The conference took place a few days after the first expedition returned. All grand priests, guild leaders, and sun elves gathered. Naomi was also present. She sat straight, her arms stretched, hands resting on her knees. Her face lacked her usual cheerfulness and happiness. She looked like a person who had done something horrible and was about to be interrogated. Through the mana radio in the Dungeon Master of the City of Adventurers and Arch Priest of the Sun, with Chino also participating.

  “Are you saying that is a fully functional rifle?” Duncan, the Dungeon Master from the City of Adventurers, asked, trying to see the details of the rifle placed on the table. “What about gunpowder? How do you manage to make it safe from magic attacks?”

  “It doesn’t use any gunpowder. It’s a magical gun.” Naomi answered.

  “Magical?” Chino asked, surprised.

  “Yes. I can’t tell the details how it works, but have you heard about rail guns?”

  “No way! How do you do that? They needed an enormous quantity of energy, and they were built for ships.” Duncan’s eyes went wide.

  “The same way as any dungeon core. We have tools to do whatever we wish. I initially tried to recreate technology from our world, but interference from mana made it hard. As a result, I recently started substituting everything with runes and magic.”

  “I experimented with runes too, but I never managed to achieve anything like that.” Duncan shakes his head.

  “I didn’t experiment with magic,” Chino added.

  “Wait. If you had that kind of knowledge, you could build anything. Yes?” Duncan asked, and Naomi stiffened in fear.

  “Maybe we should concentrate on the rifles for now,” Chino said, seeing her reaction.

  “Indeed. While our dungeon mistress is talented, adding more things will only complicate everything. And those guns are complicated enough.” King Alduin interjected, too.

  “Yes. Let’s go back to the topic. Please tell me about the initial assessment of this rifle, and how you plan to use it.” Dungeon Master from the City of Adventurers asked.

  “There is only one way we can use them.” General Serator joined in. “We will send one, maybe two marksmen to each citadel. They will try to kill any cultist they spot. Hard to say how much damage we could do, but it should force them to back away. Maybe even retreat in some instances. Even a few places where the siege will be repealed could end in the collapse of the whole invasion.”

  “I agree with that plan. However, a first teams need to be sent to the western coast. Warlocks get smart and instead of trying to break the walls, they wait for us to starve. They even bypassed us and harassed towns further south. Necromancers aren’t as problematic as they’re made to be. The only question is the performance of the rifle?”

  “Performance is adequate.” King Alduin spoke immediately, seeing she was about to say something. Surprisingly, it helped her ease her posture. “Yesterday, I managed to hit the target around one thousand and two hundred steps. Someone with more experience should be able to hit the target much further, and even if not, at least his accuracy should be reliable.”

  “This is a sniper rifle, then. Good.” Duncan nodded approvingly. This could work. “Now the question is how many and how fast rifles can be built.”

  “There won’t be any production of the rifles,” Eriser spoke up. “They are too complicated. The Grand Master Unroh and I don’t have time to spend years understanding how Dungeon Mistress builds it. If you want to copy them, send them to the First Forge. And most importantly, money. Materials alone will cost you a hundred gold easily.”

  “What!” People from the Citadel of Light and Adventurers' City shouted in shock.

  “It’s true.” Eraser laughed at them. “This thing is almost a masterpiece. Only because it could be copied and came from the dungeon doesn’t qualify for that category.”

  “But why?” Chino asked. “We will need a lot of them. Yes?”

  “I don’t want this world to become like ours,” Naomi answered. “Where any stupid psychopath can proclaim himself an emperor and wage a war spanning the whole world. Without the guns, they can’t do it, they are too stupid, but with guns?” Naomi hung her head.

  “Yeah.”Duncan sighed. “I forgot about that. I’m so used to firearms that I sometimes forget about how they shaped our history. Okay, you are probably right. Let’s create a few small elite units. They will be deployed as needed rather than being a part of the regular army. With time, we could have one squad stationed at each key point of the border.”

  The discussion continued for some time longer to finalise details. Afterwards, Naomi approached King Alduin.

  “Thank you for helping me go through this gathering.” She said.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I promised to stand by your side. You didn’t believe me?”

  “I believed. But it’s not the same as seeing it.”

  “I guess your past makes it hard for you to trust the others, but I hope that I have gained some of it now?”

  “A lot.” Naomi smiled, looking at him. “A lot.” She repeated.

  The town of Barosnes was about two weeks’ march from the Great Desert. It was a decent town compared to other northern cities, with almost six thousand citizens. The economy, although modest, was robust, and overall, citizens didn’t starve or live in poverty. The Lord of the city, Baron Reuben, didn’t impose large taxes and was seen as a reasonable man. What people didn’t know, or those who knew saw it as a normal thing for nobles, was that he loved scheming and making deals with suspicious individuals. While he was proud of how his negotiations with them enriched him or made him popular, he wasn’t stupid. Before entering into any agreement with anyone, he always insisted on seeing the path the person he was about to speak to. Anyone with some suspicious skills or titles suggesting working with cultists was arrested by his guards immediately. Two times, they were indeed spies from the cultists. All his scheming rewarded him with a set of titles and skills any other person would be ashamed of. Things like ‘Liar’, ‘Oath breaker’, and a few other similar terms. He wasn’t proud of them, but he saw them as the price he had to pay for his success.

  Today, however, he feels really stressed for some reason.

  “Hard day?” Lady Abigail, his wife, asked him when he sat on their bed with a heavy sigh.

  “No. After a whole week, this nagging feeling that something is wrong still hasn’t vanished.”

  “We should go tomorrow to the grand priest of the Sun. It could be a warning from the gods.” Lady Abigail answered.

  “I’m not sure what I fear more. The sermon I will have from the grand priest, or what’s coming.”

  “You know well that the grand priest knows how your path looks. Or at least strongly suspect. If he has even for a moment doubts about your loyalty to the gods, you will have a sermon already. Additionally, while your decisions are sometimes questionable, the town prospers. For me, that's the best proof that you are on the side of goodness. And I will not mention our daughters.”

  “I try my best. I’m probably worried because of the invasion. Regardless of what happened, our daughters are on the way to your sister.”

  “She will take care of them.” Lady Abigail confirmed.

  Some foul alchemical smell interrupted Lord Reube's sleep. He tried to way his hand but couldn’t. He couldn’t move at all. He opened his eyes, and his heart started beating faster from fear. He was gagged and bound with thick rope, and most importantly, a lot of the undead were standing next to the walls. His heart sank when he saw his wife, tied up next to him, but what truly made him lose hope was the presence of his daughters. They shouldn’t be here. And yet they stand held in the iron grip of the undead who two days ago were his most loyal retainers.

  “Splendid. Now that a whole family is present, I can introduce myself properly.” The Lich sitting on the throne, which had belonged to Baron Reube, spoke. “I’m Duchess Joana. Yes, the same Duchess, both of you exchange so many letters. The same Duchess who helped you and both of you so many times, making you wealthy. The same Duchess who helped both of you find each other and have two wonderful daughters.”

  Baron froze, and even Baronness stopped crying and struggling against the ropes.

  “Our father and mother would never betray gods!” The oldest daughter shouted angrily.

  “Oh. You are absolutely right. However, they are loyal only because of the wealth and power they have. I assure you that all our letters were about money and privileges, and how to acquire more of them. For example. Did you know that in the last three letters from your loving mother, she asked me how to help you find a wealthy and well-established husband? Not this peasant boy you are fond of.”

  “No.”

  “Something like helping your boyfriend to enlist for the volunteers fighting on the border, while you are sent away. Quiet, like recently you were sent to your aunt.”

  Girls' eyes went wide.

  “I know it! You always hated him! You are always talking about money and privileges! I hate you. I hate you from the depths of my heart…” The rest of her shouts were interrupted by a cultist who plunged a cursed dagger into the girl’s heart. Miasma from the dagger, fueled by anger and hate, envelops her body. The younger girl started shrieking in terror, and their mother began fighting with the bonds. She doesn’t notice that she cut her skin over the ropes and started bleeding. Lord Reube just hung his head, crushed by guilt. It was true that Duchess Joana helped him and his wife many times. While he always ensures that any secret deal he makes doesn’t break the law, it was often very close to it. And another truth was that he was never able to find anything about the mysterious duchess. And her being a lich made so much sense. There were so many strange coincidences that, with the help of the duchess, he became wealthier and powerful.

  “Oh my. What a surprise.” The lich smiled, seeing a girl's transformation.

  “Congratulations, my Great Lady. This is a splendid wraith.”

  “Indeed. But that is why you make proper preparation before doing anything. In this case, an enchantment on the dagger. I put my heart into each rune on it, to make sure they look beautiful. And when fueled by her emotion, magic worked flawlessly.”

  “I will remember that lesson, oh Great Lady.” Necromancer bowed.

  “I have something for you, too.” A lich approached a younger girl, who was trying to catch her breath. “Your throat is sore after all this shrieking.” The necromancer grabbed the girl’s head, and the lich poured something from the vial into her mouth. The girl tried to fight back, but it was to no avail.

  “Silly girl. It’s not a poison.” Lich smiled. “Come to me. You are visibly tired,” She knelt on the carpet while carefully folding her dress.

  To the girl's horror, her body obeyed. She was screaming and begging in her mind, but it was all in vain.

  “That is better, dasyn’t it?” A lich started gently caressing the girl chick. “Close your eyes. It was a horrible day anyway. I promise that when you open your eyes again, you will see a new, better world. A world without hunger or sickness. World without hate or greed. A world where you will be able to meet your whole family again and live together like you always dreamed.”

  The girl’s breathing became shallower, her heart beating slowed down, until both stopped entirely.

  Then, without warning, two other cultists slits the throats of Baron and Baroness. A grimace of complete defeat and maternal despair froze on their faces forever.