INTERLUDE

The Dwarf god watched as Kevin tore into the human in front of him. There was no small amount of screaming involved. While the man seemed stunned at first, he rapidly recovered and argued back. The small Grand Overseeing Director had to admit that the human had gumption. Not many beings could argue with a divine and come out on top, but Ray seemed to be doing alright. He very much reminded him of a mage he knew once a long time ago.

He certainly didn’t take much lying down.

Sighing, he turned back to the screens in front of him. There were dozens of worlds displayed on them. Statistics and System information was slowly scrolling by, each major action notated and addressed by their assigned Divine Liaison. However, on the central screen lay Earth. Its action log was, suspiciously, empty.

The dwarf knew that it shouldn’t be. He knew that there should be a detailed log of what had happened on the world in regard to the System. He also knew that Kevin had taken multiple direct actions that should be recorded in the log. But still, there was nothing.

Tapping his fingers on his desk, the Director was at a loss. The System had been created to manage and direct the flow of energy that spilled over from the Elemental Sea. It managed, broke down, and distributed the energy into its three primary forms, Mana, Aether, and Miasma. Having the System on a world, with a log that didn’t record anything, while it was active, made no sense. Not even that sentence made sense.

He sighed even as a knock on the door sounded through his cavernous office. He looked over at the offending sound, across the spacious room with its table, chair, bookshelves, and mementos. With a gesture, it swung open on silent hinges to reveal a beautiful man, dressed in a black suit with a red tie. A casual glance at the suit told you that it was, somehow, alive. Almost moving independently of itself.

“Sam,” he said simply. “This be an unexpected visit. What cannah do fer ya?”

Sam casually strolled into the room, closing the door behind him with a wave of a single well-manicured hand. Contrary to his well-dressed appearance, he flopped down into a nearby chair with a casualness that belied his intent.

“Oh yeah, I’m aware. But you know as well as I do, Eric, that I never show up unless there is a reason to show up. That’s my role. Well, that along with a few other minor things,” he said, his voice as smooth as silk.

Rolling his eyes, Eric got out from behind his desk and marched over to the chair across from the dangerous being. He sat down and stared at the divine in front of him. “What do ya want ya dandy?” he said bluntly.

Sam grinned briefly. Then all the levity left his face as he became uncharacteristically serious. “Earth Eric. There’s no log for it, is there? Stuff isn’t working correctly, is it?”

“Now how in the nine hells can yah know that?” said the dwarf, annoyed. Power flashed through his eyes briefly. “Yer not involved are ya?”

Shaking his head, with hands held out placatingly, Sam responded, “No. No it's not my fault, at least not this time. I mess with you guys but I don’t go out of my way to mess with the System. It works too well and is far too embedded for me to do anything to it,” he explained. Then he sighed, “No. Unfortunately, this is going to be the same case as Nagamis and Tertina. Only there is the added complication of a core being used to activate the System, not a node. Those Solians fucked up, I warned you they would.”

“Aye, that core was supposed ta be a seeder for the dungeons, not used ta activate the System,” agreed Eric. “But ah fail ta see how the Solians made the error.”

“Listen to me, Eric. That world, for whatever reason, was a complete void in the System until that node was placed. It’s going to mutate everything on that world, undead included, the moment the Integration is complete,” Sam said, deadly serious. “And it's going to do that based on the overarching type of creature that currently inhabits the world.”

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Eric nodded, “Ah know that. The planet is expected ta become an undead world, and the humans extinct. We know this. But what does that have ta do with the logs, not workin?”

“The logs aren’t working, and the System not functioning properly, because Earth is becoming a Dungeon World,” said Sam directly. “There is no Administrator yet. Kevin won't cut it, at least not from here. You need to install an Administrator the very second Integration is complete.”

Sam let Eric mull that over for a moment before continuing, “I mean, the System is using a HEX-based grid system. How in Pantheon's name did you miss that?” he wondered out loud. “Not only that, it's using a one hundred and twenty square unit system. That’s a … lot of territory.”

“Bah, these Earths are always annoying. Everyone one o'them” complained Eric.

Sam nodded, a coffee mug with ‘#1 Devil’ appearing in his hand. “Agreed. But this one is a tad unique even out of those. This world requires … oh look, the human is gone,” he said, pointing at the screen. The pair watched Kevin sit there, unmoving for a second. Then he put his head clean through the desk, shattering the computer and keyboard. The action made both of them jump.

“What the fuck is wrong with him?” wondered Sam aloud.

Eric just shook his head, “Ah dunno. He’s ah bit of a loon,” he said, uncertain. “He be Artie's kid. Ah gave him ah job here out of pity. Honestly, bein ah Admin is not his strong suit.”

“No shit,” Sam muttered. “Wait, that’s Artemis’s son? No kidding?” They watched Kevin remake the desk and computer, only to put his head through both of them again. “Yeah, don’t let him be the Administrator for this. No way in hell. Trust me, I run the place.”

Eric snorted. “Trust ya? Right. Like ah trust a rattlesnake not to bite me if ah step on it. But ah get ya. Fine. Well, what should ah do about the humans then? They kinda got the shaft.”

“Hmm,” Sam hummed. “Why don’t you let me talk with them? Or send David, he is a solid troubleshooter for core-related issues.”

“No. Yah can do it. If David works out, maybe we can put him in place as the admin. But ah won't risk losin humanity in this Realm over a matter of experience,” Eric said firmly.

“Done and done. I will stop on in right after they claim that little fort of theirs. That Ray guy has a good head on his shoulders, even if he completely forgot to pick a class. He cant now, at least until the Integration. But thats besides the point. If they had stayed on the mainland, well, they would have all been overrun,” Same said. He opened another screen and spun it around. “Those … Europeans? That’s a ridiculous name. Anyway, they and the far Eastern groups seem to be acclimating well. They even have a few territorial claims. Although that big continent in the South has some serious things going on as well.”

Eric waved him off, “It's all gonna change as soon as the Integration completes,” he said. “The existing grid … hex … layout will alter significantly. Ah, think there's only fifteen hundred o’them right now.” He consulted one of his screens from the chair. “After integration, there’s gonna be around … five hundred thousand o’them.”

“One hundred and twenty units per hex then?” Sam asked. “Ah, miles. Right, one hundred and twenty miles per hex. That’s a lot of claims.”

The Dwarf nodded, “Aye. Which is why the System is going to be tweaked a tad to make it work. We are gonna have ta use a conquest method and do away with the claim system. If ah the System allows it. Blasted ting can be tempermental at the best o times.”

“That’s going to piss off everyone who has something right now,” Sam pointed out. “You may even kill off the few humans left entirely. Unless that is, you have something else in mind?”

Nodding, Eric pulled up a System screen and spun it towards Sam. “Aye. Something a bit different indeed. This should put everyone, even those blasted undead, back on the same playing field. It won't reset any of their knowledge, and it will require adjusting quite a bit, but this is the only way ah could see to make it all work.”

Sam read through the screen rapidly, nodding and whistling at parts. Eric had certainly done a lot of the groundwork here, ensuring that the disparate parts would come together nicely with a minimum of errors. There are plenty of Dungeon Worlds within the System. There are plenty of worlds within the System that have cores used on them. They are frequently used to create dungeons on worlds that others can run as well as used as resource-gathering points.

However what Sam was looking at had, to the best of his knowledge, never been seen or attempted before. What Eric was proposing was ambitious. And if it worked, the way it was designed could change how Dungeon Worlds worked all together.

Looking up at the Dwarf with excitement he said, “This. The humans won't like it. The undead are going to be pissed … when they become sentient that is. Oh boy, is this going to change a lot.”

“Aye. Ah know,” the Dwarf said with a huff. “Ah know.”