Chapter 19:

No problems, obviously.

My will shall resonate in this stormy game


Everything was going swimmingly, the mine was beginning to take shape, the guards continued without problems, the first houses were beginning to be built and the wall that protected us from invasions from the forest below only seemed more solid every day.

Since I couldn't be lazy forever, I dedicated myself to putting everything else in order: the numbers, the expenses, the contributions, the ups and downs due to the rains, even how much was spent on supplies, getting a couple of debts out of the nearby tribal chief in the process, but at the same time, I gave thanks to my knowledge of Arithmetic and Economics.

Along with the first tranches of wealth came the ritual, we all placed food on top of anything metallic and threw it off the cliff, more for improvisation and I promised that in the future we would find a suitable place and with this I found it interesting, that everyone saw the work in the mine as something better than gathering and among other things the metal we extracted was silver, but they didn't have to know that.

Beyond my small temple that I had to build myself, I received many suggestions and requests for help, but I made it clear that it had to be my own work or it would be worthless, as it should be, and I only regretted not having slaves to do the work for me.

For the first shipment finally completed, we sent it on its way to the nearby trading tribe, officially they had no name, but from the way we set an example, I was sure they would soon have one.

“Sir, the updated mining plan,” the young Jūni explained happily.

We repeated the same process, and I pushed the papers back toward the recipient. "It's accepted. Proceed as you see fit, young man."

“We put a lot of effort into it and we want to show it off a little, if you don't mind seeing it first.”

“The thing is, I have no knowledge of mining whatsoever. On the contrary, it’s easy for me to think I’ll be a nuisance, even if it’s just to see how things are going. I’ll find among my peer’s people more qualified than I am for whatever the topic at hand may be.” I won’t deny that I was curious, and since I would eventually claim Lasha again, I thought about the opportunity of the Platinum mine beneath the castle; it could be useful.

"But if you'd like me to read it and ease some of the worries, both yours and those of your people, I'm fine with that. After all, my responsibilities are coming up soon."

“Responsibilities?” I ask, puzzled. “Excuse me, boss, but I wasn't addressing the issue of permits and such as the previous leader was.”

“The chief of the tribe has not yet been elected, and as far as I'm concerned, that position cannot be handed to me.” I extended the same slight bow, but sitting down, I found it difficult not to bump the table, and I proceeded to show him the village petition. “I will officially take over as the one who makes changes by order of Alba, as a recipient of her will.”

“The way you had warriors when you led us, I thought you would be the leader of the tribe.”

“Something very similar happened when I arrived at Miss Ari’s tribe, and it was only a dawn before we arrived with you and your people. Any commitment of loyalty or yielding to my judgment is merely formal.”

“What is formal?”

“What the Holy Faith demands must be done, for the sake of tradition.”

“I understand.” I take the papers and bring them closer. “Then it’s okay with you.”

"Of course, I'd like your company, as I'll need some explanations about some important aspects of the plans." If he was going to end up sitting and being watched, the least he could do was explain a few things to me.

“Sure, but there’s someone who knows more about this than I do.”

We left the cave that was my temporary office, a little more quickly, due to the young man's impatience, but it didn't take long to catch up with him with the papers in the middle of a brief reading, noticing more scribbles than anything else, which contrasted greatly with the front page that had relatively few letters and the few letters that I could understand in between didn't help me identify what he was referring to.

Arriving before the old man who continued giving orders, we proceeded to wait looking for important problems, especially I noticed how they seemed ordered, but much of the material seemed to be destined to simply dig or put the support beams and the scribbles seemed to make more and more sense to myself and I tried not to show surprise, while the darkness overtook us and the few lamps seemed to have more difficulties to illuminate, only because people were passing and reviewing.

“I'm not surprised that the progress is so extensive, but it seems that a lot of material is being requested in a hurry.”

“Well, fortunately, we have a forest so close by, so it’s easy for us to get wood, and I heard the elders were doing some hunting with the children and some other adults.”

“I can tell.” It was hard to see around me, but it was only a matter of time before my vision adjusted to the darkness. “I just hope there are no problems.”

“Hey, young Abaddon came to visit us, how’s work going!”

Everyone waved and I waved back, determined to help a little, conjure some light, though with the intricate prayers it took longer than I would have liked and the small lights floated high above, while everyone looked grateful, it would last at most an hour or two, but the ones that entered the peaks and tips were the ones that would last until night.

"Tomorrow, I'll come back to provide you with the same help, now, regarding the expert." He was beginning to feel the stale air and the lack of air that wasn't filled with dust.

“Over there,” I point to where there used to be a table and a seat. “Old man, the young man has doubts about mining.”

“It’s good to see you, young Abaddon. Come here please. Whatever questions you have, I’d love to answer them.”

“To start with, this song.” I showed him the cover art with the lyrics; some made sense, others didn’t. “Which is exactly the song Sub Mina.”

“It’s a space, meant to be a suitable warehouse for us to store everything we collect…” He stopped, seeing the hand asking for time.

“First, let me correct my mistake.” Avoid the impatient sigh. “It’s not that I don’t understand the merger, but the point is you should just call it a warehouse.”

“The previous leader of…”, he fell silent again at the same signal.

It wouldn't be in my interest in this life to learn anything from the idiot, beyond where he hid his treasures and whether he ever had a name was not in my interest either, unless it was the key to finding the trunk. There were clearly things I could take advantage of ignorance, but with winter coming, production was a priority.

"I understand why you followed his bad example and didn't know how to properly maintain order. But the fact is that a mine is the correct term, and a sub-mine represents a section of rock from which more ore can be extracted." I began to grow impatient in surprise. "Tell me, did this mine manage to produce something without me being informed?" I placed my hands on the table, trying not to frown.

“N… no.”

“The name?”

"Store".

"It's nice to know we understand each other, now for the next step." I turned to the third page, where there were numbers, somewhat misaligned but still understandable. "Could you explain the meaning of these numbers to me?"

“The amount of buckets of stone and dirt we took out, until we reached…” I stopped him, this time a little more impressed by his lack of common sense.

“The fact is that there shouldn’t be any land here.”

“The small stones left behind after large rock falls.”

“It is called gravel and is useful for construction.”

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