She pulled herself up, climbed into her buggy, and left New Midian behind. The forest soon took her from my sight.

  I waited until she had left before reopening the gates. They swung open without a sound, even after all these years. The hinges showed no rust and moved as if they were well-maintained and oiled.

  I was distracted from my inspection by Rigger cursing and swearing a lot. It turns out that whatever was holding him in place ended when the sun started burning him. The language was coming through our mental connection loud and clear. I trusted him to find shelter or get back to his lair.

  There was much to think about after this Challenger drifted back to the church, mulling it all over. I was going to start there as it was the most logical.

  The door downstairs was unlocked and the trap disarmed. Satisfied, I went back upstairs. When I reached the altar, I summoned my avatar. With great care, I rewrapped the lock of baby hair in the cotton handkerchief and took it downstairs. I placed it with the other offerings left by the successful Challengers. They number seven now, matching the number of Hunters in my service.

  I looked back at each vividly, remembering everyone and how they got to the church and then back out. I remember the sweat, pain and blood—all of it.

  The wooden board of victors was updated as I knew it would be.

  Sarah McDonald. April 3rd, 1903, A.D. She walked a path of pain, seeking the light of peace to heal a loss. She walked, prepared, skirting the line, but made her journey back to the light.

  "Well, she was easy to understand."

  The inscription said it all—a mother grieving her child.

  Now, to what had happened.

  I was too paranoid to think it was luck, and the board confirmed this.

  Sarah had come prepared. To prepare for my liking. At almost every encounter, she was holding the exact item she needed to gain dominance over the Hunter she was facing. Once I could understand, but nearly every time, spoke of the knowledge of the Hunters' forewarning her and where they were assigned.

  I shifted the hunting grounds after each visitation. Did I need to move them more often?

  This was all speculation until I discovered whether she had an unfair advantage and how she had one.

  Part of me suspected magic or some form of divination. If that were a thing, Harrington would have to be consulted along with Eleanor and maybe Senior Jaccob.

  The Hunters were resting up now, and I was waiting for them to recover before talking to them.

  The year continued.

  The witch visit had been eventful, not just in New Midian, but also in the reactions of those outside it.

  Eleanor had pressed for more details and the name of the Witch who had completed the trial. I refused to give many details as I was a bit of a stickler for privacy. She had tried various methods during the conversation to get me to reveal details, but I pointed out that if she was that curious, she could walk to the church to read the name, which silenced her.

  Harrington supported my idea that the Witch had possibly used a form of divination to get intelligence on the dungeon. The system had not flagged her as it had done for other cult members, so whatever she had done was within the rules. It was impossible to tell as I was in the dark with most of them.

  The Hunters were soon healed and ready for the next intruder, or Challenger. Harrington was the most interesting to see, as his reaction to the Witch's visit was the loudest in some ways. He threw himself back into his studies and experiments with greater vigour, wanting to expand his knowledge of magic further. I, too, concentrated on learning more. I could now "feel" magic and wondered what this could lead to in the future.

  April went on, and the spring weather began to shift toward the start of summer.

  I watch the world pass by from the top of my spatial bubble.

  The regulars in the area go about their business, and Herbert often arrives with the paper delivery.

  His family are doing well, but the younger two are asking more questions.

  He and Amy had arranged a cover story, but I doubted that it would hold if the children got curious. They were young when they were brought here by force, and I hoped their memories would fade over time. Mary had taken up an apprenticeship as a dressmaker and tailor, which made her mother happy. The youngest was still in school, but maybe not much longer, as he had no aptitude for it.

  Things were as they should be until I saw the thunderstorm rolling off the mountains to the west, heading my way.

  Flash!

  Boom!

  The fourth lightning strike hit the spatial bubble.

  Electricity arced across its surface and grounded in smaller strikes across the graveyard. This was one of the worst storms I had seen in many years. It had only just arrived, but lightning strikes were grounding all around New Midian and the forest.

  The heavy rain would stop any fires from taking hold in the forest.

  Flash!

  Boom!

  Another hit the spatial bubble. I could see damage across the graveyard. Several buildings and a tree had all been hit. The Hunters were all tightly secured in their lairs, as none wanted to face nature's wrath.

  The electricity arced again across the bubble's surface. One hit the church's bell tower. I winced at that.

  "I need lightning rods!"

  I had thought about them before, but the lack of big storms over the last few years had me push them back in my list of priorities. I was regretting that now.

  I headed to the strike point and inspected the damage. Several slate tiles were missing, and others scorched, but the roof of the tower seemed to be still solid.

  Rain was coming down hard, and the fall pattern was scattering as the droplets passed through the bubble. Everything was soaked already. The wind was howling through the graveyard. Even the heavy church doors were rattling from it. Days like these, I was glad I had nobody. Going out was a bad idea.

  Flash!

  Boom!

  Another strike. The biggest grounding seemed to be near the gates.

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  I shifted over there and looked for more damage.

  One of the angel statutes had been struck. A nasty electrical burn scar ran down a wing. It still looked and sounded good; I just wanted to repair a wing. Well, wait until the next level.

  "Hold on, will they be repaired?"

  The church was repaired, but the rest of the graveyard was not. I was sure it was, but I decided to make sure.

  I travelled around to places where I knew damage had been done to the local stone work before my current level. I found that the damage was still present in some areas but had softened. Only the most severe damage remains and may be gone after my next level-up.

  "Interesting."

  I went back to the statue near the gates to take a closer look at its damage.

  Flash!

  Boom!

  That was painful as I was really close to this one.

  The impact was in the courtyard. My vision was clearing, but I still saw white spots. I went over and inspected this strike point. One of the small stone plinths that lined the sides of the pathway leading to the T junction, and the plinth with the inscription on it, had taken the brunt of the strike. It was solid stone and looked intact. A slight burn scar had been added to the side, and there was nothing else to take note of.

  About me, the dark cloud continues to roll and drop rain on the area. More lightning strikes came down in the forest. I hope the storm will pass soon. But looking to the West, one could see only a wall of dark, heavy-looking clouds.

  I shifted back to the gates, deciding to return to the church.

  I was just about to turn away when I suddenly stopped. A flash of movement in the trees had drawn my attention. It was a brief flicker of something—definitely a colour. Red, I think.

  I moved to the threshold of my domain, and I look out into the trees beyond the clearing. After a few seconds, I catch another flash of red out there. Someone was walking in the trees. But who would be insane enough in this weather?

  I watched and waited.

  It wasn't long until the person was revealed. At first, they were hard to make out; they were wrapped up in a bright red blanket. An odd colour for a blanket. It was a solid red, not patterned as the others had seen over the years.

  It quickly became apparent that it was a woman. Now, I was no social expert, but I didn't think many men in this period wore dresses in the rain. But I could be wrong.

  I shifted my position as she was fast-moving towards the gates. I got the look on her face and do not recognise the woman. Her eyes were fixated on the gates, and that interests me.

  Who was she, and what was she doing out in this weather?

  She was wrapped up in the blanket, having it enclose her body and head. The heavy rain had soaked it, and I suspect she was soaked below. Coming through the trees would have only protected against so much of the weather.

  She was wearing boots and was walking across the soaked open area before the gates. Her feet were getting caught in the mud, but she was moving on with a grim determination. It wasn't long until she reached the gates and stepped onto the cobblestone path beyond them.

  As she was still in the courtyard, she had not triggered the system yet. This space represented the last opportunity for someone to turn back without consequence.

  It was hard to make out her age, but I suspected she was in her late 20s. The red blanket covered her, and one could tell that her face was twisted from the bad weather and her shivering in the cold.

  She stood before the plinth bearing the inscription of the trial's rules. She turned from it and walked into the dungeon following the northern path.

  [Alert! The Witch is recognised as a Challenger.]

  "Another one!"

  What the hell was another one doing here, and especially in this weather? Were you hoping the weather would be an advantage, allowing her to get to the church more easily? Well, she was in for a nasty shock as this weather did not make my Hunters happy, and they would aggressively hunt her down.

  After the visit of the last one, I was almost daily shifting the Hunters around when it came to hunting grounds.

  Rodriguez would be the first one up today.

  As you would recognise, the Challenger was once more relegated to observer, and I followed. She was moving fast, hoping the weather would cover, I suspect. While she wanted to do that, wearing a bright red blanket was not the best way to hide her location. I had a sneaking suspicion that she had more hidden under that blanket than I was suspecting. I could make out that she was wearing a satchel or bag on her back, and from one of the side bulges, it looked like she was carrying a lantern attached to it.

  I moved closer, and when I got only a few steps from her, I began to feel magic.

  She suddenly paused and turned around. Looking wildly as if something had told her that there was something hungry behind her. She looked directly at me and then passed me. I knew she could not see me, but it seems she can sense me.

  That was interesting.

  She didn't wait long before turning and continuing to walk on her face, concerned at what she had sensed. I followed at a slightly safer distance now. The heavy overcast sky had dramatically reduced the amount of sunlight today. It wasn't dark enough for the Spirit to be out and about, and I knew Rigger would also be hampered, but far less than normal.

  I wondered whether either of them would be taking part today. I knew Rodriguez had a good chance of beating her. That was, of course, if he could get around whatever tricks or charms she had prepared. I knew now not to underestimate a witch. I suspect he had learned that lesson as well.

  Ironically, he was the first one to take on the last one.

  I shifted my position to slope slightly above her as she made her way along the path. She had long passed through the open space in the northwestern part of the graveyard. She was rapidly making her way to the boundaries of the Hateful Spirits' hunting grounds.

  She was passing a mausoleum with a large tree beside it when Rodriguez fell from the tree's branches. I had spotted him, thinking he was on the ground nearby. It seems he had gone ahead of us, climbed the tree, and waited for her to come to him.

  Whatever defences she had prepared were no use against gravity and mass. He collided with her, knocking her to the ground, and she barely got out a scream before his Tomahawk silenced her. The blade buried itself deep in a skull, and her attempt to defend herself quickly faltered and stopped.

  [A Hunter has made a Kill.]

  "Well, that was rather anticlimactic."

  Rodriguez had stood up and was looking down at the body. I could tell he was trying to figure out the best way to get her buried quickly.

  "Use one of the small tombs over there to the right."

  I told him, and he looked where I had instructed. He quickly picked up the body and took it over to the surface tomb. There are many single-occupant tombs around the graveyard. At first, I had had four mausoleums, but as I levelled more of these tombs started to appear, and they were pretty handy for situations like this.

  He opened the tomb door and placed the body in the sarcophagus inside. He searched the body under my oversight. Quite a few interesting things were collected the rest was left.

  "Drop it all off in the church, and I will sort it out."

  There was nothing in the items he had collected that interested him so that I will sort out the whole pile. Harrington was going to have a field day with most of this stuff. It was mostly comprised of bottles and pouches containing liquids and powders. There were numerous charms and engraved items as well. I got a magical energy from a few.

  There was a bit of money, and I would be added to the collection below the church.

  May was the last month of spring, and Harrington was a very busy Hunter.

  The rest are settled in, waiting for the next time they are needed, but he was running around among various projects and interests. I watched him do my own research on the side, reading numerous books and tomes that he supplied from his personal library.

  The second Witch had drawn on many materials in his research and was happily working away. With these items, I let him take them back as they are, as his personal laboratory for research. I was content not to have underfoot right now.

  I wondered if there was a coven of witches out there seeking to gain more power or knowledge from the trial. The fact that it was such a short period indicates that some communication or interaction was happening. By whom and to what end, I had no clue, but I was willing to wait and see.

  Of course, Eleanor was greatly interested in the appearance of a second witch. This one failed the tria, but she is always willing to give her name. As always, it appeared on the tomb after it was sealed.

  The year continued to pass, and the world went on. The final areas of the world not under European imperial control were gradually absorbed. I looked at the maps and the world's political situation. The powder keg of Europe was there, primed and ready. The death of Wilhelm II had several very interesting effects. The Imperial German army was expanding, but nowhere near the extent that I could remember it did. France and its allies were in a far more defensive mindset, sitting behind fortifications along the German and Austro-Hungarian borders.

  Otto von Bismarck's longer tenure as Chancellor in Germany had the greatest impact on Germany's relations with Britain. I remembered one of the major reasons for the break in relations between the two countries was the Kaiser's desire for a large and powerful navy. The naval treaty with Britain restricted the power of the Imperial German Navy. This removed one of the greatest sources of tension between the two countries. This made the German Navy far weaker and more vulnerable in the Pacific, but they had far newer ships when opposing the French Pacific fleet. However, against the Japanese, they were far outmatched in terms of holes and tonnage.

  Out in the Pacific, the German-controlled territories of the Philippines and a few other colonies were quite vulnerable to the growing warm relations between the Imperial Japanese and French empires. The big unknown course was the Russian Empire, which was expanding into Manchuria and rubbing up against Japan's ambitions. The Trans-Siberian Railway was nearly complete and far larger than the one in my timeline, making it the most strategic transport route in the area. If war broke out between Japan and Russia, that railway would be key.

  Britain, of course, was the great unknown. It maintained a strict policy of neutrality, adhering to the splendid isolation policy of the last century. The British Parliament was actively trying to stay out of the alliances and foreign entanglements that would now begin to divide the world.

  In the Americas. Most of Central and South America were starting to take sides or doing their best to stay neutral. Mexico was leaning towards the Germans, while Brazil was leaning more towards the Franco alliance. The others were quieter on their loyalties. Britain now effectively controls Venezuela and exerts significant influence over it.

  As for the United States, it was diminished from my timeline in many ways. It consists of 48 states and has a far weaker Navy. The United States Army, however, was stronger than in my timeline. The United States also had an expanding industrial base, so whatever role it could play in a future world war was yet to be seen. The social tensions within the nation would ultimately decide which way it went.