“A standard human - exotic?” The goth woman drawled, sarcasm shining through her even tone.
“I’m far from a standard human,” Rykard answered in good spirits. It was wonderful to have both something new to do and have that something new be a conversation with such a gorgeous woman. He didn’t want to just talk to her though. “Granted, neither of us can compete with this man.”
“Damn straight ye can’t,” the ice dwarf grunted and extended a hand. “Name’s Iceface the Icebearded. I’m Speaker of the Centrepiece of the Snowflake.”
“We’re using aliases?” Rykard asked as he took the hand.
The dwarf scoffed, something like cheeks rising from the crystal-crusted surface where a face should have been. “It is my genuine name. I am THE Iceface, THE Icebearded. I know you surface dwellers don’t put the proper emphasis on such things.”
“He meant no offense,” Miyo diplomatically chimed in. “As you say, our naming conventions are different. I am MIyo Amaterasu. This is my king, Rykard of the empire of Troyk.”
“Rykard of New Eden now,” he introduced himself. Perhaps there was value in obscuring their names for the sake of intel, but he did not feel like playing that particular game.
“You’re the Contestant then?” the dark-haired lady asked.
Rykard nodded. “I assume you two are as well then?”
“She is,” the dwarf stated and earned himself a cold glare in response. “What, lass, you gonna pretend it’s one of the many people you arrived with?”
“My status is mine to tell.” The wide hips of the calm goth swayed as she shifted her weight. “My name is Tess. I am indeed another Contestant. Ice here is not.”
“I am Speaker of the Centrepiece of the Snowflake,” the dwarf reiterated. “My queen rests in the safety of our provided accommodations.”
“Which would be in there, I assume?” Rykard asked and pointed at the door he and Miyo had stepped out of.
The ice dwarf nodded. “Aye. Every time you enter, you’ll find that the room has what you want at the time. When you change your mind while inside, it’ll make you another door and room.”
“Practical,” Miyo commented, her six tails spreading out for one moment of stretching. Rykard’s eyes were drawn to her slender form, with all of its squishy and swelling parts. The tight red dress accentuated everything. “This is ‘our’ bench then?” she asked afterwards.
There were ten benches in the shadow of the tree, loosely situated parallel to the doors.
“Ain’t no one stoppin’ you if you want another,” the dwarf said. “Doors only open for us, but butts go in all seats.”
Miyo took the offer, while Rykard preferred to keep standing. “How long have you been here?” he asked.
“About 4 days,” the ice dwarf answered quickly.
“Both of you?” The eyes of the king met those of Tess. One was plainly visible, the other barely peeked through the curtain of her hair. Both were gorgeous sapphires.
“Yes,” she responded after some hesitation. Rykard reckoned she would have kept it a secret if she could, but she had the misfortune of sharing the space with an honest dwarf.
The knowledge that both of them had arrived so quickly majorly narrowed down where they were from. Hazarding an educated guess, Rykard assumed that Iceface was from the deep blue Hexagons with the mountains in the east of the map. Tess was harder, there were five others that had one of the teleporters placed close enough to them for her to make it.
Tess must have been able to see the gears turning in his head and asked. “Which cluster of Hexagons is yours, then?”
Rykard shot her a knowing smile. “Are our maps aligned the same way?” he asked. Iceface tilted his head in a way that indicated he was glaring at Tess out of the corner of his hidden eyes. Tess, for her part, gently shrugged. The motion was too slow to make her large breasts bounce and yet the subtle shifting was just as erotic. “Let’s find out then. On my map, I am near the centre, a cluster of six in two slanted rows of three.”
Tess’ eyes fluttered over to something invisible to Rykard. It appeared the contestants could not see each other’s maps. “Six?” the Ice Dwarf mumbled. If Rykard’s hunch about their location was correct, he wouldn’t have had a map update in a while. Last time they had expanded their territory, Rykard had returned with Vylara.
“There is one with five near the centre of the map on mine,” Tess answered, her blue eyes snapping back to Rykard. “You summoned another one before you left?”
“I have a capable harem,” he stated. “They’ll do fine without their monarchs,” he gestured towards Miyo, to complete the statement.
“A governance by harem?” Iceface asked, something like an eyebrow raised.
“For the time being. A fledgling nation like mine has no need for a greater apparatus of government. I’m lording locals as is necessary and leaving them their autonomy otherwise.”
“But certainly you have arrived with people of your own?” Iceface asked. “People that need to be organized into armies and builders?”
“I arrived only with my Miyo and my mansion.”
The words caused Iceface to fall completely silent and for Tess’ strange calm to be ever so minorly compromised by widening eyes. “You are bluffing?” she half-stated, half-asked.
Rykard just smirked and shrugged. If they did not believe him, they would in due time. “I wish to create a realm where all those that are worthy of it can build a harem of their own. A kingdom of eternal prosperity, of lust, and just enough public decency to keep things running smoothly. My harem and I will be at the top, keeping the peace and enjoying our well-earned luxuries. A New Eden, better even than this garden.” He paused for a moment, then let his gaze meander from one to the other and then back. “I believe I have shared plenty about my kingdom what about you two?”
Iceface cleared his throat. “The Snowflake Holds are located to the east, although I guess you warm-blooded fellows already guessed our location.”
“You and whoever is turning their Hexagons into deserts are rather easily to differentiate.”
“Turning their Hexagons into deserts? It’s more than the one?” Iceface asked. Another point of his map intel lagging so far behind.
“By my latest update, which I got just before setting out 18 days ago, they have summoned two more Hexagons, both of which started as something different and then had their icons changed to dunes. The fifth Hexagon of the Contestant is some kind of red-leaved forest. That’s all the map tells me.” Rykard divulged all of that intel willingly. Iceface was an honest diplomat, at least it looked that way, so stacking a few favours would pay off in some way.
“I see… I’d be interested to see them…” Iceface stroked his ice beard and then continued. “The Snowflake Holds are a kingdom. Our sovereign, Vimi, governs through her council, of which I am the foremost diplomat. We assure that the Centrepiece of our sparkling nation is secure and that we expand in the proper patterns.” He lowered his voice, letting a threatening tone flow into his words. “Any interruptions of said pattern will land you straight in the book of grudges.”
“Well, I am too far away to be a threat on that,” Rykard assured.
“We insist that you do not place any Ocean Tiles near us,” Iceface stated.
Rykard’s smile twitched for a moment. ‘Now I really want to do it just to spite you,’ he thought but dismissed that childish impulse. Iceface had only put out a demand. That wasn’t enough to be spiteful. “What about you?” Rykard turned to Tess.
“Tormstown is located in the south-east,” the raven-haired woman answered. “The very south-east. Three Hexagons.”
Rykard nodded, he knew the place. “What are your goals?” he asked.
“Survive,” Tess answered with a single word.
There was a moment of silence, only interrupted by one of the doors opening. The head of another dwarf peeked out. That one was a lot more like the dwarves Rykard had known. Stouty, with a big nose and a bushy beard. Ornaments on his masterly crafted armour were of snowy thematic, his skin was a pale white, and his hair a bright blue, but he wasn’t actually encapsulated in ice. It seemed Iceface was unusual even among these dwarves.
For a moment, the new dwarf looked at Rykard, then he called out to Iceface. “It is time for the council meeting.”
“Ah, my bad, I forgot the time,” Iceface said and immediately stepped away. “We will talk more later!”
“That we will,” Rykard agreed.
If they had arrived about four days ago, they all still had to kill 3 days before the Divine Game actually began.
Once the door closed behind Iceface, Rykard walked the three steps to the bench and put his arm around Miyo. Now seated, he stared at Tess. “You’ll have to forgive me for being a little insistent, but I feel like you are being deliberately vague.” The raven-haired woman did not answer, only looked at the door the dwarves had disappeared behind. “We’re as far away from each other as we could be. I’m no threat to you and won’t be for a while. We can be civilized about this.”
Tess first moved her eyes. Out of the corner, the sapphire framed by curtains of black stared. The intensity of her eyes remained when she turned her head to face him fully again. She strut forwards, taking long, measured steps. Ultimately, she came to sit down on the bench closest to him.
Just when he thought she had elected not to talk to him anymore, her black lips parted again. “Tormstown is just a front. I’m running an organization known as the Ravenmantle Guild,” she told him. “A thieves guild.”
The revelation was only shocking because she was so forthcoming about it. “Let me guess, you made your headquarters in the place people were least likely to look.”
Tess shrugged. “Our world had not been called upon for a Contestant for well over 200 years. My name was getting a bit too public for my line of work. I needed to hide somewhere.” She opened her book again. “My ‘co-workers’ are not pleased with our current lack of work. I’ve been saddled with an actively disloyal set of supporters.” She chuckled softly. “I should have known. Were I a god, I would have used this situation as well.”
“You know, if you get tired of that internal strife, there’s room in my kingdom.”
“Your harem, you mean,” Tess answered cooly and gestured at her chest, waist, and hips, all within one smooth gesture. “I understand my allure. It has served me before.”
“If the situation aligns that way. My haremettes are more than trophy pieces.”
“But they are trophies?”
“One aspect of many.”
“We are as much trophies as Rykard is our king,” Miyo chimed in, lovingly scratching the back of his head. “Relationships are too layered to take that one, impersonal dimension and reduce it to just that.”
“...I will remember this offer.” Tess stated and turned another page. “For the time being, I will indulge my own ambition.”
“And what would that be?” Rykard asked.
Tess showed him a white-teethed smile.
“Thrive.”
