Kelsey waited all of ten minutes to deliver the bad news. Suliel was up at least, if not fully dressed. Her people would generally wait until after breakfast to report, but Kelsey didn’t care to wait.

Someone slipped through your patrols, she sent through the link.

Suliel scowled. And good morning to you, she sent back. How do you know?

Because there’s a team of high-level strangers delving me right now, Kelsey told her. They came in last night, and they mean business.

“They’re trying to kill you?” Suliel said aloud, shocked. She glanced at the startled maid. “Not you. Leave me for a moment, would you?”

The maid curtsied and hurriedly left the room. Suliel sighed. Word about her link had spread, but no one understood it.

Thanks for the concern, but I’ve got it handled. Kelsey said. You might want to check if anyone came with them that didn’t enter me.

Have they said anything about that? Suliel asked. High-level infiltrators could be very bad for her. On the other hand, splitting your forces didn’t seem wise when going up against Kelsey.

No, but they spoke with Liem Tiken before coming here.

Suliel felt a chill. This isn’t a random raid, then.

No. They’ve been told that there are two cores down here, and Liem is getting one of them. Kelsey said. A feeling of smugness pervaded the link. Not that it matters, but their information is out of date.

Don’t let them live to be disappointed, Suliel sent. Her ferocity seemed to take Kelsey aback.

That… really is touching, she sent. I hadn’t realised that we’d gotten so close.

Don’t mistake this for sentimentally, Suliel said, her mental tone approximating a snarl. An attack on you is an attack on Kirido. An attack on me.

Of course. Kelsey agreed. Don’t beat yourself up, though. You might be able to keep these guys out of a walled town. Your outer perimeter is too long and porous to keep serious intruders out.

For now, Suliel promised.

I’ll keep you posted as they make it further down. I expect them to get at least as far as Cheryl. Right now, they’re just finishing off the Skeleton King.

How long have they been in? Suliel asked.

A few hours. The skeletons weren’t much of a challenge, but they got lost for a bit in the city.

Suliel snorted. Not terribly smart then, are they?

I think that’s a given if they came after us.

Suliel laughed out loud, her mood restored. She called for her maid and started dressing.

“Send for Captain Rynmos and Syon to attend me during breakfast,” she told the maid. “It seems there are some matters that won’t wait.”

It took a little while for them to show up. Suliel was well into her morning meal by the time they arrived to take their seats. Places and food were set before them— it would have been rude for Suliel to leave them standing while she ate in front of them. Neither of them ate very much, they had both been up earlier than she had. Suliel started without preamble.

“A high-level infiltration team has bypassed our patrols,” she said.

Both of them looked at her in alarm.

“Their main team has entered the dungeon,” she added, neatly answering the question of how she knew this. “But we need to determine if anyone else was left outside.”

Captain Rynmos nodded, his face grim. “With your permission, I’ll get on that immediately, my lady,” he said.

“First, is there anything to report from last night?”

“No ma’am,” he said. “It was all quiet. Too quiet, it seems. There was one thing from this morning, but Chamberlain Syon already knows it.”

“Go, then,” Suliel said, looking expectantly at Syon.

“My lady,” he said, bowing. “An Elitran ship was spotted this morning, heading toward us.”

----------------------------------------

It wasn’t a raider ship, at least. Those were distinctive.

The timing is right, Kelsey told her, let me see.

Suliel opened the channel wider, allowing Kelsey to use her senses.

Use the glasses, Kelsey suggested and Suliel did her best to keep her embarrassment at forgetting them to herself.

It was difficult to hold the binoculars steady long enough to get a good look at the incoming ship, but Kelsey waited patiently until Suliel managed it.

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Yep, that’s them, Kelsey said. Roll out the welcome wagon.

She paused. In other news, the intruders have reached floor ten, the Village of the Damned.

Suliel shuddered. Many of her ancestors had died in the dungeon, and the thought of seeing her uncle and grandfather again was… disturbing.

I’m thinking of re-doing that floor, Kelsey told her, reading her emotion. Too many people know about it for the trick to work. I would have done it already, but they make better farmers than skeletons.

Do you think it will stop the intruders? Suliel asked.

It should be more than just a speed bump, like most things have been so far, Kelsey replied. I’ve got a new trick for the next level that I’m looking forward to.

She didn’t say what it was. Suliel knew that Kelsey was looking forward to surprising the local adventurers with it as well.

----------------------------------------

To Suliel’s surprise, the ship didn’t immediately disgorge its passengers after it tied up at the dock. Instead, a brightly-dressed courl stood at the top of the gangplank, surveying the area disdainfully.

He’s coming down to talk to you? Kelsey said. I didn’t expect that. You’re in for a treat.

The courl stepped down to the dock, walking as if he was stepping in dung the entire way. When he got to the bottom, he glanced at Suliel.

“Is this Kirido?” he said.

“It is,” Suliel said evenly. “You would be Captain Farid al-Nazari?”

The courl’s eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth. “How do you know that?” he snarled.

“Kelsey told me,” Suliel said calmly. Maintaining her composure in the face of discourtesy was part of her training.

“The monkey has long lips,” Captain Farid hissed. “Or you have long ears.”

At least he’s not drunk, Kelsey sent. I guess he saves that for when he’s cooped up in the harbour.

This was the person you chose to hire? Suliel sent back. You couldn’t find someone more disagreeable?

We had a choice of exactly him, Kelsey admitted. And at least he got the job done?

“Ultimately, you were hired by Kirido,” Suliel told the captain. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we were expecting your arrival. Are the passengers all safe?”

The captain glared at her, as if offended by the question. “Of course they are,” he said. “I merely had to ascertain that this… place was the Kirido that we were contracted to deliver them to.”

I do wonder if we were above or below his expectations, Kelsey said, but I wouldn’t recommend asking.

Silently agreeing, Suliel addressed the captain. “Then will you allow your passengers to disembark?”

“Of course!” Captain Farid exclaimed. “I wouldn’t want to stay in this hovel for a minute more than I had to.”

He turned to head back up, but Suliel wasn’t done.

“Actually, before you go,” she said, “I was hoping to discuss the possibility of you taking a cargo of goods to trade.”

The courl whirled back around. “Lady, I am not some merchant! If you think I have an interest in trade, then you are—”

“Captain!” a mournful voice called down from above. “We talked about this, remember?”

Captain Farid snapped his mouth shut, and Suliel could have sworn she was watching him count to ten.

“Talked about what?” he finally snapped.

“The ship needs money,” the voice said. “Which means we need to take cargo.”

“We have merchants in town willing to discuss shipping charges if you don’t want to take the risk of trading for yourself,” Suliel put in. “The size of your hold is considerably more than the vessels that commonly dock here.”

The captain stared at her in dismay. “Go into this town?” he said in a horrified tone. “Talk to your merchants?”

He stared at her for a moment more and then started stomping up the gangplank. “You take care of it!” he yelled to whoever was on board.

“Captain,” the voice came back. “We need more crew as well.”

The captain stopped. “Humans?” he yelled. “You want to bring humans on board my ship?”

“How about kabimen?” Suliel asked.

Captain Farid froze, then whirled around again to face Suliel. “Kabimen?” he asked.

“Kabimen,” she repeated. “Most of the sailors around here are kabimen. Crab-people.”

“Kabimen,” he repeated. “I don’t…”

He trailed off in confusion and then seemed to dismiss the question with an effort of will.

“You take care of it!” he yelled, storming up the gangplank.

“So I can hire kabimen?” the voice asked.

“You take care of it,” the captain repeated. “Get these humans off my ship! The rest of you, start clearing out all that cruft that the monkey left behind!”

“Yes, sir, captain, sir!” the voice said.

In short order, freed slaves started coming down the gangplank. Suliel made a point of greeting each of them personally. She wanted them to know who their Baroness was.

“Welcome to your new home,” she said, before passing them over to Syon to handle the details of their lodging assignment. The captain wasn’t the only one relying on his subordinates. At least Kelsey had sent word of who was arriving and what they were capable of.

A few of the returned slaves were Kirido residents and had family waiting for them at the end of the dock. Suliel made sure to welcome them, but didn’t keep them from their reunions.

The last to step down was a well-built young man. His hair had just started to grow out again, and he had an ugly tattoo that was barely visible against his dark skin.

“Tavik,” Suliel said. “Kelsey thought that you might be interested in enlisting as a soldier.”

If Tavik was surprised that Kelsey had spoken to her about him, he didn’t show it. He stared down at her without any real expression.

“I might be,” he said slowly. “Do I have to decide right away?”

“No,” Suliel told him. “There’s work to be had no matter what you want to do. You’ve got a room assigned to you. Get some food and rest, take a walk around the town. Ask to see Captain Rynmos if you decide that’s what you want.”

He nodded slowly, bowed as an afterthought, and then headed down the docks.

Suliel was left with one more person to see, a female courl with sandy fur and amber eyes who bowed her head apologetically.

“Sorry about the captain,” she said. “He is… what he is. I can meet with your merchants about cargo. My name is Soraya Sandwhisper.”

Suliel nodded. “That’s fine,” she said. “Are you sure you don’t want to buy for yourself?”

The courl shrugged. “We have some money,” she admitted. “We were paid well for this trip. Not so much money as to fill our hold, I think. It depends on what cargo is available.”

“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Suliel said smugly. “We’ve made great strides recently in what we produce.”

Ooh, bad news, Kelsey interrupted. Suliel didn’t let her expression change as she walked the courl to the trading hall.

What is it? she asked.

The next dungeon harvest is going to be delayed. Kelsey said, adding in a rueful feeling. Well, skipped really. I should have recovered things by the time the one after this was due.

What happened? This was bad news, but it wasn’t terrible news. Even with the new residents, enough food had been set aside to avoid starvation. Kelsey’s harvests were small but regular top-ups. She didn’t have much space, but she could grow crops at a prodigious rate.

The intruders didn’t want to do a house-to-house fight with the Revenants, so they elected to stand back and thin them out with arrows. Kelsey said. Of course, that’s why I hid Revenants in the fields around town.

And… Suliel prompted.

So… the intruders burned down the fields to clear the cover, Kelsey said. It’s a real mess down there right now.