by Adam Drake
“Uh, maybe one day.” Could he have knights? As king he figured so, but to what end? He doubted anyone here could fight, other than Jace and Fumi. Besides, he didn't have any gear or armor or horses to give them. What kind of knights would they be?
He noticed Saif had wondered over to talk with Erwin who seemed upset. The two appeared to be arguing.
The little boy beamed. “Really! I want a magic sword to slay ogres. And a dragon to ride!” His small face suddenly became bashful. “My Lord, can I carry your pack for you?”
“My pack?”
“Yes, so when its all full of treasure I can hold it while you fight monsters!”
Erwin was now getting more upset with the Sage. He wanted to find out what was wrong. Rob shook his head. “No, Michael, but thanks. I'll be fine.” He quickly walked away, uncomfortable with disappointing the kid.
Saif said to the dockmaster, “We don't have the money for it. It's not possible.”
“But we need it! How can the Royal Fleet function without it?”
Rob said, “Need what?”
Erwin looked to Rob, imploringly. “We only have one oar now. I need another.”
“Well, how much is an oar?” Rob said.
“Too much,” Saif said. “Sire, if I may suggest, it may be time to acquire some treasure and loot.”
“What about the loot I got from before?”
Saif suddenly made a high pitched tittering noise which startled Rob, until he remembered this was how the man laughed.
The Sage held up a hand in apology as the bout of laughter passed. “Sorry, my Lord, but the... uh... loot you acquired was meager at best.”
“Meager means crappy,” Erwin offered.
Rob frowned. “Well, how much money do we have left?”
From deep within the folds of his robe, Saif produced a single copper coin and held out in his hand.
It didn't take long for Rob to count it. “One copper? That's it?”
“I'm afraid so, my Lord. So, as you can see, the royal treasury needs to be replenished.”
“And it needs a new oar, too,” said Erwin.
Rob sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Okay, so what should I do first? Get the Foundation Stone, or go get some loot?”
“I believe both purposes may be served at the same time,” Saif said. “And now that I think of it there is a third problem, too.”
This time Rob didn't sigh, he was past being overwhelmed with tasks. “Hit me with it.”
“The goblins appeared to have returned to the valley, and in full force. The farmers still refuse to return to their homesteads.”
“Yeah, I had a quest to take out a goblin hideout.” He actually felt eager to fight goblins, again. He was far better prepared to face them than in their first encounter. Now he had a decent weapon, spells and a better understand of how to fight. Bring it on.
“Well, that's perfect then,” Saif said. “I'm sure they'll have enough loot to pay for a supply convoy for the village.”
You have been offered a quest! “The Supplies Are Dry”
Arrange for a supply train at Zuthus' trading post to help feed and replenish your kingdom's people.
Reward: 1,000 experience points.
Accept? Yes or No?
He accepted, then said, “Maybe I should go talk to Zuthus now?”
Saif looked mortified. “Now, my Lord? Oh, no. That would be ill advised.”
“Why not?”
“Zuthus is a copper-whore,” Erwin said, matter-of-factly. “He's a trog, you know. Can't help himself. It's in his nature.”
Saif cleared his throat. “Sire, Zuthus won't give something for nothing. You'll need hard coin in hand before dealing with the likes of him.”
“Can't we get supplies on credit? I mean, aren't we going to be his main customers being we're the closest town to him?” He realized what he'd said, then added, “We are the closest town, aren't we?”
“Yup,” Erwin said. “But it won't matter to him. Trogs are a patient race. If you go there hoping for a handout, he'll probably whip you with his tail and tell you not to come back until you have money.”
Rob grew frustrated. What if he couldn't get the money needed for this supply convoy? What then? “What if I told him anything he gave us now would be an investment?”
“Investment in what?” Saif said, genuinely boggled.
“In his future dealings with my kingdom. Sure, we're a crappy little village, right now...” He gave Erwin an apologetic look. “No offense.”
Erwin shrugged. “Oh, by the Many Hells, that's what folks have taken to calling it, anyway.”
Rob said, “Calling it what?”
“Crappy Village. Or the Village of Crap. Crap-town, even. I kind of like that one, sounds more important.”
Saif quickly interjected, “You were saying, my Lord?”
“Right. Sure we're... Crappy Village. But that's right now. Once I get the Stone, this will then be a town. That, in itself, has value. Maybe he'll give us supplies until then?”
The Sage shook his head, and Rob was beginning to think it was his default motion to anything said to him. “My Lord, it won't matter. Yes, placing the Stone will be quite meaningful, but it's only the very start of a town. You'll still need tradesmen and merchants and industry. Those take time. And Zuthus will more than likely be willing to wait and see until then.”
Rob sighed, feeling a little defeated. He'd have to just get the money first, then. This Zuthus sounded like quite the hard ass. Based on his own interaction with the Crimson Council he shouldn't be surprised.
“Well, I guess it's back to the quest grind,” Rob said. “Where can I find this Foundation Stone?”
“No idea, Sire,” Saif said. “But I'm certain you'll find it.”
Rob looked up at the castle on the hill, its walls nearly complete. “Towns are made of buildings. Maybe Trenton can help.”
He left them at the platform and walked up the hill, its steepness noticeable closer to the top. The walls were nearly two stories high, comprised of four lines of blocks stacked atop each other. Occasionally, there was a gap where the work hadn't been finished. The builders had made incredible progress and Rob couldn't be happier with the results.
But would it be enough to keep King Orbin and his armies out? Rob doubted it. What use was a castle without an army to defend it? If Orbin did come, Rob would be reduced to hurling insults from the battlements until the inevitable breach. Hopefully, there would be time for him to come up with something before it came to that.
A large gap in the wall was where the gate was to be placed and Rob passed through into a long courtyard. It was roughly oblong in shape, with the tower placed close to its northern end. Crude looking battlements lined the top of the walls and Rob wondered how safe they were. He assumed they were only temporary. Unused blocks and wooden beams were stacked in piles all over, waiting to be put in their assigned place.
The tower looked exactly how Rob imagined a medieval tower would, like a wide stone cylinder sticking up out of the ground, nearly four stories high. Several windows and arrow slits dotted up its length with what appeared to be no rhyme or reason. An opening at its base was the only entrance, less the door. That would be one of the finishing touches.
Looking around, he couldn't find the builders, so he entered the tower.
The interior was just as plain and austere as the outside. The only difference being a stone stairwell that line the wall up one side, which slowly spiraled to a hole in the wooden ceiling. He could hear grunting and cursing above, so he climbed up.
He found Trenton, and one of his sons, pushing a large stone block into a space in the southern wall.
With obvious effort, and sweat pouring down his face, Trenton levitated the block inch by inch. The fact that a spell would cost Energy, as well as Mana, was sobering. Rob had experienced first hand what losing Energy to magic was like.
The block finally slid into place with an audible click, and Trenton sagge
d against it, wiping at his brow. “By the Many Hells, it never gets easier, does it lad?”
“No father,” the son said, as he handed him a flask of water to help replenish his spent Energy.
Trenton noticed Rob and stood up. “Ah! The king has returned from his fishing trip. Did you catch anything tasty? Japper fish, perhaps? Haven't had grilled japper in ages. Goes great fried in goat's butter.”
“Afraid the trip was a bust,” Rob said. “Still no fish for a while.”
“Too, bad,” Trenton said, taking another swig of water. “Well, once you do catch a fish, you'll have this lovely tower to cook it in. Oh, which reminds me. You wouldn't happen to have our final payment, would you?”
“Uh, best to speak to Saif about that. He's the money man.” Rob mentally wished the Sage good luck with that conversation. “I actually have a question I hope you'd have an answer to.”
“If it's about building something, I'm your man. But if it's about fishing, you're out of luck,” Trenton laughed. The booming sound echoed throughout the hollow tower.
“I'm on a quest.”
“A quest for an adventurer-king? Tell me your pulling my leg?” More laughter and more booming. “I'm only kidding, your Lordship. We all have our lot in life. Ours happens to be moving blocks and yours is moving monsters to their graves.”
Rob noticed his son who's name he recalled was Fenton, wincing at these words. To Trenton, Rob said, “I have to get a Town Foundation Stone. Do you think you can make one?”
Trenton's jovial smile froze, his eyes widening. “Can I make one?” he sputtered after a few moments. “By the Gods above and below, no I cannot make one. No one can!”
“No one? Then where can I buy one?”
“Buy one?” Trenton bellowed, regaining some of his composure. He scratched his head. “Don't think anyone can actually buy one. They have to be found, and taken.”
“What do you mean?” Rob was crestfallen. He hoped this task, of all things, would be the easiest. “Do they have them in Casso?”
“Ha!” Trenton said, incredulous. “No, not in Casso. Not in any market, anywhere. They must be quested for. Every town and city I know of started that way; some poor bastard going on some insanely dangerous quest and almost getting killed in hopes of getting the Stone. Countless numbers died trying, too. Thousands.”
Great, that sounds encouraging, Rob thought. “I already have the quest to find it.”
“Well, there you go!” Trenton said. “Just follow the quest to where you need to go and you'll have it in no time. If you don't get killed, of course.”
Rob made an attempt to keep his cool. “There's a problem.”
“All quests are problems. That's what makes them quests.”
“No, the problem is that it doesn't tell me where to go. It doesn't even have directions to follow or even an area I should look.”
“Well, all Stones of that type are found deep in the ground. Caves and the like.”
“Dungeons,” Fenton said. He gave Rob a tight smile.
Trenton looked at his son as if assessing him, then nodded. “Yes, dungeons. That's right. The most likely place to find them or so the history goes.” He looked to Rob. “You sure there's no directions at all for that quest? Their descriptions can be quite tricky. You might read one thing, but it could mean something entirely different.”
Rob read the quest description out to them. At their blank looks he said, “See? Nothing useful.”
Trenton shrugged. “Well, in that case I'm not sure what to suggest. Considering their power, Foundation Stones are meant to be hard to acquire, let alone find.”
With a heavy sigh, Rob ran a hand over his thin ragged beard. Was he expected to wander the valley until he stumbled across it? And what if it wasn't even in the valley? What then?
Gotta think positive, buddy, he thought. Although it was getting hard to, with all of the set backs. At this rate, he'll never get the kingdom to level five.
“There might be a way,” Fenton said.
“There is?” Rob said, surprised.
Trenton whirled to lock eyes with his son. “What are you going on about now, lad? Not another one of your crazy ideas? This is a king you're talking to and commoners don't waste the time of kings.”
“No, it's alright,” Rob said, curious. “I want to hear.” To Fenton he said, “What way?”
Fenton nervously looked away from his father's intense glare. “It's been said that the sliver taken from an active Foundation Stone could be used to locate another, if it's nearby.”
Trenton spoke through gritted teeth. “Boy, if you're suggesting what I think you are, we could be expelled from the guild.”
“Yes, that's true, father. If we were the ones doing it. But it would be him doing it all, not us.”
“Those are slippery words, boy.” He looked from Fenton to Rob, then sighed. “But if you're going to talk of such matters, best I get out of earshot. If I'm not a part of it, then I can't get mad at it!”
With that, the large man marched over to the stairs and quickly descended.
When he was gone, Rob said, “Look, I don't want to get you into trouble.”
Fenton shook his head. “It'll be okay. As long as we keep it to ourselves the guild will never know.”
Rob gave him a serious look. This wasn't just the son of a builder, this was a young man who had his own mind. “All right. Tell me more.”
Relieved, and a little excited, Fenton said, “Well, that's about the entirety of it. We need a sliver taken from a Foundation Stone and then tether it to a string.”
“Then what?”
“Well, according to the rumors it should point in the direction of the nearest inactive Foundation Stone.”
Rob was confused. “Wait, if I already had a Foundation Stone, I wouldn't need to go on the quest for another.”
“Oh, you already have one, your highness.”
Rob hated being called that, but was too busy thinking to complain. Then it hit him. “The Kingdom Cornerstone!”
Fenton beamed. “That's right.”
“Uh, where is it, now? I put it in a hole, before,” Rob said, looking around.
“It's still in the same spot you placed it, which is now covered by the tower. But it's easy enough to reach.” He looked at Rob expectantly.
Rob waved toward the stairs. “Let's go take a look.”
The two moved down the stairs to the ground level. Outside, Trenton could be heard shouting at his other son, Benton. The builder was busying himself somewhere down the wall, far away from their shenanigans.
Fenton walked over to an iron ring that lay on the floor. It was the handle to a small door hidden in the stone.
“I have a cellar?” Rob said, a little amused.
“Cellar, dungeon, prison. It depends on what you use it for,” Fenton said, and pulled.
The door lifted up, revealing another smaller set of stairs the led into darkness.
As they descended, Rob cast Light, revealing another level of the tower, but below ground, with a low ceiling. He spotted a square hole cut into the stone against one wall.
Resting inside was the Kingdom Cornerstone.
Looking at it again, brought a flood of memories for Rob. Memories and pain. It had taken a hell of a lot of effort to get this thing in the first place. Back then, he had no idea the future events which would unfold, not that it would have made a difference.
“Your highness?”
Rob blinked and looked at Fenton. “Sorry, lost in thought. And please, call me Rob.”
Fenton nodded, then produced a little hammer and an iron chisel. He handed them to Rob. “Here.”
“What do I do?”
“It can only be cut by the one who placed it. I think to get a proper sliver, you should place the chisel on one of the top corners and cut downward.”
Rob had seen on the internet how stone-carvers made statues. The process seemed simple enough, but the expertise was beyond him.
Wi
th a shrug he placed the chisel on one corner, close enough to its edge so as not to take too big of a piece off. As he raised the hammer, he paused.
“What happens to the stone if it's missing a piece?” he asked. Would a piece of his kingdom fall off? He envisioned the shoreline crumbling into the sea. That would certainly negate his fish problem.
“I have no idea, your high- Rob. But without a sliver of this stone, you might never finish your quest.”