^^ Aron's Adventuring Gear ^^

— Arcata, Dungeon Guild Hall, Anitra —

"Royal Decree by one Arden Arcata, yada yada yada bullshit, titles, more titles, none of which mean anything anymore because the Mageocracy no longer exists as it's Emperor is not in fact a Mage, yada yada yada, grants the Entertainment District of the Capital of Arcata, (more like the only territory in the 'Empire',) to one Duchess Anitra the Dungeon Master, tres bien, as her Ducal Territory, yada yada yada, granting one Royal Scribe to act as Governor, no thank you I don't require a baby sitter, and two Tier Four Knights to act as Bannermen and Captains of the Guard, once more no thank you, I'll handle it myself, keep your stupid little nose out of my guild, as well as a force of two hundred Tier Two and Three Soldiers as your house's military forces, I don't fucking trust a single one of them because the Royal Family has been trying to kill me for my entire life, why in gods name would I trust a single goddamned thing you give me? Stupid moron... this is Thereby Decreed by the Emperor of Arcata, titles and stupid shit repeated a second time. Great..."

I switched to the Armor's voice, handing the decree off to Aron, who had appeared next to it in full butler attire and an entirely new face, addressing the twelve, (now eleven, without the messenger,) intruders. "Alright, so, apparently I have no choice but to tolerate your existence, but recognize the reality that I do not trust you, will not trust you, and I have my own people, whom I do trust, who will be overseeing your actions and duties, as well as the actions of your many subordinates. You are a security risk, and you will not be removed from suspicion of said security risk until an undetermined period of time passes, alongside meritorious and trust-building achievements on your parts. You and your subordinates will also be barred entry to this building, as it is my Cathedral and Guild Hall, and all who enter must Pay a Toll unless they are members of my Guild. Just because the Emperor has decreed you work for me doesn't mean I accept you as Guild Members; you're not even faithful of Muradin, nor are you honest adventurers seeking your fortune within the Dungeon. Still, I will arrange for barracks for you, separate from the barracks I already have for the city's guard, and provide you food, shelter, and fair pay for your work. So long as you do not interfere with my work or the proper administration of my Guild and District, I will tolerate your presence and give you work to do to earn your pay. Do you all understand these terms?"

The two knights bowed cordially, one fist over their chests, before directing eight of the armored people behind them out of the room. This left only them and the Scribe, who was watching the Armor with a bemused expression, and now chose to speak, in an old, wizened voice. "Lady Anitra... I understand you've recently suffered a personal tragedy, and the loss of Lady Anitra the Storm hurts the country itself deeply; however, as a Duchess, you must-"

"If you're about to give me a lecture on manners, within twenty-four hours after my mothers death and TWO Royal Family-Directed assassination attempts in ALREADY, I swear to Muradin themself that I will banish you to a Shadow-Realm!" In the rafters, I saw Aric shiver at the mention of said realm, which he had experienced himself and found... life-changing, shall we say.

The scribe stopped talking immediately, paling slightly; apparently swearing something on a gods name was sign enough for him to take me seriously. After his initial recoil, he bowed cordially, keeping his eyes on the ground. "My apologies, Lady Anitra. I only mean to do my duties as your Governor."

"Your Duties do not include my Teaching, Scribe. My Assistant will deliver to you my intentions and receive from you your reports; you are also not welcome in this Cathedral in a professional capacity, until you have earned my trust. In the meantime, I will allow you to make free of the Governor's Estate for yourself and the Soldiers' berth for now, until other arrangements can be made. Your first order of business will be to go through the previous governors records and make me a comprehensive report on this District, it's businesses, deficient properties, abandoned and defunct properties, crime rates, current bounties, and outstanding taxes and debts, then contact my Assistant when you are done. Sir Knights, you are welcome to make free of said estate as well, until some more appropriate accommodations can be arranged. Good Evening." The armor set its mace on its right shoulder, then turned sharply on its heel, executing a military-perfect about face and march up the stairs and back into my office, where the door closed behind it and it sat down at my desk as if contemplating, just in case someone was watching.

A quick casting of Telepathy directed at Aric sent my voice into his mind. 'Aric, I need you or someone you trust to investigate each of them, thoroughly. I want to know who really pays them, and I want to know why they're here. This is not the Sending Spell, because you're right above me; you aren't limited in your response.'

He glanced down at me from the rafters, frowning behind his mask. 'So I don't have to talk out loud?'

'That's correct.'

'Hmm... alright, well, my opinion? The Emperor chose them specifically because they don't have any connection to the other Royals. The Emperor encourages competition between his descendants, but he would never allow their agents to be mixed in to something he ordered directly. If it had come from another of the Tier Six Dukes and Duchesses, then you'd be right to be instantly distrustful.'

'I see... so it's your opinion that the Emperor has plans, but they don't have anything to do with the other royals and their plans?'

'Definitely. The Emperor has always been invariably fair in dispensing Justice amongst his descendants. If someone gets caught trying and failing to assassinate someone else, that person gets executed or jailed. If someone sabotages their fellow Heirs and damages the royal family, they get their holdings taken and their titles revoked. Invariably fair, like I said.'

I hummed, watching the three people left behind exit the building and begin to direct the surrounding soldiers towards the governors estate, which was around five city blocks East. 'So what do you think the Emperor's Plan is?'

'Perhaps you're simply too valuable now to ignore like his other descendants? The World Messge and Grand Sage Hothien's report on the Dungeon Merchant likely made you more valuable than the others. Even if you're not Leader Material, the Emperor is a Demigod, so he isn't looking for a successor, just useful people to empower the nation.'

'That explains a lot about his methods, I suppose, and I understand valuing me as an asset, from an outside perspective. Still, I want to know everything about them, so get to work, please.' As normal activity resumed in the tavern, I turned and re-entered my office, ringing a small bell that'd been thoughtfully provided to get Aron's attention after dropping my Nondetection and Greater Invisibility.

"Yes, Lady Anitra? Here's the Royal Decree, by the way, if you'd like to-... I was under the impression that you were wearing the armor, not that there was another person here? Who is this, may I ask?" The young rogue reappeared, once again in his standard Grey-haired young man look, but frowned at the view of me and the armor in the same room.

I cast a quick Nondetection and Dispel on the room, to flush out any Scrying orbs or invisible people, then nodded when nothing came up. "Well, this is just empty armor, actually, I just temporarily spelled it to move, in case those people wanted any trouble." I commanded the armor to go and place itself on an armor stand, one piece at a time, and took my seat as soon as it was vacated. "But another glass of tea would be lovely, thank you. Soon enough the Tower will expand, and we'll have actual maids to do that job, but as it is, I need you to handle my caffeine intake."

"Right away, Lady Anitra." He bowed perfectly, exiting the room swiftly and quietly yet again.

"Anything yet, Aric?" I asked the empty room, hoping I'd find the guy before he scared me by appearing suddenly, but there was no response, to my disappointment. "Damn, I hoped I'd catch him first this time..."

"Catch who?" Aron placed my tea in front of me, taking the old one away swiftly and straightening up the desk.

"Your father, he loves sneaking up on me; I can't tell if he's trying to figure out if he could kill me or if he just enjoys scaring me, to be honest." I sighed heavily and looked at the cot in the corner of the room, then towards the bedrooms. "Has anyone checked into the Main Suite?"

"No one has checked in at all, Lady Anitra, though several people have inquired, if your bartender is to be believed; apparently there's no one willing to pay the Toll just for a bed, but plenty of people willing to pay Silver for all the booze and food they could want?"

"Yes, well, I suppose no one wants to stay here unless they're Tier Three and below, eh? Fair enough. The Tier Five Dungeon will bring in much richer Clientele, and our facilities will have improved by then." I sighed again and waved gently to release him, sipping my tea and considering my options. "Wait... I haven't even looked at my Tower yet! I'll sleep there, that's probably my safest option, huh?" I opened my grimoire and activated the Demiplane Spell, which was slightly faded, like it was still active.

With a pulse of magical energy, the spell cast itself, creating a silver door on the wall next to me that shimmered slightly in the low lantern light of the office. "Oh! Very cool..." a few steps carried me to the glowing doorway, and after opening it up inwards, I was standing inside a tall silver tower. The center was hollow, with a long spiraling staircase circling the inside wall, but it didn't seem to have an end, at first. Then, as soon as I took a few steps downwards, I was in the very bottom, which seemed to be a parlor, complete with a ten-meter wide cracked stone mantle wherein a silver-colored fire was currently roaring, keeping the entire floor, all thirty meters wide of it, heated to perfection.

"Sweet... so I've got a bitchin parlor, now for a library, lab, kitchen, and bedroom, and we're set..." the steps once again seemed to teleport me as soon as I walked up them, ending with me in a library of legitimately terrifying proportions; no matter where I looked, all the way up and down until my eyesight got blurry, there were bookshelves coating the walls, with every color and type of book that'd ever existed visible, even scrolls and old bamboo rolls and clay tablets, it seemed. "Daaaaayum... Wyatt would kill for a look at this place... but once I master Plane Shifting, I can just bring him here, so fuck it, just get stronger and you can do anything you want, in this universe... lab will probably lead to me working, so I'll just head to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat and then bed." One more step up the stairs sent me into a wide, pristine kitchen with a variety of cooking devices that seemed rather convoluted, in their workings; there was no electricity, so all the cooking appliances were replaced with complicated enchantments and even a golem in one side that seemed to be a makeshift... blender? I shook my head and turned away from it, waving a hand to cast the Unseen Servant spell.

In front of me instantly appeared a semi-invisible person in a suit, staring at me expectantly. "I would really love a cup of hot tea and a bowl of some form of pasta or noodles brought up to my bedroom, please? Thank you, dear." The glowing servant bowed and trotted off into the kitchen, setting tea to boil and starting to make some dough for noodles, so I nodded and stepped up the stairs into a simple bedroom with a four-poster bed and a nice black and silver bathroom, my favorite color combination for countertops and bathtubs, as well as my favorite type of bed; at least, I thought so. I'd never had one, but I heard good things.

"Awesome!" I dove into the bed with a happy squeal, relaxing with a happy sigh into the soft silk blankets. "Nice... now for a cup of tea and some ramen noodles, and everything will be perfect." A bell rang next to me, on the bedside counter, and I watched as the items I'd requested appeared in a haze of smoke. "Best. room service. ever!" Snuggling into the covers with my Cup of tea and my bowl of really thick ramen, (more like Udon, but I liked both, so it was fine,) I relaxed slowly, for the first time that I had in the entire time I had been in this world, and fell into a deep sleep.

—

An alarm woke me up, irritatingly enough, and I grumbled at it, slapping the bedside table where it should've been, only to hit a platter and send the remains of my dinner from the night before onto the floor. Staring at it blearily, I frowned, and then waved a hand at it, casting Prestidigitation to clean it up whilst sincerely thanking Muradin for the gift of Magic, and slumped my way into the bathroom to ready myself for the day, as the alarm continued to blare sourcelessly.

"Fucking... bullshit... stupid..." my grumbling continued unabated by my toothbrush roughly scraping my teeth, and even as I gargled some mouthwash, ignoring the face in the mirror that looked nothing like me through sheer force of will. "Bastard son of a... cunt... grr!"

"Finally run out of cuss-words? You have an extensive vocabulary of slurs, several even I don't know, and my best friends are Sailors! It's actually rather impressive, for a Twelve-Year-Old!"

"You should've heard my Mother. Made me sound like a nun." I spat the mouthwash out, sighing, and looked at Aric in the mirror. "And is there a reason you're in my secret magic tower? In my secret bathroom? I could be naked for all you know."

"Firstly: I have three children, two of which are girls twice your age now, so I'm aware of how important your morning routine is, and I'm sorry if I'm intruding unduly, though I do need to report something urgent to you. Secondly: your 'Secret' tower is a glowing doorway in your office. Thirdly: can you stop this alarm?"

"Well, it's active because there's an intruder: wonder who it's tripping off of?" I frowned at him, then started brushing my hair, getting it all out of my face for now. The alarm shut off as soon as I identified him as an ally, thankfully, so I opened the shower curtain and shooed him out. "Go get some food and wait in the parlor, there's an invisible chef that can make anything you ask for, with magic."

"... you're fucking with me... right?"

"Not this time, no. Shoo. There's also a Dungeon Shop on the bottom floor, but the prices are a little higher than the one in the actual Dungeon, and there's an entrance fee just like the Toll of the Cathedral." The water started, instantly hot and steaming the whole room, just the way I liked it, and I actually heard him close the door as he exited, as either his skills didn't work on a magical door, or he had intentionally made some noise so I knew he was gone. With that assurance, I removed my clothes and set them in a cleaning basket before stepping into the steaming shower with a happy sigh.

—

Feeling like a new woman, I stepped out of the shower and found my clothes pressed and cleaned in the basket, so I dressed in them and groaned at the thought of going back to work. "Fucking new life and everything and I still can't get one fucking day off... god damn... stupid... grumble..."

In the Parlor I found Aric and Aron sitting at a new table, together eating what looked like a weirdly massive purple fish, with its head still on and all, with what looked like chopsticks. Aron, unlike his normal butlers outfit, was wearing actual armor, brigandine of some form with half-plate mixed in, and two large daggers sheathed on his hips, as well as a longsword I didn't recognize leaning against his chair. "Hey Aric? How long has Aron been in here? Was it before, or after I said that the Tower was Secret?"

He paused, chopsticks in his mouth and cheeks bulging with fish, and gulped loudly to clear his mouth. "Ah, about that, he's the one who found it first, when he brought you your dinner?"

"Mmmm, I see. Fair enough. So what's for breakfast?" I sat down across from them as a place setting appeared on the table for me, alongside a chair and a mug of coffee. "Since we're all eating together inside my magic tower, apparently."

Aron cleared his throat carefully, glancing at his father to shut him up. "This is a Carpathian Assix Fish, they're extremely rare and expensive, so when we were told that the chef could make anything-"

I raised a hand to pause him. "Sorry, we? When we were told? Were you in my room as well? What the fuck is with rogues and ignoring the concept of personal space?!?"

They both shrugged slowly, silently.

"Sigh... okay, so continue, you tested the magic tower's abilities, and it made you a fancy fish to eat?"

"Essentially, yes."

I nodded slowly. "Okay, fine. I'll take a Filet of the same, I'm not eating it off the bone like that, I'd be terrified of swallowing a pin-bone." The plate in front of me flooded with smoke that turned into a beautiful herb-crusted filet of the purple fish, and I tucked into it with gusto; it tasted like salmon, but with a mixture of octopus, or maybe calamari, added in. Altogether tasty, but not really my idea of a good breakfast. "Now, what was the urgent report, Aric?"