“So, this is Esmore.” I gave a crisp breath that could be seen. “It’s colder than I thought.”

“That’s because we’re in the western mountain range. As one might expect, the dwarves live in the mountains, and the esmere live in the plains at the center. Well, we don’t interact much with the dwarves. They are very reclusive, but there are a few that come down and a few of us that come up to the mountains. Mostly merchants. They depend on our farming to eat, and we depend on their mining and craftsmanship. Best blacksmiths in the five countries.” As Pait spoke, there seemed to be a sense of pride in his words.

“It’s beautiful,” Alysia spoke up.

We were in a small village seemingly on the side of a mountain. The air was thinner up here, and there was a thick layer of snow on the ground. I would have had trouble without acclimating had I been the boy I once was. The levels and alterations to my body had made it so I wasn’t overwhelmed by this place anymore.

There were many dwarves and a few esmere running around. Ruby had once told me that the two species don’t get along, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The dwarves looked like the traditional dwarves one would expect. They were short with thick beards that ran down their chests. They were dressed in heavy furs to keep warm as they ran around doing their jobs. Only the men looked like traditional dwarves. The women looked like Garnet. They were taller than the men but were only the size of twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls. They were small-chested, with brown or black hair and brown eyes.

“Come on, let’s get going.”

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“Already?” I raised an eyebrow.

If this was an expedition, I was thinking it might take a few days. We had only just arrived at the traveling guild, and he was already packing up to go. Traveling through these mountains had to be dangerous. I could manage, but I worried that this might be too much for Dav. Even now, she was bundled up in extra furs, clearly not enjoying the cold.

“I had already hired a guide. It’s not as bad as you think. This place exists for a very particular reason.”

“Oh?”

I didn’t ask him anymore. I had already put everything I felt I’d need inside my inventory before setting out for Matty’s dungeon, so I was prepared to move. We met a dwarf, and as soon as I saw him my eyebrows raised. Unlike the others I had seen, he had red hair and red eyes, just like Garnet.

“A deep dwarf?”

The old dwarf made a noise. “Oh… an Osterian knows about my species?”

“Ah… that… I’ve met one before.”

I didn’t go into specifics. Call me selfish, but what if this was the only remaining Deep Dwarf alive? I didn’t want to have another issue as I had with Faeyna, where she was being pressured to continue on her line. There were normal dwarves. Just because this might be the last redhead didn’t make it worth the hassle to me. Thankfully, the guy didn’t make an issue of it and only nodded before checking a cart filled with supplies.

I realized that we had approached what appeared to be a mine shaft, but it looked like everyone was planning to enter it.

“Excuse me, how long is this journey going to take?”

Pait glanced at me. “We’ll reach Dioshin in two days. You’ll understand in a moment.”

“That…”

I had thought the journey would take weeks. As we progressed, I was thinking of using my Portals to speed us along. However, it seemed like the journey was going to be underground. The expedition didn’t take long to move forward. Upon stepping into the mine, I did come to understand.

{You have entered the dungeon, Gram’s Passage. Destroy the lore to break the curse, or complete the lore for extra dungeon points and a blessing!}