Interlude chapter

Sheldon knew he had pushed to deep into the dungeon to fast he thought that he could handle the 12th floor but he had been mistaken he knew that it was the final floor of the upper levels. He knew that it was different on this floor that most people had formed a party because of the many stronger monsters here. Looking back on it he knew that he should have left when the second Harmadillo had attacked him from behind. instead he fought it to but before long more and more monsters were attracted to the sounds of battle before long there was what seemed like a dozen different kinds of monster the harmadillos were easy enough to deal with as long as you kept an eye on them to attack when they uncurled to look around after an attack, the bad bats were a little harder considering their sonic attacks and that they flew around you could still get them with a throwing knife, the real problem was the silver back that had shown up it was to strong and Sheldon swore it might have been just as smart as he was; it almost looked like the silver back was directing the fight and stepping in every time Sheldon tried to run slapping him and sending him flying only to land back in the middle of a mob of monster.

This was not fair Sheldon thought. However this was the dungeons way of telling you you were not ready it was often fatal and some believed that this is what sustained the dungeon and if it got enough would would make the dungeon grow deeper and stronger and the bait for the trap was items of extreme value a chance to get stronger and a chance to change your life the way you want to. how could anyone resist let alone poor Sheldon who had been ready to sell himself into slavery just to get another meal when he did his first dungeon dive when he was twelve it had been nearly four years and he had thrived thanks to the dungeon and his desperation to rely on no-one but himself. Taking a hit from one of the stupid Harmadillo's Sheldon was nearly knocked to the ground causing holes to open in his defenses soon he was at less than half health and no time to drink any of the three health potions that he kept on his belt when he went in to the dungeon. Sheldon knew something had to change, he finally threw away his pride in exchange for some hope and started screaming for help as he struggled to retighten his defenses.

It was not long before the monsters were forced to split their attention Sheldon had gotten the attention of a group of adventurers that preyed on overeager divers. Sheldon thought he was saved until the newcomers demanded to be paid for their aid. Sheldon immediately offered them all the monster cores even the ones he had collected on the way here, it was not enough so he offered to dive with them another day once he had recovered to pay them again he was told it was not enough. Suspecting he knew what they wanted he asked what they wanted from him. All hope fled Sheldon when they told him that the wanted him to put on a slaves collar and sign the contract or they would kill him where he stood. Sheldon told them that murder would have them imprisoned and maybe even enslaved, they told him that adventurers died down here all the time and that it was a crime only if they were sloppy. Sheldon knew then that they were slavers and that his only hope to leave the dungeon alive was to do as they said and hope there was a way out later.

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After he put the collar on he was told that his name was Samantha and that he had hired them to be his party to take him down to the sixteenth floor and that Samantha claimed to be a level 4 which it was clear was a lie once they got to the twelfth floor where they convinced him to put the collar on now on his own and sign the contract or face a judge for gross misrepresentation... Sheldon now Samantha was destroyed knowing that they had likely sealed all escape. they even went as far as to make him sign a second contract with those new details, these people were experienced slavers resigned to this his new name and fate Samantha gave up his equipment money and even gave them all his assets that he had that was not stored in the bank at the guild, all before he was taken to the slave markets to be sold as a slave where he was bought for a whopping 30M valis and put to work in a mine extracting iron copper and odd clear stones that he was later told were quartz some times called sunstones.

It was hard dangerous work in the course of a year he had some how survived three mine collapses and learned to listen for the tommy knockers, benevolent spirits of the dead miners that came before warning that a section of mine needed shorn up or that there was going to be a collapse soon and to get everyone out of the mine as soon as he could. This lost the company some money over the short run when ever Samantha had gotten people out of the mines before a collapse but kept the other slaves alive so the foremen listened more often then not increasing Samantha's value slightly. Samantha would never be a foreman because such people were required by the company to be free and knowledgeable of mining, something about slave revolts in the past.