‘Intruders!’ Tia said, staring with glowing eyes into the darkness behind where the settlers had gathered for supper.

  Goliath pulled out his gladius in one smooth motion, drilled in by tens of thousands of hours of fighting on the kingdom’s battlefields and flew round to face the dark. The rest of the settlers weren’t far behind, grabbing their assorted weapons and standing ready to fight. The shadows lengthened and then resolved into moving figures, becoming visible in the light of the fire.

  A large man walked out with his hands in the air. ‘Peace,’ he said. ‘We’re not here to fight.’

  Relaxing slightly, Goliath adjusted his stance. ‘We? How many of you are there?’

  The man beckoned to the figures behind him. They came forward, the figures resolving into two more males and a woman. They were dirty, with matted hair and torn clothing. The woman had a grimy bandage around her knee and leaned heavily on a stick. All of them were gaunt. They didn’t introduce themselves. They just stood there and waited, like the universe had already judged them, and there was nothing to do but accept whatever fate befell them. Goliath had seen this look on so many displaced people during the war. He lowered his gladius.

  ‘Good evening, travellers, you look like you’ve had a tough journey.’

  One of the males behind the large one turned to the other and said, ‘Is he making fun of us?’ The other one shrugged listlessly.

  ‘No, I’m not making fun of you,’ Goliath corrected. ‘But I can see that you have had an ordeal. Would you like to come sit down and share some food with us?’

  The three smaller ones looked at the big one. After a moment, he nodded, and all four walked to the fire with tired steps. Ana and Becta snapped into action, feeding the fire and adding more food.

  ‘Goliath, I don’t know whether this is a good idea,’ Michael murmured beside him. He wasn’t sure about it either, but he also couldn’t turn weary travellers away for no other reason than their looks.

  They sat down around the fire, and one of the men pulled out a vicious-looking hawksbill-blade knife. He slowly started cutting the meat offered to him into pieces and eating.

  ‘So…’ Alan said. ‘You must’ve come a long way. My name is Alan, by the way.’

  The big man nodded. ‘We did.’ He added nothing more to the statement.

  ‘And your name is … ?’

  The man blinked, as if surprised by the question. He mulled it over. Then, slowly, said. ‘Yes, I guess I should introduce us. I apologise. It’s just, it’s been a while since we’ve met people.’

  A real long while, Goliath thought to himself. It’s not unusual. He’s seen the same look in recluses and others who spent time alone in the wilds. Just as often, it went the other way, where the person was so happy to see someone else that they couldn’t stop talking. In this case, it didn’t look like these four spoke very much to anyone, including each other.

  ‘My name is Klint, and this is Fletch, Mack, and Zasha.’

  ‘Well, we’re glad to meet the four of you,’ Goliath said before introducing each of the settlers. He ended with, ‘ … and I’m Goliath, Cursed End’s Founder, and this is my daughter, Mirabelle.’ He almost stopped there, but when he noticed Tia looking at him expectantly, he added at the last moment, ‘And here is our settlement assistant, Tia.’

  ‘Cursed End,’ Mack gave a bitter laugh. ‘It figures this would be the place we end up in.’ Zasha looked like she wanted to cry.

  ‘Hush, Mack,’ Klint intervened, sounding tired. ‘We don’t know anything about this place yet. Just be thankful we found somewhere to rest and have a meal.’

  ‘So, what do the four of you do?’ Isaac asked.

  Klint looked to the others, as if for an answer.

  Staring at his knife, Fletch finally responded. ‘We’re … trappers.’

  Trappers of what? Goliath wondered.

  Suddenly, Mack leapt up with his knife raised. ‘Vermin!’ he called. Goliath spun around, trying to see what Mack had spotted. And then he heard Mirabelle scream.

  ‘No!’ he shouted, sprinting forward, but Mack didn’t register. He was so focused on the small shape zooming along the ground.

  At once, an ear-piercing whistle sounded. Everyone clapped their hands to their ears as Tia appeared in an eye-searing blaze of light before Mack. ‘NO!’ her voice boomed over the settlement.

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  Just as suddenly as it had blazed out, the light and sound disappeared. Mack stood frozen, and Goliath grabbed his arm and took his knife. ‘I said no,’ he repeated.

  In the silence, he heard Mirabelle wail and Ana’s voice soothing her. Mack took a step back, staring at the scene with big eyes.

  ‘No,’ Goliath repeated, wiping the sweat from his forehead at that close call. ‘It’s not a rat, it’s a puppy and my daughter’s pet.’

  ‘Oh,’ Mack mouthed, shrinking in on himself as he realised what he had almost done.

  ‘That thing’s a pet?’ Fletch asked incredulously. ‘It looks like a long rat.’

  Klint silenced him with a motion. ‘Please accept our apologies. We didn’t know, and Mack didn’t mean it.’

  ‘Apologise to Mirabelle, not Goliath, if you want to stay here.’ Tia glared at the little group.

  How do I get her to be less militant and leave these situations to me? She’s drawing too much attention to Mirabelle! But Goliath had no way to get that message across to Tia in the moment. Instead, he affirmed Tia’s statement by saying, ‘As my daughter, you will afford Mirabelle the same respect as you do me. Please apologise to her.’

  A rebellious look had crossed Fletch’s face. Klint, noticing, shook his head, and Fletch sagged back onto his seat. Mack, though, didn’t hesitate. He knelt before the crying Mirabelle, where Ana was comforting her. ‘Mirabelle, I am very sorry. I didn’t know the ra … ehr … puppy was your pet. I will never try to harm it again. Will you forgive me?’

  ‘Jangles,’ she muttered, burrowing deeper into Ana’s embrace.

  ‘Jangles?’ Mack asked, not sure what she meant.

  Ana, however, did. ‘Is the puppy’s name Jangles?’

  Mirabelle nodded.

  ‘I am very sorry, I thought Jangles was a rat. I didn’t know, and I promise never to do it again,’ Mack tried once more.

  ‘Mirabelle, the man is sorry,’ Ana also prodded. ‘Forgive him?’

  Mirabelle shook her head.

  ‘All right, I think this is enough for tonight,’ Goliath intervened. ‘Mack, we’ll sort this out with Mirabelle when she feels better tomorrow. Mirabelle, Mack has promised not to hurt Jangles. He’ll make it up to you tomorrow. Right, Mack?’

  Mack nodded, looking rather pale at the thought that he might have endangered his group’s place in Cursed End’s hospitality.

  <>

  Later, after the new arrivals had been given a place to sleep, Michael organised the settlement’s guard roster for the night (also assigning a roster to watch the newcomers). Goliath was putting Mirabelle to bed in their room in the administration building. She had calmed down after a while, but still refused to speak to Mack. This did not endear Mack’s group to Tia. She now watched them at all times with barely concealed hostility.

  But that was a problem for the next day. For now, the issue was Jangles. Mirabelle wanted it to sleep beside her in the bed. Goliath thought it would be better off on the ground beside her bed, especially since it had peed on his foot in front of the admin building. Finally, they agreed that Jangles would sleep on the foot of the bed.

  ‘No Alanna tonight,’ Mirabelle remarked as she lay in bed looking sleepily out the window.

  Following her gaze, he saw the stars hidden behind light clouds. It looked like the first of the spring rains was about to arrive. This reminded him again of the urgency to acquire seeds to plant. If Cursed End was going to be successful this year, they had to get their crops into the ground as soon as possible.

  ‘No. No Alanna,’ he agreed. ‘Maybe we’ll be able to see her crown again tomorrow night.’ Speaking of the crown reminded him of his dungeon reward. So much had happened that it felt like they had conquered the dungeon three days ago instead of that afternoon. He pulled the Founder’s Pendant out of his pocket, reactivating its notification, including the part he hadn’t shown to the others earlier.

  Founder’s Pendant

  The Founder’s Pendant serves as a symbol of the founder’s control and power over Cursed End.

  Option: Become the Founder

  Since the Founder’s pendant was awarded to you for clearing the Cursed End dungeon, you can rightfully claim the position of Founder by donning this necklace.

  Will you become the Founder?

  ‘Pretty, pretty,’ Mirabelle said, reaching for the necklace, as the light played through the wand-shaped blue-crystal pendant.

  ‘It is, isn’t it,’ he responded, reading the notification again. Being the founder would certainly make running the settlement a whole lot easier. Although he wasn’t sure how Tia would take it. It would probably be okay; she was system-obligated to be loyal to the founder after all.

  ‘Mirabelle have?’

  ‘Yes, Mirabelle have.’ He clasped it around her neck and kissed her forehead. He was relieved to see the necklace magically shrink to fit her, the blue stone transforming until it looked like a child’s bauble, making it inconspicuous. It would draw no undue attention to it or her.

  As for the second part of the notification, Mirabelle was the founder, and he had already resolved to support her to the best of his ability. A new notification popped up as Mirabelle’s eyes closed.

  Hidden quest fulfilled: Loyalty to Cursed End

  By finding and preserving a part of Cursed End’s former riches for the settlement’s true founder, you have proven yourself a worthy steward.

  Reward: The restrictions on the subterfuge title of Founder Goliath have been lifted, giving you full access to all functions.

  Beware the consequences of betrayal. It will be harsh.

  Stewardship quest unlocked: Mentor the founder!

  Mentor the Founder! Part 1: Restore the Settlement Administration Building

  Every settlement needs a functional administrative building. Involve the founder in using the console stone to restore the administration building, while teaching her about its function and purpose.

  Reward: Increased TIA functionality

  Oh, Gods, give me the strength to handle increased Tia functionality, Goliath silently prayed. But, for the sake of Mirabelle and the settlement, he would endure this too.

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  Coming up next: How will Goliath handle these strangers? And who are they really? Stay tuned to find out...