Centurion Marcus Aurelius waited until the supply wagons were a mile down the road from the village before he motioned for Legionnaire Gustavus to move up to where he was walking a dozen yards in front of the lead wagon. "I owe you an apology Gustavus. I really hadn't thought that any village could supply this much meat to the Legion." Gustavus just nodded. "They certainly are taking their contract seriously, sir. ""That they are. It was refreshing to talk to people dedicated to their work. The overseer, William, was actually quite eager to add the wheat and corn we need to his contract."

Probably hoping to look good in the eyes of his patron, Lord Vernon. While any overseer would do his patron's wishes and carry out his orders, it was a rare one that gladly took on extra work. Most likely hoping for a large bonus at the holidays. The amount of bread it took to feed a legion was massive. Rowan Keep’s force was only a fourth part of a century. Each of the keep's 25 soldiers would require a bushel of wheat each month. To the 300 bushels of wheat for the soldier's diet was added an additional 200 more to feed couriers, traveling auxiliaries plus keeping up a supply for emergencies. Roughly two crops a year and 10 acres of good land were required to grow that much grain.

"And already expanding their operation. The old barn wasn't even three weeks old and they are putting up a new one already." Gustavus had seen workers hoisting beams he'd need three men to carry.

"I was quite surprised at how they went about it. As it was explained by the artisan running their slaughterhouse, the current barn and smokehouse were too small. Novel idea just to burn them down and cure all the meat and hides at once. I'd heard of pit curing, but not seen it before."Gustavus agreed, "Novel, but you can't argue with results. He supplied us with a hundred well cured carcasses that taste mighty fine and will store for a couple of years. The hides surprised me though. The black colored ones are hard as a rock. Good boot and strap leather. But the red hides are supple and smooth - and tough. I tested to make sure the heat hadn't ruined them - they didn't tear and resisted cutting when I took my dagger to them. Have you seen that type of hide before?""Oh, yes. It's highly sought after by officers in the south. Not only is it exceptional quality leather, but it has innate resistance to fire and rot. It's very hard to come by though. Needs to come from animals grazing in a high mana area, then needs to be cured with special ingredients and methods."

"Obviously the artisan, Ozymandias, I think his name was, wouldn't divulge the method. He just shrugged when I asked and said, 'Enough wood, enough heat.' But I did distinctly smell the odor of dwarven whiskey. That may be one of the components. "Gustavus ventured a comment. "I see that you asked him for a thousand bushels of wheat and another of corn; plus, an equal amount of groats for feeding horses. Should I arrange for more wagons to move the surplus out to other keeps?" Marcus considered. It was a fair question, and the answer would reveal things beyond the pay grade of a common soldier. "How long have you been with the Emperor's Legion, Gustavus? How does it suit you?" "Seven years and a bit sir. Just signed up for another seven-year hitch."That pleased Marcus. This one was young enough he wouldn't be retiring soon, dedicated enough that he reenlisted, and smart enough that he was already being assigned work beyond a common soldier. "Good to hear. When we get back, upgrade your gear to Optio. I'm promoting you and moving you to my staff.""Thank you, sir. I'm thinking that means you need some work done.""It certainly does, Optio Gustavus. Duke Carl has asked for the northern border to be reinforced. I'll be staying on at Rowan and calling for the rest of my century. I already have an architect working on plans for the expansion. Your job is to source the local area for workers, stone, lumber, and anything else we need. So, let’s hear your thoughts on that?"Gustavus just nodded slightly. The reward in the legion for a job well done was generally getting assigned a bigger job. But bigger jobs came with promotions. He'd suspected bigger jobs were coming. "Road first, sir. You saw the quality of the road they were building north to their lumbering operations. I'll convince them to put a branch to the quarry they are starting and then expand it the ten miles between Sedgewick and Rowan. Normally you can only move heavily laden wagons about 5 months out of the year. With a proper road, we can work all year long with no problems resupplying from this area." "Next we’ll need foundation stones and heavy beams. I'll work with the architect to get storerooms built first. Extra troops can be put in tents, but food needs proper storage. That's basics, but we'll need a lot more. What we can't get locally, I'll requisition from the Wolfsburg supply depot.""Good. You have a handle on the job. Get started. Give me a short daily report each morning, but otherwise I'll leave you to your job." Marcus felt a bit of relief from the pressure he normally carried like a yoke on his shoulders. He'd be back and forth between Rowan and Wolfsburg this next month. Having someone to start the expansion would go a long way towards making his life easier.

"That is one ugly rat critter." Ozzy was looking at the dead rat-kin in the tavern's basement.

Aliester was looking at the thing's claws and knife. "The claws would have a hard time getting through armor. And the knife is of shoddy workmanship. Dangerous, especially against a lone human. I'm sorry that Suzette was the one attacked, but actually better than Derek. I doubt he would have survived."

Ozzy scowled; he hadn't thought of it that way. Clearing 10 rats was a joke quest for new players, but for the average person living in the village, this thing was a real threat. So were those big rats in the other room. "I'm hauling these things out and feeding them to the pigs, then we'll go through the whole basement looking for a crack in the wall or some way these things get in." The pigs weren't picky. They ate nearly anything and got all the leftovers from the tavern and a lot of the garbage generated in the village. Derek added some grain now and then. Suzette always had the adventurers that completed the quest toss the rats to them. These were just bigger rats as far as he was concerned. He did help out by chopping all three corpses up a bit with his cleaver. As he started dumping the parts into their trough, the pigs came thundering out of the little covered pen where they slept.

Squealing and pushing their snouts into the trough they argued about who got the most. The argument was ended by the last arrival. The sow was four times bigger than the other pigs and probably weighed close to a half ton. She looked at the rapidly emptying trough and the rat-kin corpse Ozzy was about to cut up. She snorted and started pawing the ground. Ozzy agreed to a quick compromise - the sow got the whole rat-kin thrown to her, and she didn't try to jump the fence. Both sides thought this was a good idea. Aliester was in the sub-basement looking at the stacked barrels in one corner. "I think there is something behind these barrels." Ozzy got to work tossing them aside.

A set of stairs started about six feet from the wall, leading downward through an arch. Ten feet down a short tunnel was a sturdy rectangular oak door measuring 7'x5'. Ornate but rusty hinges held it in the stone frame. It was bound in iron with a latch but no lock. Above the door was a piece of crystal the color of blood. "Well, that explains things. You have a dungeon down here Ozzy. Imagine that." Aliester took out a notebook and started sketching the stairs, door, and hinges. "I'm going to take some notes for reference, but this seems to be a common entrance theme. No real clues as to the dungeon’s nature. It could have almost anything inside.""Oh, just a common dungeon...Aliester, why the fething hell do we have a dungeon in the basement, and how did it get here?"Aliester shrugged. "We may never know...or there may be a book inside that explains the origin. Dungeons don't always give answers for why they show up. But the most common reason is an excess of magic. It has to go somewhere, and often the world reacts by taking all that magic and creating a dungeon."Ozzy slammed his palm against him forehead. "And Suzette said she saw a black river of dark mana pouring down the road, and the Daemon was using it to feed. Guess we know where the rest went. So, what so we do? Block it off?" "I would not advise that at all." Aliester put away his book and lit his pipe, sitting on one of the barrels. "Dungeons form part of a cycle. The dungeon absorbs excess mana that gets pushed into the world from various places. Dark is the worst. Not only is it powerful, but it's thick and heavy. It's prone to flowing down and pooling underground until it creates a dungeon or other effect. If you block it off, it will just create another exit.""But that's not the worst thing. A dungeon that fills completely can do worse things. The first is to burst and expel all the occupants out into the world. Imagine the fun of hundreds of giant rats and rat-kins appearing all at once. Towns are killed this way and the Emperor's Legion must clear the area and send in teams to weaken the dungeon.""The dungeon can also evolve and get stronger. This is in some ways worse than a burst. After an evolution it can fill again with mana. And when it bursts even stronger creatures will venture out. This is how we think the powerful dungeons of legend came to be. They formed in out of the way places, evolving over and over until they were ancient and terrible. Their surroundings full of creatures that had been cast out of the dungeon."Ozzy pondered that. "Ok, how can we tell? Do we have to go in?""We should, but a full group would be better. I can tell the state of the dungeon by putting my hand on the crystal on the door." Aliester walked down the stairs and reaching up, put his hand on the crystal after removing his glove. Ozzy stood down the hall. At least he'd come expecting to have to fight rats. He was wearing his apron and heavy gloves over his normal clothes. And in one hand he had his new barbeque tongs.

Ancient Billhook of Entwined FatesCrafted by Algwyn Aelfbane, a dark dwarven smith, of Deep Iron.This weapon is of high quality and enchanted to channel spells. Any wizard may use it as a spell focus similar to a staff.Materials: Deep Iron, True Silver, Blackroot, Fingerbones of a WizardQuality: Ancient (+10% to hit, +10 damage). Applies both to melee attacks and spell attacks.Base Chance to hit: 40%, base damage 130 points. You are not yet skilled with this weapon. Practice or kill foes to gain basic skill.