The journey home was mercifully uneventful. The Duelistists took the place of my Slammer and Piercer, and I set up the Swordsman and Archer in the back of the wagon as a secondary force in the event of a fight. Selene and Alexia practiced magic behind me as I leaned back in the driver’s seat and set the draft horses at a relaxed pace back toward Garmont.

The north border of the farm appeared ahead of us, and I reached out with my mind to find the Perimeter Defense Squads.

We’ve arrived. Resume your regular patrols, and ignore the homunculi in gold-and-teal colors.

Two of the guards had vanished in our absence, and as the wagon drew closer to the back gate, I realized why. Dried blood stained the grass around the northern entrance to the farm. Four corpses twisted out in odd directions beside the gate and weapons glinted dully in the morning sun around them. I scooped up my arbalest, stepped off the cart, and opened the gate to investigate the slain. The wagon shifted as Alexia and Selene joined me.

“Who are they?” Alexia asked nervously.

“You mean who were they,” Selene chuckled. “They look like local looters.”

I nodded as I turned over the first body with my foot. “I don’t think they were expecting an armed guard patrolling the farm..”

Patchwork armor of leather and rusted mail hung off each of the corpses. All four of the corpses were human, a shade too lean to be well-fed, and stank of sweat and death. I motioned for Alexia to lead the cart through the gate as I slung my arbalest over my back. I caught the first bandit under the arms and dragged him aside to make room for the wagon.

“Did Longhorn send them?” Alexia asked.

“I can’t say for sure, but this doesn’t strike me as a coordinated attack,” I said. “There’s only four of them, and they all look as if they’ve been camped out in the mountains for weeks without food.”

“So they’re locals,” Selene assured Alexia. “If Longhorn really wanted to attack the farm, he would’ve brought more men with better weapons.”

Alexia brought the cart to a halt and I ordered the Swordsman to help me pile the dead bandits into the back of the wagon. Selene shut the gate as I inspected the weapons of my attempted invaders. Rusted butcher’s cleavers, long skinning knives, and wood-axes weren’t the chosen tools of serious fighters and I was inclined to agree with Selene. The dead men were simple opportunists, not an organised fighting force.

A grin split my face. More ingredients was always a net gain for a companion farmer.

I led the cart to the shack, backed it up to the entrance of my Replicator workshop, and unlocked the door. Selene and Alexia moved quickly, slipped inside, and took up their usual positions to strip down the corpses and harvest the parts.

Stand guard around the main entrances of the manor house, I told my escort.

My newly gained homunculi set off with a smooth stride as I hauled the corpses into the shack and started the process of stripping them down for parts. I piled the armor into neat piles by the door and left the bandits’ makeshift weapons on the workbench.

Selene wrinkled her nose at the stench of the corpses as she filled a fresh jar with preservatives. “They must’ve been lying there for a while.”

I studied the skin of one of the bandits. “Couldn’t have been any longer than twelve hours, at most. They’re still fresh enough to use.”

Selene and Alexia fell into the steady rhythm of dissecting the dead. Cleavers flashed, fingers dropped into jars, and the sickly-sweet smell of entrails filled the shack. I watched Alexia carve fingers from a hand with swift flashes of her new daggers and a wave of warm pride flushed into my head. I couldn’t have asked for better partners on my farm.

Alexia caught my gaze and grinned at me. “You know, I never thought that I’d leave that cellar. And even if I did, the last thing I would’ve expected was to help you create new homunculi.”

“Well, it was that, or hand you off to a ravenous Shadow Lord,” I joked. “And I doubt Longhorn would’ve seen you as anything more than a lovely weapon to terrorise Roarwind with. You’re a natural, Alexia.”

“Well, I’ve certainly read enough books on anatomy,” she said. “Fictional or otherwise.”

Her flirtatious jab brought distracting memories to my mind and I winked at her.

“Nothing better than hands-on experience,” I replied.

“I certainly can’t argue with that,” Alexia giggled. “Selene, are you sure you don’t want a turn at learning more about the human body?”

Selene rolled her eyes as she placed a trio of fingers into a jar. “I’ve had plenty of experience, Lexie. It’s rather difficult to fill me with the thrill of discovery anymore.” She pursed her lips as I hacked an arm away from the second corpse. “Although I could think of a few exceptions.”

I tossed the arm onto the bench, tried to ignore the shameless grin of Alexia, and pulled a set of keys from around my neck. “Alexia, can you go to the armory and pick up the Essence Core from under the bench?”

She took the keys, nodded, and then offered me a wicked grin. “Just be on your guard, Master. I think Selene may want that anatomy lesson sooner rather than later.”

Alexia left the shack with a laugh of amusement and the swirl of her black cloak.

I picked up a filleting knife, ran it across a sharpening stone a few times, and caught a movement out of the corner of my eye.

The third corpse spasmed on the floor. It lifted a hand as black veins appeared throughout the skin on its face. Black ichor splashed down the dead bandit’s cheeks and a death-rattle snarl exploded from its throat.. I cursed, leapt away from the bench, and snatched up one of the cleavers. Selene hissed in shock behind me as I raised the heavy-bladed knife.

Kilcoy’s face swam back through my memory, and I hesitated.

I’d seen this before. In my first conversation with Longhorn.

“Boy. Your insolence is insulting,” Longhorn’s voice crackled. “I was promised a blood mage, and you have yet to deliver what is rightfully mine.”

I lowered the cleaver and fought off a tide of fear. “I’ve been set back by bandit attacks and interference from the Commission. I can’t safely deliver your goods if I’m constantly threatened from all angles.”

“I told you not to test my patience,” the corpse said. “And you are stretching it to its limits. You will have the time you want, boy. But the original terms of the agreement have risen. You will-” The corpse shuddered and one of its eyes exploded in a mass of black fluid. “You will bring me two of the blood mages. Both sentient. Or I will make these ‘threats’ you speak of a very, very real reality.”

I shook my head. “Sentience in homunculi isn’t an easy process. I need more time.”

“Your time is running out,” Longhorn rasped. “Two blood mages, in Roarwind. Bring them to me, or your farm will burn.”

The corpse shook crazily for a moment and collapsed in a nerveless heap. Its jaw cracked open as black fluid cascaded out of its innards. I stepped in and severed the corpse’s head with two vicious strokes. My heart slammed against my ribs as I leaned against the bench and stared at the dead bandit. Selene’s warm hand found my shoulder and she squeezed it gently.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

I shook her off. “I’m fine. Remind me to decapitate any fucker from now on that we bring in here. How does Longhorn even do that? Possess living humans and corpses?”

“Anyone who makes an accord with a demon has the potential to become a vessel unless it’s specifically mentioned in the contract,” Selene said. “Kilcoy probably thought a vessel meant more than a mouthpiece. This bandit likely signed over himself to gain a small favour.”

I exhaled sharply.“We need to get into the dungeon and find the Sage’s manuscript.. Better defenses around the farm and some serious muscle to fight Longhorn. The sooner, the better.”

“I’m not sure that the dungeon is the lesser of two evils here,’ Selene cautioned.

“I made a deal with Thaddeus,” I said firmly. “He’ll get what I promised him.”

The shack door burst open and Alexia leapt into the room with a dagger in one hand and the Essence Core in the other. She cast her eyes around the room, found us, and then relaxed slightly.

“I heard something from the garden,” Alexia said quickly. “Was it-?”

“Longhorn wants to collect double the original agreement,” I told her. A thought occurred to me. “Which means that he’s desperate. He wouldn’t be hounding us like this unless it was incredibly important to him.”

Alexia frowned as she handed over the Essence Core. “Isn’t he a Shadow Lord? Why would he be desperate for someone like me? Surely he has his own army and his own power?”

“That’s what doesn’t add up. If he was so powerful, why does he need a sentient homunculus with blood magic?” I said. “There’s something bigger in play here. And I have something that he wants. There’s got to be a way to use it against him.”

A thoughtful silence fell over the shack as I turned my attention back to the remaining corpses. The parts quickly filled the jars of preservative. Selene slipped outside to unload the cart and the leftover pieces of the rogue adventurers we’d fought the day before, and I turned my attention back to the Replicator. Whatever apprehension Longhorn’s message had forced into me faded as I examined my uncle’s machine.

There was always something oddly comforting about building companions.

I slotted in the Essence Core. The Replicator hummed to life in a flash of magic runes and a soft cloud of steam. It took a minute to oil the working parts, dust off the small plinths for the ingredients, and ready the Replicator for my next set of homunculi.

Alexia brushed my shoulder with hers as she joined me beside the machine.

“What are you going to do about Longhorn?” she asked quietly.

“He’s waited this long, so he can wait a little longer. He still said he’d give me time, but I had to deliver double the goods.” I shrugged and went over to the shelf of ingredients. “We have the Duelistists, but if the Sage can give us more of his recipes, we’ll have the manpower we need to fight Longhorn. If it comes to that.”

It took a few minutes to refresh my ranks of guards with two new Shield Slammers. I gave them the mismatched armor from the dead bandits, ordered them to find the shields from their fallen brethren, and sent them out to bring my guard back to its full capacity. The women joined me as I strolled out into the gardens.

“Do you have a plan to deal with the Eldritch dungeon?” Alexia asked me.

“I need to do some research,” I explained. “You know Jamin’s books in the cellar better than I do. Does he have any volumes on dungeon diving, adventurers, or the guilds?”

Alexia frowned as I harvested an armful of fresh spiceapples. “I remember seeing a small stack of them in there somewhere, but I never managed to read them. I was a little too interested in some of his more fictional works.”

“You mean his romance novels?” Selene teased.

“I read other things, too,” Alexia protested.

“Where does he keep the books on dungeons?” I asked.

“Towards the back, tucked away in a half-empty barrel of grain,” she said. “Do you want me to find them for you?”

“I’ll get to it,” I smiled. “But I’ve got something else in mind first.”

I pulled my tunic over my head and bundled the last of the spiceapples into it. Selene and Alexia eyed me appreciatively as I slung the makeshift bag over my back and headed back toward the Replicator. The sun warmed my bare skin as I cast my eyes over the farm. A gentle breeze ruffled the leaves of the garden behind me and the grass at my feet. Garmont looked just as any homestead in the North should’ve, peaceful and unassuming.

And, if not for the Replicator and Jamin, perhaps it would’ve been.

But I was damn glad it hadn’t. I wouldn’t have met Alexia, or Selene, or even had half of the opportunities to create homunculi and fight off demons from another realm. I pulled myself out of my little reverie, pushed back into the shack, and then unloaded the fruit onto the workbench. I recalled the recipe that Thaddeus had given me and placed a spiceapple onto one of the plinths. Selene raised an eyebrow as I searched through my stores of ingredients and found a lock of female hair. Jamin usually kept heavy aprons under the workbench, and I scooped one out to finish the recipe.

“Forgive me for my impertinence, Master,” Selene said, “but don’t you have an Eldritch Dungeon to dive and a deal to honor with a Shadow Lord? Why are you making housemaids at a time like this?”

I cranked the lever on the Replicator and backed away.

“I just thought you’d appreciate being clothed and able to send someone to get coals for you,” I said innocently. “Seeing as I’m too busy to do it for you.”

“Really? You stripped down in front of him so you could have a hot bath?”

Alexia burst into a fit of giggles.

Selene turned away in a huff to maintain her dignity. “Of course not.”

“She did,” I whispered conspiratorially to Alexia. “Twice.”

Essence hissed into the Replicator’s main chamber and the ingredients I’d added faded into dust as my machine began to create a new homunculus. A skeleton appeared behind the glass. Pointed teeth punched out from the jaw as flesh gathered around bone. Bright red hair burst from the homunculus’ scalp. I’d never made a female homunculus before. Smooth skin appeared around her groin, and a flat chest grew out from smooth ropes of muscle. Thaddeus’s maidservants didn’t even have nipples. The homunculus alighted on the floor of the chamber with a graceful step and tilted her head curiously at us.

A whirr brought my attention to the skill sheet for the new homunculus.

Garmont Companion Farm has created a Maidservant (Human)!

Attack Power: 0

Toughness: 2

Accuracy: 2

Vitality: 3

Intelligence: 6

Skills: Passive Housework

“Greetings, Master,” the maid said a warm voice.

I jolted in surprise. I’d never heard Thaddeus’s maids speak before. But the status sheet of the homunculi had a surprisingly high intelligence rating. It made sense. How else did the Sage give them specific instructions?

“Greetings,” I returned as I opened the door to the Replicator.

The maid stepped gracefully out of the machine and flashed me an eerie smile with her sharpened teeth. “How may I serve you this fine morning?”

“For the moment, wait to the side,” I told her.

The maid curtsied without a stitch of clothing in sight, and waited by the door of the shack. Alexia stared at the homunculus in fascination as I dropped more ingredients into the Replicator and forged another maid. Selene made a face as the third greeted me in much the same way as the first had.

“They’re very… nice,” Selene observed dryly.

“It’s incredible engineering,” I agreed. “Most homunculi are dumb as bricks, but the old Sage looks like he keeps his best creations to himself. Just think what else he has in store for us when we bring him back his manuscript.”

“If it’s still in one piece,” Selene muttered.

“Have some faith, Selene,” Alexia said happily as she handed back the keys. “We’ll find it.”

“Or we’ll die horribly.”

“That’s the spirit,” I grinned. “Success or immediate death. That’s how Garmont has been built, and that’s probably how it’ll stay. Look on the bright side, Selene. If we’re dead, you never have to worry about the Commission again.”

Another maid joined her sisters and made up a team of five.

Selene eyed the maids suspiciously. “Somehow, that fails to make me feel better, Master.”

“Maybe a hot bath will do the trick,” I suggested.

Selene shivered at the words. “Oh, yes please.”

I reached out to the maids with a flick of thought. The maids immediately responded to my probe and stood to attention as I examined their mind architecture for a moment. Each of the homunculi had a tidily-organised headspace with a tremendous attention to detail. They weren’t combat homunculi, but they knew everything there was to know about domestic tasks that involved cleaning.

Thaddeus definitely knew his recipes.

I need all of you to follow the elf and have her clothe you. Then I need three of you to sweep out the house thoroughly and make the beds. Another pair should start the laundry. As for the sixth, I’d like you to organise rations for two day’s journey. Food, clothes, tarpaulins and firewood. I paused for a moment. Please follow the orders of both Selene and Alexia, should they ask anything of you.

“Of course, Master!” all six of them chorused. “Right away, master!”

“They’re incredible,” Alexia said excitedly. “What are you going to set them to do?”

“I’ve already set them tasks, they just need clothes. Could you help find them some?” I asked. “I think they’ll be too distracting running around with all of that skin. ”

“Of course I can,” Alexia replied with a sly smile. “I’ll also make sure to have one of them run a bath for you, Selene. Should I make sure there’s room enough for two, or-?”

“Just one is fine,” I winked.

“You should take a bath yourself, Lexie,” Selene suggested. “And then practice your magic. I’d like to see you create an edge tonight, if you can.”

Alexia’s eyes flitted between Selene and I and a mischievous light touched her eyes. She nodded, beamed at Selene, and turned to leave. I held the door open and watched Alexia lead the maids out of the shack. Selene brushed past me with a soft purr. It took me a moment to fight off my memories of Selene in her bath. I locked the door the shack and led the way toward the cellar.

“What are you hoping to find out about dungeons?” Selene asked as I unlocked the trapdoor into the cellar. “Don’t you already know everything you need to about them?”

“I build homunculi to help adventurers,” I reminded her. “So my knowledge isn’t exactly deep on the subject. I know dungeons appear in all kinds of places loaded to the ceiling with treasure, and that they’re home to some of the most dangerous monsters in the whole Kingdom. But I want to know what makes an Eldritch Dungeon different from the others, and what to expect when we go into it.” I glanced at her. “What do you know about Curkill Depths? You seemed to recognize the name.”

“The place is cursed,” Selene said in a guarded tone. “Every one of the Guilds I’ve dealt with has an uneasy truce with the others that agrees not to try and venture in.”

I took up an oil lamp from the wall and sparked a flint into it. Warm light sprang away from the flickering flame a moment later and gave me a better view of the cellar. I wandered past Jamin’s collections of wine, Alexia’s old bedding, and found the barrel that Alexia had described to me.

“So the guilds won’t go near it, you’re terrified of it and you’re used to drawing out demons, and Thaddeus would rather die than go in after his life’s work,” I summarised. “Everything I keep hearing seems to suggest that going there is a suicide mission.”

“That’s because it is,” Selene said sharply.

“With the exception of the Sage’s thief, how many adventurers have been lost to it?” I asked as I hauled the books out of the barrel. “I’m willing to bet someone’s not keeping count.”

“It was years ago,” Selene admitted. “But that doesn’t make it any less dangerous.”

“Sounds to me like someone is trying to keep the guilds away from the place,” I said.

“Not everything is some machination in a larger game,” she said quietly.

“You’re probably right,” I agreed, “but it never hurts to be sure.”

I dumped the tomes onto a bench of rough-sawn planks and hung the lamp from a nail jutting out of the wall. A few stray grains of barley bounced from the pages of the books as I spread them out across the makeshift table and glanced over their titles.

“Dungeon Romance - A Tale of an Adventurer and a Succubus,” Selene read aloud with a laugh. “I see Jamin keeps only the highest-quality books for research purposes.”

“Why don’t you entertain yourself with it while I do the work, then?” I teased.

Selene rolled her eyes and shoved the novel to one side. I scanned the other titles until I landed on something promising. The Collected Journals of a Dungeon by Von D. smelled pleasingly of old leather and parchment as I lifted it up from the table. Selene pulled herself up to sit on the bench as she flicked through another book. A blonde curl fell over her face as she mouthed the words silently to herself. I leaned against the table and appreciated Selene for a moment more. Her eyes flitted to and fro at a rapid pace as she searched for anything useful.

I’d seen so many dimensions of her in the last few days. Bored Commission mage, a teacher of the arcane arts, a capable warlock and a brilliant actress. I’d seen her resolute, afraid, aroused and confident. But her reluctance to join me in my plans lately pointed to the fact that she was hiding something from me. There was something she didn’t want me to know.

We read in silence for a few hours. I flicked through the journals of the dungeon-diver who called himself Von D., and absorbed his tales and tribulations when dealing with dungeons. Details swam in and fixed themselves into place in my mind as I pieced together the adventurer’s writing.

Then a single paragraph hit me like a punch.

“Fucking hells,” I whispered.

“What?” Selene asked instantly.

“‘Curkill Depths has been said to be the oldest and strongest dungeon in this Realm that the locals call Cellis’,” I read aloud. “‘I’ve seen larger and more dangerous places, of course, but none with the resolute will of this dungeon. It is timeless, and yet shifts in the shadows with an infernal design and purpose of its own, as with all places like it. But it is nowhere more evident than in this place named after the first adventurer to die within it’.”

Selene frowned. “What is he saying?”

“He’s saying that dungeons are sentient,” I breathed. “That each of them has a will. The writer hints at it earlier on, of course, but it’s so wrapped up in description of architecture that it’s easy to miss.”