Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 52.2: Absalon's Conviction

South Gate,

Aygorzi, Merriheim.

7:04 a.m. 19th Banem 1092.

Wooong!

A pillar of light appeared, and disappeared shortly thereafter, revealing Kashi and Lunette atop Drixlia. Dwarven sentries stationed at the gate approached the hooded daeben with suspicious gazes, but soon let him pass with a cheery nod after he dropped the hood and revealed his identity.

Kashi greeted the dwarfs, thanking them for their hard work, and then made his way past the gates. The sentries, after getting over their shock, immediately sent a message to their superiors, informing them of the daeben's presence. Those superiors then sent a message to the Palace, informing the King and the ministers. Such was the prestige of the daeben, that the Royal Palace had to be aware of his entry and exit from the city.

No one could blame the dwarfs for their emphasis on Kashi's comings and goings. In all of Merriheim and Rosendun, there was probably no bigger catalyst for change than Kashi. The daeben rarely left a province or location the same way he met it. It would be stupid to not keep tabs of what a natural disaster like that was up to in your city.

Kashi was aware of the eyes on him, but he did not mind as he understood the dwarfs' point-of-view.

"I can't believe they have come this far in such a short time," Lunette exclaimed in shock as she admired the fast-growing city.

Kashi looked around at the numerous construction sites, where dwarves, prisoners and daebens were working around the clock to quickly erect residential and commercial buildings. The first thing he noticed, however, were the completed road networks. To ensure ease of transportation for the building materials, the dwarfs prioritized completing all the roads before beginning the construction of the buildings.

Kashi was not sure how, but to prevent the roads from being too dusty and feeble, the dwarves hardened the sandy ground into hard, caked earth, allowing carriages to easily travel unimpeded, and also drastically reducing the dust on the streets.

Kashi turned his attention from the roads to the construction sites, and could not help by sigh in praise. Although the dwarfs were terrible with conventional magic, their skill at earth manipulation could not be contended by any other race. Most of the dwarfs currently in Aygorzi were of mixed descent, half-giant, half-dwarfs, which gave them the best of both worlds. Not only did they have the earth manipulation of regular dwarfs, but they also possessed the terrifying strength of giants.

Of course, neither of the traits were as strong as their original owners, but for construction, what the dwarfs' current traits were more than enough. Kashi watched as a group of dwarfs placed their hands on the ground. Moments later, a massive hole appeared in the air as the soil was forcefully dug up and transported to carts nearby. The prisoners lugged these soil to other locations were they would be required.

Meanwhile, Kashi watched as several daeben, under the supervision of dwarfs, inscribed hardening runes on stones, to strengthen them. The dwarfs then picked up these stones and set up a complete foundation in less than five minutes. Their efficiency put the real world's construction companies to shame.

Kashi noticed that the hostility between the prisoners and the dwarfs had drastically reduced since the battle. There was nothing like sweating under the same sun to close the distance between former enemies. Of course, it also helped that they were all from Merriheim, and thus the prisoners were just as proud of Aygorzi as the dwarfs themselves.

The daeben, unfortunately, were not extended that forgiveness. The dwarfs, prisoners and other workers watched their every move with suspicion and distrust. Kashi shrugged, knowing this was not something that could be fixed in the short term. First, there was the terror wrought by the daebens' world conquest, and then they had all but disappeared from the continent when they lost.