Elsewhere

Duke stood in the fields outside the Inn. He stared out into the trees at the path through the extremely dense forest surrounding the structure while the wind gently tugged at his now much longer-than-regulation hair. He smiled at what they had accomplished in such a small time. The vast majority of which was due to the very Inn he stood in front of. The last remining dungeon core on Teldin had proved an invaluable resource for housing and training. He was sure that was not what the dungeon was originally intended to be but that was what he was using it for. Someday, he was hopeful that he could feel safe enough to open it up as a training area for others to run. That, he expected, was where the true revenue of the Inn could lie – in allowing groups to run through levels of the dungeon itself.

Sam appeared next to Duke and smiled. “You still think this is the right approach?”

Duke smiled as well. “I have no idea, but I’m not going to sit here and wait for them to come at me any longer.” He turned back towards the Inn and the more than thirty thousand soldiers, scouts, mages, and support that comprised his Legion that stood awaiting his command to march. “You have the Jewel of Whispers?”

“Yes, I have the jewel. If anything crazy happens, I’ll contact you but I doubt there will be any problems. Everyone seems quite happy with the status quo. Adding the workshops and stores to the, what did you call it? Oh, yes, Civilian Floor. Adding all that to the Civilian Floor has made them not really want to leave. Even the farmers seem to be happy to tend to the farm fields there. When you brought the nearly fifty thousand more people into the Inn, I was worried that you might wind up pushing my capacity but is seems to be stable for now.”

“For now?” Duke asked.

“Yes, with the departure of so many of your mana generators, er, troops, I am going to be running a slight deficit with the population as it is. Once they start producing their own food and such, it should balance back out again. I suppose if it gets too bad, I can have a few monsters run through the area and thin the herd.”

Duke turned, an angry retort on the tip of his tongue that froze when he saw the mirth in Sam’s face. Sam laughed warmly. “Oh, you are still so easy to get like that. No, I’m not going to indiscriminately start killing your people off. But I will tell you this, and I am not backing down from it. I will be opening a real dungeon entrance on the Civilian Level. If anyone wants to run through it, they are welcome to try.”

Duke started to argue but stopped himself. “As long as they freely choose to take the risk and that the level-“

Sam interrupted. “Levels.”

“OK, levels. As long as the levels don’t ramp up in difficulty and danger quickly, I am good with it.”

“I knew you would be, that’s why I set it up that way. There’s even a guard to make sure nobody just wanders in without knowing what they are getting into. But I really need to have some normal dungeon activity. And no more undead. I have lost my taste for them.”

“Oh, I’m not a fan either. What are you using instead?” Duke inquired.

“Dragons.” Sam replied.

Duke’s head snapped to glare at Sam. Sam held up his hands. “Not on the first level, but in the end, yes, the final boss will be a full-blown dragon. The starting level will have small to medium lizards, and they will grow in size and intelligence as the levels progress. I even have a race of draconic humanoids I am going to throw in there. It’s going to be awesome! There’s a whole draconic ecosystem built in there with lore and loot.”

“Sam, you do realize that there’s not even a handful of people on that floor that could get past the first level of such a dungeon.” Duke pointed out.

“Yes, but eventually there will be. The first level is really just dungeon delving training. It’s not really lethal. Broken bones are the likeliest worst of it if they screw up really badly. But, even with that, they will gain experience and get stronger.”

“And produce more Mana.” Duke added.

“Precisely.” Sam agreed. “So, are you going to get this army moving, or let them stand there all day?”

Duke smirked. “I was in the process of doing that before someone interrupted me.” He gave Sam a pointed look to which Sam just shrugged.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just here to send you off and wish you luck. Oh, and I have a message for you from the Overmind.” Sam’s posture changed, becoming stiff and puppet-like. His voice changed pitch, timbre, and pacing completely. “Duke, you have protected my last child on Teldin well. Do not be concerned about your masters’ reaction to our interaction. I am not some small, petty, planet-bound godling. You already carry my blessing and my boon. They will not interfere with me or our conversation. Thankfully, what I have to say is short. Continue to nurture the dungeon at this rate and it will be ready to bud within a month. When it buds, the new core must be planted within ten days, or it will wither and die. The new core will be weak and feral. Plant it somewhere it will not attract too much attention and it will grow and flourish, even if it is just animals entering its chambers. I will speak with you again when it is close to the time of its budding. Goodbye Duke.”

Sam returned to his original mannerisms and Duke was sure that the Overmind had departed. The pair exchanged a look and Sam departed with a wave. Duke shook his head to clear it. Too many other things to worry about, and now a baby dungeon? At least I have a month to get ready for it. Duke focused back on the troops arrayed before him, all standing stock-still at attention, displaying their discipline. He marched up to the general of his army, Aurelia.

“General, report.” Duke instructed with an uncharacteristically formal manner.

“Your Grace, the Twice Blessed Legion stands ready to march on your enemies. At your word, we will begin.” She completed her statement with a crisp salute consisting of arms crossed on her chest, fists held tightly.

Duke returned the salute, feeling like an idiot for not changing it before it became ingrained. Who the fuck came up with this dumbass thing anyway? “General, the word is given. Today we march on our enemies!”

Aurelia, crisply spun around on her heel and shouted in her clear contralto COMMAND VOICE, “The Twice Blessed Legion has been called to march! How do we respond?”

The area resounded with a tremendous “Ha!” from each and every soldier. In synch, they began to march for the exit path, perfectly blending the wide ranks into a four-man wide rank that easily fit down the path. Duke watched for a while but after ten minutes, he realized that it was going to take hours to move the troops out this way. He decided to grab Aurelia and get a drink. She didn’t even have time to realize she was being TELEPORTED before Duke was guiding her into the Inn.

“The general should march with her troops.” She informed him.

“The Duke can tell the general to have a drink with him before joining her troops with him outside the walls.” He couldn’t believe that he was starting to become comfortable with calling himself a Duke but his friends had made a great argument based around “subjects and land ownership” and he was tired of arguing no matter how much it pained him to use the title. At least the system doesn’t recognize and enforce the title. Small mercies.

The pair went into the nearly empty Inn and settled at the bar. “What will it be?” The minotaur bartender smiled at the pair as he waited for their order.

“It’s a scotch day for me.” Duke smiled back at Calen. “What about you, Aurelia?”

“I am in the mood for some mead today. Thank you.” She responded.

In moments, both drinks had been poured and served. “Quite the auspicious day, wouldn’t you say? The Legion is marching on your enemies, ready to take the fight to them.”

“It is something for sure. They are eager for true combat.” Aurelia offered.

Duke sighed. “It is not all glory in warfare. I don’t know how many of the Legion will actually make it back. We have to be prepared for losses.”

Aurelia responded. “I am well aware that we will lose troops despite the healers, there are always injuries that are just too bad to be healed. And the truth is that we do not know what we will be marching into yet.”

“Unfortunately we don’t know just yet. We will get reports from the scouts sent ahead before too long.” Duke replied.

“Do you really think that’s what is going to happen? We all know that you will grow impatient and decide to scout it out for yourself.” She gave him a knowing look as she spoke.

“You’re probably right. I am what I am, I guess.” Duke replied.

“Mine. That’s what you are, and don’t you go screwing it all up before we get some real time together.” She admonished.

“Not my fault. Shit keeps happening and we have to respond. That’s why I’m being proactive and taking the fight to them now.” Duke said.

“Because they attacked us first.” She countered.

“Because I killed all those vampires.” He answered.

“Because they ambushed you in the city.” She replied.

“Because I killed their vampire guards.” He responded.

“Because they were harming innocents.” She replied.

“Well, there is that. But the only reason I was back in the city investigating was because they attacked Baslin’s tower.” He countered again.

“Didn’t they attack because Baslin declared that you graduated as his apprentice, fulfilling his Vow and releasing him?” She asked.

“Well, yes, they did. But they probably wouldn’t even have been there if I hadn’t flipped off the king in the arena.” He explained.

“And why were you in the arena?” She asked, leading him.

“I was in there because I was mugged and falsely accused of vagrancy.” He added.

“And how did that happen?” She continued.

“Baslin convinced me to check out the city and see how bad things were there for myself.” He confessed.

“So, this all comes down to you arriving in the city to see what it was like?” She asked.

“Well, there were a few other things in there too like killing the gladiator that was supposed to kill me. That seemed to piss them off. And then there is the whole stealing everything in the king’s vault.” Duke laughed. “Including his soul.”

“Do they even know about that? From what you said that vault was well-guarded, and no one went in there.” She asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I bet the king probably knows that his phylactery has been stolen. He may not be able to detect it while it is in my INVENTORY but that is another matter entirely.” Duke smiled.

“Oh, and don’t forget freeing me and an entire legion from the dungeon. That’s pretty important to me.” Aurelia added.

“Pretty important to me as well.” Duke leaned over and gave her a kiss which she returned hungrily.

“So, did we ultimately establish whether this is a proactive or reactive decision?” She asked when they finally separated.

“No idea. I just know that Chopie’s days are numbered. And I’m pretty sure Baslin has been waiting to avenge the death of his friend, Dothalon’s, for an awful long time. All that adds up to us having a kingdom to conquer, perform a little regicide, and, if Pahst gets in the way, maybe even a bit more regicide.”

“Sounds like a grand old time!” She replied, raising her glass for a toast. He clinked his against hers and they both downed their drinks.

“Time to lead?” She asked.

“Time to lead.” He confirmed. They both stood up, composed themselves and Duke TELEPORTED them to the front of the army as the ranks were reforming outside the wall. It would still take an hour for the rest of the Legion to join them, but they would be ready to march soon.