Duke arrived back in the common room of the Lake Front Inn, smiling at his new ability to TELEPORT directly into the dungeon. Immediately afterwards, Sam greeted him.

“You’re back. Did you plant all the seeds already.” He paused then answered for himself. “No, but you did plant one. What did you think?”

“I think a roadside Inn is a very cool design but I’m a bit biased. I did not run through the dungeon part even though it was sorely tempting. Are they all going to be that type of configuration?”

“Yes, they will. This configuration seems to work extremely well in keeping guests happy and delvers sharp. The old me was enthusiastic about killing off delvers but having delvers stay in the Inn long-term seems to afford me better long-term growth and I see the potential for faster short-term growth this way as well.”

“Are you sure that’s not just because of Havenreach?”

“Havenreach is a separate topic. That city has accelerated my growth in such a beautiful way that I have trouble quantifying it. It’s like having a one hundred level instanced dungeon that is constantly filled with delvers. And the city continues to grow which only keeps helping things along. I think that I am rather spoiled to have them.”

“Call it a symbiotic relationship. They seemed truly happy to be there. I hope it stays that way but that’s not really what I wanted to talk about. How does the setup for the feast look? Is everything in place for tomorrow evening?”

“Things are in place. Certainly. Everything will be set.”

Duke stared at Sam’s unblinking face. “You haven’t even gotten started, have you?”

Sam blinked. “Of course, I’ve gotten started. I’ve put a lot of thought into this. There will be food and decorations and music and performers and dancing bears.”

Duke shook his head and TELEPORTED back to the capitol. He needed someone to design this feast and festival and fast. He went to Lady Hargwaetch.

“Good evening, Your Majesty. What can I assist you with?”

Duke offered up a friendly smile. “Lady Hargwaetch, I honestly didn’t know if you would still be in your office at this hour.”

“I have been meeting with the trade delegations all day. It has been quite productive. They are all looking forward to tomorrow night.”

“About that, do you know anyone who could look over what we have planned and help us out. I’m not sure that we have set things up properly and I would hate to cause an international incident over serving the wrong cheese or something like that.”

“A fair concern. History does tell us that simple unexpected insults can cause insane issues. Of course, that depends on the fragility of the egos involved. From how their trade delegations have acted, both nations are proud but eager to befriend us. I feel that they see us as a potentially untapped resource. I can look over the plans for you if you like based on my discussions today.”

“I would very much like that, and they have no idea how much of your supposition is true. We have resources that will blow your mind. Things that no one outside of a few individuals are aware of and I think it’s time for you to be brought into the loop. Do you have time for an evening outing?”

“I’m an independent woman so my time is my own, well beyond my duties to the kingdom. And if my king requests my company for an evening outing, I most certainly am going to say yes.” She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.

Duke’s mind stumbled as he furiously tried to come up with what to say to shut that line of thought down while not offending one of his chief advisors. Mercifully, she did it for him.

“I have no interest in getting my head chopped off by a golden sword. I will keep it strictly business.” Her smile was no less flirtatious, but Duke understood the message – she would respect Aurelia’s space but was more than just interested.

One woman is more than enough for me to handle. I don’t need this. I really don’t need this.

“Yes, strictly business. That sounds appropriate.” Duke made sure to place extra emphasis on that word. “I will be back shortly, and I can show you one of our secret resources then.”

Duke departed, TELEPORTING right after leaving her office. He arrived in a chamber that Sam had specially prepared for Duke within the Lake Front Dungeon. This chamber was ornately decorated with obscure arcane symbols that Duke could easily read and interpret with his XENOGLOSSIA. The symbols were in every rune script that Sam had knowledge of. Each and every set of runes said the same thing: The Hall of Possibilities.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Duke looked around the room, seeing it was filled with blank stone archways. The archways gave the impression that there should be a passage through each, but all were blank stone, and they were large. Each archway was fifteen meters wide at its base and stretched a full thirty meters tall. Atop each archway was a long, blank horizontal rectangle of stone about a meter in height and stretching half the way across each side of the arch.

With a grin, Duke created his first Persistent Portal in one of the archways. His grin grew as Sam carved the destination in the rectangle above the Portal. Duke stepped through the portal to make sure the other side was as expected. The destination hall was even larger than expected. The chamber was decorated with statues and carvings depicting all sorts of mercantile endeavors. He chuckled at that but decided to leave it as it was out of amusement if nothing else. A quick look through the oversized exit doors told him things were as he hoped. He TELEPORTED back to the hall outside Lady Hargwaetch’s office and knocked on her door.

She opened the door immediately, showing that she was expecting him. Duke smiled. “I suppose you are ready then?”

“I am. Show me this hidden resource of our kingdom.”

With a wry grin on his face, Duke TELEPORTED the two of them to the Hall of Possibilities. The wonder of the room had an immediate impact.

“What is this place? What is that glowing blue archway?”

Duke beamed. “This is the Hall of Possibilities. It is to be the trade center of our kingdom. Each one of these archways will, in time, contain a portal to another city, another nation. The first of these portals will take us to the mystical city of Havenreach. Are you ready?”

“Ready? I have so many questions, but please show me this mystical city of which you speak.”

Duke led her to the portal as her head swiveled around taking in all the sights within the Hall. Together, they stepped through and into the receiving hall of Havenreach. Lady Hargwaetch stumbled as she stepped through the portal, her eyes wide and confused. He continued to lead her through the open doors at the end of the hall.

When they stepped out, they were overlooking Havenreach. Duke saw that the city was still growing as buildings were under construction in various places. He was not sure, but it looked like several new structures had been erected since he had been here last. He tried to think about how long it had been but couldn’t be sure. Maybe a week since I’ve been here. That could be months in the sped up timeframe of this place. I have to check in on Elaine and Grat while I’m here this time.

“Welcome to Havenreach, Lady Hargwaetch. Let’s go check in with the mayor and see what they have for us.”

What they had was a bit of a welcoming committee. As the pair stepped beyond the doors, guards marched out from either side of the building. They were all wearing the livery of the Kingdom of Stormstride, the glowing red gem centered on their chests with a white background and sky-blue border looking fresh and clean. Duke unconsciously activated CLEANSE and RESTORE to make sure that the troops looked perfect. He was sure that wasn’t because of his vanity. Quite certain of it.

The guards formed two lines, four ranks deep. One on each side of the exit doors and saluted. Duke returned the salute saying, “Return to your posts.” The guards marched back out of the way and to the sides of the building where they were normally posted.

“Well, that’s something you don’t see every day. And where is this city? I don’t recognize it or the location at all and I know every city in both kingdoms.”

“Perhaps you once did but Havenreach is a city like none other. It magically protected and cannot be reached except by the Hall of Possibilities.”

“How is this possible?”

“We do have an Archmage on staff who created one of the only stable portal systems in all of Teldin.”

“Baslin created this?”

“Oh look, I think the mayor has come out to greet us.” Duke gestured towards a group of approaching figures. “Let’s not tarry and instead meet them halfway.” He immediately started walking towards the group that had set off from the town. They met up after a few minutes of walking.

All the members of the approaching party bowed, and Mayor Shellenberger spoke up first. “Welcome back to Havenreach, You Majesty. It is, as always, a pleasure to be in your presence.”

“Thank you Mayor Shellenberger. Everyone, please rise and relax. There are some new faces here that I am not familiar with. I would know who you are. But first, allow me to introduce Lady Hargwaetch, the Kingdom’s Minister of Trade.”

Greetings were exchanged and introductions were made. Most were minor functionaries of the town including the head of the guard and the master of the guilds. There was one amongst them that stood out as different. That was Lord Greengold, the Trade Minister for the town. His blue eyes struck Duke as hiding a level of clever intelligence that could be dangerous to place in such a position. It could be equally a blessing depending on how the person conducted themselves. I’m going to have to test this one’s loyalty somehow. This city’s trade is far too important to go awry.

“It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I was not aware of there being a Minister of Trade for Havenreach but that is good to see. Lady Hargwaetch will have a lot of questions for you, Lord Greengold. Be sure to get to know each other well as you will be working on many things together. Now, Lord Mayor, let’s you and I return to the city proper so we can discuss a few matters. I trust Lady Hargwaetch will be well in your care, Lord Greengold?”

“Don’t worry, I got her.” The response was simple but set Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA off. There was a full-on protective vibe coming from the man. Duke watched closely as they departed back to the city before he and the mayor set off to the City Hall.

As they walked, Duke asked about the man that was setting off his senses. “Where did that Greengold come from and how did he get that position? Something about him doesn’t seem right.”

“That’s probably because he’s not native to the kingdom. He was a visiting merchant from the Ansky Empire when everything came apart under Chopie. Do not worry about his allegiance though. He is a Havenreach citizen through and through. He just has some odd mannerisms and idioms from his upbringing.”

Duke decided to let the matter slip to the back burner and continued with the mayor to City Hall. There is definitely something about that guy that seems different. It might be the upbringing in another kingdom but I’m not sure that’s it. Duke’s thoughts were interrupted when they arrived at City Hall and could begin the real discussions.