Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

Ed spent the rest of the day coming up with new ways to rig up the goblins. He would return the successfully modified warriors back to Prild and the tribe where they would be welcomed and receive high praise and respect.

They would then drown in this praise while a new comrade appeared. Ed didn't like this cycle, however, so he advised them to train themselves up just like Pipsqueak. As Pip was an outsider, it was treated with respect befitting of the first sculpted of god, but the indifference of a passerby.

Truthfully, Pipsqueak was more like a statue to be admired. He was different, in color, place, and mind. He was simply too different to be treated as one of their own at the first meeting.

This allowed Pipsqueak to train himself without distractions. Ed was unaware of the circumstances, but he was suggesting they follow Pipsqueak's example and train diligently. Ed did not mind the conversing and actually liked to see it. The goblins were funny creatures. The problem was that he needed the goblins to make a good show the next day.

Fortunately, the goblins did listen to Ed. They were loyal to begin with and the modified ones now had a higher level of intelligence. While they would still be dumber than the average orc, it was still an improvement.

By the time the sun was setting, Ed was all done with the goblins. It took that long because 10 more volunteered after seeing the miraculous effects of the modification. Ed believed that the more, the merrier, so he decided to sacrifice some time for the late volunteers. It was not like he wouldn't have spent the same amount of time if they simply volunteered earlier anyway.

'It's about time I take a break to think' Ed thought after finishing with the goblins. He was walking towards the Sanctuary plaza and eventually entered Goe's Tavern.

There were a couple of orcs making merry under the light of torches. With alcohol as an option and other things like betting and gambling, there was now a nightlife in Sanctuary.

'It's no good for warriors to be here when battle is upcoming though…' That was the only real criticism Ed had about this turn of events, but it wasn't like he could force everyone to stop. That would grow resentment.

"Ed! What will you be having?" Goe said cheerily while cleaning a wooden mug. Ed's gallant figure would be good for business. It was worth noting Goe was already the richest even without having Ed as a customer. There were multiple orcs intoxicated and chatting in the bar meaning business was booming.

"What do you have?" Ed sat down at a barstool and asked.

"Just orc fruit beer, orc blood fruit, blood fruit salad…" Goe started to recite the menu which was chuck full of orc blood fruit-related dishes. In the end, Ed decided to just get a mug of orc fruit beer and call it a night.

"Coming right up" Goe said before getting right to work.

With the time to himself came the time for his own thoughts to wander. Ed's mind had pictures flash by. These pictures were blurry yet fond. They appeared to be from a laid down perspective which actually gave him a tinge of sadness. Ed shook his head and focused back on what he could remember.

'I wonder where W is' Ed believed that W would think to head out of the mushroom caverns. Ed was worried about what they might find there, especially if Eon was still out and about running rampant.

Thinking this far, Ed felt it was about time to reclaim his mushroom empire. He wanted to try out some new potions and create new equipment, but that was rather hard to do without a mushroom farm.

Soon enough, hot beer was placed down in front of Ed. He didn't hesitate to grab the mug and take a swig. He would like to say it was either refreshing or intoxicating, but Ed only felt bitter as he smacked his lip trying to get a taste for this new beverage.

Even after he downed the whole mug, he came to realize he still felt just as sober as the minute before he walked into the establishment.

'Huh' His attributes were pretty high it seemed.

***

The Bosque Kingdom had just announced that Alvin Bosque would ascend to the throne when suddenly, it became known that the Harvest march had taken their army to the capital and enacted a coup.

This was pretty shocking, but perhaps what was more surprising was that Duke Lansworth's mage brigade had anticipated the attack from the harvest March and made sure to keep the army of thousands outside the capital walls.

Their large scale area of effect spells caused too much damage for the Harvest march to advance and siege the capital. Without a king, they could now be said to be the rulers of the capital city rather than the Harvest Marquis.

"Rggggh! How did the Duke station his troops without our knowing?!" The marquis exclaimed from within their tent. They were angry that their preemptive attack had been preempted.

The original plan was to control the useless prince, Adelio II, but the dark magic had accidentally killed him. The next option was to perfect and use the technique on the 3rd prince who was guaranteed to take the throne but their benefactors were not willing to risk it and asked that they take it directly.

"We do not know, sir" The Harvest March owned a majority of the farmland in Bosque and could be considered to be a powerful noble household. Their army was formidable.

The Bosque royal family had partly been in decline due to the Harvest March and their overarching influence. They had too much financial power, yet Bosque could not keep them in check with their increasing number of disappointing kings.

After the death of their founder, any kingdom would be hard-pressed to maintain its reign. Those that did survive what was sure to be a tumultuous period were already rare. Ones that could last centuries were one in a dozen.

The Bosque Kingdom did have a rich history but the downwards trend that started just 3 generations ago seemed like it would lead it to its doom.

That's what made Duke Lansworth's actions all the more confusing. Why would he hide troops in the capital if not to take over it? He had enough strength so why would he try to be backed by a declining noble family? 

The Marquis could not figure out the answer.

Inside the capital, Duke Lansworth was about to pay a visit to Alvin Bosque the third prince to discuss the details of his ascension. He was however stopped by one of his assistants.

"Hm? What's this?" He was stopped to receive a letter and box. They were both from Samuel. The Duke was instantly intrigued.

'What could he possibly want?' He wondered, holding some expectation. The Duke decided to abandon his current appointment with the prince and walked into an empty guest room of the palace.

There was, fortunately, a desk where he got to sit down and carefully read the letter. The duke was clearly constrained by time as he began to skim through the letter. Before long however he started to read more carefully and he shot the box beside him a curious glance.

"A drop item huh" The duke thought with a subtle smile. Samuel's letter was a proposal for not just one thing, but multiple. 

First, he asked for financial support for a school he intended to build. It was one of the reasons why he started skimming through the letter as it was shaping out to be unimportant.

Second, was the drop item. He was asking him to find a suitable alchemist to handle the extremely rare item. He also explained how many lives were lost in the process of acquiring it. The Duke had read this carefully.

Finally, he proposed to use this drop item to promote the dungeon. He was proposing to do this through the war but…

"Should I tell him to help out in the capital instead?" The Duke thought his smile becoming definitive. Samuel was overflowing with self-confidence, it made the Duke want to test his skills.

As for handling the other two matters, it was small stuff for him. He had been gathering quite some power behind the scenes and he was also closely acquainted with Count Flamewood.

One could say he was a close supporter. Though recently he did seem a bit out of it. Whatever the case, Count Flamewood did not lack capable alchemists. Still, this was a drop item that couldn't be processed by just anybody.

That included the Flamewood estate, but the Duke believed that the count could find a way as he was in the alchemy circle.

The academy thing was even easier. He just had to provide enough funds and if all went well, he would have more than enough funds to open up not just one, but even two or three academies if Samuel wished it.

The key part was Samuel's performance though. The Duke immediately found some writing utensils prepared for guests in the room and started writing a letter.

"Dear, Oakley, Hope this letter finds you well…" It was a formal letter written in an elegant cursive. These fancy words continued to decorate the plain white paper, making of it a work of art.

"...Were you to raise your blade and smash their heads into pieces… Your requests would seem rather reasonable" The Duke's calligraphy which was great enough to be put on display was further enhanced by his poetic words.

The Duke continued writing for a good bit and after making a few revisions he went to find someone to deliver it. Of course, he didn't forget to grab the box on his way out. He wasn't sure if it would help him in the long run but.... there was definite benefit in the short term.