Crap, you think, I should change the subject.
"Uh, what sort of projects are you working on right now?" you blurt out hastily.
She seems to relax. "Have you seen those large blue columns in the distance?" she asks. You nod your head. "Made of the ore for a metal called adamantine. It's the single greatest metal in our universe."
"That seems like a fairly small scale project," you say.
"It is, but it requires a great deal of planning to avoid digging too deep."
"Digging too deep? What happens if you do that?"
"We don't know. All accounts of it happening are told by terrified refugees who often become melancholy and jump off of the bridge." She says this with a perfectly even voice, as if she were discussing the weather. It's more than a little worrying.
"And what keeps you from digging too deep?" you ask.
"Caution, and stopping the project whenever anything bad happens. Really, it progresses very slowly, but no one wants to become yet another fortress eliminated by digging too deep."
"Would it be possible for me to get some of this metal?" If I could, you think to yourself, then I can sell it and live comfortably without that damn coffee job.
"Unless you have several hundred kilograms of platinum on you, don't bother. It is extremely rare, and almost completely impossible to afford. That's why the mayor is the only one who orders its use in anything, it's just too expensive for private citizens to own." She looks a little sad at this. Maybe she really likes it? "Well, I have to go. You are free to leave the city as you please. Also, before I forget-" she takes a backpack off of her shoulders and hands it to you, "-you'll need this."
You inspect the contents. There is a skin of water, some purple mushrooms that you assume are food, a rope, and a spear and knife made of copper.
"If you want to return to the surface, ask one of the rangers. They know the area better than anyone, and will get you back home. For a fee."
She leaves, turning around the corner and down the hall.
You sit on the bed and look for auras. You can feel some strange things in the distance, but you see no dwarves. You can't seem to find them anywhere, no matter how hard you concentrate. You stand up and leave the hospital, determined to find a dwarven aura.
You eventually come upon what appears to be a dining hall, and try to see the auras of the revelers inside. Nothing. Not a single one of them has an aura. Very strange.
You look around for a ranger, but don't see any. You aren't quite sure what you could use to tell the difference between them and any other dwarf, but you look anyway. Deciding to take the obvious route, you ask someone.
You walk up to a dwarf with a red armband, and ask him if there are any rangers around. He looks at you strangely, but points toward a dwarf with a crossbow and green armband that you swear wasn't there before.
"Do you speak--" you begin, but he cuts you off.
"Yeah I speek th' damn langage. Whad'ya want?"
"Uh, could you lead--"
"Leed'ya ta th'surface? That'l cost ya."
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Topic: Fugue: Once more. (Read 32316 times)