Chapter One Hundred and Eighty. Guess who's coming to dinner.

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty. Guess who's coming to dinner.

"The King is coming here?" Bob asked.

"I don't think that he's angry," Nora offered.

Bob took two deep, calming breaths. The King was coming to Glacier Valley. He would need to keep Lt. Conolel Smith away from him, which shouldn't be too difficult, as Bob had been successful in his avoidance of the grumpy newly-reincarnated man.

He knew the King probably wasn't going to burn Glacier Valley to cinders. The problem wasn't so much the would, as the could. If the King was delving the deepest floors of the Dungeon in Harbordeep, that would put him at level eighty-three, which was tier nine territory.

"Ok," Bob muttered as he reached up to stroke Monroe. "I'll talk to Mike and make sure no one is around. Can you do the same for the Endless?"

"I can try," Nora said doubtfully, "but I think if they knew the King was coming, they might all want to try and get a glimpse of him."

"Just how big is he?" Bob asked suddenly. "And how is he getting here?"

He might have to tell the Marines not to shoot at the huge Dragon. He buried his fingers in Monroe's ruff.

"I think the Gateway at the Temple?" Nora offered.

"As long as he's not flying in," Bob shook his head. "Did I not give him enough crystals?" Bob asked rhetorically.

"Maybe you gave him too many," Nora replied, "he asked if you knew that you only had to take his tax out of the crystals you collected, and when I explained that you were collecting all of them, he asked how people were leveling up."

"So I told him you were giving people the crystals to level, but you were making sure you paid all your taxes on the crystals that were collected," she finished.

Monroe had begun to purr under Bob's idle petting, and the rumble helped to soothe Bob's frayed nerves.

"He said tomorrow at dawn?" Bob wanted to confirm.

Nora nodded.

"Alright, well, here is to hoping he doesn't wipe us off the map," Bob grumbled.

"So, Chris agreed to come to do the setup, although I can't nail him down on staying to run it," Jack sipped his wine.

"I'm glad to hear that," Oscar replied, "it's always nice to work with people you already know."

"Speaking of which, you should have received the funds for the equipment purchase an hour or so ago," Jack tugged at the collar of his shirt. He'd gotten used to the much cooler temperatures in Holmstead and Glacier Valley. Springtime in LA could get rather warm.

"I did, and I've managed to arrange to take some time off for the project in a week," Oscar replied, "which raises the question of if you'll have the tower up by then?"

Jack frowned. The impending wave had put that plan on pause. Well, that and the job of building the first tower in Glacier Valley, but he was pretty sure that Stavin was almost done there if he hadn't already completed it.

"There is a sort of flood that happens twice a year, which is due in a couple of days," Jack hedged, "the locals are used to it, and they keep it contained, but it does pretty much put everything on hold for a few days before, and the day after. Construction and hangovers, respectively," he explained.

"Let me know by the end of the week, yeah?" Oscar offered, "If it's not finished, I'll spend a few days in Vail."

"Sounds good," Jack agreed.

He looked his friend over. Oscar had been a friend ever since Jack had been in college. Despite being a good twenty years his senior, Oscar had a zest for life that resonated with him, and they'd gone skiing, surfing, hiking, and even hang-gliding together. They'd had a brief fling, but they were both too dedicated to their work to make a real go of it, and they'd parted as even better friends than they'd been before.

"Mike," Bob acknowledged him with a nod as he spooned up a mouthful of the stew from the bowl he'd brought with him to the table.

Mike had finished his own bowl half an hour ago and grinned at the happy grunt Bob exuded.

"They really stepped it up with the spices brought over from Earth," Mike agreed, "it's a lot less bland, and that rosemary brings out the flavor of the Oxcipine."

Bob nodded as he finished chewing and swallowed. "It's delicious," he agreed before turning his gaze to SecDef. "I'm guessing you're the Secretary of Defense?" Bob asked.

Mike was pleased to note that there wasn't any hint of animosity in his voice. He'd been a little worried that Lt. Colonel Smith had soured the well.

"I am," SecDef responded with a forced smile, "and I gather you're Robert Whitman, the man who made us aware of the upcoming trouble?"

Bob nodded, spooning up more stew.

"I was hoping to ask a few more questions, pick your brain a bit," SecDef said, and Mike was surprised to see how... engaging the man was being. He still showed traces of annoyances at having had to wait, but it was clear he was able to set that aside in order to have a civil, possibly even friendly conversation with Bob.

Bob made a motion with his empty spoon for SecDef to continue.

"So, I've accepted that this 'Magic' is real, and I can clearly see how it will result in a post-scarcity economy," SecDef began, "setting aside the issue of individuals accumulating real, actual power, I have to ask this one question." SecDef leaned forward slightly. "How do you know not only that the Apocalypse is coming, but exactly when it's going to happen?"

Mike saw Bob wince. The man would make a terrible poker player.

"I was born in Los Angeles," Bob paused, and then said, "I was born a woman."

Mike grimaced as he felt the wrongness of that statement as if the universe itself was shouting that Bob was lying.

"What the hell was that?" SecDef asked as he shook his head.

"I've under a magical effect that prevents me from telling lies," Bob explained, "or rather, it makes certain that people know when I'm lying. So understand that when I say the sky is lime green," Mike and SecDef both winced as that feeling returned, "I'm doing so to illustrate that I can't lie to you."

"That being said, I'm not going to tell you how I obtained that information. I will share the information itself," Bob clarified, "but not the source."

SecDef leaned back, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Alright, so let's say we take on faith that you're correct, or at least that you believe you are," SecDef began, "I've been appraised of your plan to bring people over here from Earth to wait out the monsters. You've provided extraordinary evidence to back up your claims, so I'm willing to move forward with the assumption that you are right."

"Your plan, if viewed from your background, is wildly ambitious," SecDef continued, "however, when viewed from the perspective of the United States government, it's far too little." With a shake of his head, SecDef went on, "Even with the ability to stack people up like bricks in stasis, this valley and its attendant monster farms represent less than a tenth of the population of the United States, to say nothing of our allies around the globe."

SecDef leaned forward again, attempting, and Mike noted with amusement and failing to pin Bob with his gaze.

"How large is this landmass?" SecDef asked.

Bob finished chewing slowly, his mind working. "I'm not sure," he confessed, "I know we're about two hundred miles to the east of Holmstead, and a hundred miles to the north, maybe. I know Holmstead is three hundred miles or so away from Harbordeep, which is the capital of the Kingdom that holds claim to the continent, and it's on the coast, and maybe another hundred miles to the south."

SecDef grimaced. "Yes, this 'Kingdom,'" he said, "I understand from Sergeant Hanson that you've entered into a leasing arrangement?"

Bob nodded. "Five percent of the Mana Crystals pulled from the Dungeon are the King's rightful due, and I've arranged another five percent as a means of leasing the land we are building on."

"Not being fully versed in an economy where the currency is not only fungible but is actually consumable, I'm not sure if that is inexpensive or highway robbery," SecDef muttered.

"Well," Bob hesitated, and Mike narrowed his eyes, "the King is coming to see me tomorrow morning, so if you'd like, you can meet him?"