It had been a year since Remus first purchased land for his Autumnshade Resort and it was quickly transforming from a few small buildings into a small settlement.
The highest-class adventurers had a secret agreement with King Belsarius to avoid Autumnshade in exchange for access to lucrative contracts and his bottomless supply of tax gold but the B-Class adventurers and below all frequented Autumnshade so much that the Adventurers guild had to open an office there.
The Merchant Guild even opened a trading outpost there to facilitate the exchange of monster hides, fangs and magic cores with gold but as the success grew, so did the danger...
Remus sat in his office studying the reports prepared for him by Annabelle and General Tacitus one more time.
Annabelle's report informed him of a growth in profit, month over month, of 20% but General Tacitus's report warned of increasing beast attacks around the perimeter and included a request for more robot guards. Remus decided to assign more robots to bolster General Tacitus's security force in the short term but made a note to recruit some adventurers to make sure his defence was not overwhelmed.
There were three quick knocks on the door. Remus recognized it as Annabelle's signature greeting.
"Come in, Annie," Remus said.
Annabelle walked in and shut the door behind her.
"I'm not sure how I feel about you calling me Annie," she said. "Only father called me that and only when I was little."
Remus smiled. "What news did you bring?"
"We finally found the black oil you described in your memo," Annie said. "Some cattle herders found it flowing out of some ancient ruins, a few clicks outside the town of Tigrit in the Northlands."
Remus was ecstatic by the news. He had been searching for oil for several weeks and was beginning to lose hope.
The use of coal for his trains made them too reliant on Duke Sylvanus and oil was also a vital ingredient to the second Industrial Revolution. Remus could use it to build more efficient trains, automobiles and eventually aeroplanes!
"I will go there immediately," Remus said.
"You might want to go with emergency food and water supplies," Annabelle said.
Remus looked puzzled. "Why?" he asked.
"Ever since the black water was discovered, there have been ground quakes in that area," Annie explained. "The locals believe the quakes are being caused by Ancient spirits that were disturbed and have begun evacuating the nearby town of Tigrit."
Remus took her words into consideration before beginning his journey. The history of oil was also filled with wars and disasters. He would need to treat the situation carefully and not make the Northlanders suspicious of him.
Even though Remus built the railroads, he had never actually gotten the chance to ride them except for a brief test shortly before they opened for business.
The journey to Dauru, the capital of the Northlands, was smooth and the first-class cabins were ridiculously luxurious despite the fact that they were almost completely empty because no rich elite who could afford them also wanted to travel North of Oldtown mostly because the only thing North of Oldtown were miles and miles of barren desert sands.
Remus wondered how, despite the harsh weather, the Northlanders managed to become the most populous region in the Human Kingdom and the one most badly in need of railroads.
After reaching Dauru, Duke Balwan of the Northlands requested Remus's presence to seek help about the quakes.
Remus was led to a large bedouin tent with a soft interior and lavish decorations of gold, silk and gemstones. The duke himself didn't look older than 30 and was dressed head to toe in a flowing white garb and jewellery.
The adviser chased everyone else away until it was just him, the Duke, Remus and Andrea.
The Duke's advisor then made formal introductions. "Master Remus this is the great Duke Balwan," he said. "Your majesty this is the young man that I told you about."
The young Duke brushed away pearls that partially blocked his face with his hand that had a ring on each finger.
"Master Remus, the quakes are getting larger and larger and have almost reached the town of Tigrit. My people are fearful of them because they haven't occurred in five hundred years," he said. "Little records remain of how our ancestors were able to stop them so I'm entrusting you with finding the cause and a solution. I highly doubt that ancient spirits are the cause of this."
"My lord, you shouldn't be so dismissive of ancient spirits," Andrea said. "I have read a lot of lore that suggests that those same spirits might have lived underground when the first of your people arrived here."
Duke Balwan rolled his eyes and sighed. "I wish my daughter were still here," the Duke said. "She shared my scepticism for so-called spirits."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Remus said.
"She's not dead Master Remus," the adviser said. "Merely married off to-"
"She might as well be dead," Duke Balwan said before bidding farewell to Remus as he continued his journey to Tigrit by camel-back.
The town of Tigrit looked like a ghost town even though it had been thriving just a few days ago. The buildings were heavily damaged and falling apart as most of its inhabitants had fled.
As Remus, Andrea and a guide passed through the town, a slight rumble caused the Camels to get jittery.
"The camels are spooked. You will have to complete the rest of your journey on foot," the guide said. "The ruins are just outside the town, half a click East."
Andrea and Remus came down and continued on foot.
"What do you know about ancient spirit lore?" Remus asked.
"Almost nothing. Just what I've read in books," Andrea said but Remus could tell that she knew more than she was revealing but he didn't press.
Remus had been curious about Andrea's past since he found out that she was a spy.
Her knowledge about ancient spirits despite the fact that the Humans considered that knowledge to be lost gave him a clue about what she might be hiding. He was determined to learn her secrets but wanted to do it slowly so that he doesn't scare her away.
At the centre of the quakes was a gold seal that had been pried open somehow. Remus climbed inside and found his footing on solid ground.
The Light Crystal cast illumination on a narrow walkway but on both sides of the walkway were pools of a thick black lacquer that smelled like burnt plastic.
The unmistakable stench of crude oil.