Emperor Otto II suddenly died on 7 December 983, leaving as heir his three-year-old son Otto III. Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, as the nearest Ottonian relative, obtained the regency of the kingdom without much opposition and abducted Otto III in hopes of being proclaimed king himself [REF].
After returning to Laon, Lothair forced Adalberon to build a fortress in Verdun to prevent the city from being taken by the Imperial forces.