I write to you on the second day in the third month. I do not believe my chosen courier, a man by the name of Rob that I know you’ve had dealings with, will tarry or break the seal.
I’ve heard of what’s happened from a few trusted sources. It seems you’ve become the proverbial princess trapped in her own castle, and forced to marry against her will.
I won’t lie, after my initial reaction of rage, I laughed hysterically at your predicament. I could only imagine that grumpy frown you put on when you find something you disagree with.
Or when dealing with ‘fancy foot cheese’ as you called it.
From what I’ve been able to gather, you somehow negotiated for my cousins to become your property for the time being, while being married to Diane.
I can’t say I’m happy about that in any way, but I’m glad you were able to minimize the damage. I had truthfully assumed Adele had simply been killed out of hand.
It seems like something Veronica would do.
Regardless, thank you for safeguarding my cousins. Even if it did require you throwing them into your bed.
In the end, I did nothing to set you up at all for marriage. You’ll be apologizing to me eventually for that remark.
I digress.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve sent an adventurer with my letter. He’s well renowned and is a known entity throughout the country and our neighboring countries.
What isn’t known is that he’s an operative in my employ, and has been for years.
In fact, he’s the head of an intelligence team I’m sending to Dungeon. They’re to work there directly and send back information to me, while also providing you with any assistance that they can.
In return, I would expect you to shelter, shield, protect, and assist them as best you can.
I know you’ve had problems with Rob. I even know the extent of them. I wouldn’t fault you for attempting to strangle him with your bare hands, but I must ask you to not do this. To please hold your fury and rage.
To help me.
As your friend, I ask you to help me. Because to be honest with you, Ryker, the war is not going as well as I would like.
We’ve suffered defeats and won victories in equal measure. This isn’t something that will be decided swiftly, but over time, I fear.
So I must ask you directly as I know you would have it no other way. And I ask it in triplicate.
Help me safeguard my country.
Help me protect my people.
Help me save myself.
Rob will send me correspondence weekly or when he’s able. He’s well versed in this and knows what we’ll need.
I would deeply appreciate you arranging a letter from Adele and Claire to me. If only to be able to speak with them.
While most would only consider them cousins, I grew up playing with them. They’re the closest things I have to actual sisters anymore.
I would also welcome a letter from yourself.
Gratefully and gladly so.
Yours in need,
Lauren
Ryker let his hands fall to his sides, holding tightly to the letter with one hand. He dropped his head backward and stared up at the sky
Are you actually fucking kidding me? This is a joke. A joke of fate and destiny. They’re meeting up just to figure out how to fuck with me.
“What do you wish to do?” Wynne sent to him. “Marybelle told me to watch over you. She realized others were closing in from other directions and kept going towards the farmhouse instead to check on Adele.”
Growling to himself, Ryker began to tremble.
Slowly the rumbling noise grew to a groan, then to a shout.
Screaming to the sky above at the indignity in a wordless rage, Ryker felt his whole body shuddering.
Lifting his arms over his head he threw the largest lightning bolt he could straight into the heavens.
Holding his hands in that position, he channeled the spell till he felt his personal mana pool hit the halfway mark.
Defeated, he stopped, his scream and spell coming to a crackling end.
When his cry fell away, he let his head drop down, his chin resting on his chest.
“I take it she asked you not to set me on fire and piss on my ashes,” Rob said from the side.
“You insufferable fuck. If it weren’t for this letter I’d beg my wife to let me split you in half with a butter knife and leave you out in a barren field for the ants to pick to death with the ravens as dinner-mates!” Ryker said, running out of breath at the end.
“So yeah, she asked you not to murder me,” Rob said.
“Yes. She asked me not to murder you. I’ll cooperate,” Ryker said.
For now. The moment I can, I’m going to kill you. Operative or not. You probably have a second in command, right? They’ll do fine without you.
Just fine.
You’re going to be a corpse before the day ends, you gutless sack of crap.
“Great. I’ll go take a room at the inn for now. I’m acting the part of an adventurer right now so I’ll keep in character. Be sure to burn that letter,” Rob said.
Ryker didn’t see him leave, but he heard his departing footsteps.
I’ll kill you, Rob. I’ll kill you.
Kill you. Kill you.
Dead.
Chapter 27- Belief -
Adele looked up from the letter in front of her, a smile curling her lips.
“You got this from Rob?” she asked, her excitement obvious.
“Unfortunately,” Ryker admitted, shaking his head in aggravation. He wanted nothing more than to turn the man to paste. Wynne had told him to give her some time to work on it though before he simply did it.
“Rob… I do know of him. Only because Lauren made me use him once or twice. He’s definitely hers. Even if he is a slimeball of a scumbag,” Adele said, leaning back in her chair.
“And that’s putting it gently,” Ryker grumbled. “But yeah, it was him, and that’s her letter. Though I’m not sure she meant for me to share it with you.”
“Fuck no. This is practically a love letter for her. She’ll knock your head off the moment I tell her you showed me,” Adele said, sliding the paper across the table to him.
“Trying to become a widow already?” Ryker asked.
Picking up the letter, he carefully folded it along the original lines, and slipped it back into the envelope.
“No… not really. You tolerate me pretty well,” Adele said, scratching under an armpit.
“Yeah, you’re not exactly the flower of womanhood, but I’m a dirty dungeon diver and farmer. Not exactly the pinnacle of breeding myself. We pair up just fine.
“Anyways. Put together a letter and I’ll get it sent off to Lauren. With the church smashing its way in the way it has though, you might not want to leave the farmhouse. I get the feeling that this is actually worse than we thought,” Ryker said.
“Yeah, fine. I’ll get a letter for you. And what’s your bitch of a wife think?”
“What, Claire? Haven’t told her yet. Not sure I want to.”
Adele chortled at that.
“Yeah, don’t tell Claire. I don’t think she’s in it to win it. But no, your other bitch of a wife,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Pretty much the same. This is worse than we thought, and we’re pretty sure the church is going to try and take over. I imagine it’ll start to get bad when the first of their forces arrive. Won’t hit maximum hell till the bulk of it is here though,” Ryker said, standing upright.
“Yeah. Sounds about right. And queen bitch is alright with all of this?”
“You giving that name to everyone?”
“If it fits.”
“Yeah, she gave up Dungeon as if it were nothing to her. I don’t think she even cares what happens here. I get the impression all she has in her eyes is the throne. Alright, I’m gone. See you later. I’ll have some people bring you things to keep you occupied. Anything in particular?” Ryker asked.
“Anything. I’ll take anything,” Adele said with some heat. “I’m bored to tears and sober to boot.”
Knitting, crochet, and needlepoint. Lots of it.
Ryker threw a wave over one shoulder and left her there.
“Hey Wynne, I’m on my way down,” he sent to her. He turned into a side room that was empty. He’d used it several times already to get access to the dungeon.
“Ah, good, I’ll have Arria open the way for you.”
Ryker waited for a few seconds before the ground opened up and formed a stairway for him. Entering immediately, he started downward into the unlit stairway.
“Could I get a light maybe? I’m not clumsy but I can’t see in the dark either,” Ryker grumbled.
A small light popped out of the wall and circled around his head twice.
“Better?” asked a tiny voice.
“Uh, yeah. And you are?”
“I’m the gatekeeper,” said the light. “After I’m trained, I’ll be your assistant.”
“I eat?” Tar said in his mind.
“No, don’t eat her.”
“Eat who?” asked the light.
“You. And what’s your name?”
“Arria,” came the immediate response.
“Right. Anyways, Tar wants to eat you,” Ryker said, pointing to the familiar on his shoulder. “He’s not allowed to.”
The wisp, and that’s what she was he realized, zipped away down the stairs to the bottom.
Shrugging his shoulders, Ryker walked along without a word.
Wynne opened the door for him practically as he was able to see it.
“Come in, come in,” she called from inside.
Trying to keep his emotions in check since she would read him easily if he didn’t, he crossed the threshold and entered.
“We doing that meal thing again?” he asked.
“Yes. Go sit down and behave. You promised you’d be on your best manners, remember?” Wynne called from somewhere deeper inside.
Rolling his eyes, Ryker did as instructed.
Moving into the dining room he froze at the archway.
Tris, Charlotte, Marybelle, and Sierra were all sitting at the table. Staring at him.
“Uh, hi. Should I just sit—”
Tris slapped the chair next to herself backward two feet and pointed at it.
“Here,” she said.
“Yeah. Great,” Ryker said.
Taking the indicated chair, he looked around the room. “So. How’s… things?” he asked.
“Not too bad,” Marybelle said, leaning forward towards him. “Though the church is already acting up. They’ve killed every walker that we send up.”
“Huh? That’s—okay, that’s not something I would have—”
“They think they’re spies,” Tris said simply, her eyes staring into him.
“Well. I guess they’re not wrong. Originally that was the intent but the whole of Dungeon is within the zone of control now,” Ryker said.
“That’s something we need to discuss,” Charlotte said. “I want to use my team to ambush them the next time they go for a walker. By attacking walkers, and with an overwhelming force, those bastards are skewing the rules.”
“Wait, rules? I thought—”
“And here we are,” Wynne said. She came into the room with two platters, one in each hand. Setting them down in the middle of the table, she immediately left again. “One second, I have another.”
Looking at the contents of the platter, he found what looked like what he normally had with the noble ladies.
Cheese, fruits, and cold cuts.
Except they were all minced, chopped, and diced in various shapes and size. No two the same in any way.
“Uh,” Ryker said diplomatically.
Wynne came back in with another wide plate and dropped it in between the other two. It was covered in a white clumpy mess that he couldn’t identify
“Hum. I think I’ll keep to the cheeses for now. I do enjoy them,” Ryker said.
“Oh? Alright. I thought you’d like this though,” Wynne said, taking a seat. “Now, I wanted to talk to you about the walkers, so I’m glad Charlotte brought it up. I think she’s right, and that we should engage them the next time they do attack. But I do not think it’s enough.”
“Alright? What else did you have in mind, exactly?” Ryker said.
Reaching over with his plate he carefully swept a pile of cheese that looked as if it’d been smashed with a meat cleaver onto it.
“First of all, though, we should discuss your intentions. How far down this do you want to take us? How much of our dungeon do we risk? This is why I asked all the coreholders to be here,” Wynne said.
“I… yeah. I suppose that’s a good place to start as any. First, I want Rob dead,” Ryker said, looking up and making eye contact with Wynne.
“Ah, we can certainly do that. I asked you for time on that one because I wanted to check something. Marybelle?” Wynne asked, looking to the Hob.
“Ah, yes. From everything we can gather, Rob is the source point for all communications. In and out. His second in command was identified, but as far as we can tell, if Rob were to die, the cell would effectively be ended. They’d have to return back home,” she said.
“What?” Ryker asked.
“That is, if we kill Rob, it’s likely Lauren’s cell will shatter and disperse. I imagine it’s a failsafe,” Wynne said before Marybelle could respond. “We can certainly kill him, and easily. But you’ll need to run that up against how much you want to help Lauren.”
Ryker’s anger skyrocketed for a moment, then crashed back down as soon as he thought of Lauren’s letter.
“You’re sure? It’d end the entire operation?”
“Not positive, but fairly certain. I wouldn’t tell you unless I was reasonably sure of it, dear,” Wynne said, her voice soft.
Ryker pushed his plate away from himself, his anger spoiling his appetite instantly.
“Fine. I can always kill him before he leaves. I want one of your people on him permanently, Charlotte. Ready to kill him. He’s not going to leave Dungeon alive,” Ryker said.
“Consider it done,” Charlotte said.
“I think we’re getting a bit sidetracked here,” Wynne said. “We do need to discuss the church and what to do about them. I’m still of the opinion we should simply go into siege defenses and let the humans fight it out on their own.”
Ryker sighed. Wynne would always press the issue that there was no reason to be involved.
“Yes, so you’ve said. And as for the church, I’ll not be giving up my city just like that. Just because they said so,” Ryker growled out. “I told them I wouldn’t allow them to build here, and I meant that. Veronica be damned.”
Wynne’s mouth thinned as she processed that before nodding her head once.
“Our mana bank is building back up with all the recent deaths, but we’re still bleeding it back out with each attack we make. The core itself has a few minor hairline fractures from misuse but nothing that won’t repair itself,” Wynne said.
“Wait, fractures?” Ryker said, unnerved and shocked.
“Mm. Each time we do things that we shouldn’t the core is put under stress. It’ll take care of itself given time, but we do have to be careful,” she explained. “I did tell you this repeatedly previously, you dismissed it.”
“Right. Okay. Right… and… okay. Fine. Moving on. The church. What can we do about it, within your rules?”
“As Charlotte already pointed out, the fact that they’re engaging the walkers gives us an in. Using overwhelming odds to kill a single creature lets us respond in kind to that situation,” Wynne said. “For those we can operate freely. But I imagine it won’t take more than a few times for them to stop doing that.”
“Okay, yeah. In other words, they have to engage or willingly do something for us to be able to provoke a response. Can we lay traps then?”
“Yes. Definitely. Though it
has to be done in such a way that they know they’re going to be fighting, and we have to balance what resources we use to match theirs. The only caveat to that is you,” Wynne said, a finger tapping her plate idly.
“Me?”
“Yes. You’re not bound in the same way. Think of yourself as the top of the pyramid. The core being directly below you, and me being one step below that. Everything else is below me,” Wynne said. “So you fall outside of the rules. Even your avatar.”
“I—alright. So if we start laying these traps and attacks down, I need to be there. If that’s the case, what else can we do? I can’t be there for everything,” Ryker said.
“Well, they know the dungeon doesn’t want a temple, right?” Marybelle said.
Everyone nodded their heads at that.
“Then I would argue by building a temple, they’re going against the rules of the dungeon, which means we can attack the temple directly. It’s being built in dungeon space after all. Anyone part of the building, supporting it, or living in it would be valid targets. No?”
Wynne looked thoughtful at that.
Ryker sat there, staring at each fairy in turn, unsure of how to respond.
“Fuck it. I’ll kill one, we see what happens, and there we go,” Sierra said, smacking the table with one palm. “I’ll just walk up with my axe and pop off a head. The end.”
“Yes,” Tris said agreeing. “I think that’d be a good check.”
“I think—” Wynne started.
Sierra vanished, her seat suddenly empty.
Wynne sighed and pressed a hand to her temple. “I suppose that’s one test out of the way. I’ll keep thinking on it. Oh, and about the messages. There’s not much I can do to solve it at this point. If the letter is in their possession we can’t take it unless it goes a certain distance from their body. It’s why we simply intercept the messengers instead. For messages being snuck in through abnormal means… it’s much harder to catch.”
Ryker shook his head, then nodded it. “Alright. Fine—”
“Ah, it looks like the vicar is looking for you,” Charlotte interrupted.
“Huh?”
“Chadwick is looking for you.”
“I guess that puts us on hold for now then. Can’t tip our hand early,” Wynne said.
Dungeon Deposed Page 29
