Dungeon Robotics 142

TGIF! I hope the weekend is a lot of fun for everyone!

I plan on doing some chapter rearrangment to make it easier to find previous books. So, if you see a bunch of chapters released at once, that is what is going on.  

Louella

Once I returned to my room, I dropped onto my bed. I felt like that last two days had been more like two months. I felt as energized as I had in the morning, but at the same time wanted to just sleep the day away. The sun spirits were zipping around the room exploring every centimeter of the place with their boundless energy.

I had a lot of work to do now that I was back. Ezal was getting further along in her pregnancy that I couldn’t have her go to the battlefield anymore. Even the battle at the border had been pushing a bit and I only allowed it as we were desperate with Regan missing. Once she had the child, it would be only right for her to raise them. 

I was happy with how well Ezal had handled the affairs of the city while I was gone. It might do to shift her permanently to managing it. That line of work would enable her to stay here with her child and be safer. I wasn’t sure if she would go for it, but I didn’t plan to give her the option of refusing as it was for her own good.

I was staring off into space with nothing particular on my mind when a rushed knock came at the door. It almost sounded panicked. I jumped up and opened the door. One of the guards stood with a terrified look in their eye. “What is it?” I asked concerned.

“Your… your majesty! You need to look at the sky immediately!” She said barely getting the words out. 

I narrowed my eyes but quickly moved to the balcony. Ly’call should be in the sky tonight. Looking up, I saw the moon was certainly in the sky, parts of it anyways. Streaks of light were falling across the night sky which would have been beautiful had the image of the moon cracking into pieces not been so terrifying. 

“What new horror is this?!” I muttered taking in the sight.

A moment later Ezal and Valamar showed up but were speechless. I tried to contact Regan, but something interfered with the link. There was nothing we could do but watch after all. The parts of the moon appeared to be slamming into each sending more large pieces flying in every direction. I could only imagine how much debris must be flying in the area around the moon.

We watched for several hours. At one point something happened at the center of the moon and the pieces that we could see started to flow back to the moon and it reformed if slightly smaller than before. I also felt a strange connection to it that I couldn’t understand.

“This is strange. I feel a… bond to it now,” Ezal commented. 

“You too? So do I,” I said. There were still hundreds of streaks of light but they were burning up before they hit the ground, so I didn’t feel we needed to worry about them anymore. Moving back into my room, I grabbed one of the glass tablets from the side table. I sent a message asking for the situation in the city from the advisers.

They sent back that the city was actually calm for the most part. The only people causing a ruckus was the Lelune supporters at the church calling it an omen. Everyone else felt that Regan or myself would protect them and while nervous had mostly just enjoyed the night show.

“Go figure,” Ezal said with a chuckle when I told her what the advisers said.

“I think so much stuff as happened around here that people are growing desensitized,” Valamar added shaking his head. 

“Barely any of that was my fault.”

“Never said it was.”

There was a pulsation of mana and Regan, Julie and Duilin appeared. There was a coating of ice of his body that quickly melted forming a puddle of water on the floor. He dropped into the couch with a sigh. “You would not BELIEVE the night I had,” he said rubbing his neck.

“So you did have something to do with the moon exploding,” I said, sighing as I placed a hand on my face. The sun spirits were flying around him touching and poking at places that were still coating in ice.

“Nope. I’m innocent this time. I did save the planet though. You don’t know how much destruction something like that could have caused.”

“Do you think it was an attack by the force you’ve been telling us about?”

“It could be. I have my people looking into it, but we haven’t been able to tell if it was on purpose or an inadvertent effect of the spatial anomaly that is happening around the planet right now. When I learn more, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. “Your citizens appear to be handling this all quite well.”

“They have grown used to it,” I said with a shrug. 

“I see. Well, I have to get back to work.” There was a pop and the three of them were gone. I just shook my head at Regan’s actions. 

“Since you’re here, I want to talk to you Ezal.”

“What is your highness.”

“I want to make you my viceroy. You will govern the city and will be second only to me.” I glanced at Valamar. “Sorry.”

“It would be an honor to be engaged to the Viceroy of Vaihdetta,” he said bowing to Ezal.

“Who will command your army?”

I threw another glance to Valamar which only prompted a chuckle. “Do I get a say in this?”

“Sure. I’ll let you pick out a nice house to spend your marriage.”

He laughed with two of his four arms holding his stomach. “Very well. I shall serve you officially. I suppose Bruce will be happy. Ever since he found out I was alive. The poor man has been struggling with staying here and returning to my service.”

“I’m glad that’s settled. I would have hated to lose Bruce. He’s the person getting all the soldiers into shape.”

“When do you want to have the wedding?” I asked then grinned. “I need to tie you to my queendom as soon as possible.” 

“Whenever it would please my bride,” Valamar said causing Ezal to blush.

“After the baby comes. I want to wear a lovely dress,” Ezal said then hid her face behind her hands.

Valamar and I laughed, and we all put the harrowing night behind us. Sometimes ignorance is bliss after all. We chatted for an hour or two before the two of them left. The sun spirits had shown an interest in Ezal’s stomach and had been constantly placing their tiny ears against it to listen for the baby. They seemed a little sad once they left.

“Don’t worry. You’ll see plenty of her.”

I was staring at the wall while I tried to decide what I needed to do first today, when there was a swirl of dust. Alara appeared looking around. “Where’s Regan? I sensed him here a while ago.”

“Sorry. He’s already moved on to his next task. He just came to tell me about the meteor shower from last night. That, and he stopped the moon from breaking.”

She pouted and let her head fall. “I knew I should have come sooner.”

“What kept you from coming?”

She looked at me then brightened up considerably. “You might be able to help me!” she said, rushing over to grab my hands. “You do manage all these mortals,” she made a face like she just smelled something nasty, “and don’t seem to have much trouble.”

“Whoa there. What help do you need?” I asked thrown by the sudden energy she was putting off.

“I got some mortals in my dungeon now. They came during the snows in the north. They got along while they were wandering, but now that they are in my dungeon, they seem to argue the minute I leave them alone.”

“I don’t mind helping, but shouldn’t you ask Regan for help?”

She fidgeted with her fingers “My love is so busy right now. I know he would help but that might mean that he can’t focus on other tasks that need his attention.”

“I understand. Alright. I’ll help!” I knew I had tasks that needed my attention around the city, but honestly, I was more a figurehead. Ezal was handling all the domestic affairs in line with my vision of the country. If I stepped in, I would be taking from the platform she had established over the few weeks that I was gone. 

No, it would be better for me to allow her to handle it all. Plus, by almost forcing it upon her, she won’t be able to get out of it when the child was born. She was talented on and off the battlefield. I still felt better leaving her here in the city if another war were to break out. 

“Good!” Alara said before I had even finished really thinking about it. She grabbed me around the waist in a hug and the world changed around me several times as fields covered in snow and surrounded by trees flashed by. At one place, there was a tall golden tree that almost seemed to touch the sky.

After a few more seconds, I found myself in a cave with a large tree that reached the ceiling. Motes of light floated lazily around the room. Alara had taken me by surprise and none of the sun spirits had been with me. Looking around worriedly, I found only two of them that I guess had managed to latch on before we teleported.

“Are you sisters going to be okay?” I asked them as they landed on my shoulders. I got an image of the room we had been in currently on fire as one of the sun spirits panicked. “Can you tell them I’m alright.”

The girl nodded before she closed her eyes. I sensed some form of talking between the spirits and the image she was showing me calmed down as the fires vanished leaving a lot of the room only slightly scorched. Thankfully, the room had been by bedroom and nothing of value had been damaged. 

“Alara! You can’t just teleport us like that. I needed to tell my people where I was going,” I said to the dungeon host. 

She pouted again and looked to the side not wanting to meet my eyes. “I didn’t want you changing your mind. You are mortal after all.”

“You know me better than that. I wouldn’t have changed my mind.” I sighed then shook my head. “What’s done is done.”

She cheered up and gave me a smile. “I’ll be more careful next time. Come! I want you to meet someone!”