Duke TELEPORTED into the dungeon cell Pahst was being held in, blinding her as light flooded the completely enclosed cell. She recoiled with a hiss, her arachnidan features starting to show again. The queen was filthy, and Duke reflexively activated CLEANSE to remove the stink of her filth all over the cell.

He spoke in a deadpan, factual tone. “You sent an assassin to kill me. She failed. Miserably. Your venom was too weak to harm me.”

“Impossible! My venom is the strongest in all the lands!” She began to advance on him. Not rushing like when he placed her in the cell, but still moving in his direction. She stopped when Duke flashed an arc of LIGHTNING in her path, further blinding and dazing her.

“Regardless. You made your play, and I will give you credit that it was indeed an audacious one. But ultimately, you failed and that is your end. Time to accept the consequences of your actions.” Duke focused the full force of his Master-ranked TELEPORTATION, reinforcing it with a massive OVERCHANNELING. Still, he encountered stiff resistance that required him to focus for several seconds of struggle. The pressure mounted in his head, becoming a full-blown spike of pain lancing through his skull.

Pahst screamed in rage and frustration as she could feel him crushing her defenses. She stumbled backwards, falling to a knee as pain gripped her features mumbling some sort of invocation. She clutched her head intensely as the pressure and pain mounted but Duke did not relent.

Harder and harder, he pressed against her defenses until finally, they popped like a balloon, folding away from him in a flash. His Ability struck her in an instant and her hands slammed together over her neck before falling limply with the rest of her body to the floor. Her head had appeared in the open box Duke had prepared for just this occasion. The look of shock and horror on her face was frozen in place as the last of her lifeblood emptied into the silken pillow her head rested upon.

“Game over, bitch. Now to set up the delivery.” He activated CLEANSE to clean up all the blood and then closed up the box. “Hey, Sam, can you do anything with this corpse?”

Sam appeared grinning like an idiot. “Oh, you bet I can! This thing is going to make for a great boss-monster.”

“You don’t need the head, right?”

“No, the body is plenty. Thanks!”

“Knock yourself out. I have to go set up a delivery.”

Duke took his box and arrived in the king’s office which he had only visited once before. Using it more would require him sitting down for an extended period which just didn’t normally suit him. Still, this time he sat down to author a letter. One look at the quill and inkwell had him shaking his head. Five minutes of smudges, scratches, and other writing disasters including a spilled inkwell had him back in the Inn and creating a single item with his DUNGEON MANIPULATION. When he returned to his office, he was glad to see that it fit under his allowable amount to take from a dungeon. He activated a CLEANSE to clean up the spilled inkwell that had been the last straw for him.

Duke sat back down at his desk, pulled out a piece of parchment and began to write the note with his bright, shiny, new ballpoint pen. The grin on his face when he completed it told the entire tale. He opened a Portal back to the Inn and got Sam’s attention. “Hey Sam, include these in loot drops, will ya?”

“What is it?” Sam looked confused as he accepted the pen from Duke.

“Step one. That’s what it is. And include some paper, parchment, or whatever it’s called around here. Literacy needs to be a thing in the kingdom.”

“Whatever you say. This shouldn’t be hard to do. It’s not that complex a machine.”

“No, but it will revolutionize writing in the whole world. Now that I think about it, have it all come from Havenreach’s dungeon. Thanks.” Duke closed the Portal and opened up another one, no longer even noticing how casually he had started using them.

“Hello, love. Are you free for something?”

“Certainly.”

She stepped through the expanded Portal and met Duke in his office. “What do you need, Duke?”

“I need the assassin.”

“Oh, is that all? She is being held in the secure facility. It will take some work to get to her and get her here.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Is she bound so she can’t move?”

“Well, yes. But it will take some time to extract her.”

“Nah. I’ll take care of it.”

Duke reached out with his CLAIRVOYANCE and focused on the secure facility. It took him a few minutes to isolate the assassin. She was indeed bound hand and foot. Duke deemed her secure enough to move and TELEPORTED her to his office.

The gasp as she fell to the floor surprised Aurelia who drew her sword in response. Duke, on the other hand, seemed relatively unconcerned with her presence. He aggressively rolled the groaning prisoner onto her stomach and gestured for Aurelia to come over. “I’m going to remove the bonds on her legs for a bit. Make sure she doesn’t go anywhere.”

Aurelia looked at him. “What are you doing, Duke?”

“Oh, trust me, she’s going to get what she deserves.”

“If you were just going to execute her, why all this elaborate set-up?”

“Oh, that’s not what I have in mind. Now, hold her down.”

Aurelia planted her knee in the whimpering woman’s lower back and took hold of her legs above her ankles so she wouldn’t be in the way of the bindings. Duke stepped up behind the assassin and removed the bonds from her legs. She tensed, struggling to get free but Aurelia held her fast. Duke reached down and slowly spread the woman’s legs apart.

“What are you doing, Duke?”

“What must be done. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine when I am done.” He proceeded to pull the woman’s legs apart to shoulder width, his strength far exceeding her increasingly panicked struggles. He then pulled an iron bar out of his INVENTORY and slid it beneath her legs just above her ankles.

“OK, hold her in that position until I am done.”

“Duke…”

“Just do it.”

Aurelia held the woman’s legs in position as Duke bent the iron bar around her legs, trapping them in place. “Perfect. Let’s roll her over now.”

She helped him roll her over, giving Duke a clear “What the hell” look.

Duke acted faster this time and before she could even protest, the assassin had her arms bound in a strange position. Her arms were bound to her sides with the forearms extended in front of her. Duke pulled her to her feet and activated a CLEANSE to clean them all up.

“There. Almost ready.”

“What’s almost ready? What are you doing to me?”

“Ah, she speaks again. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, I am returning you home to the Kingdom of Pahst.”

“What?” Both women responded.

“Here, hold this.” Duke placed a beautifully-decorated box into the assassin’s hands. She had little choice but to hold it as her hands and arms were locked into that position. There was a note pinned to the top of the box and Duke was grinning as he stepped back. “You ready for this?”

“What exactly am I supposed to be ready for?” Aurelia asked, irritation rising in her voice.

“What are you doing to me?” The question was a mix of panic and anger.

“I am sending you home, little miss stabby, stabby.” Wigh a gesture, he TELEPORTED the assassin to Pahst’s throne room.

*** Elsewhere ***

The gathering of nobles, generals, advisors, and other important personages of the Court of the Kingdom of Pahst was complete within the throne room. There was, however, one person missing from the gathering – the queen herself. Her absence was causing tensions to elevate in the room and beyond. At the best of times, this group was fractious. Without her keeping them all reigned-in, petty arguments over the placement of chairs and whose retainers were allowed to attend were threatening to boil over into actual conflict.

Finally, there was movement at the throne and all eyes turned in that direction anticipating their queen to step out of her chambers and address them. Instead, a woman unknown to most of the court, appeared before the throne, bound in iron and holding a fancy box.

A gasp of surprise erupted throughout the room as the unexpected appearance of this woman shocked most. Few noticed the whispered recognition of “Pedroia. What happened?” She did not respond, stunned into inaction by the sudden change of scenery. Her eyes were wide and full of panic, but she was so tightly bound that she could not move.

“There’s a box and a note.” One of the closest courtiers noted out loud.

“What does the note say?”

“What’s in the box?”

“Who is she?”

“Where is the Queen?”

A portly noble stepped forward and unpinned the note. He opened it and loudly cleared his throat. The room quieted down allowing him to read it. With a quick adjustment of his clothes to get his best appearance now that he was the center of attention, he read the note out loud. “The woman before you is an assassin sent by Queen Pahst. Her mission was to assassinate me. She failed.” Gasps and murmurs began before the noble loudly declared, “There’s more.”

When the room quieted down again, he continued reading. “This would normally be considered at a minimum an act of war, but I will not plunge our two nations into war over the actions of a single individual. Queen Pahst sent this assassin; therefore she alone bears the weight of her failure. Enjoy the contents of this box with my compliments. Sincerely, King Duke. Oh, and if you really do consider starting a war, know that I will spare no one in this room. I know who each and every one of you are.”

Another noble rushed forward and took the box from Pedroia’s hands and tore it open. His clumsy handling caused the contents to spill out. In a flow of fine pink silk, the queen’s head bounced onto the floor.

The look of shock and horror that was frozen on her face was instantly mirrored by many who saw the head bounce. The frail, sycophantic advisor whose feet the head wound up resting against simply fainted. Others uttered oaths of shock and fear.

“This heinous crime must be answered! We go to war!” The general of Pahst’s armies declared.

“You want your head in the next box?”

“How did this happen?”

“Where are her guards?”

A number of eyes focused on Pahst’s warlord who also had control of her guards. “What say you, Duke Ebonblade? Where are the queen’s guards?”

“Likely fleeing for their lives for I will not allow this failure to pass unanswered. And this upstart must be destroyed!” He turned and strode out of the room, his black cloak flowing dramatically behind him.