The Game was bored.
TOO LONG. TOO Long. Not enough twisting words, betrayals, surprise allies. Why so long in the Stable? Why so long in the Dark place, where it could barely peak? Bored! BOREd! Bored!
If the Game was bored, that was a dangerous moment. "Be still, just a minute," Daniel muttered, barely lending sound to his words. "A show you will see. Wait and watch, and an attack there will be!" Daniel said, to appease the Game.
Not that he blamed the Game.
Daniel was bored himself. After all his epic adventures, he had to admit kneeling like a naughty schoolboy in front of a desk with his palms out ready to be struck was rather tiresome.
Thirty minutes ago, the Dragon Saddle had been returned. Daniel and Kenton did not speak again.
Daniel had not even waited for Kenton to get off the ledge before he left and went to the Eastern Red Room, to meet up with the other Searchers. Daniel had admired the true version of it, not the Dungeon's colorless copy. The Tolsen Stable Master was already waiting, having exhausted his own searching areas.
Outside of remarking that Daniel looked very dirty, no one had paid him much attention. Kenton was last to arrive, bearing the Saddle. All the searchers cheered, and there was almost an air of celebration.
From there, they returned the Saddle to a waiting safe and locked it away. The mood had been light, and Daniel even thought he might be able to leave early. Until Central arrived and grabbed a select few individuals to interview.
This brought Daniel to his current situation, kneeling awkwardly as the Stable Master from Central labored under the pretense of investigating the disappearance of the Saddle. The Current Stable Master from Central was a male dryad. Daniel looked over all the people around him. Central was furious. Not at the missing Saddle, but probably that it was found. How else had a Certain Griffin managed to steal it?
Perhaps the lock and key it had been under had been lifted prematurely... Then he thought of how clever his griffin was and decided that they may have caught wind of her plans and tried to piggyback it. Either they hoped that the outer Stable workers would not recover the Saddle, and they could use that as grounds to seize control of the Game Piece, the Servant Branch, or they hoped that the Game would come crashing down as the naughty griffin broke too many rules.
Or maybe they had a thousand more sneaky plans that were slowly unfolding. The last twenty minutes had been round robin of the Tolsen Stable Master and the newcomer from Central berating each other and their staff. "Clearly you are incompetent!" The Central Stable Master yelled at the Tolsen.
Or maybe the guys from Central were out of practice with dealing with Games. Daniel smiled. He felt more secure than he had any right to be: He was not even at 1% of what he was accustomed to as the Lordling Heirling of the Red Sword. But after the day he had, the warm flow of Favor through the new Harbor Name of Branch left him feeling strong and steady.
"What is your true aim?" The Tolsen asked, clearly tiring of the yelling himself.
"It has come to our attention that one Servant Branch aided with the Search!"
"Clearly! That's him there, kneeling for the last half hour! It was not improper for a Stable Hand to aid in Stable affairs!"
"Yet, for a solid hour, the High Fae report that his actions were muted and dimmed!"
"You just yelled at me and my staff for twenty minutes...because you lost reception? Did they try turning it off and on again?" The Tolsen asked.
"Their magic mirrors were functional."
"We are Stable Masters, learned Fae who know of more secrets to the twists and the folds of the Stable than all else save the Mappers. You know that this structure exists partially on a different dimension than the rest of the Citadel! So yeah, magic mirrors are wonky!"
The rooty form of the Dryad shifted and groaned, as he adjusted his tie. "It has come to our attention that if the Servant Branch's work was more structured, such interruptions need not occur again." the Central Stable Master insisted.
"The Servant Branch is entrusted under the Outer halls. Central cannot dictate the conditions of the workload! The Outer Hall has garnered the Favors and the Influence on this matter! What can Central even offer us for the pains we took to find such a dedicated worker?"
"The higher-ups need to ensure that no more accidents happen!"
Tolsen moved a hand to his chest, "The Servant Branch was part of a search party. They searched. They found the saddle. What needs to be said?" The Tolsen said, his spindle arms rotating like pinwheels.
The Dryaid practically wilted in anger. "The Servant Branch was unaccounted for an entire hour and more!"
"He was searching! I didn't see any people from Central Helping. He did his duties and returned. Clearly, he was working, look how dirty his clothes are!" Daniel was beginning to see the power struggle. Not that the Tolsen was for him, per se, but that currently, the Tolsen was the more moderate approach and thus the one Daniel desired.
The Stable Master from Central, made a knotty fist with one of his own hands.
Central was the more corrupt branch of the Stable...Central was more directly controlled by the Senate, Daniel should say. No doubt the Senate viewed the Outer Hall as more Corrupt, due to the interference of the Lords and Courts. Currently, Senate had wanted Daniel executed, not in a Game. So he doubted Senate had any good intentions.
The Dryaid from Central sputtered, flabbergasted "Why would we help you find something that you lost?"
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"Why would you wish us to fail?" The Tolsen countered. "Aren't we supposed to be united: One Stable?"
"That's beside the point. The Servant Branch disregarded his duties and attempted to flee inside the Stable!"
BORED! Booed the Game.
Daniel considered coughing.
The Law of Fae was primarily silent in this matter. Was it just waiting? Daniel was kneeling in a room in the Central Stable, with several others.
The room he was in was very posh, with dark wood walls, deep leather chairs, glistening crystal lighting, and also not directly connected to any animals or creatures' chambers. If instead of going left or right, one were to continue to go straight forward, one would most often find themselves going to the Central Stable. It was where many offices were housed, and it was primarily a safe location.
It also housed a Silver Door. The Silver door was closed, but Daniel could not help but remember what Kenton had told him about returning to the Dungeon...After you leave, you can't regain entry for a day and a night...unless through the Silver Door.
"It doesn't open." Offered another Fae being scolded. He was young to be a servant. Perhaps the same age as Daniel himself. Probably a spy. "It just appears in the highest authority rooms randomly. They say it's good luck! Maybe this is our lucky day?" the stable hand said in a friendly manner.
Daniel could practically feel the Fear of Self on the other side of the door, just watching with a superior gleam in its eyes.
The Stable Master from Central made a rude noise, displeased at their talking. The youth became quiet, looking embarrassed.
But Daniel had bigger problems: The Game was bored. While his time at the Stable had been eventful, and fruitful, what the Game had seen had been hit or miss, and it was clearly sulking that he had gone on adventures and not shared it.
So, he would need to do something to appease the Game. And he better do it soon.
He checked the time. He had enough time... Perhaps he was overconfident, or perhaps he was worried about losing the attention of the Game, but he knew he needed to do something. It would cost a little favor, but for the first time in weeks, he had some favor to spare.
So he did what any sane and rational Lordling clutching at straws for survival would do: He smashed his head into the ground, completing the bow. He knew how to smash his head in a very loud fashion, without harming himself unduly.
But it looked very desperate and dramatic.
The attention of the Midling Stable Masters was drawn to him. He looked up at them craning his neck upward to peer upon their confused faces, his own face hidden and buried, eyes gleaming with the Light of Fae.
Everyone in the room looked startled.
So Daniel did the only logical thing, and he smashed his head down again, in a bow. "This Humble Servant apologizes for causing discord and disharmony! Blessed Stable Masters, cease your quarrels. I will tell you of my many inadequacies!"
"Um...Servant Branch, this really isn't necessary..." hedged the Tolsen.
Daniel smashed his head against the floor again. "And now this Lowly Servant dares interrupts! Truly, can this humble one accomplish any feat of worth in the Stable?"
The Stable Master from Central made another sound, but it sounded more uncomfortable and confused than rude. "Ummm...I just wanted to know where you were..." The Dryad said.
"While the Game did watch, this Servant did his very best. In far reaches of the Stable did search, the missing Saddle with all seriousness and no mirth!"
The Game perked up. If it was a canine, Daniel imagined it would be waging its tail in guarded interest. "And search this one did, in all the speed, but never once did these hands touch the Saddle, only eyes perceived." The Law of Fae shimmered in acceptance to all Fae listening. Because Daniel had been very careful to never touch the Saddle.
He and Kenton had decided that it looked more believable if Kenton had been the one to find the Saddle. And Daniel was committed to that version of events (All true!) even to pain of death.
Because that was how committed he needed to be to convince the Law of Fae. He did not lie.
He just did not speak the whole truth.
"This humble Servant searched low, and searched high! I searched familiar passageways and some never trodden from sight out of mind!"
"Please lower your voice." The Central Stable Master said.
No. Daniel would not. It was costing him some Favor, but it was worth it to achieve his end: Leave everything the same. He would not benefit from working for Central. Very few people disappeared from Central.
And Daniel wanted to gain Favor and power from the Dungeon. That was the only way forward he could imagine.
So he needed to work in the dangerous areas, where people may try to assassinate him, where creatures could kill him, and where the Dungeon itself may just one day steal him and not return him.
All so he could get enough power to win the game.
And the Safety of Central would take that away. Or they would be able to observe him being dragged into the Dungeon and realize that the long-dead and mostly forgotten training ground of past heroes was perhaps not so dead after all. Time for a show, Daniel reasoned. "I, the Lowly and Humble Servant, cannot cease my volume!" he needed the people outside to hear it too, and all the High Fae watching. "This first duty was bleak, what was accomplished for my Stable was little to nothing. I did my duty! To the Outer Halls, I was handed over, and this Servant shall not break the trust! Sooner would I end the Game than allow the removal of this precious trust and duty!"
Without the Dungeon, Daniel had no idea how he could ever get enough power to win the Game.
With it?
He was rather excited for the assassins to find him.