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A fat man in an innkeeper's simple outfit enters the throne room. The man looks astonished
and a bit surprised.

"My King!" -he exclaims. "It is truly a pleasure to finally meet you. May your reign be long
and glorious. My name is Ronton, and I own a humble inn to the east of the castle town. I
simply wished to come here to see the new king..." The innkeeper pauses, smiling, then glances
around the room to see if anyone else is listening. He then nods approvingly, leaning slightly
closer.

"I have information for you..." -he whispers... "There is word that the gold SEALS of the TRADER'S
GUILD were stolen not long ago. Rumors travel fast and I have gotten my fair share of them. I
think I can help you find the thief and perhaps even the original seals. However, business has
been poor for me lately. In exchange for the information I would simply ask you for a small favor:
visit my inn. Spend a night there and I will rename the establishment in your honor. A King staying
there would surely be a boon to my business!

What say you, My King? Would you do this kindness for me?"

You agree to hire ZORDON the WIZARD for his price of 3 gold per year.
He nods, approving your wise decision. The Jester's joy knows no bounds.

"If it is well with you, my King, I shall take my leave to explore the castle for a bit." -he says.

You query as to the specifics of the WIZARD'S skills.

"I am able to cast spells of many kind. With the right preparation I can make a bolt of lightning
strike on command, or I can imbue an object with special powers. Spells are not a thing to be
trifled with, though, and nearly all will require thorough preparation and study before they can
be employed safely or at all. A library to catalogue and sort the relevant knowledge is of
absolute importance if I am to serve you effectively, my King."

You ask where the WIZARD has served before.

"My past I would prefer to keep to myself. Let us just say that I have served myself for well over
a decade and feel that the time has come that I put my abilities to work for someone who truly
has use for my talent."

You can't say that you are fully pleased with the answers you got, but your mind was made already,
and with time you might learn more of this WIZARD.

"Consider yourself hired and the price agreed upon. Consult with the builder's guild as to the
specifics of the library's construction and send them to me." -you command.

ZORDON bows deep, his hat flopping from back to front with the motion.

"I hope to serve you well, my King."

The JESTER does a little happy-dance, pausing only to wave around a small stick which he has
fashioned as his magic wand, and to make zapping noises.

You permit the next audience. As a shadowy figure enters the throne room you can almost feel
the Jester's building excitement.
The man wears a long purple cloack and dons a tall pointed hat.

"Your grace, I am called ZORDON-"

"HE'S A WIZARD!!!" -the Jester squeals in delight, rudely interrupting your guest.

There is an awkward pause.

"Yes, I am a WIZARD, and I have come from far away, from the EASTERN LANDS beyond the
mountains, in search of employment. When I heard that a new KING had arisen in GRIMDARK
I decided to come here and offer my services. I ask for 3 gold per year in salary and will
require a library to be set up for my work. In exchange of these I can offer you my vast
knowledge of spells and magics."

The JESTER seems ready to burst out of excitement.

You have the Jester pay the agreed 40 silvers to the seamstress and commend her work with
high praises. She smiles and thanks you for your patronage, and informs you that she must
be on her way, for more work awaits her elsewhere.

As she leaves you get the faintest impession that she was disappointed, somehow.

The Jester seems unusually eager to let in the next audience.

"Psst..." -The JESTER whispers softly past the fourth wall: "If someone wants to draw a cool sprite of what THEY think the King now looks like, I won't mind at all. And the sprite may even get incorporated into the new visual style somehow, even if the art style clashes with the old style."

EDIT: Whoa, Miguel already provided. Check the previous page to see the results.

I will ALSO make sure to MENTION all sorts of pointless details from now on.

You write down a note to your SPYMASTER, requesting more information on the YESTERYEAR family.
You seal up the paper with a wax seal and hand it to the JESTER to be transported back to SONYA.

Then you grant audience to the SEAMSTRESS.

She walks down the throne room and gives you a curtsy, then produces a parcel which she hands
over to you.

"My King, your new clothes are ready. I do hope you find them to your liking." -she says with a smile.

You unwrap the parcel to find a set of clothes made to your measure. The fabric is light, soft and
smooth and so thoroughly jet black that it seems to diminish the light in the room. Woven into the
fabric are thin strands of silver as well as a few pequliarly placed silver studs that, together,
seem to form some sort of a pattern, though you cannot identify it. The silver details shine coolly
amidst the black fabric and look a little bit like tiny twinkling stars.

To complete the outfit there is a fine silken cloak, also purely black, save for an intricately weaved
pattern of flickering flames that seem so natural that you can almost feel the faint heat emanating
from them.

(Image provided by Miguel)

You are awestruck by the quality of the craftsmanship presented to you.

The Jester whistles approvingly.

"If it pleases the King, then I woul have my payment. Forty silver, I believe we agreed. I do hope the
King finds the outfit worthy of the price." -she states.

No worries, I needed a reminder and a kick in the butt to get back to work.

Combination of being lazy, away from home and busy is what happened. Nothing serious, though, and I'll try and keep the updates coming as steady as I can. You do know that the steam summer sale is on, right? I've bought like a dozen games already!

I happened...



As you awaken to the dawn of your sixth day as King, the Jester meets you in the throne room.

"Hail, My King, I have news!" -he cries gleefully.

"Rorik the Northman has left our castle today, to continue his quest. As he left he promised that
he would spread word of your kindness towards guests and would surely repay your assistance.

Cat of the Farmer's Guild reports that the harvest is underway. It seems that the harvest this
summer is meager, but it should tide our people over the winter times unless something drastic
happens.

Lastly, a pair of reports from your SPYMARSTER arrived today, amidst a box of ONIONS."

The JESTER hands over the pair of written notes for you to examine. You crack open the
CRIMSON WAXEN SEALS and examine the papers carefully.

---

It seems that the strange symbol on the JESTER'S LETTER is not unique at all. In fact the symbol
has been seen several times by the workers of the HAPPY HANDS brothel worn as a SMALL
TATTOO on the necks of hired guards in the service of the family of YESTERYEAR. As to the deeper
meaning of the symbol, Sonya cannot say, though she promises to inform you should more
information come her way.

As to your now-departed guest RORIK, your spymaster has little to offer. She says that several
NORTHMEN have been travelling south this year, but all of them are highly secretive and stubborn
and tend to keep to themselves. Word is, however, that a small band of Northmen ambushed
another small band of northmen not long ago, and that the winners burned the bodies of the
defeated in a most pequliar funeral pyre. This happened just a short while before RORIK came to
seek refuge in your court, although Sonya cannot say for sure if Rorik took part in the battle or not.

---

As you set aside the SPYMASTER'S REPORTS the Jester winks at you.

"My King, I hear the new clothes you ordered are finished and the seamstress awaits your
audience. Shall I permit her entry?"

Congrats, Ghost! Good show!

[Best Fictional Game:]

Best Fictional Game:
- Stupot+: No One Can Stop the Beast Fiesta (I really want to play this game!)

Best Organized Review:
- Ghost: I Swear Once You Blink, It's Different

Best Word Choice/Style:
- Sinitrena: Into the Machine
- Stupot+: No One Can Stop the Beast Fiesta

Most Incisive Review:
- Sinitrena: Into the Machine

You are delighted by the idea of a celebration, and order a budget of seven (7) gold to be spent
on the preparations. There are to be artists, music and plays, and couples are invited to marry
under the King's gaze as part of the festival, with food and drink and cake provided by the king's
court. A grand stage is  to be erected upon which the ceremony will be held. And, of course, Lancelot
will be in charge for the event security.

The Jester chuckles and bounces with glee.

"A fine celebration it will be! I shall make sure that the preparations are put underway!"

As the Jester bounces off, gold in hand, you realize that the time in the hourglass has run out
once again. It is time to rest...

The Jester steps up.

"My King, a word if you will. The annual midsummer celebration is nearly upon us, and I was
wondering how much money we would like to spend on the celebration? This could be a good
way to make an impression with the people, differentiate yourself from the old king and possibly
invite new connections. The old king would only ever spend one gold on the celebration to pay
for the construction of a fighting pit in which he would force prisoners to fight to the death for his
entertainment..."

You decide that all of your stocks are too much to give up, and inform the PIRATE TRADER that you
will keep a small portion of your stocks of wood and cloth while lowering the price accordingly,
down to 25 gold instead of 30 gold.

"Arr! As you wish, Land-King. The deal is done n' I shall take care of the details with th' guild."

The trader thanks you and leaves.

[Large portions of wood and cloth were sold]
[Your stocks of wood and cloth are low]
[25 gold pieces added to the treasury. The treasury now holds: 36 gold and 60 silver]

There is still time for one audience this day.

You call forth the next audience of the day.

Waddling into the throne room comes a man with a peg-leg carrying a fancy leather scroll.

"Arr, My King!" -he greets you in what you guess might be a polite way amongst pirate clans.

"I bring forth a trade agreement from the clan of the fearsome Forkbeak Pirates. For th'
purpose of construction we would like to commission all of ye available stocks of lumber
and cloth in your town. I have already discussed ye matter with the trader's guild and they
seemed to be pleased with th' deal. We agreed upon the price of twenny-five gold pieces on th'
trade, with an additional five gold pieces added to sweeten the deal, as ordered by Lord BARON
of the Forkbeaks. Accept ye the offer?"

[Slooowly]

Hey, that's my schtick!

*Slooowly moves monocle over right eye*

We now complete each other, Baron-Sensei.

Oh, and before I forget: Congratulations everyone for making such awesome short stories! And you, Andail, for running this comp! I hereby move that this become a monthly thing (at least) and that it be christened "the irregular writing competition with ever-changing rule-set" or IWCWECRS for short!

[NOT]

Well darn, I dun goofed. I thought the poll was smartypants enough to update the bolded lines to match the top 3 and didn't notice that they matched my votes.

Spoiler

Also: I most certainly did NOT vote for myself!
As proof I present my votes for public view in order to clear my name of this most scandalous and heinous of evil accusations.

*places a monocle over left eye*



(In case you were wondering, I was story 12. )

[close]

Shared first place? Not bad!

EDIT: The bolded winners seem off. The shared first place I can understand, but I think story 17 should be bolded over 16, as it has one more vote.
EDIT EDIT: previous edit is full of "hurr-durr" and "ur I teh dumbz". Please disregard at will.