Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

Lucan soon passed through the shadow tunnel and arrived in Shadowsweep with Alasan.

"If there is nothing I can do for you, I will be going." Alasan said,

"Wait, there is something you can do for me."

"What might that be Lord Quilldrake?"

"Don't you think it is too much of a coincidence? Just as we are moving everyone over and building a massive new city, we happen to meet a group of players who specialize in construction. What are the chances?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, it does seem a little odd." Alasan replied.

"Send some people to keep an eye on Brightboy and his guild, I want to know what they are up to."

"Yes, Lord Quilldrake, it will be done."

"That is all, you may go."

Alasan nodded and headed back to work. He was now busier than ever and had many things to do.

Lucan stood on his flying carpet above the city of Shadowsweep. He looked down and watched as countless people streamed into the shadow realm. Some went towards the teleporter, but most of the people had only just started their journey. They held close, their family and belonging and followed the others as they walked towards the Dragon Spine Hills.

What surprised Lucan was that people weren't only coming from the shadow tunnel. He could see a large group approaching form the direction of the Forest of the Lost. He flew through the air to take a better look at them.

He was surprised to see that it was a group of several hundred dwarves. He was unsure of what was going on. When he was about to land and ask, he saw a familiar face approaching the new group.

Edgit Hammerstone had just stepped out of Shadowsweep and appeared before the large group of dwarves.

One of the older dwarves in the group stepped out and stood before Edgit. "We all heard the calling. We were restless and wandered about before ending up here. Even now as we draw closer we can feel it in our bones. Is it true?"

"Aye." Edgit nodded. "A new dwarven citadel is being built. A perfect home for dwarves is taking shape."

After hearing his words confirming what they felt in their bones, the group of dwarves all cheered excitedly.

Edgit had seen Lucan in the sky. He looked to his lord who gave him a nod before leaving. Edgit Hammerstone turned back towards the group of dwarves.

"What are you waiting for? We need many hands to complete pour task. Come, let us head underground."

The dwarves nodded and eagerly followed Edgit, leaving the city behind they went underground.

The sun had now risen, and Lucan made his way to the teleporter. With a flash he was in Destol. He hurried to the manor, but was disappointed. It was like he thought.

Silent was no longer in bed. She had left and went out to take care of her own things.

Lucan left the empty manor and returned to the sky. He could see a few people from Baramore wandering the street.

He had left Nicholas and Grand Magister Faylen in charge of deciding which of their countrymen would be living in which city. As long as they abided by the condition s he set, he didn't care who went where.

While watching those below and planning his next step, Lucan received a telepathic communication.

'Hello? Is this Lucan?'

'What do you need?'

'Ah, this is Gerald, we filmed some scenes for a movie not to long ago. Do you have time to meet up?'

'I can spare a few minutes, what's up?'

'I am at the Starlight Entertainment building that was recently set up. That is in Destole, do you think you could meet me there?'

'Alright. I am waiting in the lobby.'

Lucan swooped down from the sky above the city and walked into the lobby after storing away his flying carpet.

Very soon he could hear hurried footsteps rushing down the stairs. A few moments later he was a familiar face.

"Gerald." Lucan nodded.

"Ah, how did you get here so quickly. I didn't expect you to show up immediately." Gerald sai while wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Please, come with me." Gerald said. He turned around and led Lucan to a conference room that was around the corner.

He sat down inside. When he saw the basket of fruit sitting in the center of the table, he did not hesitate to help himself. He still had not eaten anything since he had woken up this morning. Gerald politely offered him some tea, which Lucan didn't decline.

"What is your purpose in calling me here? I have many things to do." Said Lucan.

"Well, it is like this. We have had several people learn your illusion skills, but even after practicing for a few days, they aren't nearly as good."

Lucan nodded. "That is to be expected. Illusions are an art. They are something I have been working on for years. It is not something easily mastered."

"I would love for you to come an work with us full time, but I understand that that is an impractical request." Gerald said. "You are a busy man, ruling a large territory. And everyone is aware that Baramore is under attack and migrating to the shadow realm now."

"It is good that you know, it will save me the trouble of refusing."

"Ha, ha, don't turn me away yet. I understand that you don't have time to do all the special effects for one of our movies. MY hope is that you can help train a group of people to be proficient."

Lucan thought about it but did not respond.

"If you don't want to, that is fine. This is a request from my boss Annabel. Since she told me to ask, I have to at least ask. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered you with this."

"Hmm." Lucan rubbed his chin while he contemplated. "It is not impossible, but I wouldn't be able to help you out right away. Currently, there are far too many things going on at the moment."

"Ha, ha, really? Great, I understand, we can work at your pace."

"Enough of that, how is the movie you were working on?" Lucan asked.

"All the shooting is done, now the guys in the dark room just need to do their editing magic and add a sound track. It will take some time, but it will be out soon."

"Hopefully it turns out well." Lucan said. "I have the hope that Destol will turn into an entertainment city. Starlight, is a part of that. If you all can make good movies and shows then I will be satisfied. Have you given any though about how you will distribute the film?"

Gerald shrugged. "I don't know about that. Annabel takes care of all of those things. Last I heard, they were trying to decided if they wanted to release it online through the Source Creation Interface, or the other idea was to release it like normal. But honestly, ever since this game came out, all movie theaters are dead. Most likely she will have it release online."

"That makes sense." Lucan said. "Have you ever thought about building movie theaters inside the game?"

Gerald thought to himself before replying. "Is that really possible? It is not a bad idea, but how would it work?"

"Anything is possible, it would just take a little time to set up. There are already projection devices, you would just have to build the movie theaters and get everything prepped. But don't mind me, I am just talking casually. I have no idea if it would actually work or not. Anyways, I have other things I need to take care of. I will be taking my leave."

Lucan turned and left the conference room. Gerald didn't see him off, he was still thinking about the movie theater idea as the warlock left.

After Leaving Starlight, Lucan made his way to his dungeon. He had already received the latest report from the Willow players who were testing it. He was quite happy with the feedback they had given him. He didn't hesitate to give them a tip for their good work.

He checked everything over one last time before leaving the dungeon entrance through the shadow tunnel.

The shadow tunnel connecting to the dungeon took him back to Destol. In fact, it led to the inside of a building Lucan had already taken over. Now he just needed some staff to collect an entrance fee.

He saw no issue charging an entrance fee since this wasn't like a normal dungeon. This was a versus dungeon. It was a challenge between either enemies or friends. In the future, he hoped that this building would contain several shadow tunnels, all leading to different dungeons of his.

He planned to do his best to hide the real entrances to these dungeon with formation. That way if anyone wanted to access them, they would have to come to Destol and pay for entry.