Sentenced to Troll 4 by S.L. Rowland

Author:S.L. Rowland [Rowland, S.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

Quest Alert: You have been offered the quest “Working for the Man.” Fill two carts of ore and load them into the wagon.

Reward: Increased favor with Whitgard and the Frozen Ash Tribe.

Oakley’s not one for detailed instruction, but I’m sure mining can’t be that hard, so I toss the pickaxe over my shoulder and get to work. Just past the snowbank at the entrance to the cave, a small wooden wheelbarrow rests against the wall. I lay the pickaxe inside and push it down the well-trodden path. My eyes adjust to the dark, and pretty soon, only the faintest amount of light spills in from outside.

The cave goes deeper than I imagined, and before long, I’m in complete darkness. My night vision allows me to see unimpeded as broken axe shafts and rubble litter the cave, making it difficult to navigate the wheelbarrow.

I park the wheelbarrow at the end of the cave and equip the pickaxe. It’s a little small compared to many of my weapons, but it feels natural in my hand. The Frozen Ash Tribe are a hearty people, so their tools are larger than most I’ve seen on Isle of Mythos. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing, so I take my first swing at the cave wall.

A chunk of stone explodes from the impact, revealing a vein of rusty ore underneath. I swing again, further revealing the chunk of ore until I’m eventually able to pry it free.

Item. Iron Ore. A mixture of raw iron and minerals, which can be smelted and further enhanced for use in tools and weapons.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill ‘Mining.’ You are now a level 1 miner (Novice). Increase your skill and learn advanced techniques for mining by finding an advanced miner (apprentice or above). Ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Artisan, Master, Grandmaster.

As soon as I dismiss the notification, the cave is filled with translucent outlines marking iron ore veins along the wall. After half an hour, my mining skill reaches level two and the outlines become more detailed, now able to reveal iron ore that is a few inches beneath the surface. Before long, I have the wheelbarrow filled with ore.

A rhythmic clack echoes from outside the cave as I deliver my first load. Oakley grunts as he swings his axe, leaving a nice size gash in a towering pine.

He looks over as I dump the ore into the wagon and does a double-take. “Gods be good, you are a strong son of a dragon. It would take my men hours to mine that much ore.”

“This is nothing.” I finish dumping the wheelbarrow and stretch my arms overhead. “With an army of horrors, I could probably do it twice as fast.”

He lets his axe fall in the snow. “You don’t say.”

“I do say. Promise not to piss your pants and I’ll show you.”

After lighting a torch, Oakley follows me into the cave. I can feel his eyes boring into me from behind. I’m sure a lifetime of stories where trolls are the boogeyman is hard to shake, but he seems open-minded enough.

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