The Jingo

The Jingo Part 2

After taking over the nearby village, Jingo was certain no one would know about what he had done. It was too risky to let them live; he had been involved with the townspeople too much. To continue using his alias "Jingo", he couldn't leave breadcrumbs for someone to piece together. He had left no survivors, using their corpses to fuel his army. The magic he had used had still been experimental, but after a few months, he had made it his own. His undead followers had been unresponsive and autonomous when he raised them. It took some time for each one to form their personalities and identities. Even so, each one remained loyal to him. Abyss became a functioning cult, finding nearby merchants to trade with and learn from. Since the town had been ransacked, most merchants avoided the area outside of the ruins he lived in. This became a problem, so Jingo decided to move their home base. His scouting team had found a Holy town a few days away. By their report, it had to be Parvatia. The stronghold town was the main hub for the Holy Knights. It wasn't a place you wanted to make your enemy. Just the idea of attacking the town was turned down by most armies. The town had a rich supply of mana and was not short of magic users. But Jingo wasn't swayed. The only problem he had at the moment was getting close to the town. He decided to move from the old ruins and set out for a new home base.

As they left the ruins, he had his followers set off explosives in the underground. It was important not to leave any traces of him behind. The trip had been dull, they had to cross a mountain pass on the way to Parvatia. There was the occasional dragon, goblin horde, stray golem, and other creatures. It made it good for him to replenish his materials with the remains of the creatures. But it wasn't his priority. The mountains did not make for a good home base, they would be one aerial strike away from certain death. No, Abyss would need a place with an advantage that could combat the defenses of the Holy Kingdom. Someplace with enough secrecy that they wouldn't have to worry about being found too early on. Just as Jingo was thinking, a scout returned from ahead. "My lord, I have a report from the scouting team. There is a strange area off the west of the Holy Kingdom. The miasma is thick, but our dark magic will keep us safe" he explained. Jingo raised his eyebrows in interest, miasma meant something cursed. Could it be the corpse of a demon? Or a cursed item? Either way, Holy knights and mages couldn't navigate through the miasma. "Good, send a scouting team inside and change directions for this area" he ordered his soldiers. A small team embarked toward the miasma infected area while the rest of Abyss stayed back. Minutes had passed before a single soldier returned. The scouting team had found an entrance into the underground within the cloud of miasma. The team had gone ahead to investigate the underground, Jingo and Abyss had caught up to them.

He ordered everyone to follow, lighting the darkness with fire magic. The tunnel was man-made, that much was sure. The deeper they went, the more defined the walls became. Could this have been a church? A dungeon of some sort? Jingo's answer came at the tunnel opened into a dark space. One of his mages shot a fireball into the large hanging structure at the center of the area. It lit up with magic, flickering sparks as the flame settled. With light, Jingo was able to see multiple other structures in the underground. Tunnels, stairs, pulley systems, and various connecting platforms. There were even gates and chains on the walls, old traps that must have been set off by animals. Before his army could move, the scouting team returned with another report. "It appears we are under Parvatia, but far underneath any channels, they might use" the scout explained. That solidified Jingo's choice, this would be their new home base. "Rejoice, we have found our new home base. Prepare this labyrinth for planning, we will take over the Holy Kingdom when they least expect us to" he announced. There was a wave of cheers as his soldiers broke away and began lighting the torches on the walls. Old refinery equipment was extracted and repaired for forging. Old supplies were salvaged, and food was replenished in the once empty stockrooms. Sleeping quarters were being tended to as Jingo searched for an area to use as his study and lab. He would need somewhere private to plan accordingly.