Chapter 20 - Dwarven Palace

When a person pictures a palace, they would normally think of white walls, turrets, luxurious balconies, expensive tapestries, and gold. What I found was very different from expectation. It took over an hour to reach the center of the city on our carriage. Once we approached the palace walls, I started to take it all in. The walls and set of buildings were made of a solid black stone called obsidian. The top and all corners of the black surfaces were covered in a thin green metal. Again, with the mithril. Mana channels were running along all the surfaces. Apparently, the mithril was reinforcing the structural integrity and also contributing greatly to the available mana channels. The reinforced obsidian gate was opened to reveal the palace. The palace was only a single story. It reminded me of a black and green version of Japanese Minka houses with A-frame rooves and glass windows. The largest of the set of buildings seemed to be the place we were approaching. Our carriage stopped outside the large structure, and we exited. I started to feel nervous as I saw a line of royal guards approach us. They were all fully suited in mithril armor and bore mithril spears in hand. They also had swords in their side sheaths, likely made of the same green metal. My mind was starting to hurt after I used Analyze Vision on everything I could see. I was trying to absorb as much information as I could before the king interrogated me. I wanted to know how this world treated other world travelers before I revealed my identity.

Skill Level Increase: Analyze Vision Lv. 4

Skill Level Increase: Engineer Vision Lv. 2

"Cedric, Danika you are safe!" A voice echoed from the grand green entrance of the building. I looked upward to see a relatively tall dwarf at the top of the stairs. He wore green cloth garments that appeared to be quite comfortable. He bore black-green bracers and anklets overtop the clothing. The aging man appeared to have quite a lot of wrinkles on his forehead. His red hair matched his red beard. The hair on his head was thinning a bit with a few grays mixed in. This man looked like the traditional dwarf I had always imagined.

"Welcome to you all. I am King Vastor Shatterfall. I wish to get to know each of you, but first will take a few minutes with my daughter and nephew. Please enjoy our hospitality until we can reconvene in the great hall."

With those words, the king ushered the prince and princess into a side chamber while the rest of us were moved into a small banquet room. There was already an assortment of fruits, meats, cheeses, and other delicacies I could not identify. Using Analyze Vision told me the name of a fruit or nut before me but did not give me any comparison to an Earth equivalent. One fruit looked a great deal like an orange with a white peel. The nearby guards winced when they saw me bite into the fruit that ended up tasting more like a lemon. Dossil quickly came to my side. "You've never had Vatris before? You're supposed to squeeze it on a cracker with the packsen cheese and rugani."

The what with the who now? I quickly caught up with Dossil's suggestion and combined the meat, cheese, cracker, and citrus. The combined flavor was incredible. Flavor mixing was apparently a common event in this society as I observed the beastkin and dwarf mixing various combinations of ingredients before stuffing their mouths. Bliss, my little flower companion, was ever helpful in pointing out the best combinations of ingredients. By copying the others and listening to my little friend, I was soon happily joining the culinary experience. It was about 40 minutes before a couple of royal guards came to escort us to the great hall.

I expected to arrive in a throne room but was pleasantly surprised to find myself in a large dining room. We were ushered to a long table where the king was already sitting at the end. To the king's left were Cedric and Danika with warm smiles on their faces. After Cedric and Danika was a middle-aged woman, I assume to be Cedric's mother, Damire. Two younger girls, the two youngest siblings finished that side of the table. To the right of the king was a thin woman with long red hair. Analyze Vision revealed that she was the Queen, Volobelle Shatterfall. Next to Queen Volobelle were the crown prince and crown princess. They both seemed to be in their mid-teens. Crown Prince Vozzuik was the only one the in the group that did not have a smile on his face. His lips remained in a neutral position while his eyes seemed to glare in my direction. No doubt, the crown prince was not happy to see me. Crown Princess Votelyn was smiling broadly towards me. I decided to use Analyze Vision on the two crown children.

Name: Vozzuik Vastor Shatterfall

Race: Dwarf

Occupation: Crown Prince

Level: 12

Title: Innovator

Highest stat: Charisma

Name: Votelyn Volobelle Shatterfall

Race: Dwarf

Occupation: Crown Princess

Level: 14

Title: *Hidden*

Highest stat: Charisma

It appeared that Votelyn had an artifact that blocked part of my Analyze Vision. At least she is the friendliest of the group. She thanked me multiple times for saving her sister and cousin's lives. Prince Vozzuik was clearly going to be the annoying passenger on this train. Perhaps he is just not a people person?

As my group took our seats across from the king at the long table, I followed the others' example and made a short bow. The king did not seem very concerned over it.

"Come sit down. You are the saviors of my dear niece and nephew. You are owed my sincerest gratitude and respect!"

The king's jovial smile and expression immediately put me at ease. This was the dwarven hospitality I had hoped for. We started to recount more details regarding the rescue of the dwarves and the freeing of the beastkin slaves.

"Could a barrier really be used to release a slave collar? I have never heard of such ingenuity! How can a barrier be made so small to only isolate the gem? Please tell us more of your Barrier skill."

It was the queen that seemed to be fascinated with my abilities. I dodged any specific questions while revealing myself as a barrier expert. When the king asked about my ability to use void storage, I respectfully declined to answer the source of this ability. I did not deny it either, however. There were too many witnesses that observed my skills. Throughout the conversation, Bliss seemed to be cheerfully responding to anyone taking an interest in her. The two young princesses, nieces of the king, were actively trying to play with the little Flowkra. Before I even realized it, the little flower had vines dancing in the air to entertain the children. Prince Vozzuik continued to glare in my direction, with a few furtive glances towards Princess Danika across the table.