He had made eye contact with several goblins who had thrown him grubbub down the well. However, he saw no sight of their leader. They all appeared dumbfounded and scared, any moment he walked in their direction they would scatter like the wind. They probably believed that they had seen a ghost or some ghastly ghoul coming back to life, or perhaps they were awaiting punishments from their overlords.

He would have to tread the thread very carefully, what they don’t know besides his resurrection is that he was not the same individual. On the surface, he may look like old Grubbub, but he was not going to be naive and easy to subjugate like before. But they could rest easy for now, he wouldn’t deal with them now, he didn’t have the means yet.

He picked up his pickaxe for the first time since coming back, much to his surprise, the labor was much easier than what he remembered out of Grubbub’s memories. He gave credit to the past few months of penal work, the job of the simple-minded goblins down here was very simple and inefficient.

“Hit dull rock until shiny rock appears, though the mineguards did redirect them whenever, someone would stumble on something shiny.

He noticed that typically they would mindlessly hack in one place for hours on end. How they weren’t bored to hell he didn’t know. He found it easy to locate the general area of what they were looking for, whether it be raw iron or nickel. He typically looked for unusual rock patterns, wherever there was discolored soil. Any visible sign that hinted to rock veins.

He made a unique discovery, too, at least for him... Curious as to what he might observed with his special sight. He activated his Mana Vision. At first, he could only see the small and weak auras that emanated from the mine workers. But then he noticed, that different rocks excreted what he assumed were very different levels of mana.

Wherever it was the strongest, rare mineral would be present around the area.

For some reason, he couldn’t properly deduce, that his quota was exponentially higher than most goblins working in the same mine. Every time he returned to the guard and asked if he may get off early he would be sent back, stating that he has a debt to repay.

His crackhead efficiency drew in the ire of the other goblins. His manner of working was making them all look bad, they would stop and stare occasionally to see what he was doing. Especially the ones who would rather lounge around and do nothing productive.

He could hear the whispers and murmurs of jealousy, the annoyed glances he would receive.

Once an outcast, always an outcast. He knew that it may not be beneficial to stand out too much, but knowing he would be stuck in these mines if he didn’t do something drastic bothered him.

The guard stopped him mid-work, with visible concern on his face.

“You, Grubbub right?”

He nodded.

For now

“You’re free to go. Follow me for a moment.”

The guard led him outside the tunnel and into the entrance hallways. Gave him his payment for the day. He held together all Garrick collected today.

“This marks half your debt, you owe the overseer, now while there’s no obvious problem here. I would implore you to work slower, we have a system to maintain here if you excel too much. If you disrupt it, I will have to report to the overseer about this.

I’ve also been informed of your incident, down in the well. Clearly, something is off. Therefore tomorrow at least, act completely normal so you avoid any incidents.”

Where was this coming from all of a sudden? He had eyes on him. Anomalies are either exploited or disposed of. One more thing he needed to worry about.

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“AM I supposed to hit rocks until I am bored and lazy or am I not supposed to be productive?”

“Just for tomorrow, I don’t know what happened in that sewer you was inn, but higher-ups are not happy. You’ve never needed to know my name until now it is Khobito.” The guard told him. “I would act very conservatively if i were you, grubbub. Now get lost.”

Strange, he was almost treated with complete respect, he remembered the captain from yesterday stating that someone was pulling strings. Was it the overseer, maybe the captain himself, or the voice and the shadow at work?

“Very well, I will comply.”

“See, Normally you wouldn’t say something like that. Try to act a little stupid will you.”

“Yes, sir…”

He was let out of the mines, immediately making for the cookhalls. Got himself a large pot of stew, and a large piece of bread The stew had a thick texture, inside was a mix of various vegetables which didn’t seem too unfamiliar. There was mystery meat in there, though he couldn't be bothered by it, too hungry. Stale as the bread was, it was a lot better than, together it made for a helluva more appetizing meal, than what he ate back at the seapoint base. It might not be so bad living as a goblin, at least there was no social credit here in Kara DUm. Sort of.

He thought of the goblin hierarchy, and his life as one of the lowest here.

Stuffing himself full and sitting alone, he takes a moment to reflect on the previous day’s events. As every hour passes, the possibility that he may been trapped in a simulation becomes less and less credible. The food tasted real, and so was the pain and the exhaustion. He had memories and a body, which didn’t belong to him originally.

If it is true, then there are a lot of things he will never see again. John, his family, and the comforts that a modern life provided. Still, he realized that being given a second chance, however just traded one leash for another, and he didn’t want that. The shadow or the displaced voice he met under that well, might have some answers for him.

As one of the lower-caste goblins, he did not see an enjoyable future here. Recalling a lot of things that happened to the original inhabitant of this body. He realizes that he needs to leave this stronghold if he wants to survive.

“How long will he be able to keep this up? How long before he becomes miserable again? How does he get out of this situation without getting killed?

As he sits lost in his thoughts, Two familiar faces appear out of nowhere. Grubbub’s friends the sapper and the guard, Ratchet and Wynald. They approach. He didn’t know how trustworthy they were but it probably best to keep his identity away from them for the time.

“Out early again, Grubbub?” ratchet asked him. Scratching his head again. “Never seen you eat a meal that deviously before. ”

“You… alright, Grubbub?” Wynald asked this time, he looked concerned.”Heard ya took a nasty tumble down that old well, it’s been goin' around the guard's corps. Even us greenies are told to keep anyone out of the sewer. What exactly happened”

Garrick looked at them, sighing. Deciding briefly how he was going to handle his. They’re Grubbub’s friends, not his, they will notice right away that something is off. Would they turn on him, if he turns them off?”

“I believe I was taken while I was asleep, I pissed someone off. By working as hard as I did before.”

The brutish goblin's muscles tense, his worrying face turning into a scowl.

“Gim me a name, how many, in which mine tunnel do they work.”

That’s some surprising loyalty.

“No…It’s alright I handle, this I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“What! No, it ain’t your my buddy and I gotta look out for you just point me in the right direction.”

Ratchet squinted his eyes and raised his head. He was confused.

“You’re acting a lot different than usual bub. What happened there.” ratchet asked him. “What happened down there.”

“Ahh…”

Garrick briefly considers revealing the truth, that Grubbub is dead, and he was not even from this world. The last thing he needed was to be lobotomized or strapped to another chair.

“I guess I hit my head a little too hard.” he said laughing it off.” I guess one of my loose screws must have been knocked right. Maybe I'm a little smarter.”

Ratchet didn’t seem convinced. They exchanged glances with each other.

“No way a headbump makes ya all silent. You know what I mean old Grub don’t think… He just.. Acts.”

He forced another laugh, struggling internally not knowing what to say. Slowly everything that was grubbub would disappear and Garrick would be all over in full control.

“I saw things down there?”

He supposed he could indulge a bit.

“What things?” asked the sapper.

“An old monster and someone, I think.”

“Monster?”

“Yes, giant lizard chicken-like thing, wanted to eat me. Barely made it out, someone guided me out a voice.”

They looked like they were struggling to believe him.

“Monster in that old humie tunnel, cmon now. Nothing but rocks and filth down there.”

They awkwardly laughed

“That’s what the fuckers said when they threw me down there. I’m pretty sure my head was split open for a moment!”

They stopped laughing.

He frowns, refusing to speak further about the matter. Deep down, he knows what he saw, evil lurks under the stronghold. Then there was the shadow, what role did it have to play, and who was that? Was it a prank?

No matter.

The two seemed a bit disturbed by the mention of a monster like it was some fairy tale taught to little goblins so they don’t go snooping about.

“Anyway, Grub, if you want me to do something about them, perpetrators, just point me in the right direction. I’ll take care of them.”

“Sure…” he said. The fewer people who were involved the better, he was going to take revenge one way or another. An eye for an eye and all that. And he wanted to do it alone.

The two walked off. He could see the suspicion in their faces, how long before they decided he was bewitched or something.

He needed a way out of this life and not the mines. Grubbub dreamt of leaving the stronghold. Garrick was going to carry that will out. And for that, he needs to learn more about the world at large.

Perhaps the looming shadow knew what to do.

*