Duke arrived in the Mayor’s office unannounced, scaring the man half to death. As the man scrambled to compose himself, Duke simply asked, “Where is Lady Hargwaetch?”
Composing himself, the mayor responded, “The Lady is with Lord Greengold, Your Majesty. She has been staying at his manor.” He quickly provided directions and Duke departed with a simple thank you. The mayor stared at his retreating form with an inscrutable look.
It took Duke nearly an hour to move through the hustle and bustle of the city and reach Lord Greengold’s estate. It was on the outskirts of the city and Duke admired the placement on a rise to give the manor house a view of the city and the surrounding area. He strode up to the open gates and up the drive. A servant met him at the base of the steps leading to the door.
“Greeting, Your Majesty.” He spoke clearly and offered a courtly bow. “Your arrival is expected but an arrival by foot was most unexpected. Does Your Majesty require any assistance?”
Duke paused confused before he puzzled it out. They expected me to arrive by carriage. Yeah, not living up to those expectations and I’m OK with that. When I become a pretentious prick is when someone needs to murder me. He offered the servant a smile. “No assistance required my good man. Thank you for asking but I prefer to walk through the city. It affords me a much clearer impression of what things are truly like. Not that you really wanted or needed an explanation.”
Duke walked through the door into the manor and was greeted by Lord Greengold. “Come in and be welcome, Your Majesty! Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”
“No but thank you for the offer. Your name strikes me as interesting. Is it a common name in the Ansky Empire?”
“No not really. I’m of a one of a kind. Nobody else out there like me.”
“Your Majesty. So good to see you at last.” Lady Hargwaetch did a marginal job at controlling her temper as she strode into the entryway. Duke could see the fire in her eyes and knew he pretty much deserved it.
Lord Greengold, seeing the situation and not really knowing how the king was going to react, attempted to intercede. “Let’s all step into the study. We can discuss things in there.”
Duke found a comfy chair in the study and sat down. He noticed the look that Lord Greengold gave Lady Hargwaetch telling her to calm down. As she did indeed calm down, Duke gave him a nod of thanks before starting. “How have your discussions gone? Has Lord Greengold been able to relay all the wonderful things that Havenreach can supply?”
“Indeed. Lord Greengold has been a wonderful host. I have learned a great deal about this city and what it can provide. It is most promising, but I do wish that I had not missed the festivities with the visiting delegations. As Trade Minister, I should have been there.”
“Don’t worry, you will.” Duke responded enigmatically.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty. Did the festivities get moved?”
“No, nothing quite like that. It’s something much cooler than that, and something that remains as the greatest secret about Havenreach that is only known by a few. I am trusting you both to keep this secret.” He paused, waiting for an indication of agreement. Having received it, he continued. “The city of Havenreach sits in a different dimension than the rest of Teldin. And because it sits in this side dimension, time flows differently here. One day passes here for every hour on Teldin.”
“That’s…that’s unbelievable.” She replied.
“It is a very closely guarded secret that makes this city even more valuable to the kingdom. Can you imagine ordering something from a crafter that takes four weeks to complete and receiving it the next day? The illusion of inventory is a strategic asset for the kingdom. The fact that this city is just surrounded by natural resources makes it that much more amazing.”
“If it was anyone else telling me this, I would not believe them for a minute. Coming from the man who defeated an entire undead army and the mad king who led it and then went on to restore the entire capitol city to pristine condition, I have to believe you. How did you find this place?”
“That is an even greater secret that shall remain so for now. In time, I may be comfortable enough to reveal the full story, but our kingdom is still rebuilding, and I don’t want any angry or jealous neighbors to come decide to try and take this away from us. They would lose, but the loss of life would be great, and I would avoid that.”
“That seems a wise move, Your Majesty.” Lord Greengold spoke up. “I would not want even my former nation to come take over this city. Things run far too well here, and the people are genuinely happy.”
“That is how I see it as well although the adventurers are likely going to be a bit less enthusiastic for a bit as the level of gold they make is going to be harder to maintain without significantly greater effort. It was flooding the economy and would have caused far too much inflation. No one needs to be paying 10 gold for a loaf of bread and that is where things would have been headed had it continued as it was.”
“How did you change that? Increased the taxes?” Lord Greengold asked.
“No, the taxes will stay at their current low rate. I won’t share what I did as that is another state secret. We will give it a few months and see if it needs to be adjusted again. But I will have to cut this visit short. Despite the time difference both Lady Hargwaetch and I have very busy days ahead of us and we need to get started. Thank you, Lord Greengold, for taking such good care of our Merchant and Trade Minister. We shall meet again, I am sure.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“No problem. Glad to have her.”
Lady Hargwaetch said her goodbyes and before she could blink, she was standing in the Throne Room with Duke. After a moment’s disorientation, she excused herself and hurried to her office. She had so many things to do today!
Duke, for his part staggered to his throne and sat down as he was being assaulted by notifications.
***
External communication connection established.
So, you finally stepped out of the dungeon…You useless, ungrateful, miserable little human! I’m going to strip every ounce of power you have gained from your bones! You dare to defy ME! To defy US? I shall reduce your world to a fading cinder! Everyone you love shall die by my hand. And it will be slow. Their suffering will last for decades while they beg me to kill them!
Glad you got that off your chest little entity, but this one is under MY protection now. You have had your tantrum now move on. Find another candidate elsewhere and maybe treat them better so that they won’t leave you in favor of a better master.
***
Duke shuddered on the throne as the raw power and emotion borne through the messages ripped through him. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. The anger, the rage, was so raw, it cut through Duke leaving him feeling spent and exhausted. He sagged on to the throne trying to recover when the next set of notifications kicked off.
***
Sorry that they got in a last shot at you, but they can’t directly affect you anymore. They think they are big players in the cosmic game, but they have no idea what real power is. Let them wail and gnash their teeth at the injustice of putting “so many” resources into you only to have you taken away from them. Shame about losing those two titles, though. They could have been useful. Focus on your Core Strength Title for now. You still have seeds to plant, and they will all help you grow stronger.
That leads me to the next thing. They were holding experience and gains until they could put it all in a message for you. That is, when they deemed to give you experience and gains. Sort of a package thing? Did you like that? That’s not what I would normally choose, but if you really like it, I can do the same for you. I, personally, would rather you see the results of your efforts more directly. Just say something when you get through the messages. I’m excited about our new partnership. I hope you are too. You’re going to do so well in the competition if you stick to your training and growth.
Here is the last of what they were holding back from you:
Ability Increases:
TELEPORTATION has increased to Master 3
REGENERATION has increased to Adept 83
DUNGEON MANIPULATION has increased to Initiate 19
OVERCHANNEL has increased to Adept 33
CLEANSE has increased to Practiced 22
RESTORE has increased to Master 55
INVENTORY has increased to Practiced 24
FLIGHT has increased to Practiced 37
AURA of PROSPERITY has increased to Initiate 3
Skill Increases:
Aerial Maneuvering has increased to Practiced 17
Diplomacy has increased to Initiate 33
We will speak again soon. Prepare yourself, grow, gain power, and plant more dungeons!
***
Duke snapped back into focus and looked around the room. He saw his two ever-present guards, but they were focused on the room and surrounding environment. They pointedly did not see their king while he had sat dazed on the throne. With a shake of his head to clear the cobwebs, Duke stood back up, ready to get started on the day.
There is so much to do that I am sure that I am forgetting things. I know that I have the festival tonight and I need to set up the portals to take everyone there through the Hall of Possibilities. I hope that has the impact I am planning for. Showing them this capability could set my neighbors into pure jealousy and even war or it could make them see how valuable a trading partner we can be. It’s a gamble, but the payoff has the potential to be huge. I, um, better get started on the trading hub too. That’s not a today thing. Maybe tomorrow. Oh, and planting dungeons. I must check up on the Gnolls to make sure they are treating the Crimson Stag Inn properly. They seemed sincere. Oh, and I need to dig a bit deeper into that Greengold guy. Something’s not quite right with him.
Duke decided that was enough navel gazing and list making. He set out to actually get something done. He made his way back to Lady Hargwaetch’s office, realizing that he still didn’t have his party planner in place, and it was getting awful late. For some reason, she didn’t look all that happy to see him. He forged on anyway.
“Sorry to bother you again, but do you have that festival planner that we discussed?”
“Yes, he should be here in a few minutes. I still don’t see how in the world this will be ready for the reception this evening. There’s just not enough time.”
“Don’t worry about that. We have magic on our side.”
“Lovely.”
“Indeed. I’ll just wait here for him to arrive and then I can take him to the venue so he can meet his staff for the event.”
She didn’t respond as she had too many things of her own to do and it really was a matter of minutes before the planner arrived.
The man was impeccably dressed and polite to a point. His bow to Duke was textbook perfect and he patiently waited to be recognized.
“As you were. Thank you for coming at such short notice. What is your name?”
“Siegfried Appleton at your service, Your Majesty.”
“Great. There’s an awful lot to plan and we need to get started.” Duke TELEPORTED with Sigfried to the “Party Level” that Sam had created for him. There, he introduced Sigfried to his party staff that Sam had created for them.
After a quick round of individuals introducing themselves, Duke picked it up. “Sigfried, this hall is magical. Anything you need can and will be created for the event. Need a diamond-studded soup ladle? Just say so. Need a purple carpet with a gold border, just ask for it. Need the ceiling to be an accurate depiction of the stars in the night sky? It can be done. There are no limits here and I expect you to make this event something that will not soon be forgotten. Do you have any questions?”
“This is a reception for representatives from the Ansky Empire and the Kingdom of Tannish and we wish to have positive relations with both nations?”
“Yes, and yes.”
“How much time do I have until the event begins and from where will the guests enter?”
“Good questions. Latter first. The archway on the far side of the room will be the magical Portal everyone will enter and leave from. You can change the decoration of it to whatever suits the event, but please don’t change the overall shape. That could lead to problems. As for the former…how long would you like?”
“Your Majesty, a week to plan would be ideal, but I understand that the event is this evening.”
Duke received the subtle nod from one of the aides and smiled. “The magic is set. You have one week to prepare the venue and menu. I will come by and check on you in a few days.”
Before the man could respond, Duke vanished, leaving him standing there with half a dozen servants patiently waiting for him to direct them.
“Oh, Lady H. You owe me for this. OK, let’s see how this goes. I need three dozen circular tables set up in an offset hemispherical pattern.” He gasped as the tables formed from the floor, looking entirely like they were made of polished wood. Smiling for the first time today, he set to work.