My Servant System

The tunnel was a long one, and the further we walked, the more I was certain that I was correct with my appraisal and that Leone was correct with her assumption; this tunnel was widened and or mined out by the Goblins with primitive tools, and it led down into the earth before connecting with a slightly wider, more natural yet still excavated tunnel around two hundred feet from where we entered.

Slightly sloped and winding slowly, there wasn't a good way to gauge how deep we had gone into the earth or what direction we might be facing, but what I did know was that it was slightly surprising that the Goblins had been able to find this tunnel at all, and that they somehow, someway discovered a way to reach it with their own skills.

That begged a wide variety of questions that I wasn't close to getting answers to, but for the time being we were all walking steadily forwards, our weapons at the ready as we traversed yet another portion of the Dungeon in search of ways to get stronger.

Surely whatever waited for us at the end of this tunnel would be of value to us to some degree, right?

Either way, just learning what was down here was well worth the time, though I could tell that everyone was beginning to truly feel the fatigue slowly set in from the constant ups and downs of adrenaline; no matter how strong one gets, being thrust into multiple battles against enemies that can take your life will result in a level of exhaustion that can only be ignored for so long before needing to be reset through sleep.

Our tanks were still quite full though, so that was of no issue at this current moment, but I wasn't keen on heading into yet another engagement so quickly after the one we were just in; gear needed to be checked and repaired, our Cores needed to be replenished, our bodies needed more energy as well as rest...

That weighed on my mind a little as I took each step into this tunnel, but those thoughts were tossed aside the moment we went from walking in a tunnel illuminated only by our own light into a cavern that was illuminated by a ceiling made from brilliant crystal that acted like a sun for this area, bathing it in a cool, yet slightly harsh blue light.

Roughly fifty some odd feet in diameter, the cavern was a simple sphere covered in sparse foliage and boasting little in the form of minerals, but that wasn't what captured our attention; it wasn't even that beautiful ceiling of blue and white crystals that shone with a unique natural light made from the minuscule amount of mana lingering within their surfaces.

No, what stole our attention away and refused to give it back was the building that stood in the middle of the cavern, its pillars and flat, boring architecture far too familiar for us to not guess where it was from, but even though we had that idea, it was just... hard to believe we would see it down here.

"That's... a Custodia building, isn't it? At the very least, it reeks of the human's lack of creativity and desire to squeeze out as much use as they can from something in all the wrong ways..."

Satanya's murmur made us all nod as we looked at the building, before taking a look around at the cavern it was situated in, making sure there wasn't something waiting to attack us from around the building or near the only cluster of rocks nearby.

Seeing nothing, we remained wary as we moved forwards, approaching the squat, flat building and preparing to head inside, the open archway allowing us to see inside the building from the 'safety' of the outside, something that made us all narrow our eyes curiously as we saw rows upon rows of Golems standing absolutely still within.

"Think they're 'alive', or..?"lights

Jahi's whisper made us all glare over at the Demoness, who just shrugged as she hoisted her shield and took another step forwards, entering the building and approaching the Golems, using her great sword to tap one and observe its reaction.

Some of us followed her inside, with Leone and I staring at that Golem closely before looking around in wonder, taking in the various rows of Golems and what looked like workbenches lining the walls, while the back of the building was free from those Golems, moving our attention once more.

"No, not alive... interesting... They look the same though, don't they? This interesting pattern engraved onto their torsos, the way they are shaped to look like soldiers; uniform and sharp, professional... It's odd. Just... weird."

Walking between the rows, Leone and I glanced at the smooth, completely blank faces of the Golems, which made me shiver as I wondered if there was meaning behind that stylistic choice, or if there was something missing perhaps... and I couldn't help but shiver again as I prayed these smooth surfaces would remain smooth.

There were six rows of Golems in total, with each row containing fifteen Golems for an overall total of 90 Golems, which was a rather high number of soldiers waiting to be used for combat, and considering the detail engraved onto their bodies and the fact that they really did look like statues that you wouldn't be surprised to see at some Noble's Estate, it showed that they were both tools and pieces of art.

"All of them are unarmed. Those tables lining the walls... it looks like parts of Golems on some, and weaponry on others. This was a factory that assembled the Golems before sending them out; we aren't terribly far from the entrance into the Grottos that we took, and there is the possibility that there is another that's even closer..."

I nodded at Leone's words, before adding "Though that doesn't explain why it would be hidden? Did Custodia not always have control over the mountains? Were their enemies able to infiltrate into the Dungeon and make their way over to Custodia that easily that they needed to hide these... factories?"

Reaching the front of the rows, Leone and I glanced back at all of the Golems before turning and looking at the empty space around us, which was home to a wide pit that was a couple feet deep, with the dirt and gravel inside being comprised of a far softer, finer grain and lighter color than we had seen before.

Crouching, I cupped some of the dirt and looked around again, saying "This might be a temporary factory, perhaps? They looked for patches of this finer dirt and would use water to create a clay, which they then shaped into the Golems and fired to create their Terracotta army? Or maybe they ground down the dirt by hand using mallets, then added the water? Can't be too sure with any of it..."contemporary romance

The tables in front of us were laden with piles of dirt, chunks of dried clay, rusted tools and rotting wood, while front and center were three giant, human sized furnaces that were likely used to fire the Golems and prepare them for their 'life'...

Letting the dirt trickle out of my palm, I stood back up and took a look around at the square room, wondering just what kind of stories it could tell if it was able to speak...

done.co