Photo by Nik Owens on Unsplash
Photo by Pablo Pacheco on Unsplash

Links to the original post and the story so far (in order) can be found in the Tale of Two Pizza's Archive Post

We had a slow week in Tale of Two Pizzas again this week! With @wrestlingdesires the only entry I don't have much judging to do or decision making about which entry(s) to include in next weeks plotline so instead I'll be combining my normal winners post into the next week's contest post as well! See below the delivery pic's for the continuation of our storyline!

Check out this weeks entries here :
@wrestlingdesires/mind-control-and-pizza
@wrestlingdesires entry revealed some kind of truth about the monster(demon?) that was summoned some weeks ago and witnessed by poor Cyril in the swamps while questing for Olives. It clearly has attached itself to him in some way and is exerting influence over his mind and body! With all of the other developments of a supernatural nature in Tale of Two Pizza's I guess these sorts of things have come to be expected! Mostly I'd like to find out more about this Pizza Initiative of Danny's that we haven't heard anything about yet!

Winners delivery pics

Congratulations!
Since this week we only had one Entry again Please see below for the next section of our story and Contest Post!

"It was called the Pizza Initiative, Delilah, and it has been a goal of mine since before you were born. Something that the Solar Baron before me was a part of... It is a major part of why he chose me to be his successor. It wasn't called the Pizza Initiative at first. Your mother here was part of it as well! In fact it was how we met. You see..." Danny gazed lovingly at Tolcetta as he spoke, then met Delilah's eyes, struggling for the right words to explain.

"There was a group that went through the fall together." Tolcetta interjected, "they managed to survive without attacking others, without stealing or fighting whenever possible. The Solar Baron was among them... Before he became the Baron. They formed the core of the Initiative. Your father and I discovered them and joined much later for our own reasons. After things started to settle down and people were able to start trying to scrape a living again the group split up in order to form a network that could guide our world back towards peace... Protect people from those who would continuing stealing and fighting just because they could! Several of them became powerful leaders..."

"That's right Delilah," Charlie said, "we all went our separate ways and did what we could to influence things towards peace. We maintain contact regularly with messages and meetings. Some of us have been working for peace and prosperity for a very long time!"

"Y...You were a part of the Pizza Initiative?" Delilah asked. Mirabel what do you think of all this

Hush, child I am listening! The voice came back absently- she was clearly enthralled by the idea.

"Yes, we all were, but I was there from the start. Knew the Solar Baron before he was a Baron, and of course Danny here as well! Listen now! It's important!" Charlie replied kindly.

"Your Father and I both joined around the same time- purely by chance. We had each heard whispers of a secret group pulling the strings behind certain events- the rise of the Solar Baron for example- and wanted to put a stop to them. The rumors of course all said that this group was sinister and evil in its intent and plans. I managed to discover one of their members living in the Solar Baron's estate... I stole a message to confirm it and then followed him to a meeting. It was Charlie... and he had led me there on purpose!"

Charlie chuckled. "You weren't nearly as sneaky as you thought you were Tolcetta! But I knew you had the right intentions so I led you there knowing you would join us one way or another!" He smiled fondly at her and looked at Danny to continue the tale.

"As for me... well I was a bit sneakier... but not as subtle! I investigated the Solar Baron directly, traced his messengers to the strangest people... Why was the Solar Baron sending regular messages to a Stablehand in the Fruit Baron's estate? What business could he possibly have with the herbalist that lives in a hut on the Shore outside of Laketown? I was young and foolhardy and thought I could intimidate them. I confronted several members of the group about their dealings with the Solar Baron. They were wary of me at first and kept me at arms length. I persisted and eventually they let me into the fold. I met your mother there at one of the meetings. Neither of us knew the scale of it. We were both curious, hopeful, and intrigued."

They seem to be telling the truth Mirabel purred into Delilah's mind.

How can you tell???*

Just look at the three of them! They care for each other- especially your mother and father. All three of them are enjoying being able to talk about it openly as well!

"Once we started going to the meetings it was impossible not to be filled with hope! All those people working for change from all parts of the country- even some from other parts of the world! It was amazing! At first it seemed like we would manage to change things, to really make a better world after the atrocities of the fall and the years after... Of course... It wasn't that simple." Danny's face grew dark.

"Something changed. We had great success for the first year or two after we joined the Initiative. But then seemingly out of nowhere we saw bandits and thieves rise, Barons began to take advantage of their people and treat them like slaves. Fighting broke out again... The Solar Baron called for many of us to join him in order to protect who we could. That's when your father and I began to fall in love. We both lived here on the estate. I worked with Charlie in the kitchens and Danny worked directly with the Solar Baron. Other Baron's pushed us, manipulated us. We had to defend ourselves and protect our hopes!" There was fire in Tolcetta's eyes as she spoke, and it only grew more intense as she looked back and forth from Danny to Delilah.

"There was some force moving against us, Delilah. Something or someone or a group of people began to undo the work we had been doing. Started rumors about me and the Solar Baron and the work we were doing. We believed deeply in what we were doing. Your mother made a sacrifice... we made a sacrifice..." Danny looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"I left. Even though we were in love. I went to the Fruit Baron and found a job there. We needed to know who was manipulating him and how they knew so much about our plans! I did nothing to attract his attention. Poor Frederick. He fell in love with me and would not leave me alone! His wife Selene noticed... Of course she noticed! Everyone knew! But we were never in love and never together!"

"He insisted that they get married! He planned to leave Selene and have Tolcetta as his wife instead. So she left. She brought some information back with her... some suspicions... but not enough! And the situation with Frederick was dire. He intended to start a war with the Solar Baron over Tolcetta. I have never quite figured out why... I believe your mother when she says that nothing ever happened between them. But I have also seen the fervor in Fredericks eyes over this. While he was threatening war and blustering through negotiations with the Baron, your mother fell pregnant with you Delilah... Somehow Frederick heard about it and demanded that both Tolcetta and you be turned over to him at once. He marched an army up to the gates and we did not yet have the strength to turn him back. We had no choice... Everyone in the town would have died if we had refused... So... He took you home with him... Your mother left for Italy shortly after... Eventually I became the next Baron. We managed to forge something of a new peace with my Pizza trading and the change of tactics. That is how we grew into the Pizza Initiative."

How could they let him take me like that? Delilah thought to Mirabel. A tear rolled down her cheek and she hugged the cat close to her chest.

Think about it little one! Would you have hundreds dead so that you could have had your real family? Were Frederick or Selene really that bad?
Delilah shook her head and took a deep breath. No... I would have done what they did... It still hurts though
The three adults were looking at her with concern. Tolcetta leaned close and attempted to hug her. Delilah wasn't quite ready for that yet. She pulled away but met her eyes and smiled wanly.

"I'm ok. No really I am. I am still a little lost though." She waved away a proffered handkerchief from Charlie. "I still don't actually see how I fit into all of this now... Why was telling me all of this so important?" She looked at each of them in turn. She could see there was something they still were not telling her.

Mirabel hopped down from Delilah's lap and turned to sit and look up at her.

I suppose it is my turn to tell the truth now...

.

In the Oil Baron's office an exhausted Cyril sat drenched in cold sweat. His jaw ached from the monumental effort of fighting to stop it moving... to no avail. He could only remember bits of the last hour. He had said things he had not even known himself until the voice spoke through him... secrets and details of the Pizza Initiative that shocked him. He was dimly aware that the force that had moved his mouth and held him motionless in the chair had released him... at least for now.

Mr Preda was on his feet, pacing behind the desk. Occasionally glancing at the half conscious boy. Cyril was too exhausted to move.

What have I done He thought to himself miserably.

WE HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN TO HAVE FUN DEAR BOY... YOU WILL LEARN TO ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE... IN TIME...

Cyril groaned and Mr Preda looked up sharply.

"What are you?" He asked Cyril.

"I... I..." The force seized his jaws and spoke again.

"I AM WHAT WILL WIN THIS WAR FOR YOU...."

Cyril slumped in the chair and passed out as Mr. Preda stood frozen and staring at him once more.

The rules for this week remain the same as previous weeks!

I'd like to continue building on the story of the Pizza Baron and his post apocalyptic world. Each week I'll pick a winner that becomes the next piece of the story and wins 20 $PIZZA and a 2 SBI sponsorship from me. I may award additional prizes if I feel multiple entries expand the story well.

Each week I'll write a post announcing the winner and then I will write another chunk of the story and open it up again for the next weeks competition. I'll compile the winning entry for each week. If we reach a conclusion of the epic tale of the Pizza Baron I'll divide another TBD amount of PIZZA among all the winning entries throughout the whole story and publish the finished story here on Hive with all the contributors as beneficiaries. If this goes well we might have the first open source blockchain novella on our hands! 😂

The first weeks contest established a secondary storyline that may be tied back into the main plot if you so wish!

Bear in mind this is an experiment as well as a competition so we will see how many entries I get and how well it goes!

Rules:

Entries must be more than 200 words but less than.

Entries must use the hivepizza tag

Entries must comment on this post with the link to their entry

Entries must fit in the world/scenario that has developed from the previous weeks contest(s). You are free to develop characters, introduce new ones, invite aliens to the feast, I don't care as long it makes some kind of sense in the context! The Pizza Baron should remain relevant to the plot!
(I've named it a Tale of TWO Pizza's for a reason HINT HINT)