Duke stood on the top tower of his capitol city as he gazed down upon the still clean streets and restored buildings. He knew he had a list of tasks to complete that was simply too long for him to do by himself. What troubled him the most is that the vast majority of these tasks were ones only he could complete. As his mood darkened slightly, he noticed that the sky itself was darkening. Clouds were rapidly gathering overhead. His SENSE MAGIC Ability told him the cloud formation was not a natural occurrence. Resigning himself to yet another unexpected task, he rose into the air, piercing the growing clouds.
“Thank you for coming up to meet with me, Duke.”
“When a god calls, it seems like a poor decision to ignore him. Especially when said god has been helpful in the past.”
Orgath chuckled. “Indeed, that seems like a good policy. I, and my counterparts, have been watching your exploits ever since things went a bit too far with the horde. Then there was that business with Ghastul that Aehocho had to intervene in. You have set yourself up with some powerful enemies. Vithshrek still won’t even talk about why he personally cursed you, but he doesn’t seem to be as hateful as Ghastul who is actively seeking your demise despite being barred from action.”
Duke nodded. “Yes, I had that much figured out.”
“We recently noticed a change. There had been something barring us from directly interacting with you. That was not something any of us had really experienced before so when it vanished, we were intrigued.”
“I appreciate all the attention, well, mostly. But why me? Surely, I’m not the most powerful person on Teldin. Why the focus on me?”
“Because you are not from Teldin. You are an agent of change – everything you touch winds up vastly different than it was before. The status quo has been good to the divine. Change is dangerous for most of us who are invested in the status quo. So, they sent me to ask you a simple question that may not have a simple answer. What is your goal?”
Duke laughed. “My goal? That changes so often that it’s not even funny. But it comes down to one thing in the end. I protect myself and my people. If that requires me to become the most powerful mortal on the planet, then that is what I will do. If it requires me to go to other worlds to end threats there, then that is what I will do. I want freedom for my people to be able to live their lives without threat and under the flag of justice. Who my people are seems to be continually expanding and that’s OK for me. Does that answer your question.”
“It tells me enough. It tells me that if someone threatens you, you will respond with everything you can muster. Is that not so?”
“No, that pretty much sums it up. But this all strikes me a beyond bizarre for a god to come down and interview me like this. Don’t you all have bigger fish to fry?”
“Chironia names you as a potential future threat. Or a benefactor. Even the divine are limited in our power. It is on a scale far beyond you, but from what she has seen, you may not be limited in such a manner. That, frankly, scares many of my brothers and sisters.”
“That’s interesting news. Do I need to worry that there’s a list of gods gunning for my death?”
“No, Chironia made it clear that directly attacking you left us in a far worse state than if we left you to become whatever it is you become. That is not to say that some still work against you in less direct means.”
“Good to know. Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Good luck, Duke. I, for one, think the changes you are bringing are beneficial to the Storm.”
Moments later, Duke was alone in the dissipating clouds. Great, more things to worry about. Oh wait. I already knew the god of death was after me so what really changed there. Perhaps it’s just good to know that someone is pulling for me among the gods. I need a vacation.
Duke made his way down to the city below, heading for the only tailor shop he knew of. Landing gently in front of the store, he nodded at the few people in the street. Still not enough people in the city. Upon entering, he was greeted by the tailor, a man named Esmeth. “Greetings, Your Majesty. Are you here to get outfitted for tonight’s festivities?”
“That would be the proper assumption. Now, what wonders of fashion do you have ready for me?”
“Oh, I think you’re going to like this.” Duke was promptly offered a trio of outfits to choose from. Each was impeccably tailored to his frame, and all were in the colors of the kingdom’s livery. Duke quickly agreed that he was a big fan of each of the outfits. He immediately purchased all three, happy to have them available for other events as well. They were quickly placed in his INVENTORY.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Leaving the shop, Duke decided he still had a few hours to get things done before he had to get back to the business of the kingdom. He flew up, gaining altitude until he was around fifteen kilometers up. He still marveled that he was able to breathe at this height. He wasn’t sure if it was because the atmosphere on Teldin extended further from the surface of the planet or if it was a factor of his stats, or even a quirk of his FLIGHT Ability. No matter the case, he was happy to be able to fly this high as it afforded him a nearly six-hundred-kilometer view to the horizon. His Reason pinged away at the math and unconsciously came upon an interesting discovery based on that number – Teldin was nearly twice the diameter of Earth. On Earth the horizon would be a bit over four hundred kilometers away at this height.
Duke proceeded to do a rapid series of TELEPORTATIONS to the eastern horizon, finding himself hovering far above an oasis in a desert. He descended to check it out. As he got closer, he saw that there were some semi-permanent structures – cloth stretched over wooden poles. These structures defined a central camp that currently seemed empty. The camp surrounded a small body of water, no larger than a backyard swimming pool. There were a few trees and other sparse foliage around the water as well.
A passing run-through of the area showed that it was indeed empty but there were signs of recent use. Duke smiled inwardly as he considered whether to plant a dungeon seed here. The camp appeared well-maintained which led him to conclude that those who stopped here were respectful of the oasis. It was a risk, planting a seed here but Duke was more hopeful than cautious. He retrieved a seed from his bag.
The brown dungeon seed seemed like a good choice for this spot. Duke moved away from all the structures and allowed enough room for the Inn structure to grow. And then, he planted the seed. The reaction was nearly instantaneous and exactly as Duke expected. The Inn grew from the sand just like the previous one had from the soil. He watched as it sprouted and grew, using his DUNGEON SENSE to see it more clearly. The flow and changing of the structure as it grew was fascinating to Duke and made his DUNGEON MANIPULATION Ability tingle, almost as if he was learning how to better manipulate the stuff of the dungeon as he watched. Moments later, a notification let him know that was exactly what had happened.
***
Your observation of the birth of a new dungeon has allowed you to gain additional insights into how the matter and dimensional spaces of a dungeon work. DUNGEON MANIPULATION has increased to Initiate 24.
***
Duke considered the notification and decided that he liked this approach better than the all-at-once notifications he had received previously. He spoke aloud. “Hey, Overmind. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I like the instant notifications better, except maybe when fighting. That could be a horrible distraction. Can you make it work that way?”
He received no response but had a sense that he was heard. He would have to wait and see if that was truly the case. The Inn was nearly complete. The size and structure were finished – the only things remaining were the decorative touches. Finally, a signpost extended out and Duke saw the name of the Inn. He shook his head but didn’t comment as he felt it was not his place to name these dungeons as they were independent entities.
When the sign was fully formed and the door flashed for the final time, Duke entered the Thirsty Scorpion Inn. The inside was the standard Inn configuration which made Duke happy. Setting up a network of these Inns across the planet would be easier if they all followed similar formats. He was greeted by the Innkeeper, a “normal-sized” white minotaur.
“Good day to you, Duke. Welcome to the Thirsty Scorpion Inn. I am known as Dagny. Can I get you a drink?”
“Why thank you, Dagny. I would love one.” Without hesitation, the minotaur placed a glass of some sort of strange, blue cocktail in front of Duke on the bar.
Duke picked up the glass, marveling at the drink before him. “A wish for your success, Dagny.”
An similar, if larger, glass appeared in the minotaur’s hand and he returned the salute drinking along with Duke.
“Oh, what is that stuff? It’s really good? Not my usual type of drink but I expect it to be rather refreshing coming out of the desert.”
“That, my friend, is called Electric Lemonade.”
“I like it even more now. Not replacing my scotch whiskey with it, but it’s definitely going into the rotation. How is your dungeon?”
“Ready for delving. Would you like to be the first?”
“I definitely would, but I can’t today. Too many things on my plate. Thank you for the drink.” Duke saluted with the empty glass before continuing with a new thought. “Do you have a way to contact the other dungeons?”
“All of the Inns are in contact with each other and our sire, The Lake Front Dungeon.”
“So, if you ever are in trouble, you can call for help?”
“I can, but there is little they could do to help me.”
“They could contact me, and that will be enough. I’ll come to your aid if it is ever needed. I worry a bit as you are here all alone without defenders like the Crimson Stag has.”
“While it is true that I don’t have resident defenders, I am far from defenseless. No one is getting to my core without surviving the full might of what I can bring to bear. And that is more than most anyone Sam has seen with a few exceptions. Yourself being one.”
“That’s good to hear. I’ll make it a point to visit from time to time to check in on you directly. But until then, take good care of yourself. I have to get back to my list of things to accomplish today.”
“Good luck, Duke. Thank you for planting my seed here. In time, I will grow even if it’s slow at first.”
With a final wave, Duke returned to Cloudspire, cheered that he accomplished another task for the day.