Left to her own thoughts, Verita allowed herself to feel relief. She’d thought it was all gone. The night they fled the castle, slipping through a hidden gate in the darkness, she had wept. All the work of her ancestors, the toil and sweat of the citizens to carve out a new country from what had been a monster infested death-zone, gone to waste. All because of her.
Now it was back in her hands. All of it. The traitors had been rooted out. She would take a sword to the merchants who backed this coup, wash away the stink of rebellion with the blood of traitors. Once again, Liria would experience a meteoric rise, no longer suffering from the leeches which had drawn away its strength. The light of justice was shining on her kingdom today!
Wait…
For a kingdom basking in the light, why was it so dark in here?
Puzzled, Verita cast her eyes around the room only to find the glow lamps on the walls had been extinguished. On one side of the room, a single lamp remained lit, and frozen above it like a gigantic spider was the monster, holding still as if a child caught with a hand in the biscuit tin.
The queen could only stare at this strange creature who had made her resurrection possible. Probing mentally, she found the mind bridge she had been maintaining.
[Monster. What have you done to my lamps?]
The final light winked out.
[Just taking a little of my payment in advance.]
Verita was stunned. How could a monster be this shameless?
The monster’s pitiless voice echoed in her mind once again. [It seems you have what you want, Queen.] Verita always felt the way the monster said “Queen” sounded doubtful for some reason. [I have fulfilled my end of our agreement.]
It was clear what the monster wanted. Now that it had done what it promised to do, it wanted to be paid.
Verita carefully studied the creature latched onto her wall. Despite not turning to face her, she knew the insect was watching her, just as she was watching him.
[I never learned your name, monster.] Despite tactfully asking several times, the creature had simply refused to share it, declaring that “monster” was fine.
[You never did,] the monster agreed, clearly refusing her yet again.
Verita’s mouth tightened and she covertly signalled to her Guards in the throne room.
Still, the monster was watching her. Its voice rang in her mind.
[Do you know of the phrase “tit for tat”?]
[I don’t.] She frowned.
[It means that should one be treated well, they will return that goodwill, but should one be treated poorly, similarly it will be returned in kind.]
The queen drew herself up. From the corner of her eye, she could see her soldiers slowly shifting their positions. [Are you threatening me, monster?]
[Yes.]
Silence lay between them. The monster spoke first.
[Think carefully on what you choose to do next.]
That cold voice sent a shiver down her spine. It seemed the monster had been able to guess her intentions. This creature was so powerful already, and it would only get stronger, smarter, more deadly in the future. How could she let it roam free?
Not to mention, should word of her alliance with Dungeon monsters be leaked, her reign would be destabilised. Most people hated and despised monsters, viewing them as the enemy of civilisation. If they knew she’d willingly borrowed the power of a monster, trust in her authority would be shredded. The Guard would not speak, the townsfolk could be persuaded, and the people in the city would not be believed. People saw all sorts of things in the heat of battle. The key to silencing the issue was in not letting this monster go!
In her heart, the queen could not believe the monster could do anything to her here, in the seat of her power. In her throne room, there were many hidden cards she could deploy, not to mention the powerful Guards around her. It was over.
The queen sneered, throwing all pretence aside.
[You can only blame yourself for trusting too easily, creature!]
She signalled her Guard who immediately drew their weapons, over twenty blades drawn in unison.
BOOM!
In that instant, the wall directly under the monster burst inward as if smashed with a battering ram. Bricks and mortar flew across the room and the queen sought refuge behind a hastily raised shield by a nearby Guard.
With heavy footsteps, a new entity entered the throne room, obscured at first by the stone dust which hung in the air. The soldiers tensed at this unexpected development, weapons and shields drawn as they braced for anything.
As the dust slowly settled, the giant form of a powerfully muscular ape was revealed. Huge hands knuckled the ground as it moved. Staring balefully at the humans, it loomed over them. After it had pushed through the new hole it made in the wall, the creature drew up to its full height, towering high as the ant began to climb down from its perch.
The queen watched, stunned. The situation was changing too rapidly for her to think. Her soldiers weren’t sure anymore if they should engage and were waiting for her orders!
Before she could signal them, the ape raised one hand and flung something toward them. The object arced through the air before landing heavily with a thud and rolling to a stop. Only when the shape groaned and shifted slightly did the queen realise what it was.
“Captain Pendlen!” she cried.
This was the Guard captain that had been captured with her. As the giant ape raised another hand, the queen and her Guard flinched back as if it were going to throw something else at them. Instead it simply dragged a bulging sack off the ground and flung it over its shoulder.
From across the room, the queen could see the sack appeared to be filled with small round objects, their outlines bulging against the fabric. Cores.
Her treasury!
She stared at the monster climbing down next to its ape pet in disbelief. How was this possible! Is this some sort of heist?
[You disappoint me, Queen,] The monster’s voice chilled her mind. [From beginning to end, this matter has been… too predictable.]
Rage burst inside her chest and she raised a hand to point at the two monsters as she screamed, “Kill them!”
Her Guard charged, but quick as they were, the ape was faster. Raising its free hand high it smashed the stone floor at its feet with a deafening crash. The room was showered with stone and dust.
When it cleared, the soldiers were stunned to see the two monsters were gone, as if they had never been there. They tentatively approached, shields raised high and eyes scanning, only to find the shattered floor opened into a tunnel that led straight down. The walls of the tunnel were threaded with veins of blue light, and echoing from within, the screams and roars of thousands of monsters could be heard.
48. The Sweetest Voice
Boy was I glad to sense Tiny managed to arrive on schedule! My biggest worry had been that the big moron would get confused or lost somehow.
[You managed to find me ok, big guy?]
[No.]
[It was hard? What happened!]
[Walls.]
[You got stuck behind walls?]
[Yes.]
[How did you get through?]
[Punched ’em.]
I wonder how many walls the queen is going to have to replace…
Thinking of her, I could only internally shake my head. Are humans in this world penalised on Cunning or something? From the moment I captured her she had demonstrated her dislike of monsters at almost every opportunity. To think that such a person would actually hold to an agreement with one? I hadn’t believed it from the beginning!