Dungeon Annihilation 3 - 6 (Patreon)

Good evening everyone!

Louella

I glanced at myself in the mirror. Not for the first, I wondered why there was such a difference between men and women when it came to clothing. Even this, a ceremonial dress that would be worn with thousands of eyes on me, was more on the revealing side than anything that a man might wear.

The clothing was modeled after Earle’s suit and fashioned for a woman. Not sure why, but the outfitter had left a decent chunk out at the top of my chest. It wasn’t too bad though. The white coat that went almost to my knees along with the black insert matched well with my black hair and red eyes.

A bladed wand rested on my waist adding to my picture as a noble. To be honest, I wasn’t sure where the fashion that Earle used came from, but I greatly enjoyed the aschetics of it. I planned to have my other wear adjusted to this style.

“I’m glad it was ready in time. And it came out better than I imagined,” Ezal commented making a few final adjustments.

“Me too.” I drew the bladed wand with some joy. This was a weapon to be proud of. I’d gotten from the Envy Factories. Something that I felt would be all to common soon once more people learned of the incredible weapons available there. Made from a silvery metal, it possessed an assortment of mana gems along the handle. The blade, just over half a meter long, was easily strong enough to deal with steel weapons.

“That is an excellent weapon there, my lady.”

“Thanks. Your new staff isn’t half bad either.”

She nodded, tightening her grip on the object. It was a crystal, though I was sure it was diamond, she swore it couldn’t be, that had been painted a crimson red. Mana stones were embedded in a dozen places. Of the items we’d found in the Envy floor, this was much more expensive than just about anything else.

We’d splurged though given that she was about to take on the position of leading the local armed forces. Not that it felt like we spent anything, the Factory charged mana for the items. The mages in the guild were working out the exact values, but according to the oni Ezal’s staff took a thousand points of mana. It took our party a few days to pay enough mana for the weapon.

Since the dungeon was charging mana, the adventurers were rapidly upgrading their gear. A nap in the dungeon usually served to recover expended mana. People had started to camp in the Factory to buy their weapons. It was… quite an interesting change of pace.

Once we were ready, I climbed into the carriage waiting outside my manor with Ezal climbing in next to me. After that, a decent sized force of Golden Dawn encircled the carriage and we made our way to the Thonaca Kingdom Gate. It took just a bit longer than outright walking, but was much easier on the legs.

“I feel like it changes by the day,” Ezal commented when we were leaving the central district. I glanced out the window and had to agree with her.

Turning a serious gaze on her, I nodded. “A lot of coin flowing into the valley in the last few days. We need to be extra careful to watch our backs.”

“How long until everything calms down?”

“Could be a week… Could be a year. As long as that dungeon keeps growing. There will be people interested in coming here.”

“Speaking of that. Cassie wanted me to tell you a very unique group is coming to the valley soon.”

“Unique?”

“Dungeon researchers. They usually live like hermits studying one dungeon for most of their lives, but a few of them are getting together to come here.”

I placed my head against the wooden wall of the carriage. “Great. More people that the host my corrupt.”

“Isn’t that backwards?” Ezal asked though she was smiling.

“I honestly wish,” I mumbled. “Sometimes I wouldn’t mind killing normal goblins. Normal, I say.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

I didn’t bother answering and turned to watch the town roll by. Close to an hour later, we finally reached the gate to Thonaca. Thrad stood with most of the dwarves I’d seen around town. Now that I thought about it, only Nastok was the only dwarf that wasn’t from the Marbleshaper clan.

The carriage pulled up next to the dwarves and I climbed down. “My lady! It truly pleases me that you’ve allowed this exodus to proceed. I offer you this.” He passed me a key hanging from a delicate chain. I wasn’t sure what it was made from, but it was as heavy as a sword given its small size. “As long as you possess this, the Marbleshapers will do everything in their power to support you.”

“Glad to hear it.” I placing it around my neck. “Now! Let’s meet the rest of your clan.”

Thrad gestured to one of the other dwarves in the group, and he proceeded to blow on a massive horn. The crashing of metal on metal was soon heard for quite a distance as the unmistakable sound of marching feet began from the other side of the gate.

Lines of dwarves began to move through the gate. They followed the Golden Dawn officer that was going to lead them to their new home’s location. The dwarven soldiers made up most of the first batch through the gate, all equipped with plate and heavy axes. It was an amazing feat of arms, and I almost wanted to grin that they were coming to my valley.

“Quite the sight.”

I glanced to my side to find Commander Yin. “Commander… I guess its Major now, Major Yin. How are all the new recruits settling?”

“Security around the valley has never been so tight. They honestly couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Nobles always bring a slew of problems with them. No offense.”

“Major. I consider us friends by this point and would prefer you to be honest with me. I know how much of a headache high society can be. Trust me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” So she said, but she never dropped the hard line from her mouth.

We watched the procession for a while as more of the townspeople showed up, interested in the happenings. Given the volume of the marching dwarves, I was sure they could be heard from the town. When about half the group had passed, a few carriages moved through the gate next. One that was surrounded by close to fifty guards, broke off from the proceedings and parked near us.

I waited as an elderly dwarf stepped out of the carriage. Dwarves lived to be twice as old as humans which meant he could be anywhere between a hundred and two hundred years old. Older if his cultivation had stagnated over the years.

Thrad rushed forward and bowed as he presented the old dwarf. “Countess Louella Coates. I present Patriarch Dust Marbleshaper. Fourth Patriarch of the Marbleshaper clan.”

“Greetings wise one. It is a pleasure to welcome you to my valley. I hope that our time together is both profitable and enriching.”

“I’ve heard a few things about from the letters sent by Thrad here. I imagine that our time will be quite enriching indeed.” Dust turned to one of his guards. “Fetch Ironlock.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

I stood there after a few tries to speak since there was absolutely no dialogue going on between us. He was like a stonewall that didn’t return any of my attempts to talk with him. Finally, a dwarf that was more muscle than anything from the looks of it came up to the group.

“I greet the Patriarch.”

“Master Smith Ironlock. Meet Countess Louella. She is the one you will be making the item for.”

“This one?” he asked with a rude tone, but immediately corrected himself when he got a glare from Dust. “My apologies, I don’t deal with outsiders often.”

I nodded deciding not to make a big deal out of it. “I greet Ironlock.”

“Alright then!” He said switching to a jovial tone. “Your request was to make an item worthy of a queen! That’s just the sort of request I can get behind.” He looked me over before he nodded with a grin. “Alright! I gotcha yer dimensions. Give me a week, actually make that two and I’ll have something fine for ye.”

“I await with great anticipation,” I said bowing my head to the master smith.

“Now. There is a great deal of work to do when building a new home. I will take my leave,” Dust said turning back to his carriage.

I stood there slightly annoyed that I was being dismissed so easily, but for the old dwarf I likely was nothing more than a child. There wasn’t any point to complaining about right now. I turned on my own heel and moved to climb into my carriage as well. I didn’t care how they acted as long as they served me and protected my valley.

“Ezal. Spread news of this to everyone in town. Let the townspeople about my alliance with the Marbleshaper clan.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

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