Chapter 114: Repairs

Chapter 114: Repairs

Ozzy squatted on his haunches, trying to lower himself down to the small man's eye level. "Hi, names Ozzy. Not in charge, that would be Baron Billy. We'll find him for you. "

"Nopenopenope. Name on the paper is Ozzy, so in charge you are. Warrantyholder, that be you."

Ozzy caught most of that sentence. The little man spoke fast, running words together.

"OK, that would be me then. What do you need me to do?" This part of the deal Ozzy hadn't really thought about. But come to think of it, no one he'd met so far had been the fairy godmother type that fixed things with a bippity-bobbity-boo. A horde of builders made a bit more sense, didn’t it?

"Plans to look at, signature to place, advice to be taken, advice to be ignored." Four of the small creatures brought over chunks of rubble that they somehow placed to form a low table of stone. The foreman spread out a roll of plans of the village of Sedgewick. Or rather, of something that looked sort of like Sedgewick.

The buildings were all taller, at least three stories, and made of stone for the first two. The third story was constructed of huge beams and the area was larger by several feet on most sides, overhanging the lower stories. The roofs had high peaks, small balconies, and widow's walks.

"Well, that's a bit different. Why the change up? And it looks like the streets are different?"

Ozzy was trying to orient the map, but things definitely were moved around. The village square was huge now with several shops around it that Ozzy didn't remember. The tavern and inn faced each other across the fountain with the livery stable next to the inn. The road from the keep made a large circle around the town instead of through the middle. Smaller streets from the north and south sides of the square connected with the road. That sort of made sense to Ozzy. Who wanted all that traffic straight through the town?

"Notdifferent, old it is. Original plans. A match with the city. Ordered this way."

Suzette was looking over Ozzy's shoulder. "It looks better. And the tavern is much bigger. Look, the back is an enclosed courtyard with a wall and outbuildings. I like that."

Rolly came walking up, eating as usual. He offered the small man a muffin. The foreman politely refused. "Thanksandapologies. On the job."

Rolly insisted. "Betty made them special for today. Apple and honey, they really taste great. And she made them for the workers. You guys are workers, right?"

Many of the small builders looked up and a few wandered over. The foreman looked up at Ozzy.

Ozzy shrugged. "All workers here and Betty made muffins for the workers. Can't see that breaking any rules. I approve."

The little grey men surged forward and formed a neat line. Rolly started handing each one a muffin, and yelled for Betty to bring more. The small men ate them in three bites, rubbing their bellies and laughing. Seeing this, Betty started passing out more. "You boys eat. I'll get another batch going. Can't do your best work on an empty stomach."

The foreman nodded at her and bowed. "Muchthanks, muchwisdom there is, muchmuffin grateful." He ate his two and then turned to Ozzy. "Suggestions? Needs?"

Would you like to claim ownership of the Bunny Barrow? This level 1 dungeon will only accept Tier one adventurers. You of course may tour and make suggestions by appointment.

Because this dungeon is part of the larger Lair, it will not overflow.

Suzette claimed it. "Can't see any reason not to claim it as well. Might be a great place for some of the lower-level guys to go gain some experience."

Moving to the main dungeon, she also got a message.

Welcome Back Dungeon Keeper!

Would you like to resume your duties?

This dungeon is now a Tier 2 Dungeon. Small parties will enter the maze and may descend and challenge the bosses in their lairs. A large raid will be sent to fight each boss with one party before the remains of the raid descend to face The BIG Rat.

This dungeon (currently) cannot overflow. Any extra deaths are urgently needed for upgrades in the city of Gadobhra. You are safe for a time.

"Oh, even better. Guys? I've got control of both dungeons and they can't overflow. Something weird about them being linked to the city."

Ozzy liked that. "I'm happy to have some time off for boring stuff. Let's go upstairs. Do we want the top floor again? Bet it has a better view now."

=*=

Billy was, at that moment, cowering in fear of his life in the large courtyard in the center of Gadobhra. He and Layla had been trying to decide on which ruined building to try and turn into a new headquarters for ACME. They had decided on one of them, when it suddenly crashed to the ground in a pile of rubble. Small grey men, hordes of them, began to sort out the rubble. The ground shook and rippled. Trees swayed and then actually started moving further from the buildings. Things seemed safest in the center so the two of them climbed up on top of the statue in the fountain.

"What the hell did you do?!" Layla, as usual, saw no reason not to blame Billy.

"No clue. Has to be something to do with opening up the city. Just when I think I have a handle on things, this world surprises me again."

"You’re smiling. Tell me!" Layla knew Billy well enough to know when something was highly amusing to him. He looked around. "Look at it, pure chaos. Who the hell knows what comes next? I love chaos, it's where I do my best work. The two of us are going to bury Vern and the other corporations if the rest of the world is like this. They won't know what hit

them."

=*=