Danmachi- Hell’s Forge

We only ended up waiting a couple more minutes before a patrol of the Ganesha familia showed up and hauled off the thief. The sun had started to go down as it was past noon by a couple of hours. Not by much mind you but it was on a downward arc none the less. 

"Now for our next location I've gone ahead and booked the place entirely. this time we are not overdressed." I said with a grin as I led the way.

"Demeteria?" she asked with a slightly disappointed look.

"Don't give me that look, it's not my fault Demeter owns the premier restaurant in Orario. Plus I did book the whole place for the day so it's just us and the staff here." I said and she nodded since I had a point.

I could understand here reluctance in this matter as Demeter was easily considered one of the most beautiful goddesses despite beauty not being her domain. She was actually one of the gods in charge of the harvest, grain and growth. She had wheat colored hair and a "bountiful" set of curves that gave her a milfy look.-

Anyways we headed into the large marble building that had been cleared of all other tables and chairs save a single table and two chairs in the center of the large ballroom.

"Will you be dining immediately or would you like some time to yourselves?" A server in a fancy suit asked with a smile as we seated ourselves.

"We'll take some time to ourselves, bring out a bottle of your finest wine though." I said and the server bowed before leaving.

"Wine? I thought you couldn't be effected by alcohol?" Freya said confused.

"Oh I can't but it's not for me to begin with." I said with a grin.

"I doubt the wine they will provide is better than what I usually drink." she said and I shrugged.

"Does it need to be? We aren't here for the wine but rather each other so even if it was poor quality wine I see no reason why it matters." I said with a wink and she smiled widely with a slight blush.

"Don't you just have the smoothest tongue?" she said happily.

I chuckled "When I want to. Now then I have a little surprise for you that I prepared just for today, I'm quite happy with how it turned out." I said as I reached into my bag.

She leaned forward with an intrigued and interested look as I dug around in my bag till I found what I was after. I pulled it out and set it on the table right in the center. At first glance it appeared to be an ornate box about six inches thick and two feet long and wide. On it's surface was carved numerous types of weaponry and people in different combat poses. The face of the box showed an image of her crest in bright shining dungeon amethyst and gold.-

"It's quite pretty but I can't see what's so special about it otherwise." she said as she looked it over.

I just grinned and pressed the well hidden button in the center of her crest and with a loud "click!" the internal mechanism unlocked. I then pushed on the lid that had popped up slightly and the box opened up. Inside the box appeared to be a plain mix of black and white sand as well as two shiny orbs of crystal on either side that were Red and blue respectively.-

"Put your hand on the orb there and say "field set" and watch what happens." I say with a wide grin as I place my own hand on the opposite orb.

She seems intrigued by this as the box of sand was clearly not as simple as it first appeared and she did as I said "Field set." she spoke and the sand began to swirl violently.

The white sand and the black sand separated and the white sand went to her side of the box and the black sand to my side. The sands then began to shift until small "people" appeared and moved about on there colored side of the board randomly with seemingly no purpose.-

"What is this?" Freya asked with wide eyes at the spectacle.

"Welcome to the war board where you can simulate familia growth and wargames to a degree using your imagination so long as you follow the rules. The rules are written here on the bottom of the lid but i'll explain them personally this time. First all of the "people" under your control start the game at level one and need to be improved by you actively through one of three methods. The first is battle against either your own opponents or your own "people". When your "person" gets a "kill" they can grow stronger and with enough "kills" "level up" this is the fastest but also riskiest." i said pausing to let her process that before continuing.-

"The second method is via "training" once the "person" trains long enough they can "level up". This is the slowest but safest method. Finally you can grow your "people" by conquest. This means invading your opponents side of the board and converting their sand into your color. If you conquer the entire board you win. The more you conquer the more "resources" you have so the easier your "people" "level up". This is neither slow or fast and has varying degrees of danger to yourself based on your opponents strategy." I explained while pausing again to let her absorb this information.

"All of the "people" are physical type adventurers since I couldn't quite figure out how to simulate spells. The win conditions are quite simple really as well. The first is complete conquest but this is the hardest to achieve since your opponent will likely be forced to a different win condition before this can happen. The second condition is extinction where you wipe out every "person" on your opponents side as you have a set amount and can't get more "people" this is going to be the most common win condition achieved. Finally is surrender which should need no explanation I would hope. Everything I have said can be done by mentally commanding your "people" I said with a smile.