TtOW! - Side Story 35.1: Game of Throne-Crowns, the Rebirth of the Great-High King's Realm (Patreon)

Rattingtale rubbed his paws together as five monster rats lay on their backs.  He went around, pinning them to the ground one by one.

Of course, they had acknowledged his rightful authority as the Great-High King of all the land, as is only good and proper.

And now…now Rattingtale had begun to gather a faction.  It took quite a bit longer than he had anticipated and he had to revise his plans over and over…but now things were finally coming together.  With these new subordinates, he could begin to gather power, grow his domain within that of the strange man-thing.  A new kingdom right underneath the surface of another.

Well, it was regrettable the wretched spider-thing acquired her own faction, but she was no threat.  She may have been dangerous as an individual, but clearly she could not command like the Great-High King.  She was entirely too lazy to rule.  Her faction would not possibly grow at the speed of his own.

One day she would find herself outnumbered and outmaneuvered.  And then…well then the Great-High King would make safe his domain from all dangerous threats.

Of course, all this must be done under the watchful eye of the man-thing.  But Rattingtale was not particularly worried about her.  Yes, she was extraordinarily powerful, and could annihilate him in an instant.  Yes, he technically received his subordinates and factions from her and she would be keeping tabs on their growth.  And yes, she didn’t seem to sleep, eat, or display any sort of the normal man-thing weaknesses.

But she made one, huge, massive mistake.

She left them to their own devices.

She had not seemed to realize the true nature of her relationship with him and the wretched spider thing.  They were her subordinates.  They were sustained by her dungeon core, and bound to it.  She need not ask or account for them at all.  Should she give a command, they were bound to obey it, at least to the letter of the command.

But she had not given them any commands at all.  And every dungeon master knows the subordinates must always be given commands.  They may be bound to the dungeon and bound to obey its master but that did not mean they were loyal.  Which was why every good dungeon master makes clear their relationship with their subordinates, constantly gives commands to ensure they have no time to advance their own agendas.  To leave the two of them idle as this man-thing had was wasteful at best, foolish and dangerous at worst.

And, of course, neither the Great-High King nor the wretched spider-thing thought to correct her on the nature of their relationship.

Now previously it hardly mattered.  The difference in power between him and the man-thing was too great, and he had no resources to his name that could change that.  There was nothing he could accomplish alone.  Likewise, he was weaker than the wretched spider-thing, as well as most of the creatures they encountered.  Even should he overthrow the man-thing, he would have been helpless before the world around him.

But now?

Now his level had started to grow, and he had subordinates to work with.  He could start to make plays.  And should those plays succeed, he would have base of power to build around.

Yes…it was all coming together…

“Command: Friendlies Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third and Lilussees, please gather all subordinates to the hangar’s central area and prepare for mission briefing.”

Rattingtale froze.

The strange man-thing…

Was giving them a command?

How?

Why?

But even as Rattingtale processed this turn of events, he was compelled to obey and his body moved subconsciously.  He gathered his subordinates and proceeded out to the central room, along with the wretched spider-things.  He shuddered at the reminder that there were now more than one of the wretched predators.

As the rats and spiders eyed each other warily, the large screen in the hanger turned on.  Rattingtale blinked.

Instead of displaying what the man-thing saw, it showed some sort of illusion.  There was a checkerboard of different man-thing faces, as well as some sort of transparent image of the city they were located in.

“Statement: This unit will now explain current mission parameters and assign tasks.”

Rattingtale turned to the wretched spider-thing, who also glanced at him.  Both of their eyes were widening.

“Statement: The current primary directive is to locate these persons of interest.  The short-term directive is to establish an intelligence network in this settlement to search for relevant intel.  Friendlies Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third and Lilussees will be lead units for this operation.”

Rattingtale and the wretched spider-thing trembled.

It seemed they made a mistake.

It was not that the strange man-thing wouldn’t give them orders.

It was that she hadn’t seen a need to.

Why would she, after all?  Her incredible power meant they weren’t a threat, even if left to their own devices.  And likewise, her power meant they weren’t particularly helpful either.

Until now, when he had convinced her to give him subordinates under the premise he could help with her goals.

He had not expected she would immediately start giving orders to that effect.

“Addendum: Mission parameters are as follows.  As this settlement is affiliated with other friendlies, hostile actions and force are not permitted, save in the case of self-defense.  All efforts should be taken to maintain covert status and avoid detection, particularly as this unit has observed natural hostility between sapient humanoids and entities designated as ‘monsters’.  Altercations are to be avoided at all costs.  The protocols for specific contingencies are as follows…”

…incredibly detailed orders that precluded certain methods he might take, such as stirring up conflict between her and the other man-things.

…well, she didn’t specify how long he had so he could at least take his time, work beyond her sight in order to brainstorm some…

“Statement: Friendlies Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third and Lilussees will return to give regular reports at these times.  Should a report be missed, this unit will investigate, and provide assistance should friendlies be engaged and in danger.”

…right, she wouldn’t necessarily be watching him exactly, but she would be able to trace his general location through the dungeon-monster bond.  So he would have to keep reporting to avoid suspicion…

…well, he could always claim he misunderstood her strange way of talking…

“Command: If any units require additional elaboration, have not fully comprehended any particular mission parameter, or are aware of any variables this unit has not considered, please inform this unit at this time.”

…this was fine.  The realm of a Great-High King of all the land is not built in a day.  This would be the building phase, where he established himself as a loyal subordinate while building up his faction’s power, so that he would be in the best possible position when he made his move.

It was definitely not the case that he couldn’t think of anything to do under the current restrictions from the surprisingly detailed orders.

Meanwhile the wretched spider-thing was groaning.

“Ugh, this is, like, so much work.  I, like, should’ve just let the snack have his minions alone, or something.”

***

And so the strange man-thing found an empty alleyway, and deployed the monsters.  Rattingtale quickly scurried away from the wretched spider-things, his loyal subordinates following along.

“So, boss-leader, what should we do now, yes yes?”

Rattingtale rubbed his paws together.

“Silence-quiet, the Great-High King must think, yes yes.  And refer to me by my title, yes yes!”

The other rats turned to one another.

“Um, ‘Great-High King’, What about finding-building a burrow, yes yes?  That way we will know where to return-report?”

Rattingtail bopped a curled up paw on the speaker’s head.

“I said silence-quiet, yes yes!  You must follow-obey the Great-High King’s orders, yes yes!”

The rat stepped back, glaring at Rattingtale, but saying no more.

Rattingtale rubbed his face several times.

“I have decided, yes yes.  First, we will construct-build a palace-castle!  That way you will know where to return-report, yes yes!”

The rat monsters all looked at one another, especially at the rat who spoke earlier.

“What are you waiting for?  Go and fulfill-obey my commands, yes yes!”

The rat monsters slowly started to spread out, searching for a good place to establish a burrow.  Meanwhile Rattingtale began to rub his paws together.

“Yes yes….first we shall establish a palace-castle, away from prying eyes!  Fortunately, the strange man-thing did not say anything about the wretched spider-things, no no!  I can still plan-scheme to rid myself of her horrid presence, yes yes!”

Meanwhile one of the rat monsters sighed as a pair of them searched around.

“Why are we listening-obeying him, again?”

The other rat monster just cleaned their whiskers.

“The boss-queen said-commanded so, for some reason, yes yes.  Maybe because he is the highest-strongest level?”

The first rat monster pressed their ears back against their head.

“I hope the boss-queen knows-understands what she’s doing, then, yes yes.”

The other rat monster kept cleaning their whiskers.

“Maybe she does?  Look-peek over there.”

Up on the roof of a nearby building, one of the spiderlings was hanging in a dark corner, watching Rattingtale as he muttered.

“Oh, I see-understand.  The boss-queen is wise, yes yes.”

“We don’t have to tell-inform him of that, yes yes?”

The first rat monster chittered their teeth.

“You heard the ‘Great-High King’.  We should be silent-quiet, yes yes?”

“His wish-desire is our command, yes yes.”

Meanwhile the wretched spider-thing was preparing to fulfill the job that had been assigned to her…by making sure she was in optimal condition and taking a nap.  After delegating the necessary tasks to her subordinates, of course.

Author’s Note:

And so, like, the schemery begins, or something.  I’m sure it will get very far, with the super loyal subordinates that the Great-High King has acquired for himself.  Who definitely don’t think he’s just some random guy they have no particular relationship with or something.

Anyways!

Can the Great-High King of all the land rebuild his domain and gather his forces?  Can he overthrow the mighty tyrant crushing his people under heel?  Can he put a stop to the great evil of the wretched spider-things?  Tune in next time, to find out!