The kingdom of Faramouth was a monarchy.
For over 400 years the same dynasty had ruled.
Rigurd Andschlatt, was the 24th of this dynasty and had ruled over a peaceful kingdom since his ascendence 27 years ago
The only problem?
He was forgettable.
Indeed, King Andschlatt was a man who had received an impeccable royal upbringing. Taught in all sorts of subjects such as mathematics, economics, and science.
He was a man completely capable to rule his peaceful kingdom with nary a hiccup.
Despite that, he had one misgiving, and that was his need for fame.
He had a dream upon ascending to the throne. He would not be a forgettable ruler like his father and grandfather.
King Andschlatt despised them.
Their "achievements" were often touted to him.
"Your father secures an extra 10 square mile of land on the Atlea border"
or
"your grandfather made several improvements to the tax code that increase revenue by 10%".
That's forgettable!
Who cares!
Plenty of bureaucrats who had similar training could do the exact same thing!
Andschlatt who listened to the praise of his forefather couldn't stand it.
He wanted to be like his namesake. The Andschlatts who had overthrown the previous monarchy, the Andschlatts who aggressively pursued land domination and force Atlea to bow down.
He didn't want to be the Andschlatt that quietly did nothing.
Andschlatt was a person who didn't particularly care about having to ensure hardship. That was why when he ascended the throne, he soon made a proclamation.
Dungeons were now owned by the kingdom.
It was a simple ploy. To make the adventurers of an arm of the kingdom.
Andschlatt had a goal. To finally force Atlea under their control. Not just gaining land around the forest, Andschlatt wanted to be a conquerer. Enough to be written in the history books as a "notable Andschlatt"
Long had Andschlatt admired the adventurers and their power
He desperately wanted them to join him. Soon they join his ranks. Andschlatt skillfully diverted money to the military and began to develop magical technologies for war.
He recruited the most talented adventurers to be his personal task force.
Always having a flair for theatrics he named them after a common game in Faramouth.
Today Andschlatt was having an audience with one of these adventurers. A man by the name of Yooma who he had sent to recruit new promising talent.
Early on Andshclatt realized his plans were going to take longer than expected he had to overcome hundreds of years of inertia in the government. The people were complacent they didn't desire change and it came slowly.
He was slowly working to change that, but he knew that his proclamation was going to stifle the growth of new adventurers.
This is why he had been ramping up recruitment efforts recently. There were a pair of adventurers that had caught his eye.
They went by the name of Shun Barrows and Anya Merryweather. They were very promising, and he had managed to recruit them through Yooma.
Despite his interest in these two, there was another adventurer who had caught his eye even more. Her name was Kotori Hikki and she had a peculier skill that Andschlatt desperately wanted.
According to Yooma, it was a group enhancement skill.
It was also something that Andschlatt instantly saw the value of. If he got his hands on such a skill, he would be able to boost his armies to incredible levels.
The thought of being able to make the average foot soldier the strength of a strong adventurer was an incredibly attractive prospect.
Not only that she was a powerful spirit tamer in her own right and her companion apparently had ties to the wood elves.
He was sure he could recruit her. Yooma's report had told him she was a child after all, and Andschlatt was sure he could bring to his side. Children were easily tricked.
Many thoughts broiled in his head as he fantasized about all the ways he would use her.
"Prepare for the entrance of the king!" his attendant heralded
"We welcome King Andschlatt 24th of line! The supreme generalissimo of the Faramouth army, The chronicler of the words, Conquerer of Kings, Lord of the Grey, Minister of the good…"
Andschlatt waited while the attendant called out all his "titles" just about every one of them was hereditary. None of them were anything he had earned.
It was a troublesome formality, but he bore with it.
He highly anticipating the visitor today.
It was Yooma and he was coming with another report on the girl.
Andschlatt had spent some time putting a plot to get her indebted to the kingdom. He was planning on using this indebtedness to slowly tie her closer.
Today Yooma appeared to be nervous. Something that displeased Andschlatt since she knew this meant bad news. He could only hope that it was something that could easily be smoothed over with some rewards.
[What do children like? Candy? Maybe I will send a cartful of honey sweets and bait her into the capital] Andschlatt pondered
"Your report Yooma!" He said with a commanding tone. Andschlatt braced himself for bad news
"Yes!" Yooma said then began to give his report
Andschlatt listening to the report growing more and more displeased
According to Yooma the girl had run away, and they were unable to find her.
"What about the slave collar! Shouldn't your associate have tied her to the kingdom through her companion!"
"Well… She broke it"
"She WHAT!" Andschlatts voice was turning into a roar
"We don't know how she did it either," Yooma said
"it seems like she developed a new skill"
Andschlatt was furious. He was about to have Yooma's head lopped off but stopped himself before he could.
"Quickly!" he orders his ministers nearby
"Put a bounty on her head! I don't care what it costs any scrap of information we will pay for!"
"Yes sir!" His financial minister paled.
Andschlatt had thankfully saved up plenty of money for future military affairs. He was happy to dip into that surplus if it meant he could get the girl. In his mind, it was a military investment anyway.