20 days since the dark elf invasion, life inside the Stoicus kingdom continues its course.
A legion of 200 workers and sculptors gather at the east entrance of the outer wall. In front the crowd is a wooden platform, and on side are disassembled scaffolding, as well as picks, hammers, and steel nails, waiting to be used. The man in charge to lead that workers' army is an ex-leader of the craftsmen's guild, a muscular man in his old age, whose strong vocal cords are enough to set the works in action.
"Our ancestors took over a century to sculpt Stoicus! We will repeat the feat, in a stone twice as hard, and in a fraction of the time!" He lifts a finger and exclaims, "Before winter comes, Stoicus again will gaze into the great rift with fury and pride!"
The workers chanted together in support - how could they not be happy? The pay is substantial and they are supported by priests with psalms to reduce fatigue, in addition to cure any wounds or amputations, and a female healer to make sure they all receive high calorie food they can burn while working, one hundred laborers in the day and one hundred laborers at night.
To prevent the nearby residents from suffering sleeplessness due to the droning noise, King Marc's government hired a magician team to cast a magic sound-blocking field, keeping the commotion inside a violet-colored energy dome.
Moving on to other matters: Axiel, the second captain, was in charge to lead a few expeditions into the underdark. He was accompanied by a handpicked group of trusted men and women, discreet soldiers. The expeditions lasted a few days, and the main order was simple to understand: kill everything they saw. They ravaged a fledgling kobold town, set fire to the rudimentary houses, and spared neither women, elders, nor children. Axiel only spared the life of a young adult kobold, healthy enough to survive alone and spread the massacre story. Axiel's squad also identified a dark elf outpost, which they assaulted when the lookouts fell asleep and reduced the dark elves to ashes.
The underdark creatures understood it wasn't safe to go near the surface, and these actions were intended to refresh them of that fact. This was important to the humans, especially now that the mines in the great rift reopened.
A lot of new labor was needed, many miners died the invasion day, or were enslaved, and knowing how cruel the dark elves are, the lucky ones were those who met the gods that fateful day. The mine owners doubled their salaries, but no one wanted to risk their lives in the stone bowels, they preferred to try luck getting a safer job carving the walls.
To resume the mineral extraction, the mine owners made a deal with the king.
In the United Kingdoms it was illegal to buy and sell slaves, but to avoid conflicts with human societies outside the union, societies that practiced slavery without any problem, owning slaves was not forbidden as long as they were obtained outside the kingdoms' jurisdiction. The mine owners were always interested in getting slaves to work in their domains, and although they defended their case by citing laws and wielding lawyers, never received Marc's permission.
But since there is no recovery without money, this time the owners succeeded in twisting the king's arm and commissioned several lots of slaves who would soon arrive to live and work in the great rift. The only condition was to increase taxes on profits, raising the tribute from 20% to 30%. The owners reluctantly agreed.
Not only were changes happening on the surface, beneath the castle, the Dungeon Core continues to progress slowly but surely.
---Jimbo the Dungeon Core LV 1
-Ether: 90/100
--Active connections:
--Dowmy the imp LV 7
--Hilda the fourth captain LV 31
On the 1st floor no longer one path is available, but three. The original route was now indicated by a green sign as the easy, novice path. So harmless that Dowmy usually goes to play there, and the biggest danger is usually that the imp will push you when the goblins are throwing rocks. Dowmy was all smiles scaring the rookie soldiers who stood frozen and trembling on the stone strait.
A young boy, who recently joined the army to make the dark elves pay for the invasion, has not moved from the center of the rocky strait for two minutes, trembling like a deer, unable to look away from the illusory abyss flanking him. Dowmy approaches squatting from behind with hands raised.
"BOO!"
Push. The young soldier lets out a cry and falls toward the moss mattress hidden in the gloom. The imp flees the scene while laughing, though it is not as if the soldiers can punish the creature for her pranks. Captain Hilda was clear in explaining the harsh reprimands that anyone who lays a finger on the imp would receive.
Dowmy was always very suspicious with Hilda, but today the imp was giving her biggest smiles. All because a pink dress Dowmy now wears, with straps and bows fluttering as she waggles her little wings.
«Cute. Was it your little sister's, or your daughter's?» Jimbo asks Hilda. They stand in the opening chamber, both following the happy little girl with their gazes.
"I don't have children... And the dress was mine, from my childhood" Hilda replies without a hint of emotion on her face or voice.
«Huh, really?»
Hilda faces Jim's presence and nods slowly.
«Just find it hard to imagine you wearing a dress»
"What about the new route, Dungeon Core?" Hilda changes the topic.
«Ah! Yes. The third route»
They turn to the background wall.
On the left is the entrance to the green route, the beginner trials. In the center of the wall is the entrance to the yellow route, intermediate difficulty. But what Hilda wants to talk about is the route on the right, the one with the red mark, a path that has not yet been opened, and the reason is simple:
In the hard trials, the risk to die is real.