CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One

by Antony W. F. Chow

  The petitioner finally submitted a sack of coins, which the clerk carefully counted on the table. There were 50 gold coins in total. Herb took out an official-looking document from his drawer and placed it on the desk. He signed the document and added his seal next to his signature. The clerk then took a scroll holder from his drawer and placed it on the table. "Please wait a minute for my signature to dry and then you may put the charter in the scroll holder," he instructed.

  The petitioner, a middle-aged woman who was dressed like a merchant, bowed deeply. "Thank you, Clerk Emmu." She took the charter and scroll holder and vacated the seat.

  Herb's eyes met Sibalt's and said, "Next petitioner!"

  Sibalt sat down with Alethea. "Greetings, my name is Sibalt and I am the emissary of a reincarnated dungeon core named Markos Turloch. My master is seeking to establish a town near his dungeon entrance," he explained.

  The clerk frowned. "Ridiculous! Please refrain from wasting my time telling me a bard's tale! How can a dungeon appear without the kingdom hearing about it?"

  Alethea spoke up. "It's true. My name is Alethea of the Bulddinger Clan residing in the Bulddinger Mountains. My grandmother, the clan leader, had me marry this man to cement our clan's relationship with the dungeon core." She turned toward Sibalt. "Husband, please give him the letter from the lady clerk at Bethmund," she requested.

  "Oh, right!" Sibalt had forgotten about it. The young man reached into his pocket and pulled out a red envelope; he placed it on the table.

  The skeptical clerk took the envelope and turned it around. He was shocked when he recognized the seal of the Clerk's Office in Bethmund. However, the letter was addressed to Queen Levioda herself. Thus, he dared not open the seal and read a letter clearly intended for Her Majesty.

  Clerk Emmu handed the envelope back to Sibalt and said, "I will contact the Queen's Secretary and seek to arrange an appointment on your behalf with the Queen."

  "When we will be able to see the Queen?" Alethea asked.

  Herb shrugged his shoulders. "Queen Levioda is a very busy person. I will also talk to her senior adviser and make the case on your behalf. But it may take a while. In the meantime, where will you be staying?"

  "The Golden Ax," Sibalt replied.

  The clerk side-glanced at the trio of dwarves. There was a good chance that the young man was telling the truth considering the emissary's companions. "I will send word to you when the Queen decides to grant you an appointment."

  Sibalt rose to his feet. "Thank you, Clerk Emmu." The man bowed deeply and turned around. As he walked out of the office, he gave the helpful guard a nod.

  "What are we going to do?" Alethea asked once they were on the street again. She was not happy with the bureaucratic red tape.

  The human avatar of Markos held up his hand for silence. The dungeon core used his life detection and sought out a rodent. Once he found it, Markos quickly formed an alliance contract with the creature. "Befriended: Small rat, Level 1." The dungeon core then ordered the rat to stay in the Clerk's Office and spy on Herb.

  With his spy now in place, Markos allowed Sibalt to return to the inn.

  * * *

  Once the representatives of the dungeon left his office, Herb signaled for a runner to approach. "I need you to go to the Adventurer's Guild office. Ask them if they heard anything regarding a new dungeon being born near the Bulddinger Mountains. You may use my coin as proof that you have been sent from my office to make this inquiry." The clerk took out a special silver coin, stamped with the seal of the Clerk's Office, and handed it to the girl.

  "Yes, milord." The child bowed and ran out of the office.

  Chapter 53

  Free City of Unkegnor

  It took a week for the Clerk's Office to send a runner to the Golden Ax.

  During that waiting period, Sibalt's group made a collective decision to visit a different section of the city daily. Since Lamour was so big, it took a week for them to visit every section of Lamour.

  Alethea was initially concerned that her husband will run out of money until he showed her how he used Earth Work to convert cheap metal into gold. She was amazed by this feat of alchemy.

  But during the sightseeing tour of the city, Sibalt was still hounded by overly aggressive women. Eventually, he stumbled upon the solution . . . while looking at wigs. As a joke, his wife made him try on a wig; it had long, blond curly hair. When Sibalt finally put on the wig, it made him look like a woman.

  "AHA!" the three dwarves cried out in unison and made the poor young man try on more wigs. Eventually, they settled on a wig with straight blond hair that was shoulder-length.

  The three dwarves then bribed the shopkeeper with additional coins and convinced her to help put light makeup on Sibalt's face. The result was AMAZING! Sibalt looked like a young woman.

  The wig maker then suggested that the group visit the tailor next door to get female clothing to complete his disguise.

  When Sibalt walked into the tailor shop, the shopkeeper was shocked when Sibolt pulled off his wig and revealed his real gender as a man.

  The old woman, named Harbinea, suggested that he wear a dark purple cloak and use the hood to cover his face. The idea was that the commoners were supposed to wear light-colored clothing while the nobility wore darker colors. In fact, the Clerk's Office was painted red to emphasize that the nobility ran this office while the Golden Ax was painted yellow on the exterior to highlight its status as commoner-owned and operated.

  Sibalt examined the cloak carefully. It was lined with black fur and very soft to the touch. It appeared to be extremely expensive even from afar. And sure enough, the price tag was an outrageous 20 gold coins! But Sibalt decided to make the purchase anyway since he could simply make more gold coins via Earth Work. And so he resolved the problem of amorous women following him around by disguising himself as a woman.

  Coincidentally, no one tried to approach Ryota for a number of reasons. First, he appeared to be an old man. Second, his suit of armor made him appear to be a knight and no woman was foolish enough to approach a knight and risk being tossed in the dungeon by him. Finally, the man gave off a scary vibe, something that innately told the women that Ryota was very dangerous. Considering that he was under the guise of an illusion and his true nature was that of an undead skeletal lord, their instinctive fear of him made perfect sense.

  Thus, with Ryota walking near a female version of Sibalt, no woman dared to approach what they thought was a noblewoman.

  Meanwhile, Markos also took advantage of the downtime to expand his domain. By the end of the week, the entire city of Lamour had joined his domain. It took this long because there were a surprising number of tunnels deep underground. And further below were the ruins of another city. Apparently, Lamour was built on top of a forgotten city.

  The city was relatively small at only ten square miles. It appeared to have been buried under a huge mudslide. Markos saw many fossilized bodies of humans. And since it took at least 10,000 years for fossilization of organic material to occur, the city was at least that old.

  Surprisingly, at the very center of the city, Markos discovered a tomb. It was 10x bigger than the one where Ryota was buried in. The inner walls of the tomb were lined with a magic barrier, which prevented the dungeon core from analyzing the internal structure of the tomb.

  Markos asked Ryota about the ancient city. But even the undead warrior hadn't heard of it, meaning that it was older than the ancient warrior himself.

  The dungeon core was torn. He realized that there was probably something inside maintaining the magic barrier. He was tempted to leave the tomb alone. But then this would mean his control over the city of Lamour would be incomplete. And his "pride" as a dungeon core refused to allow it. Thus, Markos created a few Supreme Earth Elementals and used them to break open the tomb.

  When his minions broke through the walls, no creatures poured out of the breach. Instead, his elementals were greeted by a lich!

  "Greetings! I am Qhus
cor, the last surviving resident of the Free City of Unkegnor." The lich wore a brilliant golden robe. He also wore numerous rings on his fingers, a necklace, and a small circlet.

  Markos used his Analyze ability to confirm that the jewelry was indeed magical, as he had expected. Seeing that the lich did not appear to be hostile, Markos used Air Work to appear outside of the opening. Since the tomb was not part of his domain, his apparition could not enter. "I am Markos Turloch, a reincarnated dungeon core." He bowed politely to the lich.

  "A dungeon core? I see. That explains the enormous magical power I can feel to the Southeast. Would you happen to know how long my city has been buried? Were there any survivors?" the lich asked.

  Markos shook his head. "According to my analysis of your city, it has been buried for at least 10,000 years. In fact, another city has been built on top of yours. Its name is Lamour and it is the Capital City of the Kingdom of Vessar," he revealed.

  Qhuscor made a gesture as if to stroke his beard, which no longer existed. He sighed and shook his head. "There were over 1,000 residents in Unkegnor. These are the only people I managed to save by turning them into the undead." The lich motioned with his skeletal hand.

  A group of undead creatures stepped forward and revealed their presence to the dungeon core.

  Using his ability to detect unlife, Markos saw a Skeletal Lord, a half-dozen Skeletal Warriors, four Ghouls and two Spectres. "Qhuscor, would you form an alliance with me?" he asked. "I wish to take over the kingdom where your tomb and my dungeon are located."

  The lich cackled. "That sounds like a crazy idea. But I like it!" Qhuscor nodded. "Very well. I accept your proposal."

  "I'm going to use my Befriend creature ability on you," Markos said and activated it.

  The lich quickly accepted.

  "Befriended: Qhuscor, Level 20."

  "So what now?" Qhuscor asked.

  The ghost of Markos stepped inside the tomb. "We're going to have a long talk."

  Chapter 54

  The Queen's Summon

  The Hivemind proved to be extremely useful to Markos. While Markos was busy explaining the situation on the surface world and his plans for domination with Qhuscor, he was also busy keeping an eye on the four adventurers who had joined his Band of Markos and each of whom had received a brass bracelet.

  He learned something useful during the week. First, the party of dungeon explorers was able to contact their Guildmaster via magic. How? Did they use a spell? No. To Markos' surprise, the party leader, Ouwanda, carried something called the "Parchment of Sending."

  Text written on these specially prepared papers will be copied to its corresponding papers. It was the magical equivalent of text messaging. Of course, this was nowhere near as efficient as his telepathy. But the dungeon core was happy to learn something new and potentially useful about this world of Enwald.

  The second surprise was how open Ouwanda was in keeping Markos in the loop regarding her communications with the guild. For instance, she allowed his ghostly apparition to read the messages and reports she wrote on the parchments. Ouwanda also allowed him to read the responses from the Guildmaster.

  Markos was confused by this openness and asked the adventurers: "Why are you being so open with me? What's the catch?"

  Aabroa explained, "There's no catch. The five of us agreed that we received the better end of the deal in allowing Tita to live. If she had died in your dungeon, you could have absorbed her soul to gain experience and learn new skills to offer to your minions. Our servitude doesn't really make up for the loss and we recognize this. Thus, we decided to be more cooperative with you in performing our year-long contracts of servitude."

  "Fair enough," the dungeon core nodded in agreement. Since then, life had settled into a predictable pattern at the growing village. Through the Hivemind, Markos was able to oversee its continued development. Eventually, he allowed the two separate settlements, one involving the former villagers of Anoppi and the other involving the adventurers, to merge.

  The settlers were surprised by the presence of the adventurers but soon engaged in bartering with one another. Additionally, the adventurers busied themselves with creating an appropriate branch office near the dungeon's entrance.

  Given these activities, the week spent awaiting the Queen's summon flew by quickly for Markos. Coincidentally, his spur-of-the-moment decision to spy on Herb proved to be the right move. He learned that the clerk had met with the Queen and even spent a night in her bed. Now, THAT was a surprise!

  Furthermore, during the pillow talk, Herb expressed his fears and concerns that any cooperation with the dungeon could result in the end of her reign as the Queen of Vessar. The reason was simple: a dungeon core was not human and therefore, it lacked property rights under Vessarian Law.

  The dungeon core couldn't blame Herb for betraying him, though. After all, Herb Emmu was a government official serving at the pleasure of Queen Levioda and his loyalty to her was his first and foremost duty. In fact, Herb's loyalty was admirable in some respect. During the week, Markos was half-expecting Herb to approach his emissary and try to cut a deal with the dungeon core while betraying the queen. That did not occur. Oh well.

  But now that Markos had been forewarned over the Queen's intentions, he was prepared to use his trump card against the Queen.

  * * *

  The party was asked to visit the Clerk's Office immediately. Once they arrived, Herb Emmu himself took them to the castle.

  "Color me impressed," Markos remarked as the dungeon core viewed the castle through his emissary's eyes. The Vessar Castle was physically built on a moat and a drawbridge was required to reach the castle's entrance. The water appeared to be fairly deep and murky; large alligators could be seen swimming within the green-colored water. The exterior of the castle had a circular watchtower on each corner; the towers stood some four stories tall. Numerous arrow slits were added to each tower. Another tower, rectangular in shape, hovered above the narrow front entrance of the castle.

  Female knights stood in front of the bridge and challenged the group when they approached. "Halt! State your names and reason for seeking entry," the leader demanded.

  Herb pulled out his medallion, which was proof of his position as an official Administrative Clerk of Lamour. "I am Herb Emmu, the Head Administrative Clerk. The Queen is expecting the people accompanying me." He declined to identify them per the Queen's explicit instructions.

  A lovely young woman with long, curly brown hair and dressed in a purple robe approached them. "Captain Valennic, I have been asked to escort these guests to see the Queen."

  The female knight turned and saw who spoke to her. "Of course. You may pass."

  The knights immediately stepped aside.

  The newcomer smiled. "I apologize for their rudeness. My name is Merilda Hersent, the official Secretary."

  Sibalt bowed deeply. "I am Sibalt, the emissary of the dungeon core, Markos Turloch. Thank you for taking us to see the Queen."

  "Please follow me," the secretary smiled and crossed the bridge.

  Once the party entered the castle, they stood in a large courtyard. There were many knights and squires practicing swordplay or exercising. Some archers were doing target practice against distant targets. There were also servants moving about and running errands of one sort or another. The castle was truly a beehive of activity.

  The secretary paid them no attention and continued walking across the courtyard. Finally, the group entered the main building, which had a high ceiling and high arches on the four corners of the building.

  The party was led through a long hallway. There were many paintings along the walls and the floor was entirely covered with red carpet. The ceiling was lined with extravagant-looking chandeliers. At the end of the hallway was a pair of heavily reinforced iron doors with several knights stationed in front. As Merilda approached, the guards pulled the doors open.

  Inside was an immaculately furnished throne room; sitting on the throne was a woman
who had a remarkable resemblance to the statue at the water fountain.

  The secretary drew closer to the throne but stopped a safe distance away. She bent one knee and bowed her head. "Your Majesty, the emissary and his entourage have arrived," Merilda announced in a loud and clear voice.

  Sibalt knelt, bowed his head, and introduced himself. "I am Sibalt, the emissary of the newly reincarnated dungeon core, Markos Turloch. With me are my wife, Alethea Nowrins Galgot, Apprentice Earth Singer of the Bulddinger Clan and her guards, and Ryota, a mighty warrior I met while traveling and who has graciously decided to accompany me."

  As the young man approached the throne, the sovereign was jolted by the enormous magical presence emanating from him. While magic itself was not rare on Enwald, less than a quarter of the population had any magical talent. And by custom, the rulers of kingdoms had to have some proficiency in magic. The queen had never felt such pressure from anyone before and she became extremely worried.

  Queen Levioda made eye contact with one of the people standing against a wall near the door. The light blonde haired woman was dressed in a green silk robe and held a wooden staff with an orb on top. Her name was Kaylein and she was known as the Evergreen Sorceress for her talent in nature magic.

  Kaylein nodded slightly. She, too, had felt the enormous magic power buried within the young man's body. Like an eagle, she trained her eyes on him and prepared to cast a spell to bind him if he tried to threaten her Liege.

  "I am Queen Auriola Tyffany Levioda and I bid you welcome to the Merchant Kingdom of Vessar. Please rise."

  Sibalt followed Merilda's lead and rose to his feet.

  The queen looked at Herb and said, "My Clerk has informed me that you have a petition and carry an official letter from Bethmund?"

  "Yes, Your Excellency. My master wishes to establish a human town near his dungeon entrance and he seeks your permission to do so," the young man said. He took out the red envelope and gave it to Merilda.