One week later, in the biggest auction hall in the building of the merchant guild, there was a rare gathering. All representatives of noble families, many of whom were heads of family. Prominent merchants, famous or important citizens of the capital, were also invited. A special honorary seats were prepared for priests of all gods. And also, there was the whole box for the city lord, who also represented the royal family, because he was the third prince. All were invited personally by the Merchant Guild Master and came because of rumors. The old elf was secretive about what would be auctioned, and even his employees didn’t know what it would be. The only known fact was that a mysterious object was found in a new dungeon. Because no one could guess what so rare could be found on the sixth floor of the dungeon, they came and waited for the grand final of the auction. There weren’t a lot of items to action today, so they don’t need to wait too long.
“You are nervous, Cedric.” Prince Alpin chuckled, seeing his attendant's rigid posture.
“That is my job, my lord.” He answered. “And I don’t like the mystery behind today's event.”
“That is just some theatrics to push the price as far as possible. “ Prince said dismissively.
“Normally, I will agree with you, my lord.” He nodded. “But the guild master was suspiciously insistent on your, my prince, oversight of the whole event and ensuring it’s fair.”
“That is part of my job, as a city lord and the prince. But, yes. I saw that too.”
“And I also mention that we have the higher clergy with us. I want to see a fool who tries cheating.”
“True. It’s starting. In the moment we will see this mysterious object.” Prince said after seeing the Guild Master entering the scene.
“Once again, I welcome everyone gathered. It’s time for the main event of this auction. First thing, I will introduce you to Grand Merchant Venancijs. He was tasked to organize the merchant guild in the On Taram oasis. Also, today he is here with us on behalf of the Dungeon Mistress of On Taram oasis.” On the right shoulder of his modest but well-sewn outfit was indeed the crest of On Taram. For all gathered nobles and merchants, this evening was already a success. No matter how boring a mystery item may be, getting to know someone close to the Dungeon Master is worth a lot of money.
“He brings to us a very special object, which hopefully someone will buy tonight. Let’s begin.” The guild master's assistant opened a chest and took out a sculpture of a rat.”I present to you a figurine of a golem rat from the second floor. It’s the first work of a talented artisan whose name I revealed at the end of the presentation. Because it’s the first one, the overall work is at a master's level. I’m sure in the future sculptures representing other golems from the different floors will be much more refined. This sculpture, however, isn’t an ordinary one.” He nodded to his assistant, who showed the crowd how he turned the key, then placed it on the table. Then the sculpture moved. By itself, without magic. After a moment of silence, murmurs of hushed talk were heard. Nobles and merchants exchanged new promises and used old ones to decide who would get the sculpture.
“Cedric, do you think little Olivia will like it?” Prince asked his aide.
“The sixth princess indeed likes moving toys, but it’s a rat, my Lord. I suggest waiting for the next time. If I remember correctly, there are wolves, for example.”
“Aaa yes, indeed.”
The guild master waited until murmurs hushed down before continuing the presentation.
“Now I will reveal the name of the artisan of this marvel. I even have a scroll with the testimonies of grand priests from the On Taram Oasis. Also, our own Grand Forge Master inspected the sculpture and added her testimony.” He gestured to the dwarf. “Can I ask you, Priestess, to repeat your findings?”
“Right. Time to drop a fireball on the alchemist workshop.” She grinned. “So, this toy golem was made from metal acquired from the dungeon, but smelted and hammered by hand. No dungeon magic was involved in creating it. It’s not a reward from the dungeon, but the fruit of the labour of a skilful but still inexperienced artisan.”
“Thank you, Grand Forge Master. And the author of this sculpture is the Dungeon Mistress herself. Starting price is fifty gold pieces.” The Guild Master said, and after a few heartbeats, shouts and arguing erupted in the hall.
“Cedric! How much money do I have?” The prince shouts at his aide.
“I bring with me one hundred gold coins, sir.”
“How much more do we have at home?”
“I think there were something around fifty more, my lord.”
“Do it.”
“How much…”
“All of it! Hurry!”
Cedric stepped forward and said.
“City lord, Prince Alpin, third to the throne, is offering one hundred and fifty gold coins.”
All arguing and shouting stopped. Some were briefly tempted to bid more than the city's lord. But then they remembered about the aide words. He was biding not only as city lord, but also as the prince. They resigned. If things go bad, they could be seen as rebels and traitors.
The next day, early in the morning, the Grand Merchant Venancijs was summoned to the castle.
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“Your majesties. To all gathered. The Grand Merchant Venancijs, head of the merchant guild of On Taram, and envoy of the Dungeon Mistress of On Taram dungeon oasis, is here!” The Herald announced him. Only thanks to his long experience, he didn’t stutter after he saw the emblem of On Taram on the merchant's shoulder. In the spacious throne room, were gathered all nobles, the priesthood from every temple, and anyone who could enter.
Dozens of knights, standing in two rows in the middle of the hall, keep order.
At the end of the hall sat King Lugaid with Queen Shelara, and to their right and left were sitting all six royal children. It was an unusual marriage for royalty. The king was a human, but the queen was an elf. The nobility was against this because elves lived long lives, and after the king's death, the queen would inherit the throne. And she will rule for a long time. From the perspective of nobles, who belong to short-lived races, it looks like eternity. After lengthy negotiations and writing one of the longest marriage certificates, nobles stopped protesting. Queen promised to abdicate one year later after her husband's death. The only exception was a situation where there wouldn't be an heir to the throne. However, it was the lovers who had the last laugh. Nobles were so fixated on the future queen that they forgot about the future royal children. As half-elves, their life span was shorter than pure blood elves, but could be a few centuries long nevertheless.
“You may rise!” King spoke to the Grand Merchant. “Please convey my thanks to Dungeon Mistress for choosing my kingdom to present her first work.”
“I will do that immediately after my return. I also want to formally apologise for using your third son to ensure the order given to me by the Dungeon Mistress is fulfilled. She ordered to ensure that the final price doesn’t harm the buyer's finances.”
“Ah, yes. I wanted to ask about that. Wouldn’t it be easier to present it directly, even to my third son?”
“Yes, my King. But, Dungeon Mistress needed to spread the word about her work. She is gathering funds to build a town next to her dungeon.”
“Yes. That was my guess. But regardless of the eagerness of my nobility and my own will, my kingdom's capabilities of financial support are limited.”
“I’m aware of that, and also Dungeon Mistress understands that. And she found a solution that could please all parties involved. She wrote a letter to Your Majesty with details. I’m aware of its content, and Dungeon Mistress makes me responsible for future negotiations if Your Majesty accepts the proposal.” Venancijs presented a scroll with seals. Herald, take it from him and hand it over to the King.
“Then let’s see what Dungeon Mistress had planned.” He said and unfolded the scroll. Like all people, he skipped the beginning of the letter. It was a copy-paste set of empty sentences to look good.
‘Dear King Lugaid and Queen Shelara. My name is Naomi, and I’m Dungeon Mistress of On Taram Dungeon Oasis. Because everyone skips the paragraph with greetings, I once again want to say that I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Also, I wish for your kingdom to prosper. King chucled, and his wife glanced at him. He shows her a dungeon mistress greeting.
“I was telling you the same thing,” Queen answered, hiding a smile with her hand.
“Yes, my dear.” He agrees.
‘My arrangements with the Grand Merchant Venancijs were that this letter reach you after the auction. I am truly sorry for the confusion I have caused. The other option was long negotiations that could yield no results, and I hate politics.
I guess your main question is: Why? The answer is simple. I made a hasty and emotional decision about the placement of my dungeon. Even the gods warned me. As you know, we dungeon masters need people who will explore our halls, and it’s rather hard to find them in the middle of the desert. Especially The Great Desert. I don’t regret my decision, mind you. I’m not a very social person, and need time to heal. Crowds of people will not help. But I still need adventurers to grow, and to fulfil my promise given to the gods. And adventurers need the town. Yes, I can wait. In a few decades, maybe a century, the city will grow by itself. In the peaceful world, I will do that, but regrettably, this is not a peaceful world. And my remote localization doesn’t mean I’m out of reach for those who want to harm me.’ King nodded. He was aware of the attack. ‘That's why I need money to create funds to help people who want to settle next to the walls of my dungeon. Money is easy. Anything with my name and nobles will lose their minds.’ King chuckled again, the queen and his kids started stealing glances, Curious about what was happening. The King, however, keeps reading curiously to see where this letter will lead. ‘At least I was warned about that possibility, and I saw a similar thing in my world. This creates some problems for everyone, including me. The first thing is that even the wealthiest kingdoms don’t have bottomless coffers full of gold. Depending on how much was paid for my first golem toy, we estimate that your kingdom, my King, could acquire one or two more of them. Anything more and the finances of your kingdom could be affected negatively.’ The King agrees with the Dungeon Mistress. He and other nobles always have a surplus of money or assets. But going beyond that could affect mandatory spending. ‘The obvious solution to that is to go to other kingdoms. And here is the second issue. Politics. To which kingdom should I send my second toy golem?’ The King smiled, knowing firsthand how impossible it was to find an answer to that question. ‘Thankfully, there is an easy solution to that. I need to invite them to my oasis.’
“What?” He was genuinely surprised. He never thought about that. It wasn’t strange, however. Nobles, and the kings especially, rarely travel far away from their lands. There was always something that required their presence and attention. ‘Regretably, my oasis is not ready for such a gathering. But your capital is, my King. I therefore propose organizing a Royal Fair at which I will present my works. Craftsmen and artists from every kingdom will also have a chance to show their skills. Nobility will have the opportunity to bid and socialize. Kings will have a chance to face each other, and maybe sign some treaties. And I obviously will gather money for my town. I sincerely hope that my proposal is interesting and will become a starting point for further negotiations. Hopefully not too lengthy. One again, I wish everything the best, to you and your kingdom.
Sincerely, Naomi Dungeon Mistress of On Taram oasis.’
The King started laughing, surprising almost everyone. Grand Merchant Venancijs was the only one who knew what was coming.
“Oh my gods!” Exclaimed Queen after fast skim-reading over the letter. “Grand Priest, please tell us your opinion.” She gives a scroll to the priest of the Sun, standing nearby.
“Yes. In my opinion, it’s exactly what gods teach us, and I love this idea.” The king said.
The Grand Priest read the letter carefully. He doesn’t skip the first paragraph, even. Then he said.
“It’s true. The idea presented by Dungeon Mistress is exactly what the gods try to teach us. We should resolve our conflicts and grievances by talking to each other, not by fighting one another. I declare whole support of the church of the Sun for this idea.”
“Wonderful!” The King stands. “Then I declare the start of preparations for The Royal Fair. We will send invitations to every kingdom. The delegations will have the opportunity to participate in the auction of Dungeon Mistress toy golems, and every other treasure that anyone will bring to us. We will also prepare something for our subjects. I invite heads of each noble family, grand priests, guild masters, and our guest Grand Merchant Venancijs to dinner, to start discussing how it should look.”
