked that he return to Maximus and ask for further instructions. Cato complied.

Maximus was thrilled. When the patrol awoke, he and Senani would be able to gain a significant amount of life force from the cavern. He impatiently paced between the openings until Kaz awoke. All the while Alexus spied upon their enemy.