Kazue and Moriko spent their last two days at the capital completing all the purchases that they needed more leverage to make than they had easy cash for. The solution was easy enough; they dressed up in the expensive outfits they had been gifted with and a properly notarized court official traveled with them to the stores to verify their identities, along with a suitable retinue of guards and a carriage to drive them to their destinations. Properly identified, they could make purchases with an agreement for the purchases to be delivered to the dungeon and be paid for upon arrival. Not every merchant was amenable to this idea, and Kazue was pretty certain a few of those were just being stubborn because they knew exactly who she was and they were competitors with her father, but that was life.

They had intended this to be only a single day of purchasing, but it took even longer than they expected and it delayed their departure by one more day. This public show of their identities also meant it would be a lot harder to travel through the capital incognito unless they actively disguised themselves. Oh, most people would still not recognize them when they were dressed in their normal clothing, but it would only take one person to notice them and decide to say something.

The day after they completed their shopping, the two slipped out the western gate in the predawn, with a little bit of assistance from Lady Yuriko who seemed very familiar and adept with escorting young women out of the castle while keeping them unseen by others.

Realistically, this trip was their last chance to travel Kuiccihan in a manner mostly like normal people. They had the dubious distinction of being officially 'foreign nobility' and 'national celebrities' at the same time. So they set off walking the road to the nearest port city, determined to get in as much as they could during the remainder of summer and early fall. They doubted that they'd be back home before the first snows hit, not while traveling on foot to experience as much of the journey as they could, but they'd adjust their plans as the weather demanded. Winters were not terribly harsh in Kuiccihan, especially along the southern border which is where they would be traveling for the last leg of their trip.

They were determined to be home before snow made it too hard to travel, and they were going to stay home until a few weeks after the spring equinox and celebrate their first anniversary with Mordecai.

While they walked, Moriko had plenty of time to amuse Kazue with tales of what was going on back at the dungeon. Stories about the trio of teenagers were entertaining of course, but there were some other events of interest, such as the arrival of more kobolds.

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Mordecai sighed as the old kobold shaman finished explaining why they were here. "So, you want me to be your retirement plan?" He couldn't help but wonder if they had stolen this idea from the townsfolk having brought older pets to him.

Crizdirk laughed softly, "I would not have thought to put it that way, but yes. There have been generations beyond count since our ancestors last thrived in your territory, but we have retained copies of their knowledge. Not all will want to do this of course, but those who have traveled with me today are all in agreement that they want to. We did debate for a while to decide whether this would be an allowable course to follow. If the tribe had decided against it as a whole, then we would not have come to you." The kobold grinned, clearly amused at Mordecai's discomfiture. "My lord, we know what we are offering of ourselves, the texts were clear about that. And even with severed bonds, they remembered you fondly when the books were written. We ask this of you freely."

With nearly three score elderly or disabled kobolds to host, Mordecai had elected to bring the group deeper into the dungeon rather than try to find space in the trading post. They were currently all in the observation room above the arena and enjoying food brought in by the bunkin. "This is a fairly significant decision," Mordecai replied, "and not mine to make alone; give us a bit of time to discuss it. Now, just to be clear: while my original territory may have overlapped where this territory now is, the rightful first claim is Kazue's. She accepted me into her home and core when I was reduced to a spirit bonded to Moriko alone. As such, despite our history, this makes your clan junior to the laganthro clans."

Mordecai's greatest concern was making sure that neither Kazue nor the laganthros felt displaced. This was closely followed by his concern with fully sapient beings offering to have their free will compromised. When it came to creatures rising to sapience as part of their bond with their dungeon, he had no problem with just accepting that as part of the nature of the world. This was in part due to the fact that they didn't have an established identity and sense of self to alter.

A person from outside the dungeon did have a personality and sense of self established, and making them an inhabitant made alterations to their personality to guarantee their loyalty. He'd only been willing to make that offer to Brongrim and Nainvil because of the nature of the situation, as a possibly less bad option. Indefinite contractors were a much more limited resource, and he wouldn't have really wanted them as such.

Ironically, he'd be more willing to consider those two as an option for contractors now, but they were settled in and apparently happy in their new roles as part of the Riverbridge militia.

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"Hmm," Kazue said over their link, "I understand why you are concerned, but isn't this also their will to choose to serve? That seems pretty reasonable, and not too different from people choosing to serve a ruler."

"In some ways not," Mordecai agreed, "excepting my key concern. But you are right, they are choosing. We also have the right to not accept that choice, as it involves our agreement to make happen."

Moriko sent a mental sigh before speaking, "It's sweet of you to be so concerned, it reflects part of what we both appreciate about you. You are very careful about not pressing your will on to others. But I think here you are making a mistake. They are choosing to serve as part of the community of the dungeon over the option of a well-earned afterlife that would not be subject to that sort of need to serve. From what you two have shared, it doesn't sound like any of them are afraid of death. In a small way, it is a death, or at least a separation. I can only imagine that they and their families have already gone through grieving of sorts. Even though they can see each other again in the future, those who join us will not be quite the same, and this will be their new home. They've already prepared themselves for this."

"Love," Kazue added, "this should be fine. They are choosing to follow what feels right to them. They know our rules, they know this dungeon will not be like the dungeon they've been told stories of, but still, they have come to us as supplicants."

They were right, but he still felt nervous about accepting the kobolds. It took a little while more to pull apart the threads of his tangled emotions to find the root of it. Having kobolds as inhabitants felt like it might be going back to how he was when he made such poor decisions before. Like it might be easy to backslide into making arrogant decisions. But he'd only let that sort of pride rule him when wrath was ruling him as well. The rest of his past life held much that was good, and he had people from that life who still saw him as a good person.

"Very well," Mordecai said out loud, "but I need to make sure you understand in your hearts what you are giving up. A simple test for you: don't fight my will. If you can't accept my power in this way, then becoming an inhabitant would break you." He gave them a moment to register what he'd said, and then he pushed his will out.

This wasn't a simple release of intent and presence. Mordecai pressed his will on them with raw power, a silent but irrefutable demand of surrender and acknowledgment of his victory and superiority. An aura of fear was one thing, but this sort of domineering aura dug deeper and was more likely to provoke prideful resistance.

This presence didn't touch the bunkin, they already belonged to the dungeon. It was the outsiders who needed to bow.

And they did. Every one of them. Surprised, Mordecai released them immediately. He'd felt a few sparks of pride initially flare, but every one of them had quickly been quenched as those kobolds focused on their desire to become part of the dungeon, as their ancestors had once been. "I was expecting at least a few of you to not be able to resist fighting me."

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. They had passed the test, and proven what they already knew: that they were ready to accept the dungeon's will over their own. "Very well." Kazue's hologram flickered to life on a nearby platform, and Mordecai cast an illusion in the image of Moriko on one side of the platform as he took up position on the other side. "The three of us stand as one. Swear your loyalty and lives to all of us, and be welcomed as inhabitants of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon."

The kobolds didn't need to approach to swear their oaths, Mordecai simply wanted to make sure that the images of his wives were in their minds as well as his own. And it only took moments more for all of them to swear their oaths from where they stood or sat.

The sudden influx of over fifty new inhabitants rippled throughout the territory as their minds and souls became linked to the web of the dungeon's mana and core.

Mordecai smiled as he looked over the group. "Welcome to your new home."

Kazue beamed at them. "I'm always happy to make new friends! So, you have less than twelve hours until our second refresh hits. There's no reason for you guys to take up any duties at all before then, and even after you are restored to your healthiest selves, I want you to take it easy for a while and just get to know your new home and make friends with the other inhabitants. Still, I know some of you will itch to be doing something, so let's go over the rules Mordecai and I established. We want everyone to have a very full life, and for everyone to be capable of defending their home. So, if you already know how to fight, your first task will be to learn to do, well, anything that is not related to fighting but supports the dungeon. If you are not a skilled fighter or mage or whatever, then you can report to Captain Keelina in the morning to join in her training regimen."

She pondered for a moment before adding, "Oh, if any of you are good cooks or have some interesting recipes, you should probably find some time to teach Head Chef Dairell what you know. Playwright Briant would be happy to learn all of the stories you know so that he can turn them into more plays and sketches so we can continue to surprise our guests. Um," she glanced over to Mordecai to see if he had anything to add.

"Well," Mordecai said, "we want to know many things, but another specific one that would be good is if you can scribe a scroll of any spells you know. I know most of them will likely be duplicates of spells we have, but even knowing how you construct your spells and scribe your scrolls will potentially add variety. One of the roles we have given ourselves is to become a repository of knowledge."

Kazue nodded, "That sounds good. But! You will do nothing but relax until the next refresh restores your bodies. And after that, you will still take it easy for a while, everyone needs to get to know each other." She giggled suddenly, "Besides, we should get a couple of groups of delvers coming through before then, it might be amusing to see how they react to running into a bunch of kobolds. Oh, you don't have to stay here to be clear, but if you aren't up for a lot of wandering, then this is a fine place for you to stay until you feel better."

And with that, the dungeon had a whole new tribe of inhabitants.