Mary was quite busy changing people. Almost all the original islanders came asking along with a few others. The only people she refused were the pregnant women, and in their case it was, ‘after the baby is born ‘K.’
She was glad to switch her attention to Captain Goodfellow and his squad and guests on their return.
« Hello Robin, nice to have you back, don’t get too comfortable I have another mission for you. My spies have located a dungeon that goes by the name ANS 28 and we are going to wake it up. By all reports it’s a fairly uninspiring affair but it uses wolves as it’s main monster type and some of its caves feature snowstorms. »
Robin grinned fiercely, more fun, “Yes Mother, when do we start.”
« The Wave Skimmer is awaiting you in the harbour, you will have to pretend to be an adventuring company and leave some of your people outside the dungeon to make the illusion stick. Six seems to be the limit on each delve unless someone wants to kill or capture the dungeon. »
“Can I take all my people?”
« Yes. I suggest recruiting a few humans, elves or dwarves to help the illusion along. Stick to followers of the old gods. I want you to take a small crystal along and touch it to the core when you reach it. You can assure the core that it will not capture or kill it. Don’t tell it we are going to free it from the blue haired cow’s binding. »
“Can I keep the priest?”
« As far as I’m concerned yes. You’ll have to ask him, he works for Ocidon after all. »
Captain Robin Goodfellow was almost bouncing with joy. He was purring.
Goodfellow and his expanded squad boarded the Wave Skimmer in time for the evening tide and were on their way to the port of Varopolis along with an infiltration squad of man-rats.
* * *
Taron the Ravager wasn’t one hundred percent satisfied with his party but he was satisfied that they were as ready as they could be and while two old comrades had refused their substitutes were among the best of the best.
They had gone through the reports supplied by the Roving Valkyries and all of them had flexible metallic armour to defend their legs from the various fish that lurked among the roots of the mangroves. Well all of them bar Fingers Caracaa, she was using some kind of padded cotton armour. They all also all had enchanted items to allow them to survive and navigate the underwater caves.
Taron and his party signed up with a caravan heading for Jandorton and quickly lost the rosy view they had developed since their retirement of rough nights and the discomforts of life on the trail. They soon regained their old habits and alertness.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
By the time they got to Jandorton they were ready to go. They stopped in at the local Guild office and sought out all the latest news regarding their target or targets.
* * * INTERLUDE 1 * * *
One morning in the building housing the office of the Joint Chiefs two people were occupied setting up a projector under the bored gaze of a number of senior military officers.
“So, what do you have for us that you say is so important, and why do you think we need to see it. All that mess coming out of Maui is irrelevant.”
“Sir,” said the spokesman for DARPA, “the subject has a jeep that... well, we have found it flat out impossible to bug it. The vehicle itself seems to detect and destroy any device attached to it. The girl is often not even near it when this occurs. We are certain that one vehicle thief who was paid to target it vanished.”
He displayed several photographs and film clips to his bored audience.
“Then starting last Tuesday, the vehicle has become impossible to locate by artificial means. It doesn’t register on radar, laser targeting doesn’t work, and we can’t photograph or film it.”
More film, this time showing at most a faint blur or shimmer, an empty section moving in dense traffic.
“How sure are you of this data?” asked one of the air force officers present.
“Our drone has proven useless, but our agents on the ground could usually see the girl and the jeep though sometimes they were only aware that ‘a vehicle’ was present.”
“Do you think the girl will talk to us?” asked the naval officer.
“Possibly. If it wasn’t for those idiots at Homeland I would have said yes for sure. I’d recommend someone connected to the navy or coastguard, someone who is passionate about the sea. Oh, and for gods sake talk to the girl’s mother first.”
* * *
In Honolulu some embattled and frustrated FBI directors were contemplating much the same data and making plans. They too were cursing the overeager idiots at Homeland. Their drone thanks to their star drone pilot had managed to follow a speeding blur up to cliff top lookout point three times that week but it always lost it at that point. They were currently making plans for a far less high tech shadowing operation.
* * *
As for Homeland Security, housecleaning was well underway and the knives were out.
In Congress and Senate the professional politicians manoeuvred to portray themselves in the best possible light.
* * * INTERLUDE 2 * * *
On Saturday Mary phoned her friends Mac and AnnMarie. They were both frustrated as the press had the tendency to harass anyone who had been fishing with her.
Mary understood their frustration only too well, so with some trepidation she told them she had found a secluded spot and invited them along. She suggested that they should meet her at the layby at the top of the cliffs.
While she was waiting she felt something intrude on her domain. She focused and found a large drone loitering.
She was still glaring in the direction of the distant drone when first AnnMarie then Mac arrived. She grinned and gestured for them to follow. She formed a haze over the road to block the drone and then she drove down the road into the cut, ordered the door to open and drove in. She could sense the hesitation and rampant curiosity behind her. In both cases curiosity won and they drove into the passage. Mary closed the door behind them.
Parking in the cavern she jumped out of the jeep and grabbed her fishing stuff and grinned at her friends bemused looks as they got out of their cars and looked round in amazement.
Mary opened the door to the beach and led the way out to her private beach.
Later, over lunch she found herself being forced to explain, and of course to introduce the new dungeon’s current inhabitants, namely the three badger ‘folk and their wolf ‘folk friend. The thing that saved her was the bribe she had available. A nice quiet beach and the promise of a key to open the doors – soon.