The messenger had come early in the morning a week after the party had taken refuge at the inn.

  They were all expecting to have a conversation with the king at some point, but most had expected it to happen a lot sooner.

  When reading the parchment, King Drawgdar wanted to see them in the throne room a few hours after midday. Vorin read off the details to everyone and then instructed everyone to wear the best clothing to see the king since their last meeting didn’t go perfectly.

  Since they were up early due to the messenger arriving and waking them, breakfast was the first thing on the agenda.

  A long table in the dining room had enough seats to host them all and they gladly sat while still shaking off a bit of the drowsiness they were feeling. When the food was served everyone dug in immediately and silence was filled with the sounds of chewing. It wasn’t until they were all done eating that the conversation began.

  “So, captain, how do you think this meeting is going to go?”

  “Well, the captain of the royal guard said he wanted to thank us, so I can’t imagine it will go badly.” He answered Zuls with little pause.

  “Do you think he will give us an award or a gift or something?” Kumo asked.

  “If he does offer, I believe we should politely refuse and tell him that we were just doing our duty as class chosen.”

  “Normally I’d agree with you, but what if he takes that as an insult?”

  “Synexus has a point, Vorin.” Gene added.

  Vorin thought for a second before answering.

  “Okay, how about this? If it’s something small, then we accept it with grace. If it’s something big, we politely refuse. If he insists, then we accept it and show appreciation.”

  “What if he asks us to pick our reward?”

  “Prith, if that happens then we try to decline first. Of course, if it’s an individual reward then you all may make your decisions on the matter.”

  “We should ask for knowledge.”

  Everyone turned to Yu and stared at her.

  “Knowledge about what?” Vorin broke the silence.

  “Anything. As long as it’s new.”

  “I’m with Vorin. I don’t believe I’ll ask for anything in return. It feels wrong in a way.” Shell finally spoke.

  “You think he has a spare castle lying around?”

  Everyone turned to Zuls and laughed.

  “What would you do with a castle?”

  “What wouldn’t we do with a castle, Vorin?” Prith answered.

  “I’m just saying that we are leaving at the end of the week. We’ve stayed here far too long even if Synexus has decided that he will not move in fear of these Coalition members. It’s a long trip to Shadow Labyrinth mountain. We need to traverse the entire range which with our speed and efficiency will still take a year.”

  “Sure, but we could sell it for more Progress Credits.” Zuls mumbled.

  “Why not just ask for guins then?”

  Synexus’ question made her pause for a moment with a face of realization like she hadn’t even considered that.

  “Because…because it would be cool to own a castle even for a couple of days. I don’t know!”

  This got another laugh from everyone. More people offered their speculation of what would happen when meeting the king while some people spoke up about what they would ask for. Eventually the ideas stopped, and each party member went back to their rooms to get ready.

  ***

  Vorin, Prith, and Synexus dressed in the high fashion of Goldhill. Each of them stepped from their rooms adorned with a suit that matched their tastes. Vorin was dressed in all black. His shoes highly polished to gleam in the light. Prith had a suit made of linen that was the color of the ocean that surrounded the Smile Isles. Synexus had Soul become a black silk suit with silver lining to pay homage to his heritage.

  An hour later Shell, Zuls, and Kumo stepped out in the dresses they had bought from the seamstress. Shells flowed like water and music. Zuls was a forest green with ice blue accents. Kumo’s was the color of a storm cloud and had beautiful fractal patterns embroidered into the fabric that looked like lightning.

  They all met down the stairs in the common room of the inn waiting on Yu and Gene to join them. When they finally did, they were all breathless.

  Yu wore her custom-made dress which none of them had seen yet. The seamstress took the feather theme seriously and had cut the dress in a way that looked like an upside-down feather. A thin strip of fabric made up the stem and then the beautiful fabric cascaded down to a point. The sides had been embroidered to look like the sides of a feather. Where the stem met her neck, a loop of the material went around her neck and then up into a hood. The sheen matched the feathers perfectly and the dark black complimented the deep red fur she had under her feathers.

  Following her down the stairs was Gene wearing a tasteful silver bowtie.

  “Wow, you two look great! Yu, I love that dress. It suits you perfectly.” Zuls complimented her with a big smile on her face.

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  “Thank you, thank you.” Yu was trying to remain cool, but everyone could tell that she wanted to do her little hop she often did when she was excited.

  After a round of compliments and a discussion to ensure that everyone had an idea of what to expect they started making their way towards the king’s castle once more. This time, they were honored guests.

  A guard greeted them at the door and led them into the throne room once more. Everything in the castle looked the same except when they entered the throne room this time, it was decorated, and several people filled the second flood viewing gallery.

  They all felt King Drawgdar’s eyes fall upon them and then they heard the dwarf burst out in laughter.

  “What are you wearing?” He said in between his grinding chuckles.

  Vorin was awestruck at the sudden change in the mood and that the king said more there a couple of words at a time. Even the viewing party and the guards looked confused.

  “Your highness, we didn’t want to disrespect you with our regular apparel.” He muttered in confusion.

  The king waved his hand in the air as if he was shooing someone away.

  “You are warriors and my guests. I expected the fierce party I heard about. Not people wrapped in silks.”

  “Even a flower can hide something dangerous within.”

  The laughter subsided. “Well said. It does not matter how you are dressed in the end. Like I said, you are my guests, and you all have my thanks.”

  Everyone in the party performed a polite bow.

  “We of the mining guild also want to give our thanks. You saved several of our miners that had gone missing and that cavern you found connects to tunnels we have never explored. We’ve already mined several new ores.” One of the women in the viewing party shouted.

  The captain of the royal guard sensed the parties’ eyes wander around the room to check out the onlookers.

  “All these people are influential to the king when making decisions about Goldhill. Each one leads a guild or handles the city’s assets. The king insisted they be here to further put into perspective the service you completed for us. If your warning came even a week later, we could have been overrun before we even knew it. Several citizens have been reported to die around the time you finished destroying the horde below.”

  “It’s an honor to have so many important people of Goldhill here. However, we were just doing our duty as class chosen of Mothollo. I’m sure all of you would have done the same.” Vorin wasn’t quite sure what to say.

  “But they didn’t. Even if it was just the stroke of fate or time that led you to discovering the threat, you were still the warriors who stopped it.” The king paused and the room was full of nodding heads. “For this, you shall be rewarded.”

  “This display of gratitude is already more than we can ask for, your highness.”

  “Nonsense. I will not have word spread that I do not reward bravery in my city.”

  “I mean if you say that you have a spare castle lying around somewhere we wouldn’t be opposed…ouch!” Vorin elbowed Zuls to get her to stop talking.

  The king burst out in laughter once more.

  “I like this one. However, I do not have any castles to give away.” He motioned for one of his men to step forward. “We wanted to do this the day after your great achievement, but we needed time to prepare and then a miracle happened, and the Progress Nexus was gifted to us.”

  The man he motioned forward pulled an item from thin air and handed to the king.

  “For you, Vorin, we present you with a Greater Soul Potion because we believe a strong leader is crucial to the success of a party.”

  It floated from the king’s hand to Vorin’s and he inspected it.

  Greater Soul Potion (Mythical): Grants the user a 20% permanent buff to all stats at the time of consumption.

  His eyes widened at the effect and the rarity. He knew it must have cost the king a fortune.

  “Thank you. Thank you! This is incredible!”

  The king nodded.

  “Next…” The man next to him materialized another item. “We present Prith with something that I’ve kept in my vaults for a very long time. A tome of swordsmanship written by a master of swordsmanship. Many people believe that he was the original class chosen to walk the path.”

  Becoming the Sword by Unknown (???): An incredibly old tome written by a class chosen who mastered the swordsman path. These pages hold more knowledge than what can be found in the words.

  “I will learn from this every day. Thank you,”

  “Zuls you are presented with an artifact known as The Bonded Heart. We believe it will fit your class well.”

  The Bonded Heart (Legendary): This small artifact can be equipped to grant all bonded a boost of 10% of their class chosen’s stats.

  This artifact is part of a set. Collect the other two artifacts to unlock a set bonus.

  “This will. Thank you, your highness.” Zuls bowed.

  “The storm known as Kumo is given weapons that will suit her spirit. You’re a fearsome warrior and I see you becoming a force to be reckoned with. I can’t wait to battle you at that time.” The king grinned before sending the beautiful fans over to her.

  Winds’ Fury (Legendary): These fans boost the power of any wind mana-based skill by 20%.

  Kumo grinned right back at the king.

  “I can’t wait either.”

  “For Shell, we present you with The Amulet of Voice. In addition, I’d like to offer you an opportunity.”

  The Amulet of Voice (Rare): Can be used to amplify any sound-based skills to any degree.

  “This is generous, thank you. What is the opportunity?”

  “My wife’s friend saw you perform the other night and has been telling her about it nonstop. We bought one of your incredible sound crystals and enjoyed what we heard. From what we’ve gathered, your party is leaving in a few days, but before you go, would you be willing to play a set in the royal ballroom for an upcoming gala my wife is hosting?”

  “I would never say no to something as incredible as that. I’ll start working on something special for such an event.”

  “I’ll have a messenger deliver the details to your inn. I can’t wait to see you perform and of course, your party is invited.”

  “Now, moving on. Yu, the wonderous sphinx, we will be giving you unfettered access to our knowledge keepers until you leave our city. Please use it to learn all you can.”

  “That is the best reward a sphinx could ask for. Thank you, your grace.”

  “Gene, you are mysterious, but my guards were quite impressed with the knowledge that you possess. My advisors worked tirelessly to find the perfect gift for you, and I believe they found it.”

  Immortal Parchment (Rare): Has the ability to hold infinite knowledge. The page is attached to a special spatial dimension that can never be filled.

  Pen of Life Experience (Rare): This magical pen will connect with your mind and instantly record it on paper at the speed of thought.

  “This is incredibly thoughtful, your highness. I’m on this quest to experience life firsthand and these will let me record all my favorite parts.”

  Synexus looked at the pen and paper with a little envy but was happy for Gene. It was hard to give them something that they didn’t already possess.

  “Finally, for Synexus, we have a collection of exotic plants that we obtained from the Progress Nexus. My advisors said you were some sort of druid, and we believe these will help your class some. To be honest, we weren’t entirely sure.”

  “They are perfect, your highness.” A spatial chest had flown over to him and when he touched it, he could sense that there were hundreds of different kinds of new plants and seeds. Some he had already logged, but most would be beneficial.

  “Then let us consider this matter finished. Please, you’re all welcome to stay and dine with us. We’ve prepared a feast.”

  Vorin turned and everyone was nodding. He knew that they wouldn’t be able to turn down the promise of food.