151 Honoring a promise (1/2)
”You got rid of them? Seriously?” The dwarf was in disbelief when he heard the news coming from the mouth of that dark thing. It had been like, an hour ago, maybe two? He was not even sure, but it was too fast. As such, he was not trusting her words at all. ”Well, you said that, but can you ...”
THUMP
One of the large teeth that were inside the mouths of the wyverns was dropped right in front of him. At first, Leilade wanted to bring an entire head, but the tunnel was actually too small for that. Even the tooth was occupying a large amount of space in it. Following that, multiple sounds of mechanisms began to resonate, as the massive iron gate was opening under her eyes. She had not expected to only have to do that. In a way, those guards were more reliable than the adventurers of Archet.
”By IronSkull's beard! It really is a wyvern tooth. What ... How ... Wha-wha ...”
”Calm yourself, we have a guest in front of us.” Accompanied by dozens of armored dwarves that either carried rifles or axes, one had his helmet off his head while another was wearing a leather outfit. Guessing, she bet one was the commandant of that outpost while another was either a hunter or something like that.
”You have accomplished the task I gave to you. I did not think you would be able to, to be honest.” The commandant did not seem embarrassed at all by admitting he sent her to a deadly quest. At the same time, he still did not look at her with a warmer gaze. His eyes were cold as the snow she had seen on that peak.
”However, what you did was something none of us could have accomplished. In fact, even if all the dwarves here fought, we wouldn't have been to do it. Meaning that you are too powerful for us to prevent you from entering our kingdom. Glini here will accompany you to your destination. I hope you stay as little as possible here.”
Even after saying this, none of those that were aiming at her decided to do something else. However, it takes far more than just a few firearms to scare Leilade, as opposed to the unfortunate dwarf named Glini. The one in leather armor was beginning to stutter after knowing his fate. ”Wh-What? Why me? I shouldn't even be here, why are you doing this unc...”
”STOP! You are now a ranger Glini. Just bring her with you back at the capital and let those in charge deal with her. That means with respect.”Hearing those pieces of advice coming from the mouth of his relative, the dwarf could only look at the dark soul that was losing patience extremely quickly. That last sentence pronounced by the commandant was like slapping her very face and taking her for a fool. Something she hated.
However, sensing that her hands were changing of color, she repressed her irritated thoughts and calmed herself. Without the Viscount to control her emotions and her fractured soul, she couldn't afford to be angry at everything. But she was not a submissive little girl that could be bullied as easily. And she would not feel any regret if her other self decided to massacre all the dwarves for fun.
”Fo-follow me. Ehh ... the day is nice, isn't it?” Shaking her head at the pathetic attempt the ranger tried to engage a discussion, she was far more focused on watching every inch of the corridors they passed by. They were not yet out of the outpost, so many dwarven warriors were still looking at her, their weapons ready for a fight. But she could still have a few glimpses of crates of provisions and weapons, especially the powder for the rifles.
With just a small spell, she grabbed a few grains and guessed it was just a standard black powder. Nothing unusual, like many plants in the entire universe had similar proprieties. The only thing she could affirm was that it was nothing compared to what was used against her by that hidden sniper. The weapon that shot at her back in Massalia was definitely not using this. As for that ranger, he still had his crossbow on his back and was sweating a lot.
”If you, eh, can you ... stay in a wagon?” His worried face was quite comical, almost making Leilade laugh. If she wasn't fearful of her own emotions. But she could understand what was the problem. Right now, she could see two tracks, with one wagon right in front of them. The tunnel was still lightened, allowing her to see the descent going deeper inside the mountains.
”Yes.” For whatever reason, her normal voice gave goosebumps to the dwarf. Climbing the wagon, he waited only to see her directly pass through the heavy metal that composed his mean of transport. Swallowing his saliva, he pushed the lever near him and the crazy ride began. Even now, as she was floating at the exact same speed as the wagon to stay inside it, Leilade knew it was rare for the dwarves to use that.
The entire Iron Kingdom was equipped with thousands and thousands of kilometers of tunnels. Because of this, even with a map, it sometimes delayed the news to reach the capital by many days. After all, two tunnels could lead to the same destination, but one would take a day and the other three. From what the dwarf she searched knew, it was created after the Age of Darkness. Acomplete set of tracks, from every corner of the dwarven kingdom to their main city.
Of course, it had to go both ways. But, because most outposts were at the same level as the ground, and the city was far deeper, a mirror set of tracks was also built. Meaning that to do the opposite travel, one had to climb kilometers to almost reach the tallest summit, Clear Peak. From there, dozens of wagons waited in a room under it, all going to a different destination. As for the climbing part, the dwarves had already invented many things like an energy powered elevator.
That way, instead of taking sometimes weeks to transmit one urgent message, only a few hours were used. But that was only for pressing matters. For example, the dwarves that came from that lone mountain were marching in a tunnel they probably already passed. After some minutes were the dwarf couldn't stop screaming, she had no choice but to knock him unconscious. Making sure that he wouldn't fall out of it, she patiently waited until they arrived at their destination.