The trip to the Argadian capital was both more and less comfortable than our trip between Redding and Ivarnel. More, because the duke had the raab to spare when it came to hiring services and traveling in luxury. Less, because Felton, Felris, and I needed to be on our best behavior around the duke, and couldn’t truly relax for much of our time on the road.

  Eventually, though, the trip was behind us and the capital city lay before us. It was quite the sight to see, like Ivarnel had first been when coming from Redding. After spending years in this world and growing accustomed to it, and further distanced from my life on Earth, I was significantly more affected by what I saw. The most impressive thing was our destination: the royal castle.

  Magic made many things possible, and with the wealth and resources behind the royal family, much of that was visible in the construction of the castle. It stood out compared to the technology level of the rest of the country, since most things were built in a mundane manner and thus subject to mundane building materials and the world’s level of knowledge about architecture. The castle defied that, using magic to grow to a height that might not have been achievable otherwise.

  We made right for Pendor’s local abode, merely passing through the bustling city. I hoped to get a chance to explore it later, but I wasn’t sure what this visit would look like after reporting to Elsa. As soon as we arrived, a runner was sent to the castle, and we were whisked away to be washed-up and dressed in finery suitable for royal court. Once the runner returned approving our admittance, we were bustled back through the city and right to the castle.

  With the duke of Ivarnel leading our group, we were granted permission to enter, and after a short wait, we were led to an impressively decorated meeting hall. Milling around the fringes were other well dressed individuals; local nobles or ministers or something. I didn’t really know.

  At the end, in their thrones, sat Elsa and Dargan, in all their regal glory.

  Seeing them like this still threw me, slightly; our first meeting had been so casual, it made all our later meetings, in the fullness of their roles, feel somewhat fake.

  “Announcing the duke of Ivarnel, Lord Pendor, and his son, Lord Ramius. Lord Felton and Lady Felris, of Obdorn. Magus Tovar, the sage apprentice,” a man declared. I cringed internally at the sage apprentice title, as always.

  I noticed Pendor go to a knee, so I followed suit, but Elsa raised her hand. “Be at ease, and be welcome,” she said.

  Relaxing slightly, I tried to glance around to see what the others were doing as the meeting started to progress. Technically, I had learned how to behave in my etiquette class, but I’d always been able to get away with being fairly lax about it in my actual life. I didn’t want to offend some uptight minister or something.

  More importantly, I had things I needed to report to Elsa in private. How do I request a private audience with the queen? Is there even a way I can do that without breaking some rules?

  “And so I present Magus Tovar, to report on his success in the dungeon,” Pendor said, pulling me from my concerns and back into the present moment.

  After stumbling through some opening words, I got to the heart of the matter. “With the aid of Lord Felton and Lady Felris, we were able to curb the spread of goblins outside the dungeon and subjugate every goblin within. A number of goblin birthing pits were dried out to prevent new goblin creation and for possible harvest. Using stone magic, we sealed closed-off and looping tunnels to prevent any surprise late spawning of additional monsters. While we didn’t spot any magical ores, I have kept the dungeon intact, shackled rather than conquered, to allow for possible mining, or any additional resources that could be claimed from within.”

  Elsa’s eyes were on me, so I ever-so-slightly raised my eyebrows and tilted my head to the side, the non-verbal cue for “let’s talk in private”.

  “At the queen’s discretion, I can return with the destroyed dungeon core. Your will shall be done.”

  “Well done, Magus Tovar. We shall discuss the finer details in private and decide on the best path forward for Argadia.”

  Exhaling slowly to control the full-body sigh I wanted to heave, I bowed to accept the queen’s praise. I was so ready for this to be done. This was much too stressful. No more nobility in future lives, I swore to myself.

  After a lot more official nonsense, Elsa stood, causing everyone in the room to again take a knee. She and Dargan left the room, and as people began to stand, someone ran over to me.

  “If you’ll follow me, Magus Tovar,” he said, and I nodded, happy to escape before I got swarmed by strange nobles.

  Led from the meeting hall through a series of hallways, I was soon sent through a door into a smaller, private room with a couple of couches and a table between them. Seated in one was Elsa, alone, being served tea by one of her maids.

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  “Well now, Tovar,” the elderly queen said with a sly grin. “What are you hiding?”

  I glanced at the maid, then back to Elsa. “Uh…”

  “Oh, don’t worry about Melessa, she’s trustworthy. Isn’t that right, Melessa?”

  “Of course, your Majesty,” the maid said, turning to me. “Tea?”

  “…Yes please,” I said, finally allowing a sigh to escape before walking over to the couch opposite the [Saint] and sat down. Melessa passed me a very expensive-looking cup of very delicious-smelling tea, and I waited to sip it so I didn’t burn my mouth or accidentally spit-take all over this country’s queen.

  “So. There’s something you didn’t want to say in front of all those nosy nobles,” Elsa said with a sly grin. “You’ve got me interested.”

  With one last glance at the maid, I untied the bag from my belt, opened it, and withdrew the mana amanita.

  Of all the reactions I might have expected, a surprised gasp of delight was not one of them.

  “Oh, I haven’t seen one of these in years,” the old woman said, leaning over the table and plucking it out of my hands with a spryness that spoke of regularly self-applied healing magic. “Are there more?”

  I nodded. “A lot more. There’s—”

  “Guardians protect me, did Somnial tell you? That scoundrel. He used to love these too, you know. We’d split them in half and just go on a journey together. Those were the good old days.” Elsa laughed. “I’m not sure I can handle a whole one, and Dargan never partook. I know! You should split this with me.”

  Blinking hard at the queen’s giddy confession about the [Saint] and [Sage]’s recreational magical drug use, I desperately attempted to veer the conversation back in a direction that wouldn’t send me careening off a mental cliff. “That’s not what—”

  “Oh, don’t be such a stick in the mud, it’s just a little magic mushroom,” Elsa said, wiggling her eyebrows at me. “You’ve never tried? No, of course not, what am I saying. Trust me. It’s fun.”

  “Far be it from me to interrupt your Majesty’s peer pressure,” Melessa said, refreshing Elsa’s tea. “But from the look on Magus Tovar’s face, I do not believe that was all he had to say.”

  Elsa slumped back in her couch. “Bah. You’re all so boring.”

  This woman. I took a stabilizing breath. “We found a chamber in the dungeon. A hidden grotto,” I said, tilting the bag onto the table and allowing some of the faerie dust to spill out.

  Elsa’s bearing immediately shifted from the teasing older aunt-like figure that few got to see back to the leader of a nation. “You found actual faeries? Who else knows about this?”

  “Just myself, Felton and Felris, and Byron. They’ve all sworn to secrecy, and I trust them all with my life,” I said, but Elsa just nodded, motioning for me to continue my explanation. “The dungeon core was enclosed in an artificial chamber. There was a whole sustained ecology within. We suspect it was the project of a Dulthian mage, one who might have incited or accelerated the dungeon break. Given that they never returned, it’s possible they fell against Somnial.”

  “I see,” Elsa said, her eyes flicking back and forth between the amanita and the faerie dust. “Start over. Tell me everything you saw with your own eyes, and nothing more.”

  After delivering my recounting without any theorizing, Elsa sat in thought for a while.

  “This is a rather difficult situation,” she finally said. “On one hand, the value to Argadia is potentially enormous. On the other, it paints a potential target on us that comes poorly timed. Dargan and I won’t be around much longer.”

  “Oh,” I said, surprised at the candor. “Are you… ill?”

  “Just old, Tovar,” she said with a soft smile. “I can throw as much healing magic at Dargan and myself as I want, but time comes for us all, in the end.”

  I wanted to tell her that I knew, that I had been there before as well, and that there was more yet for her to discover in new worlds, with new lives. I couldn’t, naturally, so I simply nodded.

  “Once we said goodbye to Somnial… Dargan and I knew we would only have so much time remaining. Our son Yorgan will be taking over the throne, and he’ll make a good leader, but this complication could become his undoing.

  “That said, it would be foolish to throw away such a national treasure just because of a yet-unfounded fear. The more we can strengthen our kingdom—the more we can strengthen the human race—the better, in the long run.”

  Elsa smiled.

  “We will figure it out. But first, let’s get you your reward. Wouldn’t want to keep you and your bride-to-be waiting any longer.” She paused, glancing at the mana amanita, and sighed wistfully. “Our journey will have to wait, though.”

  * * *

  Back in the meeting hall, I was busy fending off the verbal prodding of a half dozen different people whose names I had already forgotten when Elsa returned to her throne, forcing everyone to back off and show the proper deference to the queen.

  “After deliberation, we believe there may be untapped resources in this new dungeon. The crown again acknowledges the work of Magus Tovar and those that aided him in subduing the threat and providing an opportunity for Argadia.

  “To further secure our kingdom’s new territory and resources, we shall deploy a squad of royal knights and a contingent of soldiers out to the region,” Elsa said, causing some ministers and nobles to murmur. “Lord Pendor, perhaps you could provide some magical support from Ivarnel, as well.”

  The duke bowed. “The queen’s will be done. My son, Ramius, will lend aid.”

  I glanced over to see Ramius stiffen in surprise. Oops. Sorry Ramius.

  “In return for his work for his country, and the future settling of the region, Magus Tovar shall now receive his promised reward. Step forward,” Elsa declared.

  I did, then was ordered to kneel, which I did as well. After quite a lot of swearing in and promises of loyalty to Argadia and the crown, I was finally asked a question I had been somewhat prepared for.

  “Have you a name for your march?”

  From history classes, I knew that most territories names were derived from the names of founders long ago. I couldn’t see naming the territory after myself, though. The circumstances that led me here were largely thanks to others. In particular, I wouldn’t have had the knowledge and strength to deal with the dungeon if not for the [Sage], and we might not have survived the original dungeon break if not for my father and brother.

  I made sure to enunciate the name I had decided upon, so that it was spoken clearly for the first time.

  “Nialdan.”

  A smile briefly flickered across Elsa’s face at the homage to Somnial, and no doubt she was well informed enough to recognize the suffix shared by the two men from my family.

  “Then, in the name of Queen Elsaria of Argadia, I bid you rise, Lord Tovar, marquess of Nialdan.”