Chapter 16: In which it is clear the slugs of this forgehome don’t do important bothersome things

The Caravamel followed the tailless slug’s machine, the frulids inside glum and dour. The supports that were as the spine and ribs of some metal beast grew more frequent, and natural grown light was wholly replaced by flickering orange crystal. The tunnels of the mine grew wider and wider.

They passed by other machines, some in frog-like forms, others crude humanoids and a number were little more than skeletons. Not only that but these machines, ridden by blue eyed tailless slugs watched over masses of their white eyed relations, directing them here or there or, in the parts not so close to the forgehome, making them mine.

There was a constant stream of the spoils of Elcon’s underground, glittering gems, ores, fruit, vegetables, artefacts, bones, fossils, oils and more besides. It was brought in buckets by the white eyes, or by cart pulled by the same. The labour of the whites was without end, yet not a complaint came from them.

Then again, that was how these blues had trained their white relations. Since they still had white eyes, it wasn’t as if they had much more awareness, intelligence or will than an animal.

It was a curious sight, the river of green and many colours, so much so that the frulids breifly forgot about how they were about to be forcibly traded out of possession of their remaining honey-drink.

<Do not dawdle, trade must be preformed with promptness. The sooner you sell your crate and face trial the sooner you can leave our mine> The tailless slug said.

“Look, this has all been a big misunderstanding, if you’d just…” Yerdl began.

<Any issues must be raised at the trial, we cannot just randomly talk about these things, after all, we ARE a civilized society> the slug said.

“Do wild people rob?” Kejo whispered sadly.

“Is it robbing if you do it to wild people?” Ismi wondered.

<Wildfolk do not have laws of possession, thus you cannot rob from them, legally speaking> the slug answered, in spite of the fact that the two comments had be quite quiet.

The hustle and bustle of the mine had not at all stopped it from overhearing.

Yerdl decided that these slugs were the worst kind of civilized denizens.

The caravamel trundled onwards, Turmeric dutifully pulling it in spite of the sea of tailless slug it was wading through.

They came upon a massive… blockage.

It was a trio of metal constructions. Three beasts. Two head to head, and the third hanging from the ceiling.

One of the beasts below was a being of absurd muscles, with four arms sprouting from a stout chest. It possessed no legs. It’s head was a stubby thing, more like a bump than a head, except the small glowing blue eyes made clear what it was along with the single pipe of a nostril, billowing smoke. From this bumphead was affixed a pair of curved horns.

The beast to the other side of this had no body but a massive head, one with a sweeping boat-hull like lower jaw, beneath which was a cluster of stubby legs that ended in equally stubby paws. This massive head sported six eyes each pair larger than the last. Along with this was six nostril pipes. Smoke wisped out between its’ menacing teeth.

The metal beast above these two was a winged being, the wings were shaped like that of a bat’s, but were wickedly clawed. If this one had a body it could not be seen as a mess of tentacles, each with a dull blue crystal eye at the end, clustered between its’ wings.

The dull eyes lit up and cast blue spotlights on the frogknight riding slug and his charge.

-Two-Fiver you have been recognised, for record, state your business in the True Slug’s Forgehome of Released Opal- a tinny voice came out along with the grinding of gears.

<I come with trespassers bearing valuable goods for the benefit of the forgehome, in Grand Azure’s name!>

There was the clicking of gears frantic as this information was recorded and processed, finally a few tentacles fell down along with a small collection of gears that bounced and then rolled away.

-Praise be to… Praise, Praie Pbbuuurrrrttt, his name, dearth to the enemies of Reloooooooooosed Op-Op-Opal, enter and be feed, note; it has been :error: too many days since this mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-model has been mantranced-

The metal constructs moved out of the way with much ponderous creaking, and completely ignoring the clearly in need of maintenance constructs, the slug entered into the forgehome.

* * * * *

Not long after that, Fancy Chill’s remaining snow knight and her slush knight charged pass the slugs where the frulids had been, freezing many in their wake.

The lights of all the constructs lit up at the arrival of Fancy’s goons.

-Intruder, Host-Host-Host-Hostile Intuber, prepear to be eliminateateateated!-

Fancy Chill only had to think about it for a moment before she decided that she had to watch both the frulids going on trial and her minions fight the constructs.

She quickly created another ice mirror she could use to see things from afar.