The cave opened into a single large cavern with glittering walls lit up by some kind of gem reflecting the little light that filtered through the opening. It had a tall ceiling, at least two stories high, and holes in the wall large enough for them to crawl through. Other than that, the only two thins inside the cavern were both on a raised dias in the center, an ornate pedestal with a flat top and a large stone coffin with a sigil on the lid. Dean studied the coffin from the entrance as the others entered. “Anyone want to bet that we have to fight whatever’s in the coffin?”

Jim snorted, “Do I look like an idiot?”

Dean opened his mouth to retort, but Mary beat him to it. “Do you really want me to answer that, sweetie?”

Jim blinked a few times in surprise before saying, “I set myself up for that one, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” She laughed, “You did.” She looked at Dean. “And I’ll take that bet.”

“Really?” Dean asked incredulously, “How much?”

“Five gold coins?” She suggested.

“Deal.” Dean said.

Ryan remarked, “You realize she wins if anything else happens? It doesn’t matter at all what it is from that bet.”

“Hey, you’re right.” Dean said before demanding, “You have to pick something specific.”

She laughed, “Too late. You’ve already agreed.”

Dean growled at her. He looked back at the dais and mumbled, “Probably the coffin, anyway.” He started walking towards the pedestal as he fished the settlement crystal out of his inventory.

“Wait.” Jim said urgently, “You have the crystal.” Jim walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder to gently push Dean back towards the entrance. “I’ll go first, just in case something bad happens.”

Dean took several steps backwards, until he was in line with the others. Famor and Amelia looked at him, then each other, and took a few steps in front of him. Ryan stepped up on his left as Mary moved to his right. Dean ground his teeth in annoyance at their overprotection but held his tongue since they were probably right.

Jim studied the group for a second, nodded in satisfaction at their position, then walked up to the pedestal. He stopped in front of it, holding his breath, and waited for something to happen. He held out his hand, finger extended, and touched the top of the pedestal. He laid his hand on it. He barked out a laugh, “That was anticlimactic. Dean, get over here and claim this place so we can start building up defenses.”

Dean held the crystal in his hand as he approached. It glowed brighter with each step he took. The cave rumbled as he stepped onto the dais and a loud chittering sound filled the room. Dean shoved the crystal into his belt and gripped his sword with both hands. He mumbled to Jim, “You had to say something.”

The others ran forward to join them on the dais, circling Dean in the process and waited anxiously for an attack. The chittering grew louder as more creatures joined in, until it grated on Dean’s nerves.

An ant the size of a rottweiler emerged from one of the holes, followed closely by a second. It had large, glowing red eyes and a pair of mandibles as thick as Dean’s wrist. He scanned one.

Burrower Worker Ant – Level 1

HP: 10/10

Burrower Ants started pouring out of the holes in the cavern and locked onto the group. Mary shot an arrow at the nearest, striking it in the eye, killing it. She fired a second shot, hitting the next ant on the head, but the arrow bounced off its armor. She grunted and switched to her sword. “They’re armors too tough for arrows.”

“Then we do this the messy way.” Jim responded.

Famor took a few steps forward before falling into the pose Dean now knew was part of the Katori technique. He waited until an ant moved within striking distance before moving into the next form. Dean studied the movements, hoping to level up his newfound skill, as Famor moved among the creatures. Famor’s movements were smooth, almost a dance, as he worked his way through the creatures.

A second group of ants attacked from the other side. Side by side, Ryan and Sarge met the attack and began hacking at the creatures. Mary and Amelia joined the fight soon after, leaving Dean in the middle. He ran up to the pedestal and tried to insert the crystal into a small hole on the top. A notification popped up.

Warning:

You cannot interact with this object while enemies are nearby.

Dean snatched the crystal and shoved it in back into his belt. He turned to see that a few ants had gotten past the others. He fell into the Katori pose and attacked. He wasn’t as smooth as Famor or Amelia, not with only a few days of practice, but his actions were calmer and more controlled than his fight with the alpha wolf and necromancer. The ants were still able to score a few hits, making him wince in pain, and he was forced to leap away to keep from being overwhelmed him a few times. Still, he did much more damage than he received, leaving a small pile of ants behind him as he fought until the flood of ants trickled off.

“Is that all of them?” Ryan panted after killing the last one. “Shouldn’t there be a queen or something?”

“Don’t say it.” Jim responded, “Don’t even think about it.”

“Too late,” Mary said, “He already did.”

Nothing happened. They waited, expecting an attack at any second. Dean licked his lips as he walked up to the pedestal a second time, glancing around the cavern as he walked. He fished the crystal out of his belt and inserted it. A notification popped up a few inches above the crystal.

Do you wish to claim this land for your kingdom?

Yes

No

Dean selected yes. A new page appeared, with a prompt asking him to name the new kingdom. He thought about it for a second, several ideas popped into his head but he rejected them almost immediately, until the perfect name popped into his head. He typed it in before hitting enter. A new prompt replaced it.

Are you sure you want to name your kingdom:

Manetheren

*You won’t be able to change it later

Yes

No

You bet I do, he thought, as he selected yes. Orc’s might not be trollocs or the Wraith a Myrddraal, but he planned for this city to be a thorn in the dark one’s side, or whatever evil mastermind was causing all this, by the time the fight was over. Besides, it was a cool name and people would get the reference.

A loud grating sound filled the cavern as the lid of the coffin fell off. Dean jumped in surprise and quickly fell back to join the others. They surrounded him, gripping their swords as they waited for the corpse to rise and attack them. Except the body didn’t move. Instead, a white, semi-transparent being rose out of the body and walked through the side of the coffin without issue.

“It’s a ghost,” Ryan whispered to the others, “Will our weapons even hurt it?”

“How should I know?” Jim grunted, “Do I look like a psychic?”

The ghost stopped a few feet from the pedestal and gazed around the room, its stare penetrating each with an icy chill until they rested on Dean. “Greetings, Lord,” It intoned. “I am Einar, known as the Just King, ancient ruler of this kingdom.” Realizing Einar didn’t plan to attack, Dean relaxed the grip on his sword as he studied the man, or ghost-thing, closer. The man had long gray hair held back by the simple crown he wore cut to shoulder length, with a sharp nose and thin mouth, and had a face that was hardened and scarred from years of battle. His clothing was regal, if simple, of a fine cut cloth dyed a rich green. His armor was well polished, with no scrapes or marked parts to indicate it’d been worn in battle and made from steel or some other shiny metal. “In ancient days, long past and forgotten, this kingdom flourished from its ample resources and kind people. I fear years of neglect have allowed pestilence and evil to thrive.

I have remained to offer my humble wisdom, to you and your new kingdom. Know this, heed your words and mark your actions well, young King. All that you say and do will affect your kingdom and its people. An errant word may undue years of hard work and patient planning. A king does not need know all, each of us have our strengths and our weaknesses. Know yours well. Seek advisors that will give you insight, challenge you, and help you grow. Entrust them to tend the kingdom where they are best suited.”

The ancient king smiled, revealing ample lines around his eyes and mouth. The expression made him look gentle and kind, like a grandfather amused at his grandchildren’s antics, not just a stately king. “But above all else, listen to your heart. You are now tied to this land, heart and soul, let it guide you and you will do well.” The ghost disappeared.

“What did that even mean?” Dean asked, “Seriously, what does ‘listen to your heart’ help with building anything?”

“It was actually really insightful,” Ryan rubbed his chin. Dean looked at him, clearly wanting Ryan to explain. “First, he mentioned that these lands have lots of resources, but that there is probably a lot of monsters and stuff now lurking around. So, it means we’ll have to clear out those monsters in order to reach the resources. Quests of some kind, I guess.”

Dean nodded slowly as he followed along. “Like an ant queen.”

“Possibly,” Ryan agreed. “Then there was the part about watching what you say or do. I think it means that your words can become law.”

Dean rocked back on his heels. “You really think that’s possible?”

“Maybe?” Ryan laughed, “If this was all real, would it really be insane to think a king’s words would affect the entire kingdom?”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that.” Dean acknowledged, “But you’re right. Anything else you gathered from the speech?”

“Just that part about advisors and being tied to the land. It sounded like you might be able to delegate responsibilities to people, so you don’t have to deal with it.”

“Like what?” Dean asked walked to the coffin.

Ryan shrugged, “Like assigning a trader to take care of trade negotiations or a warrior for defense.”

“I hope so,” Dean replied. “I hate dealing with trading in games, it’s too tedious.” Then, with a grin, “Does that mean I can put you in charge of latrines?”

Ryan ignored him, “And it sounds like your spawn point is now tied to here.”

“Really?” Dean’s eyes lit up. “You mean I can start adventuring again?”

“Too risky.” Jim said sharply, “We can’t risk you dying and not respawning here.”

“Fine,” Dean relented as he glanced away. “But we’re building a spawn point immediately.”

“That’s the whole point.” Jim said.