I had prepared to fight again but ended up on a pleasant walk with Blink. Once we had snuck down to the vine line, she went ahead scouting while I started building out our defenses. I anchored the old game trail with a thicket, and then where we had our last incursion got one as well.

From that spot, it was only a few hundred feet through the woods to a cliff that went up about three hundred feet. I had seen it once before when I was first out putting out the vine stakes. I anchored back to that cliff with more stone cube trees. All in all, it was a quick and easy way to harden my defenses.

There were a few points up on the mountain that enclosed the upper valley that the orcs could get through. I had blocked some of them off just by collapsing the paths, but now I went and added to each three to five cube trees. On the northernmost point of the area that I was trying to defend, I placed in two thickets.

It had taken around five hours, and the sun was setting before we were done. Then we started to head back. Blink had found no more signs of the orcs getting in, and so I felt like we were mostly safe.

As we walked back, I asked, “So, what do you think of Kasidy?”

Blink laughed a hiss. “She is sweets and upsets she hits you. Not sures how to makes it ups. Shes scared toos.”

“Scared about what?”

“Everythings. Shes from city and nots know how to live out heres. She is worried yous nots need her.”

“So she is afraid that her god sent her someplace that she can’t accomplish her mission. And she doesn’t know how to live in this type of place.”

“Yess”

“Well let’s see what happens when we get back. I don’t want to end up taking care of her but I don’t think that she has the equipment to make a trip into town.”

Blinks smile, “Make’s her gear?”

“I don’t know. If I do then I am letting her know that I can either make stuff or have gear that fits her. If she thinks I have gear that fits her she might start asking why. She seems to be the type that will jump to conclusions and think I am a bandit of some sort.”

Blink looked around and vanished. A moment later, I heard a crash from behind us. I turned to see a geson charging at me. When it got just a few feet away, the standard came to life, and the stone air dome popped up.

The angry little goat-like creature bounced off my dome. I laughed; it was a good laugh. The last time one of these beasts had shown up, it almost killed me. However, my equipment was now at least good enough that I didn’t have to worry about him.

Then he backed up again and stamped its foot on the ground, and charged. As it did, the one horn it had started to glow red. My shield distorted, and the head of the little guy popped through the shield. I stopped laughing. This was new; he must have leveled a few times to get to where he had something like this.

I planted my standard and drew my bow. As I was lining up my shot, Blink stole my kill. Like any good assassin, she showed up with her daggers. Her first move was to hamstring the little guy’s back legs. As it fell back, she reached around and slit its throat.

Blink grinned at me, “Dinner Daddy?”

“Sure, let’s see if Kasidy at least knows how to cook!”

I reached down and picked up the geson. We weren’t far from the thicket, so we just headed there. My plans were to dress it out once we got back. If Kasidy hadn’t been around, we would take it to Dave.

As we got to the tree house, I said, “Okay, Blink, head up and tell her we have a geson for dinner, and I will bring it up in a minute.”

Blink smiled and ran up the stairs. It was odd watching her go. While she was bipedal as the lizard girl, she ran up on all fours. I just shook my head and got to work.

A few minutes later, Kasidy came down and asked. “So what do you plan on doing with that?”

I looked up, “I thought that once I got it butchered you could cook it for us.”

Kasidy looked at it, and I could see that she was fighting something in her mind. “I don’t know how to cook that. I can do some stews and other simple meals, but I have never done a full animal before.”

“Well what do you want it cut up as?”

“Umm, I don’t have anything else to cook with it so it would just be over a fire?”

I sighed. “Okay how about this. I will take it and get it ready for dinner. Then bring it back. We will talk over dinner about what’s going on.”

Kasidy nodded nervously. Then she turned and went back up the steps. She paused and looked back right before she went through the trap door.

I shook my head, “Well I guess she wasn’t sent to help me with food. Glad I have Dave.”

I picked up my mess and grabbed the carcass. Then I headed into the dungeon. Then I passed all the way through until I got to my landing. I gathered up the last of my vegetables from my storage room and headed back up to see Dave.

I came into the safe room. It always messed with me thinking that the room wasn’t even there until I showed up. Well, until someone did. I would think that creating the pocket dimension each time someone went to access it would take more energy. But on larger dungeons, it made sense.

“Dave, Can I get you to cook dinner?” I called out as I came down the stairs.

“Yeah boss, can do!” He replied.

I dropped the geson and the vegetables on the bar. Dave rolled his eyes at me. Then pulled everything off the bar. Once he had moved it over to his prep area, he came back and cleaned the bar. The whole time giving me the stank eye.

I laughed, “I know it’s not that bad. After all with magic you could get the bar cleaned no problems.”

Dave sighed, “Arn! Its not that. You don’t just dump meat on someone’s bar. Its just not right.”

“Okay I apologize I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I won’t do it again.”

“Good, now what do you want me to make?”

“Well I am taking this up to eat with Kasidy and Blink so perhaps roasted Geson and vegetables?”

“And how do you plan on taking it up to them oh great Dungeon Master?”

“Right… Do we have any bake wear in the dungeon interface that I can get at our current level?”

“Ahh well this roasting pan, and this board to put it on. YOU will want this carving fork and this spoon. Do you have plates and forks and cups?”

“Some but not many, I will get the plates and stuff after I take the roast no need to try to carry it all at once.”

Dave smiled and got to work. “You know it would be much easier if you just brought them down here for dinner than taking it up to them.”

“Well yeah it would be but then I would have to let Kasidy know that I am a dungeon master. Which is something that I was hoping to keep her from finding out.”

Dave gave me that smile that said you’re dumb. “I thought that you were planning on seeding the dungeon and starting new ones on your way to the city?”

“Yeah, but now I have this girl that I don’t know what to do with. The things I need help with she seems unable to help with. I need someone that can teach me to read or that could be a guide to the town. She can’t even cook!”

Dave laughed as he stuffed the geson. “Have you asked her what she can do and how she plans on helping?”

I dropped onto the stool. “No I haven’t we didn’t have a good start and so most of the time has just been yelling back and forth. I hoped that we would get somewhere over dinner.”

“Make sure to take the beer then. Food is always better with a good beer and she serves this Bartholomew. So she should like it.”

“Good points, do you know what level we are now?”

“The dungeon is now a level 11 dungeon.”

“11! How did we grow so fast?

“All those cores you sold brought a lot of mana. Also like I said we are on a mana fount of some sort.”

“Right, well I am going to seed the dungeon tomorrow I guess and then see what happens when I drop a dungeon seed into the thicket.”

Dave smiled, “In all my days I have never heard of a dungeon in a tree. I think it is a funny idea and I am looking forward to seeing what this does.”

Dave and I chatted about nothing much from that point on as the food was cooked. Once he pulled it out, I headed upstairs. I didn’t like spending the money on the roasting pan, but I figured that it wouldn’t be too bad to buy and leave. There was no way I was packing that huge thing out.

I popped out of the dungeon and headed up the stairs. “I got my hand’s full! Can you open the door!”

Blink opened the trap door. I came up with the heavy roast and looked around. The place was a little better, but still not right. However, I reminded myself that she didn’t have the tools needed. So I shouldn’t fully blame her for the mess.

I moved to the table. “Let me set this down and I will go get plates and the rest of the stuff for dinner.”

Kasidy’s eyes opened, “That smells great how did you cook it so fast?”

I laughed and smiled. “I have my ways. Be right back.”

I headed down to get everything else. She seemed a bit nicer, and it would be good to have a sit-down meal talking with a human. Dave was great, but he was the dungeon safe room. Blink, while smart, wasn’t human and did things in a very nonhuman way.

* * *