Waiting to hear whether or not the stone wolves had finished of the remaining goblin camp wasn't exactly how Logan wanted to spend the next week or so. Especially with the dwarves essentially having a back door into his territory via the underground tunnels. Still, it was important to finish one fight before starting another. The idea was to ultimately create a buffer zone around the sanctuary wide enough that any threat would be detected long before they became a danger to those under his protection. Unfortunately, since he couldn't actually see outside his territory, he needed to make the buffer zone wide enough to allow the human to spot and report the threat. Perhaps he was being overly cautious, but he didn't know where any other dungeon was so it's not like he could go on the attack even if he wanted to.

Meanwhile, the newcomers were still getting use to how things worked inside the sanctuary. Since Cid was the only one who could actually see the border they had to be shown how to spot the borders of the sanctuary by observing the creatures within it. Not that it was hard to spot under certain weather conditions do to the unusually perfect weather that persisted inside the sanctuaries border. Many of them still seemed more surprised by the existence of a human government that anything else. As they took on the roles they chose however, they were slowly warming up to the idea that there could be more to life than simple survival.

Eventually Logan got word that the stone wolves had successfully finished off the rest of the goblins and the survivors were heading back. This was great news as it meant he could finally put his plan into action. Without even waiting for the surviving stone wolves to get back he sent an army of normal spider swarms into the underground tunnels towards the dwarves. He didn't really expect them to do much however his hope was that catching them off guard would mean that they aren't exactly ready for combat. Well, aside from a few possible guards. This was only the start however. His plan was to sew confusion and paranoia among the dwarves. To that end he ordered a few of the swarms to break off from the main army, hopefully unseen, once they arrived and go hide themselves within the dwarven camp waiting in the shadows for lone dwarves to wonder by.

The next day he sent an army of big spider swarms giving them the same instructions, followed by an army of really big spider swarms the day after that. This trend continued for a few more days. Hopefully creating an unhealthy fear of the dark among dwarves. After sending the really giant spider swarms though he decided to change things up and send an army of two headed snakes by way of the surface since all of their attention would by then be focused on the underground tunnels. After that though he goes back to sending the spider waves each day. The rest of the spider swarm armies should have an easier time than they would otherwise since now the dwarves will be trying to guard the tunnel entrances while also keeping an eye out for attacks from the surface after the surprising two headed snake attack. Unfortunately, he will need to actually send someone into the dwarf camp at some point and have them survive long enough to report back. Right now, he has no idea if the previous week's worth of attacks will even make a dent in the dwarf population. By his estimate the camp should be nearly cleared out by the time the last attack reaches the dwarves. At the end of the day however, there is only one way to be sure.

After Logan discusses it with Cid who in turn discusses it with Joel and Siobhan, they decide to send the army to investigate. A single recon unit would be at too great a risk because of how enclosed the camp is. They would need to get way to close to gather any usefully intelligence which could be bad if the worst-case scenario turns out to be correct and the attacks barely did anything to their numbers. Sending the army comes with its own risks though as the army's utter defeat would make the remaining humans unable to properly defend themselves much as when they first arrived. It would also result in a dramatic drop in genetic diversity. Not that he is certain he ever had enough genetic diversity for a stable population. In fact, the more he thinks about it the more worried he becomes so he eventually sends dagger tusks, razer tusks, and dire wolves in that order, making sure to remind them not to kill any humans. Not that he thinks they will, but he can't give them orders directly while they are away.

The Human army leaves around the same time as the dire wolves. He wants to send more creatures, but he also doesn't want to leave the sanctuary defenseless. As safe as he feels right now the last thing the people under his protection need is for him to get complacent. Besides if there are human slaves in the dwarf camp, and he has every reason to believe that there are, it would be best if they were rescued by other humans rather than whatever creature he sent. Especially considering what must be happening there right now. By his estimation the really giant spiders should be getting there sometime today. Meaning that the poor confused slaves are likely wondering when they will be the spiders next victim. That is of course assuming the spiders are making it past the front line of defenders at all.

If he's successful there should then be a roughly 200 Kilometer safe zone around his sanctuary. Large enough that anything approaching will be spotted long before it reaches the sanctuary. The terrain itself will slow enemy advance to a relative crawl. That's the idea anyway. He knows the dwarves aren't going to just roll over but that's why he went so hard on the offence. Only time will tell if it was enough. All he can do now is wait which one would think he'd be an expert at by now. He could expand but he likes getting multiple expansions at once plus he realizes it's probably a good idea to have some reserve mana in case he ever needs to manually summon creatures. He hasn't needed to since he realized the spawners could automatically spawn creatures but he still can.

Just over two weeks later one of the flying recon teams reports that the army is on its way back having suffered not a single casualty. Apparently, earth mages underground, surrounded by rock, is kind of an instant win. There just isn't much runes can do when the walls around you, the ceiling over your head, and floor under your feet are all actively trying to kill you. Unfortunately, the news wasn't all good. As a result of the dwarves' habit of selling slaves to other races there were around 41 children under 5 years old, 53 children who appeared to be between 5 and 12, and another 48 who appeared to be between 13 and 18. the Rest consisted of 28 men and 17 women, a third of whom were pregnant with others carrying babies so young they must have just given birth within the last month.

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The implications of what he'd just been told hit him like a ton of bricks. His heart sank as he thought of what their lives must have been like. He had suspected it already but to have his worst fears confirmed was a hard pill to swallow. The healers did what they could, but some scars go beyond the physical. He could only hope that those scars would heal with time. For now, he needed to figure out how he was going to care for so many children. He wanted at least the youngest among them to have a proper childhood. Thankfully the human population inside the sanctuary was at a point where that was even an option. Only a few years ago giving them anything close to what he would consider a normal childhood simply wouldn't have been possible. Now though he decided to have some fun and design toys for children of various ages. He didn't have experience designing toys but then again, they didn't need to be complicated. He would need Cid's help though.

First, Logan went to Yangus and had Cid explain the concept of hollow wooden blocks of various shapes and sizes. With rounded edges and corners of course. Yangus was delighted to have such a task. There were more than enough other woodworkers by now that could focus on the actual buildings and other necessities. So, he devoted himself fully to this new task. Next, Logan went to Maribel and suggested the idea of dolls or stuffed animals. His creatures were always gentle with the babies, but he was planning for a time when his creatures would no longer be inside the town for them to play with. Available space or lack thereof forced the humans and his creatures to coexist practically on top of each other, but he knew that wouldn't always be the case. He knew it was important to keep the kids from getting bored and to allow them to have fun. The toys should have been made a while ago, but he kept putting off making them because, until now, he figured it would be years until he needed them. To be fair though, it wasn't like he needed them now, he just didn't want the new kids to be dependent on his creatures for entertainment the way the kids born in the sanctuary were. Especially since he expected to spread past the town soon thanks to the incoming group dramatically increasing his mana generation rate. It was always his plan to leave the town solely for the humans after all.

With that done he had Cid talk to the four amigos about going out to greet the new group and help guide them in as well as reassure them. It hasn't been that many years since they escaped from the dwarves so most of the new group should still recognize them. Not that he had had any trouble integrating new groups into the sanctuary before, but this would be the first group of nearly 200 that he has welcomed all at once. To make matters worse they were almost all kids. The last thing he wanted was for them to think they were going from one master to another. Sure, the literal army of humans was most likely helping to alleviate some of their apprehension, but talking to someone their own age who used to be one of them can only be good. Of course, Logan has the other flying recon team keep an eye on the four amigos until they get close to the incoming group.

Finally, after a wait that probably seemed much longer than it was, they arrived. He felt more than saw them enter his dungeon as well as feeling a corresponding increase in mana generation. His mana generation increased by 47% total. He had no idea how he knew that with such confidents, but somehow he did. This would shave days off the time it took to save up for the next expansion. Speaking of which he realizes it has been a while since he expanded. He's managed to save up a lot of mana since then. As tempting as it is to save up for an expansion up or down Logan realizes they could probably use some extra space with all the new faces. So, with that in mind he quickly goes ahead and gets another six expansions to the west. This gets him an extra 11,988 sq meters plus all the extra space underground once he gets through carving away the area underneath the houses. He still doesn't technically have the entire cavern, but he does have most of the western wall of the cavern which means that he should get the last little bit in the next expansion. Ironically, they are so busy with introductions and making sure the new people are settled in that they almost don't even notice the expansion. Not that he blames them since they can't exactly see his borders. Well, Cid can but everyone else has to rely on context clues such as the behavior of his creatures which have gone to the new boarders clearing out any creature that isn't of him as they go. Cid takes this opportunity to explain to the latest batch of new arrivals how to spot the border of the sanctuary.

As for what the newcomers eventually decide to do. Siobhan imposed an age limit on joining the army, so the children under 12 get to just be kids. They don't see it that way though as most of them that are old enough to hold a sword seem to want to fight. Eventually Siobhan compromises and doesn't stop them from observing the others train. She draws the line at actively teaching them though. Logan on the other hand hopes that she will eventually raise the minimum age to at least 18 although he does understand the unfortunate necessity of keeping it so low for now. As for the rest of the new arrives most of the ones that aren't pregnant join the army. Those that are pregnant decide that they will devote themselves to helping take care of the sanctuaries many children. A tall order seeing a there are almost as many children as adults at this point. The rest all take up a magic class of one type or another. Force magic, what Logan thinks of as telekinesis, being the exception as he still only has the two force mages.

The building blocks and dolls receive mixed reviews. Logan knew that it would probably take time given what the kids have been through. Once the children born in the sanctuary started playing with them though their popularity soon skyrocketed among those of a similar age group. Soon enough those toys are in high demand and Yangus even takes it upon himself to create little wooden figurines. Those over 5 take much longer to come around but Logan hopes that they will eventually start to act more like the children they are than the adults they were forced to become. Sadly, Logan feels as if he's done all he can for them, so he decides to move on for now. Dwelling on the problem might make it worse after all. Besides what they really need is time.

Now that Logan has successfully established a pretty wide buffer zone around his dungeon and by extension the town, he decides that now is the perfect time to start sending out feelers in the form of recon parties to try and sniff out one of the other dungeons. The flying recon teams can go much further out in the same two-week time limit so they should have no trouble finding something eventually. They aren't just going out in a straight line though. Siobhan has them actively compiling a map of the surrounding area. It's not a very detailed map but it does show mountains, forests, and other notable landmarks. It also shows enemy locations and presumable the locations of anyplace that the recon team felt required a closer look. Part of him wants to locate the other dungeons. The more rational part though hopes they aren't noticed by the other dungeons until he at least finishes securing the entire town. One problem that almost slips by unnoticed however is a question of how. How exactly will he know he's found another dungeon? Are dungeons able to sense when something entering them was created in another dungeon? Likewise, are dungeon creatures able to sense the presence of another dungeon? Skimming through the dungeon guide he finds it as helpful as ever. Which is to say not at all helpful. The only information he finds that is even remotely relevant is that two dungeons cannot claim the same area which is just common sense as far as he is concerned. Yet it was oddly quiet about what would actually happen if his border touched the border of another dungeon. As for dungeons fighting each other the Guide acted like it never happens. Well, if that's the case, there really is a first time for everything.