Mary reached frantically for her new reefs and poured manna into raising islands and atolls, what the beep had her people been up to down south in Uvadelton? The arriving team had flooded her with manna. And the team that had dealt with the high temple was due any beep moment. And sure enough more manna came pouring in. But not as much as from the unit that had been in Uvadelton!

In the southern extents of her domain the sea boiled and land rose from the depths, a large volcanic island to the west and several long sandy islands surrounding a deep lagoon to the east.

Mary examined her new islands, stunned, even with all that manna – it shouldn’t be possible – what?

« Forgive me Mary, but I need a town so I helped. »

« Um, ‘k but warn a girl next time. ‘K. A Town you say? Why? »

« I need somewhere for my faithful, the ones I rescued from Uvadelton when I killed the town. »

« ‘K. I had an idea for a town I can adapt. If I set it on the big island and spread down into the lagoon and rise again on that small island the north. Can make that the government and temple district. »

* * *

Trisha was frantic, she had felt Mary’s frantic expenditure of manna and watched in horrified fascination as land and sea was moulded by a dungeon and a god working in unison, then a town grew from the rock of the new land rising in the large volcanic island dipping under the waves of a narrow extension of the huge lagoon and covering the small island to the north.

“Mary, don’t scare me like that. What happened?”

« The expeditionary force that went to Uvadelton arrived and dumped my share of manna from the town’s destruction. What level are we now? No don’t tell me, it’s irrelevant I just need to rework my cores, need to up their capacity by lots. »

Trisha couldn’t help looking and gasped. “Do you think you’ll be hit with this kind of influx again?”

« The gods war is on, am allied to Ocidon who has become the de facto leader of the old gods. So yes. »

* * *

The right honourable Earl of Harrowshire, ambassador at large for his Excellency the Emperor of the Luvarian Empire, Sir Emmallio Trazantor stood on the quarterdeck beside captain Dom-aella. “What’s so fascinating about that small brig that came to give us honours and escort us?”

Captain Dom-aella lowered her spy glass and glanced at the ambassador, “that brig, the Queen of the Seas can sail closer to the wind than any ship I’ve ever seen.”

Sir Emmallio switched his attention to the approaching islands. “Difficult to believe that this small place has scourged and chased the local pirates out of the northern ocean.”

* * *

Alessandrina the Voice was standing at the fore of the delegation that had gathered to welcome the Empire’s Ambassador. She was not best pleased, her hair was coiffed and pinned in an elaborate style, her best dress was heavy and uncomfortably hot and her polished leather shoes were pinching her toes.

A few paces behind her stood Danilus Oakborn and his second in command, Annoraa the Fair. Level with them but separated by a short gap stood Jaasoon Sunhigh. Then further back stood two honour guards, the temple guards with Rafael Twiceborn and four squads of Mary’s marines.

The ambassador descended the gangplank from his ship with the ambassadorial guard and all due ceremonial was observed.

* * *

Victoria grinned with satisfaction. They had done it. They had managed to infiltrate the Adventurer’s Guild, the regional HQ no less. They had been reading all the correspondence and digging into their records.

And as if that was not enough, they had infiltrated most of the temples, the town hall had been easy, as had the courts. Mother would be pleased. She picked up her daughters and kissed them as she headed for her private shrine with its beautiful dolphin carving.

She bowed her head, “Mother we, I succeeded. We have successfully infiltrated the regional HQ of the Adventurer’s Guild. And more important I have two beautiful daughters. Thank you Mother for making this possible.”

« Victoria? How? Oh they are beautiful... congratulations. What are their names? »

* * * INTERLUDE 1 * * *

Reeva shook her head in disbelief and was about to enter the guild house when she spotted Palca approaching with Sirenna. She waved to them.

“What is it Reeva?” inquired Palca as she came up.

“There’s an accomplished shadow mage in town, he had a message, no orders for Abriman to pass on to Hel-Arlizzy.”

“Orders?” asked Sirenna.

“Shadowmage?” asked Palka. “We have to inform Isbetta.”

The three women headed into the guild and asked to talk to the guildmaster. They were soon in Isbetta’s office. Reeva told the assembled company of the meeting with Shadow and Abriman’s reaction.

Isbetta dragged down a thick folder and consulted it. “Blue Lagoon, less than a year old and already ranked Godlike. An ocean dungeon allied to Ocidon.” Isbetta looked up and eyed Reeva, “you say she’s now Ocidon’s consort? That’s going to complicate things.”

“That’s what the Paladin of Hel-Arlizzy told me, he said his god had just informed him of that fact. He also said that Mock Turtle hellhole is her idea of a starter dungeon.”

“On to more important things, do you mind making a memory stone with what you saw of this shadow mage? We have to warn the guild...”

* * * INTERLUDE 2 * * *

After what seemed like a year, but wasn’t, Rachel Daniels’ tunnel finally came to an end and she used Alf’s eyes to look out at the dead forest that lay to all sides. The trees dead and frost burned, everything was barren and she could see where the advancing ice face was bulldozing the frozen soil in front of it.

She could feel more of those magic items to her left so with an internal sigh she turned ninety degrees and resumed tunnelling. Two days later – at least she could see the days go past now – she found the pitiful remains of another town and was able to feed on some of the items she found in the cellars and absorb the remainder.

There being nothing more here for her she pressed on hoping against hope that she would find something other than the multitude of flies and other bugs feeding on all the frost killed vegetation. Alf did see a few other animals, some birds and some white furred elusive mammals but none of them came close enough to help her.

Finally she came to the coast and Alf took her north. Rachel managed to keep her courage for two days before giving up and ordering Alf to take her ashore on a snow covered coast. Rachel thought they had come nearly three hundred kilometres, and at least two hundred kilometres north. She consumed a few more of the magic items she had found and created a couple of caves at the end of a long sloping passage. Then she summoned some friends for Alf and sent them out hunting.

Then her nascent dungeon was flooded. She hadn’t taken the tides into consideration. She was just about to relocate her entrance when she realized that even flooded her entrance was a valid entrance. So she increased the angle of the initial tunnel before making it rise before dropping down to her. The water trap created she pumped out the excess water.

She studied her domain with slowly reviving curiosity, she owned her caves and tunnel and as currently the opening of her tunnel was underwater she claimed a strip of shore and seabed a few hundred meters in extent. When her penguins returned she learned all about several cold water fish.

Defenders, she needed defenders. But even the emperor penguin was kind of small. Now if she could get hold of some of those Kumimanu biceae or monster birds that she was reading about before her trip to New Zealand last year. Maybe if she could force any would be invader to have to enter via the sea her penguins could prove effective.

So once more she relocated her entrance moving into the icy sea at a point where the top of her entrance tunnel would be just over a meter deep at low tide. She rested for the next few days adding more Adélies penguins, and included a score of emperor penguins for good mesure. Something tipped, and next time she checked her much wished for monster bird was available so at the cost of much manna she had her boss monster.

* * * INTERLUDE 3 * * *

Monday again, another weekend without fishing. She grumbled to herself as she bagged her bras and swimsuits for disposal and headed to breakfast. Her mother recognising the signs of her daughter in a snit raised her eyebrow and poured a coffee.

“So what’s got you in a snit? And why no bra?”

Mary sighed, gulped down her coffee and poured another. “They don’t fit mama, none of them fit, nor do my swimming costumes.”

“So your breasts have grown, that’s not a bad thing.”

Mary snorted, “my breasts haven’t grown mama, my chest has, an’ I’m over two centimetres taller too.”

“Well you are a growing girl, so you’ll be visiting the mall today.”

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

“Cheer up sweetie, you’re going shopping for clothes, it’s fun as any girl will tell you,” teased her mother who received a black look from her unhappy daughter.

“Shoppin’ is borin’. It’s a pain in the... Argh! Beep beeps. Bluey you’re a – an agravatin’ so an’ so.”

“And in other news the von Hindersin’s house has been sold, the new owners are moving in today. And the Navy added a bonus for a job well done and they want to supply you with a bodyguard.”

Mary gave her mother a blank look as she tried to process the news. She knew just how dilapidated the von Hindersin’s house was, there was no way it was ready for occupancy so... Not that anyone could tell from the outside.

“I don’t need a bodyguard. However figure I should accept their kind offer or I’ll have ‘em spyin’ more than they already are. How big a bonus?”

“Half again what you charged them dear.”

“Hey, that means I can afford that big cabin cruiser!” exclaimed Mary excitedly.

Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed. “Honestly dear, and where are you going to keep it? Marina’s aren’t cheap.”

Mary just grinned as she headed out of the house, “gotta run, gotta visit the beep mall. An’ I’ve got just the place to keep it.”

School was more of the same, and in PE she lost it. After being told for the third time to prevent any balls going through the hoop she cast an enchantment on it to repulse all spherical objects and ignored it thereafter.