thomasdarkrose
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Vol. 8 - Intrigue - Chapter 4
🕑 Added 2020-05-11 03:18:21 +0000 UTCFinding the jails was actually a little difficult, even with directions. Instead of a large building with thick walls, the entrance to the jail was a pair of inconspicuous doors carved right into the mountain. Honestly, it was pretty clever. Instead of having to worry about if the walls were thick enough, the dwarves just put the jail right inside of the mountain and let the mountain itself become the walls. Thomas had never really put any time into thinking about it before, but now he was starting to wonder how a jail actually held criminals. Their sheer power could easily punch a hole through regular stone and even steel. Reinforced structures with enchantment perhaps? Sometime he'd have to visit a jail and study how they were made, just out of curiosity.
As he got closer he saw four guards in front of the doors. Each guard wore thick heavy armor from head to toe that only revealed their faces and beards. All four kept their long hair tied into braids, beards included. They also carried well crafted and maintained weapons. There was nothing frilly or sparkly about their axes and hammers, they were true weapons meant to be used. One of the guards stepped into Thomas's path and held up his gauntlet covered hand, "Halt and state your business human."
Thomas smiled politely, "I'm here to see Fokgrag Coalheart."
The dwarve's eyes widened slightly before he narrowed them in suspicion, "And what might a human need ta see that crazy bastard for?"
"My Master, Hekrin Graveljaw, sent me to find him so I could learn a thing or two from his own Master. I suppose you could say that Fokgrag is my Grand-Master."
"Graveljaw? That sounds like a dwarven name."
Thomas nodded his head, "That's right. Master Hekrin is a dwarf. I met him in Reykhoten when I was first summoned to this world. He, reluctantly, took me on as his student and taught me all I know about Magitech Engineering. When I was ready, he sent me to find his Master, Fokgrag."
The dwarf continued to look at Thomas suspiciously until he mentioned learning Magitech Engineering. At the mention of that hallowed dwarven tradition being learned by a human, his eyes opened as wide as they could go. Not only his but also the eyes of the other three guards. No human had ever been able to learn the art of Magitech Engineering before so their surprise wasn't... well surprising. After taking a few moments to recover, the guard that had been speaking to Thomas from the beginning spoke again, "I... see. Well, Fokgrag is locked up for damaging private property and endangering the public. Getting him out won't be easy, or cheap. His bail is set at half a million gold and if you paid his bail you would become responsible for him until his final trial."
"What do you mean I would become responsible for him?"
The dwarf shrugged his thick shoulders, "It'd kinda be like you'd become his parent. Anything he did would become your responsibility. I'd recommend ya wait fer him to be released."
"How long would I have to wait?"
The dwarf stroked his beard as he thought, "Well. Unlike ya humans, we prefer our justice ta be quick. Shouldn't be more than a week fer him to go on trial. After that... well depends on if he's found guilty or not. If he is... a couple years or so?"
Thomas groaned, "I can't wait that long. So, if I pay his bail, I take responsibility for anything he does?"
The guard nodded, "Correct."
Thomas sighed and felt his shoulders slump. He was about to blow half a million gold to get Hekrin's master out of jail. It was like paying a huge amount to become a babysitter! After making his decision he looked at the guard, "Just to make sure. If I pay his bail, do I get it back when he shows up for the trial?"
The guard nodded, "Aye."
Thomas let out a very long sigh, "Alright. Is there a bank branch around here I can use? I don't carry that much gold on me."
After getting directions to the bank, Thomas left the jail and made his way there. He'd known that getting his hands on an U.L.T.R.A. wouldn't be very easy but having to pay half a million gold just to talk to the bastard was not something he'd even considered. His expectations were more along the lines of quests and tests. He couldn't resist letting out another sigh as he stood in a short line waiting for his turn with the teller. The Goblin Bank in the dwarven city was just a small branch with maybe half a dozen Goblins working it. The dwarves only seemed to store items in the bank, at least he didn't see any of them depositing or withdrawing any gold coins.
When it was finally his turn, Thomas asked for half a million gold along with a total of his remaining balance. After withdrawing the half a million, his remaining balance was one point eight million and change. Seeing as how he only had about a million after buying the Orichalcum ingot, that meant he'd gotten another one point three million from Rock. Despite what information he'd gotten from Selena, he was still curious to get back to Reykhoten and find out exactly what was going on! Given the value of the weapons he'd taught Rock how to make, the amount of gold he was getting didn't make much sense. He would find out eventually, and maybe teach Rock something new.
With the gold on hand, he returned to the doors of the jail and was greeted by the same dwarf he spoke to previously, "I've got the gold. So how does this work? Do I give it to you or...?"
The guard smiled playfully, "Well, ya could give it ta me, but it wouldn't do ya much good. I'm just the guard. Ya need to give it to one of the Magister's inside. But if ya still want ta give it to me, I wouldn't mind."
Thomas just chuckled, "Alright, so I just head inside then?"
The guard smirked and turned while indicating for Thomas to follow him, "This way."
As they walked towards the doors leading into the jail, two of the three remaining guards opened up the large, for a dwarf, doors to let them inside. To Thomas, the doors were just slightly bigger than an average door. As they stepped inside, they could still see rather well thanks to the glowing orbs that filled the city. As they walked close to one, Thomas activated his 'All Seeing Eyes' to take a peek at them.
Item Type: Glow Lamp
Rarity: Common
Quality: Average
Description: These simple glass lamps use a combination of Alchemy and Enchanting to produce light for days before needing to be refilled.
Time Remaining: 12:19:43:52
After reading the description of the item, he took a closer look at the lamp while darkening his vision so he wasn't staring directly into the light. From what he could see, the glass held a liquid mixture with a small mana crystal inside. It was the liquid producing the glow, but exactly how... He had no idea at all. It didn't look very complicated though. Once he was done examining it he reverted his eyes to normal and continued to follow the guard, "How do these lamps work? They're clearly not fire."
The guard chuckled, "Using fire fer a light source inside of a mountain would be tantamount ta suicide boy. What we use is a special alchemical mixture and a bit of enchantin'. The enchantment produces a little bit of heat and causes the mixture ta luminesce."
Thomas nodded along as he listened. When the guard finished speaking, Thomas reached out and gingerly touched one of the globes. It was slightly warm to the touch but wouldn't be nearly enough to cause harm to anything. He walked on following the guard through the hallways. The path was twisting and confusing with multiple different paths leading to who knew where. Even if he had been paying attention, Thomas wasn't certain he'd be able to find his way out. Snowlily continued to silently walk next to him and impatiently wait for lunchtime to roll around. Though, as they moved deeper into the jails passages she began to wrinkle her nose.
Thomas glanced down at her, "Is something wrong?"
Snowlily wiped her hand beneath her nose, "It stinks."
The guard looked back at the pair with an arched eyebrow, "Quite a nose ya got there little girl. Unfortunately, hygiene is a bit of a problem here. The closer ya get to the cells, the worse it will smell."
Thomas was never more grateful to be a law-abiding citizen than he was now. Not only would time be wasted with sitting in a jail cell, but there was also the smell to deal with. He was glad he could automatically avoid that by not making trouble for himself. As he was contemplating over that, they finally arrived at an area that looked pretty official. The guard opened a door leading into a wide-open area supported by decorative pillars and filled with glow lamps that reflected off of gilded surfaces.
In different area's dwarves of all descriptions were going about different forms of work. He even spotted his first official female dwarf. She was slightly shorter than her male counterparts, had hair that was wavy and fiery red, a less bulky figure, a bust that was larger than someone of her stature should have, and a thick full beard to match her hair. When he first spotted her, he wasn't actually certain she was a 'she' due to the beard. It was only after looking closer that he realized her thick chest was actually a large pair of breasts and that her robe was actually a dress. He wondered who decided on the look for female dwarves. There were usually only three variations that he was familiar with. First, they looked just like the men only no beards. Second, they looked just like the men including the beards. Third, they looked just like human women only shorter and stockier. Clearly this game went with variation two.
After letting Thomas look around the magnificent room, the guard led him to a door leading into a small but tastefully decorated office. Sitting behind a large stone desk was a dwarf wearing intricate robes. His beard was twisted into a tidy braid and glistened with what Thomas could only assume was some sort of oil. All of his hair was grey and lines on what was visible of his face showed his age. As the three of them stepped into the office, the elder dwarf looked up and seemed a bit surprised at his guests. Still, in a polite and dignified voice he asked, "Guard Smeltfury, what brings you and our..." his black eyes turned to Thomas and Snowlily, "Guests to my office?"
The guard, now introduced as Smeltfury, thumped his fist on his chest as a salute, "Sorry to bother you Lord Brewhide. This gentleman is here to pay the bail for Fokgrag Coalheart. I've already informed him of the total for Fokgrag's bail and he has it ready to be paid."
The Magister, Lord Brewhide's eyes widened a bit as he turned his attention to Thomas, "Are you sure you wish to pay for his bail young man? I believe a dutiful guard such as Guard Smeltfury has explained what your responsibilities would be for paying Mr. Coalheart's bail."
Thomas nodded, "Indeed he has. It seems I will be babysitting an old man for a while. As I explained to Sir Smeltfury, my Master, Hekrin Graveljaw, was the apprentice of Fokgrag Coalheart. Unfortunately, that makes the old man my Grand-Master. I traveled all this way just to learn from him and waiting a few years for him to get out of jail is just not something I can afford to do."
The Magister looked over Thomas in silence for a few moments before letting out a long drawn out sigh, "I understand. We can't choose who our Master's apprenticed under just as we can't choose who the parents of our parents are. Still, I must reiterate that until Fokgrag shows up for his trial you will be completely responsible for him and all of his actions. Should anything else happen you will be subject to our laws just as he is. Are you still sure you wish to pay for his bail?"
Thomas honestly stopped and thought about it for a moment. He really did not want to spend time babysitting an old man. On the other hand, he really really wanted to get his hands on an U.L.T.R.A. and the only one who could help with that was Fokgrag. Thomas nodded his head, "I'm sure."
The Magister nodded in return and started pulling out forms and quickly filling them out with his quill. The trio of Thomas, Snowlily, and Guard Smeltfury waited in silence with the only sound being the scraping of the quill against parchment. When he finished, the Magister slid a sheet across his desk and set the quill on top of it, "Sign your name on this contract. Once you sign and give me the gold, Fokgrag will be released into your custody."
The contract was simple and straight forward. For the half a million gold, Fokgrag would be released to him and his responsibility. As long as the two of them showed up for Fokgrag's trial in five days, Thomas would get his money back and be free of any additional responsibilities. Seeing nothing out of place or any sort of hidden clauses, Thomas picked up the quill and quickly signed his name. After setting down the quill he pulled out the sack of gold given to him by the Goblin at the bank and carefully set it on the Magister's desk.
Magister Brewhide hefted the bag of gold up and used a large scale located in the back of his room to check the weight of the bag. Since the gold coins were universal and the exact same, they all had the same weight making it easy to figure out how many were in the bag just from their weight. Seeing that there were exactly five hundred thousand gold in the sack, Magister Brewhide turned to Guard Smeltfury, "Let the jailor know that Fokgrag's bail has been paid and have him escorted here."
Guard Smeltfury gave a salute and left the room. Now it would only be a few more minutes until Thomas could finally meet Fokgrag and get his hands on the damned U.L.T.R.A.
Comments
Cody S.
Yup. Just keep in mind that Production is more about skills than attributes.
I thought Hekrin was high level, his master must be up there
Deathburn
Thanks
