Manfred received his companion back with virtual opened arms and the realization that this tiny pixie, with her bewildering mix of love, playfulness and ruthlessness had become as important to him as his own existence.

A very thoughtful Alice stepped through the portal from the old man’s dungeon in the wake of a speeding Moonbright. She smiled involuntarily when she barely caught a glimpse of the speeding pixie as she took a beeline deeper into the dungeon to Manfred’s heart chamber. She could feel through her link that Manfred and Moonbright were completely distracted.

‘Got to make use of the time while Moonbright is distracted.’

Alice left the portal room and was surprised by the guard detail at the entrance. She showed her ID and was allowed to proceed. She dropped into her favorite armchair already talking on her phone while all the while keeping an eye on her link.

She made her report, trying to balance her divided loyalties. So she mostly passed along her experiences with the offworlders. She had been shocked at how wary and respectful they had been when they learned that she was a dungeon’s Voice. Then there was their attitude to Felicia and Antonio. The sheer incredulity and fear when they realized they were interacting with a dungeon’s avatar. A dungeon that was using his Voice to double team them.

She sighed and started winding up her report. The lovebirds were finally coming up for air.

« Lovebirds? Oh that’s good, » giggled Moonbright.

“Glad you didn’t end up with Antonio, I suspect you’d be well on your way to owning Europe.”

Moonbright flew in and settled on her couch in the alcove next to the fireplace. “It wouldn’t have worked. I suspect we’d both be dead by now if we had been matched. On any other world we would have been an unholy terror but even there I suspect we would have been killed. Moonbeam is perfect for him and she was very lucky.”

Alice ended her call and put her phone away. “I think you’ve said that before. Does Antonio know?”

“Yes, how could he not? I suspect he is not happy with Magestica. And after last week I suspect Magestica is wary, if not scared of him.”

“What’s with the army? Did Manfred explain?”

Moonbright sighed, “Manfred was more scared than we thought, he has agreed to a small garrison in that disguised mini fort behind our house and guards in the house. Then too the town now has a ‘police station’ manned by two rather strange MPs.”

“Strange?”

“Manfred told me they are very cool, fanatic RPGers.”

“So what’s next?”

“Next? We, I have to improve our own defenses. And the army is going to make things harder.”

Moonbright studied their Voice and wondered once again if she had been wrong to allow her as much freedom as she had. So far Alice had avoided disaster. Manfred might have accepted her but Moonbright was still not completely convinced of the green haired elf’s good faith.

“Manfred leveled up a couple of times, what with the invasion, he had to share that bonanza with his grandfather. Then there are the army ranges. Not as lucrative as killing adventurers but very, very nice.”

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Moonbright smiled and continued, “What’s important for your superiors is that Manfred is able to set up another ten portals.”

Alice nodded and sighed. ‘More globetrotting and more tedious explanations to a gaggle of incredulous hidebound career bureaucrats,’ she thought to herself.

= = O = =

Frazee the reckless was desperate to return home. He had visited the local Guild office in the peculiar town of Feira dos Namoradeiros. The locals called it a village but it was too big for that. And it had no defences and everyone went about unarmed.

The records were very revealing. Midgard was an insane world that somehow was twisting the System to its – its outlook more than the System directing things into the old established paths. He suspected and hoped that this would mean that Midgard would always be unique and semi isolated. But then there were the local dungeons.

The New Innsmouth dungeon was strange but he could see a traditional dungeon struggling to exist in this benighted world. The Luso dungeon would have been classified as a rogue on any other world. And it was hiding things. There was no way it could have the energy it manifestly did without something. Frazee suspected that the portals were part of the answer but not all of it.

He finally screwed up his courage and approached the Voice of the dungeon, the fact that the Voice was standing arm in arm with the far too human avatar of the dungeon was possibly the most intimidating part of the experience.

* * *

Frazee emerged from Bluestone and breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be home. He turned to look back at the entrance of Bluestone and then he looked round. The Pyromaniacs were awaiting their turn patiently. The watcher at the small Guild guard cum messenger post looked bored while his horse cropped the grass in the field behind the post.

Frazee grinned and set off down the road to Verilanium. He walked along under the light of the twin suns whistling merrily.

* * *

Some time later Frazee the Reckless presented himself at his guildmaster’s office and proceeded to deliver his report and by so doing gave his guildmaster several new headaches.

Eclavran eyed his deputy sourly. “Are you sure that you saw humans and dwarves help guard Bluestone? And that they are armed and equipped like the Midgardians?”

“Yes boss, Midgard is unique in a bad way. They interact with their dungeons in a unique way, they treat them like they were just another person and expect them to obey their laws. Luso, the one that has allied with Bluestone hosts a gigantic luxury inn, cooperates with the local Guild by running training dungeons of various levels of difficulty and has a web of portals covering a fair proportion of the world that anyone can use for a modest fee of manna and coin.”

“Gods forbid Bluestone should decide to do the same,” almost prayed Eclarvan.

“Luso already has inter-world portals boss,” Frazee pointed out. “And with that temple that can help elves get with child... Well boss, I have to wonder if... maybe there will be a few more portals... soon.”

“If it’s only for the temple, that should be acceptable. But I can’t forget that entry, ‘specialties politics and commerce’.”

= = O = =

Marianna the High Priestess of Bast was in conference with her independent Senior Priestess Felicia, the two were amicably sharing tea and cakes as they made plans.

“So Antonio is willing to let you visit these elven realms to set up his portals?”

“Well yes, the elves will do the hard work in establishing temporary gates. All I’ll have to do is step through so Antonio can claim a small patch of land in what will be one of our ladies temples and establish a standard sized portal.”

Marianna sipped her tea and smiled, “what if you need rescuing? Not that I think that likely.”

Felicia purred contentedly, “Antonio has some modified armored cars, they might be obsolete but we, the three of us have figured out how to convert manna to electricity. And vice versa. So our armored cars have been converted to modern electric motors and their armor can be replaced with enchanted mithril if necessary. Then we managed to get our hands on an M113.” Felicia grinned, flicked an ear, “You realize almost anyone can get their hands on all sorts of obsolete AFVs.”

“Good to know. What about the dwarves?”

“That is harder. I don’t really trust them, I think we will have to let their... their...” Felicia stopped at a loss for words.

Marianna smiled slowly, “Until those who are desperate for children force their leaders to listen.”

“Yes! You do realize that the high elves with their ingrained attitudes will all end up as priestesses of Bast the fierce defender.”

“They will come in useful. Very useful Felicia and we have a surfeit of priestesses of our lady as Bastet.”