Hey ho! Hey ho! Pickaxe flash!
Hey ho! Hey ho! Chisel the rock wall!
Deep underground, yo, torchlight bright,
Dig out gold and trade for ale tonight!
Cave-ins and puddles, we don’t care,
Dwarves have strength beyond compare!
If ever trapped deep in the mine,
The scent of ale will lead us fine!
…
Inside the “Giant’s Maw” tavern, the air was thick with the rich aroma of ale and the smoky scent of roasted meat.
Rough dwarven laughter, the heavy clunk of wooden tankards clashing in toasts, off-key mining songs, and waiters shouting as they squeezed through crowded tables with trays.
This was the evening every dwarf knew best.
In the innermost corner, at a table against the stone wall, Thorin Deepforge—who had once accidentally fallen into the Puchi Dungeon and later been brought back to the mountains—was drinking a farewell round with friends.
Beside him sat the fellow dwarf Glenm. After surviving Scarecrow Abyss and the Puchi Dungeon together, their relationship had gone from employer-employee to life-and-death brothers. Now they were inseparable.
Across from them sat a rare sight in the mountains: a white-furred foxkin.
Dwarves weren’t as isolationist as elves; they welcomed allied races.
But though the doors were open, few outsiders chose to settle in the mountains.
There was no profit in it.
All valuable veins were controlled by the great clans. Without dwarven mining talent, making a living here was nearly impossible.
Adventurers could only pick up odd jobs clearing mine pests.
The Molten Fire Dungeon beneath Goldflame Fortress had long been fully controlled by dwarves, turned into a pure resource site with no need for outsiders.
Thus, non-dwarves were rare in the mountains, let alone the scarce foxkin.
Thorin wiped ale foam from his beard and laughed. “Kiro, sure you won’t have a mug of Dokk ale? It’s the most precious treasure in these mountains!”
The foxkin Kiro shifted uncomfortably. Though foxkin weren’t large, the heavy wooden chairs built for dwarves were still uncomfortable. “No thanks. Mages can’t let their brains turn to mush.”
“Nonsense,” Glenm cut in. “Our runecasters are all walking barrels. Admit it, your tolerance is just pathetic!”
Kiro only smiled, not arguing.
Thorin sighed, tone turning wistful. “Kiro, do you really have to leave? Stay longer! I won’t even charge you for room and board. You saved my life, after all!”
This tavern was one of the Deepforge clan’s properties.
As the clan chief’s youngest son, Thorin had little status at home, but comping a friend’s tab was within his authority.
Kiro gently shook his head. “That mountain path sees plenty of traffic. I just found you before anyone else. At most I spared you some suffering. Hardly saving your life. Besides, three months of free food and drink plus all those gems is more than enough. Now I must chase new luck.”
“I’ve always wanted to ask,” Glenm leaned in curiously. “What exactly is this ‘luck’ you keep talking about?”
“Saving injured Thorin was luck. Now luck has moved elsewhere. I have in pursuit.”
“Hah? You can chase luck?” Glenm looked incredulous.
Thorin swirled the dregs in his mug enviously. “Lucky you! I wish I could roam the world instead of wasting my days in these same old mountains!”
“You’ve got it too easy,” Glenm roared with laughter. “Go hungry a few times and you’ll realize a steady life is the greatest blessing!”
“Maybe, but I crave adventure!”
The three talked long into the night until Glenm and Thorin were carried off dead drunk to a guest room.
When they woke at noon the next day, Kiro had already left at dawn.
“That Kiro fellow is something else!” Glenm sighed.
“He really is. But which part are you talking about now?”
“Didn’t you notice? In all these months, he woke up on time every single day!”
Thorin blinked blankly, thinking back. It did seem true.
For ale-loving dwarves, that really was impressive.
Suddenly he felt something at his waist and pulled out two scrolls. “These are…”
Thorin had no memory of the night’s end, but Glenm did.
“Two Shrink scrolls. Kiro said they’d bring us good luck.”
The two dwarves exchanged looks. Though confused, Thorin carefully stowed the parting gift from his friend.
…
A week after Kiro left, Thorin’s family finally lost patience with his idleness and forcibly assigned him a job managing material transport in the Molten Fire Dungeon.
Unlike other dungeons, Molten Fire beneath Goldflame Fortress was inhabited mainly by elemental spirits.
Through some method, the dwarves had “tamed” them.
Now these elementals were stable producers of elemental materials.
When their bodies grew to a certain stage, they were harvested. Their spirits returned to the environment to condense new bodies.
The only nuisance in the entire dungeon was some insignificant cave insects that occasionally nibbled scraps.
This was why Thorin always complained that life in the mountains was monotonous, devoid of excitement. Even the dungeon held no trace of adventure.
Watching package after package of sealed materials being carted away, Thorin muttered to the dwarf behind him, “Glenm, shall we find another chance to slip out?”
Glenm shot him a look. “Trying to get me on a wanted poster?”
Thorin thought about it. His family really might do that. He could only sigh and give up.
As he dejectedly watched another batch of materials leave, a sudden cry for help rang out!
A dwarf miner came scrambling and tumbling in panic, pursued by a nearly five-meter-tall stone giant. Its rock fist smashed down at the fleeing dwarf!
“Watch out!” Thorin roared, instinctively grabbing the battle axe leaning against the wall and charging.
Glenm was no slower, instantly raising his sturdy shield to block the stone giant.
Rock met steel with a deafening clang. Glenm was forced back half a step but successfully stopped the blow.
Thorin seized the opening and swung his axe into the giant’s knee. Shards flew as the elemental toppled.
But before they could catch their breath, the entire dungeon seemed to awaken!
“Fire spirits are going berserk!”
“Stop those rocks!”
Fighting broke out everywhere. The once-docile elementals suddenly attacked the dwarves around them.
Thorin smashed the stone elemental beneath him. “What the hell is going on?”
Glenm stood beside him. “Looks like the ‘adventure’ you wanted has arrived.”
“Don’t joke. This isn’t the kind I wanted!”
More and more berserk elementals appeared.
“Let’s run!” Glenm suggested.
But Thorin suddenly remembered his duty. “I have to sound the alarm first!”
“You’re serious right now?”
Seeing Thorin already diving into a stone corridor, Glenm could only grit his teeth and follow.
(End of Chapter)
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