"It's hard to say," the innkeeper lowered his body and leaned closer to the few people, whispering, "but if Your Excellency doesn't lack money, you can try looking for a few well-known local adventure groups; those adventurers have been into the forest many tis and have even drawn maps of this area—"
"Maps?"
"Quite valuable."
Brand nodded and asked about the local situation. Mainly about the workers' schedules and the patrol tis of the soldiers in the mining area, among other things—of course, he pretended to be an adventurer—but the innkeeper took him for a noble offspring ignorant of the World's harsh realities and out for so fun.
Neither of them cared about this misunderstanding, and the conversation went smoothly. Getting this information didn't take Brand much ti. A mont later, he turned around—as the ladies had already found a spot to sit in the hall, Brand glanced over and was about to walk towards them, but he stopped before he got there.
A dwarf blocked his path.
"Excuse ." A slightly drunk Audem squinted his small eyes, barely making out the young man before him—the one who had entered earlier, he thought—but that wasn't important, he just wanted to know:
What was the other person intending by standing in front of him?
The old dwarf shook his head, trying to figure it out.
But Brand was exasperated; it was like being on a wide road only to have this damned dwarf claim he was in his way.
Though he didn't have ti to cause trouble here, after hesitating, he stepped aside. But just then, Brand was taken aback.
The dwarf's face was reddened, making Brand initially think he was a local Hill Dwarf, but after a closer look, he noticed the light gray skin on the dwarf's arms.
The young man's heart skipped a beat.
Rune Dwarf.
He nearly pinched his cheek to verify if he was dreaming or if the other person was drunk.
In Vorn's history, Rune Dwarves were not as prominent as the Silver Elves. Like Cave Dwellers, they ca from Jogen Digan's underground. However, unlike typical underground folks, they were the long-lost Silver People of the underground.
Legends say the Rune Dwarves' race was wiped out in the wars before the era of Chaos ended.
Another legend says a city of this race exists on the other side of the rcury Sea in the Underground World. But regardless, Brand never expected to see a living Rune Dwarf here; there was no mistake—the light gray skin was their most distinctive feature.
No other dwarf in the World had this skin color.
These dwarves from the Silver era were the builders of the Steel Plain. Their architectural prowess during the era of Chaos was as renowned as Bujia's craftsman wizards. But the Rune Dwarves were never satisfied with this evaluation—one built underground, the other in the sky, so they never had a chance to compete outright.
However, after a brief shock, Brand cald down.
It could simply be an adventuring bloodline, he knew, regardless of characteristics, every race had so adventurous, nomadic groups.
Such descendants often only partially maintained their bloodline traits; how much of their cultural heritage remained was anyone's guess. In truth, there were quite a few Ancient Relics in Vorn, though many didn't even know their origins.
Like Brand, if he hadn't seen descriptions of the Rune Dwarves, he might not have recognized this drunken guy.
Just as he was thinking this, Audem was already staggering past him. Brand turned to watch the old dwarf part the crowd and leave, leaving only his back.
Brand thought for a mont but didn't follow imdiately. There was nothing to discuss with a drunken guy, and the dwarf seed like a local worker who wouldn't disappear quickly.
His goal was to seize control of this Silver Mine; he would contact the dwarf later, which would be more effective. But still, he turned to the middle-aged man and asked:
"Who was that?"
"An old fellow, seems to be called Audem. He's been here for so ti," the middle-aged man couldn't understand why this young noble was interested in a scruffy dwarf, "He's a minor overseer in the mining area."
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