Chapter 55

Master Therdreag and master Baelgin hastily arrived before the Assembly house, towering in the middle of the city, upon the nightly but nonetheless irrefutable 'invitation' from the local Abyss Army general, a 5th rank of the unknown [Class], Harkon Boomhammer.

He was an accomplished and relatively famous general even in the deeper layers of Abyss. Despite his name, he preferred to arm himself with a short rune-sword in one hand and a state-of-the-art, one-handed auto-loading crossbow in another. The crossbow was possible to infuse with single-elemental mana. It was said that he found an ancient book explaining a rare [Class] in ruins while he was in the expeditions to the third level of the Abyss.

The two masters met before the massive, mana-wood, rune-inscribed gate, it was made with a simple design, as if its craftsmen expected its destruction.

They looked at each other with a knowing smile found only forged with a long and strong friendship and nodded.

The gate slowly opened before them after the guards, clad from head to toe in glossy darksteel-plated armours and matching double-edged, two-handed axes, confirmed their identities.

The exquisite, large hallway long enough to swallow a whole street stretched before them. The walls were engraved with silvery glowing runes. On the sides were towering exquisitely crafted statues of Paragons, heroic generals, kings and genial craftsmen of the Dwarven race.

Another guard arrived next to them and escorted them in. They strolled through the hallway, passing the statues and many closed doors. The place was eerily silent.

The guard guided them down the stairs to the underground; the first level of the maze under the city.

They walked into a grand hall with even more statues, pillars and long tables filled with maps and reports. The place was brimming with chatting high-ranked guards, soldiers and shadowy figures, clearly scouts and spies.

A few of them scanned the new arrivals, but when they noted the insignias on the official runemaster robes, most of them saluted with a raised right fist.

The masters quickly walked through the hall to one of the side-rooms with a receptionist before them. The guard nodded at him and left.

"Mast'r Therdreag, Master Baelgin, welcom. The general awaits ye inside. Pleas, enter."

The room was small and secluded. Walls were hidden behind bookshelves, overfilled with reports, maps and books. In the middle were two comfy chairs. Behind them was a plain mahogany table with a 50-litres beer keg and three mugs near it.

"Happy minin, runemae'strs!" The general, sitting behind the table, welcomed them with a deep voice. He was bald, had the deep and experienced brown eyes of someone who has seen too much and an old-school, unattended brown beard without single grey hair. His skin was pale, as he rarely left the underground. He was wearing a tunic, engraved with a dark pickaxe and fiery hammer/ two pickaxes were holstered on his back, one dark and the other fiery, simple black pants and mithril greaves.

"Happy minin', general!" They replied in unison.

"I'll go directly to the point. We need to create a new outpost near that newly acquired crystal mine," the general did not waste time and spoke with a slightly traditional dwarven intonation.

Master Therdreag frowned and Master Baelgin confusedly asked, "Isn't it too soon? The mine has not been cleared yet."

"Doesn't matter," the general replied with poorly hidden anger and disgust.

"Don't tell me somebody leaked the location!" Therdreag exclaimed. It was the only reason to take the risky path of hasty development.

"… A certain three dwarves, owners of a certain small minin guild, were arrested and trialled for treason," the general answered.

"Who?" A single word reverberated, however, there was a certain aspect of expectation. The general mused for a moment and answered. These two would learn it anyway.

"Thulganthar, the flying city of Shadow Mages."

"DORNUS ASS! What did they promise them?! And why?" Baelgin shouted over this unexpected turn. Therdreag on the other side did not seem surprised.

"Hmm…Under the truth-seeking rune and truth-saying potion, they confessed that they wanted the mine for themselves. But when Master Therdreag reported its location and the Assembly took over, they were left with nought but an almost empty marble mine. They got around thirty thousand gold coins from their patrons. Enough to buy a low-class noble title. The rest is history…"

"So Shadow Mages have fucking spies in the city with a wide net and enough cash? Do they want war?" Therdreag inquired.

"…" the general did not answer. Instead, he continued with the original theme, "Tomorrow, I wanna use your laboratory as a forward base, before we build the proper outpost. As an accomplished 5th-rank runemae'str and researcher, the laboratory will stay in your possession. You have a portal, right? Army of the Abyss will rent it or buy it directly for a high price, of course. That is why I invited you here."

"Fuckery… Rent! One hundred and fifty percent above the usual!" Therdreag muttered under his beard. He did not like the idea of having an army wandering around his ancient laboratory, but he did not have a choice. This was an Assembly decision.

"One hundred and five percent!"

"One hundred and forty-five!"

"One hundred and seven!"

They haggled for a bit and after a fierce argument filled with threatening, crying, and a brief but savage battle, the final price was 120.6% above the usual price. Baelgin stood aside, enjoying the unfolding show. When they ended the haggling, he asked, "And why am I here?"

"Our spies found traces of your disciple. Dafur, was it?" He paused, looking at Baelgin. He nodded and the general continued, "Anyway, we assume he surviv'd the fall, even though the chasm leads directly to the first level. Besid's, you are a known friend of Therdreag… He would tell ya anyway. "

"Fifty kilometres straight down… How?"

"We don't know. It's quite strange. The army runemae'str found traces of refined mana."

"Dornus ass… Luckily, the deposit did not explode and pollute half the mountain range…" Therdreag chipped in.

"Well… This is quite troublesome. How many people know about it?" Baelgin asked.

"The scout, his captain and us."

"Baelgin, don't tell me you abandoned him," Therdreag turned to his friend with a slight frown.

"What could I do? Dornus knows where in the Abyss he is hiding. I already reported his death to his family and paid the reparation. You know what happens to blighted dwarfs…" He defended himself with a weary face. It had cost him a lot of gold and even some gems. He could not afford to anger Dafur's family. Even though the apprentice was mediocre at best, the family were geniuses. Especially Tafur. He had to even make him a mithril hammer as reparation for losing his twin.

"Well, that's all for now. Now, let's forget all of that. We drink!" The general grinned as he joyfully exclaimed. He tapped the keg with an experienced swing.

The two runemasters merrily laughed with the general and all three of them began reminiscing about old times and talked about their future plans.

☁☁☁☁☁☁

Encyclopaedia Stonia

Army of the Abyss

Experienced, elite army, created exclusively for battling Abyssal creatures and led by Paragon Thorar Deep-Slayer. They seldom leave the underground, and thanks to that, their skin is pale. They are considered great heroes and it's an extreme honour to even meet one.

The army will accept almost anyone. Even heavy criminals, including traitors, but the rules are absolute, enforced with an iron fist and a special rune.

You break the rules, you die dishonourably. Your name is engraved on the ceiling above everyone to be forever hated. If you commit a lighter transgression against the rule, a suicide in service of the Army is given, an honourable mission, but one with a gauranteed death...

There are two requirements to join:

- Be at least at the 2nd rank of your class.

- Have twenty gold coins prepared and deposited for your funeral.

Curses and Hexes

Curses are 'verbalised' spells that do not require resources, only mana (or an equivalent). They are fast, but they are easy to resist - plug your ears at the lower tiers. On higher? "Ya're fucked without resistance!" That's what Boomhammer says to the newbies...

Their effects are very limited as they mostly affect souls and minds to disrupt concentration, conjure hallucinations and at higher levels can directly damage the psyche.

Hexes are the ritualistic side of the coin. They require materials, magic circles, and plenty of mana (flux, refined mana, etc…). On the other hand, their effects are varied and always require a 'living' being in their midst (includes mechanical beings, tools).

There are hybrid rituals between curses and hexes to curse tools. Cursed swords and armours are the best examples. But they are tough to perform and require the work of highly skilled blacksmiths (or others crafting professions or classes) and require high-tier curse and hex expertises.