Ferrisdae and I made sure to stay out of the way of the workers bringing the obelisk to the center of town. The vast majority of them were Humans, though there were some Dwarves, Orcs, and Elves sprinkled in. Mostly men, too. We watched as they hauled it in front of the last building that I hadn’t learned the purpose of. My ignorance did not last long, however.

Keith Carr appeared from inside and started directing the men leading the obelisk. A cart loaded with shovels and pickaxes pulled by donkeys passed us by, and the leaders ordered the men to grab what they could and start digging in the center of the settlement. Whether by Carr’s design or The Dungeon Master’s design, the absolute center of town was free of buildings and had more than enough room for the obelisk while the hole was constructed.

A few men also took axes and headed outside of the walls. There would need to be some structure built so that they could get the obelisk standing up before putting it into the hole. They would need plenty of wood for that. I wondered if they would be able to erect it before we, for lack of a better term, completed the dungeon.

I spotted Carr heading our way, the man waving at us while dabbing sweat from his brow with his handkerchief. I had to wonder what he was sweating for; he wasn't doing any physical labor and it wasn't hot at all this far from Gar's workshop. His men parted to let him through so that he could join us.

“Dungeon Inspector Badger, Ferrisdae,” he greeted with a nod. I noticed that his aura was yellow now, no longer orange. “What do you think of the crystal? Magnificent, isn’t it?”

“It’s certainly something else,” I told him, not quite meaning it. He eyed me, and I could see just a little bit more orange in his aura. Interesting.

“It’s beautiful,” Ferrisdae said. “You’re putting it in the center of the camp?”

“Yes, I am,” Carr said, beaming at the Junior Inspector. “The mining is going well, and things will only be better once it’s not a dungeon anymore. With everything coming up in my favor, I’ve been thinking of turning this camp into a proper town based around the mine.”

We hadn’t visited the mine yet, but towns had appeared for less than what Carr was talking about. I wondered if his confidence had enough to back it up to turn this into a fruitful endeavor, or if it was simply mired in greed.

“What would Antrinarc say about that?” Ferrisdae asked. “I’m not sure how far away we are from them, to be honest, but wouldn’t the nobility there have anything to say?”

“It’s about a day’s ride on horseback,” Carr said, turning to face his digging workers. “And the nobles that live in the city are out of the picture, now. I bought the rights to the mine fair and square, and they won’t be saying anything about it except to complain that they didn’t get to it first. We’ve already had a small windfall with the silver that we have already mined, but I just feel really good about this crystal. It feels right to put it in the center of town.”

“Speaking of the silver mine,” I said. “We’ve discussed it, and we’ll be ready to go in to destroy the dungeon first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

“Oh, that is excellent news!” Carr exclaimed. “I said that I would make it worth your while, and I meant it.” His aura shimmered back to yellow with just a tinge of green. Then he took a good look at me.

Carr must have had most of his attention focused on Ferrisdae and his men, because his nose crinkled when he noticed how sweaty I was. “Dungeon Inspector, what happened to you?”

“I spoke with Gar in his smithy,” I answered. “It was hot, so now I’m like this.”

“Ah,” Carr said distastefully. “Gar is a good man, but I hate having to visit him in the smithy. It always makes me feel like I need to take several baths before I feel clean again.” He dabbed his sweaty forehead with his handkerchief again. If he was like this in the cool spring air, I didn’t want to see what happened to him after a visit with Gar.

“A bath sounds really nice right about now,” I admitted.

“The men bathe in a river about ten minutes north of the camp,” Carr said to me, then he gave Ferrisdae a sideways glance. “Although I don’t believe it would be wise for Ms. Ferry to go out with the men. I have a personal bath with a heating stone for comfort, when you decide that you should need it.”

I noticed Ferrisdae bristling at the man’s words. “Since we are going to have a working relationship, Mr. Carr,” she said diplomatically. “I would appreciate it if you called me Junior Dungeon Inspector Ferrisdae, or just Junior Inspector will work.”

“Of course,” Carr soothed with a nod. “We want everything to be professional for as long as we’re working together.”

I noted that his aura lost its green tint and went back to yellow, and then orange as he looked back down at me. This friend or foe aura reading power, as Ferrisdae called it, was a good indicator of mood. Most of the men who were working near us had yellow auras, probably because they didn’t care about me in the slightest. Some were tinted green, and others orange, likely based on their disposition.

“So, turning the camp into a town,” I said, changing the subject. “Have you come up with a name yet?”

“I’m planning on calling it Carrage,” he said immediately, beaming as if he were being clever.

“A fine name,” I lied. It was vain, but I didn’t expect anything more from the man. I had the feeling that he was the kind of person who would help his own self interests first, take care of a select few people under him, and leave the rest to their own devices. Every conversation we’ve had with him only reinforced that fact. “I, for one, look forward to seeing how the settlement thrives.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“As am I, Mr. Carr. For tomorrow, what time should we meet up in the morning?” Ferrisdae asked.

“And what kind of sleeping arrangements should we be looking forward to?” I added.

“The men eat breakfast at sunrise, and usually head off to the silver mine within an hour of that,” Carr said. “As for places for you to stay, I assume the moose is fine with the stables?”

“Yes, Moose will be fine there,” Ferrisdae said with a nod, emphasizing Moose as a name and not just as the moose.

“Then we can put up the Dungeon Inspector and your adventuring companion in one of the tents,” Carr continued. “For you, Junior Inspector, I do have a spare room in my humble, very humble, abode. I can have it made up for you for tonight, if it pleases you.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Ferrisdae said. I was pretty sure she was lying. “But I would like to stay with my companions. Those who adventure together, as they say.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Carr said. Another quick glance at me, and more orange came into his aura. I wanted to ask him what I did to deserve this, but kept my mouth shut. Now that we had all we wanted from him, I no longer wanted a part of this conversation. “Well, I would like to thank you once again for taking care of the dungeon problem for us. I really must speak with the foreman, so I’ll take my leave.”

I simply nodded to him. Ferrisdae gave him a nod as well, moving the hair out of her face when she finished the motion. “We thank you again for your time, Mr. Carr,” she said. “We look forward to a fruitful partnership.”

Carr returned the nod, and then left to speak with a black haired Dwarf helping dig the hole.

“I do not like that man,” Ferrisdae admitted softly, making sure that none of the workers heard her. “He looks at me like I’m a slab of meat at a butcher’s shop.”

“He probably doesn’t think of you as more than that,” I said with a grunt. “You just need to show him that vast cosmic power you possess, that’ll make him think twice.”

Ferrisdae shook her head, but chuckled. “A man like that?” she asked, tucking her unruly hair behind her ears. “Somehow I doubt it. An exotic Elf girl shows up and she can clear out a dungeon? I don’t think he’d stop.”

I stared at Ferrisdae’s hair instead of answering. It was like it had a mind of its own. If it was constantly getting in her way, how did she not have a hair tie before I gave one to her? Why did she let it grow out so much if it was such a hassle?

She noticed me staring at her head and she shifted. “What’s up, Badger?” Ferrisdae asked, nervous because of my sudden intense gaze.

“Have you considered cutting your hair?” I asked, putting it out there without a second thought.

“What? My hair?” she asked, surprised. She reached up and ran her fingers through it. “No? I’ve been growing this out for fifty years, why would I cut it?”

“Fifty years?” I asked, not quite believing it. It was down to the small of her back, and she says it took fifty years.

“Elves grow slowly, okay?” Ferrisdae explained with a huff, crossing her arms. “Don’t hold me to the same time standards as those of you with a sub century life expectancy, okay?”

I held up my hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was such a sore subject for you,” I apologized honestly. “I won’t bring up cutting your hair again.”

Ferrisdae slowly put her arms back to her side and nodded. “That would be for the best, sir.”

Still, I frowned. “Would you like me to braid it?”

Her eyes widened. “You know how to braid hair?” she asked as if finding out some lost secret.

“Of course, I’m a Halfling,” I said, as if that explained everything. When she looked expectant, I sighed but continued. “The community that I grew up in was very tight knit. Everyone, whether they had been there for years or just moved in, was family. That meant I had to learn how to braid hair for a lot of little sisters when our older sisters were busy.”

“I think I’ve read about those types of Halfling communities,” Ferrisdae mused. It seemed she was ready to latch on to anything from my past. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but allowed her this much given the circumstances. “I had thought you might have come from one, but I didn’t want to pry. Is that why your name is Badger? I heard that they had a name for when they were outside of the community and then a real name for their community. Their family, I mean.”

“Yes, I was born into one of those,” I said with a nod. Giving her a little more would probably help her mood. “Our real names aren’t shared with anyone unless we have a deep connection with them.”

“Does anyone at the DoD know your real name?” Ferrisdae asked.

“No, I haven’t shared it with anyone at the DoD,” I answered, memories suddenly flooding my mind. I felt a sad smile creep onto my face, and I turned away before I could give away too much of what I was thinking. “I’ve been Badger for many, many years now. It’s my name.”

"That's…" Ferrisdae started, but was interrupted.

"Dungeon Inspectors," a voice greeted. I turned to see the black haired Dwarven man Carr had gone to speak with approaching to join us. "I'm Felder Rockcrusher, the foreman for the mine. Mr. Carr says you two and another are in need of lodging."

Felder was stocky, even for a Dwarf. He wore simple browns and blacks, and his beard had been kept short, barely passing his neck. An ornate, jeweled pickaxe hung from a belt loop. His aura was green, but on the yellow side.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rockcrusher," Ferrisdae greeted. "I am Junior Dungeon Inspector Ferrisdae. And yes, Dungeon Inspector Badger is requesting lodging together with Cojisto, our companion. It doesn't have to be anything out of the ordinary, just some beds to rest in."

"Cojisto, isn't he the guy with the moose?" Felder asked.

"You know him?" I asked.

"Not personally, no," Felder said. "He made quite the impression on young Jesuf. Wouldn't stop talking about the man who said he'd take care of our bird problem."

"Yes, I do quite imagine he would be blatantly saying things like that without thinking of the consequences," I said, sighing.

"You know he means well," Ferrisdae chided.

I shot her a glance before returning my attention to Felder. "Truth is, I was hoping that we would be gone before it arrived again."

"We are uncertain of when we will be leaving, though," Ferrisdae added. "It all depends on how events go here."

"I, for one, hope you guys stick around long enough to take care of things," Felder admitted. The Dwarf gestured for us to follow as he began walking towards the gate. "But that's a problem for Future Felder so let's just get you two situated for now. Come on. I had some of the boys go to install curtains so you'd have some privacy in the tent, Junior Inspector. Keith said you'd appreciate that."

"He's right," Ferrisdae confirmed. "If you see him before I do, please send my thanks. We appreciate your efforts, as well."

"Mmhmm," Felder grunted, his aura shifting a little more towards green. It seemed like he had more he might have wanted to say, but held it in. We walked in silence towards the tent closest to the settlement's gate.