Tikon and I walked to the nearest drink storage depot, and I started to look for a mug. The fortress had thousands of mugs. None of them were here, I realized, because I had set up a trade goods depot for mugs, instruments, and non-utilitarian finished goods close to the entrance in the saved game fortress; Iton and the other miners and craftsdwarves had been told to duplicate their old home as faithfully as possible.

My companion grabbed a handle on top of the nearest barrel and pulled the top off it. He sniffed, got a big smile on his face, and then startled me by sticking his head into the barrel. After about five seconds, he pulled his head out. He shook his head like a wet dog, and I was sprayed with what smelled like beer.

I just stood there, shocked by the utter strangeness of his behavior for a moment.

Tikon sighed. "That's some good beer." He looked back at me and beckoned me towards the barrel.

I approached the barrel slowly. It was a really good beer smell, I had to admit. Very fruity. The closer I got to it, the more the little voice in my head yelled at me to...

DRINK!

I didn't have a mug though. I couldn't bring myself to just stick my head in the beer. I had no idea what a beer bath would do to my cornrows, and I doubted very seriously that there were any dwarves in the fortress with hairdressing skills. That was certainly NOT on the skills list. Then again, I thought to myself, electrician wasn't on the list either.

Tikon was still watching me. "If you don't like dwarven beer, Overseer, I see some human-made sewer brew over there." After a pause, when I didn't respond, he continued. "If you tell us what you like, we can arrange for a small depot of your favorite drinks and foods to be kept near your quarters."

My need for alcohol finally overcame my need for clean hair. I dunked my head into the beer and took two big swallows, then pulled my head out of the barrel.

It was delicious. Absolutely incredible. A traitorous thought skated across the surface of my mind. "But, I hate beer?"

I went stiff, and realized that no matter what some people said about Master capes, it was clear that my dwarves were tainting me with their sensibilities. This was not a one-way connection. Part of me wanted to give into that, at least until after the S9 showed up. A very big part of me. Because dwarves were insanely brave when they were called on to fight. Another part of me wailed and screamed and reminded me that dwarves were demented psychopaths who were firmly of the opinion that magma was part of an elegant solution to almost every problem.

The practical, scared-shitless side of me screamed Worry about sanity after survival!

Scared-shitless persona wins, I decided. Go with the flow.

I concentrated and could see the connections between me and the one hundred eighty-what? I paused and examined the connections again. One hundred eighty-one dwarves. One of the haulers had given birth while dragging a Ford Mustang to the Human tech depot.

Was there a limit of two hundred dwarves in my real-life fortress? I sighed and summoned all the children from the fortress save. I had wanted them out of the way, but if the dwarven females who were married were going to pop out new kids every year until they reached two hundred population again, I might as well have older children who could be somewhat useful.

I touched my USB fob on my necklace and twenty dwarven children popped into existence around me, immediately scattering, except for the youngest children who simply cried and waited for their mothers to show up.

I shook my head. Five crying babies on top of everything else. I walked out of the room, towards the new book storage depot. I saw a dozen dwarves running past me with bins, going in the same direction. "Tikon, can we store books in cabinets, or on shelves, please? Storing them in bins will be cumbersome. I'd also like them arranged by topic and alphabetically."

Walking beside me, Tikon said nothing for a couple steps. "Ah. What is a shelf?"

I stared at Tikon for a moment. He stared back, waiting for an answer as we walked.

"Sorry, I forget that there are a lot of very simple concepts that you were never exposed to. It's a flat surface that you can place things on top of. If you build several of the flat surfaces one above one another, with a casing around them, and something backing the storage surfaces so things don't fall out the back, you create a very large surface area for organized storage of small objects, using little floorspace."

Tikon's eyes lit up. He stopped, and turned to the stone wall beside us and pulled out some sort of chisel from a pocket. In a few deft strokes, he scraped out a very good image of a simple shelf. "Like this?" He poked the chisel at the shelves, drawing vertical lines above one of the shelves. "And the books fit on the shelf like so?"

After seeing how rapidly he had just scraped an image into stone, I was stunned. "Exactly." I muttered.

"That's brilliant." He threw back his head and laughed with a huge belly laugh that I could feel reverberate through me. "I have no idea how Dwarfkind could have possibly missed this idea for so many centuries." Tikon slapped me on the back, and I was thrust forward, stumbling about ten feet before regaining my balance.

"OW, Tikon!" I yelled. That's going to leave a bruise. Across half my back. I glowered at Tikon.

He was oblivious, until he looked up at me and then at his hand. "Oh. Sorry Overseer. I forget how pathet... err, fragile humans are."

"I'm going to need adamantite armor to survive the goodwill of the fortress, I think." I muttered as I knuckled my back.

Tikon nodded. "I have just added that to the list of work orders, as highest priority, Overseer. Our best armorsmith is collecting adamantite wafers now."

I reached out to my dwarves, searching connections, and found Grandmaster Armorsmith Azon Oakweaver literally running from one stockpile to the next, collecting components.

"Do I need to be fitted?"

"Fitted? I don't understand."

"How does he know how big to make it?"

Tikon beetled his brow and looked up at me with no small amount of confusion. "You're part of us. We know. He knows. It will fit perfectly."

Several dwarves ran past where we were talking at a sprint, carrying... shelves.

"You guys are so incredible. When you were just a game, well, you were fun, but here? This is worth potential insanity. I could lose myself here, I think."

I gave Tikon a hug. "Thank you."

Even if they weren't fully real, my dwarves were real enough. I had no illusions about being able to fight off the S9 all by myself, but before I died I'd damn well take some of them with me. I snarled to myself If they think they can take me alive, there's a lever in the room next to my bedroom that says otherwise.

There were a score of dwarves in the book storage room when we arrived, half of them were working, and half of them were running their fingertips over shelves and examining the construction with huge grins on their faces.

Tikon left my side, running to what looked to be a granite shelf, inspecting it closely and smiling, almost caressing the stone. It was weird, but if it made them happy, I was all for it. Anything to prevent a tantrum spiral would be good. I habitually did my best to keep my dwarves happy. I was extremely glad that I had done so.

I began examining books, skimming over the large hardback college texts first. Engineering students always complained about the absurdly huge books they had to drag around.

After a few seconds, I found what I was looking for. Fundamentals of Physics 101 and 102. I pulled them off the shelf, and handed them to Tikon. "These describe the basics of how this world works, Tikon. Not just electrical information, but mechanical too. After you read these, I am certain that you will be able to find other texts here that will be of interest. I see several engineering and math books."

I pulled out a Basic Algebra and Basic Calculus book as well. "You will want..." My hands were sticky and stuck to the Basic Calculus book. I looked down at the book and my hands, and there was crusted red, sticky blood on both. With shaking hands, I opened the book and saw the name "Cassie Smith" on the inside cover.

I fell to my knees, dropping the book, open, in front of me. "Cassie. I'm sorry Cassie."

My dwarves in the room with me stared with glittering eyes of many different colors. I could feel their connection to me. I could feel them feeling what I was feeling. Helplessness. Fear. I was eroding their happiness level, slowly. I could feel it.

One of the connections blazed back at me, and I could feel the anger returning as Urist jammed a thought into my skull. "Blood Feud, Overseer Shayla. Blood Feud. You know what I am. I will not let you make me a mewling wreck. I will kill you first, and fade into oblivion before you make me a coward."

That mental declaration shot through me like a lightning bolt. The scared-shitless part of me squealed and tried to bury itself under the angry part of myself, and thanks to Urist's efforts, there was plenty of anger to hide under.

I examined my connections to my other dwarves. They, for some reason, were nowhere near as strong as my connection to Urist. I tried to push a thought to Urist. "Do not threaten me, Urist. I am in control here."

All I received in reply was a malevolent chuckle before his connection to me reverted to the same type of basic connection I shared with my other dwarves.

As I came back to myself, the room was empty except myself and Tikon. The books were all shelved, and Tikon was rapidly flipping pages in the algebra book. When he saw me move, he said "We have made a bed for you, Overseer. You don't have to sleep here. The woodcutters have been working to build up stores for a siege, but everyone has a bed of their own."

I nodded as I stood. There were plans to make. I could really use information. I knew very little about the S9 really, only what everyone knew from mass media.

"Tikon spoke, gently. This Cassie person. She was a smith?" His face had some small compassion visible.

I smiled weakly, and tried to phrase reality in a way that he could understand right now. "No, Tikon, she was studying to be a teacher of young humans. She had been seriously injured in a fight. Our... nobility, provided her with funds to survive on while she learned to teach. The last name does not hold any meaning more than identity."

Time stopped.

Just like that. Time stopped.

I couldn't move. Only my mind was active. None of the minds of my dwarves were active either.

I noticed something, at the far end of my ability to sense. There was a human there. I nearly panicked, thinking "I'm not ready!" as I imagined that the S9 were already here.

As I started to panic about what the intruders were, I all of a sudden realized that I did, in fact, know what they were. I had a very tentative connection to them, like the one I had to my dwarves. I concentrated on the intruding Human. It was a 'PRT Trooper.'

My inner scared-shitless-self poked her head out from under my angry-self long enough to say that they might think we had killed all our friends.

I don't need more enemies. I thought to myself. I have to speak to them myself. I can't control my dwarves well enough to talk to humans reliably.

I sent a command to my dwarves to all return to the main burrow. Then I commanded Urist to join me at the obsidian depot, and the rest of the military dwarves to wait nearby.

I watched as the humans approached. Two, then five, then twenty. Fifty, a hundred.

My anger started bubbling as their numbers increased. I found myself muttering to myself. They are just humans. Terrible equipment. Weak. Almost as pathetic as elves. Urist could probably kill them all himself if they...

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Stop that! I yelled at myself as I tried to damp down my connection to my dwarves.

I thought I had yelled it to myself. A cautious voice, female, called out from the tunnel entrance nearly a hundred yards away. "We're stopping. Can we talk?"

"Briefly. Do you have satellite uplink equipment or a portable database on the S9? I need more information about the S9 so I can kill them when they come back to try to recruit me. Again."

There was a long delay. "The S9 Youtubed what happened. The PRT, that's us, saw the video. We know what happened. Your parents saw the video. Dragon has sent a drone to bring them here. We only want to help."

My mind went to pieces. "Mom! Dad! Danielle!!" I screamed as I collapsed to my knees, and started to cry.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Urist stiffen and stare at me, his face becoming extremely angry. His mental connection forced its way into my head. "You have an unknown amount of time. Perhaps a day or less to prepare to defeat the strongest enemies I have ever encountered. Stop whining and trying to drag me down with you! Your parents will only make you weaker and take away your time. Send them away. If you survive this, then you can celebrate your victory with your parents. They will rejoice at the deaths of the ones who slaughtered their other daughter. Blood Feud, Overseer. Blood Feud."

The anger flooded me, but a curiosity too. "Urist, are you a manifestation of schizophrenia?" I said out loud.

Cold satisfaction came across the link. I don't know what that is, though I get a sense of it from your thoughts. You don't really know what it is either, I can tell. I'll just say that I don't care what I am, as long as you don't infect me with weakness.

I stood. I could see where all the humans were, and some of them were moving around carefully, looking at the site of the killing.

Something in my mind intruded on my thoughts. Flutes. You must trade three flutes.

I grabbed the side of my head with both hands, and yelled at the ceiling. "Flutes? How do Flutes matter? I don't even like flutes!"

The human woman's voice wafted down the tunnel to me after a brief delay and some muttering that I couldn't understand. "Your parents are nearly here. We can help you. You've had something horrible happen to you. We have resources to help victims. If you are injured, we can get you healed. Will you talk to us? Will you meet your parents?"

Something tripped in my head, and I blazed, screaming at the top of my lungs. "If you bring my parents here, I will kill you all!"

There was silence, and I saw the humans begin to retreat towards the edges of my awareness.

I yelled, loud but more controlled. "The S9 are coming back. For me. I don't know when. They said tomorrow, but that means nothing and you know it. All I want from you is information about them, as much at you have. Then I want you to get the fuck out of my way so I can get ready to try to kill them when they come try to recruit me."

The woman's voice called out, calmly. "One minute please, Shayla. We're redirecting your parents to a safe house in a different city."

Urist shouted out. "You will call her Overseer, or Overseer Shayla, never by her given name alone, human lackey!"

The calm woman's voice spoke again. "Apologies, Overseer Shayla, we were not aware you had taken a cape name yet."

I yelled back. "Are we done with this conversation yet? You are distracting me and my dwarves when we should be concentrating on death traps for the S9. I really need information about them, unless you want them to take me."

Flutes! Must trade flutes!

I sent a quick command for three masterpiece silver flutes to be delivered to the depot. The insistence wasn't going away.

"We want to take you away from them, Overseer Shayla, so they can't find you, so you can get help. Your parents want to help too. They love you and they are hearing this conversation right now."

Rage coursed through me. "The S9 killed my twin sister! They say they are coming back. You will have to kill me to keep me from staying here to try to end them. If you really do have my parents listening to this, then I don't need to ask you to tell them that I love them, and I'm going to try to avenge Danielle. I'll die inside if I don't at least try."

I sniffled loudly, then shouted again, with a raspy voice. "If I live, I'll grieve then. I will not allow myself to be captured alive. Right now I need my rage and not other people's kindness!"

Three dwarves arrived at a sprint, placing the three masterwork silver flutes studded with precious stones in the depot, then going off somewhere. Probably a party in the dining hall.

Flutes! Flutes! Must trade Flutes!

"I need to give you flutes!" I shouted.

"What? Say again?" My counterpart shouted back from the tunnel entrance, sounding very confused.

"Look, I have this voice in my head insisting that I have to trade flutes. It's driving me nuts."

"I... see. Dragon has requested to meet you, if that's possible, Overseer. She has one of her small remotes nearby than can fit into this tunnel. She has a data package and a laptop computer to give you, if you will meet with her. I suspect she might be willing to, ah, trade it to you for flutes."

Urist looked at me and grinned, speaking in a conversational voice. "A dragon? I would enjoy meeting a dragon."

I whispered forcefully at him. "Shut up Urist, Dragon is another cape. She creates... golems. That's what a 'remote' is to her."

Urist's face fell, slightly. "Disappointing. I killed the last dragon in year 56. It was fun."

I stared at him, and he smiled at me, then ducked his head fractionally.

The woman and her two partners were rapidly moving away from the entrance, and a new intruder appeared. As expected, it was tagged in my head as a golem, with no precise description, other than a job 'Trader.'

"If you attack her, I will end you, Urist. If she has what she says she has, it could give us what we need to actually win. The PRT and the Guild probably have more information about the S9 than anyone else."

My ancient dwarven vampire bodyguard smiled at me. "It pleases me that you speak with such strength, Overseer Shayla."

"I'm still not convinced that you aren't some fragment of myself, Urist." I shot back.

He shrugged. The golem was moving rapidly but stopped at the entrance of the tunnel. A pleasant female voice, very 1950's perfect-mom-ish floated down the tunnel to my ears. "Overseer, this is Dragon. This is a noncombat remote, specifically designed to interface in negotiations. Will you meet with me to trade?"

"Yes, Dragon. Please come forward. Do you have information on the S9 for me?"

The slender humanoid shape walked down the tunnel towards me, and Urist stepped between me and it.

Dragon spoke as she stopped, ten paces away. "This is terribly foolish of you, you know. You've been a cape less than a day, and you think you can defeat some of the most powerful capes in existence, who will come for you as a team? By yourself? With a few constructs?"

I crossed my arms. "Did you come here to give me what I need, or try to keep me from doing what I have to do?"

Dragon looked at me, and her shoulders slumped a little. "You have so much promise, Overseer Shayla. You've been brutally mentally abused. I am sorry for you but I will not stand in your way." She set down two packages, pointing at the larger one first. "One of these is a small generator, gasoline powered. I saw satellite footage of your dwarves hauling all the vehicles into your base, so I know you have a lot of gasoline, but remember you need ventilation."

Urist snorted, clearly unimpressed with the warning.

Dragon looked from him to me, standing behind him.

"Dwarves have been smithing underground using magma and combustibles for a very long time Dragon. They understand the need for ventilation."

"I... see." Dragon's remote stared at me for a moment.

I stared back.

After a moment, Dragon continued.

"In the other package is a reasonably powerful laptop computer with charging equipment that can attach to the generator."

"Thank you, Dragon."

"I will leave now. If you survive this, we need to talk again. There is also a smartphone in that bag that has one of my numbers. Call me."

FLUTES!! FLUTES!! MUST TRADE THREE FLUTES!!

"Get out of my head!" I screamed.

Dragon said nothing, unmoving, simply staring at me.

"Not you. I have something screaming in my head telling me I have to trade flutes."

I walked slowly over to the trade depot, and carefully picked up the three flutes. They were breathtakingly magnificent masterpieces.

I walked over towards Dragon and Urist growled at me.

"Shut up, Urist. You have one hand, and it's holding an axe."

Urist laughed a belly laugh. "Fine. Better than seeing you whining, I suppose."

Dragon's remote accepted the flutes from me, glanced at them for a moment, and then stared at Urist again.

Urist stared back, and stropped the blade of his axe against the light blue metal plate on his handless left arm.

I snapped a command at him. "Stop that, Urist. You're a novelty here. This world has never seen dwarves. Not real ones, and certainly not psychotic vampire legendary axemaster ones."

The remote stared down at the three flutes in their pig-tail cloth wrappings again for several seconds, then looked at me. "These are real. You made these?"

I looked at her, confused. "Of course not. I have a legendary metal crafter, a legendary gem cutter, and a legendary gem setter. Please take them. I think my sanity is at risk if I don't trade three flutes today."

After a pause, Dragon spoke again. "These are far more valuable than what I have given you. I will see that they are given to your parents if you do not survive."

I didn't think the voice in my head would care what Dragon did with them after I traded them. "Do what you want with them, I have twenty three more flutes of similar quality."

The remote was silent for about half a second before speaking again. "I have something else that I think you will appreciate. I hope that you do not take offense that I believe I know at least something about your powers." The remote placed the three flutes carefully within a compartment in its chest, and a small panel opened up on one of it's arms. The remote then slowly and carefully plucked a substantial-sized USB storage device out of the open panel and handed it to me.

I looked up at her quizzically, and she responded. "That's an offline version of the Dwarf Fortress Wiki. I've also provided a few hundred historic saves from the Dwarf Fortress File Depot, and a copy of every single Dwarf Fortress Executable package. I don't know how your power works, exactly, but I hope those might help."

I would have kissed her, but she didn't have a face. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I gigglescreamed as I did a pirouette with the USB device held tightly against my chest.

"You're welcome, Overseer." She paused. "I do not think you are making the right choice here. You can't win. Not against the S9." She turned and walked away.

"No, Dragon, you're wrong." I whispered in a rough voice, trying to restrain my rage, because I knew she meant well. "I might not get them all, but it's for my sister. I can't lose."