Ashfall and one Kobold apprentice were on duty in the Company workshop, and hadn't heard the noise of the monster outside. "Another one?" said Ashfall.

"Probably daily from now on," said the Kobold. "Bad enough when we see an occasional goblin back home."

Vonn nodded, his ears low. "The fighting's not our job. We just need to be ready to support whatever the plan is." Having said that, he fetched his wind gun. "Be right back."

He went out to help, but the flying beast was already downed. The Reeve stood back, holding a small crossbow. He said, "Vonn, my house. Now."

Vonn entered and the Reeve said, "They're blaming you. That's not reasonable, is it?"

"Dungeons imitate things lost in exploration and fighting. None of my flying machines have even flown directly over the place. And you'd think that if it were copying more than aspects of the first wreck it absorbed, it would have produced flying monsters months ago."

"You're probably right. But you've heard the grumbling. And there's a grain of truth to it: a dungeon next to a mine becomes more like a mine, as my lord's main village shows. Meanwhile your sister's strange enchanted iron-mongery in the west has changed the dungeon's Mana somewhat. That may actually be more of an influence than your machines. Best not to mention that in public."

Vonn winced. "I won't. Should the miners stop using the enchanted rails, then?"

"That will be up to the new Baron over there! I've sent a messenger west to compare notes. His territory has a skilled wizard who can come consult. I also want to bring in Ralator."

"I can write to him if it will help." Vonn told the Reeve about the attempt to build motor rafts quickly, saying, "Those and the airboat will be at your and our lord's disposal, though for now I want a trained Engineer aboard."

"Good. I'll speak with the boat-builder to make sure his way is clear. May I borrow that weapon of yours? I have enough Wits to use it."

Vonn wasn't eager to hand over his gun, but he had the ability to make more. "Aren't I needed to fight off these blasted flying things?"

"No. I have orders to not let you get killed. Go do what you're good at."

Vonn reluctantly gave him the wind gun and basic instructions. He left muttering, "Go do that voodoo that you do so well."

#

The flying boat came back. The fact that it could do so was wonderful, even though two bored men on the ground had to coax it partway with ropes. They stayed just long enough to pull the boat down and anchor it to some stakes. A tired-looking Birb hopped out. Tazo had been up in the air with her.

Tazo reported, "Nothing attacked us, but we saw two critters on the ground. And then a deer somehow blundered into the area." She shivered.

"Are we going to get attacked by deer monsters next?"

"I don't think that kind of kill will count. They're not people."

Birb shook out her tail feathers. "The nice thing about the boat is it doesn't constantly drain Stamina to run. But it's so tough to turn and move!"

Tazo teased her. "Not as good as wings?"

She flapped and said, "It's a chance to share the sky with you anyway. Before we put this thing away, Vonn, want to go up for a bit?"

Vonn donned a slowfall bracelet and took her up on it, even though the rope-holding men had gone. The experience was very different from the plane. He wasn't confined to a narrow seat and in a way that was scarier. The young sky captain proudly showed off the overhead burner maintaining the hot air supply, shielded by a wire cage from direct contact with anything, like a miner's candle. Then the rudder and mini-jet.

"See how it turns off-center?" she said. She had a greater intuition for the forces involved than even he did.

He nodded. "Yeah, it might be best to have one jet each in the bow and stern. We're leaning hard on our magicite budget, and now iron might be short again, so a proper upgrade might have to wait." He looked into the afternoon sky. In the distance he saw discolored, tainted ground where monsters might spawn. "It's great that you took the lead on this one. It's probably the most practical of the Company's designs for now."

"I didn't do this to be practical. But it's nice!"

"It is! Someday soon these will be racing, and carrying news and travelers."

Birb bobbed her head. Then she grabbed a rope and steadied herself as the wind picked up. "We'd better land for now."

#

In the next few days, Vonn and the Company prepared a set of pressure tanks suitable for guns. Every Engineer who'd been working under him for a while -- which meant Tazo and Birb for now -- was able to apply his Well of Energy ability to make the things extra sturdy. Tazo worked on most items enough that she could apply her Stalwart Gears ability to make the entire devices more reliable against gradually shaking apart. And with Birb's ability, she had some useful drawings of how everything fit together and how to improve the weight and air flow.

Spikes' adventuring group got hired as extra muscle to protect the town. Two or three monsters were entering the Shieldpoint outskirts per day now and managed to destroy a barn, kill several cattle, and maul a little girl badly enough to leave scars. Another delver party showed up soon after that, just three overconfident guys who went right into the blight and quickly learned their lesson, barely surviving. They slinked away until someone shamed them into staying for a few more days to play hero. And then one of them died.

Having a magical death maze near town wasn't a problem in itself. This one just wasn't well behaved or profitable.

Tazo was instructing a crowd of twenty villagers in the workshop who wanted to hear about the easy technique for feeding Mana into a metal rail as a way to repel undead. There'd been some argument at first about whether the technique had caused the dungeon's unrest in the first place. Most of the braver townsfolk just wanted to be ready if some kind of magic barrier turned out to be the plan.