Elanore considered fleeing the place. She knew that the aftermath of her spell would spread among the people, yet she was still determined to do some clothes shopping and ride on an ankylosaur. The wolves inside of her inventory whimpered as if she'd offended their honor.
The group landed, and Palentis complained as he was sucked back into her inventory. I could let them all roam free, but after that disaster, it's better to leave them inside for now.
They made their way back to the dwarven gates, and the familiar guard was there to greet them. Beyond the entrance, she could see that several dwarves were in a panic. Ankys were walking back and forth along the bridges, and there was an uproar of voices. Families were asking if their sons were okay. Miners attempted to calm them down.
The dwarf, John, if Elanore remembered correctly, crossed his arms. His lips curved into a smile. "You've really caused a commotion here, lass. The whole city is up in arms, and you're out here. The head of the city wants to speak to you now."
Elanore tilted her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. We were taking a stroll through the dunes."
John laughed and reached up to tap her shoulder. "No one is going to believe that, especially with those pink strands of hair. We all saw the flash of pink light, and we all felt the vibrations. The miners already started telling them about the tunnel's collapse. Nobody has seen anything like this since..."
Elanore grumbled. Though, her mother narrowed her eyes towards the man.
"Since what? And please don't make things unreasonably hard on my daughter. I know she's special, but she only wants to be like everyone else."
"Right," he said, "like everyone else." The dwarf rolled his eyes and crossed his arms again. "As for what I was referring to. I spoke of Doran, The Wizard of Blue Keep."
Naela's eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea where that guy went?"
John shook his head. "No clue. I don't really keep track of heroes. I just do my job and go home to my wife every day, but if you're really curious, you can check the records at the city hall...anyways, I think you all should head there. If you take the elevator, it's the biggest building towards the back."
"Do we really have to?" Ella asked.
"Well, if you don't, there is nothing any of us could do to stop you, but I am sure everyone would feel more at ease."
Neshy slithered up next to Elanore and grabbed the witchpire's hand. She looked up at her with a smile. "Don't worry, mama. If you're scared, I will hold your hand the whole time."
Those innocent eyes and cute face had done a number on the pink witch. She had no choice, and the group of them started heading towards the town center. Once they reached the platform where the majority of the population was, they started getting stares from the people passing by.
Another familiar miner dwarf ran up to them. "Thank you so much for saving me!"
Ella's face heated from all of the attention they got. She looked at the dwarf and shook her head. "It's not like we were trying to save you or anything. We were just securing a way to get ankylosaur rides."
The dwarf stopped in his tracks, stunned by her words as they continued walking. Though, after a few seconds, they could hear his hearty laughter in the distance.
Both Penelope and Naela smiled at Elanore and shared the same knowing look in their eyes.
Hey! Don't look at me like that. At least Neshy believes me, right?
She looked down to Neshy for confirmation, but the snake couldn't be more clueless. She had a blank look on her face, but when she got Ella's attention, she grinned.
Elanore was curious how much of Neshy's ignorance was feigned. Of course, it was totally plausible that a life of solitude had made the basilisk completely oblivious. Picturing that life in her mind again made the witchpire start feeling bad, but the grip on her hand tightened.
They reached the hall before anything could be said about it. Two dwarven guards stood at the entrance. They saw the women, and both of them gestured towards the large opening at the same time with their free hands, their other hands gripping large copper-colored war hammers.
Elanore crossed an even stronger magic barrier than she'd felt before. If the other ones felt like traversing cobwebs, this one was like passing through a large gate of slime. Though, what really stunned her was the inside of the place.
Towering structures belted hot fumes from their tops. The dwarvinium objects had floating mana crystals above them surrounded by rotating rings of the metal. The industrial style smelters boiled the ore in their cores, and in another section of the hall, there were people hard at work hammering away at bits of metal.
These blacksmiths didn't even turn their head to acknowledge the entrants. They forged their armaments and jewelry.
At the very back of the place, there were two metallic staircases going up towards a second floor, and the group headed there without any guidance. They climbed up the stairs and observed the smelters from above. Elanore was now eye level with one of the large mana cores.
The witchpire's mouth started watering while she looked at it, but Naela tugged on her arm.
"You can't eat the dwarves' source of income."
Elanore's face went red again, and she pretended not to hear the maid for a second. Instead, she pointed towards a large open library on the second floor. She could see inside and caught a glimpse of dwarven machinations, but it was at that moment, a dwarf's voice echoed.
"So you are the one that saved our miners? I have to say that you're certainly not what I expected."
The witchpire turned around and looked down at the man. She never expected to see a dwarf wearing a suit and tie, but here she was. Though, his outfit was the same brown color as the desert around them. His tie was in the color of their smelters, and he wore a pair of glasses outlined with the same metal. His dark-colored hair was slicked back, and he seemed professional. On the right shoulder, he had four silver stars of commendation.
He shrugged as they looked at him. "I know what you're going to say, but let's hold the pleasantries for now. I believe that a reward for your efforts is in order.