Chapter Three Hundred and Six — Dine Hard with a Vengeance
Chapter Three Hundred and Six — Dine Hard with a Vengeance “Anyone in particular we should get to know?” I asked Caprica.“I suppose my older sister. She’s... well, you’ll meet her in a moment,” Caprica said. She was looking towards the small library-like section of the dining hall, specifically at a young sylph woman in a dark dress standing next to two older gentlesylph.That had to be her sister. There was a clear resemblance between the two of them. The same brow and nose, though Caprica’s hair was a dark shade of brown, and her elder sister had pure black hair. “What’s her name?” I asked as we started to cross the room.“Steph,” Caprica said. “Though she prefers Stephania with strangers. Her middle name is Rubbottom. My parents gave her the name after a Paladin that worked for father and served with mother for a few decades before retiring with honours. She hates the name.”“Rubbottom,” Awen repeated. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth and hide a smile. “I think I can guess why she doesn’t like it.”“Too bad, Uncle Rubrub is really nice. He gave me my first sword,” Caprica said.Stephania turned as we approached, her gaze lingering on Caprica for a moment without a change in her expression before she scanned the rest of us. “A moment, gentlemen, I imagine my sister wishes to introduce her friends.”The two sylph bowed curtly and nodded our way before walking off while chatting to each other. I wouldn’t have minded them staying. More company was always the best kind of company.“Hello, Caprica,” Stephania said.“Steph,” Caprica said. “You guessed already, but I wanted to present my friends to you.” She gestured to the side where Amaryllis, Awen and I stood. “This is Lady... This is Amaryllis, Awen, and Broccoli.”I grinned. She’d made an effort to drop all of the titles. That was actually genuinely nice. We were more than just a collection of neat titles and family names.“A pleasure,” Stephania said.“Hi!” I said. “Do you do hugs?”“Pardon?”“Like this,” I said before stepping up and wrapping Stephania up in a quick hug. It was the rather boring, prompt kind of hug that didn’t give you much time to really enjoy the contact.Stephania blinked at me as I broke away, then glanced at Caprica. “These are the heroes of the day?”“They are,” Caprica said gravely. “Broccoli and Awen here discovered the plot to blow up the old palace and everyone in it. Awen disarmed the explosives while Broccoli valiantly fought the bomber until a brave Paladin showed up to assist her.”“You’re skipping a few details,” I said.“Awa, I only disarmed two bombs,” Awen said. “The guards took care of the rest.”“Yeah, and I barely fought Rainnewt. He’s way stronger than I am, so most of my fighting didn’t end up doing much more than slow him down. Bastion did most of the work.”Stephania sighed. “Of course Bastion was involved somehow. I should have guessed, with how excited you are about all of this, Caprica.”“Don’t be that way, Steph,” Caprica said. She crossed her arms. “I’m hardly excited by all of this either. I could have died today. Father too, for that matter, and dozens of distant cousins and people we know as well. It most certainly would have sparked a war.”“Yes, I suppose so,” Stephania said. “Why did you bring them to me, Caprica?”“You’re being rude, Steph,” Caprica said.“I can’t find it in me to care,” Stephania dismissed. “No side-stepping the question. We’re sisters aren’t we? Answer me honestly.”Caprica let out a long sigh. “Because you usually have a good idea of what is going on in the city. I need to know what the nobility is thinking, the merchants. Your friends.”Stephania shook her head. “And to think you’ve always looked down on me for spending time with business people, rather than those of you who like to play dress-up as soldiers.”“Um, are we stepping into something here?” I asked.“Sounds like the average sisterly argument to me,” Amaryllis said. “Let me guess, you both pursued different hobbies, got pulled apart by different peer groups, and now you’re both too obstinate around whatever you’re passionate about to reconcile, even though both of you still love each other.”Caprica and Stephania both looked at Amaryllis for a long moment before they both shook their heads.“Absolutely not.”“I’m afraid you’re entirely wrong.”Awen and I giggled, which had them both wear the exact same expression of offended nobility.“You’re both cute,” I said. “Miss Stephania, if you don’t mind me saying so, I think Caprica just wants to share her new friends with someone she cares about a lot. She made sure to have us spend time with Gabrielle already too. And I think all three of us would love to be your friend too.”Stephania RubbottomDesired Quality: Someone to acknowledge her superior intellectDream: To become the wealthiest sylph in all of Sylphfree to show up her bratty little sisterThat dream... was going to take some working around.“Fine then,” Caprica said. “I really could use your help, Steph. And this is to try and head off a clash of arms. Imagine how many of my play-soldier peers will be upset if a war never happens.”Stephania rolled her eyes. “Very well. I suppose it is for a good cause. Though there are some among my own peers who are rather eager for great battles and the opportunity for government contracts.”“I can imagine,” Caprica said. “They might bear investigating.”One of Stephania’s eyebrows quirked up. “Oh? So this is your ruse. Come over all friendly and chatty with.. these three bizarre characters, then find out which business sylph you can pin some of your troubles on?”The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.“Hardly,” Caprica said. “It’s just as likely that the trouble comes from the military, or a radical branch of it.”“Um,” I said. “Haven’t we proven that Rainnewt is responsible for everything?”Caprica shook her head. “We haven’t. And even if he takes full responsibility, it’s unlikely to be true. Too much has happened for it all to be orchestrated by one person. He needed to have co-conspirators. Perhaps even people who are above him in terms of responsibility. It wouldn’t be like the leader of a conspiracy to do the dirty work themselves.”I didn’t have that impression from Rainnewt. He seemed more than capable of tricking people, but working with others over the long term was... probably something he had to work on.“If you say so, I guess,” I said.Caprica nodded. “I do say so. This might be a great opportunity to weed out some tasteless opinions near the top of our society.”That didn’t sound very nice. But before I could ask about it, a bell tinkled. A butler stood next to the table, a small silvery chime in one hand, a towel draped over his other arm. A team of serving sylph had slipped into the room without me noticing and were placing down plates and cutlery onto the table in the centre of the room with quick efficiency. “Dinner will be served momentarily,” the butler said in a gentle voice that nonetheless carried across the room. “Please, find your seats at your convenience.”Each seat had plenty of room on either side of it, and along with that, small plaques with names engraved upon them sat in front of the plates and silverware.“Come, I imagine you’ll all be near the head of the table today,” Caprica said.She wasn’t wrong. Awen, Amaryllis and I were to the head seat’s right. Awen’s seat was right next to the king’s with me sandwiched between her and Amaryllis. Caprica and her sister sat across from us, and I imagined those were the seats reserved for family or something.The seats were comfy, but just a bit short. I was sitting with my feet planted on the ground and my knees up a bit. The table and chairs were a bit sylph-sized, even if they were grandiose and pretty.The king walked in without ceremony or fanfare next to someone I assumed was a paladin until a maid rushed out and placed a second seat next to the king’s, then another came with plates and cutlery for the new place-setting. The queen?Everyone but Caprica and Stephania stood, so my friends and I did the same after a moment of confused hesitation.“Oh, don’t bother, please,” the maybe-queen said.She was tiny, one of the smallest adult sylph I’d seen, with short-cropped hair that was an exact match of Caprica’s and a scowl fit for an angry schoolteacher. Her armour was definitely a paladin’s, if a bit lighter than what I’d seen Bastion wear normally.The king pulled out his wife’s chair, and she rolled her eyes before sitting down.“Good evening, everyone,” the king said as he sat down in turn. The last few people still standing dropped back into their seats. The king clapped his hands in eager glee. “I heard that we have scallops from Quickwood, and this very nice apple brandy from Mattergrove. And Captain Bunch?”“Huh? Oh, yes?” I asked.“I made sure the chefs prepared a more vegetarian meal for you,” he said. “No need to worry.”“Oh, thank you! I think I can eat most things though. I wasn’t born a bun, so meats and stuff only give me a bit of a tummy ache.”The king chuckled. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”The same servants that had set the table were suddenly placing appetisers down before us, and I had to wonder if their sneakiness was some sort of cool skill.The smells from the food around me hit, and I suddenly realized that I was starving. It was an effort not to drool like a baby bun as I picked a fork at random and started gobbling up my meal.I noticed Amaryllis rolling her eyes, and some of the nobles further down were trying hard to look composed and proper as they ate, but I didn’t see the point in that.Whenever a course was finished, the servants returned-from where?! I was paying attention and I never caught them entering the room-and placed the next meal down in front of whomever had finished.There was a bit of small-talk all across the table. The king asked Caprica and Stephania about their days, the queen said that Gabrielle was feeling better after a long day’s rest, but that she wanted to take an evening nap so she had an early dinner. Mostly though, everyone was too busy eating to talk.And then, before I knew it a butler set before me a small slice of cake that I wasn’t sure would fit in my tummy. I wasn’t sure I could eat it, but I was certain I’d give it a try. It was vanilla with some sort of strawberry jam on it and it looked like something from the good kind of dream.“I know it’s something of a faux-pas,” the king said.I glanced up. He was talking to me and my friends.“But I wanted to ask a few questions, if you don’t mind. Mostly about the dungeons you’ve managed to clear on the way here.”I opened my mouth to speak, but a talon poking my leg from under the table shut me up. “What do you want to know?” Amaryllis asked as she dabbed her lips with a serviette.“The Captain was able to repair a dungeon, correct?” he asked.“Less repair, and more rid it of a pest,” Amaryllis said. “Twice, in fact, once in the wilderness to the south of the Crying Mountains, and once again in the tiny port of Innsmouth.”“We have a piece of root from that dungeon!” I remembered. “It’s in the Beaver.”“I see,” the king said. “Would you be willing to demonstrate, Captain Bunch?” he asked. “We have something of an issue at a local dungeon, and there are quite a few people who would like to see your abilities first-hand.”“Oh, sure,” I said. “But after dessert.”
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Chapter Three Hundred and Seven — Hiring a Professional Cleaner
Chapter Three Hundred and Seven — Hiring a Professional Cleaner “Okay,” I said. “But I’m bringing my friends with me.”My friends and I were spread out a bit more. This part of the dining hall had a good number of comfy chairs to slouch on and we’d moved a few of them around a central coffee table (or was it a tea table? I wasn’t sure if they had coffee in Sylphfree). Mine was right across from the King’s seat, and I had Amaryllis and Awen on either side on their own big, poofy seats.The King was sitting on a big loveseat, with wooden arms covered in carved animals and little scenes of mountainscapes. Next to him, his wife sat, still in her armour with one leg crossed over the other. She was knitting what looked like a teeny tiny jumper.Caprica and her sister were sharing another loveseat and neither looked like they were enjoying it.“You know,” the King said. “I’m not used to people making demands of me.”I frowned, then tapped my chin. “I guess that makes sense, being a king and all. But still, I want my friends to come with me if they can.”“The dungeon in question is important to our nation,” the King said. “What if we determine that its location and layout are sensitive information? Sharing that with one person who has earned our trust is well and good, but several people?”I nodded. “That makes sense,” I said.“So you’ll go on your own?” he asked.“I didn’t say that,” I said. “I still want to go with my friends.”The King didn’t pout, that wouldn’t have been very kingly of him, but I had the impression he really wanted to. “You’re very obstinate.”“I don’t think I am,” I said.Caprica sniffed. “If anything, Father, you should take it as a sign of Broccoli’s good nature. She is fiercely loyal to her friends.”“Well, I mostly want Amaryllis and Awen to be with me because it sounds fun, and fun should be shared.”“If it helps any,” Amaryllis interjected. “Broccoli can’t keep a secret from her friends. She’d spill the location of the dungeon and everything she learned about it the moment one of us asked.”“That’s troubling,” the King muttered.“Secrets aren’t part of a healthy relationship,” I said.The queen looked up from the jumper she was knitting. “Let the girl bring her friends. The dungeon is hazardous enough, even with trusted comrades.”“We’re not sending her down there alone,” the King countered. “The Knights of the Long Rest are jealous of their dungeon. They wouldn’t allow strangers in without an escort at the best of times.”“I’ll see if any paladins are free,” the Queen said.“Or we could send some of the royal guard,” the King said. “I suspect the Paladins will be a bit much for this. Though... those who will want to see Broccoli’s Cleaning magic in action might want to send their own observers.”“We can’t send an entire platoon’s worth of people in the dungeon,” the Queen said. “Let them pick one each, perhaps, make sure that they’re aware of the risks, then let the Knights of the Long Rest pick out a pair of guides. At that point, you’ll already be stretching the number of people you can safely send into the dungeon.”“What kind of Dungeon is it?” I asked. I’d been in my share of them already. It didn’t make me an expert or anything, but I imagined that I knew more about dungeons than maybe the average person.“The Dungeon of the Lullaby Knight,” the King said. “It’s an hour’s flight from Sylphfree, with a small compound around it where the Knights of the Long Rest are headquartered.”“A knightly order?” Amaryllis asked.The King nodded. “We have a few.”“More than a few,” Caprica said. “They’re a popular way for nobles and some people to grow in martial prowess at their own pace while sidestepping the rigours of the army.”“Having so many orders fosters a good, competitive market,” Stephania said. “Besides, the orders need to fund their own housing, training, and equipment. They’re less of a burden on the nation’s coffers.”Caprica and Stephania were glaring at each other again. Was there some animosity between the army and these knightly orders? The Queen might have noticed my look because she filled me in some more.“The nation’s army is grand and proud, but it is a literal meritocracy. The talented and hard-working rise in the ranks, regardless of their birth. Knightly Orders, on the other hand, are mostly filled with noble scions. They buy their own equipment and rank themselves as they see fit. The orders are still subject to the army command though, and they need to participate to assist the nation just as the army does. Most orders will find a niche, occasionally they will be built around a specific dungeon and will use that as a way to unlock a unique class and evolutionary line that allows them to better serve the nation in a specific and unique way.”“Huh,” I said. So they were basically small army-like clubs. I wasn’t sure what to think about that.“The most famous are the Wyvern Knights,” Caprica said. “There’s a dungeon that gives a class that allows one to tame and ride wyverns. The knights serve as an aerial cavalry alongside airships. It’s a prestigious position to be in, and their membership is both exclusive and expensive to obtain.”“Ah, what do the Knights of the Long Rest specialise in?” Awen asked.Caprica nodded at the question. “They specialise in a few areas. Mostly they have magic that allows them to make others fall asleep. They’ve been used to suppress riots, and they can boost the recovery of those who are sleeping, as well as themselves when they’re asleep. I think they have a few more skills, but they are somewhat secretive and honestly, they’re not the most popular of the knightly orders.”Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.“The Knights of the Long Rest have always been close to the throne,” the King said. “And their loyalty is beyond reproach. There are two other dungeons afflicted with these Evil Roots within our borders, but I trust the knights and suspect they will welcome the aide more kindly than others might.”“Neat,” I said. “Well, in that case, I don’t see any harm in helping. When do we head out?”“Broccoli,” Amaryllis said. “You’re forgetting something.”“I am?” I asked. I really couldn’t see what I was forgetting. A maid popped by and placed some cups down, then started filling them with tea.Amaryllis leaned forwards and took her cup between two talons. “Payment, Broccoli. We’re rendering a service to Sylphfree by not only clearing this one dungeon, but by teaching them how to clear their own. Dungeons are practically priceless. If we teach them how to save their dungeons from near-certain destruction, that teaching is similarly priceless.”“Oh,” I said.“The kingdom will, of course, cover all of your expenses so far,” the King said. He glanced back and over his loveseat and… and there was a butler there that was absolutely not there the last time I checked. “Could you make note of that, please?”“Covering our expenses is a nice start,” Amaryllis said. I could almost feel the greed wafting off of her. “Our ship was damaged on the way in, and the costs to repair and dock it will certainly add up as we have to wait longer within Sylphfree.”The King grinned. “Of course, of course. That’s perfectly understandable.”“Don’t let the children step all over you just because they’re small and innocent,” the Queen said.“I’m not so easily swayed, dear,” the King said. “How about this, as compensation for the work, each of you will be awarded fifty Sylphreen Ducats.”“That’s all?” Amaryllis asked.“It’s far beyond what even an expert would be paid,” the King said.“Ah, but experts can be trained and called upon from elsewhere,” Amaryllis said. “Riftwalkers with World-given quests are not nearly so common. Unless you plan on using Rainnewt to do the deed, then I suspect you’re not so much hiring an expert as you are hiring the only person anywhere who can help. That must have some value to it.”The King chuckled. “Very well then, I have been swayed by your incredible negotiating ability.”He definitely expected Amaryllis to try and squeeze a bit more out of him. But Amaryllis looked appropriately smug, so I don’t point out that she tripped right into the King’s trap.“One hundred gold each. Which I suspect is a bounty worthy of such a task. You will also be granted the right to take the class you earn from the dungeon, if you so choose. And I will sign a writ granting you rights of first choice on any items dropped during the excursion.”“Is that special?” I asked.Stephania was the one to reply this time. “It’s not impossible for someone outside of a knightly order to take on an order’s dungeon. Usually, the order will ask for a fee, but because the dungeons belong to the kingdom first, they don’t have a legal right to refuse a citizen access as long as the citizen has permission to access the dungeon. What they will do is force those attempting the dungeon to be escorted through it. It prevents untrained people from dying in a dangerous environment. Part of that contract gives the guides rights to anything found within the dungeon.”“Oh,” I said. That didn’t seem entirely fair. “Okay, well a hundred gold is a whole lot, so that seems fine to me.” I could recall a discussion with Amaryllis a long while ago, where she told me that a small airship cost about a thousand gold. We’d earn enough in one day to purchase a third of a ship! That was pretty huge!“Wonderful,” the King said. He clapped his hands, and a new butler bowed next to him and extended a piece of paper on a wooden board with a pen fixed to it. The King took the board and wrote something on the page pinned to it with quick, easy grace. He folded it up after signing it at the bottom, then the butler poured warm wax onto the front of the letter which the king touched with a big ring. “And now it’s quite official. We merely need some witnesses and your own signatures.”Caprica and Stephania both agreed to act as witnesses, which seemed fine. I guessed that three royal signatures on a contract made it pretty official.The contract was passed to Amaryllis, who signed it, then to me.By my will as King of Sylphfree, ruler of Goldenalden, and rightful liege of the lords and ladies of sylphkind and those within our rightful lands,I hereby decree that the following persons have permission, officially obtained, to carry with them the classes and possessions they have rightfully obtained from the Dungeon of the Lullaby Knight; Lady Amaryllis Albatross of the Harpy Mountains, Lady Awen Bristlecone of Mattergrove, and Captain Broccoli Bunch, of lands beyond the Rift.For the inestimable task of ridding our nation of the Evil Roots which infest its dungeons, they shall be awarded one hundred Sylphreen ducats for their brave work.By my name,Reggie IV G. SylphAs witnessed byCaprica B. SylphStephania R. SylphI stared for a moment, pen in hand and poised to sign. “Wait, your name is Reggie?”My friends both sighed. “Awa, Broccoli, can you not insult the king, please?”“I wasn’t!” I said. “It’s just, I didn’t expect his name to be Reggie. I thought he’d have a fancy name.”Caprica was notably not looking in my direction and had a hand over her mouth while her sister snickered quietly.The King actually pouted when his wife started to chuckle.“Well, so much for that,” he said.
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