Inside, they all gathered in the dining area.  Allistor made the rest of the introductions, and let everyone spend a little time getting to know one another.  Chloe took charge of leading the newcomers on a tour of the cavern, bragging about how well she and the other children took care of the chickens and bunnies.  Allistor winked at Nancy and mouthed the words “No mutants?” for which she shot him the finger.

Allistor was surprised at how small and simple the Warren seemed compared to the Mall.  He wondered if his people would even want to stay at the Warren after seeing the Citadel.  If they didn’t, he decided it was no big deal.  The Warren wasn’t exactly in a strategic position.  He could probably downgrade it to an Outpost without losing anything.  Casper wasn’t so far away, and he planned to establish a Stronghold there. And the teleporter would make it easy to move everyone, including the soon-to-be mutant bunnies.

Back at the dining area, they all sat down to a breakfast of real eggs, sausage, and grilled onions.  Meg and Sam got many compliments on the delicious meal.   They got caught up on the night’s events, George giving a tearful account of his son’s death.  Lilly wrapped her arms around the man and let him cry.

When Dean was through telling about the battle with the drake at the citadel, and Sam was through asking him questions about how sweet it was to fire the Barrett, Allistor invited everyone to the Citadel.

“We can leave the place unguarded for a little while,” he told them. “Nigel will warn us if the sensors are triggered, and we can be back here in minutes.”

“Nigel?” Meg asked, looking around.

“Nigel, say hello to the people of the Warren.  And can you tell me how many people can be teleported at once?”

“Hello, good people of the Warren.  I am Nigel, your interface at all of Lord Allistor’s facilities.  And it is recommended to limit groups to no more than twenty persons per teleport.

Meg organized them into two roughly equal groups.  There were a total of twenty-four men, women, and children living at the Warren now.  Along with Allistor, Fuzzy, Helen, Andrea, and Dean, that made twenty-nine.

Allistor accompanied the first group, ushering them quickly off the pad when they arrived to make room for the second group.  Immediately there were gasps of surprise as they looked around the Citadel.  More of the same could be heard with the second group’s arrival.  Allistor gave them some time to look around, then he led them all inside.