Bryana, through much diligent practice, supressed yet another sigh as her court once more debated if those involved in the “Incident” truly deserved the death penalty. As if an Elder Dragon hadn’t made it quite clear to them all that she expected to see their heads adorning the Traitors’ Wall by the time the next full moon showed in the night sky.

Which was tomorrow.

Yet they all still debated as though it would change anything. As though said Elder Dragon wouldn’t just burn down her castle if she perceived a slight, let alone an insult. An insult like not executing criminals under the international treaties that had been made over a thousand years ago with the [Dimensional Guardian]s. The very same order that Ina’Vaxchisa’Erys was a part of.

So, how was it that a mere “[Crafter]” was in such auspicious company as Erys, as Mr Smith called her? She was all but certain that he had a Skill to hide or change his Status, for no mere artisan could normally even hope to become acquainted with a [Dimensional Guardian], let alone actually travel with one.

So, who was “Joram Smith”? With such a humble name, she was certain that he hadn’t come from a wealthy family from another country. Unless it was a pseudonym. Which was likely, given the company that he kept.

Her attention was brought back to the ongoing debate when she heard someone suggest that the whole thing was a conspiracy to discredit and weaken their queendom by eliminating prominent, and powerful, members of their nobility.

If she hadn’t received as extensive and thorough training as she had growing up, she would have outright laughed in his, Marquis Marthas’, face. Did they not understand that they had to uphold the ancient treaties because a god-damned Elder Dragon was demanding it?!

“Enough,” Bryana said, cutting off their escalating discussions, though some were obviously displeased by the interruption. “Those brought in by Ina’Vaxchisa’Erys will be executed according to the [Dimensional Enforcement Treaty]. The executions will be scheduled at dusk,” she finished, giving the room a frosty stare that quieted the few that looked like they wanted to argue.

“Further, according to the [Dimensional Enforcement Treaty], those houses will be stripped of their titles, lands, and privileges. Their properties and various businesses will be taken over by the Crown until We decide how best to distribute them.”

“So, it is written. So, shall it be done,” her royal secretary announced, startingly causing someone to snort in laughter before they could cut it off.

Bryana looked around in outrage and quickly found that Mr Smith had entered without her noticing him. Which was a feat in-and-of-itself, as he was both taller than average with a build that put most blacksmiths to shame, but he was also not… dressed for court.

“Sorry,” he said after every eye had turned to look at him, aghast, ducking his head a bit in embarrassment.

No one dared to say a word in protest, and not because of his physical stature. Ina’Vaxchisa’Erys, or Erys, was standing beside him, similarly not dressed for court, but seemingly for battle given her leather armour and ridiculously massive sword that was strapped to her back.

Bryana vas Muryn gave a stately nod, accepting the apology before glancing at her royal secretary, Dame Schwartz, who then continued.

“Ser Faryl, you will be in charge of executing Her Highness’ orders,” Dame Schwartz finished, looking put out with having her thunder stolen by Mr Smith.

For such a queendom-shaking event as this, she was astonished to note that her court dispersed with practically little issue, nor conversations louder than a whisper. She very much suspected that, given their bravado while Erys wasn’t there, that they were very much aware of just how poorly things could go for them should they show any form of disrespect in front of her now.

Not to mention that none of them seemed to know just when the pair had arrived. Who knew who’d be on the chopping block next if the Elder Dragon in their midst chose to take offense to something someone had said?

For as much as she- secretly!- enjoyed taking in Mr Smith’s form, she was suddenly more than a little bit nervous when she found that she was left alone with them with only Dame Schwartz and a few guards to provide any sort of support that she might need.

Then the seconds ticked by as Mr Smith and Erys stood off to the side, seemingly content to stand over there until she remembered that she needed to indicate that they could approach the throne.

“You may approach,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster, hoping that she wasn’t giving away any of her internal thoughts.

A few moments later, the pair had approached the throne and gave short bows, making her once more wonder at Mr Smith’s origins. If anything, she wondered where he’d learned to bow in such a minimalist way.

“I’m glad that the Laws have been honoured,” Erys said, speaking up first. “May the Great Protector prevent any such things from occurring again.”

Bryana nodded her agreement as Mr Smith also nodded, though in a much more relaxed fashion, causing Dame Schwartz to frown slightly at the impropriety.

“Is there anything else We can help you with?” she asked, hoping to end the awkward impromptu meeting as soon as possible.

“Ah, I was just wondering if the land east of the town of Kirkwall was under anyone’s control specifically, or just sort of managed by the crown?” Mr Smith asked, once more showing just how little etiquette training he’d received.

Or was that just an act?

“It is overseen by the crown,” she replied before Dame Schwartz could.

“So, ah, I was wondering if I could, I don’t know, buy a section of land from the crown?” he asked, seemingly nervous with his request.

Which was understandable given what he was asking.

Many of the nobility, not to mention the various merchant families, had requested various tracts of land from the crown in the past; almost all of which had been denied. The crown was more likely to lease out land rather than to outright sell it, especially given the fact that landownership came with many rights that empowered the owner. Like being allowed to have guards, or troops, with which to defend the area.

Thinking about the company that Mr Smith kept, not to mention how Ina’Vaxchisa’Erys seemed to defer to Mr Smith, she once more wondered at his origins.

If he was anywhere near as powerful as she suspected, he could have just gone and claimed that unused land for himself and she would have had no choice but to accept the loss and move on. What sane person wanted to start a war with an Elder Dragon?! Let alone an unknown factor like Mr Smith?

Thinking over the various pros and cons, she decided to get more information from him before making a decision.

“We have several questions that We would like clarified,” she said, then continued when Mr Smith nodded amiably.

“How much land are you wishing to procure?”

“The entire Great Forest west of Kirkwall,” he replied without blinking, though she certainly blinked in surprise at his words.

“What do you plan to do with that land?”

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“I think something like a nature preserve would be nice,” he said, baffling her somewhat. “Maybe build a small town, or a retreat. Continue my work there. Maybe move the orphans over there if they aren’t able to find a family here,” he said, nodding to himself all the while.

“Are you aware that the security of the queendom is currently maintained on the coast by the crown?”

“Yes.”

That gave her pause for a moment, wondering if he truly knew what that entailed, especially the costs involved in keeping that area patrolled and manned.

“Are you able to ensure that no invading forces may find purchase on Our soil?” she asked, her curiosity practically screaming at her to get all the answers from Mr Smith, one way or another.

She was glad to see that Mr Smith took her question seriously by obviously thinking it over. She watched as his eyes looked up before his head followed suit and tilted back slightly, deep in thought.

Bryana once more studied him, taking in his youthful appearance, his great stature that showed devotion to perfecting his physical form, along with his odd way of dressing. Even though she was by no means an expert in textiles, she thought that she was by no means ignorant. Yet she couldn’t, with a certitude, say that she knew what his clothing was made of.

And even though her [Identify] Skill was high, let alone her high corresponding Attribute of Intellect, he still [Identify]’d as a Level 20 [Crafter]. From what she’d learned, one needed a Skill to foil the attempts of others to [Identify] them, let alone a high Charisma Attribute.

Given just how… easy, Mr Smith was to look at, she was reasonably sure that he had a high Charisma, possibly as high as being in the 20s. Which might explain why she couldn’t get a proper reading on him.

“Give me a couple of months, and I’m sure that I’ll be able to handle it,” Mr Smith finally said, nodding once more as she wondered where his confidence came from.

“If you are able to protect the coast of Our queendom, then I will personally see to it that your lands will pay the lowest taxes possible,” she said, half bluster, half serious as she thought of just how much gold the crown would save if it didn’t need to actively guard against the Demon Continent.

Let alone how the redistribution of resources would strengthen their borders.

“Deal,” Mr Smith said as he stepped up, hand extended as though he wished to ‘shake on it’, as the commoners tended to do.

However, he stopped short as the royal guards practically teleported between them, hands on their swords.

What struck her as the most curious wasn’t that Mr Smith stopped short, for that was expected. Nor was it that he backed up while holding both of his hands up in a placating gesture. No, it was that Erys didn’t look at all offended by the obvious threat of the royal guards towards Mr Smith.

Instead, Erys appeared… amused more than anything, which sent a silent chill down her spine even though Mr Smith only seemed apologetic for his actions.

“Ah, sorry,” he said with a rueful grin that somehow also conveyed that he was actually sorry for stepping out of line. “I’ll deal with the coast, you’ll reduce my taxes to the minimum and we’ll both be happy,” he finished with a grin that managed to somehow set her heart aflutter.

Bryana quickly glanced down at one of her bracelets and found that it hadn’t lit up, indicating that a Skill hadn’t been used to influence her. She then looked back at Mr Smith, wondering what had gone on there.

“Agreed,” she said after a moments’ pause.

“Awesome,” he said with another smile that did things that shouldn’t have possibly happened to her. “Also, I found an island that seems to be deserted about halfway between this continent and the Demon Continent. Do you know if it’s officially claimed by anyone?”

Bryana vas Muryn blinked again, wondering just how he was able to catch her off guard so frequently when she’d successfully navigated the royal court for over a year without having been blindsided nearly as skillfully as he was doing.

She looked to Dame Schwartz, who was currently frowning at Mr Smith, to get confirmation from her. After a quick shake of the head, she turned back to the source of her growing frustrations and spoke.

“It is not. But what are your plans regarding that uninhabited isle?” she asked, unable to hide her curiosity any longer.

“Well, that might be something we’d need to discuss in… a less open space,” Mr Smith said, motioning the entirety of the room with his left hand.

- - -

Later that evening, Bryana was still in awe over just how… ambitious Mr Smith’s proposal was. Yes, “ambitious” was certainly the word for it.

“Do you think that the other Elder Dragons are backing him?” she asked Dame Schwartz, Brittany, as she accepted a cup of wine from her.

Brittany took her time to think about it, once more showing just how meticulous she was in everything that she did. From their time at the Academy together, through her training as a knight, all the way until her appointment as her Royal Secretary, Brittany hadn’t changed how she approached things. How she would take her time to think about a problem before tackling it head-on, so to speak.

“That’s entirely possible,” Brittany eventually replied. “Given the amount of mana that I can sense from him, I don’t think that he’s an Elder Dragon using [Polymorph] or something similar.”

Bryana nodded slightly at her words. She, too, hadn’t been able to feel much from Mr Smith. Though, that was relative. He still felt as though his mana capacity was closer to that of a [Grand Magus], or an [Archmage], than a “[Crafter]”.

“So, what are your thoughts on allowing Mr Smith to do what he proposed?” she asked, already knowing her own answer to that question.

“If he is indeed backed by other Elder Dragons, then I don’t really think that our opinions matter all that much,” Brittany said with a sigh and a slight shake of her head. “I mean, technically they’re international waters, and everything found therein technically a Neutral Zone. So, unless other powers out there strongly object to what he’s planning, there’s not much anyone can really do about it.”

Bryana nodded again, glad that she wasn’t the only one to come to that conclusion. She really didn’t want to sour any future relations with Mr Smith, nor did she wish to alienate the fascinating man who seemed to have an Elder Dragon following his orders. Let alone who, or what, might be backing him.

“Then we’ll give Our assent,” she said, effectively closing the topic of conversation before switching to the executions that had taken place less than an hour ago.

Which was certainly less pleasant than the previous topic, but still needed to be gone over. Especially with how many venomous looks had been directed towards Mr Smith and Erys. Things would get even more complicated for a time, she was sure. It was just that she seriously wondered if her court was smart enough to *not* go poke a sleeping dragon.

* * *

Joram came out of his meditations before dawn again and noticed that Erys had once more made herself at home on his bed. And on himself.

Suppressing a sigh, he performed his usual morning routine that included his [Escape Artist] practice. With that done, he got to planning.

It had been difficult to put it off until this morning after he’d received the letter of approval from Dame Schwartz last night, signed and sealed by Her Majesty Queen Bryana vas Muryn, etc., etc., etc.. Now that he had “official” leave to do what he’d planned, he couldn’t help but start planning out each level.

Truth be told, he was still debating whether-or-not to do one level per level, or have a couple levels per level in the Tower he was planning. Not only that, but other considerations had come into play when Avi had mentioned using [Genesis: True] along with [Create Dungeon]. Experiments would need to be completed, but if it worked out how he was hoping it would, then the Tower would be… epic. Legendary. Likely [Mythic], if he was being honest with himself.

If he could do with it what he was hoping he could, then it would be… revolutionary. Almost literally. Being able to house a world’s population inside of a single tower would certainly make more than a few rulers nervous, or extremely covetous. More likely the latter, as each level of the Tower would have a Dungeon in it.

But if things worked out how he’d like them to, each level of the Tower would be a Dungeon, in and of itself. The sheer number of cores coming out of the Tower would beggar nations…. If he had the population to do something like that, that is.

Now grinning in a way that Erys would recognize, Joram truly got into the planning phase of his Tower.

* * *

J6, or Bob, as he liked to call himself, looked around as he munched on some Doritos. The island was roughly between the two continents, and was larger than Manhattan Island, though more ovoid than long. It was also pretty much a desolate and rocky place, though. The volcanic activity seemed to have stopped relatively recently given the lack of vegetation larger than the occasional shrub with some tough grass in between.

No wildlife, though. Not even bugs. It seemed as though no one had wanted to visit the place, which confused him more than a little bit, given how much of a strategic location it would be for either continent to latch onto given the almost continual tensions between them.

Shrugging, he got to [Delve]’ing the island to be sure that the volcanic activity that had created the island in the first place had indeed subsided. Given how fast his Power Pool regenerated, even split six ways, he was able to push the Power further than he would have otherwise. It didn’t take long for him to get down far enough to find that the island was indeed inert, as it were. Sure, it seemed as though it hadn’t been long at all since the volcanic activity had ceased, which was probably why the place was devoid of life.

But.

It also felt like a treasure trove of minerals and precious metals had come up during the island’s creation. Which was nice, but not something that he’d need to exploit given just how broken [True Creation] and [Summon: All] were here on Iria, with the System boosting things for him.

Grinning, he looked around again, this time with his eyes, and decided that the central volcano, now just a mountain, would do quite well for a starting point for the location of the Tower. Central location, solid foundations. It was pretty much perfect.

Still grinning, Bob once more thanked Joram for the assignment. It would be pure bliss to just get to work. No distractions, but pure creative time and play. Even better than messing around in Minecraft’s Creative Mode.

Tucking the empty bag away into his Realm, Bob dusted his hands off and got to work.