The inquiry into the history of Tarra from Silmira Grand returned too many records to go through, more than two hundred and fifty thousand, to be more precise. Yeah, I would get old going through them all. But then I remembered that my Constructor must have her DNA since it helped repair her wound. Once that was put in the system and used as one of the search parameters, that simmered down to a thousand documents.

Not bad, not bad at all.

The first that really draws my attention and the one I want to go through is labeled Tarra Pre Agent Noticeable Activity 1 - Game of Cards, Planet Silmira Far.

One thing you have to give to this Galactic Network. It has pretty much complete transparency. If you are an agent and want to look into something, anything, there is a database the size of a whole planet to go through. All for a coin, but, that’s all right. Now that I have a way to make some money, I don’t care. What is going to make a difference and save me is the knowledge I have, not the size of my purse.

I think I am making good progress organizing the dungeon and I set all the kids to now play nicely with each other. Now I can take some time for myself. Yes. It’s time to read something and get my mind off things. I think this scroll will be perfect for that.

With a lot of hope, I start reading about Tarra and realize it is not a documentary kind of story, but another fantasy-like. No facts. Just action and stuff like that. Not what I expected.

It talks about her last lifeline, the one she is living right now, how they recruited her to enter into the Games of Souls. Interesting.

And it’s not just entertainment.

There are a few things I’m getting out of reading this. For one, I’m learning a bit more about the game and what it means to be inside of it. Secondly, I’m not thinking about anything else. And that’s a good thing. But also, Tarra has some serious fighting experience.

It might pay off to ask her for some advice next time we run into each other. I will need all the help with Rocky and I know she can point out a lot of things I can do to make him more formidable.

I’m eager to continue reading. Sure I know how it will end, but still, it’s interesting. Except.. now the spiders are saying there are two short men with a lot of hair and asking if they can have a go at them.

As much as I’d like to say 'yes', I need those guys. They could not have come a moment too soon.

There are again three of them, all greeting me with a smile this time around.

But, I have no time or desire for pleasantries and get down to business right away. Previously, I’ve decided to tell Rocky to strip dead goblins of all their weaponry and armor, to strip anything of metal they may be carrying. Now that I need it, it would be too wasteful just to be fed to the Dungeon.

And now, after LightsOut has dropped more than two dozen bodies, there is a whole heap of metal and scraps that can be re-forged. I plan to use those for recasting and making the right weapons and protective gear for Rocky. As soon as I meet Master Dwarf, I show him the pile I keep just outside the Dungeon and tell him what my plans are.

“The big fella is… very big. He will probably require more metal.”

“Well, first of all. The swords there… They need to be re-forged. I want something with a long handle, a cleaver, to keep the enemies away. At least eight feet long. Then I also want two one-hand swords, those that are massive and longer than the usual ones. I’m talking about a weapon that can cut down three goblins in a single strike."

"Three goblins?"

"Yes."

"In a single strike?"

"You get me, Master Dwarf."

He scratches his beard and snakes his eyes at me. “That will all take a very long time. My young cousin Remertin is an excellent smith, and he is here with us. But it will take us some time to get organized."

"I need it fast. If goblins come this way, they will not wait for you to make those weapons, I'm afraid. Those swords will protect you as much as my Dungeon, you understand."

He warms up to that idea, but still says, “You understand, we lost a lot of gear. Not that I-”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“That’s all right. We’ll keep on stripping the goblins. LightsOut has actually developed a taste for their flesh. He’ll keep on bringing them in, picking them now and then when he grabs a chance. So, you’ll get a lot of metal. I can pay for your trouble that way. I know you will need chisels and pics and everything else.”

Old Dwarf's eyes started to shine with new intensity.

“I’m sure we can come to a mutually satisfying arrangement. What do you say, for each pound of metal that goes into the gear I need for Rocky, you can take another two pounds of scrapped metal for yourself? I think that is pretty generous.”

“Oh, it is generous indeed. No problem. We'll be right on top of it.”

“But I need it fast.”

“And this... Rocky fella. He will not hurt us?”

“No. Not as long as we are on the same side.”

“We’ll be on the same side.”

I follow Master Dwarf to his camp, Rocky carrying all the scraps in his hands while the other dwarf has the rest pushing in a wheelbarrow.

They set up the camp about half an hour North, just inside the tree lines. I count about twenty-five of them. They say as soon as they make proper shelter, they might bring their loved ones, including grandparents and wives and children to live here. It’s going to be a little dwarf town before you know it. I do not mind it. I kind of understand now that I need company every day, and thinking of being alone just has no appeal to me. Maybe they’ll even brew some good beer here.

“This is a good place. We found some copper in the mountain already. That’s a very good start. And we think this will be a very good dig,” the Old Dwarf said with satisfaction.

No wonder he is in such a good mood.

“I’m glad. But not a surprise. I think you will find more than just copper here. But.. All in due time.”

I can’t help but look at their camp. It’s a mess. Nothing like the two they had before. Maybe because they just came here. They do not even have tents. When I inquire where are they, they say they can’t afford to buy new ones. That makes me think. What I like about them is that they are not complaining. Not bitching, not insinuating that the reason they do not have them is because I fed the old ones to the Dungeon.

Not saying it would be right for them to complain, but I can work with this new attitude of theirs. They only seem eager to start mining and are thinking of falling down some timber and making some kind of a temporary shelter where they could all sleep. I am estimating it would take them at least three days to chop down enough wood to build something suitable for living.

“I can help you with that,” I say and decide to step into Rocky for the first time.

Unlike Oollie, he does not mind.

He does not resist me at all. His brain has been purposely limited for this purpose. I am guessing he was designed for a dominant soul to enhance him. I almost feel sorry for him. But...

There is only anger in him. It's like walking in a furnace of hell. It rages inside and I feel suddenly very angry. I understand why his head tilts so much, can never be still looking at me. He’s constantly looking around, seeing what to break, what to tear at, and kill.

I feel his emotions boil into me. And suddenly I’m angry that there are dwarfs here who I need to negotiate for giving me what I want. Now polite little dwarfs who were ready to kill me just a few days ago.

I could just chop ten of them up. Would not take me more than a minute. They could not run fast enough. And the rest I could enslave to do any of my biddings. And if they lack proper motivation, I could pick one of them out, maybe that one that is with the biggest belly, and eat him raw in front of them all.

I could…

No. There is a better way. Rage and anger… it’s all bad.

I should have named him Furian, not Rocky.

I try to quiet him down, trying to find a memory or a thing he would like. I think of.. a calm winter morning after a night snowstorm. The first snowstorm of the season. When everyone is still sleeping but you get up to make that first cup of coffee, get a newspaper from your mailbox, walking slowly outside on a fresh snow carpet, marked only by a bunch of little feet of sparrow birds. Walking out in your slippers, enjoying every speck of it, knowing that soon there will be kids jumping full of joy, playing outside. Yet at that moment, you stop and look at your front yard tree, branches pressed by fresh snow. Everything… So, quiet, so white, so fresh and clean, and beautiful.

That smooths him a bit.

With me inside, his strength is not penalized anymore, and I get to see what he can really do. And he can do plenty. He can chop the whole tree in two, three strikes. Heck, I think he can bring the tree down just by leaning and pushing against it.

“You see, that is the bottleneck I want to solve,” I tell Master Dwarf whose mouth did not close ever since I took an ax in Rocky’s hand and started to swing.

“Like this ax here is fine for you people, but… If there was twice as strong with a bigger blade, I could chop even the thickest of the timber in a matter of a few strikes. You understand what I mean?"

He nods his head down, without saying a word, without shutting his gapping mouth either.

It takes less than an hour to chop enough wood to build a few log homes there. I love trees, do not feel right about chopping them down. But, this just has to happen now. Otherwise, I tell myself, the other dungeon might win and all this land may become as desolate as the ground up West, where not even grass grows.

“Yeah, you boys have enough timber now?” I ask.

“Yes… I think that should do.”

“So… we have a deal then?”

"I’ll get my cousin to start melting and recasting the metal right away. Start today, will not you not, cousin?”

“Yes, yes of course. Today. I do not know how long will it take me.”

“Well, I will leave Rocky here with you,”

They look around, not knowing who Rocky is, not figuring it out since I’m talking through his lip.

“We don’t want to be a bother,” the Master Dwarf says swiftly. I see he is a bit scared.

I step out of Rocky and back into Oollie. “Oh, don’t worry about him. Right, Rocky? You will help. And, when you are finished here, you will come home for some nice juicy goblins. I’ve seen LightsOut drop a fresh one while we were here.”

Rocky smiles with a smile that would scare almost anyone out of their socks.

“You see. No need to worry,” I tell them and smile, trying to appear all confident while swallowing a big ball of saliva.