Chapter 13: News Travels Fast
DM reused puzzles from previous weeks, intending to challenge this party led by Reese. The more he tired them out, physically and mentally, the less motivated they would be to pepper him with questions before returning to the surface. Ultimately, DM didn’t intend to repel them; he wanted to come across as friendly and responsible overall. As a result, DM needed to strike the right balance.
Perhaps the formation of goblin archers and zombie mages riding chickbears was a bit much. The adventurers managed to hold off the enemy, but their healer’s mana was substantially diminished. They even discussed the possibility of retreat. Of course, DM was listening to everything. Fortunately, the party had decided to just take a break before proceeding, rather than giving up entirely.
He split his attention between Reese and infected allies.
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Vulp tiptoed into the room where Lord Davidson sat at the head of a table, surrounded by advisors and other bigshots of the Twin Cities.
“Ah, Vulp, my eldest son isn’t back yet, so have a seat.” He gestured toward the only open chair at the opposite end of the table.
Vulp reluctantly sat down, noticing quite a few people were standing around the periphery of the room.
“You see, we just received word from the Capital—two reports, in fact. And… they conflict. Both state that Rufus escorted DM to the throne room, where he played chess with the king. Our neighbor lost the first match but won the second, supposedly.”
To Vulp, that didn’t sound like a problematic report. The issue would surely involve the second communique.
“The other report claims that DM lost the first match on purpose, feigning weakness, threatened the king, and then won the second match overwhelmingly. The exact words were not included, but the gist seems to be that the Holy State will regret it if they cross DM.”
While several people gasped, Vulp struggled to maintain her composure. She couldn’t see DM doing something like that, or at least not without a really good reason.
“You’ve met him, Vulp, and you’re an adventurer. What do you think? Would he threaten the king like that? If he did, would it be a threat we’d have to take seriously?”
All eyes turned to Vulp, imploring her to answer the question.
She took a deep breath—a calming technique she had developed early in her nobility training. “I don’t know that dungeon master that well, but he doesn’t seem like someone who would threaten a king. Even if he did, monsters aren’t that dangerous if you know how to fight each type. Any army or large group of adventurers could easily beat them.”
Lord Davidson nodded slowly. “Well said. My thoughts were along the same lines. Still, the situation is concerning. According to the messenger who arrived a little while ago, the Royal Court is split on whether or not to accept DM’s offer of manufacturing farming equipment—some new type of horse-drawn plow supposedly. Thoughts?”
Vulp didn’t know many of the people in the room; she kept quiet as they offered their opinions.
“Sir, does it really matter whether or not the kingdom establishes a contract with the dungeon master? It’s just farming equipment.”
“Fool! If they accept, it looks like the King acquiesced to DM’s threats. How could they possibly take him up on his offer?”
“You all know I come from a long line of farmers. Don’t underestimate the importance of plows.”
“Gentlemen,” Lord Davidson cut in. “Let’s compose ourselves. And you have a good point. The messenger said initial testing of the plow is extremely favorable.”
“Then we must pursue the dungeon master’s offer!” the farmer exclaimed.
“I’m less concerned about the implications on our farming,” Lord Davidson explained, “than I am about potentially splitting the kingdom into two factions—one that is pro-DM and one that is generally opposed. I, for one, would be forced to align myself with the former group, but overall that situation could be devastating to the Holy State.”
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“Sir, is there anything we can do now, then?”
“Hm.” He brought his hand to his chin. “Ah.” He lowered his hand and turned his gaze back to Vulp. “Vulp, what do you think we should do?”
“Uh…” Vulp thought it was completely unreasonable for the Lord of the city to ask her, in front of all these influential people, to recommend a path forward in such a complex situation. Add to that the fact that she needed to watch out for DM’s best interest as well as her own, and the amount of time she’d need to think of a suitable response was completely impractical. She gave up on that idea and just proposed something that seemed reasonable. “Why don’t we agree to DM’s offer for farming equipment, but keep the scale of the contract as small as possible?”
“That’s…”
“Hm…”
“But…”
Lord Davidson looked around at all his advisors and allies, noticing them reluctant to agree but unable to disagree. “Isn’t that a great idea? We’d be sending a message that the kingdom is interested in DM’s technology, but not willing to commit to any large-scale agreements, regardless of any threats that may or may not have occurred.”
Several men nodded along.
“Well, I’m sure the Twin Cities will be queried for our opinion on the matter soon enough. On behalf of the city, I’ll draft up a proposal and submit it to the—oh. Vulp, since it was your idea, and a good one I think, why don’t you try drafting up the proposal? Ask anyone you like for assistance before you bring it over for me to review. All right?”
Vulp plastered on a fake smile and nodded.
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Kat reported to the Church, interested to see what they would have her do next. Studying was extremely rewarding, considering most of what she learned would benefit her when she adventured with her friends. She also found the Church’s theology fascinating when viewed through a lens of detached suspicion as DM had previously instructed her to do. Nothing was as it seemed, but every message had a basis in something. If she could put all the pieces together, she might learn something that would be useful to DM.
Typically, the Church was a very relaxed environment where it was customary for everyone to move at a relaxed pace, maintain a calm disposition, and avoid crowds except for formal ceremonies. Today, Kat noticed an unusual flurry of activity. After a few moments, she noticed a young priestess she recognized trot by. “Excuse me, did something happen?”
“Oh, Kat! I’m not sure. I’ve been told to gather certain people. I still need to find—“
“He’s already there,” a middle-aged priest interjected as he walked into the room. “I’m going too. Something about defending the honor of the dungeon master. You two can stay here.” He stormed off.
“The dungeon master?” asked Kat.
“Yeah, I overheard that there was some trouble in Ereacht when he met the king…”
“Trouble?”
“Sorry, I don’t know anything else. Maybe Vera does.”
Kat’s ears drooped.
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Lupy reported for duty. “I’m back!”
“Lupy!” Anne shouted as she jogged over. “How was your mission in the Empire?”
“Good.”
“G–Good?” Anne looked like she wanted to ask more, but she seemed to give up and move on. “Anyway, are you ready to get back to work?”
“Yeah, I should have some time now.”
“Great. Actually, while you were away, we picked up a few more young members who… agree with our cause. In fact, several of them seemed to have joined up because they were inspired by you…”
“That’s nice.” Lupy couldn’t have cared less.
“Y–Yes… Anyway, things have been pretty calm around town, but for now, I’d like to have you patrolling some more and—“
“Anne.”
Lupy still didn’t know the guy’s name, but the one who worked together with Anne entered the room.
He gestured with his chin, leading Anne out of the room.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Anne called over her shoulder as she exited.
Lupy waited about thirty seconds before she left the room herself and returned to the entrance, which was actually a bakery. After brief negotiations with the employee, she stuffed her face with several pastries. As she finished chewing, she offered her opinion on the quality of the goods. “You know, if you don’t do a better job, people won’t believe this is just a bakery.”
Before the employee could respond, she returned to the backrooms. A few minutes later, Anne joined her again.
“Lupy, things might get a bit complicated soon.”
“Why?”
“Apparently, there was some type of incident when our local dungeon monster visited the capital.”
“Who?”
“Oh, uh, that dungeon master in the Lower Gordu Forest.”
“Oh.”
“You’re probably wondering why that matters to us…”
“Nah.”
“I–I see. That’s actually really promising… I think. I’ll let you know when we need your assistance with this matter. For now, let’s introduce you to the new members and work out the patrols.”
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Reese was panting, hands on his knees. He looked over each shoulder and saw the rest of his party similarly exhausted. Looking forward again, he inspected the door to the boss chamber, ready to be pushed open. “Everyone ready?”
“No,” one of his comrades answered honestly. “Just what the hell is up with this dungeon!?”
Reese felt the same way, but he wouldn’t admit it. “Now you know why we were assigned this special mission. Just be glad we all made it here in one piece. Hopefully, we won’t need to fight, but be prepared for battle just in case.”
The rest of his party nodded and reached for their weapons.
Reese approached the door and gave a firm shove, but what greeted them on the other side was entirely unexpected.