Chapter 228. They Call it A Mine.
As I stepped into the summoning portal, the system gave me the details. It looked like one of my contracted summonings was about to start.
Your summoning parameters are as follows:
1. This is a contracted summoning for the being known as Bolvan Aliev.
2. Summoning tier, 2.
3. Summoning rank, 2.
4. Rewards level, moderate.
5. This summons is general labor related. The chance of combat is considered low to moderate. Prepare accordingly.
6. Forced compliance is active.
7. Your current loadout has been equipped.
Exiting the portal, I found myself in what looked like a tunnel of some sort. A squat dwarf wearing overalls looked at me while stroking his beard and mumbling under his breath. The summoner link led to the dwarf, and I waited to hear what he wanted me to do.
“Yer a human, ain’t ye?” the dwarf asked.
“Yes, what can I help you with?” I asked. According to the scant details given to me at the Contracted Summonings office, this was supposed to be an extended duration summoning. I really hoped that the whole extended duration part wasn’t just because the dwarf that summoned me took forever to tell me what he had summoned me for.
“You look kind of skinny, you ever swing a hammer or set timber to support a tunnel?” he asked.
“No, can’t say that I have. It’s not really my area of expertise,” I admitted.
“Humph, figures that them Somhagen contractors would pull something like this on me. I need labor for my mine, but you look like you’d keel over after an hour of good, honest work. Tell me, human, what do you do that’s worth the gold I fronted for your services?” the dwarf grumbled angrily.
“Let’s see, you need labor, right? While mining isn’t my forte, getting you laborers is. Watch this,” I said as I summoned the mana slayer drone. The dwarf looked a bit shocked at the appearance of the huge mechanical minion. He might have been shocked, but the dwarf was also curious and began to tap and poke at the drone’s armor. I looked around my surroundings as the dwarf occupied himself with the drone.
The passageway we were in was surprisingly roomy considering the summoner was a dwarf and had no need to create the 8-foot-tall ceilings that the passageway featured. Wooden support beams were placed every dozen or so yards, and lanterns that seemed to run on mana gave us enough light to work with. A narrow track ran down the middle of the tunnel, and I could only see a short distance in either direction, due to the slight curve in the tunnel. I had no idea how deep in the mine we were and how extensive this whole place was.
“Can you get him to dig?” the dwarf asked, pointing at a section of the tunnel about fifteen feet away from us.
“I can do that, is there anything we should be careful of? I don’t want him to collapse a tunnel or something,” I replied.
“Do you think I’d tell you to dig there if it was going to kill us all? Just do what yer told,” the dwarf commanded, and I could feel the system compulsion begin to kick in.
“No problem, I’m on it,” I replied as I sent a command to my drone.
He approached the wall and moved close enough to attack the dirt with both sets of arms. While the arms on the drone weren’t exactly suited to digging, it soon figured out a way to improve its performance. Going still, a slight hum began to sound from my drone, and a moment later, its chest armor opened, and the drone pulled out a pair of hand picks from inside its body. Its progress became much faster with the proper tools to work with.
“Now this thing fits the bill, he’s a good digger. I take it you’re a summoner. How long can you keep that contraption here for?” the dwarf asked, getting a bit excited about my presence now that the drone had proved useful.
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“As long as I’m here, and nothing damages my minion, it’ll stick around. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you summon us?” I asked.
“Rented me a summoning stone in town. As long as I keep feeding this device mana, it’ll keep you around,” the dwarf said, pulling a glowing crystal the size of a bowling ball from his pack.
“Great, we’re glad to help. Just let me know where you want us and how far to dig,” I said.
“Your machine is right where I want him, keep digging perpendicular to the main shaft here, and you’re heading in the right direction. I’ll come check on you in a bit, but if the dirt gets too high, you’ll need to start carting it out. Use the tools and cart over there,” the dwarf said, pointing to a small rail car and several shovels and picks that were leaning up against it.
“I have more help I can summon, several of them are goblins, and a gnoll, just to prepare you,” I said, summoning another member of the team each time the five second cooldown was up.
“Now that’s what I call getting my money’s worth. Can they follow simple commands?” the dwarf asked.
“Yes, just let me know what you need. I’m Rico, by the way,” I said, introducing myself.
“I’m Bolvan, pleased to meet you Rico,” the dwarf said, shaking my hand with his oversized and calloused mitt.
After our introductions, the dwarf showed me how to use the beams stacked nearby to make bracing for the ceiling. The goblins seemed to take to the task well enough, and I put Glem, Glamb, and Glurk on bracing duty. Blieek, Khurr, and Elida were put in charge of shoveling up the debris that the drone was digging out and loading into the mine cart.
Once full, Blieek and Khurr would push the cart down the tunnel where Bolvan told us there was a bridge that spanned an open chasm. The cart was hinged on one side so they could tilt it over to dump everything out into the chasm and then come back to repeat the process. I, of course, would supervise our little mining venture, though I did pitch in with the shovels and helped to rig the support beams when the goblins needed a hand.
Time seemed to pass quickly as we worked, and I wasn’t exactly sure how long we were supposed to keep this up for. The summoning was supposed be long term, but did that mean something like my venture with Fitzfazzle, or was there some other time frame the system had in mind? I was determined to get a good rating for this summoning, so I kept the team working hard. They were mana constructs, so I didn’t have to worry too much about fatigue.
“Rico, your team’s making good progress. These supports could be a bit better positioned, but for amateurs, you aren’t doing too bad,” Bolvan said as he returned to check on us, showing the goblins how to make small adjustments to the support beams. The drone had dug the tunnel nearly fifty yards by now, though I had lost track of time and had no idea how long it had taken us to make that much headway.
“We’ll keep at it until you tell us to stop. How long do you need this tunnel to be?” I asked.
“Just keep going until I tell you to stop. If you run into anything other than dirt and stone as you dig, stop what you’re doing and come find me. I’ll be down the passage with the rest of my crew,” Bolvan ordered.
He had come and gone the opposite way from the bridge where we dumped the dirt. I didn’t hear anything from that end of the tunnel, so I wasn’t sure how far away his other team was supposed to be. It was none of my business, all I had to do was keep digging.
The work was monotonous, but I found I didn’t mind. To have a summoning where I wasn’t being chased by monsters, or forced into being a human sacrifice was kind of refreshing. Bolvan brough us some food and water after a while, which was great since I was getting thirsty and hungry enough to consider using one of the Beads of the Feast to keep going.
Once, the goblins had an accident when trying to place a support beam, and the resulting minor cave-in nearly killed Glem, and Glamb. We dug them out quickly, and after a few casts of Health Bloom, they were good as new. I had to hold back Elida from healing them, she had five spell slots now, but I still didn’t want her to burn those if my heals were sufficient.
After we hit the 100-yard mark in the tunnel, Bolvan came in with a team of four other dwarves to lay track for the mine cart. I was grateful for that since we had no easy way to haul the dirt all the way back to the main tunnel where the cart was. Now, we had our own little track spur and instructions on how to lay the track ourselves. The dwarves would still need to stop by occasionally to adjust the track, drop off more supplies, and check on the support beams.
Other than those visits, and one of the dwarves dropping off food and water occasionally, we were left to our own devices. I took that as a good sign that Bolvan was pleased with our work. Another good or better rating for this summoning was what I was shooting for. I wanted to stay on good terms with Contracted Summonings since it was an excellent way to earn a bit of extra coin with each summoning session.
I was helping to keep the new track clear of debris from the drone’s digging efforts when I felt the connection with Blieek end. A few moments later, the connection to Khurr was also cut. The pair were out by the bridge, dumping a loaded cart, and too far away for me to hear any sounds of combat.
“Hold up. Everyone get your weapons ready. I think we might either have a fight on our hands, or there’s been an accident,” I ordered, forming up the remaining team members as I prepared to investigate the bridge and what had happened to my minions.