He handed me a handwritten sheet of paper.
“What’s this?”
“We can replace some of the base building materials with higher-quality alternatives. I wrote down what to replace with what. Some of it can only really be gotten at the Kinema Bazaar. For example, I want to use gnomish steel instead of copper in the metalwork. For better durability and defense. I also want to add mithril to the…”
“What’s the best of all?” I interrupted him.
“Adamantite. But we’d go broke buying that. We ain’t talking about making chainmail. We need tons of metal!”
“Have you ever heard of Corrupted Adamantite?”
“Nah. Should I read up on it?”
“Yeah. I think I know where we can get some.”
“Great!” he said, his face lighting up. “Anyway, the list has everything w^e can replace and the options for them: from the cheapest to the most expensive.”
Gyula said goodbye and went to get on with things. I cast an eye around the fort, activated Depths Teleportation again… and interrupted it again.
A brigade of miners was walking through the gates. Talking light-heartedly, they waved at a worker in his underpants, who was running along the fort’s only street from the graveyard behind the temple. The return of the Montosaurus brought back old problems—the workers had apparently resorted to drawing straws again to see who would be sent in to feed the beast-god so that the others could safely reach the mine.
I walked over to them, said hello, nodded toward the runner.
“The Montosaurus?”
“Yeah, that bastard,” a bald miner spat. I didn’t recognize him. “May he fall down to the Nether! Why?”
“Keep it up, guys. In a week, we’ll be taking care of that reptile.”
We were waiting for Rita before we took out Monty, so she could get the achievement too. He wouldn’t escape this time. Balancer, a Combo and say goodnight, pest of a beast-god! I couldn’t tell the miners that, though.
“Thank you! Finally! This is getting real old!” The gratitude poured in from them all.
The bald one frowned.
“Boss, is it true that you got new picks for us?”
“New picks and new equipment. Go see Crawler at the clan vault. He’ll hand it out. How was work today, by the way? You guys feel stronger?”
“You can say that again!” The bald man’s eyes widened and his lips spread in a happy grin. “We’ve been hearing rumors that we’d get a boost once the second temple was built, boss, but this? We’re breaking up whole veins in minutes!”
I made my excuses, left the cheerful miners and headed for the kobold shaman Ryg’har, newly-minted priest of the Sleepers. His once small tribe had grown severalfold in a few short weeks, even though the kobolds themselves spent most of their time in the jungle and hills. They should have taken losses from the depredations of a certain nameless and greedy beast-god. But on the contrary, they had a population explosion!
The contradiction whirled stubbornly in my head and demanded an explanation, so I started asking questions.
“Say, Spirit Speaker, have you seen the Montosaurus?”
“The Ruler of the Forest?” the shaman clarified. The kobolds loved slinging lofty titles around. “Of course I have. Why do you ask, chosen one?”
“How many kobolds have you lost to him?”
“One,” Ryg’har darkened. “At the very beginning, when the dead left and the Ruler of the Forest returned. Hypa’Fuq-qur, known for his intemperance in matters of… uh…” the shaman smacked his lips, choosing his words carefully, “…of love… Met his end in the forest ruler’s maw. I spent all the next night talking to the spirits and found a way to calm the Ruler’s anger…”
The shaman fell silent and closed his eyes, immersed in reverie. I coughed, already starting to suspect something.
“What way?”
The shaman snorted awake, opened his eyes. While he took his time, I sniffed the air and finally realized that he smelled of sewage. I hadn’t detected anything when I spoke to the kobolds before, but I’d turned up my sense of smell to enjoy some of Aunt Stephanie’s dishes in the tavern. Even with my sensitivity still below full, the shaman stank so bad up close that I gagged.
Ryg’har reached for the rope around his long-maned neck and pulled an ugly amulet out of his robe. It looked like a ball rolled up by a dung beetle.
“An amulet created from the blessings of the Ruler of the Forest.”
“The blessings…?”
“The beast-god’s droppings are a blessing for the whole world. The Ruler of the Forest will not harm the carrier of such an amulet. But…” Ryg’har fell silent and twitched his moist black nose, baring his fangs.
“What?”
“But the amulets stink.”
I could imagine how badly the kobolds suffered with their sharp sense of smell. I didn’t envy them, but nonetheless, we had to get the miners some of these amulets. They could wear them on their way from the fort to the mine and hand them from shift to shift.
“Never mind,” I smiled. “I think our miners can handle that. Can you make some for them too?”
Ryg’har happily agreed to help. He limped away, barking hoarse commands to his helpers as he went.
* * *
“So this is the capital of the longeared little folk!” Patrick muttered, looking around reverently at the Bazaar.
We’d only just gotten rid of the annoying street merchants trying to sell us “The Richest Guide to Kinema,” including the second, forbidden edition, and now we were trying to get our bearings.
I took the drunk with me to help negotiate with the sewer troggs in Stone Rib. I’d decided not to go through Darant on the way. The city watch there was already patrolling the streets with torches of True Flame, and here in the goblin capital, I could buy everything on Gyula’s list for upgrading the fort.
This last jump through the depths leveled up my skill and gave me something new.
Depths Teleportation level increased: +1. Current level: 5 -
Can now teleport sentients that are not in your group, on the condition that they are at or below your level. Requires touching the teleport target.
I decided
