Somewhere in the Russian Federation several people were seated in a room around a plain table in an anonymous looking middle sized room. At the head of the table was a grizzled looking Lieutenant General to his right was a dignified looking man in a neatly pressed suit and to his right was a woman in the uniform of a captain of the FSB. Facing them were Major Manukov and lieutenants Novosiltsev and Konovalov.

The general at the head of the table opened proceedings, introducing those present with the exception of the gentleman in a suit. The captain was introduced as Valentina Kosmodemyanskaya.

“It has been decided that we need to know how to create rifts, or as the System calls them, Gates. So we need to talk with the girl that appeared at the press conference yesterday, one of her titles would seem to suggest that she is sympathetic to our aims.” General Pavel Malinovski paused to drink a sip of water, “I will now had you over to captain Kosmodemyanskaya so that she can tell you what we know to date.”

Valentina glanced down at her papers before saying anything. “Well we were very lucky that lieutenant Novosiltsev spotted her in the first place and brought her to the attention of Major Manukov. That much attention seems to have overwhelmed her ability to remain invisible. I say seems because anyone who admires Loki is going to be a trickster and not to be completely trusted.

“Thanks to her carelessness we were able to gain her fingerprints. The mystery girl appears to be Nadia Alextranovna Moldagulova an orphan that was living in the village of Vostla with the family of her maternal uncle. Vostla unfortunately was one of the first settlements destroyed by those deist barbarians.

“Nadia is fourteen years old she was born in St. Petersburg on the 20th of May, 2004. She was an average student with a gift for languages. She is fluent in English which she speaks with a mid-western accent, Norwegian, Spanish and Portuguese. Oh and she seems to have a fair grasp of Latin and Old Norse. According to the media pages of a couple of her friends she was somewhat strange, fond of antique weaponry and given to vanishing into the woods for long periods.

“Unfortunately we can’t confirm any of this as anyone who had interacted with her is dead.”

Valentina passed round a sheaf of papers that had a couple of photos attached.

Lieutenant Vasili Novosiltsev shuffled through the papers and looked through the photos, “it certainly looks like her.” Major Alexander Manukov looked up from his own perusal of the papers, “I concur, it is her.”

Then the meeting dragged on rehashing everything several times consuming an inordinate amount of time for little gain until it finally drew to an end.

General Pavel Malinovski concluded the meeting with, “Major you will be in charge of the team designated to recruit Nadia Alextranovna, you know what we are willing to offer her, captain Valentina Kosmodemyanskaya will be your second and liaison with the FSB. The lieutenants will assist you, you will provided with translators if you should need them. Dismisesed.”

* * *

Ashes was running. She could hear the soldiers crashing through the undergrowth behind her. They had spotted her just after she had reached the road this morning and ordered her to stop. After seeing how they had treated their victims yesterday she had bolted. Maybe she could outrun them, there were onlt two left now, chasing her.

As she ran she spotted a gate, its edges were fluctuating slightly so she knew it wasn’t stable but she was desperate, the stitch in her side spelled her doom unless she did something. Anything was better than the animals behind her.

So Ashes dived through the Gate and found herself running towards two men wearing dark blue trousers and shirts that left most of their arms bare. They were standing besides a large metallic – wagon? coach? – painted black on the ends and white in the middle. It was stopped on the edge of a very wide tree lined street that was paved with huge grayish slabs some of which were cracked and patched with pitch. There were a few low housed with huge windows – glass windows.

One of the men raised a hand obviously asking her to stop, Ashes tried but collapsed gasping to her knees, this was fortunate for her because it caused the crossbow bolt one of her pursuers had fired at her to miss, the other soldier had been aiming at the men in blue and hit him in the shoulder.

Ashes heard several loud bangs then the uninjured man in blue was yelling something in an incomprehensible language into a black box he was holding. When she looked back the city legionaries were lying in the street bleeding from several holes that had been made in their molded cuirboilli armor, their swords by their hands. Thankfully they looked quite dead.

* * *

Elsewhere in a dungeon far, far away Magestica was soliciting volunteers for the position of a new dungeon pixie, there were lots of interested parties until the inconvenient fact that the dungeon in need of a pixie was an under sea maritime dungeon.

After procrastinating for a week, and confirming that yes the System had promised said dungeon a dungeon pixie, and yes the time left to fulfil that promise was running out and also Magestica as titular head of the dungeon pixie clan would be blamed for the failure.

So Magestica picked Moonbeam and fired of a message to her informing her of her great good fortune.

Moonbeam was engrossed in a book of implausible adventure tales when she was blinded with a flash and on blinking her eyes clear of tears and afterimages realised a scroll sealed with the seal of Magestica, the head of the dungeon fairies clan was currently resting on her opened book.

Reluctantly and with some trepidation Moonbeam opened and read the oh so official missive.

My Dear Moonbeam,

Congratulations despite your youth and inexperience you have been assigned to a new Dungeon Core on Midgard.

Magestica for the System and Clan

P.S. You’d better practice your water breathing and swimming dear.

P.P.S. The gate key is under the seal.

Moonbeam buried her face in her hands and groaned – this meant work – and danger – she scanned the missive again. No there was no mistake, she had just achieved every dungeon pixies dream. She left the library with drooping wings and went to find her mother.

Moonbeam was surprised at how proud her mother was of her, after some tears and hugs and some pithy advice from her mother’s dungeon and the gift of a magic purse Moonbeam reluctantly pried out the key and activated it.

She found herself on a beach facing huge waves with seagulls crying overhead. And yes she was in a dungeon’s domain.

* * *

They had been camping out at this isolated beach for some days now Lily and Silverfin had accompanied Felicia to see one of the local priests that might be able to help them. Felicia had assured them the man had a good heart under a gruff exterior.

Now Elorinal was watching Silverfin’s family take turns riding the waves on Felicias surfboard. Currently it was Galianna’s turn and the others were frolicking beyond the breakers. Then they were all swimming hard for shore while Galianna curtailed her ride and made for shore.

Instants later Elorinal knew why, he felt the dungeon’s domain engulf him as it swept by him to just above the high water mark. They congregated just outside the dungeon’s reach and gazed out to sea.

“One kilometer in diameter, that is impressive for a dungeon less than a month old,” said Elorinal.

“Well he is an ocean dungeon, things are a bit different with them, they need a wider area, but yes impressive,” murmured Galianna.

A temporary gate flashed into existence some ten meters in front of them and a pixie stepped through, by her long blue-black hair and fair skin she was a dungeon pixie. Her wings seemed to droop slightly.

“Welcome to Midgard,” chirped Antor. “Who are you?”

Moonbeam jumped and turned round, “erm, I’m Moonbeam.”

“Are you Antonio’s Pixie?” enthused Tessarra.

“I’ve been assigned to this dungeon, but I haven’t met him yet, so all I can say is I hope to be his Pixie,” replied Moonbeam with a brave smile.