strength and resources against
Redd. The more time that passes, the stronger she will
become.
Therefore, I have decided—very selflessly and courageously—that to ensure a proper future for our world, I must take control of Wonderland as soon as possible. And the Heart Crystal.” “The Heart Crystal?”
It was no secret that the Lady of Diamonds, as well as Wonderland’s other ladies of foremost rank—the Lady of Clubs and the Lady of Spades—wanted to possess the crystal, each believing herself more gifted in imagination than she truly was. “While I don’t claim to gain any strength of body or mind from the crystal,” Arch explained, “its influence over Earth will prove helpful in my charitable endeavors. It’s a burden to care for others more than they care for themselves. But as my intel ministers have informed me, the only way I can prevent Earth from devolving into utter ruination is to take control of it too.” Jack had by now finished off the platters of gryphon wing and dormice snout and was indulging in a heap of sliced dingy-pear to cleanse his palate. Anyone watching him would have thought him too intent on filling his belly to pay attention to the conversation going on around him. But Jack was a talented listener, ever sifting through what he heard for information that, at some time or other, in some way, he might exploit to his own advantage. Swallowing down the last of the dingypear, he eyed Blister. Was this the fellow who’d freed him from the Crystal Mines? “You there,” he said. “Instead of standing around being useless, how about you fill my glass with wine?” Blister’s expression revealed nothing. “Certainly.” The bodyguard made his slow, deliberate way to Jack, reached out to put his hand over Jack’s with the apparent intention of helping to steady the glass as he poured, but— “Leave him, Blister.” To Jack, Arch said, “Believe me, you don’t want his help.” He snapped his fingers and a servant girl hurried in on silent feet to fill Jack’s glass. “I have already unleashed several regiments of fighters that Alyss and her people should find familiar. It’s merely a diversionary tactic, a ploy to focus their military attentions off into the distance so that the bulk of my forces can enter relatively unopposed into Wondertropolis itself. I can forgive your failure, Lord Diamond, only if you do something else for me.”
Ripkins stepped forward and set an exquisitely carved chest the size of a bread loaf before the Lord of Diamonds.
“I want you to present this little item to Homburg Molly.” “It’s beautiful,” whispered the Lady of Diamonds. “Its exterior is nothing compared to what it contains. It’s a small prototype of a weapon I’m developing. A fraction of the strength of what it will ultimately be, but enough to serve my present purposes. Though I warn you all, if you value your lives—”
“Only in so much as they give us power, wealth, and influence,” Jack declared. “—if you value them for any reason, you will not open that chest. You will leave that privilege to Homburg Molly.” Arch leaned back in his chair, letting himself relax, the end of this pertinent business near. “Tell me, Lord Diamond, what do you think of kings?” “I think they make the best sovereigns. Much better than queens.”
Therefore, I have decided—very selflessly and courageously—that to ensure a proper future for our world, I must take control of Wonderland as soon as possible. And the Heart Crystal.” “The Heart Crystal?”
It was no secret that the Lady of Diamonds, as well as Wonderland’s other ladies of foremost rank—the Lady of Clubs and the Lady of Spades—wanted to possess the crystal, each believing herself more gifted in imagination than she truly was. “While I don’t claim to gain any strength of body or mind from the crystal,” Arch explained, “its influence over Earth will prove helpful in my charitable endeavors. It’s a burden to care for others more than they care for themselves. But as my intel ministers have informed me, the only way I can prevent Earth from devolving into utter ruination is to take control of it too.” Jack had by now finished off the platters of gryphon wing and dormice snout and was indulging in a heap of sliced dingy-pear to cleanse his palate. Anyone watching him would have thought him too intent on filling his belly to pay attention to the conversation going on around him. But Jack was a talented listener, ever sifting through what he heard for information that, at some time or other, in some way, he might exploit to his own advantage. Swallowing down the last of the dingypear, he eyed Blister. Was this the fellow who’d freed him from the Crystal Mines? “You there,” he said. “Instead of standing around being useless, how about you fill my glass with wine?” Blister’s expression revealed nothing. “Certainly.” The bodyguard made his slow, deliberate way to Jack, reached out to put his hand over Jack’s with the apparent intention of helping to steady the glass as he poured, but— “Leave him, Blister.” To Jack, Arch said, “Believe me, you don’t want his help.” He snapped his fingers and a servant girl hurried in on silent feet to fill Jack’s glass. “I have already unleashed several regiments of fighters that Alyss and her people should find familiar. It’s merely a diversionary tactic, a ploy to focus their military attentions off into the distance so that the bulk of my forces can enter relatively unopposed into Wondertropolis itself. I can forgive your failure, Lord Diamond, only if you do something else for me.”
Ripkins stepped forward and set an exquisitely carved chest the size of a bread loaf before the Lord of Diamonds.
“I want you to present this little item to Homburg Molly.” “It’s beautiful,” whispered the Lady of Diamonds. “Its exterior is nothing compared to what it contains. It’s a small prototype of a weapon I’m developing. A fraction of the strength of what it will ultimately be, but enough to serve my present purposes. Though I warn you all, if you value your lives—”
“Only in so much as they give us power, wealth, and influence,” Jack declared. “—if you value them for any reason, you will not open that chest. You will leave that privilege to Homburg Molly.” Arch leaned back in his chair, letting himself relax, the end of this pertinent business near. “Tell me, Lord Diamond, what do you think of kings?” “I think they make the best sovereigns. Much better than queens.”