Captain Charles of the Wave Skimmer stood firmly planted on his quarterdeck dividing his attention between the sonar display and the river as his command almost flew down the river with the wind at its back. The crew remained tense and attentive to any orders. The marine contingent stood ready to spring into action.

The river patrol galleys, despite their best efforts kept being caught and overtaken by the racing treasure ship.

Downstream where the Taran spread out and became shallow over moth of its width a pirate liburnian was anchored crosswise to block the navigable channel. From the shore a small cavalry patrol watched, impotent.

Captain Charles’ tail wagged in glee, it was going to be a bad day for those pirates, he checked the sonar display once more then placed his hand on the manna stone embedded in the rail by the wheel and activated the enchantment.

“Brace for impact! Prepare to man the ballista!”

“Cap, you sure ‘bout this?” asked the helmsman.

“Mother promised.”

The cavalry patrol watched horrified expecting a messy crash as the Wave Skimmer seemed to settle in the water of the river as her bow wave grew and seemed to move to a point in front of the bow.

On the galley the pirates watched appalled, it looked like they would loose their galley and have to dive for the treasure, not reassuring with that dammed cavalry patrol watching.

Then the carbon monofilament wires that were being held thirty centimetres ahead of the Wave Skimmer’s bows sliced into and through the blocking lightly built racing galley and the Wave Skimmer continued downriver with scarcely a check. Charles removed his hand from the manna stone.

“Stand down, for now.”

* * *

Taron the Ravager and his veterans occupied one of the private conference rooms at the Jandorton guild hall, also present was Durati, the only local adventurer who had ventured into the dungeon they were interested in.

They had spoken to the guildmaster and agreed to evaluate the changes in the unnamed goblin dungeon, and again Durati proved useful. His assessment that it was more dangerous and imaginative than before fit the pattern of a dungeon that had changed companions.

They went shopping, a large capacity storage device, two large tents, camp beds and other comforts purchased the veterans headed to the best restaurant in town followed by a night at a luxury inn.

The following day they, reluctantly headed out of town and made their way to the valley that contained the two dungeons.

Andy barely noticed their arrival as the pixie made her way carefully through his as yet mostly empty sixth level. Fleur had noted the signs of recent improvement as she advanced through the dungeon, it wasn’t a great dungeon but it had potential especially now that the slimes seemed to have been integrated into the traps. Still it was nothing like her mama’s dungeon.

Taron watched as the two servants they had hired went about setting up camp in the valley in sight of the two dungeon entrances. And yes it was a case of two dungeons, the aura they gave off was very different.

Andy watched as his visitor flew slowly into his heart room and looked around with interest. She was obviously young and wore her dark hair in a pixie cut.

Fleur looked round the heart room with interest, it was guarded by seven of the new Badger ‘folk with two carefully sited ballista and all carried powerful crank crossbows along with assorted melee weapons. They were grinning at her.

The core was set in a small alcove guarded with steel bars that looked new. The Ruby glowed clearly.

« Hello, welcome to my home. Do you want to stay and be my companion? »

« What happened to your previous companion? »

« I cut the connection with the System’s agreement and asked him to leave. He did. »

« All the improvements I sensed are yours? »

« Yes, but I had help from Blue Lagoon and I owe her a few favours in return. »

« How can you trust these free willed badger ‘folk to defend you? »

« If I don’t challenge their “Mother” they are loyal, very loyal. I gave them life after all. »

« And they still have a higher loyalty? »

« Blue lagoon is, I think and hope, unique. »

Fleur licked her lips nervously. « Um, you do know that Blue Lagoon has taken a central role in the Gods War that has just started? – Yes I Fleur will join with you. »

Andy felt a surge of relief. « And I David Andrew Fitzwilliam, commonly known as Andy will join with you Fleur. »

* * *

It took the Cunning Dolphin Adventurer company three days to reach the Winter Wolf dungeon. Robin spent two days running limited delves to test his weaker people and to habituate his marines to dungeon delving. Then he collected a team of himself and three of his best tiger ‘folk, Faaron and Crazy Lou and headed in himself.

ANS 28 did her best but the adventurers had figured out how to handle her wolves, and the snow didn’t seem to affect the tigers. Briarthorn did his best but the adventurers were just too powerful. He admitted that the goblins he had been told to recommend wouldn’t have lasted as long as the wolves.

Then the unstoppable adventurers moved warily into their heart chamber and their leader nodded politely to the core before setting about demolishing their dire wolf final boss. While the fight was raging Briarthorn heard a giggle behind him and felt a blade prick him in his lower back. He stiffened with fright.

“Oh don’t worry, we don’t want to hurt you, either of you. Mother wouldn’t like it. Well I suspect she wouldn’t really care you understand, it’s just that she needs your friend and partner to wake up.”

Briarthorn glanced behind him and saw the small beastman that the others called Crazy Lou. “Err, why do they call you Crazy? You don’t seem crazy.”

“Oh but I am mad. I like to be on my own and for a Meerkat that isn’t sane yanno.”

When the fight was over Robin produced the crystal he had been given and touched it to the Tourmaline that was ANS 28.

ANS 28 had watched incuriously as the tiger man had placed a crystal against her, Then she had a powerful obnoxious girl rummaging around in her mind. It hurt!

Mary noted the almost total lack of willpower and decided to cheat, it was a matter of moments to extend a scrap of her domain through this dungeon's and sent it out a few hundred meters to coalesce her influence in a small hollow. Then she withdrew into herself and proceeded with her task.

ANS 28 felt the girl do something and it was as if a dam broke. Her memories came rushing back and everything spilled out and poured down a bond she hadn’t been aware off. Her memories made the girl who had invaded her mind recoil in disgust and pull out. She, Linny Thomas was alone in her head again, except that she had two heads, brains whatever.

Mary tried to reach Robin who was holding the crystal, and to her surprise she succeeded. The crystal had been changed in some way. « Robin, good job. Time to leave, pass my congratulations to your squad. Oh, and please tell Linny that a paladin of Hel-Arlizzy will be coming around soon should she have any problems. »

* * *

In a nice apartment in Bismark North Dakota Tiny Baczkowski watched as his latest girlfriend injected herself with some recently purchased opium. He grinned as he anticipated the rush, he was just reaching for the syringe when Linny jerked and went into some kind of fit before falling to the floor.

He gathered up all the drugs and dumped them in a shopping bag before heading for the door. He stopped, grabbed Linny’s phone with a handkerchief and called emergency services.

“Yeah, Yeah, this girl just mainlined opium and had a violent fit, she’s out cold on the floor. I’m leaving the door unlocked and the address is...”

Tiny dropped the phone and fled, as he passed a fence he threw the bag with the drugs into the yard and kept going not even seeing the sign on the gate – Stateside Junior School.

* * * INTERLUDE 1 * * *

The Frost king decided to put his plan into action. He crossed the dimensions and descended on the world Azurea had described, he set his sights on the vaguely hourglass shaped double continent and settled his regard on the northern continent. Yes Azurea was correct. Many of these beings studied weather and its effects on the world.

So... who to pick...

The Frost King selected his fifty experts and started to collect them. Unlike Azurea he didn’t bother to leave anything behind to keep his victims alive.

Less than twenty seconds after he arrived the Frost King was ready to leave with his booty. Then a much exasperated god smote him with the strength of over two billion loyal worshipers and The Frost king was shattered and the shards that remained fled.

The remnants of the Frost King was able to escape because the local god showing his compassion was restoring the souls of his followers and those who had lapsed but not fallen into another god’s hands.

The fragment’s of the Frost king fell onto Parthia, the majority assembled themselves in his fortress under the north pole still clutching three hard won souls. He called on Azurea for help and together they planted the unfortunate kidnapped souls around the limits of the northern ice cap.

The remaining fragments of the Frost King fell onto the South Pole and coalesced. Ice Heart was born and he planted the two souls he held well inside the limits of the southern ice cap.

* * * INTERLUDE 2 * * *

Mary’s fish barbeque was a success as usual and her guests ate a surprising amount and left later in the afternoon with a couple of fish Mary had caught after lunch.

Monday meant a return to school and a very strange conversation with Julian Sottomayor. Mary wasn’t sure what had it all meant as Sottomayor was able to talk rings round her. She suspected someone he knew wanted a sex change but... She decided to forget it as, after all it was nothing to do with her.

Then the school nurse wanted to talk to her. It would seem that she had been at Meier’s party and wanted to know how she could cure blindness.

Mary sighed, “I can’t, Frank had been blinded by the flames, I was able to... jumpstart some regeneration. Frank’s eyes worked, regrowing them meant he could see. Someone who is blind, even if you regrow the eyes, they will still have the faults that their DNA thinks they should have so... It wouldn’t work.”

She finally managed to get away and headed home. She desperately needed an early night.