A huge rock the Kobold Leader had gifted to his wife, Lamia Queen, was not just a rock. It was a rough gem the size of a melon. Almost unbelievable right? But here it was, cut and polished into a round brilliant sphere, and it turned out to be pink. Actually, It was quite unusual as the gems came. Under the right light and at the right time of the day, it was possible to see a small red lighting, blinking and crackling deep inside the gem. He was tempted to break the gem and set the trapped lighting loose just to see what happens.
He shook off the intrusive thoughts. “No, that would break it. I rather…” He put the pink gem on the table, right beside the other crafting materials. It was so big, it made it impractical for any of the standard jewellery, even the crown would look too unwieldy. “A sceptre then,” he decided, “a symbol of power.”
He shaped Enchanted Metal under the hammer, making a small cage for the gem to hold it in place. The shaft of the sceptre was made out of the same metal. Of course, he spent a great amount of time perfecting the minute details and other decorations, etching and shaping the metal surface. The shaft was slim, elegant but sturdy; its surface was etched with decorative patterns. The pink gem glowed ever so slightly, shining out of a flower-like cage. The pink gem and bright orange metal accompanied each other.
“And it’s done.” It looked more like a mace than a sceptre but whatever, it was a badass item.
[Chaos Blessed – activated], he ignored it; he was used to it firing at the most random times. Most of the time it did nothing.
[You have crafted Sceptre of Love of masterwork quality. Crafting +1000exp.]
[Sceptre of Love: Reinforced +2, Increased Authority, Enchanted Charm.]
“Huh, the name is interesting…” He questioned the system’s taste in naming things. “But that works to my advantage here.” After all, he will re-gift this to the lamia.
Just as he was done with one orb he was already looking at the other. He patted IceShard Bird Core and it bobbed in the air slightly. He’s had played with the mysterious item earlier. It would float in the air, and it could even carry some weight but the amount depended on how much mana he injected, more mana meant more weight. So the use was obvious, but there was still a small issue, he had no way to move the orb in any of the directions, well, not with mana at least. He could use a leash and just drag the orb around like a sort of pet rock. He scratched his head in thought.
“I don’t think I’ll have much use of a hovering luggage.” He had his Magical Inventory for carrying stuff. “Or maybe…” He had a silly idea.
He went to the throne room, where conveniently the Lamia Queen was napping on his throne, her butt on his target – the Divine Pillow. He ignored the small fact that she had her own seat and a throne to sit on because he knew just how comfortable that pillow was.
“Hello, sss.” The lamia greeted opening one of her eyes.
“Might as well,” he took out Sceptre of Love and gifted it to her. “A small improvement on the Kobold's gift.”
“[Identify]” She smiled broadly exposing all those sharp teeth. “Aww, how cute. I love the name and the perks-sss it grants-sss.” She leaned in for a kiss. *Smooch. – it was a bit too wet.
He used the opportunity to pick the lamia up and off the throne and his pillow.
“Oh! S-s-s.” She giggled. “Are we finally going to the bedroom?”
“No, I need this.” He dropped her on the ground (it was soft and carpeted anyway) and retrieved the pillow. He hugged the legendary artefact ever so preciously. “Mine!”
“Hey.” She pointed the sceptre at him. “With the sss-streght of the sss-sceptre and the power of Love!” She used the newly acquired item against him. “[Charming Gaze], I command you, sss, to give me more love and affection!” Her eyes glowed pink and even the sceptre joined in the glow throwing pink heart-shaped sparkles at him.
The sparkles hit his skin and shattered into small motes of pink. “Ha! Your Charms are useless against me! I have resistance!” He obtained Charm Resistance: Medium through gruelling hours of practice, which the Queen itself was a part of. “The coveted pillow is mine!” He waved the pillow deflecting the assault of heart-shaped sparkles.
The Lamia pouted and did the typical ‘her’ thing. “No, it’s OURS!” She jumped at him. “And give me my kisses-sss!”
“I’m busy.” He swatted her with a pillow. “I’ve got crafting to do. You’ll get your kisses later.”
“Injustice!” She complained.
He kissed her on the cheek. “Later, okay?” They were only play-fighting.
“Okay.” The lamia curled back up on the throne.
He went back towards the workshop, but couldn’t ignore that mysterious conspiratory look she was giving to him. He’ll deal with pink-minded lamia later.
So, why the pillow? Well, he was about to join two epic items to produce something the gods themselves would be envious of. [Chaos Blessed – activated]. He was taken by Fey Mood and was completely absorbed in the crafting process. He kept integrating one material after the other, he was making combinations he wasn’t aware possible, but they were. And in the end.
[You have crafted Spider King Throne by default it is of artefact quality. Crafting +10000exp, Building +10000exp, Magic+ +10000exp], it wasn’t just an item, it was a whole enchanted structure.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
It was a large hovering throne. Black stylised spider-like limbs come together to form a backrest. The seat incorporated Divine Pillow. The ends of armrests had spider heads assembled from obsidian shells, the four eye sockets were adorned with yellow sapphire to give that perfect spidery look. The base was made out entirely of enchanted metal and encased in spider eggshells in a mosaic-like pattern. Deep inside the base, under the seat, he hid the IceShard Bird Core. The steps leading to the throne were encrusted with precious gems. The dominant black colour lent it that ominous feeling. He Imbued it with his dark mana and Reinforced it to the maximum. The throne radiated power and authority.
[Spider King Throne: Indestructible, Superior Authority, Dark Aura, Inflict: Terror, Floating]
Yeah, it was very opulent and completely over the top. And the name ‘Spider King Throne’, oh boy! It was very official. He sat down on the new throne, injected some mana and it lifted up floating. It was surprisingly steady, and the mana usage was relatively low. However, despite all the boons the structure had, he still couldn’t command it to move. A small issue really, because he had half expected this. There were reins made out of blue ropes already at the ready, and the one pulling this large contraption was no other than a very large spider, Warrior Leader.
“Come, let's give it a try.” He encouraged the spider.
“Onwards. For the King!” The Warrior Leader cheered giddily. And then he ran at full speed parading the throne around the farm like some sort of glorified war chariot.
For some reason, the noble mount was faster than he had any right to be. The throne practically glided in the air and at breakneck speed at that; somehow air resistance wasn’t a thing when magic was involved. However, the practicality of the floating throne was questionable, but he never intended it to be practical. This was meant to display power and authority; It was shameless but the real reason was just to flex. And to craft something interesting; a proof of concept. It was just a twist of fate that the prototype turned out into an artefact.
The spider looked at the zooming Warrior Leader and the contraption he pulled with big four yellow eyes, they were full of sparkling awe. They cheered and clapped at the display.
“King. Of. Spiders! King. Of. Spiders!” They began a chant which soon overtook a whole farm.
The voices synchronised empowering each other. It became loud, very loud, magical even. The chant boomed with power and the message was carried all across the jungle, The Dreaded Place.
[Chaos Bless: activated], it was becoming a daily occurrence.
The King of Spiders reacted to the message pulling on the reigns. The blessing can be unpredictable at times (it always was), so it was better to be safe and stop.
The spiders finished the chant and clapped their arms and mandibles in appreciation. It was good they liked his new improvised ‘chariot’. He raised his right fist in the air, basking in the ovations like some sort of pop star. He didn’t even do anything that impressive, but whatever. It still felt good to be appreciated.
Stray Lamia ran to gather below the hovering throne in a large assembly and began bowing, almost as if in worship.
“Oh… No need. You can rise.” He felt that this was a bit too much.
“We must, sss, respect our King.” The Friendly Lamia grovelled even with more fervour.
Something didn’t feel quite right. On a closer look, he observed that unlike the spiders the Lamia had different kinds of expressions on their serpentine faces. They were tense and contorted. He could swear seeing sweat forming on their brow, which was very unusual for the snake-like Lamia. Was this the effect of Superior Authority, or was this…
He deactivated Inflict: Terror perk. Yeah, since he wasn’t the target and the spiders seemed unaffected he forgot it was there. “Oops. Is it better?” He observed the life returning to the pale faces of the Lamia. “That wasn’t my intention. Please stand and forget this happened.” He encouraged the terrified Lamia.
“No, sss, the display of King’s power was very, sss-se…” the speaker developed a faint reddish blush on her pale cheeks, “…appreciated. It’s an honour to sss-serve a powerful and glorious King.” She bowed again, likely just to hide the blush.
“You guys are quite silver-tongued aren’t you, you flatter me.” He smiled slightly uncomfortable. “It’s an honour to have you guys around. For real! You are good people and good friends to me and my spiders. Again, sorry for the debuff.”
“No, no, sss…” The lamia insisted but stood regardless, the previous happy-go-lucky expression returned to hers and her comrade's faces.
The misunderstanding was resolved and the shenanigans had to end. “Show is over back to work.” He instructed.
Everything has returned back to normal. Or so he had hoped.
“King.” The Warrior Leader cocked his head to look. “Thanks. For. The Honor.”
He just gestured back saying that it was no problem. “I’m happy if you’re happy.” Not many would like to be treated like a horse, but this spider was very different. He was glad to have him around.
The Queen Lamia slithered towards him from who knows where. She looked displeased. Oh, yeah, he was having fun with his best mate, going on a mad ride and all that, forgetting the word he gave to the Queen. Was he in trouble?
“I’ll give you double hugs and kisses?” He shot out before she could open her mouth trying to appease her.
“What, sss?” The Queen gave him a curious look. “Okay, but before that. Your Orb, was buzzing loudly. My royal nap ruined, sss, unacceptable.”
“Oh…” It was humans trying to contact him. “I’ll talk with them and we can take a nap together.” After all, all that crafting made him quite tired.
“Nah, no need. I’ve dealt with it.” She raised her head proudly.
Yeah, it was very unlike her to deal with mundane affairs like that; especially in a proper way. “So you told them to get lost?” he asked slightly worried.
“SSS!” She hissed offended. “No, they had an interesting proposition and a deal. And I know my husband well, and how you like to trade and sell stuff. So I agreed, sss…” She hissed all too pleased about herself.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
She mistook his silence for a pleasant surprise and decided to boast some more. “They had sss-some interesting ideas, and propositions... trade this trade that…” She waived clearly uninterested in those details. “Long story short, we are going to a royal gala!” She said overfilled with youthful joy.
“A what? Wait… what are we trading? No, just what did you agree to?”
“Must I recall all small and insignificant details, sss?”
Yes, yes and yes!
“You worry too much, sss, your Trusty Advisor was there to give me a hand. Trust me, it’s a good deal.” She crossed her arms defensively.
“It’s good that you take more responsibility now…” Albeit still not in a proper way. “But in this case, I feel left out…”
“But you were busy! And having fun, sss. I’m a good wife.” She nodded to herself. “Why would I take you away and disturb your fun? Sss, that’s not me.” She nodded some more. “And you were kinda scary.” She whispered the last part mostly to herself.
“Just, include me in any future dealings, please. Let’s just go and speak with Trusty Advisor. Hop in.” He lowered the floating throne and patted the space beside him.
Queen Lamia slithered and seated herself right on his lap, her long tail dangled on the steps. She tried not to show it, but from her body language, he was positive she was looking forwards to this ride.
“Onwards!” He urged his noble steed.
They flew with the wind towards the Spider Palace. He ignored the clinging and giggling lamia, willing to get there as soon as possible. He was thinking about this ’ royal gala’ and that ‘deal’. More trade was always good but the devil was in the details. He wanted the details!