Chapter 10

William and Clara approach the entrance of the mine with the townspeople in tow. Two Hellclaws stand guard at the mouth of the mine. They stand perfectly motionless as if they were statues. A large gate now rests in the entrance, it was not here when William left. "Looks like they have been busy while I was gone." Says William.

"I still don't know whether to believe you that there is a town inside this mine. I'd say you are walking us into some sort of trap but I don't really care considering how much you are paying us." Says Clara with a shrug. William looks over the villagers. Most of them that could work are either too sick or wounded. Even so, they have a burning passion in their eyes now that they will finally have a real home once again. The children however seem fairly anxious, most likely never having traveled this far before. William looks back to Clara and Paul.

"So, you explained the rules to everyone?"says Willian.

"Yup, everyone knows. Don't be afraid of the big ugly monsters. Let outsiders know this is a peaceful town. Otherwise we are free to do whatever we want." Answers Clara.

"And no violence. If you harm someone, the penalty isn't cheap." William says as a reminder.

"I still can't believe this town your boss is runnin’ has a protection zone. Usually those are reserved for major cities but I ain't gonna ask where he got it." Says Clara with a sly smile.

"Well let's head inside then. Oh and before I forget, don't freak out about the church here. They have started their own religion here." Says William almost having forgotten. "Ha why would we freak out about a church. " says Paul interrupting the conversation. "Never cared for them church types but we won't complain about them either." Says Paul.

William walks up to one of the Hellclaws and salutes. The Hellclaw salutes back and waits for William to speak. "Will...Hugh Man here reporting back. I have the new townspeople with me." Says William with a depressed look on his face.

"Affirmative. You are cleared to enter the town Hugh Man." Says the guard. The two guards push open the gate. The gate itself struggles to open due to the doors being unreasonably heavy.

"Can humans even open that?" Says Paul with a chuckle.

"Strength junkies like Clara will be fine, but I'll run it by the master… he lacks certain perspectives." Says William while Clara glares at him.

"I'm not a strength junkie you are just frail." Says Clara. "Sure, it's completely normal to dump all your stat points into strength and nothing else." Says William as he rolls his eyes.

"Oh but charisma is fine?"

"My stat distribution is normal for my job." Says William.

"Right you don't fight anything. You just talk until you can run away. Just like you did during the war." The grin that stretches across Clara’s face has become immeasurable. Laughter can be heard amongst the crowd of towns people. William, looking momentarily annoyed, motions for the group to enter.

"Enough, let's head inside already.”

The group passes down the tunnel and follows the rail tracks. The tunnel is oddly longer than William remembers. It takes a few minutes of walking before reaching the towns walls and gate. Once again two Hellclaw guards stand at watch.

"Wow look at this wall! Is your boss building a fortress in here?" Asks Clara.

"I guess you can say my master believes in good security." Answers William.

"Is he hiding something in here? I understand securing the town, but this excessive." Paul says while eyeing the stone watchtowers.

"Are we not all hiding things? I can assure you that my master is really trying to build a town here." Says William. Clara leans over to Paul and begins to whisper.

"Maybe he found some kind of new metal ore in here. It would explain why he hired crab mercenaries instead of humans. It also explains all the money he is paying." Paul nods silently in agreement. This time the two guards signal for the gates to open without speaking to William. The group enters cautiously.

"Well you weren't kidding about the church. It is massive and is it...alive?" Clara asks.

"Gross, it’s oozing." Paul adds as he points at a sack of pus that burst.

"Honestly I'm not sure. Goblin stuff." Says William trying to dodge the question. "Well Clara from now on you are in charge of your people and any other humans that decide to relocate here." William deftly moves the conversation to a more comfortable discussion.

"Understood. So we can set up where ever we want? What about work?" Clara asks.

"Human residential area should be that way. The homes should be sized appropriately. You will have to build your own furniture though. As far as work goes. This is your town now, so you guys can figure it out. If you are good at farming the fields are that way." Says William as he motions to the farming area.

"So we are really just free to do what we want? " Asks Clara.

"Yup open shops if you want to. You're tax exempt remember. If you want to do some construction just run it by Sluggo, he's the one with a squid for a face. He's the master's overseer." Says William. Clara begins to ask a question but is immediately interrupted and given an answer.

"Overseer is basically the position of the bosses right hand man." Says William.

"Okay boss I'm sure you want to get some merchant stalls set up. I'll run over and get it approved with this Sluggo guy." Says Paul to Clara. He gives a prompt salute and runs off looking for the goblin.

"And where do we find you if we need you?" Asks Clara as she folds her arms in front of her.

"Well I'm going to report to the boss that you guys have moved in but otherwise you are looking at the new adventurers guild master for this town." Says William with a smile.

"Oh like you have done any adventurin’. You spun a lie to get your boss to give you that position I bet." Says Clara. William narrows his eyes at the continued assault on his character.

"My master is fully aware of my qualifications."

The two share some goodbyes before moving off in opposite directions. As the group of townspeople make their way to the human residential area Clara hears some of the townspeople scream in terror. Clara launches herself towards a group of children who cowering in fear in front if two goblins. The rest of the townspeople had begun moving away from the children rather than moving in to protect them. "Shit I knew it was too good to be true." She says. . "Accelerate!” She shouts as her body is covered in a magical glow and blurs as she moves inhumanely fast. Before she can reach the children one of the goblins reaches for something most likely a weapon. He puts his hand forward and reveals a silver coin. Clara suddenly stops in her surprise at the gesture, causing her to almost fall over from the momentum.

"Hi little Humies. Me sorry I scare you. Shiny God say get along with Humies. Little Humies like shinies?" Says the goblin while handing the coin to a child. The child stares at the coin blankly in confusion as it’s dropped into the palms of her hands. She suddenly snaps out of her confusion before returning an awkward smile to the goblin.

"Thanks mister." Says the child hesitantly. Clara approaches the goblins and motions for the rest of the group to keep moving. The children wave to the goblin before joining the rest of the townspeople. Once everyone else has made it to a safe distance Clara turns back to the goblins that are now staring at her.

"Woah giant Humie! Hi my name Dimwit. This gobbo is Gork." Says Dimwit as he motions to Gork. "Gork my guard. Good guard when not sleeping." Says Dimwit.

"Gork not sleep on duty today. Doin’ gud job" Says Gork with a huge grin.

"Hello Dimwit and Gork. I honestly thought you were going to hurt the kids, sorry for the misunderstanding. We shouldn't judge you guys on appearance if we are going to be living together. I'm Clara." She says as she squats down and extends a hand to Dimwit. Dimwit, with a look of confusion tries to hand her a silver coin. Clara shakes her head and grasps his hand and shakes it. "Sorry about that. This is a human greeting called a handshake." Says Clara to clear up the confusion. Dimwit smiles and begins to speak.

"No worry Clara. Good to know human greetin. Usually gobbos just hit other gobbo to greet." Says Dimwit.

"We used to do the stabbin when we see humies. Shiny God say no do that in town." Says Gork. "We be friend with humie now. No want be punished by Shiny God." Says Dimwit.

"Well thank you for that. I guess from now on we will be stabbin’ humies and monsters together as friends." Says Clara with a laugh at her attempts to mimic their speech. "But tell me this Dimwit, where did you guys learn to speak the human language so well?" Asks Clara

"We no speak humie. We speak gobbo." Says Gork with a puzzled expression.

"Oh shiny God must be doin this." Says Dimwit in excitement while Gork Nods in agreement.

"Well your God must be a good one if it wants to help races understand each other. We could use more of that outside of this town too." Clara’s eyes suddenly soften, remembering the harsh realities of her village’s past.

"You praise Shiny God. Must be good Humie." Says Dimwit.

"And smart humie. Oh and strong Humie. Lots of muscles." Gork adds. Clara’s eyes harden again, but not as they had been before. This time, there’s a little light behind them.

"Flattery will get you everywhere Gork." She says.

Hugh Man approaches a large stone gate. Two Hellclaws stand guard, barring any entry. William gives a formal bow before returning to his standing position and giving a smile. "I have returned and I seek an audience with the master." Says Hugh Man. One of the hellclaws opens the gate allowing Hugh Man to pass. As he enters the hallway he notices a building that blocks the way forward. "This was not here– what is going on?" asks Hugh Man.

"The master has been busy this is Dak's new barracks. The Hellclaws sleep and train here alongside General Dak." Says the hellclaw.

"When did Dak become a general? I was only gone two days... " His voice trails off, the thought never reaching completion. The hellclaw following him opens the door to the barracks. Hugh Man enters and finds himself standing in a large training area. Various other hellclaws are sparring with each other under the under the orders of a slightly more crimson hellclaw. "There was only ten of them when I left how many did he summon?" Hugh Man whispers the question to himself. One of the Soldiers approaches him and leads him down a hall into a large chamber where he finds Dak sitting at a desk. The soldier approaches Dak and salutes.

"General, Hugh Man seeks an audience with the master." Dak stands while smiling, most likely happy to no longer have to look at paperwork. He returns the salute and dismisses the hellclaw soldier." He approaches Hugh Man and slaps him on the back, knocking him straight to the floor.

"Good job gettin’ the Humies to come. Shiny God is happy!" Dak says with a smile. Hughman stands and smiles without showing his annoyance.

“That is good to hear Dak. What is going on here. Why are there so many Hellclaws and why is there a barracks in the core room hallway?" Asks Hugh Man.

"Oh. Dak asked master for some more boys. We got fifty boys now. Barracks floor one boss room." Says Dak with a huge grin. Hugh Man sighs heavily while pacing in a circle trying to think. Dak watches him in amusement before Hugh Man decides to break the silence.

"Dak, no one will ever make it through here to the second floor once its built. You and the Hellclaws are too strong for a first floor boss."

"Oh that why you confused. No worry second floor tunnel is complete now! It under the church!"Says Dak.

"Dak, floors need to be after boss rooms so that's functionally impossible. I need to talk to the master." Says Hugh Man.

"Okay follow Dak." Dak leads Hugh Man down a few hallways before they reach a large circular room. Shackles and chains hang from the walls and the floor seems to be made of stone that slants into metal drains. The pair passes through the gate on the other side and end up in the core chamber. "Shiny God, Hugh Man is here to see you. Says Dak.

"Oh hi Hugh Man. Thanks for getting your friends to move in!" The voice of the core rings around the room. Dak approaches and salutes the core and Sluggo who is sitting at the meeting table. Dak moves to take his place at the table and Sluggo motions for Hugh Man to approach. Hugh Man kneels in front of the core and begins to speak.

"I see you have made a lot of changes while I was gone master. I'm happy to report that I have successfully hired my former associates and they have begun moving in."

"That's great!" Says the core. Hugh Man looks around the room quickly and notices there seems to be no stairway leading down to another floor. He nervously begins to ask a question.

"Master, Dak told me you have started construction on a second floor?"

"Yeah we started the construction yesterday!" Says the core enthusiastically. Hugh Man pauses for a moment and begins to speak.

"Master I see no stairwell leading into a second floor. Please pardon me for being rude, but I think you may be confused. The second floor needs to be connected to a boss room." The chamber remains silent for a few moments which stretch on and feel like an eternity to Hugh Man. Finally the core breaks its silence.

"Why?" Hugh Man is caught off guard by the question and says.

"I'm sorry master?"

"Why must it be connected to a boss room?" The core’s voice has become pointedly annoyed now.

"Master, there are rules that all dungeons must follow. There is always a boss room and then the stairs to the second floor that the boss guards." Says Hugh Man.

"That's stupid." Says the core causing Dak to laugh. Sluggo begins staring at Hugh Man in annoyance. "Look Hugh Man maybe the other cores listen to Steve, but he is a jerk. We are doing what we want from now on. It is much safer this way." Says the core.

"But adventurers are going to find it strange. They might report it!" Says Hugh Man.

"Yes they will report it to the nearest adventurers guild, which you run now. If we say the second floor is actually the first floor no one will ever be able to find my core. I'll even add a boss room on floor two which will fool them into thinking it's the first floor. From now on this is no longer the first floor, it's just a town in a mine that discovered a dungeon." Says the core while Sluggo and Dak nod in agreement.