General Nalvius’ army now swollen by the remnants of General Saarbruk’s forces and assorted garrisons advanced on Foraville stripping the countryside bare as they went, leaving ruin and despair in their wake.

General Nalvius graciously received the displaced senators and knights that had fled from the capital.

In Foraville Senators Damytus, Garlena and Haa’ranos hastily patched up a truce and raised a mighty host, including thousands of manumitted slaves and stiffened with every gladiator they could get their hands on.

In the city several guild halls received their members and forted up hoping to ride out the coming unpleasantness. The Adventurer’s guild was emptier than Guildmaster Vartark liked, far too many of his members had signed up with the army of the three senators.

Colonel Oakhurst for his part had his drones out trying to ensure the lunatics didn’t try another assault. He and his officers and men were horrified and disgusted at the devastation both armies seemed to generate as a matter of course.

The two armies met at a day’s march from the capital. Both fortified their camps and formed up for battle and glared at each other for five days. General Nalvius was forced to stretch his army out more than he liked as the ill trained rabble facing him outnumbered him badly.

Then on the sixth day he struck. The two wings advanced to just outside bow range with camp followers and servants forming the back ranks and erected hasty field fortifications, scattering a liberal supply of caltrops in front of a hastily erected low palisade. The centre, consisting of his battlehardened veterans and reinforced with the men missing from the flanks advanced rapidly covered and protected by a haze of magic charged home against their opposite numbers. About half of Nalvius’s cavalry advanced behind the infantry and when the enemy centre gave way they charged into the now exposed flanks of their enemies.

Finally the rest of Nalvius’ cavalry, mostly concentrated on his right charged their opposite numbers led by the vengeful knights that had so recently joined him and were aching to avenge the rapes and murder their families and friends had suffered at the hands of the bandit gangs of Senators Damytus, Garlena and Haa’ranos.

The slaughter, especially after the army of the capital broke and fled was epic as the field armies soldiers took advantage of this opportunity to slaughter the uppity townsmen and ex slaves that looked down on honest peasant soldiers like themselves.

On the following day General Nalvius was being hailed as Tyrant by grateful senators and knights. His soldiers quickly joined in.

Tyrant Nalvius shattered the precedents of the last five hundred years and marched his army into Foraville. Then he set them loose with a list of his enemies.

Colonel Oakhurst found it very difficult to obey his orders and remain in his base and just watch and record the savage slaughter that was overtaking the capital of the Empire of Light.

* * *

Captain Winters and Sergeant Sanderson walked round inspecting the training ground in the valley next to their new base. “A bit basic wouldn’t you say Sergeant? Do you think we could – improve it?”

“Very basic sir. Who set it up and can we claim it, use it?”

“Well it does say ‘Army, for the use of’ over the gate.”

Sergeant Sanderson looked about with some disdain. “It’s going to need a lot of work before it’s usable.”

« Erm, why is it so unsatisfactory, I tried to make it like several films sow army training fields. »

The two men started in surprise.

“I assume you are Mr Santanello the dungeon we are here to guard? If so might I suggest Hollywood is not the best source of – how shall I put this...”

“What the Captain means is Hollywood is all glitter and thin on uncomfortable truth.”

“Yes indeed. Now if you intended this for us Mr Santanello we are grateful. However if you are willing to liaise with Sergeant Sanderson... We would end up with something that would – exceed our needs.”

« I can do that and please call me Manfred. »

Sanderson gestured at the obstacle course they were standing next to. “Now this needs...”

Winters stood back and watched as the obstacle course was absorbed into the ground and emerged in a more appropriate location having been radically changed. Sanderson grew animated and he started to talk faster while his Bronx accent became more pronounced.

Four hours later the training ground had quadrupled in size and had become something only a sadistic training NCO could love.

Manfred and Moonbright for their part spent several hours studying what was to them a source of inspiration for countless traps.

* * *

Windchime turned to Antella in the privacy of their room. “I’m worried love.”

“About the children?”

“No. Well yes them too. It’s this dungeon that worries me. It’s acting too far outside the parameters of a dungeon. It is too – human!”

Antella nodded slowly, “but there’s nothing we can do, a dungeon has to be a local problem. And from what I can see Midgard wouldn’t tolerate a traditional dungeon.”

“True. I don’t understand how they can have so many people and so many competing nations and not be having constant wars.”

“That is disturbingly easy to answer love. How do you think they destroyed the Gods of the Pantheon of Light. One nation did it and was more worried about their neighbours than the gods they destroyed.”

Windchime sighed, “I suppose you are right. I like the girl, she’s good for Antor.”

Antelle grinned widely, “yes I agree, and it’s so easy to tease them.”

“But two classes at her age. I hope they will be all right,” Windchime sighed.

* * *

It had awakened in the old tunnels and had slowly stretched its awareness through the branching claustrophobic old mine workings. It collected the flecks of the shiny yellow stuff that still remained.

It yearned for being. It vaguely sensed that it lacked – being.

In the heat and humidity of the jungle Nicolás Martínez slowly made his way towards the mountains, the filthy makeshift bandage around his left arm and shoulder drawing countless flies. He walked mechanically with glazed eyes. All he could think was that he would be safe in the old mine.

It felt the thing it needed to become more arrive in his tunnels. The being was dying which was good as he needed the being dead. But it needed the being closer. It latched onto the – man and fed his urge to seek safety to make him move ever deeper in the mine.

Finally it sensed that the man was nearing the top of the shaft. It blurred the man’s vision and waited.

Nicolás stumbled along in his fever dream and stepped on air. He plummeted twenty meters to his death.

Instinctively it latched onto the man’s soul and dragged it into itself.

It became I with that action as the two entities merged becoming one, the dungeon awoke, and knew he was Nico and that he now had a great treasure, ten kilos of cocaine, a slightly rusty Type 56 and a rusty machete.

He Nico also had enemies following him who wanted to recover their cocaine.

Nico absorbed his soul’s former body and possessions. Then he utilised the core’s inborn instincts to go through the System’s setup procedures. He selected lizardmen and used most of his accumulated reserves to summon two and armed them with machetes and Type 56 assault rifles.