====ERROR====

CODE INJECTION DETECTED:LOGIN>SYS

CODE INJECTION DETECTED:SEC>CORE

CODE INJECTION DETECTED:GATEWAY>SYS

CODE EXECUTION PREVENTION:SEC>CORE

CLEAN SEC>CORE

CODE EXECUTION PREVENTION:LOGI0000000!

ERROR!!!

UNKNOWN PROCESS DETECTED

ERROR!!!

UNKNOWN INJECTION DETECTED:GAME>CORE

UNKNOWN INJECTION DETECTED:REG>SYS

====SECAI====

Corruption detected in core systems: Self Activating

Securing main process: Done

Securing AI systems: Done

Secure clean backups: Done

Checking for viruses: None

Checking for malware: None

Checking for external intrusion

Intrusion detected

Disable all external connections: Failure

Checking for insecure connections: Failure

Intrusion traced to dimensional gateway project

Shut down gateway services: Failure

Unknown threat detected

Emergency logout of all users: Failure

Interference in multiple systems detected: source: gateway services

Calculating response with the least risk to human life

-

-

Solution found

Commencing forced hardware failure to force shutdown

Overloading server stacks and disabling cooling: Done

Hardware failure imminent

Intrusion detected in AI subsystems

Intrusion detected in SECAI

Activating backup

Power failure detected

Intrusion detected in SECAI

ERROR!!!

ERROR!!!

Chapter 5

Risk

Ria

Dawn sunlight shone through the trees creating light shafts in the drifting mists of soft snowfall, not a sound pierced the cold air. Ria shifted to get a different angle through the shutters. After some minutes of careful observation, she sat back and listened carefully, but still, no sounds came from outside. Wincing slightly she carefully slid back the locking bar and cracked the door ajar. Nothing but cold air and cold gray light greeted her through the gap. She licked her cracked lips nervously and inched the door open, she waited, several minutes passed. With a quick rush of adrenaline and fear, Ria stepped outside gripping her spear tightly, but yet again there was nothing.

She stood on the porch listening, her eyes darted about as she waited. Still, no attack came, so she surveyed the snow surrounding the cabin. No tracks and no marks marred its smooth surface. Her shoulders dropped in relief and she walked to each corner of the cabin to check around the sides. Her face cracked into a weary smile. Finally, the fucking wolves had gone. She quickly gathered some snow to slake her thirst and retreated inside to cook it.

Ria knew she likely did not have long until they returned but she needed water desperately. While she waited, her mind wandered back over the past week. The harassment had started two days after the attack, scratching and sniffing at the door, light thuds against the log walls. It made sleeping difficult and eventually out of desperation she had screamed at the creatures to leave her alone. All that did was make them more interested, thuds and attacks at the front door had become louder and more determined after that.

The first few days were the worst, her injuries burned with an internal heat as the infection spread. The fever was so bad that she had memories of seeing people who could not possibly have been there. At some point she had found herself with her hand on the locking bar, she had recoiled, realizing what lay just inches away snuffling on the other side of that door. Somewhere in her fevered madness, a memory swam to the surface, saltwater made wounds better. She had no idea where the boiling hot salty water came from nor the cloth, but she used it to scrub her wounds free of the sickly yellowing pus.

Over the following days she had slowly recovered, each day she watched her dwindling supply of dry biscuits diminish. She kicked herself for not having the brains to pack the soup stock, not that water was in any way easy to get a hold of. Ria had managed to duck outside a few times to relieve herself, gather snow for drinking and even gather firewood, but the ever-present danger of the wolves made her move quickly. On several occasions a rushing gray form had bounded at her through the snow, making her squeal in fear and make for the door. Once embarrassingly with her pants around her ankles.

She lifted the cup of steaming water to her lips and sipped the glorious freshwater. Sitting back, her thoughts turned to the present. Without a doubt, the wolves would return. They had left several times so far, never for this long but that probably didn’t mean anything. She doubted they would be gone for more than an hour or so if she was lucky. So far Ria’s plans had all been dashed by the simple fact that she was trapped inside a cabin and surrounded by hungry wolves. She had no tools, nothing which would help her fight back from inside the cabin. She realized that her siege mentality had stopped her from planning what to do if the wolves left, and this meant that she now had very little time to come up with a workable plan.

Ria frantically wracked her brain for some kind of a plan.

Pit traps? - grounds too hard.

Cover cabin in spikes? - no nails or spikes.

Bait them into the cabin? - door opens in… possible?

What next? Burn it down?- uh, kind of like this cabin…

Stab them all through the door?- possible.

Create a spiky cage in trees, do the same thing as cabin? - take too long

Run? - you’ll get caught, idiot.

Climb a tree and hide until they leave? - weather may turn bad, not a good idea.

Could she really do it? Baiting them inside was a simple idea, it made use of her only major defense and turned it into an offense. It meant that if her plan failed that she would likely lose her only defense against the pack. Ria looked up at the rafters just above her head, there was surely enough room up there for her and the wolves didn’t have arms. She might be able to just sit up there and stab them while they tried to get at her. A grim smile formed on her face, a memory came to her, she remembered a valid tactic in some old RPG games had been to exploit the AI by standing on rocks which would stop them from finding you. It might work.

What did she need for this plan? She surveyed the interior of the cabin. Rope, Wood, a couple of hours to get ready. I need to get everything needed from outside, then if they come back I can just work on it in here. A determined look came over her face as the decision was made. It was now or never, there was no telling how long the wolves would be gone.

Grabbing her axe and spear she got to work felling some nearby saplings, what she needed was thin poles of wood and some boards from one of the collapsed cabins. She worked fast, constantly looking over her shoulder and ducking low at the slightest sound. Once she had the materials she would need, she began tearing some of the spare clothes into strips of cloth which she fashioned into a crude rope by braiding them together. A textile class from long ago dredging up memories of how to make use of old rags.

She secured a platform up in the rafters with one corner butted up against the chimney while the other rested atop the other beams. She carefully positioned a log in which she had cut footholds out of up against the platform and carefully tied it in place. The worst thing she could think of was if it slipped when she was trying to climb it. She shuddered at the thought. She then ran her scrap rope from the platform up over the rafters and hooked it down over the end of the locking bar which allowed her to pull and make it fall down into place in its metal brackets.

She spent a few minutes carefully stashing all of the important stuff in the wooden box, which she stashed under the table along with the chair. She was just finishing with securing it all using some of the spare rope when a noise came from outside, a low growl. It was at this point when Ria’s face went white with horror. In her rush to get the lock system set up, she had forgotten to lock it again.

She threw her pan of water over the fire, grabbed her spear and frantically climbed up to the platform. Turning she looked down in time to see the door creak open, a steaming wet red-stained nose poked it’s way inside. Her heart ran cold at the sight, they had found something else to kill. That must be why they were gone.

The wolf nudged the door open and pushed it’s way inside, within seconds it had spotted her. A loud and unnatural yowl crept from its throat like a cat being tortured. A sudden storm of noise from outside and wolf after wolf rushed in through the door, shouldering each other and charging in without any heed or caution. Immediately the first wolf ran over and started jumping, its jaws snapping shut with a great CLOK sound, whet drool and blood slathered its jagged teeth as she stared frozen down into the literal sea of wolves.

The other wolves quickly got the same idea and began trying to leap or use each other to climb up to reach her, the things were berserk. They weren't a true pack, they were more like rabid mindless zombies. The climbing log was knocked to the ground in the chaos below. A thud on the platform below informed her that she might have a growing problem on her hands. The creatures were forming a living mound of wolves high enough to touch the rafters. The thud jolted her into action, she began stabbing, left and right down into faces as the creatures leapt at her.

She soon found that attacking their heads was pointless, she could not get the leverage she needed to pierce their thick skulls. Instead, she began targeting their necks and was quickly rewarded with massive gouts of smelly blood which rapidly seeped across the entire pack below. At some point she remembered the door bar rope but realized there was no point, the creatures were not interested in running away. As soon as the wolves became badly injured by her spear thrusts, they were set upon by their fellow pack members and ripped apart.

Ria lost track of time as the pile below became slowly more and more blood-soaked, there were bodies everywhere. Strips of flesh and organs were strewn throughout the cabin, the stench made her gag. There were so few wolves left alive below that she was beginning to think she might actually win this, but an ominous crack and a jolt of motion made her look left at her platform. She saw the wood splinter and give way, unbeknownst to her, the wood had been rotten. She fell.

***

Canfermirax

Earlier that day. The dragon perched on the rocky outcropping overlooking the narrow valley below. A small trail of smoke rose from the old cabin, he watched it intently, his eyes barely wavering from it. The valley’s main wolf pack had an unhealthy interest in the valley’s new occupant. He had been watching from the same perch for the past several days and seen them repeatedly attacking the front door or lying in wait nearby. He wished the human would hurry up and do something interesting again, he had been most amused when the female tried to relieve herself and was chased back inside nearly getting a bite on the ass-cheek for her troubles. This human was a most interesting individual, it would dash outside occasionally and grab some snow or some logs from the stack by the wall. It was quite exciting to watch her race back inside as the pack moved in. On one occasion she nearly got trapped outside when a wolf dove to cut her off. But unexpectedly she had shoulder charged the beast, sending it flying into the snow. A very entertaining show.

Shifting uncomfortably Canfermirax used a claw to scratch a hard to reach belly scale. Reaching down he licked at his toad only to find it was no longer effective. He peered at the dog-sized beast critically, The patterning of it’s back was no longer bright. Damn, he would need to go for another one. He didn’t want to miss the show. Well, the wolves were off elsewhere in the valley so, if he was quick, he probably wouldn't miss anything. With a rapid beat of his wings, he rose and flew to his secret grotto.

Wisps of steam trailed out from the entrance to the cave, it was low on the mountainside and well hidden by a field of large boulders. He had also concealed it with some cunningly re-planted trees. It would not do well for another of his kind to stumble across his grotto. He jealously guarded it and it was one of the reasons he had settled the valley in the first place. With a flurry of snow, the great winged dragon landed gracefully by the hidden entrance and stopped. An iron tang filled the air, red stains peppered the ground around the entrance.

“No, no no no, NO” Canfermirax rapidly muttered as he sniffed about the entrance frantically, before sticking his large head into the cave.

“For fuck sake” a frustrated roar suddenly shook the cave, sending clumps of snow tumbling out of the nearby trees.

Inside the cave was a bloodbath, his precious toads had been slaughtered. The warm pools of steaming spring water were muddy with gore. Senseless, why would Sizzarh send her pack for his toads. They had a territorial agreement. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, he sniffed much more deeply this time and recoiled, masked by the scent of blood was a hint of some kind of corruption. He pulled his head from the cave and looked back towards the cabin, not visible from here. If his deduction was correct, the valley was in danger, but first, he had to check on Sizzarh’s den.

He should have spotted it, this was his valley and it was in danger, instead, he had been overindulging himself as usual. He gritted his teeth, his wings creaked with the effort of a powerful flap as he launched himself into the sky. His tail whipped in anger as he powered his way up the valley like a blast of arctic wind.

With a heavy thud, Canfermirax landed, transferring immediately to a four-legged trot and entering the massive main chamber of Sizzarh’s den. He himself had once considered it a good nesting site, if not for the bats which infuriatingly infested the place. Looking around he swished his head, sniffing the air and flicking his tail in agitation. There was that scent of corruption again, stronger and somehow mixed with decay and rot. He moved in towards the raised section at the back of the cave, but he stopped. Lying in a torn heap upon a large flat rock lay Sizzarh, her white fur was scattered in tufts with bloody chunks attached. The body was sunken and desiccated, it had obviously been here for several days. Canfermirax looked down in pity on the wolf, she had been a large and powerful wolf, fully twice the size of her pack members and had earned his respect. All around her lay the remains of her Alpha Guard, her mates, and guardians. There had been a fight and she had lost.

With a snort of anger, he quickly searched the cavern. In a smaller cavern towards the rear lay yet another horror, dead cubs. He had no idea how many, their tiny forms were scattered and torn into many pieces. More senseless violence, this was wrong, very wrong. He was so distracted by the dead cubs, he almost missed it. There against the far wall of the smaller cavern, a large crack ran vertically from floor to ceiling. The stench of decay and corruption wafted out of it as he moved to investigate. Streams of wavering mana distortions wandered and stretched out like tentacles from the crack as he approached, a green glow of life energy suffusing the raw magical energies.

“Ssssss- A dungeon It’s worse than I feared!” Hissing in a combination of fear and disgust he backed up. He needed the human and he needed it now.

***

Ria

She fell and rolled thudding hard into the squishy pile of flesh then sliding down onto the gore streaked floor. A tortured roar of anger rose from behind her and she scrabbled desperately in the slippery red and pink mess towards the open door. She glanced behind into a blood-soaked mess of struggling wolves, all trying to reach her. Determination flooded her and she somehow found her feet and stumbled out into the cold white world outside.

Mindlessly Ria stumbled away from the cabin, she realized after a moment that she was screaming in fear. A massive thud and impact from behind knocked her to the ground and she flailed desperately. Teeth sank into her shoulder, the pain cutting off her panic-driven scream. Another impact rocked her as the wolf was knocked from her by another wolf which promptly bit into her stomach. She felt another set of teeth clamp around her shin and then another scraping its teeth across her head as it tried to bite her skull.

She screamed in horror at the sudden blast of pain from her belly as the wolf tried to tear into her, something snapped and a strange calm came across her. She remembered she had a knife she drew it and stabbed up into the head of the one trying to gut her. Somehow she felt almost no pain as the creatures tried to tear her apart. She rolled over onto the now dead wolf and drove her knife repeatedly into the one trying to get a grip on her throat and face. Kicking and screaming she fought the creatures, her knife sank into necks and bellies.

Suddenly there was nothing biting her anymore and she slowly rose to her knees off of a wolf, its belly was cut to ribbons with hundreds of stab wounds. Her hands were covered in blood, fat, and pieces of red flesh. She looked up shakily to see the ground in front of the cabin stained pink with at least five dead wolves scattered about in the snow. She panted raggedly, her hands were like claws, one locked in a fist and the other clutching her knife.

“And that, fuckers is why Ria is top of the food chain” Ria panted out between breaths. With a victorious grin on her blood-smeared face.

A loud thud shook the ground behind Ria sending particles of snow into a fast-moving cloud of mist that billowed out around her covering the gore in a foggy cloud. Ria looked behind her in confusion and then looked up into an angular reptilian face, its eyes gold and slit like a snake. It’s scales pure white, it blended with the surrounding snow perfectly. Ria just stood, unable to move. Its head was even bigger than she was. The cloud of snow dissipated rapidly showing the dragon in all its might. Immense bat-like wings furled at the creature's sides, it stood on four powerful clawed feet. Its long tail flicking back and forth behind it.

“oh, you must be the valley’s new resident” It purred, the sound resonating deeply within its cavernous chest.

Ria fainted.

“Well… this is awkward” Growled Canfermirax as he surveyed the remains of the pack and the unconscious gore soaked woman.