“Well captain Fran’reesa you will be taking an enhanced patrol through the new world gate and see what you can learn. We are almost certain that the world on the other side is Midgard. Your most important job will be getting us samples of their weaponry for study.

“Second, get prisoners for interrogation. We need to learn about the various nations that are invading the Empire of Light or aiding our enemies.

“Well good luck, and don’t hesitate to withdraw if needed. We need information not more dead soldiers.”

Captain Fran’reesa saluted and left the office and went to inspect her troops. After the mandatory speech, a rather short one to the relief of her patrol. Then after casting a jaundiced eye on the unhappy looking dwarves perched on restive mules that had been added to her forces when a brief scout through the gate had revealed mountains and more mountains Captain Fran’reesa led her small army through the gate.

They slowly worked their way down from the snow covered peaks thankful for both their furs and for the mages and their heating spells. The dwarves had to employed several times to clear snow and ice drifts that blocked the best paths.

They all kept a wary eye on the sky after the first of the huge birds flew by high in the sky trailing streamers of clouds.

There really was remarkably little in the way of wildlife, some goats that seemed capable of defying gravity, one large brown bear and two large cats. The one the System identified as a cloud puma seemed to evolved from the other and was able to assume a vapour form and was able to get away.

The first few houses they found were covered in snow, and closed up they seemed to be waiting for better weather.

Captain Fran’reesa and her officers were getting worried, they had been on Midgard for a week and still they were working their – slow – way downhill. They had obviously arrived in winter and the locals who lived in the large houses obviously had other dwellings for the winter. Then there were their dwarves who seemed to be falling in love with these harsh idiotically high mountains.

* * *

Windchime Wavedancer returned home to his wife with a letter from their grandson. He and Antella had made it a custom to share all such and he was curious. It had been a couple of years since the last and this letter was fat and heavy.

Antella and Windchime sat side by side on their comfortable couch they opened the letter.

“Looks like we’ll be visiting our grandchildren,” commented Antella as she examined the travel permits and tickets. “By gate no less. Silverfin must be doing well.”

They read the letter and smiled at the news, though they both grew serious towards the end. They looked at one another and nodded in unspoken accord.

“Antor is what, thirty? And Tessara is two years older. And this other girl was ten as a human so that’s—” Antella pause as she did some calculations, “—twenty-eight? Right?”

“Yes. We need to pack dear. We need to go. Maybe we should take Fidenia.”

* * *

The Ericksons were watching the news. Currently it was showing a star studded extravaganza. The Hollywood intelligentsia were celebrating victory, the had erected a stage in front of the world gate and were alternating speeches, bad comedy routines and music extravaganzas to a packed crowd of selected guests and a high paying audience. Outside the fence the place was packed with people enjoying the same spectacle for free.

On the screen one of the organisers was being interviewed – “Yes indeed. The army wanted to create a blight in this lovely neighbourhood and we were able to stop them. I have been through this World Gate but frankly I don’t see what all the fuss is about. All that’s on the other side is a rocky wasteland, a bleak grey plain with a few scattered red rocks that look a bit like towers beneath low grey clouds. The air isn’t very good, it smells, acidic, yep, acidic...”

Ashes sat bolt upright in shock, Henry Erickson shout out of his armchair and bolted for the phone in his office. They both remembered a report issued by the Washington DC branch of the Adventurer’s Guild.

‘They are woken by loud noises – woken by loud noises – oh God, please no!’ Ashes gripped the arms of her chair and prayed.

The enraged scouts, resembling enormous many-legged insects, their long antennae twitching in response to any movement. Their legs ending in sharp hooks adapted for burrowing and grasping prey, emerged from the world gate and found food – lots of food. Back in their red sandstone castles the queens tasted their scouts minds and woke their soldiers and gatherers and sent them scuttling through the new world gate after the scouts.

The arrival of the famished ankheg horde sowed panic among the audience and performers both. The unfortunates who had had to remain outside the fence found that they were the fortunate ones as they were able to disappear into the distance. The privileged for their part scrambled to exit via the two small gates and mostly failed. The ankheg horde feasted well and stored much needed supplies for their world’s winter.

The unattended camera rolled on recording the gate and anything in front of it.

Even before the bonanza had been fully collected the scouts were heading out into the city escorting bands of gatherers. Their sensitive antenna told them that this location teemed with meat. Back in their castles the queens were waking their comatose daughters and providing them with drones, warriors, gatherers and scouts before sending them to seek new homes on this bountiful world.

* * *

Manfred was almost bouncing for joy. What could he do with the ghouls, he searched through all the scenarios he owned that featured them. He needed a graveyard obviously, and a graveyard would need a church. A quick internet search gave him a template.

So on the other edge of his domain from the Motel, and on the other side of the road he created a hollow that would conceal his graveyard and church. Then he raised a small redbrick church with a short tower topped by a tiled conical roof topped with a cross. He noted that the tower’s tiled conical roof and cross were visible from the road.

So next a rambling overgrown graveyard around the church and a ghoul warren under that.

Manfred was getting tired but he persisted and added four ghouls to the warren and he summoned a mostly human looking deep one to act as the priest. Then he named his priest and Father James Cooke woke. Manfred for his part took a six-hour nap and woke to vociferous complaints from his womenfolk in regards to his recklessness in overexerting himself.