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Story Codes: Teen male/Female, Teen male/Females, Incest, Oral Sex, Crampie, Anal Sex, Rimming, Fantasy, Gamelit, Magic

For a list of all the dungeon builder stories click here

Comments are very welcome. I would like all criticism, positive and negative, so long as it’s
constructive, and feedback is very appreciated.

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Click here for Part 11.

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Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Animated armors appeared as armor, unsurprisingly. It was silver metal in the form of a busty woman. They didn’t have faces but had helmets with slits. There were nipples on the breastplate. She was made entirely out of armor. I was curious and…

There was a slit in the part of the armor between her legs and another in her butt-crack. She had a pussy and an asshole. Sort of. The animated armor looked like one of the strangest monster girls out there. A name arose in my mind.

“Brunasi,” I said. “Appear!”

Shadows swirled to reveal the suit of armor kneeling with reverence. She had her helmeted head bowed. I stared at her. She didn’t breathe. Didn’t even move. She looked like a statute. Then she lifted her head. She had an opening for the mouth, but there was nothing there, either. The visor slots were empty.

“My Lord Leo,” she said, her voice echoing. “Summoned, do I appear before you.”

“Is there anything beneath the armor, Brunasi?” I asked, staring at that darkness in her slits.

“I am but a spirit inhabiting a vessel like all who live. Mine vessel is merely this armor instead of one made of meat, bone, and gristle like yours, my Lord.”

“Ah,” I said. “Rise.”

She rose with grace, her metallic armor lithe like a woman. It had the shape of one with gauntlets that had slender fingers. She didn’t have toes, just heeled boots. Nothing about her quivered. I reached out and stroked over her breastplate.

Her breast.

She quivered, her armor rattling.

“You feel that?” I asked, reaching her nipple. It was sculpted out of metal. I tried to twist it, but it was as rigid as steel. Unbending.

But she moaned. Her entire armored form quivered from the touch. A hollow moan rang from beneath her helmet. I was surprised by how much pleasure she seemed to take. I gripped the nub and twisted my fingers around it.

“My Lord,” she groaned, her fingers clenching and relaxing. “You do honor me with your touch. My thanks.”

“I’ll do more than honoring you,” I said. I found her so curious. Just what was she? How much could she do? A spirit? Is she like a ghost? But she was no spirit of the dead returned to life. She was something else. An animus, perhaps. It was so fascinating. “I’ll love you, Brunasi.”

I leaned over and pressed my lips to that dark gap at the bottom of her visor and kissed… something. Her. The spirit animating the suit. She had soft lips. Warm lips. She moaned, her armor clinking as she shifted.

I thrust my tongue into her mouth and felt her own tongue. The spirit animating the armor kissed me back. I slid my hands around her waist, over the cool steel of her armor. I slid down and found the curving plates that covered her rump.

They were shaped just like a woman’s derrière. Nice and plump. I gripped them, unable to dig my fingers into her flesh. But she whimpered into my lips anyways. I squeezed her metal ass as we kissed, my dick pocking against her steel.

She was delicious.

Did she have a pussy to eat out? I had to find out.

I broke the kiss and ducked my head down. I latched onto a nipple first. The cold, metallic nub filled my lips. Nothing soft about it. I suckled at it and loved how she moaned in delight. I nursed with such passion on her, loving how she groaned as I pleasured her.

It was a thrill to run my tongue around her nipple and feel the texture of the areola around it. Not smooth steel, but wrinkled in such a fleshy way. She whimpered. Her gauntlet rested on my head, her fingers sliding through my dark hair.

“My lord, you do honor me greatly,” she moaned. “All me to pleasure you.”

I popped my mouth off her nub and said, “Sorry, I’m having too much fun playing with you. Just have to suck it up.”

“As you desire, my Lord,” she moaned. “I am but your humble warrior.”

I winked at her and engulfed her other nipple. She gasped as I did that. Her armor clinked and rattled as I suckled at her. I nursed on her with such passion. She groaned as I did that. I loved it. Her hand slid through my hair, my cock throbbing.

Aching.

She was so much fun to play with. I loved this so much. I suckled harder on her. She moaned as I did that. She shuddered, her head tossing from side to side as I played with her metallic nipple. I nibbled on that unyielding nub.

The metallic flavor filled my mouth. I shuddered, wondering what her pussy tasted like. That urge grew and grew in me as I suckled on her nipple. I nursed on her bud with such desire to find out just what she was made of.

I dropped to my knees, her nipple popping out of my mouth. I placed my hands on her thighs, loving how her legs were made. The thigh armor was two plates, front and back, with a flared rim where they met.

I stared at the hole in the crotch of her armor. She wore basically a metal bikini bottom.

Crotch-less steel panties.

I pressed my lips into that armor and licked at the hole and found the folds of a hot, wet pussy. A sweet pussy. The animated armor moaned as I licked at her spectral twat. I fluttered my tongue through the hole in her armor and reveled in the taste of her.

“Lord Leo!” she gasped. “Oh, my Lord, you truly do honor me with your august passions. I am so thankful to be your warrior, my Lord.”

“Trust me, I am so honored to have you, Brunasi,” I groaned and thrust my tongue deep into her cunt.

I swirled around in her. I caressed her hot twat with hunger, stroking her. She groaned as I did that. Her entire body shuddered from the delight of my tongue licking and lapping at her. I swirled about in her, reveling in this passion.

She gasped, her voice hollow and throaty. She groaned, her armor rattling. She ran her metal fingers through my hair as I tongued her. I loved the sweetness of her pussy. She was such a delightful surprise. My dick throbbed with the need to fuck her.

But first I wanted to make her cum.

I wanted to drown in her sweet pussy juices.

I loved my monster girls. Every one of them was a precious woman, unique and deadly, passionate and caring. I swirled my tongue around in her snatch, loving the silky feel of her spiritual snatch. Her hollow moans of rapture echoed through the vault.

My tongue licked and lapped at her with such hunger. I had to drown in all her cream. I thrust my tongue deep into her snatch. I swirled about in her cunt, reveling in how she moaned and gasped. How she shuddered on me.

I licked and lapped at her with such passion. I tongued her as she moaned louder and louder. I thrust my tongue deep into her snatch and swirled around in her. She tightened her grip on my head, her metal fingers rubbing at my scalp.

“My Lord Leo!” she moaned, her voice ringing out of her clanking armor. “Oh, yes, yes, you honor me with such pleasure.”

“Going to cum?” I asked and flicked my tongue through her spectral folds to her clit.

“Indeed, my Lord!” she gasped as I stroked over her bud. “Indeed, I shall achieve that most glorious of pleasures at your commanding tongue!”

I loved how she spoke. I licked at her again. I stroked over her. She gasped as I did that. She groaned, her face twisting in delight as my tongue licked and lapped at her snatch. I caressed her with such hunger. My tongue danced through her folds. I licked at her with such passion. I lapped at her with all the hunger that I had.

I suckled on her bud. She moaned, her armored form shaking. I licked around her bud and suckled on her. The animated armor’s sweet pussy juices trickled down my chin. She shuddered as I stared up at those large, metallic breasts that didn’t so much as jiggle.

But they were still beautiful.

Tits shaped to perfection.

“My Lord Leo, you honor me!” she cried, her voice echoing through her helm. Her entire armor bucked.

Sweet pussy juices gushed out of her cunt.

I groaned as I drowned in such a wondrous flood. I drank the passion, loving the taste of her passion. She had such a wondrous tasting pussy. I licked and lapped at her as she moaned through her pleasure.

She quivered, armor clacking and clattering with her rapturous passion. I loved the sounds she made. I savored how she gasped and moaned, whimpered and groaned. She trembled through her orgasm and hit that wonderful peak of her pleasure.

It was such a satisfying delight to hear her quivering like that. I was so glad to have her shuddering with such passion. She whimpered, her face contorting with delight. I thrust my tongue into her snatch and danced around in her twat, feeling her quivering plate.

“My Lord Leo,” she panted. “I must pleasure you.”

“You can suck my cock,” I said as I rose. “I want to make your sisters to serve me.”

“They will be as honored as me,” she moaned as she sank to her knees before me. “When you called my name, I felt how great your love and strength is, my Lord Leo. I felt your majesty. I am in awe of you. I will serve you without fail until the end of time. Unwavering. Unbending. Unbowing.”

I nodded to her then groaned as she moved in. Her unseen lips swallowed my cock. My dick vanished into her helmet. I stroked over the top of her smooth armor as I savored her hot mouth about my dick. I grabbed the Void Crystal and found another name.

A whisper through my soul. A word to bring something beautiful into this ugly world.

“Aizsardzi,” I breathed. “Appear and serve me!”

“Ooh, nice,” Souleen said as I released the Crystal. I had to hold my arms out at an awkward angle. I sighed as I loved the feel of that hot mouth working up and down my cock.

The shadows swirled behind Brunasi. Then her sister appeared. Aizsardzi knelt like Brunasi did. The new animated armor quivered there as her sister suckled on my dick. I shuddered, loving Brunasi’s mouth around my dick.

“My Lord Leo,” Aizsardzi said. “Summoned, do I appear before you.”

I smiled. “Bend over and tongue your sister’s asshole.”

“Of course, my lord,” Aizsardzi answered. “I would be honored to devour her asshole as she sucks your mighty dick.”

I grinned with pleasure as she leaned over and pressed her face into the armored ass of her sister. Brunasi moaned around my cock and suckled harder on my dick. It was such an exciting delight to have her nursing on me. She bobbed her head, working her mouth up and down my cock.

I loved how she suckled on me. How she nursed with such passion on my shaft. It was an amazing delight to have her suckling on my cock. Her spectral tongue danced around my dick. I groaned as I enjoyed that passion. The pressure in my nuts swelled.

“Mmm, I love honoring your asshole with my tongue, sister,” groaned Aizsardzi.

“She is definitely honored,” I groaned, savoring how hard Brunasi suckled on my cock. “Finger her pussy, too. Honor her cunt with your digits.”

“I shall, my wise Lord,” purred Aizsardzi.

Metal clanged on metal as Aizsardzi rimmed her sister’s asshole and fingered her cunt. I loved the sight, my dick throbbing in Brunasi’s mouth. She suckled with more hunger on my dick. Just such passion on my cock. I loved every second of it. Every last moment of this wanton nursing.

My dick twitched and throbbed as my orgasm grew and grew and grew in my nuts. Brunasi’s moans grew louder and louder. They were such a thrill to feel. The animated armor worshiped my cock as her sister fingered her twat and rimmed that spectral asshole. This was all so wild.

“You are such an amazing pair of monster girls,” I moaned. “Damn, just keep sucking like that. I… I… Yes!”

I groaned and erupted.

My cum fired into the spirit’s hungry mouth. She moaned around my cock, gulping down my cum. I shuddered, pumping blast after blast of cum into her mouth. She gulped it down. She drank it all down with such hunger. She just enjoyed every bit of it.

The pleasure slammed through me. I groaned through the bliss of her amazing blowjob. I savored that wonderful delight. I suckled in my breath. I panted as my heart thundered in my chest. The pleasure danced through my mind.

I fired the last blast of cum into her mouth. I groaned and ripped my cock out of her oral cavity and rose. She stared up at me, moaning as her sister fingered her cunt and rimmed her asshole. I smiled at that and moved around the armored pair.

I reached the back of Aizsardzi and dropped to my knees. I gasped as my cock slapped into her steel ass. I winced. That was no plump rump. Even Hagane’s metal body had flexibility. These animated armors truly were suits of armor with a spirit inhabiting them.

I liked that they were so different.

I slid my cock down into that hole for her pussy. It was a round one, big enough for my cock to thrust through. I pushed into that hole and found the wet lips of her pussy. She moaned into her sister’s asshole.

“Lord Leo,” groaned Aizsardzi as I penetrated into her spectral pussy. “You so honor my pussy with your large cock. Thank you, my Lord. Thank you.”

“Mmm, honor my dick with that tight pussy,” I groaned. “I want you to cum on it.”

“I shall quiver with such rapture on your mighty cock, my Lord,” she moaned.

“So mighty,” Brunasi moaned.

I smiled, loving her echoing passion as her sister kept fingering her twat with gauntlet-clad digits. I gripped the smooth metal of Aizsardzi’s breastplate, stroking the smooth plate. I stroked up and down them, my dick throbbing in her cunt.

She squeezed down on my dick as I drew back. She moaned into her sister’s asshole. I loved the way her silky snatch massaged my cock. I thrust forward and my nuts slapped into the metal armor. Her hot cunt contrasted with the cool steel.

It was an interesting dichotomy.

Unliving armor with a living spirit inside. Cold metal and hot animus.

I pumped away hard into that cunt. I fucked my animated armor’s pussy with force. Her hollow passion echoed through the room, mixing with Brunasi’s. The two of them sounded so passionate. I fucked Aizsardzi’s pussy hard. Fast.

“Yes,” I groaned, burying into her flesh as I gripped her smooth armor. I pumped with hard strokes. I buried into her with such powerful delight. I enjoyed every bit of it. “Oh, damn, that’s good.”

“Yes, yes, I savor the pleasure you impart to me,” she groaned, her twat gripping my dick. “It is such a divine bliss that your cock gives me. Please, do not relent in your hard pounding of my cunt, Lord Leo!”

“Damn,” I groaned at her words, my dick hammering her cunt. “Shit, that’s naughty.”

“Indeed,” Aizsardzi groaned. “As is my sister’s asshole.”

“You are churning up my pussy so deliciously with your fingers,” added Brunasi.

“Good,” I groaned, pumping away hard and fast at her pussy. “Yes, yes, that’s so good. That’s just amazing. I love it. I love it so fucking much. Shit, I am going to cum in your pussy, Aizsardzi!”

“My Lord!” she moaned, her pussy clamping down hard on my cock.

I savored that. She gripped me with that hot pussy of hers. It was just a wonderful moment to feel her massaging me like that. I grinned, pumping away with such hard strokes into her snatch. I fucked her with such passion.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I groaned, burying to the hilt in her twat again and again. She massaged me with her silky snatch. “Just keep gripping me like that. I’m going to cum so hard in your twat. Fuck!”

She moaned louder and louder as I fucked her hard. Her helmet moved as she feasted on her sister’s asshole. The sight was such a wicked thing to see. Metal clanked on metal. Her cunt clamped down hard on me.

“Oh, sister,” moaned Brunasi. “Oh, that’s it. That’s so good. I love that so much. You’re making me feel so… so… Yes!”

Her armor clattered as she came. Her pussy spasmed around Aizsardzi’s metal fingers. I loved this. I buried hard into the animated armor’s cunt as she moved her head down to drink the incestuous cream gushing out of Brunasi’s pussy.

I loved this so much. Monster girls were a treat. I buried my cock deep and hard into Aizsardzi’s cunt, my nuts slapping into her armor. She groaned as she drank her sister’s pussy juices. I drew back my dick. Aizsardzi clamped her cunt down hard.

“Lord Leo!” she moaned as her spectral twat went wild.

The animated armor’s cunt writhed about my dick as I buried back to the hilt in her snatch. I groaned as her pussy convulsed around me. She suckled at me with such hunger. I savored that wild bliss rippling around my dick, nursing at me.

My face contorted with the bliss of this moment. I threw back my head and erupted with passion. I pumped my cum into her snatch. Her pussy writhed around my dick as the pleasure surged through me. Ecstasy crashed into my mind.

“Fuck, yes!” I moaned.

“My Lord’s cum is honoring my pussy!” howled Aizsardzi.

Her pussy spasmed with such hunger around my cock. I shuddered, spurting every last drop of cum I had into her snatch. I filled her to the brim, my chest rising and falling with all that ecstasy. It was a wild rush as I emptied my nuts in her.

“Oh, my Lord Leo,” groaned Aizsardzi. Her armor quivered, metal clinking.

I ripped my cock out of her pussy and stood. Juices dripped from my cock. I turned and grabbed the Void Crystal. I gripped it and sank into the interface. The other two armors were standing up with grace, their big breasts not jiggling a bit.

That was a shame.

“Neredza, I summon you!” I cried.

The last animated armor appeared in a whirl of darkness, kneeling like her sisters. I smiled down at her as she looked up at me through the slits in her visor. Darkness lurked in there. Passionate darkness that I was quite fond of.

“My Lord Leo,” Neredza said like her two sisters had before her. “Summoned, do I appear before you.”

“Glad to have you,” I said. “I very much want to fuck you in the ass,” I said. “Brunasi, lay on your back so Aizsardzi can sit on your face and feed you my cum from her pussy. Then Aizsardzi, you can lick Neredza’s pussy as I fuck her in the ass.”

“My Lord Leo,” the three animated armors said together, their passion echoing out of their helms.

It was… loud as they moved into position.

Metal clattered on steel and stone. Brunasi stretched out on her back as Aizsardzi sank down on her face. She planted her pussy right on her sister’s mouth. Moans burst from Aizsardzi’s lips as Neredza stepped up, bringing her pussy into position to be devoured.

“Aizsardzi, you honor my cunt with your tongue,” moaned Neredza, her form quivering. Her butt-cheeks didn’t clench. Well, maybe her spectral ass did, but not the armor she possessed.

I moved up behind Neredza and pressed my cock into the hole. I felt the warmth of butt-cheeks before I found her sphincter. I smiled at that puckered hole. I hugged her armored form from behind and squeezed her metal boobs.

I thrust.

“Lord Leo,” she moaned as her anal ring widened and widened for my dick. She shuddered there as more and more of my cock pushed against her anal ring. She quivered there then gasped as my dick popped into her bowels. “I am truly honored that you would sodomize me, my Lord.”

“I am thrilled to do it,” I answered, savoring the way I sank into her flesh.

I loved being in her bowels. I smacked into her armor, hugging her cool, unyielding steel as I fucked her hot, velvety asshole. She gripped my dick as my nuts slapped into her armor again and again. I groaned as I buried into her again and again.

She shuddered in my arms, her armor clinking and clattering as she ground her pussy on Aizsardzi’s mouth. The sounds she made as she devoured that hot cunt were quite the delight to hear. I loved them as I fucked into her anal sheath again and again. I plowed deep and hard into her snatch. I loved that wonderful snatch gripping me. She had such a wonderful asshole.

“Fuck,” I groaned.

“Oh, that’s wondrous, Lord Leo,” she moaned. “Having you honor my asshole as that wonderful tongue laps at my pussy. I am going to ascend to the hallowed halls of rapture.”

“Yes, you are,” I groaned, squeezing her steel tits, the metal not giving even a bit.

I slid my fingers up the polished steel to her nipples. I massaged them. She gasped, her exclamation echoing through her helmet. I rotated my fingers around those nubs, her asshole clamping down harder on my dick.

I shuddered, fucking her bowels hard and fast. I buried to the hilt in her again and again. It was an incredible passion. I loved the way she held me. I loved the hot grip of her bowels. She squeezed down hard on me, massaging me.

“Shit,” I groaned. “Oh, shit, that’s good. That’s so fucking good. I’m going to cum in your asshole!”

“Please, Lord Leo,” she groaned. “Please, keep honoring my asshole with your big dick.”

“Flood her asshole with your majestic seed,” Brunasi moaned, her voice muffled by her sister’s hot cunt.

“Just fill her to the brim,” I groaned, pumping hard and fast into her bowels.

I fucked her with such passion. I loved the feel of her gripping me. She squeezed about me with such passion. She massaged me with that hot ass of hers. The pressure rose in my balls slapping into her metal taint.

The animated armors all clattered as they pleasured each other. The three sisters moaned out their delight. I shuddered, massaging Neredza’s nipples as I fucked her bowels. The pressure rose in my nuts. I hurtled towards that moment of eruption.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I groaned.

“Lord Leo,” moaned Neredza.

“I feel so honored to lick your cum out of my sister’s cunt,” groaned Brunasi.

“Yes, yes, it is such an honor,” Aizsardzi gasped. “Oh, Neredza, you have such a delicious snatch. Yes, yes, that is so wondrous.”

“It is,” I groaned, about to erupt.

Aizsardzi moaned with delight. Her voice echoed through her armor as the clatter of metal increased. Neredza groaned, her asshole gripping my dick. Was Aizsardzi cumming right now and moaning around Neredza’s clit?

“Lord Leo!” Neredza moaned.

Her hot asshole went wild around my dick.

I shuddered as the pleasure surged through me. I loved the way her asshole convulsed around me. She suckled at me with such force. I shuddered, my face twisting in delight. This was an incredible passion. I shuddered and buried to the hilt in her asshole.

I erupted.

My hot cum pumped into her bowels. It was a rapturous delight. I shuddered, the pleasure surging through me. Her anal sheath writhed around my dick. She suckled at me as I pumped more and more of my cum into her bowels.

“Oh, Lord Leo,” she moaned. “Oh, yes, yes, that’s so good. That’s just wondrous. I love it! I love it so much! Thank you for your seed, my Lord!”

“You’re so welcome,” I groaned, spurting over and over again. The heady pleasure of cumming in her bowels swept over me. I sucked in deep breaths as I fired the last blast of cum into her asshole. I sucked in deep breaths, a big smile spreading over my lips. “Damn.”

Animated armor. What a wonderful addition to the harem. I pulled my cock out of Neredza’s asshole, the three of them moaning and clattering as they trembled through their pleasure. I smiled at the sight, glad that I had summoned them.

They would fit in well. Halia would enjoy them. So I sent them to join Halia as she trained the prospective adventurers.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Lord Arciliaus Shorvin sat on the chair in the antechamber outside the Privy Council waiting for his chance to speak with the King of Myreman. Lord Shorvin had traveled down from his estates, growing more and more concerned that his guards could not keep him safe against the growing predation of Lord Leo.

He pulled a lacy handkerchief from the pocket of his red doublet and matted at his balding pate. His hairline had retreated at a young age. Today was vital. He had already lost good farmland to this growing threat.

He shoved the handkerchief back into his pocket and squirmed on the seat. His rotund body was too fat for the narrow chair, the cushion much too thin for his liking. He glanced at his chamberlain who stood in a black doublet, white-gloved hands at his side.

The door opened and a serving girl in blue and yellow livery swept out. She curtsied to them, her ringlets framing her doll-like face. “His Majesty and his Council will see you now, my Lord.”

Lord Shorvin swallowed the impatient retort. Now wasn’t the time to be seen as an uncouth frontier lord. He rose with a grunt, his knee throbbing with the burning heat of gout. He ignored it as he marched into the Privy Council, his chamberlain heeling him.

An ornate table draped in sea-blue cloth covered the table, the ends trimmed in golden tassels. King Thanitis sat at the head of the table, his chair carved of black teak with lapis lazuli inlaid in parts. He was a young man, newly ascended to the throne, and had fire burning in his green eyes. He wore his black hair cut short in a martial fashion, his clothing rather plain. A sword in a scabbard rested on the table before him.

Behind the king, a figure cloaked from head to foot in blue stood with his head bowed. The Hooded Confidant. An enigmatic adviser to the king.

To his right sat Knight-General Arthemar, the commander of the Royal Army of Myreman. He had a hard face and iron-gray hair. A waxy scar marred the right side of his face, a token from killing the dungeon builder Karthin Firescream.

To the king’s left sat Virin, Royal Mage of Myreman. The chief vizier to the king and a man so old, his skin looked as dry as old parchment and dotted with brown liver spots. But his eyes were a piercing blue, his magic circle draped about his neck, the brass standing out against the gray of his robes.

The last was a woman sitting at the far end of the table. Lysila, High Priestess of Water. She sat with her hands folded before her in robes of deep blue. Her black hair spilled down the back. She sat like the sea on a windless day.

Calm. Placid.

But something lurked in the depths of her blue eyes.

She served Lord Enki and Lady Ninli, the Patrons of Myreman and its capital, Myrecilla.

“Thank you for meeting with me, Your Majesty,” Lord Shorvin said, bowing to the king.

“Sit, sit,” the young man said, waving an impatient hand. “You’re here to petition aid in dealing with Leo the False?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Shorvin took a seat in the middle of the table, two down from the vizier. Swallowing, the lord stared at the young king. “His power grows. He has control over fertile farmland while the Village of Astovin has sworn to him. He carves out a piece of your kingdom for his own!”

“Dungeon Builders come and go,” said the vizier. He leaned back in his chair, his dry skin stretching over the bones of his skull as he put on a disingenuous smile. “Surely your own levies are enough to defend your manor and protect what lands you can from his depredations.”

“He is a threat to more than my lands,” Lord Shorvin said, his hands shaking. “He has swelled in power. The daughter of Anguin Vobria, the great hero, has been deceived by Lord Leo. The foul creature pretends to want only peace as his influence stretches farther and farther. He is nearly on my doorstep.”

“And why have you not readied your lands for dealing with a powerful dungeon builder?” asked Knight-General Arthemar. His expression grew as stony as a granite bluff as he stared at Lord Shorvin.

“I have done what I could,” Lord Shorvin said, his insides squirming. “I have put out an extravagant bounty that will bankrupt me. I have asked the temples for help. They sent a saint.”

“A saint?” King Thanitis asked. There was an eagerness in his voice. “The saints are legends. Myths.”

“The saints are the greatest weapons of the gods,” said High Priestess Lysila, “and only used in the direst of circumstances. This Leo is a grave threat if one was unleashed against him, and that he survived…”

“Saint,” growled Knight-General Arthemar with a dismissive wave of his hand. “One man, no matter how much power invested in them by the gods, is not enough. Lord Shorvin, this Lord Leo is a threat, but you can contain him. He is in the hinterlands. Estates that might be valuable to you but hold little strategic value to Myreman.”

“This does sound… dangerous,” the king said, an eagerness in his voice.

“And you would leave the capital open, my king?” asked Virin. The vizier shook his head. “It is prudence that has allowed Myreman to survive for as long as it has. Your family has understood that the heart of our nation can never be risked. The hinterlands fall to builders and are reclaimed as the power of the parasites ebb and flow. This is nothing new.”

“Nothing new!” demanded Lord Shorvin. “He has a town sworn to him. A hero’s daughter with a Blessed Blade. There are even rumors that he has recruited another dungeon builder to be his lieutenant.”

“Sworn to him?” The knight-general snorted. “This Astovin merely submits to their conqueror. What is new about that?”

“They swore willingly!” Lord Shorvin slammed his fist down, his face flushed. “And he’s recruiting adventurers. He’s building an army.”

“Of adventurers?” Knight-General Arthemar laughed.

“But recruiting other dungeon builders, that’s a problem,” said King Thanitis. He glanced to the royal mage. “Virin, we have to stop that.”

“That is the best news Lord Shorvin has brought,” the aged vizier said, his fingers clasped tightly together.

“What?” demanded Lord Shorvin. “How is that news good let alone the best.”

“Dungeon builders are ambitious and treacherous,” explained Virin. The royal mage smiled. “When he betrays Lord Leo the False, it will weaken them both. One will die. Perhaps even the greater of the two threats when Leo is stabbed in the back.”

“And what if Leo is another Fuegin!” Lord Shorvin demanded, bursting to his feet. Sweat broke out across his forehead, his heart racing. He slammed his fist on the table. “We have a chance to stop him before he conquers all of Myreman and spreads farther.”

“Yes,” the king said. He slapped a hand down on the knight-general’s shoulder. “We can ride out and find glory.”

“Your Majesty,” groaned Arthemar. He stared at his king. “We have to think about the heart of Myreman. Of defending Myrecilla and the farms that keep us fed. We would be fools to march out into the hinterlands over one dungeon builder. It is Lord Shorvin’s land. He can defend it.”

“I can’t,” protested the lord. He stared at his king with imploring eyes. “Please, Your Majesty, please give me the royal army.”

“And on what have you squandered the taxes you have collected from Astovin village and the others in your demesne?” asked the royal mage. Virin’s sharp eyes ripped through Lord Shorvin’s hide, almost flaying him. “On your… amusements. Fine foods. You come to us as fattened as the bull for the slaughter, and whine that you don’t have the strength to defend your paddock. You have not prepared, have you. Not recruited soldiers. You were content to let the dungeon builders fight in your lands and die so long as it didn’t bother you. How often did you defend your territory.”

“It’s also the king’s territory,” Lord Shorvin gasped. “Your Majesty, they’re your citizens, too.”

The king swallowed.

“They are your people, my king,” High Priestess Lysila said. She sat there calmly. Her eyes studied Lord Shorvin. “He is not exaggerating the threat of Lord Leo the False. Military action must be considered.”

The king threw a look over his shoulder to the robed figure behind him, but they did not answer. Just stood there. The king looked to Knight-General Arthemar, “Could we mobilize and invade?”

“Yes,” the general said slowly.

“It would be quite the expense to the royal coffers,” said Virin.

“And it would leave the capital exposed,” said the knight-general, his stony expression crumbling as his flesh paled. “Tuerien Ironbane is to the south.”

“And you have assured me he is no threat,” said King Thanitis. “That he’s too far away.”

“Of course he is,” said Virin. “He cannot extend his reach that far, but a prudent king should never gamble if he doesn’t have to.”

“Yes, yes, and we do not have to,” said Knight-General Arthemar. “We can empower Lord Shorvin to defend his own lands. Perhaps a loan for him to hire adventurers as mercenaries to bolster his own men-at-arms.”

“That’s not enough,” protested Lord Shorvin, his stomach churning. “Please, my king, stop being a coward and—”

“I am no coward!” King Thanitis roared and bolted to his feet.

Lord Shorvin wilted and bowed low, his entire body trembling. “I didn’t mean to imply that, Your Majesty. My words were spoken too hastily. I meant…”

“You said what you meant,” the king said. “Myreman is more than Astovin village and some farms. I have many concerns that I must address.”

“Lord Shorvin may be churlish and uncouth, my king,” said Lysila, her serene gaze turning to the king, “but this is not a time for caution. The Lord and Lady of Water have long blessed Myreman. Their gift is as strong as ever. This is the time, Your Majesty, to stand up to the dungeon builders.”

“I strongly disagree,” said the knight-general. “We merely must help Lord Shorvin to defend himself.”

“That is what a prudent king would do,” added the vizier. “Your father would do that. You have inherited his wisdom. You are a great king, Your Majesty, and it is in moments like this that you must prove it.”

Indecision twisted the young king’s expression. A sourness rippled through Lord Shorvin. His stomach curdled. They would not help him. He would be wiped away by Lord Leo the False, and these cowards would let it happen.

A messenger burst into the privy room, a young man in blue livery. He rushed forward to Knight-General Arthemar and handed him a letter, bowing. The man cracked the seal on it and read the contents, his brow furrowing.

“What is it?” the king demanded.

“Perhaps when Lord Shorvin has been dismissed, we can—” the knight-general was saying when King Thanitis ripped it from Arthemar’s hand.

The king read it.

“Your Majesty?” Lord Shorvin asked, curious and sensing an opportunity.

“A group of soldiers on a patrol north of the city encountered wildhounds and a lightning wolf sneaking through the farms only a day from here,” said King Thanitis.

“Lord Leo is scouting, Your Majesty!” Lord Shorvin cried, his heart racing. This was his chance. “He is looking for ways to attack Myrecilla!”

To be continued…

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