Gifting Sally a couple of skills took only a few minutes, to Zoe’s surprise. Even if she knew that the skills were simple, guaranteed rewards for simple feats, It just felt so plain and boring. Whisk the family up to space for a simple feat and then drop them off at the outskirts of the dungeon while Zoe wrangled the lowest level fire elemental she could find for them to kill.
If she had remembered ahead of time, maybe she would have planned out some grand event with it all. Created some structure somewhere near Flester to house the elementals that she gathered, turn it into something of a game. Create some trials for Sally to overcome with her new skills to help her understand how they work.
But there was nothing. Sally herself was excited — just seeing the system messages flood her vision was something she wasn’t used to at all, let alone actually getting new skills to play with from them. Zoe stuck around for a while, helping walk them through the new skills and understanding what they were capable of. But before long, dinner rolled around so Zoe and Emma made their way back to their home.
The next weeks before Zoe’s meeting with the council flew by as trees were chopped and processed into various sizes of planks. Joe arrived outside their cave and looked around at the massive quantity of wood piled up outside with a raised eyebrow.
“You really need all of this?” Joe asked.
“Probably. We’re planning three floors. Honestly, we might end up needing more. I’m beginning to worry that we didn’t even buy enough carpet, which is a scary thought. We’ll probably end up with a lot more hardwood floors than we thought.” Zoe answered.
“Three floors? I thought you were doing two.” Joe asked.
“Yeah, well, we’re going to be expanding the upstairs as well. May as well have it match the footprint of the ground floor and basement, if we’re already putting all this work into it anyway.” Zoe said.
Joe nodded. “What’s going upstairs?”
“No clue.” Zoe answered. "Emma’s gonna decide that when we get there.“
“Well, I’m sure it’ll be comfortable when it’s done. You ready for the meeting?" Joe asked.
“Not at all.” Zoe laughed.
“What else do you need? We can’t be late, Zoe.” Joe said.
“I’m going to meet the king, Joe. I need, I dunno. A pilot. Somebody to control me so I don’t mess this up. Royally.” Zoe chuckled.
Joe smiled and shook his head. “You’ll be fine, Zoe. He’s kind. You’re not here as an ambassador, you’re just an individual. If you make some mistakes, you’ll be forgiven. But not if we’re late, so let’s get going.”
Zoe followed Joe as he meandered through the city, looking into every shop he walked past and greeting everybody on the street. They stopped outside the council building, an ornate wooden building with beautiful gold embossing around the doors and windows.
Inside was an older woman sitting behind a front desk.
“Good morning, Joe.” The woman said as Joe walked up to the counter.
“Good morning, Eileen.” Joe responded. “This is Zoe.”
“Nice to meet you, Zoe.” Eileen said. “I’ve heard lots about you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Zoe bowed her head.
“Everybody else is already up there. Shall I check you in?" Eileen asked.
“Thanks, Eileen.” Joe said.
“Anytime, Joe.” Eileen said.
Joe nodded and led Zoe up the grand staircase at the back of the building and stopped outside the single door on the second floor.
“You ready?” Joe asked.
“Nope. Not at all.” Zoe said.
Joe chuckled. “Do you want to do this? It’s not too late to cancel, but once we go in, we’re stuck for the meeting. I can still go in and say you decided against it.”
“I’m fine, Joe. I’ll be fine. Just a little nerve wracking, honestly. I’ve done a lot since I came here, but I never really expected to be meeting with literal royalty. Do I have to do anything specific? Do I have to never look at them, or only look at them, or what do I do?" Zoe asked.
Joe chuckled. “Just be yourself. You’re not expected to be anything more than that.”
“You sure?" Zoe asked. ”There’s nothing I should keep in mind here?"
“Of course there are things, Zoe. But you’re not stupid, you know not to threaten the king’s life or tell them you intend to take over the kingdom, or something else equally insane.” Joe said.
“Okay, so don’t be treasonous. Got it.” Zoe nodded.
Joe chuckled. “You ready?"
“No! Joe I am never going to be ready, but let’s just get it out of the way already.” Zoe smiled, feeling her nerves building within her.
Joe smiled and opened the door, revealing the strange looking room behind it. Dozens of tables lined the walls, each with lush green plants growing from rather ugly golden pots, and a single long table stretching almost the entire length of the building down the centre. Chairs were lined along the side, with a few people already sitting on the right side, nodding to Joe as they entered.
Zoe recognized two of the people sitting — Kiara and Doris, though the rest were new to her. She’d seen them around town before, when they made announcements or worked on expansions to the town. But she’d never had their names before.
“Hello, I’m Zoe.” Zoe said as she watched Joe sit down in the empty fourth chair on the right side of the table. “Uh, where do I sit?”
“Next to me,” Kiara said, patting on the seventh chair.
Zoe walked over and sat down on the beautiful carved wooden chair designated for her, and found it was much nicer to look at than sit in when she did.
“So, we just wait now?” Zoe asked.
“I’m told Yul will be here soon with Hirl and Kurt.” The man in the first seat said.
The woman in the fifth seat let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. I was worried we’d have Jorg.“
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I don’t know your names yet. And who is Yul and the others?” Zoe asked.
“I’m Ernest,” The man in the first seat said.
“Elliot.” The man in the second seat said.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Doris, but you know me.” Doris said, in the third seat.
Joe nodded from his fourth seat.
“I’m Ingrid,” the woman in the fifth seat said.
“Kiara.” Kiara said, next to Zoe.
Ernest nodded. “The topic today is your proposal, Zoe. The royals have made no indication on whether they believe it is possible or not, but are interested in preventing you from doing harm to Foizo accidentally. You haven’t done any future experiments with your rock since you brought this to Joe’s attention, have you?"
“No.” Zoe shook her head.
“Good.” Ernest nodded. “Yul is a part of the royal delegation. He will arrive here shortly, along with two royal guards, Hirl and Kurt. They will create an illusion so we may communicate directly with his royal majesty. Beyond that, we don’t know the specifics of what will be discussed. The onus is on you and his royal majesty. We are here primarily as an intermediary and to assist in any decisions that are made, should any decisions be made that require our assistance.”
“Okay.” Zoe nodded. “So we’ll be talking with the literal, actual, king. No big deal. That’s fine. That’s just a thing that people do from time to time.”
Kiara chuckled. “It’ll be fine. He’s really quite kind.”
“So I’ve heard.” Zoe said. “Still nervewracking.”
Space warped near the entrance of the room, twisting and bending and a moment later, three men appeared with a puff of smoke that seemed more superfluous than functional rising to the ceiling and vanishing.
Two of the men sat down at the table opposite Elliot and Ernest, both of whom showed up as dark blue level two hundred fifty warriors. The other man, a level three hundred bright red mage walked across the entire room to sit down at the far end of the table.
“Greetings, Zoe.” The mage spoke in what sounded like a whisper from so far away, yet was audible as though he was standing right next to her, whispering into her ear. “I am Yul. These are Kurt and Hirl. Be at ease.”
Yul’s voice rose as he turned away from Zoe, though he spoke at a consistent, comfortable volume that seemed like he was only a few feet away rather than the dozens he truly was.
“I come on behalf of his royal majesty. To begin, his royal majesty requires you pay your taxes. Please hand them to Kurt and Hirl.” Yul said.
The council members all nodded and summoned large sacks of jingling coins that they handed to the two warriors. They looked through the bags, and nodded to Yul.
“Excellent. Are there any problems we should be aware of before we summon his royal majesty?" Yul asked.
“No, sir.” Ernest said. “Not to our knowledge.”
“Very well.” Yul said. A wave of mana washed out from him, soaking into everything in the room. The tables and chairs, the lush green plants growing from the golden pots. And then a moment later, the mana rushed back out, pulling the colour along with it. The greens were ripped from the plants leaves, and the golds torn from the ugly plants.
The room was left gray and barren, with what looked like a swirling mass of paint coalescing in front of Yul. In moments, the mass swirled into a painting of a man who held himself with an eerie confidence. Short brown hair beneath a massive golden crown covered in jewels. A heavy, dark red coat covered in just as many gems rested on wide shoulders contrasted his pale, near pure white skin.
But what surprised Zoe was how young he seemed. Twenty five at the absolute oldest, by Zoe’s estimations. Maybe thirty. Of course the king would be immortal, she thought. Immortality was hardly something impossible to come by, and the greedy rulers would stop at nothing to maintain their rule as long as possible.
“Greetings, your royal majesty.” The council stood and nodded in unison.
“Greetings, your royal majesty.” Zoe followed.
The king smiled and waved his hand. “Please, sit.”
The council and Zoe sat.
Zoe felt nothing from him, but wasn’t sure if that was because of a skill he had or just because she was only looking at a representation of his current state, and not actually at him. Identify showed nothing, either so she assumed the latter.
The king looked to the side and then back at the council. “I’m told that a young lady of yours has a peculiar stone?”
“Yes, your majesty.” Ernest said. “This is Zoe.”
“Wonderful.” The king said. “Present the stone to Yul.”
“It’s a little cold. Is that alright?” Zoe asked.
“The cold will be no issue.” One of the two warriors said, Zoe wasn’t sure who was who yet.
Zoe nodded and summoned the jagged Frost rock, placing it on the table as she did. The cold that normally crept into her hand as she held it was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by a subtle warmth as mana flooded into the room by the warrior who spoke.
“Yul? Inspect the stone.” The king said.
“Yes, your majesty.” Yul said and stood to walk over to the stone. Zoe watched as the mana rushing out from him to maintain the illusion grew as he moved around and the illusion shook just the slightest bit as he stood. He picked up the stone and Zoe felt several pulses of mana run down through his hand and into the stone.
“What is it, Yul?" The king asked.
“It is a genuine elemental stone, your majesty.” Yul said.
“Very well. Yul, make a pact of secrecy. We shan’t continue further without one.” The king said.
“Yes, your majesty.” Yul said. “Do you all consent to a pact of secrecy?”
“The council does.” Ernest said.
“And you, Zoe?" Yul asked.
“What is a pact of secrecy?" Zoe asked.
“I will create a binding agreement. Anything we discuss here today may only be discussed with other holders of the matching pact.” Yul explained.
“And if I do say something to somebody who doesn’t have the pact?" Zoe asked.
“You will not.” Yul said.
“But what would happen if I did?” Zoe asked.
“You misunderstand. Nothing will happen if you do, because you will not be able to.” Yul said.
“And what does that actually cover? Can I remove the pact later if I don’t like it?” Zoe asked.
“Everything that is disclosed under the pact, and you may not remove it.” Yul said.
“Do I have to accept it?” Zoe asked.
“You do not.” The king said.
“And if I don’t accept it?" Zoe asked.
“Then we will not discuss the capabilities of your elemental stone any further.” The king said.
“Right. So I either get the pact and learn what it can do, or I don’t get the pact and try to figure it out myself.” Zoe said.
“You will not be permitted to experiment with it within the Injellar kingdom.” The king said.
Zoe pursed her lips. “What determines what is disclosed under the pact?"
“I do.” Yul said.
“So you’re the arbiter of what is kept secret and what was mentioned offhandedly?" Zoe asked.
“I am.” Yul answered.
“Hmm.” Zoe hummed. “I don’t like it. But I do want to know. There’s no way for me to get to be included here and not have to take this pact of secrecy?”
“There is not.” Yul answered.
“What kinds of things would be covered by the pact?" Zoe asked.
“We can’t disclose that.” Yul said.
“Humour me.” Zoe said. “Lets say that this really can make a dungeon. Hypothetically, would the fact that it can make a dungeon be covered by the pact?”
“We can’t disclose that.” Yul said.
“Okay. I think I’ll pass then. Thank you for your time.” Zoe said.
“Very well. You may leave.” The king said.
“Goodbye.” Zoe said before she tried to Cosmic Step out of the room, but her skill failed to move her, leaving her still seated in her uncomfortable chair next to Kiara.
“Through the door.” Yul said.