Everyone in the city of Boothudurn could tell that there was something big going on. The last time a King called everyone to the main square for an announcement was to declare that his son, Rutigan, would take his place. Not even the arrival of the humans or the death of the Sky Ruler was deserving of such a thing. There was a small stage set up right in front of one of the houses by the square. Typically, there is a large abstract sculpture in the middle of the plaza. That is changed at least once a year to make way for new pieces of art. Today, the mages lowered that underground and covered the hole so even more people could watch the announcement.
Every single dwarf from Boothudurn was here, even the babies and small children. Hera and Blue were by the side of the stage, looking at the crowd. It was hard not to feel like people were staring directly at them; then again, this could be because they were at least half a meter taller than most people around. While the dwarves on the back had to find ways to see the stage, the humans could see all the way to the other side of the plaza without any issues.
King Rutigan walked up to the stone platform and placed his golden crown on his head. People cheered and smiled at their ruler, who waved back and gave them a slight bow. Then, he raised his right hand in a signal to stop, making the entire square go silent.
"People of Boothudurn, I have very important news to share with you all today," the King's voice projected with a lot of power, but not in a harmful way. It was almost as if he was talking through a speaker, "Hera and Blue, the humans that graced us with their presence during the last months, have accomplished several things that changed our lives forever. They showed us how to defeat the Sky Ruler Spawn that harassed our guard inside the dungeon. They gave us knowledge about forging, cooking, art, literature, gardening, and even how to improve our very way of life. And that is not all. They defeated the Sky Ruler, killing it and ending its reign of terror. Allowing our guards to not only face its spawn inside the dungeon, but outside it as well. Because of that, we are now free to roam the surface, no longer in fear of what the beasts might do."
There was a loud cheer that started from the middle of the plaza. The guard around Hera and Blue started clapping and poking the humans with their elbows with large smiles on their faces. After a few moments, King Rutigan made a gesture for the crowd to stop.
"I agree. They deserve all our praise, but that is not all. Hera and Blue also opened a new dungeon, one where we could see our ancestors, or at least their memories. Going even beyond that, they have found a way for us to leave the mountain entirely and meet with the outside world," whispers could be heard all across the square. Some people seemed confused by what the King had said, "Please, let me explain," Rutigan turned to Hera and Blue, "And feel free to add anything that I miss."
The King proceeded to explain what the MAZE was, how rooms worked, and the doorways that could allow people to cross to other areas. That raised many questions, some he managed to answer, but others he had to defer to those more knowledgeable on the subject, Hera and Blue. At one point, he asked Ogryn to create some illusions to give a more complete presentation and made sure to answer every question the dwarves had. Since there were several thousand people there, this took a while, but after two hours, it seemed like they answered all their inquiries.
"Now, I decided to talk to you all about this for one reason. By opening our room, our city, we will start interacting with more humans and will have to understand more of their customs. This is not something that will change in a day, and I wish to keep our society as close to what it is as I can, but adding human technology and knowledge to improve our lives is also one of my primary concerns. I also will force no one to change your ways. However, some readjustments might be necessary to do so. I hope I can count on your help during this period where our city, no, our kingdom, will develop in ways that our ancestors could never imagine."
There was a long pause after Rutigan finished his speech. For a moment, it seemed like the reaction was much worse than he expected.
"Hooray, King Rutigan!"
"Hooray, Humans!"
"Hooray, Hera!"
"Hooray, Blue!"
"Hooray, Boothudurn!"
People started cheering and celebrating in a way that neither Hera nor Blue could understand. They never found people who would embrace change this much. Not to mention that the cheering was very awkward, even if everyone was joining in. There were more shouts, and the King finished the speech by telling everyone that they would have a celebration soon about their newfound freedom.
After that, Rutigan, Naka, Ogryn, Hera, Blue, Silah, and two dozen guard members all headed to the doorway. Despite a lot of protests coming from the guard captain, the King insisted that he should be part of the group that left the room. He should be there to discuss policies with the Explorer's Guild to ensure a good relationship with them. Blue and Hera warned them about the three doorway limit. If the King tried to cross more doorways than that, there was a chance that he could be stuck inside a room for some time. Even so, Rutigan was adamant about going as far as possible to talk to the people.
Naka was concerned about leaving the King alone, and she would escort him all the way. Hera was very worried about Silah, she didn't want to stay away from her girlfriend for long, but still, if the doorway didn't lead to a room she knew, she wouldn't be going back to Boothudurn, not if she still had a lead.
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Arriving in front of the door, Hera and Blue took a deep breath.
"This is it, isn't it?" Blue asked.
"Yeah, we are finally going home," Hera smiled and looked at Blue. Behind the controller, Silah was staring at the ground with a saddened expression. Hera walked over and held her hands, "I'm coming back. This is not goodbye, just I see you later. Ok? Besides, I still have to help you guys not get cheated by people. Humans can be good, but some try to take advantage of you at every turn."
Silah just nodded in response. It was hard for her to imagine being in a different room than Hera. Even if she would cross this doorway with them, the idea of a next one worried her.
"This is a big moment for all of us. And I thank you for everything you have done here," Rutigan said with a smile.
"You're welcome, but in the end, everything we did was because of this," Blue turned to Hera, "Let's go home," Blue's eyes were shining, and she touched the doorway with the key. The frame started glowing, and with the sound of a lock being opened, the passage under the doorway turned a pure bright white.
Hera looked at Blue and saw the tears coming out of her face. They smiled and held hands before touching the doorway.
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Would you like to be transported to
Kobold Road - 3rd Layer
[Yes] [No]
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"What?" Blue gasped.
Hera looked up and saw the symbol of the doorway. It was the same head of a dragon and a wolf facing each other, showing that this was supposed to lead to the kobold field. However, on a closer inspection, she noticed a groove between the two heads that could be forming a road. She had seen that before, but it was such a small detail that it didn't seem to be anything significant. In anger, Hera clenched her fist and started grinding her teeth.
"Your kidding, right?" Blue started crying.
"Fucking piece of fucking shit," Hera started stomping the doorway, but it was meaningless. She couldn't break it even if she wanted to.
"What's wrong?" Silah asked.
"The system is an asshole, that's what!" Hera yelled and turned her head up towards the symbol, "Did you hear? You're an ass!"
Blue took a couple of steps back and collapsed on the ground.
"What is wrong?" Rutigan walked over and touched the doorway. But he couldn't understand their reaction.
"That symbol was supposed to be from a place we know. But it wasn't. This piece of garbage is taking us to some random place again!"
Silah touched the doorway and saw the notification, "Hera, that doesn't mean you are far away. I mean, you talked about how layers mean how deep you are inside the MAZE. Being in the third layer still means you are close, right?"
"No, it doesn't!" Hera yelled, "Sorry. I'm not angry at you. It's just..." with a yell, she turned back to the doorway and used a stone pillar to attack the structure. When her magic hit the passage, Hera went flying back, almost like the spell's effect was reflected into her.
"Hera!" Silah rushed over and tried to calm her girlfriend.
It didn't take long for Naka to get annoyed by the situation. She was about to say something when one look from Silah told her to stay quiet. Ever since the fight against the Sky Ruler, it was hard for the Captain to argue with the blacksmith. It took twenty minutes to calm both humans. At one point, Blue simply stopped responding to anyone while Hera kept cursing and lashing out at the walls.
After that, Hera was panting with sweat covering her face, and her mana was completely tapped out.
"Are you done with your tantrum?" Naka was sitting on a stool created by magic with the King by her side.
"Are you done running away from big birds?" Hera replied without looking at the Captain.
Naka just clicked her tongue and looked away. At the same time, Rutigan got up and walked towards the humans.
"Girls, I understand your frustration. I really do. If I had a chance to talk to my father stolen like this, I would be distraught as well. However, this is merely a setback, and maybe. Just maybe, we are closer to your home than you think. Now, I understand if this is too much and you decide to wait until tomorrow, but if you are willing, we could step out and head to this brand new place that you just uncovered."
Hera and Blue nodded. It was a frustrating situation, yes, but that didn't mean it was hopeless, and despite being deceived by the MAZE, they still had to find a way back home. The two got up and walked over to the doorway, along with the other dwarves. Rutigan asked what they could expect, and Hera explained the warm sensation. After a moment, they all touched the passage, and a message popped up again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to be transported to
Kobold Road - 3rd Layer
[Yes] [No]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After touching yes, the entire group of 20 plus dwarves was transferred to the next room. The sensation of being covered in warm water washing over them all, and then darkness.
Hera tried to look around, but it was so dark that she couldn't even see what was in front of her. Casting a couple of dancing lights, she sent the globules around the area, trying to get some semblance of clarity. Right now, there were inside a massive tunnel. She sent one of the lights up, and it took a long time to reach the ceiling. Taking a wild guess, it should be at least 50 meters high and 20 meters wide.
"This is… Unexpected," Rutigan said with a sigh. Part of him hoped that they would arrive at a completely different place, and not just another cave.
"Yeah, but it's just our luck. We've been going around inside caves for ages," Blue sighed.
The group moved through the passage, following a long tunnel that had a slight inclination up and banked right at the end. They kept going until reaching a larger opening. The dwarves used their own lights to reveal more of the area, but even as they spread the light, only darkness could be seen from all sides. Hera walked forward, trying to see if there was anything different, when she felt a change under her feet. The ground wasn't simply earth anymore. Now it was different, more cared for, and it was completely grey. In a way, it reminded her of concrete streets.
When her foot touched that area, several lights appeared all around the walls and ceiling. They light up as if someone was turning the switches on one by one until the entire area was illuminated. This place looked like one of those massive underground tunnels that went on for kilometers on end. Not only was it double the size of the entrance they came through, but looking to the right, it seemed as it went off forever, even with all the lights on. To the left, the path seemed shorter, but it should still take a long time before reaching the end. There were also several other side passages, even if they were very far apart. Another odd thing was a slight incline in the area. It wasn't much of an issue to walk, but seeing the tunnel made it clear that it would end several meters deeper than where they were right now.
"So… where do we go from here?" Naka asked.