Um, Kalli? Why do you have a problem with goblins?

Kalli glared over my shoulder, clinging to my back as she pointed a flaming finger at the cowering Boombrix. Why does she have to keep climbing on the bed? I warned her about that.

Gently taking Kalli’s hand and clasping it in my own, I spoke to the goblin. “Boombrix. You need to stay out of the bed so you don’t startle Kalli.”

Sensing that the danger had passed, Boombrix raised her head slowly. “But, lord emperor. Boombrix cannot reach you to wake you up without leaning over the empress. Perhaps, if the emperor slept closest to the door…”

“Out!” Kalli screamed, taking her hand back to point at the door.

After watching the goblin slink from the room, Kalli scooted over to the side of the bed.

She really is a nice goblin. I don’t think she is trying to upset you.

Her face scrunched up in annoyance. Not all goblins are nice, Melvin. Now, make me a toilet.

We ate a quick breakfast before resuming the march. I found myself lost in thought and Kalli also said nothing. She kept stealing glances at Boombrix who continued to keep pace with us. After watching her do this for the fifth time, I asked her about it.

What happened between you and goblins?

Kalli turned to look at me and frowned. Well, there were goblins in the forest near the monastery when I was growing up. I guess I just learned the hard way not to fall asleep when there are goblins around.

Looking back at Boombrix, I couldn’t see anything except for a mostly harmless green creature that had pledged her life to me.If I didn’t count the bombs, of course.

Do you want me to talk to her about it?

Kalli bit her lip, kissing me on the cheek. No, I’ll try not to overreact. Maybe you should sleep close to the door from now on though.

Will do.

Satisfied that the issue was dealt with for the time being, I turned my attention to the problem in front of us. Namely, our slow travel. I wanted to see if I could widen the passage, so I opened the World Editor.

ENTERING WORLD EDITOR MODE

THE THIEF’S CORRIDOR IS NOT CURRENTLY CLAIMED!!!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CLAIM IT? Y/N

The immediate answer was to click YES, so I pressed the button.

AS THIS AREA IS INHABITED, THIS ACTION MAY BE CONTESTED. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED? Y/N

Looking up and down the passage, I wondered if it was my army that occupied the tunnels. I never got that message in the dark lands even though it was occupied when I claimed it.

As Nolgrit was leading the army, I decided to pull him aside and ask about it. “Does anybody call this place their home?”

The dwarf tilted his head to the side as he considered my question. “Live here? Probably not. They might stay down here for an extended period of time though. A lot of our kind are in hiding.”

“Dwarves?” I asked.

He shook his bearded head. “Non-humans. Safety outweighs comfort in a lot of cases.”

Not sure if it was the right thing to do, I asked, “Do you think people would mind if I made this corridor part of the empire? You know, place it under my protection.”

Nolgrit ran a stubby finger through his beard as he considered what I offered. “Well, you could station guards. Perhaps set up hospitality tents with supplies. There is a lot that can be done for the people who seek refuge here.”

“That settles it then.” I proclaimed, not waiting for a reply to click YES.

The effect was as immediate as it was brutal. Kalli gasped as she collapsed to the floor, twitching with the sudden pain caused by a rapidly depleting mana pool.

I grunted under a similar strain as I watched the golden lines connect the dark lands to the intricate network of tunnels that spanned the globe. Kalli grunted under the strain of the mana drain. A little warning would have been nice. I wasn’t paying attention.

Struggling to find my voice as the World Editor continued to siphon mana, I squeaked out a reply.

Sorry. I didn’t realize a simple tunnel would take so much.

When the magic finally released me, I slowly returned from the World Editor to see Nolgrit gaping at me. “What did you do?”

I looked around at newly-formed golden bricks that lined the path and a satisfied smile crept onto my face. “Do you like it? The Thief’s Corridor is officially part of the empire.”

Walking back to the main room, I noticed that Kalli was missing. Her voice told me where she went. Mel, there are some very interesting options for the tunnel. You can add rest stops with privies. There are also bonuses for stationing guards down here to protect travelers.

Returning to the World Editor, I joined Kalli in playing with the various options. Starting at The City Under the Mountain, I added a waypoint every mile or so. The tough part was going to be getting guards to each station.

I took a break to speak to Nolgrit. “I want you to continue toward Dabia without us.”

The dwarf’s eyes widened with concern. “My emperor. I don’t think that’s wise. You could be attacked if you travel by yourself.”

Closing my eyes, I decided to check if I could sense the dark lands. Normally, if I wasn’t in the dark lands, I couldn’t sense any of the villages to teleport. However, just as with Old Wrotor, the Thief’s Corridor suddenly qualified as an extension of my empire, allowing me to sense the villages once again.

Taking a deep breath, I folded mana over myself and stepped into the void.Moments later I stepped out into Kalliville, once again shocking nearby villagers.

Satisfied that my experiment was a success, I teleported back to Nolgrit’s side. He jumped out of the way when I appeared. “Don’t do that! You startled me.”

I laughed and explained my plan. “I am going to work on the tunnel and then teleport ahead of you. The sooner you march to Dabia, the quicker you’ll be able to support me there.”

Kalli and I spent the better part of the week creating the newly improved Thief’s Corridor. We stocked hundreds of locations with supplies and food for anyone who was forced into the tunnels. The golden bricks glowed in the dark, providing light for travelers who might otherwise be blind in the darkness.

We slept in The City Under the Mountain, allowing me to show it off to Kalli for the first time. A smile lit up her face as she watched small children from several different races running around together. I can’t believe it, Mel. Everybody is so happy and carefree together. My world is not usually like this.

They made this all on their own. I just provided the space. Once the other races discovered what we were making here, they all just sort of showed up.

Seeing a group of goblin children up ahead, I attempted to steer Kalli in a different direction. She noticed what I was doing and turned to face me. It’s okay. I’ve started to realize that I have some issues from a bad experience that I had. I’m trying not to take it out on innocent goblins.

I smiled and kissed her on the nose, causing her to giggle. One of the goblins ran up to us and spoke. “Mr. Emperor, sir. Do you know this one’s mommy?”

Taking the lead, Kalli knelt beside the goblin and asked, “Who is your mommy, little one?”

The goblin touched Kalli’s hand, causing her to flinch visibly. He jumped back and cowered behind my leg. Looking up at me, the goblin asked, “Who is the scary lady?”

I smiled patting him on the head. “That’s Kalli, she’s the empress.”

He trembled slightly, squeezing my leg even tighter. “Does she want to hurt me? I’m scared.”

Turning to face the goblin, I said, “She would never hurt you.”

At the same time, Kalli said, “I promise, I won’t hurt you.”

Once he calmed down, I knelt next to him and asked, “Why did you think she was going to hurt you?”

The goblin appraised me for a moment before answering the question. “Humans always chase Frag with sticks when they see him.”

Making the connection, I asked, “Are you Boombrix’s son?”

The goblin nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Frag is Boombrix’s offspring.”

Kalli inched closer to the young goblin, careful not to frighten him. “It’s terrible that humans chased you with sticks. I would never do that to you, I promise.”

After looking at Kalli’s hand for a long moment, Frag nodded his approval and turned his attention back to me. “Please make sure that Frag’s mommy doesn’t die. She told this one that you saved her life.”

Flashes of Stefanie ran through my mind as I tried to find the right words. Worried I was about to let the tiny goblin down, I said, “I will do everything that I can to keep your mommy safe.”

“As will I!” Kalli chimed in, noticing the goblin’s worried expression.

When we made it to bed that night, the conversation of goblins came up again.

Frag was nice, wasn’t he?

Kalli grunted, nuzzling her forehead against me. Yes, he was. He cares about his mother too.

We lay in silence, each lost in our own thoughts for a moment before Kalli continued. You really want to know what happened to me, don’t you?

My thoughts had betrayed me.

Someone hurt you. Of course, I’m worried about it.

I felt her breath on my neck as she began her story. When I was little, I used to play out in the forest. I knew there were goblins and other creepy crawlies out there but nothing had ever attacked me, so I didn’t care. At least I thought it was safe during the day. Anyhow, it was a particularly warm day and I was resting on a hill, watching the clouds go by. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up suddenly when I felt something. Two goblins were crawling on me. Touching me. They ran away when I screamed. Then I ran all the way back to the monastery and didn’t play in the forest anymore.

The thought of naughty goblins taking advantage of a sleeping child made me feel sick inside. Of course, there was nothing I could do. It wasn’t like all goblins were to blame. Still…

Do you think you would recognize these goblins if you saw them again?

Kalli laughed and wrapped her arms around me. Melvin, no. It’s in the past. I just need to get used to goblins being around. However, I am going to insist that you don’t let them in our bed.

I laughed with her.

Trust me. Nobody else is allowed.

Meanwhile, in the city of Dabia…

Wendy sat with her legs crossed in a large dining hall while wearing a fancy green dress. While she was still furious about being treated like some princess doll in her gilded prison, she couldn’t resist the lavish green dress she found hanging in her closet.

The Dabian style was unlike anything she had ever seen back on Earth, combining ruffles with punk-style leather straps. She looked miserably down at the table which contained an assortment of teapots, each containing exotically different types of tea. To go with the tea were every kind of sweet delicacy the royal kitchens could come up with.

Getting Wendy to open up to the nobles hadn’t been an easy task but Wendy decided to give them one small victory. Though she told nobody, it was her eighteenth birthday. She was legally an adult back on Earth. Deciding to get her captors to back off with their constant insistence that she accept their hospitality, she requested some snacks.

The royal chef had annoyed her, convinced that he could conjure up the most divine cup of tea she ever tasted. Wendy made a show of spitting the first sip back into the cup and spending the following ten minutes lecturing the chef on the finer points of proper tea.

The war escalated when the chef brought out every flavor of tea that the kingdom offered along with a very large assortment of cakes that he insisted paired well.

The first thing Wendy did after that was to demand privacy. She glared at the chef who was waiting anxiously for her report on the offered bonanza. “You can’t very well expect me to give you an honest opinion while you stand there staring at me, can you?”

After the staff begrudgingly left the room, Wendy began her private celebration. Half an hour, and forty-two cups of tea later, Wendy had a problem that had nothing to do with choosing her favorite flavor.

She rang the bell that had been left for her to summon an attendant. Unsurprisingly, the chef returned almost instantly. Wendy rolled her eyes. He must have been waiting just outside the door.

The chef looked at the half-empty cup and asked, “Did you enjoy your meal, my lady?”

She shook her head. “I need an attendant please.”

“Whatever for?” The chef asked indignantly. “Are you too high and mighty to be attended to by a lowly chef?”

“Fine.” Wendy spat. “I need you to show me to the little lady’s room.”

“I beg your pardon.” The chef stammered, unsure of her meaning.

“Toilet.” Wendy shrieked, realizing that the chef still didn’t understand. “Commode? Privy? I have to pee!”