Chapter 13: First dungeon grounds expansion
As Chavu read the letter Alaric had sent him via a goblin, he couldn't help but massage his temples. Alaric had taken his words too seriously and had taken a risk that could have ended with him getting killed.
Chavu was going to chew him up for it later.
Now, he had a hard task ahead of him. Gnomes were tiny. They feared countless things. Goblins being chief among them. How was he going to tell his diligent workers that they must go and become workers for goblins?
With a heavy heart, Chavu slithered to the pond cavern, where the sound of pickaxes could be heard. He had the seed of a plan in his mind yet was not certain that it was going to be a good one.
"Can I get a minute of your time?" Chavu called out, loud enough to be heard. Gnomes lined up, and their eyes looked at him with trust and love.
Chavu sucked in a breath.
"Dear employees, I would need your capable hands to work on improving a goblin town," the looks the gnomes were giving him spoke volumes. Gone was the trust.
In its place, a dark and bitter betrayal.
"I will extend the dungeon grounds. You will be protected," Chavu assured them. Sure, there might be accidents. But he had to believe in Alaric's ability to keep the goblins in check.
"You are sending us off to be eaten," a gnome accused, as he threw his little pickaxe on the ground. "You fooled us with regular meals and as much water as we needed. Now, you show your true face!"
"It is just a couple of months' worth of a gig," Chavu argued. "I will come with you, to protect you all. So will Marcellus."
At that, the gnome's face brightened. Then, he looked confused.
"Who will remain in the cave?"
That was something Chavu had no answer to.
"The master will obviously create more of us, stupid," a gnome woman spoke. Her eyes were shining with excitement. Chavu wondered why. "A dungeon that expands its borders can take up many mobs. Just think, this dungeon could house millions of us!"
Ah, Chavu had not thought of that. Still, he supposed that he wouldn't stray from creating gnomes. They were easy to feed. A single apple tree had been feeding the creatures for the past couple of days.
Chavu had imbued it with mana, of course, so it could grow more fruit quicker. Yet, it costed him just one mana point per day.
"Put that way, it does sound like a good risk to take. Would the goblins have a contract with you, master Chavu?" Another gnome asked.
"No, Alaric, the prince who took lessons from me on how to become a toothpaste seller, became their chieftain after he defeated the former chieftain," Chavu told them.
The gnomes looked impressed at that, and Chavu felt that there was no need to tell them that Alaric had defeated the goblin by exposing him as the scumbag he was.
"We will go," a gnome said, as he placed a fist on his little chest. "Please, consider our mistrust something that won't repeat, master Chavu. You are wise and employ only the best."
"The best, yes. Only gnomes of your caliber would be good enough to make a real town out of a goblin den," Chavu praised them, and they puffed up their chest. More gnomes placed their fists over their hearts. The trust was back in their eyes, for which Chavu was glad.
He wondered briefly what the little buggers would have done, if they had landed in a different dungeon?
"System, are you fond of the gnomes?" Chavu mumbled under his nose. His snappy auntie had never been fond of anybody, really.
Instead of answering him directly, the system produced a big screen with blue letters in italic. Chavu slithered, so he could face it, and found out why some gnomes were tearing up.
"She doesn't have to force me. I will happily give you anything you want," Chavu was a bit peeved that the system had tried to make him out to be a bad guy. As if he were going to deny the little gnomes anything.
"We would like a library. With small books that we, gnomes, could read," a child spoke, looking excited. "With countless fairy tales!"
"A bit more mushrooms on the menu would be nice," a woman spoke.
"Make a list, and I will make sure that you get everything," Chavu said. "System, give them each a sheet of paper and a pencil. Don't think about the mana cost."
A couple of gnomes teared up a bit more, but those were happy tears. Chavu slithered out of the pond cavern and went to the core room. He touched the pedestal, and a screen appeared.
Would you like to:
Expand the dungeon grounds.
Hire more mobs.
Feed the dungeon money?>
The pedestal was an archaic way of controlling the dungeon. The snappy auntie had told him it had been there long before she had come along. Chavu pressed the expanding option, and then pointed to the dot on the map that represented Alaric.
Suddenly, it was like his brain was filled to the brim with new information. He now owned three ogre settlements, the goblin den, and some sort of ant colony that was made up of giant ants.
He saw a screen appear, with the ant queen, the ogre chieftains, and Alaric appearing in different boxes.
Alaric waved and rose a jug at him.
"Now, you might wonder what just happened. Well, I took over your land. It is in your best interest to accept the contract which the system is providing you with. Failure to do so will see your lands invaded by poisonous frogs and adventurers," Chavu said with a straight face.
Alaric was the first to accept the contract. The ant queen, the last.