I barely had time to sit before everyone was rushing into the room to take their seat at the table. The minions ran around to give out drinks and help Rolada take plates to the tables while our fox girl chef directed the madness.

Once everyone was seated I allowed myself to take a look at our meal. It was a mixture of mashed potatoes, wild game steak, a healthy helping of fish chowder and fried mushrooms. There were plenty of vegetables in the chowder to round out the meal giving us a huge variety. Yet best of all, placed onto the middle of the table was garlic bread.

“Garlic bread!” Sten bellowed. He held up the healthy side of butter it came with and gasped. “Lass, are you trying to break our keeper’s coffers so we can eat like kings?”

Rolada stopped behind Lin’s chair and hugged the cat girl from behind. “Hey, we are celebrating here, it’s Lin’s birth-”

“No it’s not!” Lin huffed. “Don’t listen to-”

“A birthday!” Sten shot up in his seat. “Ack! You should have told me. I need more time to make a better poem.”

Sten started to rummage around his pockets and pulled out thin strips of paper, he grumbled and shook his head as he tossed them in front of him. Lin was seething and trying to protest it wasn’t her birthday, but everyone was engrossed in what Sten was going to say. When the dwarf settled on a few slips of paper and ordered them how he liked, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“With snow white bangs and silver fangs,

She slinks on sunken graves.

With laughter of harrowed delight,

Or spittle from a furious fight,

She always wins out of spite.”

The odd poem did ring true and when his final word hit us we broke into applause. I wasn’t caught up with what literature was like in Ewyernar, but I gauged everyone else thought it was good. Except for Lin of course whose head was in her hands.

“It's not my birthday,” Lin said. “It’s next month, during Heinekia’s winter festival.”

“Bah! Wasted a good poem then,” Sten scoffed. He swept up the papers and stuck them back into his pockets. “I’ll just have to refine it for next time.”

Rolada was delighted with her deception and retreated to her seat before Lin could swat at her. She sat down at her own seat and merrily picked at her food while refusing to meet Lin’s gaze.

“If we are not going to celebrate because of a sour puss, then I have just the reason too,” Burn said, cracking his knuckles. “Shall I show them what we made Sten?”

The dwarf was shaken from his thoughts and nodded his head, the sound of his chainmail accompanying the motion. The two of them sped out of the room and returned a minute later with an arm load of clay bottles and some long stalks of a plant. The plant reminded me of bamboo, however it was a sickly white and had small razor sharp thorns coming off it.

“The farm is already producing puff helms and sugar spikes. Then again these things can grow just about anywhere, thanks to dwarven farmers of course,” Sten said. He held the stalks up and pointed out the fried mushrooms we were eating.

“Then we used a little goblin chemistry trick to steam out the sugars, and harden the stalks. We can use them for crossbow bolts, arrows or even disposable spears for the traps,” Burn said.

He passed out the bottles to each of us, and Sten leaned the bundle up against the wall. Once they had reseated themselves they cracked the seal on the bottles and took a swig of the stuff inside. Copying them I opened my own bottle and held it up to my nose. I smelled the faintest hint of alcohol and berry juice. What stood out to me the most was the faint fizzing I heard inside the bottle, and with my curiosity driving me forward, I took a sip.

It was hard to describe it. It was like a cross between a soft drink and a wine, neither overly sugary or tart. The bubbling sensation going down the back of my throat was all too familiar and made me wish for a real cola. However the faint warmth that spread through my core was also pleasant, and I gave them a thumbs up.

“These are pretty nice guys, I can see us making a lot of these and selling them,” I said, and took another taste test.

Sten let out a low whistle while looking at the roof while Burn grimaced. The goblin looked at the bottle, frowned and shook his hand to say no.

“It took all week to even make this small batch, sorry boss but unless we can ramp up production this is just a side project for a treat,” Burn said.

“Oh, well do feel free to make more if you have time,” I said, feeling my spirits falling. “Any other useful developments?”

“We have a few batches of wine on the go with some of the excess mushrooms, now I’m not saying mushroom wine is great, but it's a dwarven staple.” Sten said.

“Will it be ready in time for Lin’s birthday?” Yara asked around a bite.

“Can we please drop my birthday?” Lin asked. She started to pick at her food and looked miserable. “Never should have mentioned it.”

I reached over a hand and tapped Lin on the shoulder. I gave her a wink and at once her gloomy expression softened and she started to smile. I looked around at the strange collection of people we had gathered and found myself feeling strangely reminiscent.

“I think a party would be good, we have good friends, good food and a place over our heads. Maybe it's a bit early for a birthday party, but I think we should have a little bit of fun. We could all find something to bring or make and in a few days have a get together,” I said.

I heard murmurs of agreement and the minions letting out a cheer. I could see the gears turning in people’s heads as they thought up of what they wanted to do or bring and I mentally gave myself a pat on the back. Leaders were supposed to keep morale high, and a party was just the thing to keep up cheerful thoughts to fight off the winter blues I was all too familiar with.

“Heard the two of you sparring,” Yara said, she leaned her head to me and looked at Lin. “Did you kick his ass?”

“Oh completely, I even went easy on him,” Lin snickered.

“Hey,” I said, “It’s because my sword has been holding me back. Now I caught back up with a few ranks in melee and toughness.”

Yara slowed down eating, as did the others. They were all clearly confused and I had to explain the situation to them. Lin even gave her side and said by the end I was actually starting to show improvement. Of course I didn’t escape any embarrassment as Lin went into great detail of throwing me on my back unintentionally and of my struggles to duel her.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a sword that steals away from your skills. I’ll have to look over some of the books I have, but I’m at a loss,” Rolada said.

“I do have a kind of identification spell we could learn from my spellbook if you want to have a study session,” I said.

Rolada gave me a coy smile and took a slow bite out of a large chunk of meat. The mischievous glint in her eye raised my alarm bells and I shook my head ever so slightly. Lin looked at me, then Rolada and whispered something into the fox girl's ear. Rolada started to laugh and nearly choked, leading to Lin barrelling out a laugh too.

The rest of the meal went by quickly, with only light conversation being shared around the table. I only paid half attention, being lost in my own thoughts and wondering about what I could bring. Maybe I could make the space heaters in secret, and I sent off a request for the drones to make me a clay box in secret to experiment with. I was only disrupted when dessert was shared.

“Cake?” I asked in amazement.

“It’s not my best work,” Rolada said shyly as she passed around lopsided lumps of dough with frosting on the top. “It was hard to get a good rise out of it.”

“Usually you are great at getting a rise out of things,” Lin grinned.

“Lin please,” Rolada said, covering her mouth. “You're going to make me choke again.”

Bent Plate lifted the delicate dessert fork and sunk it into the cake with care. The massive frame of the ogre was in such a stark contrast to the miniscule fork it was like a toothpick to him. But when he took a bite of a small morsel he nodded in approval.

“I think we need to give Rolada a raise, Josh,” Bent said. “But not too much, because if she keeps this up I'm going to get fat.”

The ogre slapped his gut, shaking the floor from the impact. Everyone hopped in and gave Rolada praise, causing the fox girl to hide in her seat and her face to turn the same colour as her hair.

“I’m not that good really!” Rolada protested. “I just took a few cooking classes.”

Yara took a bite of her cake and hummed. The tension in her shoulders eased, and she leaned back in the chair comfortably. It looked to me like she was starting to warm up to being around the others instead of just me.

Yara thought it was so good in fact she had already finished her cake and when I wasn’t looking stole half of mine. When I reached over to jab it with my fork to steal it back I felt something bat my hand away and saw Yara hold out her fork like a weapon.

I had no hope in this contest, but I wasn’t about to give up my cake so easily. I went low with my fork and when Yara brought her own down to intercept me I changed directions to get around her arm. Her tail swept up from the ground and struck me in the wrist, sending my fork up into the air.

“No keeper is a match for one of Ishaka’s finest,” Yara said proudly.

As she went to stab the cake I pointed my hand at her under the table and leered at her. “Let’s see about that. Gust!”

The torrent of air blasted into Yara’s firm abdomen and scooted her back on her chair. The screech of wood broke the dinner conversation as Yara’s seat skidded towards the wall. Her arm was still coming down and the fork jabbed into her thigh, making her yelp in surprise, but leaving no lingering marks. In the confusion I seized the moment to reach over and steal back my cake, cramming it all into my mouth.

Yara stood up and menacingly strode towards me. The tall, powerful warrior woman loomed over me, she had a look of mock fury on her face while I had my cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. She placed a hand at the back of my chair, causing it to creak in agony, and leaned in close.

“I’m not above duelling you with my tongue to get that,” she said hotly into my ear.

I leaned back in shock and swallowed, unfortunately getting cake down the wrong pipe. I started to cough and tear up while the others cackled at my misfortune. I fought hard to keep it down, and after thumping my fist into my chest I managed to regain control and finished my cake.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I said back hoarsely.

“You wish,” Yara said, pushing on my forehead with a finger. “You men and your fascination with demon women.”

The dinner banter went on for a little longer while I had to down a few cups of water to stop any coughing fits. Bent was the first to break, stretching and claiming he needed to head in for an early night. That set in motion people starting to leave, each having their own reasons. I shared a quick word with Lin for her to let the others know where the blade was hidden, and I headed up top for some air.

The world above was far different, cold, vast and unknown compared to my warm, closed in space below. The night sky was devoid of all clouds, letting the sliver of a moon and stars blanket the white world in light. The snow glowed silvery blue, with only the occasional gust of wind making a sound.

Scout 1 ran up behind me, jumped on a nearby mound of broken bricks and proclaimed, “Merp!”

I leaned against our repaired wall, running a digit over the mortar. I hoped this wall could take the next barrage of attacks, and prayed we didn’t need to test it soon. I took off Scout 1’s hat, rubbed his head and returned his headwear.

“How’s it going buddy?” I asked.

Scout 1 grabbed the wall and did a chin up, looking out towards the river and forest surrounding our little pocket of clear space. He looked at the lump empty fields and then towards the distance, where I spied dark shapes on the horizon, mountains.

Scout 1 hissed, looking out into the unknown. He held that pose for a minute, completely still and silent, like a statue. Scout 1 finally moved and walked towards his observation platform. He stopped and turned around to look at me like he was waiting.

“Want me to follow?” I asked.

Scout 1 nodded and tucked his four arms into his cloak to keep warm. I saw he had on little boots and had knitted mittens on. I was curious where he had gotten them, but I could only assume Rolada had made them for him. The cozy boots I had kept my feet warm and I wrapped my own cloak around myself as we walked together.

Scout 1 scampered up the ladder and I followed after. It looked like Drone 1 had built up the observation platform, giving it walls with observation slits and a tiny clay stove for anyone inside to stay warm. The tiny room was big enough for the two of us, with me sitting on the floor and Scout 1 on his little chair. I loaded up the clay stove and with a quick word and flick of the wrist I lit it.

The two of us relaxed as the wonderful little fire warmed us up Scout 1 rummaged around his bag. He took out bundles of berries and a few extra morsels from dinner wrapped up in little bags. Even as full as I was, I felt like a little snack wouldn’t hurt and better yet, he brought wine.

“Heh, St-ten’s,” Scout 1 snickered, his voice came out like a hiss as he had to articulate the words in a weird way.

“Stealing from the dwarf?” I raised a brow and accepted the bottle. “Better get rid of the evidence.”

The two of us passed the bottle back and forth as we took turns taking swigs out of it. It was a cheaper wine, but the alcohol warmed my face up as the clay stove got up to temperature.

I looked out at the dark forest outside the reach of my dungeon, only seeing a scattering of light touch the forest floor between the bare branches or pine needles. It was a strange and frightening thing now, because danger could lurk at every point between these trunks.

Yet it was strangely enticing too, because back home the only danger in the woods was a chance meeting with something like a coyote. Here it could be anything, a new foe, ancient ruins or friendly people. Hell maybe I could meet a dragon and befriend it, that would be nice to have around now.

At the edge of the forest I spied a shadow moving between the trees. It shot out into the open fields of snow, its greyish body barely visible as it flew inches above the snow. As I narrowed my gaze I tried to pick out what was odd about it.

Perception skill : Success!

+2 XP gained.

It was some unholy cross between an owl and a cat. Its four wide feathered wings tucked in and its head dove straight into the snow. It came back out with a field mouse in its mouth and tossed it into the air. It snatched it out of the winter and downed it in one go. The critter dug around the hole with its claws, doing one last check before determining its pest control mission was a success, and it flew back to the forest.

“I think I want to explore,” I said, watching where the unknown animal had gone. “Once we deal with the undead and secure this place, there's a whole strange world out there.”

He nodded enthusiastically, so much so his hat fell off his head. I picked up his hat and brushed it off, heft the little hat in hand. A rather mundane item, but one that had just appeared with him after summoning him with the crystal. After passing Scout 1 back his hat I closed my eyes and felt around me.

Through the darkness I saw the lines running around the ground, the pipes and the tendrils of the crystal powering things inside the dungeon. Again I spied an area below that seemed to be a hollow, I could follow the lines running around it and narrowed my gaze to focus on it. With the fresh thoughts of the unknown picking at me to explore, I queued up a work order to dig an exploring tunnel to it from outside town, in case there was something weird down there.

Then I focused on the crystal, seeing where it was down below, secure in its special new room. There was a glint of purple light from it, and again I felt that gentle push, to explore, find treasure and bring it back home. Instead of being a need that the crystal pushed it was like a friendly reminder, a soft word from an old friend.

“I’m onto you,” I whispered to the crystal in a harsh tone.

Yet it had a point, exploring would yield new gains. Experience points, potential quests, magical items and gold, all things I needed to get stronger. At this point I was starting to agree with the crystal, I needed to be more to keep this home safe, I needed more power, I needed to be a strong keeper. I quickly wiped the thoughts from my head and instead thought of slapping the crystal off its pedestal if it misbehaved.

The gentle pressure subsided, almost as if the crystal had bowed its head and backed up to give me some space. I grinned after having finally put the crystal back in its place. I trusted the thing as far as I could throw it, but it did give me an excuse to grave rob again with Lin.

“Merp?” Scout 1 asked, poking me in the cheek.

“I’m doing okay buddy, just thinking to myself,” I said. I stretched as much as I could in the compact space and yawned. “Did you want to head down?”

Scout 1 shook his head and popped another berry in his mouth, curling up into some furs. The scout minion belched and happily sat at his post, tirelessly watching out for danger for the rest of us.