Zeke stepped out of the latest dungeon, his shoulders sagging in mingled relief and exhaustion. Adara followed behind, though she was in much worse shape. Her complexion had turned even greener than normal, and she staggered with every step. That was Zeke’s first hint that she wasn’t okay. The second was when she bent over and vomited in the ankle deep water of the bog surrounding the dungeon’s entrance.

In only a second, he was by her side. He laid his hand on her back, channeling mana into the runes governing [Hand of Divinity]. Healing coursed through her, waging a localized war with the poison and disease rampaging through her body.

For his part, Zeke felt a similar effect, though he was far more capable of enduring. Partly, that was because of his much higher endurance, but it was also because his resistances to the two types of attuned mana were significantly better. The result was that the nausea that effects that had nearly crippled her were only nauseating to Zeke.

Even so, they’d been inside that dungeon for close to a week, and no one could endure that sort of sickness unfazed. As a result, Zeke was well and truly done with anything to do with disease and poison.

“It was so different than the centaur trials,” he said to Eveline, referring to the dungeon he’d conquered to earn the centaurs’ trust. Back then, he’d gotten a disease based treasure, but it was much too weak for his purposes. So, when the scouts had found another disease- and poison-based dungeon, he’d jumped at the chance to gain an upgrade. He very much regretted it. “That was more caustic than anything.”

Indeed, the dungeon had very much resembled the swamp in which it had been located, and it carried with it many of the same issues characteristic of such an environment. Zeke had never seen so many stinging insects, venomous reptiles, or disease bearing rodents. They’d swarmed him the second he’d stepped through the entrance, and they had kept up the pressure through the entire dungeon.

Even Eveline had been affected. How that was possible for a mind spirit, Zeke had no idea, but she’d grown progressively more lethargic until she’d all but disappeared from his mind. To counter that, he’d developed a new technique where he channeled [Hand of Divinity] into his own mind. It had worked, healing her just as thoroughly as it did anyone else, but with the side effect of giving Zeke a pervasive headache.

It was also exhausting.

He didn’t think she would have made it through the dungeon otherwise, so he couldn’t bring himself to regret it.

Regarding the nature of the dungeon’s other obstacles, Zeke could only call them frustrating. He’d fought an enormous snake who was large enough to swallow him whole, battled a mosquito the size of a cargo plane, and waged a war against a swarm of fist-sized flies whose bites were almost enough to kill Adara in seconds. Of course, she’d been forced to sit the last one out, but she had also made quite impressive gains in the rest of the dungeon.

Though she wasn’t in any condition to enjoy them.

In that dungeon, he’d seen a side of her that he couldn’t have anticipated. The vulnerability, he’d expected to go through with her at one point or another. Sitting in a cave and nursing her back to health had been a novel experience, especially considering the expression of her afflictions.

“You will never speak of what happened in that dungeon,” Adara said, looking up at him. Her expression held notes of anger and pleading, though he wasn’t sure which one was more dominant.

“My lips are sealed,” Zeke stated solemnly.

Once Adara had recovered a little of her strength, they began the long trek through the swamp and back to civilization. On the way in, Zeke had remarked that it was an incredibly unpleasant environment, but after experiencing the bobby hellscape that was the dungeon, it felt like a walk in the park. Sure, there were plenty of venomous reptiles and insects, but they seemed like pale imitations of the truly dangerous creatures within the dungeon.

Still, it felt endless.

The swamp – referred to by the locals by the simple moniker of No Man’s Land – covered hundreds of miles, and the dungeon they’d just conquered was right in the center. So, it took them the better part of three days of difficult travel before they reached the edge. Then, they were forced to travel through the slightly more forgiving wetlands until, at last, reaching a mountainous region characterized by forests.

It was only then that they allowed themselves to relax.

Zeke could have simply summoned a gate, then stepped inside to get a break from the elements. However, he knew that Adara – proud as she was – wouldn’t have appreciated being seen in such a state. She was covered in mud, vomit, and other unpleasant things, and the swamp hadn’t afforded them any opportunity to fix those issues.

So, when they came across a mountain stream, they were more than willing to take advantage. Without hesitation, they both stripped down and bathed. After that, Zeke laid out an impromptu picnic while Adara burned her old and ruined clothes. She probably would have gotten rid of her armor, too, but it was high-quality gear that had been bonded to her the day she’d become one of the Knights of Adontis. That organization was now defunct, and she’d left it even before its fall, but the armor remained.

Of course, Zeke could have broken that bond with a generous application of his Will. He’d done so for a few other former Knights. But when he’d offered that to Adara, she had outright refused. Was the armor so valuable? Or did she wear it as a reminder of her old life? Zeke had no idea, and he sensed that asking would have been the wrong move.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“You didn’t sense anything. I told you,” Eveline reminded him.

“Same difference,” he said.

She rolled her eyes.

After Adara had finished cleaning up – both herself and her armor – she returned to the riverbank where Zeke had built a fire and set out a few pieces of furniture. Most prominent among them was a bed, but he’d also retrieved a couple of padded chairs and a table from his storage space. Upon that table was a feast.

A platter containing a wild hog shank was the centerpiece, but there were tureens of vegetables, fluffy bread with fresh butter, and a cask of wine Zeke had taken from one of the Imperium’s palaces.

“What’s all this, then?” Adara asked, raising one eyebrow.

He shrugged, then gestured to one of the chairs. “This is what you do after you’ve been sick, right? That’s what my mom used to do when I was a kid. The second I got over whatever was wrong, she’d practically force feed me.”

As she sat, she asked, “What was she like? Your mother, I mean.”

Zeke took the other chair, answering, “I don’t know. She was a good mom, but she had her flaws. I didn’t see them as much when I was younger, but these days, I recognize that she had her own issues. I think that’s part of getting older, right? You realize that your parents are just human.”

“Or orc.”

He smiled sadly, knowing her history well enough. “Just an expression. I didn’t mean to –”

“I know,” Adara interrupted. “I met an orc once. A full-blooded one. They were…formidable. And terrifying.”

“They?”

“Couldn’t tell if they were male or female. That’s the thing with orcs. You’d have to manually check if you wanted to know for sure,” she said. “They have all the proper parts. It’s just that they come from a very cold climate, and they’re usually decked out in thick furs. No real difference in size or facial features though. Not that we would notice, at least.”

“What happened?”

“They tried to kill me,” Adara answered.

“Oh. Did you fight them?”

She shook her head. “No. I was only sixteen years old at the time, and I’d barely even begun my training. So I ran,” she said. “Thankfully, there were plenty of Knights around to step in. They fought the orc, and a couple of them died. A couple of others expected me to repay them for their act of ‘kindness.’ I didn’t, which was the beginning of my issues.”

“That’s…”

“In the past,” she said, reaching for the central platter and slicing a hunk from the hog shank. “So, what’s the plan now? We need to find a water treasure too, right? Then divine and demonic, too? After that, you’ll complete your quest.”

Zeke nodded. “I have some people looking for a water treasure. Some of the former slaves were willing to travel to Westport, which is apparently a trade hub,” he stated. “I’m hoping they’ll be able to buy one.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” Adara said, biting into the juicy meat. Unsurprisingly, she had neglected the vegetables. Apparently, that was one of the few nods to her orcish heritage that she didn’t try to fight. They were entirely carnivorous, and Zeke could count on one hand how many times he’d seen her partake of vegetables or fruit. She did like sweets and bread, though. She continued, “Those kinds of treasures don’t really get sold. If they find one, you’ll probably have to kill the owner.”

“So I’ve been told.”

That was indeed the case, but Zeke had the wealth of an entire nation at his disposal. Adontis had not been a prominent state. In fact, it was widely considered to be a provincial kingdom whose only claim to real power was its relationship with the Radiant Host. However, it was still a nation of more than a million people, and as such, it was wealthy in a way that no individual could ever boast. On top of that, Zeke had made a habit of looting anything and everything that wasn’t nailed down, which meant that he had a trove of rare and powerful crafting ingredients to his name.

And then there was the war against the Imperium. Four cities had already fallen, and his kobolds had taken everything claimed by the state itself. The civilians’ wealth, they mostly left alone, but the nature of such places was that few citizens of the empire would ever sit out a war. So, there just weren’t many people who could call themselves civilians. As such, Zeke’s coffers had seen an influx of wealth, which he hoped would allow his agents to buy things that otherwise would not have been for sale.

And then there was the other way. Zeke wasn’t above simply taking what he needed. So, if the owners of viable treasures resisted his efforts at buying them fair and square, he would do what was necessary.

After all, his people’s fate was at stake. The kobolds needed that Hall of Affinities if they were going to continue to progress. With that on the table, there was little he wouldn’t do to ensure their prosperity.

“You can’t go to war with everyone,” Adara advised.

Zeke narrowed his eyes. “I’m not talking about a war. I’m talking about walking into some merchant’s headquarters and taking what I need.”

“That’s a slippery slope,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s the wrong path, but I am telling you that it’s a good way to end up like Adontis or the Imperium. It doesn’t matter if your cause is just if you end up killing some poor merchant whose only crime was that he didn’t want to sell his prize treasure.”

Zeke was about to respond, but then he cut himself short. Adara was right. Of course she was. If he’d thought about it for even a second, he would have come to the same conclusion. Often, he’d thought of his efforts on behalf of the kobolds as honorable, and normally, he tried to do the right thing. However, of late, he’d found himself addicted to the notion that war was always the right answer. If someone stood in his way, he would simply trample them. If they refused to give him what he wanted, he would take it.

Because he thought he was justified.

In reality, though, if he let those ideas dictate his actions, he would only be a bully.

He sighed. “I was never meant to rule,” he muttered. Things were so much easier when he could just venture out into the wilderness and gather the items for his quests. But when other people were involved – on either side – things became significantly more complicated.

“Well, you are a ruler, whether you like it or not. That is a simple and indisputable fact. So, you need to accept it and act the part,” Adara said before taking a bite of the pork. “This is really good, by the way. And you were right. I’m famished.”

After that, their conversation died out in favor of the satisfaction of their hunger. Once they were finished eating, Adara collapsed onto the bed and immediately went to sleep. For his part, Zeke remained awake, and as he watched over her, he gave quite a lot of thought to what she’d said.

He was a ruler. A king. Practically a god to the kobolds. And he needed to start acting like it. But what did that mean? The entire point of a ruler was to look after the needs of his subjects. Wasn’t that what he was doing? Wasn’t that what he’d always done for the kobolds?

There was more to it, though, and he suspected that figuring that out was going to take more than a single night.