The Next Morning,
Lucas entered Lucien’s office with his ledger tucked beneath one arm. He stopped beside the desk, looked at the space Lucien had cleared, and pulled out a chair.
"And here we are, back again at the most expensive shop ever, my lord."
Lucien looked up from the papers in his hand.
"We have not bought anything yet lucas."
"And that is exactly why I arrived early, my lord."
Malen concealed a smile as he moved his rolled drawings out of Lucas’s way. As elarion’s military commander he had already spread one plan after other across the desk,weighing them.
Morning light fell across the marked shelters and the passages connecting them. Beside the drawing lay the reports from Avarran.
"Have the Alliance’s drawings arrived?" Lucien asked.
"Not yet, my lord. These are ours."
"Then we can choose the reference material today."
Lucas opened his ledger.
"Provided we can still afford the ink afterward, my lord."
At a thought, blue and gold panels unfolded above the desk, visible only to Lucien.
"Before we begin, gentlemen, we need protection that remains useful through repeated bombardments. The men must be able to reach their weapons when the demons advance, and damage to one passage should not cut off an entire position, if there is anything else you wish to add do so now."
Malen placed a hand beside the reports.
"You are mostly correct my lord but they must also be able to improve the defenses while holding them, my lord. An army cannot withdraw its entire front to give the builders a quiet afternoon."
"Then let us see what this shop has for sale."
Lucien entered the requirements.
The first result appeared, accompanied by a preview of an enormous fortified complex.
He read its name and price aloud.
IMPERIAL FISTS — PERMANENT FORTIFICATION ARCHIVE
Origin: Imperium of Man, Imperial Fists
Requirement: Tier IV industrial capacity; Imperial structural materials, heavy construction equipment, and specialist supervision
Exchange Price: 48,600 Points
Details: Designs for permanent defensive complexes, protected command facilities, fortified supply centers, and mutually supporting strongpoints. Advanced works depend on materials and production methods not included in this package.
Remark: An excellent answer to enemy artillery, provided you first acquire the industrial output of a small empire spanning dozens of planet and if your treasury objects, place it outside the walls. Clearly, it lacks commitment.
Lucas stared at him.
"My lord, did you ask for shelters or a new capital?"
"I asked for protection against bombardment."
"And it has suggested spending enough to make the bombardment seem economical, my lord."
Lucien suppressed a smile and examined the requirements.
Malen waited until he looked away from the panel.
"Could any of it be reduced to something the Alliance or we could build, my lord?"
"Some principles would probably be useful. The advertised protection, however, depends on the listed materials. We cannot replace those with ordinary stone and expect the same result."
"Then we would be paying for a great deal we could not use, my lord."
"For the present problem, yes."
Lucas crossed out the price.
"That thing may keep its opinion of my commitment, my lord. I shall keep the treasury."
Lucien narrowed the search toward field defenses.
Another name appeared.
This one held his attention.
DEATH KORPS OF KRIEG — SIEGEWORKS AND TRENCH CONSTRUCTION ARCHIVE
Origin: Imperium of Man, Death Korps of Krieg
Requirement: Tier II tools for basic fieldworks; Tier III capacity and specialist materials for advanced installations
Exchange Price: 12,600 Points
Details: An extensive collection covering trench construction, troop shelters, drainage, protected passages, repair under bombardment, and the expansion of occupied defensive networks. Includes records of failed works and their corrections. Basic designs use earth, timber, and conventional structural materials; advanced sections assume Imperial equipment and supplies.
Remark: Includes drainage, reinforcement, and repairs under bombardment. The Emperor protects; the authors nevertheless recommend supporting the bloody roof.
Lucien paused before reading the last sentence aloud.
Lucas’s mouth twitched.
"At least the author here appears to have met a builder, my lord."
Malen leaned closer and asked.
"What does it contain about repairs during fighting, my lord?"
Lucien opened the contents preview.
"Restoring damaged access, supporting weakened shelters, organizing work around occupied positions, and extending the network without abandoning what already exists."
"That is much closer to what we need, my lord."
Lucien agreed.
He remembered the Death Korps from a friend. Their regiments were known for grinding siege warfare, and the preview reflected experience gained through prolonged fighting.
The archive went beyond finished drawings. Its listed case records described what had failed, what the defenders had changed, and what happened when the repaired positions came under fire again.
Lucas tapped the price.
"Closer to the requirement is still twelve thousand six hundred points, my lord. How much of it depends on materials we do not possess?"
"The larger permanent installations do. The field-construction sections include conventional alternatives."
"Can you buy those sections separately, my lord?"
Lucien checked the listing.
"Not from this entry."
Malen studied the damaged-passage report.
"My lord, keep this one marked. The basic construction methods seem usable, and the repair experience would matter. I would like to compare it with the alternatives before deciding."
"So would Lucas."
"Very much, my lord."
Lucien marked the archive and returned to the search.
"Both of those came from an industrial civilization. Let us see what is available from worlds where magic is part of the construction."
The next entry displayed a shelter surrounded by interlocking rune patterns.
BOUND-EARTH SHELTERS AND STRUCTURAL WARD ARRAYS
Origin: Arcane Civilization Archive, Siege Architecture
Requirement: Skilled earth mages, trained ward specialists, compatible rune materials, and a sustained mana supply
Exchange Price: 9,200 Points
Details: Designs combining shaped earth and stone with arrays that reinforce load-bearing sections. Includes rapid construction methods and repair spells. Enhanced protection depends on functioning arrays; passive support varies between designs.
Remark: Congratulations. You have replaced a shortage of timber with a shortage of mages. During the bombardment, the men holding up the roof would appreciate not being asked to win the battle as well.
Lucas laid down his quill.
"Does this shop dislike its customers, my lord?"
"It seems quite fond of mockery."
Malen pointed toward the customs-house report.
"My lord, how much protection remains if the array fails?"
"It varies. Some designs remain standing but lose much of their resistance. Others need additional support before the enchantments can be taken out of service."
"That is a problem, my lord. Their wards are already being worn down by repeated hits."
"The array might spread the strain more effectively than their present spells. We would need Gandalf or Maerath to judge that."
"And the local mages would need to learn it," Lucas added. "Do the drawings include a supply of them, my lord?"
"No."
"Then somebody else will still be asking why the same mage cannot be in three shelters at once, my lord."
Malen nodded.
"I would retain it for magical review, my lord. It may improve selected positions, but I would prefer their basic shelters to remain serviceable when a mage is exhausted."
"Agreed. We should look for protection their wards can strengthen without becoming responsible for the entire structure."
Lucien returned to the conventional designs.
The next result emphasized speed.
MODULAR PROTECTIVE SHELTERS — DESIGN AND ASSEMBLY PACKAGE
Origin: Earth, Information Age
Requirement: Tier III infrastructure; controlled structural-material production, lifting equipment, and prepared sites
Exchange Price: 4,800 Points
Details: Standardized shelter components, protected entrances, ventilation arrangements, and assembly drawings. Rapid installation assumes the required components have already been manufactured and transported to the position.
Remark: Simply attach prefabricated section A to section B. If neither exists, first establish the factory, train its workers, and arrange transport. Ask the enemy to bombard somewhere else while you get organized.
Lucas waited.
"Is there another paragraph explaining who pays for the factory, my lord?"
"That would be the buyer."
"How unexpectedly generous of them, my lord."
Malen drew the plan closer.
"What would this offer after production was established, my lord?"
"Consistent components and faster assembly. Damaged sections could also be replaced where the design allows."
"That would be useful near dependable supply routes, my lord. It would be harder at positions where carrying ammunition forward is already a struggle."
"And the Alliance’s workshops would need to make the components properly," Lucien said. "That remains unconfirmed."
Lucas glanced at the howitzer request.
"My lord, their smiths will already have another weapon to examine. I would be reluctant to promise rapid shelters that begin with a second production program."
"Then we keep this for later consideration."
Malen turned a page in the report.
"If speed is difficult to achieve, my lord, what about using existing rock? Some sectors may have ground suitable for deeper shelters."
Lucien adjusted the search.
"That brings up a cheaper package."
Lucas reached for his quill again.
DEEP-ROCK COMMAND AND PERSONNEL SHELTERS
Origin: Earth, Industrial and Atomic Ages
Requirement: Suitable geology, excavation equipment or equivalent magic, ventilation, drainage, and structural supervision
Exchange Price: 1,900 Points
Details: Designs for protected command posts, personnel accommodation, and stores within stable rock. Includes access and service arrangements. Construction demands vary considerably with the site; many layouts suit long-term occupation better than immediate access to a fighting position.
Remark: Your officers can survive the bombardment in considerable comfort. Whether they still have anything left to command when they climb out is outside the scope of this manual.
Malen gave a short laugh.
"That criticism is fair, my lord. A shelter can preserve a commander and still leave him too far from the men who need his orders."
"So also a no?"
"No, my lord. Some designs could serve headquarters or reserve positions. They would not answer the whole problem at the forward line."
Lucien examined the preview.
"Earth magic might shorten the excavation, but they would still need suitable ground."
"And a means of keeping the place dry and breathable, my lord," Lucas said. "I would prefer not to pay nineteen hundred points for a very secure pond."
Lucien marked it as a possible future reference.
By now, Lucas’s page contained more crossed-out figures than surviving ones.
"Try ordinary fieldworks, my lord," he suggested. "There must be something between a fortress and an underground town."
"There is."
Lucien opened the last entry.
FIELD FORTIFICATIONS AND PROTECTED SHELTERS
Origin: Earth, Industrial Age
Requirement: Tier II tools and construction practice; local ground assessment
Exchange Price: 680 Points
Details: Illustrated manuals and adaptable drawings for trenches, shelters, protected passages, drainage, and repairs using commonly available materials. Covers construction practice and improvements to existing positions.
Remark: Uses dirt, timber, and arithmetic. We regret that shouting "Dig faster" at a wet hole is still not a recognized drainage technique. Nor does promotion to general improve the strength of rotten wood.
Lucas finished writing the price before speaking.
"That one appears to understand both construction and officers, my lord."
Malen glanced at him.
"You sound pleased."
"I have finally reached a figure that does not require a separate page."
Lucien opened the contents preview.
The package was practical. It included clear drawings, material guidance, and alternatives for different ground conditions.
He read several of the headings aloud.
Malen listened, then asked him to return to the repair section.
After a moment, Lucien looked away from the floating text.
"It would be useful. There is enough here to improve the way they build."
Lucas rested his quill against the ledger.
"Then why are you hesitating, my lord?"
"Because the Krieg archive addresses more of what is happening after the construction is finished."
Malen nodded.
"My lord, that is also my preference."
Lucas looked from one to the other.
"We have found a serviceable answer for six hundred and eighty points, and you both prefer the one costing twelve thousand six hundred."
"Yes," Malen said.
"Then I would appreciate an explanation before my handwriting becomes offensive."
Lucien brought both previews beside one another.
"The Earth manual explains how to construct and repair the works. Krieg’s archive goes further into maintaining a whole defensive position through successive attacks. It includes the failures encountered while doing that."
"Which is what the Alliance is facing, my lord," Malen added. "They held some positions through the first bombardment, then lost access or shelter during the next. We need more than the drawing of a cardboard roof."
Lucas turned the report so that the casualty figures faced him.
"Could their commanders adapt the cheaper manual themselves?"
"Probably," Malen replied. "But adapting it while shells are landing means discovering some of the shortcomings through losses. The Krieg records may help them avoid mistakes already made elsewhere."
Lucien read farther into the archive’s index before answering.
"The ordinary construction methods remain usable without Imperial machinery. We would have to separate those from the advanced installations and examine the assumptions behind them."
"And their methods of fighting, my lord?" Lucas asked. "You said the regiments accept severe attrition."
"They do. That does not mean we have to adopt every decision their commanders make. We can learn how they keep a damaged trench usable without copying the number of soldiers they are prepared to lose in it."
Malen laid the damaged-passage report on top of the others.
"My lord, I recommend Krieg. Its strongest advantage here is the experience of keeping occupied defenses functioning under sustained pressure. That is worth more to us than a larger selection of finished shelter designs."
Lucas remained quiet for several breaths.
Then he drew the ledger closer.
"My lord, twelve thousand six hundred points for trenches?" Lucas tapped his ledger. "What about our future projects? We can afford this today, but the next request will arrive with another price attached."
Lucien examined the archive’s contents.
"Krieg fights campaigns involving millions. A campaign with 90percent casuality among soldiers can be considered an extraordinary success. This collection covers defenses for warfare on that scale."
Lucas stared at him.
"My lord, we cannot afford their book comfortably and we certainly cannot afford their idea of acceptable losses too."
"It also covers smaller positions and different enemies—infantry, armored assaults, enormous creatures, and attacks from above or below ground lucas. We can use those methods now and study the larger arrangements for Elarion’s future defenses."
"And you consider that worth delaying other purchases, my lord?"
"Yes. We already have weapons that need well-defended positions and crews capable of surviving the bombardment."
Lucas considered that, then drew a line beneath the figure.
"Very well, my lord. But we review the remaining points before buying anything else."
"Agreed."
"And the Alliance receives the whole collection, my lord?"
"A smaller version, containing plans suited to their forces and the threats they are facing. We will keep the full archive here."
Malen nodded.
"I will prepare that selection for Karrek, my lord."
Lucien confirmed the purchase.
Purchase confirmed.
12,600 Points deducted.
Several heavy volumes appeared on the desk, followed by a case of folded drawings. Lucas moved his inkwell as Malen reached for the first book.
"For that price, my lord, I had hoped the trenches would arrive already dug."
Lucien smiled.
"What will you put in the ledger?"
"Military doctrine, my lord. If I write what we actually spent on digging holes, I shall start arguing with myself."