Ozzy squatted on his haunches, trying to lower himself down to the small man's eye level. "Hi, names Ozzy. Not in charge, that would be Baron Billy. We'll find him for you. "

"Nopenopenope. Name on the paper is Ozzy, so in charge you are. Warrantyholder, that be you."

Ozzy caught most of that sentence. The little man spoke fast, running words together.

"OK, that would be me then. What do you need me to do?" This part of the deal Ozzy hadn't really thought about. But come to think of it, no one he'd met so far had been the fairy godmother type that fixed things with a bippity-bobbity-boo. A horde of builders made a bit more sense, didn’t it?

"Plans to look at, signature to place, advice to be taken, advice to be ignored." Four of the small creatures brought over chunks of rubble that they somehow placed to form a low table of stone. The foreman spread out a roll of plans of the village of Sedgewick. Or rather, of something that looked sort of like Sedgewick.

The buildings were all taller, at least three stories, and made of stone for the first two. The third story was constructed of huge beams and the area was larger by several feet on most sides, overhanging the lower stories. The roofs had high peaks, small balconies, and widow's walks.

"Well, that's a bit different. Why the change up? And it looks like the streets are different?"

Ozzy was trying to orient the map, but things definitely were moved around. The village square was huge now with several shops around it that Ozzy didn't remember. The tavern and inn faced each other across the fountain with the livery stable next to the inn. The road from the keep made a large circle around the town instead of through the middle. Smaller streets from the north and south sides of the square connected with the road. That sort of made sense to Ozzy. Who wanted all that traffic straight through the town?

"Notdifferent, old it is. Original plans. A match with the city. Ordered this way."

Suzette was looking over Ozzy's shoulder. "It looks better. And the tavern is much bigger. Look, the back is an enclosed courtyard with a wall and outbuildings. I like that."

Rolly came walking up, eating as usual. He offered the small man a muffin. The foreman politely refused. "Thanksandapologies. On the job."

Rolly insisted. "Betty made them special for today. Apple and honey, they really taste great. And she made them for the workers. You guys are workers, right?"

Many of the small builders looked up and a few wandered over. The foreman looked up at Ozzy.

Ozzy shrugged. "All workers here and Betty made muffins for the workers. Can't see that breaking any rules. I approve."

The little grey men surged forward and formed a neat line. Rolly started handing each one a muffin, and yelled for Betty to bring more. The small men ate them in three bites, rubbing their bellies and laughing. Seeing this, Betty started passing out more. "You boys eat. I'll get another batch going. Can't do your best work on an empty stomach."

The foreman nodded at her and bowed. "Muchthanks, muchwisdom there is, muchmuffin grateful." He ate his two and then turned to Ozzy. "Suggestions? Needs?"

Ozzy looked at the plans. "Can we add a second barracks like the one that needs repairing? Put them on either side of the road leaving town with a connecting section on the third story. That would look nice."

The foreman took a look; his eyes wandered to Betty where she was walking off. "Can do. With BIG kitchen in new barracks. Idea is good."

A small grey finger drew new lines on the map, and moved some buildings around. Ozzy made his mark on the corner and the foreman whistled to his men. Then he turned to Ozzy. "Best if no one in town. Lose customers that way. Hard to find later."

Ozzy took his advice and had everyone back off from the town about a quarter mile. Soon there was nothing but dust and noise coming from the rubble and ruin of Sedgewick. The only person who stayed was Betty, who said she had muffins to make. Two of the builders were assigned to make sure she could work without being walled inside of something.

Four hours later, the dust settled. When the contract workers cautiously moved to the town, they saw totally rebuilt buildings as if the war and invasion by Rat-kin had never happened. The buildings didn't look new, despite being different. The huge stones that made up most of them looked like they had been there for centuries. Moss and ivy grew in places, and flowers were in the window boxes. Betty was distributing muffins from her new kitchen in the second barracks. Many of the builders were napping on their backs, distended bellies showing they'd eaten until they couldn't take another bite.

The foreman came up to Ozzy. "Job is a good one?"

"The job is a good one. Hell of a job you guys did. Awesome job." They shook hands and then the foreman gathered up his tired but full workers. "Off we be. Crew needed for bigger job. BIGGEST JOB." He tipped his hat and then he and all the other workers started marching back up the way they came. From the direction of Gadobhra came the sound of an avalanche, and dust mounded above the ruins.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Ben was up on the top of the tall, peaked roof of a new building. "Something's happening back at the city. Where the hell is Billy?"

Suzette yelled up at him. "Who cares? Come see my new Tavern."

Ben climbed back to the ground, leaping the last fifteen feet to land like a gymnast doing a dismount. He accompanied Rolly, Suzette and Ozzy inside. The common room was at least three times as big as before with a small stage at the end, and a huge fireplace across from the bar. Two large wooden doors led to a stairway that went down to the basement. The first floor of the basement had several rooms for storage and a larger one for brewing. Another set of stairs led further down.

The sub-basement was much larger than before. The stairs led to a large hallway that resembled dungeon architecture. To the right it opened onto a large cavern with dirt floor and ceiling. A dirt tunnel led downward. Above the tunnel was a crude wooden sign that said "Small adventurers and Bunnies only".

To the left was a much larger room that resembled the original sub-basement. The entrance to the old dungeon was at the far end. A sign that looked like it was a label from a gigantic beer proclaimed "Lair of the Under-Rodent presented by Blud Dark".

"Looks like you have a double dungeon, Suzie. That has to be good for business. When do we get to go in. Squirmie and I are craving some adventure." Rolly and his pet bug were examining both the entrances. "Hey! I got a message when I got close that me and Squirmie are too big for the Bunny Barrow."

"Barrow? Or Burrow? There is a distinct difference in those words Rolly." Ben moved over towards him. "He's right, the warning message definitely says Barrow."

"I think it's just a level 1 dungeon. Remember that message at the end of the war? I wonder if it was just there but no one knew about it? That would explain why that meadow was always teeming with low level rabbits."

Suzette placed her hand upon the wooden sign.

Welcome back, Dungeon Keeper.

Would you like to claim ownership of the Bunny Barrow? This level 1 dungeon will only accept Tier one adventurers. You of course may tour and make suggestions by appointment.

Because this dungeon is part of the larger Lair, it will not overflow.

Suzette claimed it. "Can't see any reason not to claim it as well. Might be a great place for some of the lower-level guys to go gain some experience."

Moving to the main dungeon, she also got a message.

Welcome Back Dungeon Keeper!

Would you like to resume your duties?

This dungeon is now a Tier 2 Dungeon. Small parties will enter the maze and may descend and challenge the bosses in their lairs. A large raid will be sent to fight each boss with one party before the remains of the raid descend to face The BIG Rat.

This dungeon (currently) cannot overflow. Any extra deaths are urgently needed for upgrades in the city of Gadobhra. You are safe for a time.

"Oh, even better. Guys? I've got control of both dungeons and they can't overflow. Something weird about them being linked to the city."

Ozzy liked that. "I'm happy to have some time off for boring stuff. Let's go upstairs. Do we want the top floor again? Bet it has a better view now."

                    =*=

Billy was, at that moment, cowering in fear of his life in the large courtyard in the center of Gadobhra. He and Layla had been trying to decide on which ruined building to try and turn into a new headquarters for ACME. They had decided on one of them, when it suddenly crashed to the ground in a pile of rubble. Small grey men, hordes of them, began to sort out the rubble. The ground shook and rippled. Trees swayed and then actually started moving further from the buildings. Things seemed safest in the center so the two of them climbed up on top of the statue in the fountain.

"What the hell did you do?!" Layla, as usual, saw no reason not to blame Billy.

"No clue. Has to be something to do with opening up the city. Just when I think I have a handle on things, this world surprises me again."

"You’re smiling. Tell me!" Layla knew Billy well enough to know when something was highly amusing to him. He looked around. "Look at it, pure chaos. Who the hell knows what comes next? I love chaos, it's where I do my best work. The two of us are going to bury Vern and the other corporations if the rest of the world is like this. They won't know what hit

them."

                    =*=