All Hail Yes
Callum eagerly inspected the decrepit bridge. It was the first sign of civilization he had found since he had been exiled. He wasn't able to determine the bridge's age, except that he got a sense that it was likely very old.
He scanned the area in both directions leading away from the bridge, looking for evidence of a road or other ruins. The deep snow made it difficult to be sure, but a raised section of land that, at one time, may have been a road ran towards a nearby hill.
Callum slogged through the snow en route to the hill, it was in the general direction of his cave anyway. He decided to investigate the area around the hill, although he didn't think he would find much.
The hill offered a great view of the valley and little else. Any traces of a road had disappeared as he climbed the steep slope, or had only existed in his mind. He would have to return once the snow melted, maybe he'd find something then.
Callum was about to begin their trip back to the goblin dungeon, when he realized that Amarok was carefully sniffing in circles around an area. He tried to probe their mental connection in order to make sense of what Amarok had found.
"What did you find buddy?" he inquired.
Amarok started digging into the snow, his tail started to wag as he whined at Callum. Their mental bond was still too new and Callum couldn't understand exactly why Amarok was interested in the area.
It might not be anything. However, Callum remembered that Amarok got bonuses to his perception. Something was getting him excited. He knelt down in the snow and started digging side by side with the Dire Wolf.
They started digging into the frozen dirt once most of the snow was gone. Callum started using his spear in order to break up the solid ground. Even
Thunk.
Callum created a hollow sound when his spear came into contact with something buried in the ground. The two companions renewed their assault on the frozen earth after hearing proof that something was indeed there.
A handspan's distance into the ground, their efforts revealed a metal slab, with ornate engraving covering its entire surface. Callum didn't recognize the metal and was amazed at the intricate artwork. It seemed to be an artistic representation of an ancient fortress.
Despite clearing approximately three square feet of this metal object, no sign of an edge had been revealed so far. The two worked for another ten minutes before one edge was located, and it took another hour before they had revealed the entire thing.
Set horizontally into the ground was what appeared to be a cellar door, it was 6ft (1.8m) long by 4ft (1.2m) wide. A stylized handprint was etched into the middle of the door; no visible means of opening the door were apparent.
"Well, here goes nothing," Callum muttered to himself as he placed his hand over the symbol.
For a second, nothing happened and Callum released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Then, he experienced the pain of a small needle pricking the palm of his hand. He had already been in the process of withdrawing his hand before he registered the pain.
He quickly checked his notifications to check if he had been poisoned, he didn't see any changes in his status page. While he was checking for poison, a small hum sounded from the door and the etched lines started flashing with a faint green light.
Amarok came up and sniffed at Callum's hand before he licked it once. The two watched a long dead magic struggle to start up as the green glow seemed to fade in and out of existence. However, the glow came back stronger with each pulse of magic.
After several long minutes, every etched line was filled with a solid green light that spilled out into the open. The light brightened for an instant, before it changed into a steady muted glow. The door swung inward with a slight hiss and revealed a set of stairs leading down.
The air escaping from the hole spoke of old age and mustiness in a way Callum could never hope to put into words. The same soft green light from the door was emitting from other carvings in the sides of the staircase.
With weapons in hand, Callum carefully made his way down the stairs. He took his time and checked for traps and tested the strength of the steps as he slowly made his way down. Amarok padded silently behind him.
He lost track of the number of steps they had traveled as the staircase corkscrewed ever deeper into the earth. Soon, the green glow was the only light that provided them with vision. Eventually, they reached a large room, measuring 20ft (6m) by 20ft.
The room was almost completely bare. Callum suddenly realized that no dust was in the room or had been present on the stairs. The roof was twice his height of 6 ft (1.8m) and it lit up the room with the now usual green light.
A plain pedestal was located in the exact center of the room; upon the pedestal was an orb as large as Callum's head.
Along one side of the room was another orb that Callum recognized as a Beast Core, except this one was almost three times as large as the ones he was used to finding, which were about as large as his closed fist.
He walked over to take a closer look at it, but Amarok beat him to it. The wolf immediately ran over to the large orb. His tail was wagging, as he laid down with it between his front paws and began trying to gnaw on the orb. His large teeth were unable to pierce the object.
Clearly, this was what had attracted Amarok's attention in the first place.
"I don't know how you're going to eat that, but it's yours as far as I'm concerned," Callum spoke while he knelt down to check it out.
'Beast Core (Rare) (Durability: 10000/10000)'
Callum's eyes bugged out when he realized what exactly was in front of him. A kingdom's wealth could be measured in how many Rare Beast Cores it contained. This orb could pay the wages of a decent sized mercenary group for an entire season.
He turned away from the core before temptation took root in his heart, he had already given Amarok his word that the core was his. Callum approached the pedestal and tried to forget how expensive the chew toy Amarok had claimed was.
The other orb was almost a luminous white, instead of the pitch black of the Beast Core. It resisted his attempts at identifying it while he circled around the pedestal; he ultimately tried placing his hand onto the orb.
Immediately, an androgynous voice rang out from the orb.
"New candidate lord discovered, scanning bloodline per previous lord's request. The candidate will stand still for examination."
Callum didn't have a choice when it came to standing still. Powerful magic grabbed him and held him in place. He could faintly sense his entire being was examined while he couldn't even draw in a breath.
The magical scan was over as soon as it began, but being held in stasis horrified him. Callum collapsed to his knees and gasped for air as the orb ignored his plight and spoke in its emotionless tone.
"Candidate's blood doesn't contain any of the proscribed bloodlines. Candidate accepted, a new helper will be sent. All hail . . ."
"Yes, I can breathe!" Callum prayerfully said as the orb droned on.
. . . Castle Lord."
"Castle Lord? Who the hell is a Castle Lord?" Callum wondered out loud.