Diggy Diggy Hole Chapter 42 (Patreon)

I awoke to the sounds of loud snoring, and I slowly opened my heavy eyes to see that I was at the healing temple of Valaya. 

And with a heavy grunt of effort. I forced myself upright with a strict older female voice snapping at me. "Ye lay down right there little Lord! Your body is still weak and battered!"

The matron of the healing hall stomped at me with a large bowl of thick soup and I noted idly that she had one of the dwemer steampunk-powered prosthetics in a leg that I had made a good number of for the dwarves of Karak Kadrin.

Still... I was utterly fucking exhausted, somehow even with my gamer system with the matron snorting and saying with her stabbing the bowl of soup. "You foolish whelp. You almost died from utter exhaustion after working yourself for those three days and doing all those enchantments!"

I could only helplessly sigh as I checked my internal status and yup I had a three-day debuff of 'Mortal Exhaustion' that blocked off all my magical skills, and heavily restricted my strength and other stats.

'If it wasn't for my system... I might have actually worked myself to death in making that Beacon and tank to pilot it around.' I thought helplessly.

And without struggling, I let the old matron feed me the thick soup that was loaded with heavy greens and even more chunks of meat that I recognized came from dragon flesh.

And that dragon flesh in the soup with all its magic actually cut down some of the time I would be bedridden with the 'Mortal Exhaustion' status effect.

"I should have gotten more apprentices, I guess." I finally said as I relaxed with the matron snorting, and my face twitched as she bopped me on the head with the carved stone spoon she had been feeding me with.

As she then pointed around her and said flatly. "You fool, several of the utter fools filling my hall with their snoring are the rune smiths and other smiths that pushed themselves also to exhaustion to help you in those three days of forging and work!"

"Did anyone get hurt?" I asked quietly as a pit filled my stomach at the thought of someone actually dying of exhaustion in helping me in my manic project.

The matron snorted and looked ready to hit me again... For a moment, before she exhaled and said flatly. "No, but you are damned lucky that the High King and the Slayer King were watching you work, and the High King had his own rune smiths and other smiths help and switch places when the stubborn fools following you into damnation collapsed!"

A sigh of relief escaped me at that.

Truly, I was... So incredibly relieved to hear that I wasn't responsible for my kin's deaths. If that did happen.

I would never. Never forgive myself for such a mistake. 

Then the matron let out another annoyed snort as she said flatly. "Bah, you damned fool. Those other kin would have been honored to have their deaths be part of the blood to first anoint the Walking Blessing Fortress."

I raised an eyebrow at the name... But honestly, it was a decent name for a giant tank in the form of a small fortress that had a beacon inside of it.

And I wasn't even offended at the name, though it sounded better in dwarvish than the common tongue of man.

Still I asked the real pressing question. "How long was I asleep? The kings-"

The matron cut me off softly but firmly as she soothed me. "Ye missed the first two Kings Moot meetings, lad. You've been in the Ancestor God's dreamland for the last four days but if you get some rest... Maybe you can go to the meeting tomorrow night that is supposed to be a feast at such a wonder being made." 

I exhaled heavily before nodding, and I relaxed as much as I coul,d knowing that I was in a safe place for now at least.

The matron, seeing me trying to get some sleep, just left me be, and I just remained there for a bit before I peered my eyes open... To see her checking a slayer across the way and changing the wrappings that probably came from a training accident, from the small gash going across his stomach.

Then, as the matron left further down the hall. I took out a golden apple to quickly munch it down before I scowled at seeing the debuff was unchanged.

'Whelp, looks like I truly worked myself half to death, I guess.' I thought helplessly as I was doubting a bucket of milk and even an enchanted golden apple could help me at this point.

So I just decided to be a dead fish and actually rest as there was nothing else I could do that woudn't put undue stress on me.

-

Across the hold, many a mighty beard waggled in joy at seeing a new 'Throne of Power' a masterclass of workmanship even if the damned beardless runt genius damned killed himself making the blasted thing!

"Bah! Ungrim what in the blazes is with that boy? No beardless boy who has only entered the teen years of an Umgi can't have made that beacon without the Ancestor God's guidance!?" The High King Thorgrim grumble with a heated look at Ungrim.

"And why in the hells did ye stop me from at least slowing the lad down? He hasn't even made it to the moots yet, even if that creation has more than earned the other kings and clan chiefs' respect."

Ungrim finally slammed down his tankard of ale before he said flatly. "He is his own man, High King. He is the king of his own hold, I have no right to force em, to do a damned thing unless he insults me as the host of my own hold in here."

The Slayer King's corded muscles tightened before he said in annoyance. "This is the Slayer Hold. We SEEK our own glorious deaths, and if his goal was to kill himself in making a new Throne of Power... I would be insulting his honor, his will, and his clan for stopping him."

Thorgrim looked at Ungrim with a dark look before he said slowly. "Seeking his own doom, huh. Is that the case with how his clan fell and his blood debt with the Thaggoraki of Clan Skyre?"

The room became heavy at the mention of Kharn's clan that had been lost. Before Ungrim said bluntly. "It's his own path... The Ancestor Gods, are watching and guiding his path closely. We have no right to dictate his actions."

Then Ungrim looked at Thorgrim and said more firmly. "Beyond his creation. We still need to coordinate our heavily armored troops with Kharn's automatons that will breach through the portal system. Then, as the automatons fall upon greenskins or the rats. We will need to secure a fortified position to protect the portal to ferry supplies and more men through it."