Kobold Life

Chapter 17: The Long Winter

Getting chewed out by your boss sucks. Getting chewed out by your boss and followed up by someone who is effectively your legal guardian, is even more so. Needless to say, no one was happy with this turn of events. Jitra gave the surface-level reason for her attack, the taunting by the dwarves, and I gave my own reasoning, joining in to help her.

Both Gabriel and the Captain were furious, but the anger seemed only partly directed at us. I was thankful for the doctor who was tending to our wounds during the discussion, not only was she alleviating some of the pain, she was calmly yet sternly reminding them that agitating us further would be counterproductive to her work. Still, consequences had to be in order.

"I am going to do my best to make this go away. Most folks are smart enough not to spread rumors. But people will ask how and why some of our workers are covered in bruises. It will take a bit, but it can be done."

"And of course, you can count on our silence as well," Gabriel said pointedly, "No word of this reaches any higher than here. Isn't that right?"

He turned to face us expecting answers.
We both nodded in agreement.

"It had better not. These tunnels are our second chance in this city. I won't have my people lose of opportunity they provide because two topside slaves started a fight," the Captain said, "If it weren't for your association with the human. You'd be out of a job already. As it stands I won't be able to put you back with that group. Dwarves ain't known as the grudge bearers for nothin'."

"So where will we be working now?" I asked.

"I am not dumping you on another group less prepared to deal with another potential incident. So you two will be your own team, under my direct supervision. You'll be digging pilot tunnels."

Though I couldn't see it happen, I felt Jitra shake a bit at the suggestion.

"What's a pilot tunnel," I asked.

Jitra was the one to speak up.
"Think of it like scouting, for a mine. It's a long thin tunnel made to see if there are any ore deposits or caves in the path. If the pilot tunnel is clear of danger they can send others to expand the tunnels. If it's not clear of danger, we'll be the first to run into it."

"Which is part of why you two are being assigned the job. There were at least twelve injured dwarves in that fight and only two of you, clearly, you are more capable than most," Ival commented.

I nearly objected to that statement but reconsidered quickly, perhaps it was better to be thought capable. Besides, given what I had survived thus far, maybe I was an above-average combatant... probably not.

"The other reason and the one the higher-ups will hear when you transfer is that you are smaller. Less stone needs to be moved to start the tunnel because only you two will be going down it until it's time to expand it. If you do run into anything dangerous it will have a hard time getting through the tunnel as well," the Captain explained.

Captain O'Sleip finished explaining our task over the next few minutes. We would bore into the stone and fill buckets with the debris which we would take to the edge of the tunnels. Someone else would pick it up and deliver it to the main minecart system. We were to dig in a straight line outward at the halfway mark between the south West tunnel and the Western tunnel this would be the basis of one of the strip mines that sprawled out in the spaces between the bases. We were to check in with the Captain and the end of each workday to describe what we found. Once we reached the desired depth we'd start another pilot tunnel and the other workers would come back through and expand the tunnel and start branching. Essentially the job would keep us occupied and away from the rest of the workers.