When Duke exited the portal, he felt the transit disorientation hit him far worse than when he went in. He recovered in a moment and without pausing, he went right over and into the Inn. “Sam, I have questions for you!”
Sam appeared next to Duke. “What can I help you with, Duke?”
“What is the time difference in the dungeon city?”
“It’s currently running at 25 to 1.”
“And for how long has it been running at 25 to 1?”
“Only for the past two weeks. Not that long.”
Duke fixed his anger on Sam. “Turn it back down.”
“But why? They are all growing so quickly. My Mana gains are the fastest I have ever seen. Did you know that the city dungeon already has thirteen levels? Thirteen, Duke! At this rate, I’ll be able to bud off another seed in maybe another week, perhaps even faster. Think of the possibilities!”
“Sam, what happens to anyone who leaves the dungeon city and goes back after two days?”
“Nothing. They will be perfectly fine.”
“No, they will find almost two months have passed for everyone else. The confusion alone will be a terrible strain. You have to stop it.”
“If you say so, I will. But nobody leaves the dungeon city. It’s too idyllic of a place. Food is plentiful, everyone can grow as they want. Magic is prevalent. Natural and magical resources are everywhere. Crime is virtually nonexistent. They have a dungeon to adventure in and beasts in the wilds to hunt down. Why would they want to leave?”
Is it really all that bad? They will quickly become a different society all their own, but is that so terrible? It’s true that people seemed happy there except the clerk at the guild, she seemed bored to death. They are producing tax revenue like mad so that could support the entire kingdom until I get everything back on track. It just seems wrong to seal them in like this. It’s not a prison and even my PURPOSE doesn’t think they are trapped. Damnit! I need to talk to someone. I didn’t even look for Elaine and Grat in there.
“Fine. Keep it running, but if things start to go wrong, slow it down to normal time immediately. Is that understood?”
“Yes, of course. No problem.”
“One more question. Are you, or did you create the Royal Dungeon Administrator in there?”
“One of my favorite creations. You didn’t meet him though. I would have known about that. Made it really easy to set things up for the city’s taxes and all that.”
“I’m reserving judgement, but it seems to be working out well. I just can’t get rid of a nagging feeling that something is just not right with it all.” Sam did not respond, leaving Duke alone with his thoughts.
After some contemplation and getting more and more frustrated, Duke headed out of the Inn looking for something to vent his frustration on. He quickly realized that the area for at least ten kilometers around the Inn had been cleared of monsters and he would have to go elsewhere to find something to vent his frustrations on. He TELEPORTED.
***
Duke found himself in the Wildheart Refuge once again. His sudden appearance outside the Council Chambers caused a flurry of activity as several beastkin panicked at the sudden appearance of a human in their midst. The Chamber guards stiffened, and then launched into action, drawing weapons and preparing for a fight. Duke quickly found himself surrounded by armed and twitchy beastkin. He stood still, his face impassive.
Maybe I should have found a better way to get here without scaring the ever living shit out of their guards. Hindsight is 20/20 after all. Just chill and wait for Council Members to come out and get it all settled down.
Duke did not have to wait long before Snarlheart came charging out of the Council building ready for a fight with Emberclaw hot on his heels. The two councilors slid to a stop as they reached the circle of guards, having recognized Duke.
Emberclaw broke out in laughter, quickly followed by Snarlheart. “Duke, you have awful timing. Guards, stand down. This human is known to us and is a friend of the beastkin.” The guards glared at Duke for a moment longer before returning to their posts.
“Awful timing? Am I interrupting something?” Duke was confused and concerned.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“You could say that.” Emberclaw answered. “We are in the middle of a war council and your sudden appearance here nearly set everyone off!”
Snarlheart added, “Duke, come in and join our Council meeting. Your perspective may actually be helpful.” The two leaders escorted Duke beyond the irritated guards who visibly still had their hackles up. Duke nodded at the guards and restrained himself from delivering a quip. Barely.
The Council chamber was full. There were far more beastkin in there than Duke had seen the last time he was in this same room. Every single eye was on Duke immediately. Gasps and growls were in equal measure.
“You bring a human into this council of war? This goes too far Emberclaw!”
“The enemy in our very own chambers! Outrage!”
Dozens of other voices spoke up in argument and protest over Duke’s presence. Duke, for his part, let it all unfold around him having no real idea what was going on. All he knew for sure was that this was a war council and most seemed alarmed at his presence.
First guess is that there is another problem with humans but I’ll just chill until somebody tells me what’s going on.
Duke’s musings and all the arguments going on around him were interrupted by a loud trumpet from an elephant beastkin.
“Thank you, Thornbloom.” Emberclaw spoke up. “Now, everyone settle down. This human is Duke and he is a friend to the beastkin. He came to us some time ago seeking friendship and a possible alliance. Now that we are in a time of need, he comes to us yet again in friendship to help defend our lands. And you have the callousness to treat him like an enemy. Be ashamed of yourselves!”
Help defend their lands? I wanted some action but jumping into a war – that wasn’t on the agenda. Clever fucking maneuvering Emberclaw. Now I have to help fight or I can kiss all the goodwill goodbye. Damn, I need some political tutoring from her. She’s more savvy and slick than any politician I have ever seen!
Heads bowed at the admonition and Emberclaw took Duke’s hand, leading him to her Council Chair. “Stand beside me, my friend and ally and let us together hear what the scouts have to report.” As Duke did just that he felt a tug at his waist. Looking down, he spotted Nibblesworth next to him. The mousekin gave him a beaming smile and a thumbs-up. Duke returned the smile before turning his attention back to the scouts’ report.
When Duke looked back up the scouts began their report to the Council. “Councilors and…guest. We have scouted the approaching forces. These numbers are not exact but are as close as we could count. They have two thousand cavalry, ten thousand infantry, three thousand archers, dozens of war engines, and maybe a dozen or more giantfolk. They will reach our lands within four days.”
The chamber erupted in bedlam at the report. Duke leaned down to ask Emberclaw. “Is that a lot? Folks seem to be worried.” She shot him a glare that he read as a mix of amazement and annoyance.
Again, the elephantine beastkin silenced the crowd with a loud blast from his trunk. Emberclaw turned to Snarlheart. “What is the status of our forces?”
“We have but two thousand troops ready to fight. Even if we dig in, they won’t be enough to hold off a force that large.”
Duke stepped forward before the panic could rush through the chamber again. Fuck it. In for a penny, In for a pound. “Let me go talk to the approaching forces on your behalf. I will persuade them to leave you alone.”
A weaselkin shouted, “Send the human!” It took all of three seconds for most of the chamber to shout some sort of agreement. Most were along the line of sending Duke to deal with his own kind.
Emberclaw nodded at Duke with a look of sorrow in her eyes. “Do be careful, friend. This is not a gentle enemy you face. Let’s discuss a few things before you go.”
Emberclaw and Snarlheart took Duke to her office for a chat. “Duke, you have placed yourself in a precarious position.”
Snarlheart joined in. “I know you can fight well, but this is an entire army of hardened warriors approaching. They will have mages and they even have giantkin with them. A mountain giant for fur’s sake! I know our forces can’t match theirs, but I would not see a worthy man such as yourself sacrifice himself so needlessly.”
Duke smiled. “If I can’t convince them to turn back, I have more options than they can handle. I can have another ten thousand troops here in two days if needed. Probably more. That many emplaced troops can hold off the approaching army. They would be from the Thrice Blessed Legion and they have all seen combat already. But first, I will talk to them and convince them to leave.”
“They come to eradicate us, Duke. They will not listen. They have slain every ambassador and emissary we have sent. Negotiation is not possible with these people.” Emberclaw shook her head.
Duke dismissed her concern. “If they want to fight, I will give them a fight they will not soon forget. When first I came here, I sought allies and trading partners. You,” He gave Emberclaw a nod, “welcomed me and treated with me fairly. You were kind of a dick.” He smiled at Snarlheart. “But you came around. Since then, I have conquered a kingdom and now sit on its throne. As a king, I cannot. Will not, turn my back on an ally in their time of need.”
“I would not ask you to do so. The risk is too great” Emberclaw countered. “What would happen to our alliance should you fall?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’ve faced down all sorts of scary things before. I assure you that I am far scarier than they are when I want to be. Do you have a map that you can show me where they are and where they are headed?”
Snarlheart nodded and tried to send his map information to Duke but became puzzled when he couldn’t. “Why can’t I send my map to you, Duke?”
“I don’t have a functional map right now. Just another thing about me that doesn’t work like everybody else. Can you draw it out for me?”
An hour later, Duke had enough of an idea of landmarks and directions that he was comfortable heading out. He flew upwards from outside the Council chambers. He could tell that there were still mixed emotions amongst the crowd. The majority were simply afraid, but there were some that simply mistrusted him and some that were placing their hope in Duke’s success. He was leaning into the emotions of the latter group.
He kept his flight speed reasonably slow as he approached the area of the approaching army. From above, he could tell that the estimates on troop strength were low. Either more troops had joined, or they just miscounted by half. With jaw set, he began his descent to start “negotiations.”