The minions had started to work a little before dawn. After having explored the few caves right below the surface and placed the Tower Heart, they started the hard part of their work : digging and building what would soon become the Foundation and the Barracks of the new Tower. Gnarl was with the Overlord in his tent, putting finishing touches on the plans of the Tower. The construction would take a long time with them having barely over twenty minions. The Overlord's stomach growled after a while, a frown forming on his face. They didn't have much food left. He shot a last glance at the plans, checking for any flaws he could find, without success. Perfect. He stood up and left the tent, satisfied in how the plans were turning out. Now, he just needed to address other issues. Their food supply was the most urgent one. What they had wouldn't last long. He walked toward the tent of their prisonner, Gnarl following him. It was time to go hunting.

A few minutes later, Gnarl was walking in the caves, stopping every so often to shout instructions to the other minions, which were working a fast as they could. "Mouldy! Belch! Start digging there! Flange! Maul! Worm! This wall needs reinforcing! Go! Frack! Moloch! Build a support column here!..." Giblet took some minions with him to help dig out the Forge, while Mortis was directing a couple of them, his magic letting him sense the presence of a nearby branch of the Styx river. After shouting yet another order, Gnarl turned around as the girl and the quartet of minions making up her escort entered the cave. Gnarl barely cast them a glance as they went back to the surface, after what two of the minions returned underground, which he promptly sent to work. If she was back, then the Overlord must already be in the forest. Walking with haste, he entered the first of the mostly formed room. Connected to the Barracks and with both the Brown Hive and the Tower Heart placed and fully functionnal, the new Spawning Pit only needed to be enlarged a little and the three other Hives to be complete. Stopping a few step in, he shouted one last order : "Grubby! Ah, there you are. The Overlord will need Minion and Tower Gates. Go dig them to him!" Now, time to see how the Overlord is doing...

This was not going well. After all, a heavy suit of armor isn't the best getup to go hunting in the forest. Most animals fled when they heard him get close, in spite of his best efforts to be silent. A couple of deers evaded him when he heard Gnarl's voice coming from his helmet. "Testing, one two, one two... Can you hear me master? Hmmm, if I do that... Ha! I can see you now. I sent Grubby toward you Sire, he should arrive as soon as he find a place to dig a Gate to you." He crouched, spotting another deer nearby. Hidding himself behind the foiliage, he was assessing the distance between him and his prey. It was walking closer, unaware of his presence. Just a few more seconds before it would be to close to flee. His prey suddenly stifened and fled. A couple of second later, the Overlord heard what startled it : a horse. and it was getting closer. He got up, internally cursing the interloper, but also the fact that his hiding place, perfect to ambush the deer, left him clearly visible from the nearby road by which the hrose was coming toward him.

Sir Thomas had spent the last couple of weeks on the roads. As one of the Royal Knight, he had been given the mission to investigate the numerous disparitions that had happened some distance away, close to the edge of the kingdom. However, he was already treading carefully because of the unusually aggressive wolves lurking in the area. That was when the knight spotted a warrior near the road. He slowed down to meet him, while taking note of his appearence. He didn't recognise him, which isn't surprising. He wouldn't pretend to know every warriors in the kingdom, but something didn't seem right. The warrior is wearing a finely decorated dark armor, without any symbol or blason that he knows of. His stance is aggressive, causing the knight to be more cautious. His axe was earning him a raised eyebrow. But still, warriors, more often than not mercenaries, aren't always trained to wield more conventional weapons. Setting foot on the ground, he intended to walk the few steps remaining, but only got to the second one as the warrior tensed up to strike. Barely blocking the blow, he suddenly noticed traits that should have alarmed him far sooner, like the unnatural skin color or the glowing eyes. Pushing the axe back, he launched a strike of his own. The Overlord tried to dodge, throwing his shoulder back, but he reacted too late. Red droplets were now sliding on the edge of the knight's blade. But Sir Thomas was already striking again, not wasting a single second. Blocking with his armored forearm, the Overlord swung his axe, striking him in the chest with a loud clang. The knight's eyes widened. Taking a small jump back, he shot a glance at the dent in his armor, still feeling pain from the impact. His opponent was stronger than he looked. Sidestepping a blow that would have hit his pauldron, he unleashed a flurry of strikes. The Overlord could only block a few of them while the rest found their way to unarmored flesh. The Overlord tried to dodge them, but his efforts were tiring him. The outcome became evident during the next minutes : unlike the Overlord, who barely had a few weeks of training, Sir Thomas had been trained during years specifically to fight against armored oponents. The Overlord tried to strike each time he could find an opportunity, but he only made a handful of blow connect, each one leaving a dent in the iron armor. Enduring the pain, Sir Thomas could see the fight going toward it's conclusion. Soon, the Overlord fell on his knee, panting, bruised and bleeding from numerous wounds. He glared at his oponent. If looks could kill, the knight would be dead by now... Sir Thomas felt a chill run down his spine, not only from the cold of the air, but also because of his oponent's sudden glee. Not a second later, fifteen minions, who jumped from the freshly digged Minion Gate behind him, swarmed him. Heavily outnumbered, he threw a hasty retreat, jumping on his horse before riding away. The overlord expression darkened again. Gathering some strength, he stood up, assessing his injuries. Thanks to his clumsy attempt at dodging, the many slashes weren't deep enough to be dangerous. His wounds slowly healing and his minions following him, he went back to hunt.

It was near noon when the Overlord returned in his camp, his minions carrying enough meat and fruits to last them a few days. While the minions aren't capable to sneak up on preys, they are fast enough to intercept them before most could pick up enough speed to get away, and setting up Guard Markers worked wonders to ambush the rest, which allowed them to take down a few deers, some hares, and even a boar, though that last one didn't go down wihout giving the minions some rapidly-healed injuries, the worst of it being a broken arm. The sole remaining injuries, a few dozen scratches on the Overlord, were healed by the Tower Gate before he crossed it. He was back in his tent a few minutes later, pondering about his next course of action while he ate. Food wouldn't be a concern for a few of days at the very least. He now posses far more minions than he can directly command, but still not enough to get the construction to a satisfying speed. Furthermore, they explored a good chunk of forest ground while they were hunting, and he now had some Tower Gates scattered all around those parts, which could be useful to gather more food and lifeforce. The Overlord's thoughts then went back to his fight with the knight, his expression darkening. It was his first fight against an actual opponent, and he had been hopelessly outmatched. While the ill-fitting, uncomfortable armor and the heavy battleaxe were partially responsible for this defeat, the Overlord wasn't delusional : he simply wasn't strong and skilled enough. Yet. He shifted his position, pulling his tail out of his armor. He couldn't leave it out without having some piece of armor stabbing it whenever he moved and he couldn't hide it inside without twisting it around. This made finding the red minions more of a priority with each passing moment.

Underground, Gnarl started shouting instructions again. The construction had been mostly paused while the overlord needed his minions, but it was now starting again, faster than before thanks to the additionnal minions. The Foundations and the Barracks, wich would ultimately fill out most of the underground, were slowly spreading while the Forge was taking form, Mortis was still leading a digging group, and they were now closing off the tunnels that connected them to the rest of the caves, cutting off access to the Tower. Once that will be done, the only ways to enter the tower would be by coming to it's base, which will be quite easy to spot, or by a Tower Gate. And only the Overlord himself and his minions could open those. With all this digging, they were also gathering a good amount of rock that would soon be used to start the construction of the above ground parts of the Tower.