Chapter 16

Summoned

After meeting with the very pushy Velnak, the days continued as what was the new normal for the Mutopians, and as they moved into the second week of the third summer month, the days grew even warmer, which made all the more important for both people and crops to stay hydrated.

However, not everyone managed as well as the others.

Inside the inn, Tyroth and James were standing by one of the tables, on which Devina laid sprawled out, her normally pale skin having a much rosier colour.

"Hihihi… I'm melting… I'm melting… I'm gonna be a slushie… yay…" Devina giggled deliriously.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Tyroth asked.

"My knowledge of vampire/werewolf hybrids is… lacking at best, but I think she will pull through without any lasting issues, as long as she gets to cool off." the doctor replied.

"So what are we looking at then? Heatstroke?"

"Something along those lines, I assume. Again, her special nature, especially the undead part, makes her very different from the rest of us, and that's saying something. Regardless, she isn't in her best state of mind right now."

"I can haz cheeseburgers! I c-can haz… all'em cheeseburgerz I wantz!" Devina slurred, flailing her right arm around for a short moment before passing out again.

"So I've noticed. Better put her down in the larder, it's cooler there."

"Agreed."

Said and done, Tyroth picked her up and carried her down to the larder, during which time she regained consciousness again, and giggled like a schoolgirl.

"I'm not that kind of girl… but I can be."

Once she was safely in the larder, Tyroth locked the door behind him, but not before she was able to get one last sentence out.

"Bu-bye, stud! Call me!"

"I'm gonna assume that it's all the heat doing this." Tyroth grumbled as he got back to the ground floor.

"And you would be right." said James. "She seems to be, for all intents and purposes, drunk on sunlight. Probably from working in it for too long."

"She's been trying to help us ever since we got here, and while she's seemed very tired every evening, it didn't seem to have caused her any trouble, despite being part vampire."

"I told her to be careful with the sun and heat, and she promised that she would be. But evidently, she wasn't careful enough, at least not since it got warmer. Must have had a greater impact on her than she thought."

"Better keep an eye on her, so she doesn't do anything stupid in this state. And make sure that she doesn't bite anyone or something."

"I wonder how many other doctors that have to deal with the kinds of patients that I do." James sighed. "I'll check up on her every now and then. And once she's regained her senses, I'll have another talk with her about being careful in the heat."

"And I will try and find something else for her to do."

"Well, sorry to mess up your plans," Ragnir said, having just entered the inn. "but you got other things to do right now."

"Ragnir? What do you mean?" Tyroth asked.

"I just got a message from the king, and he's granted you an audience with him at the castle."

"Already?" James said with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you said it would take eight days to reach the capital, and that Velnak guy only left three days ago."

"Well, it's eight days by foot, less if you go by horse. And if you push them hard enough, you can get from here to the capital in about three days. Messengers usually have horses that can do that. Or they could always use one of these."

From a pouch on his belt, the dwarf pulled out a flat stone half the side of the palm of his hand, with a carving of a face facing left.

"This here is a Sending Stone, and they always comes in pairs. With it you can use the Sending spell, which allows you to send a short message to anyone who has the other half of the pair, no matter where in the world they might be."

"And you just happen to have one?" James asked, holding his chin.

"That I do, and king Samalor has the other one. As soon as I could after Velnak left, I used my stone to send a message to Samalor, giving a short explanation of what happened here, over the last few days at least."

"Right, I remember now." said Tyroth, snapping his fingers. "They can only be used once per day, recharging every dawn."

"That's right, and with a restriction of twenty five words per message, it took a few days to get it all through. At least Samalor knew it's me and could respond through the spell as well, made it all much easier."

"And he wants an audience? With me?" Tyroth asked, wanting to be certain of what the dwarf had said earlier.

"Indeed. You are the leader of this village, after all. The Jarl of Mutopia." Ragnir said in such a way that it sounded more like a quip than a statement, and his grin of a smile didn't sell it as anything else either.

"Fine, guess I should have seen this coming." Tyroth sighed in defeat. "Better prepare for the trip then. I should be able to make it there and back in less than a week if I fly."

"Yeah, that's a big no." Ragnir interjected. "Sure, you could probably do it, but I doubt that they'll even let you through the gates without any form of credentials. They check everyone that comes and goes, and if you're an unknown, you could be there for days before they let you in, especially as you're a half-dragon, they got a pretty bad reputation."

"What do you suggest then?"

"That I come along. All my papers are in order, and I can vouch for you, pull a few strings, and we'll both be in in a few minutes short of half an hour. Besides, you could use a guide in the big city."

"That would be a great help. And I think I should be able to fly there with you too."

"About that, never gonna happen." Ragnir said, crossing his arms. "I got a fear of heights, and flying, from when my group accidentally ticked off a Cloud Giant and he tossed out the window of his castle, which, in case you don't know, was in the CLOUDS, in the SKY!"

The dwarf took a few moments to breath and calm down, as the memories alone had caused him to shake and sweat.

"We'll go with my cart. It will go slightly faster than walking, but we will get there."

"Which means the trip there and back will take nearly three weeks." said James.

"I guess Leo will have his hands full then." Tyroth said with a slight smile. "I hope that he won't run the place into the ground while I'm away. Well, no point in delaying this, I got supplies to pack, and people to talk to before we leave."

"As do I." said Ragnir. "Meet you at the plaza in half an hour?"

"Sounds good."

"You're leaving? And for a couple of weeks at that?" Sephie said, hoping that she had heard wrong as Tyroth had explained the situation to her and Leonardo in the inn.

"I'm afraid so, love. It's not every day that you get an audience with the ruler of the lands. Besides, this was bound to happen eventually, and since we're living on his land, we might as well try and keep on good terms with the kingdom."

"We understand, Tyroth." said Leonardo. "But I'm not entirely sure that we should trust Ragnir with this. I mean, what evidence do we have that he actually got a message from the king, or even know him?"

"Nothing but his word right now, and I'll admit that the thought have crossed my mind as well. And there are other things that doesn't make sense either." Tyroth said as he kept packing the things he would need. "But so far, he's only been a help to us, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. However, as soon as we're a couple of days away from Mutopia, I'll confront him about it all. So if you see the horizon burning, you know why."

"You sure that you'll be okay, hun? I do not want to risk becoming a widow, I can't take that." Sephie said, and in response, Tyroth cupped her cheeks and looked her in the eyes.

"Don't worry, love. This world might be dangerous, but so am I, and I will be careful. If things get too dicey, I'll fly away quick as the wind."

The two exchanged a kiss, before Tyroth had to start packing.

"I hope that the two of you won't have too much trouble while I'm gone."

"Everyone is pretty much managing on their own at the moment." said Leonardo. "They got used to the work that needed to be done pretty quick, especially you original Mutopians."

"I'm not surprised, they are all pretty self sufficient."

"Oh! Before you leave, love." Sephie quickly hurried off to another room and came back with a small pouch, which she handed to her lover. "Here, I think you should take the gems we have left, in case you need to buy something or find something that we might need here."

"Good thinking, Sephie." said Leonardo. "While he does that, we'll keep the gold, just in case, and the silver, since they're illegal as they are right now. I don't think any traders will come by, but you never know."

"True that. Well, I'd better be going then. Best of luck to you all." Tyroth said, putting the sack he packed over his shoulder.

"You too, love. Come back soon."

A little while later, Tyroth and Ragnir were on their way to the capital, Berstolia, with the majority of Mutopia seeing them off and wishing them a safe journey.

And as the duo started to vanish from sight in the distance, people returned to their tasks.

But shortly after, Leonardo was approached by Jack.

"Can you believe it, Leo? The boss is off on a diplomatic mission." the wolf said. "Never thought I'd see that."

"Neither did I, Jack. But, it's a new world, with new rules. But I guess that's our life now."

"Speaking of life, I heard that Mikey and Kate have already picked out a house of their own, so I'm guessing they're getting ready for a long life here."

"Is that so?" Leonardo said with a warm smile. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Those two are nearly inseparable."

"Yet another thing that I never thought I'd see. Kate getting a boyfriend, that is. But Mikey's a good guy, and it's gotten clear that the two of them do belong together. Bet you're happy for your little brother."

"That I am, Jack. It wasn't an easy start for them, but they prevailed."

"Makes for quite the story. And I bet we'll get even more, especially with how many surprises this world might have in store for us." Jack said and smiled. Then he raised one eyebrow as a thought formed in his mind. "Speaking of surprises, I think I got an idea for something that we can do for the boss."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Listen to this, how about we gather up some folks, and start working on fixing up a house for Big T and his family? As a surprise."

"That's an excellent idea! And I think I know just the house for them." Leonardo said, snapping his fingers.

"Awesome! Then we just need the right people, and to keep this on the quiet, even from Tyroth's family. Don't wanna spoil the surprise for them either."

"Right. Now let's see here… who would be-"

"Heeeelp!" an all too familiar voice echoed throughout the village, interrupting Leonardo's train of thoughts.

His and Jacks eyes quickly followed the sound to it's source, as did virtually everyone else within earshot, and found it to be a certain rat, who seemed to be stuck at the very top of the large spruce tree that grew in the middle of the plaza.

"Rattletrap?! What's he doing up there?!"

"No idea, Leo. But we'd better try and get him down before someone decides to start throwing stuff at him."

"Right, we don't want him to get hurt."

"Actually, I was thinking so that we don't loose something that we might need in the future."

"… Fair point."

As the duo hurried over to the tree, one thing was certain.

Life would never be boring for the Mutopians.

Now things are starting to take off, with Tyroth being summoned by the King no less. Wonder if Leo knew that was a possibility when he and the others elected Tyroth their leader? Who knows, but he and Jack seem to have some plans for the future, can't wait to see what they manage to do.

And as per usual, Rattletrap keeps getting himself into trouble. The rat just can't catch a break.

We'll see when the next chapter comes out, what, with the problems of the world as it is, and more directly, the fact that my trusty old laptop seems to be starting to break down. Hopefully, it's something that some updates or fixes can sort out, otherwise I'll have to get a new one sooner than I would have wanted.
Regardless, stay safe out there.