General Samuel was getting worried. He had achieved a complete success but the natives kept coming in and asking to be incorporated in the new province. On reflection it wasn’t too surprising, once the main fighting force of the Pirate Shore had been annihilated all the neighbouring states were out for revenge. The local pirates and bandits had been unpleasant neighbours. What he couldn’t understand is why they were flocking to the biggest pirate killers of them all.

He looked up as his staff entered his temporary office and made themselves comfortable. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen. The first order of business is something I am very glad to do.” He flipped a sealed letter across to his second in command. “Congratulations Katrina, you’re now a General.”

Samuel grinned at his friend. “Now we need to decide what to do about the current situation. Mother doesn’t want to fight the neighbouring states and she doesn’t want to spread too far inland.”

Newly promoted General Katrina frowned, “If Mother doesn’t want to expand why bother? Would it adversely affect our position if the scum’s victims should expand to our current frontier?”

“Probably not, but I’d prefer to avoid a bloodbath.”

“Samuel, even if we expand, there will still be a bloodbath. Mother really doesn’t like bandits, slavers and pirates. Our orders are clear in that respect.”

General Samuel sighed, “I have a little wriggle room, I should be able to keep things – less bloody.”

“Damn it Samuel, we have good defensible borders where we are, any further and our frontiers will rest on air and we’ll sooner or later be sucked further inland. And if you are going to suggest client kingdoms, don’t. Mother would pitch a fit if you put her in a position of having to defend the local chieftains.”

“What do you suggest Kat? And don’t tell me to just let them go hang.”

“Sam, they made their bed. Let them reap what they sowed. We have thousands of former slaves awaiting repatriation to the states that the scum that ran this place preyed on.” General Katrina shrugged and flicked an ear, “look, accept refugees an’ vet ‘em. Hang the pirates, bandits an’ slavers. Keep the rest. We’ve lots of room.”

General Samuel looked unhappy. He looked round the table at his subordinates. Most just nodded in agreement. “Freddy, I thought you’d be on my side in this. Why are you agreeing with Katrina?”

Freddie lowered his ears, “General, you did a good job, you remained at the rear where you could direct the battles. You didn’t see what the so called free folk endured, let alone the poor bloody slaves. Let the bastards hang.”

Katrina looked up from studying the map. “Samuel, how about a bit of a compromise? Shift our border in the north up to the River Nautilus. It might not be as solid as our current line but it is considerably shorter. It will also allow us to take Glasston.”

Samuel looked over the map, “do you think we should Kat?”

“No. We would take casualties to save scum. But it is a valid choice.”

Samuel looked round the table. “Very well. General Katrina, take the northern army and adjust our border. Dismissed!”

General Katrina stood, saluted and marched out.

* * *

Mary looked round, she was seated in a comfortable chair beside Ocidon in what she thought was his throne room or sanctuary. They were watching or presiding over a swirling party. The guests seemed to represent many races including some she hadn’t seen before.

The whole scene rippled as if a wave had just washed over it and she was back in her core. Her connection with her folk was somehow – more solid. They seemed more somehow.

* * * INTERLUDE 1 * * *

Logan Brown arrived home nursing a split lip and a black eye. He was a seething mass of resentment and hate. He was going to get his own back on the morons who kept picking on him. He looked with longing at his dad’s gun safe as he passed it.

He grabbed a coke from the fridge and made his way to his room. Once there he open his laptop and booted it up. He did a quick search on Timothy Brooks, Amanda and Sue Ellen. He sniggered. Serve those stuck up idiots right. They had to wear trackers at all times, and they got locked up three days every month at the new federal institute. Pity they’d been picked up before their first change otherwise they’d be locked up for life.

Logan called up the clip with sub-director Otis Denver’s sanctimonious resignation speech from the FBI’s Paranormal Division.

Tired Logan booted up his favourite Zombie game and spent the next few hours killing virtual zombies.

Dinner was a pain. His father just didn’t understand. Yeah, yeah he should stand up to the bullies and fight back, but there were four of them and all the other kids looked the other way and were just glad it wasn’t them being picked on. Will and Vickie shot him sympathetic looks but quite wisely said nothing. He noticed that on occasion Will’s eyes kept flicking from side to side.

After they loaded the dishwasher the whole family congregated in front of the TV. When their father selected the tape of one of his favourite Baseball games his children headed for bed.

“Hey Logan, let me try something,” said Will as they headed upstairs.

Logan sighed, “Ok.”

The three siblings congregated in Will’s room. Will muttered some nonsense words and made a vague gesture. Logan felt a tingling and the reduction in the level of pain he was feeling surprised him.

“You’ve been – um, integrated by the System then Will?”

“Yes Logan. I chose to be a mage and I chose to remain human. According to the System mages can greatly expand their lives so there was no point in changing race. Father would have had a fit and you two still need a buffer.”

Vicky blinked and shook her head violently. “Will help, I’m seeing a blue screen. Please help.”

Logan went to fetch his laptop and starting to check all the blogs he had been checking while Will calmed their sister.

It took the siblings two hours to check all the available options as they helped Vicky move through the integration process. Not having the option of mage as a class, Vicky opted to become an elf gambling on her long hair hiding her now pointed ears.

* * *

Later lying in his bed looking up through the dark at the faintly visible roof of his room Logan called up the blue screen he’d dismissed while they were helping their sister.

Race was interesting; he chuckled quietly at the description of the various vampire options. He started to get the faint glimmer of an idea. Zombies turned out to exist but only as monsters and minions; as did skeletons. And they all had two things in common, necromancers and dungeons.

He discarded dungeons. They were static and vulnerable. Necromancers on the other hand, yes he could work with that. And there were graveyards everywhere. Then Necromancers were Mages and they had the quirk that the status could be set to read Mage rather than Necromancer.

Logan had by now a very nasty grin on his face as he proceeded with his integration. His bullies were going to pay! Not now, maybe not soon but he had time.

* * * INTERLUDE 2 * * *

Mary entered her domain as she walked onto the beach nearest the cliffs that concealed her dungeon. Jerica waded out of the sea and hugged her. The two partners settled down to await Tod. Mary set up her fishing tackle and cast her line.

Tod arrived about half an hour after Mary’s arrival and he found her as his spotters had informed him. Fishing. A small child was sitting near her staring at him. He shouldered his bag and headed out to claim a spot near his principal.

Mary allowed one stream of consciousness handle the fishing while linking with Jerica. They struck the minute Tod entered their domain. Initially their only action was to hide the fact that he entered their domain from him.

They probed carefully until they found his nascent core. Due to recent experience on Parthia Mary was able to manipulate it. Carefully they read everything Tod the dungeon knew about her, them and dungeons. They verified his orders and vaguely, intentions. Carefully they built in a couple of blocks and a simple paired compulsion. The last thing they did before pulling out was to strengthen his core to ensure their work wouldn’t fray.

« That was remarkably easy Jerica. I think we will have to give him some pointers or we’ll lose our new mole. »

« Oh I don’t know Mary, other dungeons will see your brand. Won’t that be enough? »

« Don’t want anyone with evaluate to spot his full species. »

« You’ll have to ask him if he’ll allow you to do that. If not it won’t be hard to make him think he allowed us to mask it. »

“Hey Tod, what you planning’ when someone uses Evaluate on you? How you explainin’ the dungeon core part of your race?”

Tod blinked. He could have sworn something had just happened. Nothing seemed to have changed – then he realized, he was standing in a dungeon’s domain. He swallowed nervously before Mary’s question caught his attention.

“I don’t know. I was hoping to keep that secret. Given what’s happened in Bismark I really don’t think it’s a good thing to advertise.”

“Bismark? Never mind, do you want me to mask that part of your descriptor? There would be a potential drawback however.”

“What drawback?”

“It would mark you. Other dungeons would believe you belonged to me.”

“Would I? Belong to you that is, and how would that even be possible?”

Mary lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Dungeons are territorial and tend to become paranoid if other dungeons infringe on their domains. A more powerful dungeon can take over or kill a less experienced one. Willpower does help in the – contest. And you’re in my primary domain now.”

Tod felt a chill race up his spine. “Are you going to? I thought your home was your dungeon.”

“Nope. Would cause too much hassle under the circumstances, ‘an no offence but you’re no threat.” Mary nodded at the sea, “my dungeon is out there, mama’s house is secondary. I only claimed it ‘cause mama ‘an me live there. Insurance you might say.”

Tod thought hard. He didn’t like any of the options on the table.