Chapter 6: The King's Challenge
DM sent a morphling to meet Olivia on the first floor. “…Sorry about that.”
“Oh, it’s all right. I’ve learned not to let every little thing bother me.”
“…You didn’t bring any young adventurers today.”
“…I’m actually here to deliver a message. I’m not sure if you’re going to like it.”
“…Well, I guess I’ll brace myself.” A chair spawned behind the morphling as it sat down.
“DM, you were invited to play the game chess with the King.”
“…What?”
“I don’t know all the details, but the royal palace sent a message by way of Lord Davidson asking if you would be willing to send a morphling to the capital to meet with the king and play chess.”
“…Just a morphling?”
“Yes. I guess they thought it would be too much to ask you to make the trip yourself.”
“…Do you know why chess?”
“I’m sorry DM, I don’t. I don’t think the invitation is supposed to be a demand, but if you agree, Lord Davidson will arrange transportation to the capital.”
“…I could have a morphling at the royal palace in five minutes if I wanted, but let’s do things their way.”
Olivia gulped but didn’t say anything.
“…All right. I don’t really get what’s going on but all they’re requesting is a morphling so I can’t think of any reason to refuse.”
“Great! The Guild Master said he doesn’t care if you accept or not, but it was important that the Guild deliver the message accurately since the Lord asked… or something like that.”
“…I’d say I should brush up on my chess, but honestly, trying too hard to defeat the king seems like a bad idea. He might get violent.”
“Hahahaha…” Olivia laughed nervously.
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With Kat’s party clean after the messy zombification ritual, they were willing to wait for Shiba to finish trying to make the dragon skeleton summonable. Vulp and Lupy sparred while Kat and Bandit chatted with Shiba sitting atop the dragon’s head.
“Are you able to attune other zombies you make?” asked Kat.
“No, I don’t think so. I just feel like I’m able to with this dragon for some reason.”
“Daphne claimed the dragon stayed with her,” said Bandit.
“Yeah. I won’t be able to summon a talking dragon like Daphne. I think DM will take the dragon for one of his dungeons anyway.”
Kat stretched her arms out, as if yawning. “How long do you think it will take?”
“You’re so impatient! A few more hours? I’ll know when I feel like I can dismiss it.”
“Does Harold know anything about what you’re trying to do?”
Shiba shook her head at Bandit’s question. “He’ll just say something mean if I try to tell him anyway.”
“Well, he’s not the nicest guy,” Kat agreed as diplomatically as she could.
Eventually, Vulp complained that she was getting too tired to continue sparring and joined the others. Lupy declared victory and started sparring with her minotaur.
Vulp sat down on the grass to rest her legs and then summoned her fox companion. She petted the fox’s fur while staring up at Shiba.
Kat glanced at Vulp and then looked back at Shiba. “You won’t be able to pet your monster anymore, you know.”
“Neither can Bandit,” Shiba replied.
“That’s not…” Bandit wanted to object, but she really couldn’t. She had no desire for closeness with her succubus familiar. Maybe she’d feel differently if she was a guy.
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Kat must have noticed the sad look on Bandit’s face. “Here, you can pet mine with me.” She summoned her dog companion.
“Thanks Kat.”
After more time passed, Lupy quit sparring and walked over to join the rest. She sat herself down in the minotaur’s lap.
The other girls all stared at Lupy.
“What? Mine’s strong and soft!”
There was no point in arguing with her when it came to such matters. They waited a bit longer until Shiba suddenly instructed the dragon skeleton to lower its head. She slid down the side and turned to face it. “Here I go!” She waved her arm and the skeleton disappeared. “Hah!” She waved her arm a second time and the dragon skeleton reappeared. “Huh?” She wobbled a bit and then fell down to her knees. “That’s so tiring…”
Bandit support her from behind. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just, summoning or dismissing it is exhausting…”
“I guess that makes sense.” Bandit scooped up a tiny bit of dirt and rubbed it on her own forearm. She also scratched it slightly with her nail. “Let’s see if this still works.” She wrapped her arms around the dragon skeleton’s leg, keeping an eye on her forearm.
After a minute, Bandit let go. “It still seems to clean you, although the healing is really slow.”
“But our skin is so nice now!” Kat said cheerfully.
“Why does that matter?” asked Lupy.
“Some girls care about that!” Kat shouted.
“Especially nobles…” Vulp noted, likely recalling some less than happy recent memories.
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At the pre-arranged time, DM’s morphling approached the western gate to the Twin Cities, where a carriage was waiting. Lord Davidson’s son Rufus was standing by with a few other city guards. When the morphling, in the form of a lone man, approached from the forest on foot, Rufus approached.
“DM?”
“…Yes. This is my morphling I’m sending to the capital.”
“Ah, Excellent! My father assigned me the task of ensuring you make the journey safely.”
“…You do realize even if the morphling dies I can just send another one, right?”
“Well, yes, of course… But it would look quite poor if we failed to provide safe passage to the king’s guest, monster or not!”
“…There’s no need for the Lord to risk his son for that purpose, but suit yourself. My morphling will basically be asleep for the whole journey, just so you know. …It won’t need food or anything like that.”
“Very well. I will engage in delightful conversation with the other escorts.”
The morphling climbed into the unoccupied carriage and sat down. A crude chess board rested on the seat opposite. “…Why the chessboard?”
“Ah.” Rufus took a moment to choose the right words. “The king’s message requested we grant you adequate time to practice. Since he was also hoping for your attendance as soon as possible, my father decided that any practice would need to occur while en route.”
“…I can practice here in the dungeon without needing a chess set in the carriage, but thank you for the thought.”
“Think nothing of it. In fact, I have a great idea, DM. How about I have an artisan craft you a custom chess board, complete with a coat of arms decorating the surface? It could be a design of your choice, or even that of my family if you sought such permission.”
“…Are random citizens really allowed to just start using their own coat of arms? I’m hardly a noble or a knight or a person.”
“I’m sure my father would approve provided you did not present it on an escutcheon or garment which implied heraldic authority.”
“…I’m not sure I know what all those words mean but I’ll pass on the offer for now.”
“A pity. Well, I’d tell you to enjoy the ride, but I suppose that doesn’t matter much when your main body is back in the Lower Gordu?”
“…Indeed. I need to get back to work on my dungeon. There’s a new feature I’ve been meaning to try out.”
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In the Zarakhelese Empire, Karen Burger was walking the grounds alongside a man from another noble house. She couldn’t imagine why he was so eager to pursue her right after her family’s fall from grace during the recent rebellion. It was true she was getting on in years, and her father had desperately pleaded with her many times to take a husband, but she hadn’t felt any of the men pursuing her were worth the effort of actually living with them long-term. She’d sooner remain alone and pursue her interests than force herself to marry for political reasons. If anything, Jonathan was the one who needed to get his act together and marry. Well, it would be hypocritical of her to tell him that.
As they walked, she didn’t get the sense that this suitor was just going through the motions. He really did seem eager to take her hand. Since a political motivation was unlikely, it was possible the guy actually fancied Karen and just wanted to marry for love. In principle, Karen took no issue with that, but it was a moot point if the guy was dull or had other limitations that rendered him unsuitable in Karen’s eyes.
“Why did you take so long to reach out to me?” she asked. “I’ve been available all the while, haven’t I?”
“Well, yes. I only met you in person recently. Based on reputation, I previously thought you wouldn’t be interested in someone like me, so I didn’t give the matter much thought. Only when I saw you in action during the recent conflict did I… well, can we say it was love at first sight?”
Karen thought that was pretty lame, but she didn’t say anything. Even she could be a perfect lady when she needed to be. Still, she wasn’t sure if things were going to work out with the gentleman today either. She led him to a small lake behind the main house. She enjoyed walking along the boarded path over the water, especially where the lily pads were densest near the gazebo at the center of the lake. What she wouldn’t admit was that she enjoyed watching the frogs swim around too.
“Isn’t this a bit dangerous without any railings to place our hands on?” her escort asked.
“Nonsense. I’ve been walking here my whole life, and it’s never been a problem. Unless… is your footing unstable when you walk?”
“No… of course not.”
“Then pay it no mind. Here, come with me.” She led him at a relaxed pace toward the center of the lake. A maid stood by in the gazebo with tea service already laid out. “It’s just about time for tea, is it not?”
“How thoughtful, Ms. Burger.”
“It’s really nothing.”
After the pair took a few more steps, a tentacle spawned in front of Karen and smacked her, sending her flying into the lake.