AN: A couple more trips to the dungeon, folks, then it's off to the outside world!

As always, thank you for reading thus far. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know down below.

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In the morning, I was standing in the centre of the marketplace within my human guise, as monstrous thralls began milling about with excitement. Half of the populace would be sent to the front, and their new instincts were telling them it would be a great hunt. Ah, but you see, there were many Kin and Beastfolk amongst their number, and they greatly desired a chance to kill the humans. Although, for the most part, these were not enthralled by my person, they were still welcome. To an extent, at least.

Those that opted to join our large army, and were not a thrall, were heavily watched by all that were. For you see, there are always spies amongst every intelligent species, and I did not wish for word of our army to reach the front. I say this now, but there is always a chance the humans fighting know what has happened to their city already.

In any case, the queen expressed her desire to join my person in fighting against the humans. Unfortunately for her, LD, RS, and I shot her down before she was able to take off. Although I would be leaving for a time, she was still needed in maintaining the city and protecting it from any unperceivable danger. I had become fully confident we would find the city besieged upon our return, and wished to have the remaining thralls prepare for it.

"Who is that human watching us?" Came the whisperings of a small group of beastwomen. A few even went as far as to steal glances towards my person, believing I would not see them.

"I know, right? That one gives me the creeps every time his eyes pass over me. Feels like he's stripping my clothes off with his gaze." Another within their group shivered, which caused my gaze to migrate towards them.

This action caused them all to shiver, until it drifted towards a large group of enthralled blacksmiths carrying barrels and crates full of hastily crafted pieces of armour. These pieces would serve to protect some parts of my thralls, as most of them had their own natural armours.

The moment they placed the barrels and boxes down, however, they were swarmed by my thralls. Those that had gathered had been waiting as patiently as they could for such pieces of armour, and when it arrived, pounced upon the barrels and boxes until nothing was left. This caused many of the blacksmiths to sigh, as they dragged away the ruined remains of their barrels and boxes. Soon, there were sounds of hammers striking metals upon anvils ringing throughout the air.

It will be a long day-cycle for them, and they knew it.

On the other hand, there were a few brawls taking place here and there. They were contesting for pieces of armour, and although fighting amongst themselves wasn't allowed, it was for this. These fights were to show who was more dominant, and were the ones who had the most armour upon their person. Of course, many bystanders had been pulled into these fights, but either participated, or were rescued by one of the many four-armed Undying that were patrolling the streets.

As this was going on, my feet began to take me towards the sector of the city deemed "The Slums". Once entering the area near the marketplace, my body turned a sharp right towards the first alleyway I had spied. Within a few moments, I had found myself in front of a small door at the very end of the alley. Of which, I sharply rapped my knuckles upon its frame.

"Alright, alright," a masculine voice from within shouted, as I continued to rap my knuckles upon the door, "I'm coming, damnit. No need to-," the door opened revealing a small male half the size of my human guise. This male had a stocky body, with many muscles bulging underneath his tunic and trousers. What is more, he had long, braided brown hair, and a beard to match. Beneath such hair was a pair of beady, black eyes that glinted with intellectual greed, and underneath the pair was a bulbous, red nose.

You may be wondering as to what manner of creature this male was, and I shall tell you. It was a Dwarf. What is more, this dwarf was my associate who derived a potent toxin from the flakes of my skeletal bones. As to why I was upon his doorstep? It was a recruitment offer, and nothing more.

"There is an opening for one such as yourself," I rumbled slowly. We sat on opposite ends of a long table that was used for a large family. Although he was unhappy to see me, and desired to hide himself from my gaze, he was still needed. For you see, the old torturer was gone, killed by the "Magister", and I desired the company of another likeminded individual. One who would relish the screams of tortured humans as much as I did, and the one sitting in front of my person was the next best thing. Of course, there had been others, but each of them failed, and had to be killed off.

I can somewhat recall a murderer who gutted his victims with a sharpened, wooden knife. This one was found in chains within a small group of bounty hunters. These hunters were passing through the town, when one of my Undying thralls had claimed the chained human in my name. Of course, this did not sit well with the hunters, who were then butchered for going against them. These Undying had been whipped for their disobedience, as I spoke to the human about his exploits. He was a torturer by trade, and although I cannot recall his name, he was squeamish when it came to myself showing him what I would expect him to do if I employed his services.

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The human refused me outright, saying, "If others believe me to be a monster, then you are far worse." He was executed shortly afterwards.

No, I did not welcome him into the ranks of my thralls as many would believe. For you see, I would prefer having someone speak their mind, rather than obeying orders when it came to such things as torture. Yes, my thralls are able to speak up, but they still have the desire to please my person at any given turn. Although it is somewhat enjoyable, I still dislike the constant wants of vying for my attention and favour.

"What kind of opening," he growled after taking a long draw of the tankard within his hands. There was another in front of my person, and it was filled with some sort of golden liquid. However, I would not touch it after placing it upon the table, which caused the dwarf to be a little more cautious.

"The torturer is dead, and I am in need of someone to fill it."

The dwarf slammed his tankard down in fury, "What," he roared, and I spied a few curious eyes peering out from behind another small door, one that served as the kitchen. "Who killed him?"

"A woman who went by the name, 'Magister'."

At the mentioning of such a name, the dwarf's body stiffened. He then sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose, "That old hag was nothing more than trouble, but would he listen-"

"She's dead."

His eyes widened as he stared upon my face as if searching it for answers, or perhaps to see if I spoke truly. "How?"

"His entire group crushed her with a slab of marble," the edges of my lips twitched upwards in remembrance of the night she died. "It was... entertaining, to say the least," it turned into a slow grin, of which caused the dwarf to shiver.

He seemed to deflate after a time, but when he tried to speak up, I said, "If you have a family within the city, they will be moved into the castle. You, and them, will have access to the finest healers, foods, clothes, a bed, and a bath," my lips stretched into a smirk at the word "bath", as I knew he probably needed one. Even though I did not have a sense of smell, I still knew what the buzzing of flies about a person means.

"You will be compensated well enough that, within a full cycle, your family could afford to live within a large mansion for another cycle without much worry. Of course, that is if you decide to take up the offer." My right hand reached into the sleeve of my left arm, and withdrew a pouch of coins within it. It jingled within the sack, even more so when I placed it upon the table.

Upon opening it, and revealing the contents of gold and silver coins, a female dwarf burst into the room, shouting, "Whatever you are selling, we'll take it." My lips then stretched into a grin, as my eyes peered at the stocky, little woman. She was wearing a plain, brown tunic and trousers with a greasy and bloody apron over her clothes. Upon her feet were a pair of standard, brown boots that had seen better days. The female dwarf's hair had streaks of grey hidden among her dark, red hair, and although she had the same beady eyes and bulbous nose of the male, she did not have a beard. Well, there was a bit of stubble upon her cheeks and chin.

"Raina," he began, but stopped when her right fist landed upon his nose. The action knocked him off his chair, of which he clutched at his now bleeding nose in anger.

"Don't you 'Raina' me, Feiran. The human has an offer that will take us all away from this piece of garbage of a home." She turned towards my person, her eyes looking a bit softer, but very hopeful. "Right?" At my nod, she whirled back around towards the male, and dragged him over to my feet. "He accepts."

"Wonderful," I clapped my hands once, and the entrance to the dwelling burst open, revealing several four-armed Undying. I had stood up by then, and found the pair of dwarves to be shivering at the sight of them. "Well? Hurry up and pack your things. You are all to be escorted by the Undying to the castle, where you, Feiran, will begin work tomorrow morning."

I left them there with the Undying, but stopped the last one from entering the dwelling. This one was a four-armed iron-skeleton with pinpoints of sapphire in the centre of its eye sockets. "Make sure none of them escape," my voice was a low and thunderous growl. It nodded its head once, then left to enter the home of the dwarves. Myself, on the other hand, simply left the area, returning to the market's centre in time to see another fight breaking out between a pair of heavily armoured, monstrous thralls.

"This should be entertaining," I muttered, and settled down upon a wooden crate with the intent to watch it unfold.