Scorched Campaign

22: Queen Of The Damned

.^^ Queen Khan Kalen'i ^^

— Tommy —

The throne room had been quickly renovated into a massive study/control room, with some of the main image mirrors (surveillance cameras,) moved here, and the rest moved into the empty 'vault' room below us. Of course, only the people who worked in it knew that, and even they didn't know they were in the actual vault of the Ruined tower, as they arrived there by the Portal Door, and were told they were in our Family Vault.

The four images were the front entrance, the Duergar Exit out to the ocean, the Stairway that connected all the three tunnel systems, (UpperCity, UnderTown, Dragon Tunnels,) and of course the entrance of the Ruined Tower, which was only accessible with the assistance of a magic elevator, much like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which flew around with a flight crystal and didn't need any ropes. A small observer floated at the top of the elevator, and was one of the other monitors as well.

The Throne, which controlled all of that, was also inside the Vault, and had been replaced with a nice and comfy desk chair, behind my desk, which was soon to be covered in more paperwork, most likely. Hidden under the desk was a trapdoor that led to the Thoroughfare, and therefore could go anywhere, really.

I glanced up at the alert that the queen had arrived at the front gate, and watched her as she stared at the City for a few minutes, then noticed the Runes around the entrance, and hummed, taking notes and handing them to one of her companions, who I recognized as Elder Rashan and Kaza.

"Runes of protection, it seems. Destruction of poison, and disease. Proper protection against dirty water, or any attempt to Poison the Well, so to speak." Elder Rashan nodded.

Kaza whistled softly. "Indeed... Gaia, take notes. That is proper Runecraft." She nudged a small girl next to her, whom I recognized from the Festival. Her mystic apprentice, the newly blind one.

The girl touched the Runes, tracing them, and nodded. "Understood, Master. They are powerful... but their power comes from somewhere else."

"Correct! Good catch!" She smiled and pet the girl's head gently.

She blushed, embarrassed, then flinched and looked directly at the observer. I waved a little, unsure if she could see me, and she cocked her head. "We're being Watched. The Lady from the Festival... Tommy." She hummed.

"Good, you noticed that as well!!!" Kaza giggled, and smiled at the observer.

"Well, come on up, the view up here is amazing." I chuckled, hearing the observer mimic my voice, albeit squeakier. The elevator touched down next to them, and they climbed in, but the guard's wouldn't fit, so the six royal guards, (whom I'd heard rumors about their martial prowess,) waited for the second round.

The massive front door opened in front of them, and they entered, seemingly familiar with the tower. "She's changed the interior of the Tower..." the queen sighed, looking at the walls that had originally been covered in murals, but the beholders had destroyed.

They had been cleaned off, because restoring them was impossible, and soon the walking party reached the painters that were making new murals on the walls. I had gotten tired of the blank walls, and had tasked them with painting an ultra-realistic golden desert, from some of my memories of the Sahara and the Gobi deserts.

"The Beholders and I both did that, actually. I replaced the ruins and also hired some decorators to fix the mess that this tower looked like after I toppled it." I replied casually, and the Spectator again repeated my words, in his tiny, squeaky voice.