The Human From a Dungeon

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 7

Human - American

"Instead of my office, let us use one of these conference rooms. They're much nicer and have more chairs," Regent Oakmor said as we walked.

"Sounds great, your highness," Nash replied.

We walked a little further before the regent halted and gestured to a closed door. I awkwardly froze, trying to figure out what he wanted, but Yulk stepped past me and opened the door. Oakmor caught my confusion, gave me a slight smile, and nodded warmly to Yulk before entering the room. I guess maybe royalty doesn't open doors for other people?

I worked my way through my confusion as we entered the room. My jaw nearly dropped, Oakmor had described it as a conference room but that hardly did it justice. The room was luxuriously large and its stone walls were covered in various banners, one of which I had seen while in Kirkena. There were various other decorations spread throughout the room, like swords, maces, and a hand from a large clawed monster.

In the center of the room was a massive wooden table with intricate engravings that were inlayed with gold. The chairs surrounding the table matched its engravings, but had cushions on their seats, arms, and backs. Their backs were extra tall, and reminded me of the expensive reclining chairs that influencers peddled for ridiculous amounts of money back home. I was wondering if they could recline when Oakmor sat and gestured to the chairs across from him.

"Please, sit down. We have much to discuss," he said with another small smile.

We sat, with Yulk to my left and Nash to my right. Renv sat next to Nash and sighed contently. The chairs were remarkably comfortable, and I had to fight the urge to melt into their cushions. It's the first cushioned chair I've sat in since coming to this world. When I get back home I'm never taking cushioned seats for granted again.

Oakmor began by verifying the information he'd been given thus far. Yes, I am from another world. I do, in fact, need to eat both plants and meat. Yilda Alta adopted me into the Alta clan. No, I wasn't technically the one who killed the thing in the dungeon. We came here to deliver the missive and to see if we could get some rubbings translated. Yes, I am desperately trying to get back home and I miss my family terribly.

"Well, on that note, are you planning on seeing our True King?" Regent Oakmor asked with an eager grin.

"Actually, your majesty..." Yulk began.

"Yes we are," I interrupted, surprised at the firmness in my voice. "Your king is a dragon, right?"

I asked the follow-up question to put Yulk into a difficult position. To argue with me, he would have to interrupt the regent. I don't know a lot about monarchy or regency, but I do know that he's been calling Oakmor 'your majesty', and it's usually a bad idea to interrupt someone who requires that honorific.

"Not just any dragon," Oakmor said, beaming with pride. "A High Dragon! A normal dragon is fearsome and respectable, one of the most terrible and deadly beasts to ever exist. But it is just a beast. They have intelligence and motivations comparable to puppers or hnarses. High Dragons are much smarter and deadlier than their less evolved cousins."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

I dared a glance at Yulk, who was staring at me. His expression betrayed confusion rather than anger, though. I felt a stab of guilt as I realized he was trying to figure out why I had interrupted him and changed our plans on the fly instead of feeling angry at me for doing so. I didn't bother looking at Nash, though. I can feel the venom in his gaze.

"High Dragons are near divinity when it comes to their intelligence. The legends tell of High Dragon elders accurately predicting the outcomes of battles years before they were fought. While that may be an exaggeration, the High Dragons were instrumental in driving the daemons and anyels out of our world," Oakmor's tone took a sad turn. "A lot of them died to do that, though. Including the parents of our True King. He avenged them in a glorious battle that lasted for three weeks, and returned to Bolisir for his coronation. I'm not sure what happened during that battle, but he promptly issued a declaration of regency and fell into a slumber that has lasted ever since."

"A declaration of regency?"

"Yes. The declaration of regency governs the requirements for my office. Essentially, I act as king in his absence. When I die, there will be an election and a new regent will be chosen."

"Who chooses the new regent?"

"The people of the land, of course."

I paused for a moment. A democratic monarchy sounds alien to me, but on the other hand I don't really know much about kings and queens. Rather than exposing my ignorance, I opted to ask something else.

"High Chief Ulurmak says you're his blood brother, how did that happen?" I asked.

"Ulurmak and I adventured together in our youth. We have saved each other's lives on multiple occasions, and when it came time for him to take over the post of High Chief we decided to take a blood oath," the elf answered. "At the time, the intention was for me to come to his aid as an adventurer whenever he needed it. Then my father passed and I was pressured into running for regent, namely because no one else wanted to. Now our blood oath requires the both of us to come to each others aid for as long as we rule."

"So until you die? Or... wait, what happens to you if the High Dragon wakes up?" I asked.

"I will resign my post as regent and take up whatever duty our king offers me," the elf smiled. "Or I just retire. I have enough savings to last me for the rest of my life and make sure my children get a good inheritance."

"Retire? You wouldn't go back to adventuring?"

"Oh, I'm far too old for that sort of thing," Oakmor waved his hand dismissively.

"Really? You don't look all that old."

Oakmor began laughing, and all three of my companions chuckled along with him. I looked around with a confused expression, seeking an answer until it finally hit me. Even back home elves don't age all that much. Damn it.

"Elves do not typically demonstrate our age upon our faces," Oakmor explained as he wiped a tear. "Apologies for my outburst, your question was simply unexpected. I likely have a couple of decades left until I'm infirm, but my adventuring days are well behind me."

"What level did you manage to get to, your majesty?" Nash asked.

"I rose to level sixty-two, thanks mostly to Ulurmak. He could probably return to adventuring if the situation arose."

"Really?" Yulk asked. "I thought he was older than you, your highness."

"He is, but he's also of royal lineage," Oakmor answered before frowning slightly. "Ah, but I digress. I am fairly certain that the details of the royal lineage are secret, so if you wish to learn more you will have to ask him directly."

Yulk nodded and retreated into his thoughts, rubbing his chin to process what he'd heard. Nash furrowed his brows and crossed his arms, also an indication that he was thinking. Renv and I simply looked at the two orcs, confused by their reactions.

"Now Nick, I cannot help but notice that you have been omitting my honorific this entire time," Oakmor said with a sly grin. "I have chosen not to take this as an insult, but I cannot help but wonder why."

"Apologies, your highness," I said rapidly. "I've never met a regent before, and we didn't have royalty or nobility where I'm from."

"Truly?" he asked as his eyebrows rose. "Absolutely remarkable. How are your people governed?"

I explained the various types of government in the United States to Regent Oakmor to the best of my ability, which inevitably led to more questions about my world. Thankfully, Oakmor seemed more interested in our various forms of entertainment and food than our other technology, so I was able to easily avoid the subject of weapons.

In this world, adventurers hold the majority of the combat abilities. They have to train those abilities and hone them to be able to cause massive amounts of destruction. Guns and nukes would change that power dynamic very quickly, and even pointing out the possibility of their existence may eventually lead to someone creating them. Can't be too careful.

"You can look at cute pets while communicating with anyone in the world almost instantaneously?" Oakmor leaned back in his chair. "Marvelous. Simply marvelous. I know it's unlikely to ever happen, but I can't help but wish to see such wonders with my own eyes."

"Fuckin' hells, me too," Renv said.

I glanced at Renv and realized that everyone else had followed suit. Nash and Yulk looked shocked, and Regent Oakmor raised his left eyebrow. The already diminutive dwarf shrank even further at our various gazes.

"M-my apologies, your m-majesty," he stammered. "I didn't mean to swear in your presence. It won't happen again, your highness."

"See that it doesn't. Though, your reaction is more than understandable," Oakmor straightened. "Well, my curiosity is sated for now. Please, allow me to accompany you to our True King. Watching his royal majesty's slumber may sound dull, but there truly is nothing quite like it."

The regent rose from his chair and we followed suit. He led us back to where we had entered the building and whispered something to the woman at the front desk. Her green eyes narrowed at Oakmor with disapproval, but she didn't say anything. He grinned at her and gestured for us to follow him. When we left the building, he took a deep breath.

"Ah, fresh air. It's been so long," he chuckled. "So, do any of you know why our streets are wider than that of other kingdoms?"

"So that your king can walk through the kingdom when he awakens, your majesty?" Yulk asked.

"Correct! My, you are a bright one. When his royal highness first entered his slumber, he did so in a sparsely populated portion of the kingdom, not wanting to get in the way of our growth. However, his subjects love him so much that many of them moved here, and everything was built around him to make sure that he would be comfortable when he awoke. We've even cleared the airspace in case he needs to fly."

"How many people live here, your majesty?" I asked.

"Our last census has us at eleven thousand, with a margin of error of one percent. This is the most densely populated portion of Bolisir, and if we had cities it would likely be our capital. Oh, and don't fret over my honorific, Nick. I understand now that your culture is vastly different from ours, and I'm willing to treat you as a sort of diplomat."

"Thank you, sir."

"Your highness, I didn't see any fortifications as we approached. Why is that?" Nash asked.

"Just because you didn't see our fortifications doesn't mean they aren't there," Oakmor winked. "Which would be more effective at routing an invading army? A simple stone wall, or arrows and spells coming from all around you at impossible angles?"

Nash's eyes widened and he fell into a contemplative silence.

"We are not invaded often, either," Oakmor continued. "Our only two neighbors are the Night Kingdom and the Unified Chiefdoms. The Unified Chiefdoms meet us at the south and west, and the Night Kingdom meets us at the north and west. It's just ocean on the east. Since the Unified Chiefdoms are friendly with us, our only threat is the Night Kingdom. They've tried invading us before, but they rarely make it past the fae with anything resembling an invasion force."

"The fae fight them?" I asked.

"Some do. Most prefer trickery and subterfuge, but those that take pleasure in direct action are quite brutal. The blood and bone fae, especially."

"Blood and bone fae? Do those live in the Deepwyld Forest?"

"Odd of you to ask that..." Oakmor studied me for a moment. "No, both the blood and the bone fae tend to live along our northern border, in a place the fae call Grimstars Wood. They have been known to migrate somewhat, but never so far as the Deepwyld Forest. How are you aware of the fae living there?"

I explained our encounter with Tits and Algebrun as we continued our walk. The regent waited patiently as I explained their attempt to trick us into giving them our names, and his eyebrows rose as I told him that I named them. He stopped dead in his tracks when I told him that they'd turned into arch-fae, and the rest of us quickly followed suit.

"They became arch-fae?" he asked.

"I... Y-yes, your majesty," I stammered, caught completely off-guard by his sudden seriousness.

"You... made them into arch-fae?"

"I... I suppose so, sir."

Oakmor leaned toward me and studied me carefully. I tried not to lean away, but his piercing gaze forced my instincts to kick in. After a few moments of intense scrutiny, the regent resumed his former posture and began to laugh.

"Oh, by the gods," he said as he recovered. "That's going to anger someone powerful, I'm sure. No matter, that's a problem for another time. Let's continue on, shall we?"

He gestured for us to follow as he began to walk once more. The four of us looked at each other and quickly trailed after the regent.

"Who would get mad?" I asked.

"The fae chroniclers, for sure, but you don't have to worry about them. The only one you might have to worry about is Mumuldobran, but he's likely to be more angry at the new arch-fae than at you," he glanced at me and caught the concern on my face. "Oh, don't worry about them. Mumuldobran will probably just give them an earful and a hard time for a few years."

I was about to ask what he knew about Mumuldobran when a certain smell caught my attention. The musky scent of reptile with a hint of... rotten eggs? No, that's sulfur. I looked around for the source of the smell, but it became obvious as we turned a corner.

The High Dragon looked exactly like what I have seen in video games. It was resting on a platform with stairs, curled up with its front legs supporting the base of its neck and its head resting on its tail. I could barely make out the claws of its hind legs poking out from underneath its wings. Shining white scales covered its body, glimmering in a massive sunbeam, the first I'd seen so far. The only thing that was missing was a treasure horde underneath it.

"This is our True King," Oakmor took a few steps and gestured dramatically. "Yssinirath, King of Bolisir and Bane of the Horde."

My eyes remained on the High Dragon as I followed the regent. Its body slow expanded and deflated slightly as it breathed, causing a sort of shimmering effect from its scales. It was bigger than an elephant, but breathtakingly beautiful.

I looked at its face and noticed that its eyes were moving under their lids, like it was dreaming. I was trying to imagine what it was dreaming about when the movement stopped. Everything in my body told me that it was awake, and watching me. I felt the blood drain from my face and froze in my tracks. Oakmor and my companions turned to look at me, confused at my sudden halt.

The dragon's eyes snapped open, looking directly into my own.