David Thompson
Stories
10
Chapters
4,245
Words
699.7 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 d, 10 h
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As the weeks went by, the castle settled into a regular routine and began to assume some semblance of normalcy. Normal, of course, until the incident. My sensors indicated some abnormality with the ground outside. I had picked it up last night, but hadn’t had time to investigate. Helping the soldiers clean up all the sawdust from their lumber mill took priority. But when I finally did emerge from the soldiers’ temporary structure, I was greeted by an awful sight. I had barely gotten used to the…-
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As usual, Gerald was in his study, and the Warden had to negotiate past a series of aides and secretaries to see him. It didn't take that long. Since they all knew him, the bureaucrats only put up only a token resistance to his advance. Gerald had never bothered to change his standing orders that anyone but the King should be delayed as long as possible, but at the same time, he had never turned away any guest who was persistent enough. One just had to know the tricks for getting to him. The Warden…
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89 •
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Unfortunately, the news about the army's arrival wasn't met with universal positivity. In particular, Susan was surprisingly upset about the development. Bee had never seen the woman break her cool like this before. The only thing that even slightly kept her in check was the fact that Void had made the decision itself. After Bee bore witness to the most vehement rant she'd ever heard, she could only watch, stunned, as the woman stormed out the meeting room door. Calls for her troops to assemble echoed…
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Bee sat quietly in the tent as she felt an oppressive silence fall over the conversation. Arthur was right; he really didn't have any good options. It was one thing for herself and a few others to consider themselves outside of the kingdom. They weren't really a threat, after all. The King and the adventurers would treat them as they might any territorial monster. As long as they didn't endanger more people, removing them wasn't worth the resources. An army, though? That was different. They were a very…
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89 •
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Pushing any doubts about her god out of her head, she considered the best way to handle the situation. Guards patrolled around the edges of the camp regularly, and she didn't really fancy herself a stealthy type. Especially given her current state. Bee looked down at the party dress she was wearing. She hadn't changed after the day's celebrations, and the white, frilly thing wasn't really suited for fighting or sneaking. So, instead of darting between trees, Bee walked over a bit to stand on the…
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89 •
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"General! A spirit has bewitched one of the guards. She's standing in front of the tent!" The call from outside the tent made Arthur look up from his desk, where yet another letter from a supposed ally demanded his attention. He sighed tiredly. If a spirit had really charmed its way into his camp, then he should probably go see what it wanted. Spirits weren't malicious by default, but if angered, they could be problematic. Maybe it wanted them to stay out of some area? Still, it could wait a…
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Bee still felt surprisingly awake when the party finally ended. Despite having one of the most full days she'd experienced in a while, her levels kept her up when everyone else was looking for their beds. She sat atop the castle wall with a small smile, watching over the castle grounds. Honestly, with everything going on, she had forgotten that today was even her birthday. A few months ago, it was all she could think about. But when it actually came? She had been doing so many other things that she lost…
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Bee mixed with the rest of the crowd as they milled around, waiting for the next event to start. As she glanced around, she started taking note of what people were doing. Presumably, the last couple of hide-and-seek finalists were hiding among the people, using them as cover. Trent was back at the pie table, getting his umpteenth plate. Gertrude knitted with a few of the other ladies as the children ran around. Many of the small children napped in the arms of their mothers in the shade of a massive…
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With a decent amount of confusion, I handed off the prize to Bradley's mother rather than the champion himself. Honestly, I understood that this was a dangerous weapon, and I well remembered the universal desire of kids to injure themselves at every opportunity. But at the same time, had she not watched the same display that I had? Bradley was perfectly capable of wielding The Holy Sword of Draconic Flame and Justice without hurting himself. I had spent months teaching him to hold pointy sticks just for…
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As the first two combatants clashed, Bee realized that neither of them was older than five. But from how they moved, one would be forgiven for not realizing it. Their little fingers gripped the narrow hilts of their wooden swords with sureness, and each step was fluid enough to look choreographed. The two combatants circled each other for several seconds, their feet never crossing, and the distance between them stayed remarkably consistent. With no warnings or tells, one of the combatants suddenly…
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