Your Provisional Authority remains contested. Kaden hated the notice every time he awakened, and the notice was there every time he woke. Speaking of waking, Kaden looked to the side, where the shuffle of bone on stone had alerted him to the approach of one of Sevin’s skeletons. “More inbound?”

  The skeleton nodded sharply.

  Sevin had mended the broken leg bones on the skeletons but scars remained. After the first party, Kaden had waited on edge for the second attack, knowing they’d come prepared. Knowing they’d come in force.

  The second party had come armed with custom gear for killing [Shadow Blades] and masks that protected from [Agony Cloud] and so many anti-status items it made Kaden laugh. They hadn’t come prepared for undead, or Sevin himself or Skully to use brute force.

  The third attack was a single [Harbinger] who slipped unseen into the cave network, ghosted through the tunnels as though she had a map, came armed with a dagger called [One-And-Done], and discovered far, far too late that the shadow cat rubbing up her legs was just a distraction for the [Ulf Ravager] had begun following her in the frozen wastes.

  Garm had carried her head back for Kaden on his own accord, for which Kaden was deeply grateful.

  The next attack should have been overwhelming. It should have been dozens of Adventurers. The next attack just didn’t come. Until now. Kaden woke Trella and engaged [Stealth Aura]. “We’re using the second level?”

  She nodded. “Ashi’s still not conscious, and when she regens mana, her health goes down.”

  Eve could keep her healed, and Eve could keep her healthy, but the penalty for what she’d done remained in effect.

  Kaden quickly ascended the inner paths and dropped into the entry forum, blinking as he emerged into the sun. Sevin insisted on lights. Insisted that only roaches and rats lived in total darkness. The snow to the right of the entrance erupted as Garm broke free, and together they went out to meet the next to die. And shouted with joy. “Sara!”

  She wore a heavy green cloak with scales the size of Kaden’s palm. “Good, good. I saw the Outpost notifications. And Samuel’s response?”

  “He stopped sending more.”

  Her laugh was like music in the frozen wastes. “Oh, our friend Samuel has had his own set of problems. His [Authority] can’t establish while you contest it, and yet he’s been subject to an ever-changing stream of attackers whittling down his following. Such a shame. Perhaps if he were stronger?”

  “I didn’t think we’d see you again until Samuel was dead. Sevin’s going to be so happy. Come on, he has skeletons stationed everywhere.” As they went, he explained about Ashi. “We’ve made that our home. I’m hoping your [Herald of Life] title will let her pay down the debt sooner.”

  “If only we were staying.” Sara followed him, marveling at the design of the pseudo-dungeon, commenting on the well placed manual traps, lamenting the lack of monsters. Down in the core alcove, a hearty fire blazed, and Garm lay in front of it with Ashi nestled against her side.

  Kaden let her have a private moment with Sevin, instead joining Trella. “How are things?”

  “Still feeding Ashi mana darts. Still dark. Still cold.” Trella stretched and reached out her hand. “Look who came back this morning. She’s been exploring every inch of this place, and mostly forgiven me for forcing her here.”

  Eclipse’s yellow eyes glared at Kaden from the shadows, eyes the size of dinner plates. The [Shadow Cat] thrived in darkness, growing larger.

  Kaden didn’t dare try and pet her.

  “Listen,” Sara said, “I came back for two reasons. Firstly, the Mercari demanded I give their purse back, meaning I couldn’t continue to hand-pick Adventurers for skill combinations. Second, it doesn’t matter. Samuel is walled up in the Kal village. He’s turned it into a fortress. He can’t establish his own [Authority] and we can’t break his. The clans have encircled him, but laying siege to a second-lifer is difficult at best.”

  “If we leave here, there won’t be anything contesting his Authority,” Eve said.

  “That’s why we won’t be abandoning the Outpost. My Messenger birds haven’t been able to get in or out. I’m assuming this is something you did.” Sara looked to Kaden.

  Who recalled the [Mansquito]. “Yes. We did it to cut off communication with Samuel’s hired help. I’ve removed it now.”

  “The [Harbinger] who came last tried to send a bird every few steps,” Trella added. “We couldn’t risk Samuel having any idea what to make gear for.”

  “Excellent strategy. I will hold the Outpost with Sevin. I’m hoping Eve’s [Queen of Entropy] title works against Samuel’s defenses. We have to break through. Do that, and the clans will handle the rest. Ashi will remain with me. It should pay down her penalty rapidly.” Sara sat down by the fire. Her horror began nipping at the flames.

  “You up for ruining Samuel’s day?” Trella asked Eve.

  She looked positively gleeful. “I am.”

  ###

  Vast golden walls stretched into the sky surrounding Samuel’s fortress. Even worse were the constant notifications about how Kaden was a declared enemy of ‘Sammyland’ and that he would suffer 10x penalties for engaging in direct combat. Even worse than even worse was how within the walls, the ice had melted, the snow melted, and green flourished everywhere. Ranks of clan members stood behind Kaden, encircling the instant city.

  “He’s not just bringing ‘civilization,’ he’s remaking this area,” Eve said. “Is it just me or is it actually warmer outside of the barrier?”

  Kaden studied bare rock and turf where hardy grass grew, confused by the unnatural spring. “Not your imagination. Trella, can we pass the barrier?”

  “My deceptions exploded. And this barrier goes down as far as it goes up. One of the Beserkers attempted to use a [No Touch-um Rod] to break it. They’re saying his name—and his corpse—is spread among the stars.” Trella looked longingly at the strange stone structures with crystal windows and square chimneys. “I can teleport, but I think Samuel is taking this seriously. These aren’t as haphazard as his other creations.”

  “What about killing a beast on the other side and having Sevin re-animate it?” Kaden asked. “I can command them but undead beasts have some advantages.”

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  “Friends.” Drokor’s voice carried over the wind as she limped toward them. “We may be the weakest members of the accord but we are still members. And I may be old, but my memory has not failed.”

  To her right came one of the Skan warriors, and behind her, a Tun bone-shaper.

  Kaden gave a nod to each. “Where are the Fen?”

  “They have chosen to remain in the Domain. Basu holds that it is the source of our strength, and we should never have surrendered it. The Resyr have always been traders and we will be traders.” Drokor spat.

  The spittle sizzled on the golden barrier.

  “He’s not leaving,” Trella said. “Not encircled like this. How many Adventurers are still on his side?”

  “A hundred, perhaps more,” The Skan warrior said. “We will not surrender to him, not if it takes a decade.”

  Ten years.

  Kaden shuddered. It was a long, long time to maintain an Outpost in a frozen land. Far longer than he had agreed to, longer than he might be willing. “There has to be a way in. Has anyone talked to Samuel?”

  “Kai Fen comes to negotiate with him every night. Which is to say, he tells the bastard to leave. You’ll see, in the evening.” Drokor took Trella’s arm. “We do not deal much in loot. But the greedy [Alchemist] who served Samuel was caught alone gathering from corpses. Perhaps we could arrange a trade for what he carried.”

  “I think we can.” She went with Drokor, greeting various clan members as she went.

  Eve stepped closer and closer to the golden barrier. “I don’t know that [Queen of Entropy] is going to stand a chance. This is second-lifer gear. By definition it’s broken compared to the rest of the System.”

  “You said once the key was patience. We don’t know how it works. If the barrier is active for an hour and refreshes on the hour, you get a chance to disrupt it on the hour. If it’s refreshing constantly, eventually, it’ll work. If it never refreshes? It was worth a try.”

  She looked to Kaden and nodded.

  An idea struck Kaden.

  An amazingly bad idea if it failed and a terrific one if it worked. He summoned Burney, holding the [Match Lizard] close. “You’re very small, and I need to test something. It could kill you and you’d have to reform, but you’ll recover quickly. Do this for me, and I’ll find you a forest to set on fire.”

  Burney wasn’t an intelligent lizard, but it grasped one concept—a world ablaze. [Match Lizards] lived by the simple rule that you had to be the all-consuming forest fire you wanted to see in the world.

  Kaden pulled the lizard into his soul. True [Summoners] could absolutely control the location of their summons. Kaden focused on the ground a foot past the barrier and summoned Burney.

  The king of the [Match Lizards] hissed and recoiled as he formed the snow. Just as quickly, Kaden recalled him. There was a plan. A hint of a plan. The only question would be what it would cost. When Kaden summoned the [Falcrow] it circled overhead cautiously before finally landing nearby to take his message to Sara and Trella.

  Night was coming.

  Negotiations were coming.

  And Kaden had every intention of finishing what he’d started.

  ###

  Darkness embraced the encampment, while Kaden waited restlessly. “Where is Sara?”

  “She’s on her way,” Trella said. “Just relax. Sevin has been reanimating skeletons all day. The Outpost is now effectively an undead dungeon and I don’t know what rank it would be but Samuel won’t be taking it over.”

  Blue flared in the distance as Domain Gates opened.

  And from them poured the Fen.

  Every one carried a wild air, a dangerous note to their presence that made Kaden wonder if man was meant to live in a dungeon. The crowds parted—and Ashi walked through, wrapped in white furs. “Kaden.”

  He squeezed her. “Sara’s Title worked?”

  “It did. And she has told me of how she hired parties to attack Samuel. It was a gambit, but one worth playing, a price worth paying. And your plan, as well.” Ashi grasp Trella’s arm and whispered, then stepped to the side.

  “Hear and hear!” A man roared out. “As head of the Accord I come. It’s been a week for me, Samuel Birkoff. A week for you to consider.”

  Kai Fen had been a deadly oponent before but now, the Domain had seeped into his soul. Basu Fen walked at his side, wearing heavy leather armor, and she carried a stone hammer she hurled at the barrier. “Come out!”

  “Oh, calm down.” Samuel’s voice carried from all around as the Second Lifer exited one of the odd houses, wearing a wide straw hat, and carrying a drink with a tiny paper umbrella in it. “Chill out. It’s nice and warm on my side. We have electricity. And we can read. And we have toilet paper.”

  “You’ve been warned, Samuel.” Kai Fen spoke softly. “Leave and we’ll let you. Otherwise, your life is forfeit.”

  Samuel wiped long black hair from his face and looked around. “Go find another frozen waste. I’m fixing this one up as my prize for saving your sorry ass world from a demon horde you never even knew was coming. I was promised I could build an empire. A home, anywhere I wanted, and I looked at this dump and said ‘These are good people. I’m going to fix them. I’m going to make it better.’ But now? You can all freeze to death. I’ll be here in Sammyland. Drinking pina coladas and listening to my Zune. You want me to share my music? Zune does that, as long as you have a Zune, too. Of course, I probably have the only one in existence in this world. Or the one it came from.”

  “Sammyland will never officially exist,” Kaden said. “Of course, you could step out and kill me. And Trella here. And if both of us were dead, Sara would own it. Wow, you just can’t win.”

  Samuel, for the first time, looked to Kaden. “We don’t have to fight. I could set you up. Help me help these people and I’ll give you gear you can’t imagine that will make the slog to level one hundred a gentle walk.”

  “You’re right.” Kaden said. “We don’t have to fight. Just leave. Establish Sammyland somewhere no one else is. There’s an entire desert wasteland near a dungeon. Perfectly good wasteland, just begging to be remade. This is a one-time offer.”

  “Then I only need to turn you down once, Beast-Bitch. That’s you, because you got beasts, and I’m going to make you my bitch.” Sammy slurped deep on his drink. “See you around, Bee-Bee.”

  “You made this choice. Now, you pay.” Kaden summoned Garm directly at his side. “Garm, ready to kill him?”

  “Uh.” Samuel looked back, studying the golden wall. “Have you…tried crossing my [Border Wall]? It hasn’t gone well for your friends. We don’t take well to illegal aliens in Sammyland. Let me tell you, when clans send people against me, they’re not sending their best.”

  “You haven’t met Garm. [Ulf Ravager].” Kaden looked down the beast. “He’s deadly in snow and ice.”

  “It’s warm here. Almost toasty. No snow, snowcones on Sammyday, ice in our drinks and nowhere else,” Samuel said with a tired tone.

  Garm truly wasn’t suited for warm climates.

  Trinty was, and Kaden had summoned her far behind Samuel.

  She slammed into him from behind, bending her blind head to grip Samuel around the chest and driving him into his own barrier, which pulsed yelllow and threw both of them a dozen yards.

  The difference was, Trinity had three heads and armored scales.

  “Go get him!” Kaden re-summoned Garm on the other side, knowing full well the [Ulf Ravager] would be at a disadvantage. Shadows slunk as Eclipse stalked away, and Kaden took the rare moment to release the [Destruction Wyvern], which, while starving and furious, surged forward, withering grass as he did.

  “Help me!” Samuel screamed. “Someone help!”

  A surge of joy told Kaden Garm had found soft flesh and bit deep, while Trinity boiled with rage. But cries of alarm rose up, echoing through the barrier, and Adventurers in hastily donned armor rushed to the house where Trinity had dragged Samuel.

  “Not me, you idiots!” Samuel screamed.

  The Soul Bond with Garm flared—and the [Ulf Ravager] was dead. It must have been an assassin, one who would find Trinity much, much more difficult to deal with. She screamed in pain and roared.

  Kaden couldn’t help reflexively pulling her back into his soul, although he held one beast in reserve.

  The scuffling, the cries gew quiet, and a few moments later, Samuel limped out. One leg was nothing but bone below the knee. A thin layer of skin covered the bone. One hand was missing three fingers, probably the work of Trinity’s armored head. “You absolute shithead. They were eating me. By tomorrow everyone here will carry anti-Beast weapons.” Samuel’s voice trembled. “Every single one of them will have anti-beast armor. And I’ll have all my gear from now on. Oh, and what the absolute hell was this?”

  He held up the crushed body of a tiny octopus. “It clawed me in the eye. In the eye. No decency.”

  Kaden knew exactly what would happen, but it was time. He sent the command.

  The [Match Lizard] clutching Samuel’s long black hair blazed into flame, embracing the pure joy of fire and destruction on a moderately embarrassing scale.

  Samuel screamed, batting at his own hair and finally throwing himself backwards to smash Burney and put out the fire. He didn’t look back as he crawled, then limped as fast as he could to the healers who watched, their faces filled with worry.

  “It was a worthy attack.” Kai Fen spoke with grudging respect.

  Kaden regretted the loss of his beasts and waited to show them the grattitude they deserved for their sacrifice. But he glanced to Trella, who nodded.

  “It worked,” Trella said. “That wasn’t the attack.”