I didn't partake in the feast that night. Well, unless you call cleaning up the occasional crumb "partaking." Still, I did enjoy my ti hanging around and cleaning up any minor sses from the tables. They were relatively well-mannered for humans, which ant there was even less for to do, but it was the little things. Even purifying the air as I hung out under the table made feel useful.
Beatrice had a lot to tell, especially after our journeys to the other cities. She hasn't gotten into the specifics and more sensitive matters with Mary, Trent, and the others yet. But that would probably happen later tonight if she hadn't already taken care of it.
Instead, she got to her feet at the head of the table and gathered everyone's attention. She held a spoon to a glass goblet of wine, probably intending for the noise to draw everyone's eyes to her, but it wasn't necessary. Everyone was already looking.
"Ahem" She cleared her throat and set down the glass. "I want to thank you all so much for your hard work and dedication in maintaining this most sacred place while I have been away," Beatrice said. There were polite claps, and Trent let out a low whistle. Beatrice let the slight commotion die down before continuing.
"When I last visited, I told you of the kingdom. How the armies that ca to strike at us and our way of life were consorting with demons but felled by Lord Void." Another scattering of cheers sounded.
"Now, I co with more news. The kingdom we have made our own is under Void's care, and as such we are working to repair it and the damage done by its previous leadership. For the past eight months, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that this country shall not know the sa strife that plagues the world beyond."
"Like cleaning, it is a job that is never complete. But already, 80% of the kingdom's borders have been restored and are now patrolled for the safety of its citizens. Twenty of the largest cities have now re-sworn allegiance to the kingdom. But this is no kingdom, for there is no king. Nor am I a queen; I am a mouthpiece for Void."
She wasn't a queen? That was news to . I'd kind of assud she was, with how important she seed in all of this. And it wasn't like I had given her a whole lot of direction about running the kingdom, either. Most of this was a result of her and her advisers planning things out.
Still, I didn't interrupt to correct her. Beatrice really seed to be getting the hang of this public speaking thing, and the last thing I wanted to do was throw her off.
Beatrice continued with her speech. "I will not be able to stay long. There's still much to be done. But while we are away, soon I will need you, my brothers and sisters. I will need your help."
Huh. That piqued my interest. What was she going to ask for? I don't think I rembered this part of the plan...
"Most faithful followers of the Church of the Cleansing Void... we need to think of a na." She paused. "The country once known as 'The Kingdom' is no more. We cannot let the failures of the past taint the present and future. And so, we need a new na for this country. One that reflects well on its true ruler."
That sent waves of mumbles and excited chatter through the crowd. Of course. That made sense. I kind of assud that we'd just keep calling it "The Kingdom," even though the na was admittedly a bit uninspired. This was a great idea!
I began running through possibilities in my own processors but stopped quickly after. I didn't want to take this away from the humans. They seed to really enjoy naming things. However, I did notice Trent and Tony sharing particularly delighted grins.
It only took a mont for people to start shouting out suggestions with excitent. Things like 'The Void Theocracy,' 'The Holy Kingdom,' 'The Clean Country.' I even heard one of the Nighty Knights suggest 'Kingdom McKingdomface.'
Bee waved for silence. "I'll be happy to hear your suggestions. Later. But also, I want to address another thing: connecting this place to the rest of the country." She gestured widely. "So far, we've kept to ourselves here as a collective worshiping our god. And I believe that the castle itself should continue to be kept separate. It should remain a private, quiet place for those of the faith to live and study our short but important history and continue the scholarship of magic in the divine.
"However, that does not an that we can be completely cut off from the world. We want to ensure the castle is open to those who want to co here and safe for those who wish to leave. There should be no danger in coming here, just ti. Ti and effort.
"And to that end, Void and I will take a slower route back." Beatrice looked around, probably for , but I was hiding under the table. Whoops. "We will make a proper road leading out of the valley. It will be small but large enough for two wagons to pass abreast. We will continue to rebuild the town of Greg, and then we shall connect that as a major city to the rest of the kingdom. This entire area will beco repopulated and thriving once more.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringent.
"With this road, Tony will no longer need to escort groups between here and the capital. It'll be regularly patrolled and kept safe. Bandits will be cleared out, and monsters will be chased off. The Adventurer's Guild will protect us from many of the common threats, and the Army will patrol to make sure that nothing truly dangerous cos. Not to ntion our other volunteers."
Beatrice went on for so ti explaining other changes in policy, world news, and a few organizational changes. There were also so appointnts, mostly of people who were back in the capital. People around here had their roles and responsibilities pretty well. However, so of the people to whom she did offer promotions and relocations were hesitant to accept. Why head to the capital when they could stay and live here?
But soon after the feast was done, she went to talk with more people behind closed doors. I, of course, was welco to join, but I wanted to get a head start on that road that she had promised. We had talked about it, of course, and I had improved the forrly dirt path through the forest a couple of tis throughout several months. But I hadn't turned it into the proper road I could now make with my various skills."
And so, I went about forming the best road I possibly could.
I spared no expense of ti, materials, or effort. This wasn't just going to be a road. This was going to be a marvel. The capstone to my building achievents. Well, after the sewage systems, maybe. Still, over the course of the next several hours, I began work on the intricate path.
Normally, I just sloped the road so that water would roll off of it naturally. Simple and efficient. But this ti, I dug deep, putting foundations twenty feet underground and turning many bits of the earth below into decorative and complicated patterns.
It took a lot more ti than I'd planned for, and it delayed our trip ho a bit. But after a lot of work, I managed to create sothing I was truly proud of. A path of pure white, prettier and more functional than anything else I'd ever built.
It was a road that would last as long as the castle had, sothing that could match the impressive builders that had created my first ho here. I wanted to make sure that, in 10,000 years, they would both still be here.
***
A few weeks later, we were back in the capital. Beatrice and I soared up and over the walls into the sky and spotted what our scouts had reported. A large red speck on the horizon was coming towards us.
We zipped off over to et our old friends. It had been months since they last reported in, and I was curious what the dragon and his rider had been up to. They had been monitoring the city where the demons had vanished along with many of the informants, as well as following up on other leads trying to locate those last Lieutenants.
When they saw us approaching, they dived down to a clearing where we could talk. We t them in the middle of a forest, a long way away from any civilization or road. Beatrice and Archibald hugged while Daedalus and I touched our claws together in sothing approximating a fist bump. The Nighty Knights had taught it to .
Daedalus let out a huff. "No news. The city is infested for sure, but they're keeping a low enough profile that we haven't been able to locate them. The Lieutenants are not in there, but there are so low-level demon worshipers. Although there is sothing interesting.
Beatrice cocked her head to the side. "What?"
"Your white-robed friend has appeared there. He's started preaching again," Archibald said.
That got our attention. "Zeal?"
Archibald nodded. "Yeah! That's his na. I couldn't rember it at the ti. He seems to be getting quite the following. I'm not sure how it's working with the demons, but I thought you would like to know."
I beeped in concern. I had explained Zeal was necessary, but if he was consorting with demons Then he clearly hadn't got the ssage. Now, though, Beatrice seed to have the sa concerns.
"Oh no, he's not preaching for the demons. He's calling for their cleansing, actually," he said.
"But um... huh?" Beatrice asked. "But the demons are leaving him alone?"
"I don't understand it either, but it's not the only city whose followers have appeared. Many of their major cities now have a small presence of white robes in them. They keep on multiplying like roaches," Archibald said.
That was troubling. We had exiled Zeal so that he wouldn't cause problems, but evidently, he had gone right back to making problems for soone else. That wasn't good.
Still, as long as he wasn't actually hurting anyone, maybe it was fine. It was a different country, after all, and we were busy enough here cleaning up these sses. Maybe if they wanted our help, they'd ask.
"What about the other leads?" Beatrice asked.
"Well," Daedalus rumbled. "I spoke with my little brother, and he pointed us towards Archides' cave. We go to talk with him and see what other magic he knows. But many of the leads have run cold or were simply diversions."
Beatrice rubbed her chin. "That's bad news. I'm not sure what to make of it.
"We'll keep looking, but I won't have any answers for you soon," Daedalus rumbled, and Archibald nodded his agreent. "But for now, we need a break. We're not getting anywhere spinning our wheels like this."
Beatrice nodded. "I think you do." She climbed back onto her carpet. "Let's go back to the capital and have a feast. It's been a while since people have seen a dragon."
"It has," Archibald said with a toothy grin. "Indeed it has! I'm going to enjoy this."
Reviews
All reviews (0)