Confirming the hostile relationship with Elminster and the Harper Alliance for a long time to come, Zuo Si soon left the arms of friendship.
However, he did not go south with the team of the Sons of Baal to Belgos, a small town east of Candlekeep. Instead, he continued north past Baldur's Gate and arrived at Dragonspear Castle next to the High Wasteland.
Unlike the last time I came here, which was slightly desolate and dilapidated, at first glance, it is obvious that both the city walls and the arrow tower have been renovated and reinforced.
There are about one or two hundred fully armed mercenaries standing on top, watching every move around them. Occasionally, a small team on horseback will rush out from the castle and patrol along the large tracts of farmland that have been opened up around it.
Some farmers who were attracted to settle here are diligently tending various crops, while some herdsmen are driving herds of sheep, cattle and horses with dogs to eat the lush weeds and shrubs.<
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Located east of the castle near rivers and streams, a huge artificial lake with an area equivalent to more than thirty football fields has even been dug. Many ducks, geese, and wild waterfowl can be seen playing in groups on the water.
You don't need to ask to know that this must have been dug out bit by bit using the power of the Olanli hydra, as well as the captured goblins, orcs, and half-orc slaves using tools.
Judging from the scale, the current Dragonspear Castle seems to have approximately a few thousand permanent residents.
There is even a dedicated group of goblin slave workers who are responsible for building houses and city walls, repairing roads, and also doing some dirty and tiring work of cleaning up garbage and clearing sewers.
If the current development continues, maybe a new city will rise in a few decades and become an important land trade hub connecting Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep.
What's more, hundreds of kilometers around here are unowned and undeveloped land.
No matter who is willing to settle here, they can immediately obtain a hundred acres of farmland that was previously cultivated and roughly cultivated by goblin slave labor, as well as a pretty good cabin.
If you want to be a herdsman, that’s no problem.
There are a large number of small rock horses, long-haired sheep and other domesticated hoofed herbivores in the Castle Ranch area. As long as you pay part of the deposit, you can immediately get your own herd and pasture.
The first two kinds of livestock are specialties in the Supreme Wasteland. When cleaning up the monsters around the castle, we captured a lot of them, at least hundreds of thousands of them.
Although some were killed and some were sold to merchants, it still remains on an astonishing scale.
Among them, the rock horse is a very good beast of burden. It not only has excellent endurance, but is also very easy to feed. Dairy products, leather and dried meat are also good products.
The wool of long-haired sheep has been the main product of Dragonspear Castle in recent years, and textile merchants from Waterdeep City to Baldur's Gate are rushing to get it.
Especially after the direct airship route is opened here, it can even be sold to Luskan, Neverwinter City and Silvermoon Alliance further away.
Since these cities are closer to extremely cold places, the demand for woolen fabrics and warm clothing is much greater than that of Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate.
The original entrepreneurial shareholders headed by Marshall have already made money.
A small number of ambitious guys even want to completely occupy the high wilderness to the east as pasture in order to raise more long-haired sheep to meet the growing trade demand.
They have completely forgotten that the High Wasteland is not a safe place.
Ever since the ancient elf kingdom of Maiyeli Tower was completely destroyed by the dark elves before it sank with a terrible magic during the War of the Crown, and all the residents inside were also killed, this place has been completely reduced to monsters and beasts.
paradise.
Whether it is trolls, orcs, hobgoblins, snakemen, lizardmen hiding in the depths of the swamp, or other wolves, bears, tigers, leopards and other carnivorous beasts, they are all enough to pose a fatal threat to outsiders who dare to venture into this area.
.
The reason why the area around Dragonspear Castle is relatively safe now is entirely because of the large-scale clearance that was carried out with the help of the Oranli multi-headed dragon.
But the problem is that they no longer have the super trump card of the Olanli multi-headed dragon that can scare all potential enemies.
If we continue to rush forward with large-scale land enclosures and anger those powerful dragons and large monster tribes of more than tens of thousands of people in the wasteland, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous.
Among them, the farmland, villages, pastures and livestock herds that were finally cultivated outside the city wall will all be reduced to nothing in the war.
Compared with the greed of other shareholders, Marshall, who considers himself a general manager, always maintains a clear and calm mind.
He knew very well how the current prosperity and stability of Dragonlance Castle came about, so he took the trouble to cross half of the west coast not long ago and went to Luskan to attend the Northland Lords Conference, just to meet the nominal lord Zuo Si.
We met and reported the progress of the work respectfully, asked for instructions on what to do next, and handed over the benefits gained through accumulation and development in the past few years.
Yes!
This smart man did not swallow up all his wealth, including land and taxes, like many short-sighted fools.
He only took out about 30% to 40% and divided it up with the shareholders who started the business together.
Marshall understood that the reason why he had been able to go smoothly in these years without any other forces coming to cause trouble was because of Zuo Si's notorious reputation and his unscrupulous cruelty in dealing with his enemies.
If this protective umbrella is lost, not to mention the Zhentarim, the Dragon Cult and other evil organizations, the monsters in the High Wasteland and Troll Roaring Forest alone are enough to make Dragonspear Castle unable to survive.
Not to mention that underground in the castle, there is a portal connecting the first level of Baator Hell.
Later, when Zuo Si became the lord of the new ninth floor, a powerful and terrifying devil found Marshall almost immediately and signed a contract with him.
Since then, the two sides have stayed on the same page, and there has never been any conflict.
The devils even established a town near the portal, allowing adventurers and merchants to do business with them, or to pay a certain fee to enter the hell plane through the portal.
There are also some devils who came to the surface from the underground and became the owners of some taverns, hotels and shops.
Although at the beginning, these evil alien creatures made everyone feel very uncomfortable, even intensely vigilant and hostile.
But as they spend more and more time together, many people find that the devil is not as scary as the rumors say.
Quite the opposite!
In many cases, they strictly abide by local rules and laws, are even more honest than many unscrupulous businessmen, and provide many magical services and soul contracts.
In particular, many desperate desperadoes are very willing to sell their souls in exchange for the protection of the devils, so as to avoid being disemboweled and dismembered on the spot by the enemies who catch up.
In addition, the appearance of the devil means that souls can be traded here, and specialties from Baator Hell are available for sale.
Therefore, instead of shrinking, trade has become more prosperous than before.
Due to the implementation of limited slavery (only designated races can be slaves), many service places have very fancy and perverted activities.
Lizardmen and snake maids, half-orc girls, drow elf ladies, orc strong men and other scenery that cannot be seen in other cities can all be experienced here.
It has attracted a large number of guys who are curious and want to try it, as well as nobles, wealthy businessmen and hungry ladies who simply have different XP from ordinary people.
Due to the lack of contraceptive measures, you can still see many mixed-race children of one, two, or three years old running around on the streets.
In addition, savage and bloody gladiatorial fights and beast fighting are also the special repertoire of Dragonlance Castle.
Because slavery has been completely abolished in the south, this place has naturally become the only place on the west coast of Faerûn where you can experience similar excitement.
High-level devils and some evil mages also transformed trolls to make them smarter, and cultivated many troll slave gladiators who were skilled in combat.
Due to their extremely strong recovery ability, it does not matter even if they are seriously injured or even disabled.
Anyway, after raising it for a while, it will soon be full of energy and active in the arena, satisfying the appetite of those viewers who are eager to see bloody killings.
In fact, the Dragonlance Castle is now far beyond Marshall's control.
Whether it was the powerful hell devils or the increasing number of evil camp mages, he felt as if he could be lifted up to the sky at any time while sitting on the crater.
Not to mention that a large number of organized dark elves have recently emerged from nowhere, and there is also a leader who claims to be the Seven Sisters of the North - Kui Lu. He asked Dragonspear Castle to draw an area underground for him, intending to
Build an underground city and claim that this was done with the permission of Lord Zuo Si.
So far, the number of these dark elves has reached thousands.
Although he has not shown any aggression so far, it has made Marshall feel restless.
The increasingly complex situation made this middle-aged man with a business background realize that his ability was no longer enough to cope with severe challenges.
Fortunately!
As a small transport airship full of supplies and tools descended from the sky, he finally let out a long breath, walked quickly forward, bowed deeply to the master he swore allegiance to, and sighed with relief: "Lord Soth
!You are finally here!"
"Why do you look so tired? Are the dark circles under your eyes so heavy? Men must be more restrained in certain aspects after they reach forty, otherwise they may die suddenly from excessive indulgence."
Zuo Si looked at the gray face in surprise and couldn't help but give a few words of advice.
You must know that the last time we met in Luskan, the other person's face was still glowing, and he looked like he was in great shape and was eating well.
But after not seeing each other for a while, I feel like I’m about to put my foot in the coffin.
Although wealthy people in Faerûn are generally lustful, in many places where polygamy or polygamy is allowed, it is common to have ten or eight wives.
Even in areas where monogamy is practiced, it is common to have lovers outside, or visit the red light district from time to time.
No way.
This physiological need for reproduction originates from instinct and genes. It does not mean that morality, law and the like can completely prohibit it.
But the problem is that there are only a very small number of people who play themselves to death in the process of indulging their desires.
To be continued...