Novels2Search

CHAPTER 13

When I smell a pestilential odor, I prepare myself, before entering I instructed the elf what to do, inside the ventilation tunnels circulate all the pestilence, all the smells of entire underground cities, the emanations of the mines, the forges, the kitchen, are toxic to the highest degree, That is why most of the tunnels lead to the top of the mountain, where disguised as craters they give the impression of active volcanoes and keep the creatures away, only this tunnel and the main entrance are at the edge of the earth, for when the fumes attack us both, we have set up a filtration field similar to those used in human cities, The air can come in, but anything that is not breathable (the runes are simple, but it is necessary to maintain them) goes out through some pipes that I included in the original design so as not to stain our clothes, but the air is stale, when it has just left a small sprinkling of toxic waste in liquid form has formed puddles at our feet, then comes breathing, this tunnel still manages it mechanically, those on the peaks use air pressure systems, but the poorest areas depend on this ventilation system, which is clearly insufficient for the number of living beings that survive here.

As I continue, I see the degeneration of the site, the tunnel supports are worn out, there is nothing that I recognize as new or at least half new, signs covered with tar and slag warn those who arrive of the need to buy purifying masks sold at the checkpoints... that is new, not the masks, these besides being useless because the filters are plugged in a matter of hours disable the peripheral vision necessary to get out of here.

When I get to the middle of the tunnel I meet the mentioned control, they have dug in an absurd way some booths protected by dirty crystals, from where a dwarf watches me, he demands me money to use the masks and for a little more some oxygen stones, the trick of this is that both, the filters and the stones are of limited life, I ask him how many posts there are in this tunnel and he answers that the proud low king installed five to avoid the leakage of work and make money to reach the coffers, I tell him that I will not use any, this without blinking says that then I will not reach the next, I have not advanced ten meters when I see some quartz monsters, they are strong and common in the remote tunnels, These have a greenish hue due to the pollution, I want to destroy them soon, it is rare that they exist in this tunnel, they are not carnivores, they only attacked the miners when they came too close to where they lived, they hate the pollution that the dwarves produce, at that moment a pair of magic arrows pierce the beasts' core and they crumble, I approach to see what they ate, many of these were opportunities to get rich if you managed to beat them, inside they contained many alloys that were generated when they ate precious metals, but this one only had some copper, it seems to me that it was poorly fed, it was easy to break its structure, I did not even use runes, while I was thinking this, the elf shows me something she found.

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In one of the walls of the tunnel, hidden at first sight, there was a door and a chamber, you could see where they had been crowded, they were traps for those who did not pay the king? I'm furious, I want to destroy the huts in front of us, for traitors, for insulting, for denigrating what it means to be a dwarf, but before I can think about it, she stops me, she shows me the supports of the cave, in fact, if I unleash some mid-level magic, the whole structure will fall down, but I don't need to throw that away, just stop the stupidity, We take advantage of the next emanation of garbage to approach the hut, a small blow of my hammer or one of the knives that the hunter brings and the protective glass generates a crack that will not be seen immediately, but they will be dead or very sick by the end of their turn and so will all those who want to profit from the efforts of my people.

In the booths four and five also had resting places, which informs me the hunters are nothing more than holes where there is active a rune of minor purification and only for three hours at a rate of five silver coins, so I was with a stone weapon, perhaps began the journey as a moderately wealthy blacksmith, but as he progressed he had to pay for comfort and then for survival, in the end he was alone, poor and dying, what an end for wanting a better life, he suffered a lot, no one should do it.

When I arrived in the city I was surprised by the filth, Rocaceleste was the first settlement of miners and as the population expanded it became a place of small merchants, the lapizlalizul veins gave the name to the cave, which always had a dim light from the rune lamps, made with semi-precious metals, rivaling even the main city where the king lives, But now there are torches with much pestilential smoke, I see neither the roof nor the beauty, dark dwarves and some warriors fight for an iron axe, but my attention is in front, some fools are waiting for me at the entrance, they carry stone mallets and judging by the shine of their blades, they take such care of them that I doubt they will use them, I have barely taken a step into the cave when one of them shouts, "I'll fight for the breastplate," at the same time they raise cries of allegiance over my shoulder pads, my shield, my helmet and my boots, they are so engrossed in the bidding that they do not notice my companion who has already taken refuge in the shadows, The look of greed in these fools is the only thing that has not changed, they are scavengers who want to win, they are similar to those who took everything from me when I lived here, children perhaps of those who drove me to reach the Storm Hammer, the rules are simple, whoever beats you gets what they claim, even if it is twenty against one, they only have one rule: The one who persists wins, so I claim "! I fight for her life!" as a scream comes from my chest, a small part of me is glad... I'm home.