Alycia was seated on a bench beside Sylt, their fingers still intertwined. Sylt did not seem to mind; in fact, he looked rather amused.

  “I just want all of you to know that I can’t stay much longer,” Alycia began. “I mean in the town. Did you know they voted and named it Mirehold? Anyway, I have other duties that I can’t leave unattended forever. So in about two days, I’ll be heading back to my office in the capital.”

  “You will be missed,” Serenia and Matthias said in unison.

  Alycia turned to Sylt, her fingers tightening slightly around his. “You will come to visit, right? As an Envoy, you can explore and report back on what you see. I would be more than happy to accommodate you in the capital sometime.”

  Sylt gave another musical laugh. “I am sure that can be arranged, my lady.”

  Alycia blushed furiously but nodded.

  “Oh, I can see it now,” Matthias interrupted. “And I can indeed project it.”

  With that, a magical projection appeared for everyone to watch from their chosen seats. The Arachne baby cooed in excitement as an image of the racing slimes appeared.

  “What?” Alycia asked in shock.

  This time it was Sylt’s turn to snort.

  The slimes were essentially drag racing across the countryside, spinning as fast as their bodies could withstand without being torn apart by the forces they were generating.

  “That is… a unique way to get around,” Alycia admitted.

  “We were all shocked to learn that his slimes are only a few small steps away from being sapient,” Serenia chimed in.

  “Excuse me,” Alycia blurted. “How?”

  “Really high Wisdom,” Matthias answered noncommittally.

  “That does not fully explain this,” she said, gesturing at the projection with the hand not holding Sylt’s.

  “I really don’t know what to say,” Matthias admitted. “But when one of them finally becomes sapient, I’ll send you a report on why slimes seem to like racing.”

  “I would rather you did not,” she said dryly. “If adventurers found out slimes could move at such high speeds, they would demand a race track and the ability to bet on the races.”

  Everyone but Alycia laughed.

  They chatted comfortably as they waited for first contact. Matthias even made popcorn and soda for everyone. Serenia and the baby seemed to really enjoy the carbonated drink. Alycia, on the other hand, appeared to melt in bliss at the butter-soaked popcorn. Matthias assumed she was a woman of many vices.

  Then it happened. Both armies appeared in the display. The skeletons marched forward more like a horde than in neat rows, while the slimes began regulating their speeds and forming a rough line. Then the slimes shot forward toward the skeletons.

  ---

  Urgnox could not believe what he was seeing.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Since when could slimes move like that?” his fairy hissed. “I don’t like this.”

  Then the slimes jumped.

  They pulled their bodies in from spinning discs into rough spheres for the final few feet between them and the skeletons. Urgnox winced as he watched the slimes slam into his skeletons like cannonballs. Bone flew in every direction as the slimes transferred all of their momentum into the undead ranks.

  “I thought they would try to eat the skeletons,” Urgnox admitted. “But they acted more like shock troops.”

  “But slimes are instinctual creatures,” Mable, his fairy, proclaimed.

  “Maybe these are experienced slimes,” Urgnox mused. “Skeletons start acting differently once they’ve received enough stimuli.”

  Mable paused. “How much stimuli would a slime need, though?”

  Urgnox sent a mental shrug through the bond as he prepared the next invasion wave. A thousand bone golems should be sturdy enough.

  ---

  [Urgnox (Rare) of the Evernight Crypt Dungeon has dispatched 1,000 bone golems (Uncommon) to attack you. ETA: 90 days.]

  Matthias could not believe what he was seeing.

  [Your troops desire to loot the battlefield. You may set stipulations. Permit this action? (Y/N)]

  “So he sent another wave—bone golems this time,” Matthias announced. He accepted the prompt with the stipulation that only the acid slimes were permitted to eat and focus on multiplying.

  “Bone golems are much more resistant than simple skeletons,” Alycia noted.

  “That’s why I’m letting my acid slimes eat and reproduce,” Matthias replied.

  “You have acid slimes?” she asked with a shudder.

  “Matthias moved most of his slimes deeper into the dungeon,” Serenia said reassuringly. “You don’t need to worry about new teams running into them.”

  Alycia let out a relieved sigh.

  “That reminds me,” Matthias said as they waited for the slimes to finish their meal. “I had a question. How come I can hear you, but not the parties delving my dungeon?”

  “Oh, I probably should have mentioned that earlier,” Alycia admitted. She pulled a necklace from her pocket. “It’s a clever bit of crystal enchanting. It prevents dungeons from listening in and allows the guild to track members and their vital signs. Even if I gave you one, it wouldn’t let you break the magical encryption that disrupts your ability to hear them.”

  “You had issues with dungeons altering encounters to counter party tactics,” Matthias observed.

  Alycia nodded. “There’s no telling how many dungeons abused that. My brother was lost in a dungeon—that’s why I push for every safety net we can give our members.”

  She continued, explaining how the crystals bonded to adventurers for thirty days before degrading enough for a dungeon to absorb them, and how many dungeons found them irritating enough to eject them entirely.

  “I think I can do something similar,” Matthias offered. “In fact, I’ll go a step further. I promise I won’t absorb fallen adventurers at all. I’ll return their bodies so they can be properly buried.”

  “You would do that?” Alycia asked, tears in her eyes.

  “Yes,” he said solemnly. “I, Matthias of the Vitalmire Crucible, hereby swear that I will not absorb fallen adventurers. I will return the dead so they may be mourned and given proper burial.”

  [Binding Vow Recognized. +1 passive point gained.]

  “Thank you,” Alycia whispered. “I won’t even hold it against you for not giving me the shiny versions of the monster cards.”

  They both chuckled.

  [Slimes have finished looting. Total slimes: 10,000 (various). Resuming march. ETA: 1 hour.]

  “Huh,” Matthias said. “My slime army doubled. So every two skeletons made one slime.”

  “How long until they reach the other dungeon?” everyone asked at once.

  “About an hour,” Matthias replied. “And with five thousand acid slimes, I’m not too worried.”

  ---

  Urgnox was beginning to panic.

  [10,000 slimes (various) are approaching. ETA: 1 hour.]

  When he focused on the breakdown, he paled. Over five thousand were acid slimes—transparent yellow and highly corrosive, possibly on the verge of evolving further.

  Urgnox sent frantic messages and envoys to every ally he had.

  “Perhaps you should offer a white peace,” a voice said.

  An Envoy Urgnox did not recognize stepped into his core chamber.

  “Who do you represent?” Urgnox demanded.

  “Nefertut.”

  Urgnox felt a spike of terror. Nefertut was the oldest infernal-aligned dungeon in the known world.

  “Nefertut is impressed with this young dungeon,” the Envoy said, “and has forbidden the rest of the faction from retaliating. You violated etiquette. No matter the faction, you always send an envoy.”

  Urgnox growled as the Envoy continued.

  “You reacted like a beast, not a sophisticated dungeon. You have embarrassed the faction. You stand alone. The only way you will be allowed back in is if you win.”

  With that, the Envoy dissolved into smoke.

  Urgnox ignored his fairy’s panicked cries as he brought every defense online.

  Urgnox had a defensive battle to win.