Ball of Nothing

King Darius wasn't just a fool, he looked like a stereotypical foolish king too. He had a round face and a rounder belly. He was short for a dwarf and had a child-like appearance. King Darius wasn't very handsome and if he wasn't adorned in fine clothes befitting the royal family, Zero would think that he was a wastrel. His hair and moustache were curly and Truen's ear twitched when the King's nasally voice rang out in the throne room.

"The both of you are envoys from Magnus Hilda?"

Zero and Truen bowed humbly out of courtesy but not respect for the dwarven king. Truen studied the ministers standing in the room and eyed the one that was a chancellor who wore a monocle and stood beside the king. If he wasn't mistaken, that will be the man they had to convince and the greatest obstacle in their way.

"We have not heard word from Magnus Hilda in a long time. How is Queen Rosalind and King Richard doing?" the chancellor smiled diplomatically but without warmth. It was clear that he still didn't trust the identity of the two wood elves who claimed to be envoys. If it wasn't for the letter from Queen Rosalind vouching for their identity, Truen had a feeling they would have been ordered to be executed on sight.

King Darius did not hide his distaste for elves and folded his arms with a huff. Zero smiled charmingly and explained that the Majesties of Magnus Hilda were slowly recovering but they sent envoys over in search for a master crafter who was able to build a divine statue for worship. Truen was proud that Zero didn't reveal more information than necessary about how the plague was cured or why the giants suddenly required a statue of Freya to be commissioned. He left the dwarves to their own speculation about a divine intervention saving the giant race.

"We heard that there is a dwarf with the blessing from the God of Art by the name of Dorgon Flintstock and we wish to invite him back for the job," Truen explained and at once, King Darius looked guilty.

The chancellor remained cool and bowed in apology. "It isn't that we do not wish to help our friends the giants. However, Dorgon Flintstock has gone missing for a few months now and we do not know of his whereabouts. If you need a crafter, we have many skilled crafters in the crafting guild that you can choose from. It isn't a problem to send all the crafters to Magnus Hilda either if this could save the giants."

Zero sighed disappointed much to the chancellor's surprise. It was not common to see such an undignified response from official envoys. What Zero did was extremely rude and Truen quickly apologised on his 'sister's' behalf.

"What troubles you, my lady?" the chancellor asked and ignored Truen's apology. It was a direct question for confrontation and Zero was counting on it.

"My dear chancellor, it worries me to not be able to find the legendary crafter. I'm afraid the giants will not be able to tide through this disaster now even after I did my best to cure them of the plague."

Hearing that Zero was the doctor who cured the giants of the plague, King Darius' eyes lit up.

"Young lady, you said you cured the giants of the plague. Are you telling the truth? No doctors or magicians have ever been able to do it until now. Can you cure any kind of illness?"

Truen gave Zero a slight smile and played along with him. They rehearsed this before and now that King Darius had taken the bait, it was time to push sell Zero's miraculous skills as a healer and miracle doctor.

The chancellor seemed dubious even though the king was convinced. As expected, the chancellor was the hardest wall to get past. Zero smiled and said that he heard about Princess Dorothy's dilemma.

"My King, there is actually no need to starve the poor citizens. If you want princess Dorothy to become a great beauty, I have a method but it would take a while. Since my brother will take some time to find Dorgon Flintstock, could I offer my services in exchange for your help to locate the missing master crafter?"

King Darius was about to agree but the chancellor interrupted. "Why should we trust you? Just because you've helped the giants doesn't mean that we should believe the words of an elf!"

Zero blinked. "Chancellor, we may be elves but we do not hail from Altear. The elves hate us as much as they hate dwarves. My brother and I have been travelling around to survive from a young age. He is a gifted warrior and I am a gifted healer. I can prove that my abilities to cure the plague isn't a lie."

"And how will you do that?" the chancellor challenged.

Zero smiled. "Easy. The princess is currently dieting to become slimmer. I have prepared some slimming potions. You can test it out on someone who is overweight and see if they slim down within three days. However, the potion's effect is only temporary. To transform Princess Dorothy into a great beauty, I need more time for the effects to be permanent."

A guard stepped forward to take the slimming potion from Zero and the doctor smirked. The chancellor decided to give the healer a try. If Zero succeeded, Rocket Mountain could stop with the dieting. If she failed, there would be no loss for them either. He would just send the scam siblings away.

"How long will it take you to transform Princess Dorothy into a great beauty?" King Darius asked.

Zero looked at Truen then back to the king. "How long will it take for your majesty to help my brother find Dorgon Flintstock?"

The chancellor smirked. "A month or two. Aren't you in a hurry to get back to Magnus Hilda?"

The doctor wasn't deterred. In fact, Zero raised to the occasion. "I'm afraid this isn't something that can be rushed. We need Dorgon Flintstock to come back with us and build the Freya statue no matter what. If the kingdom of Rocket Mountain can assist us with the search, I can transform Princess Dorothy into a great beauty in a month."

Seeing that Zero wasn't willing to back down, the chancellor agreed to the conditions and told the envoys to return to the inn while they tested the effects of the slimming potion.

"If the potion works, we will contact you again to sign a legal document of the agreement. Thank you for coming all the way, guards! Please see our esteemed guests out."

As Zero and Truen left the throne room, King Darius eyed the slimming potion. "Who shall we test it on?"

With an evil smile, the chancellor grabbed the slimming potion and the guards turned away. Should the slimming potion be poison, nobody would shed a single tear for the king except maybe Princess Dorothy but it would be a worthy cause. A single death of a fool to bring back peace to Rocket Mountain was a great deal indeed.