Chapter Summaries

After the Dark Moon Elves were defeated, they sent a young elf to negotiate with Roy, who offered them release after their sentences were served in exchange for obeying mine regulations. The Dark Moon Elves accepted his management plan, and the rescued Half-Elves were brought to the surface.

• The Dark Moon Elves debated how to survive after their leader died and their defeat by the Silver Moon Elves, then a young elf volunteered to seek terms with Roy.
• Roy met the young Dark Moon Elf under guard and listened as he offered regular Gemstone Mine in exchange for another chance.
• Roy ordered the Dark Moon Elves to register again and promised freedom to those who had completed their sentences, while warning them to obey the rules and work honestly.
• The young Dark Moon Elf asked whether Roy could return them to the Eternal Night Forest, and Roy said the plane's lockdown prevented that but he would let them leave the mine.
• Half a day later, the young Dark Moon Elf reported that all the Dark Moon Elves had accepted Roy's plan, while the rescued Half-Elf mine slaves were sent to the surface.

Roy rescued more than six hundred Half-Elves from the mine and let them recover at the mine fortress, where they chose to repay his help by mining gemstone ore for wages. After learning where the Gray Dwarves were hiding, Roy took Mulin and the Dark Moon Elves underground to confront them.

• The Half-Elves recovered at the mine fortress, and Roy persuaded Captain Kepler and the elders to let them stay until they were ready to leave.
• The Half-Elf elders offered to send young miners into the tunnels, and Roy agreed to take up to forty workers a day because the hoisting arm was failing.
• The Half-Elf miners produced more ore than the Dark Moon Elves, and Roy had a clerk record their hours so they could earn Kole.
• After receiving word that the Gray Dwarves' hiding place had been found, Roy planned to force them to mine and asked Captain Kepler to guard the fortress.
• Roy descended into the mine with Mulin and the Dark Moon Elves, telling them to gather and visit the Gray Dwarves.

Roy tried to recruit the Gray Dwarves to mine Spinel Ore, but agreed to trade liquor for ore instead. After reading letters from friends and the Silver Pegasus Legion, Roy learned that the army had advanced deep into the Pagisto Plateau and seized seven mines, threatening to keep him away from Castleton for at least two years.

• Roy led the Dark Moon Elves into the Gray Dwarves' tunnels and discovered that the cramped, trapped cavern was too difficult to attack.
• Roy used rum and ale to negotiate with a Gray Dwarf, agreeing to trade liquor for Spinel Ore at the Gray Dwarves' chosen location and price.
• Roy asked Walker why the mine's prisoners had never dug their way out, and Walker explained that Highland Headhunters had discovered their escape tunnels and killed many companions.
• Roy read Moira, Sabrina, Tiffany, and Woods's letter saying they planned to visit him on the Pagisto Plateau during the holiday.
• Roy read a battle report stating that the Silver Pegasus Legion had reached the heart of the Pagisto Plateau and that Earl Swynborne had seized seven mines.

Dashel persuaded the Gray Dwarves to trade polished spinel for rum, and Roy brought drinks and supplies to the Mine Road entrance to complete the deal. The chapter ended as Roy opened a sack and saw the Gray Dwarves’ brilliant red gems.

• Dashel reported Roy’s offer to Elder Ampton, and the Gray Dwarves agreed to trade spinel for rum.
• Elder Ampton ordered Malanduo and Maigedi to help Dashel take twenty sacks of spinel from the treasury.
• Dashel, Malanduo, and Maigedi carried the sacks through the Mine Road to its entrance.
• Roy led the Dark Moon Elves to the entrance with rum, ale, food, and wheelbarrows, while Malanduo and Maigedi initially fled in fear.
• Roy opened a sack and discovered that it contained polished spinel rather than Spinel Ore.

Roy traded rum for high-grade spinel with the Gray Dwarves and arranged to exchange their low-grade spinel for ale as well. After the trade, Captain Kepler told Roy that supplies and craftsmen would arrive the next day, while he and Roy discussed why the Gray Dwarves stayed hidden in the mine.

• Roy measured spinel by filling a bathtub until the water nearly overflowed, then exchanged twenty barrels of high-grade spinel for a barrel of rum.
• Roy offered ale for the flawed low-grade spinel and gave Dashel, Malanduo, and Maigedi salted fish and Breadfruit before they left pleased with the trade.
• Mulin asked Roy about the spinel's value, and Captain Kepler said even a small piece could be traded for a barrel of rum.
• Captain Kepler told Roy that the Logistics Regiment would bring supplies, iron ingots, lumber, and craftsmen to the Second Mine the next day.
• Roy, Mulin, and Captain Kepler discussed why the Gray Dwarves remained underground, citing the Highland Headhunters and their fear of the Dark Moon Elves.

Commander Berkeley delivered supplies and told Roy to manage the plateau’s mines and form a Half-Elf Guard Regiment, warning that the Silver Pegasus Legion might soon withdraw. Roy outlined an ambitious mine expansion plan, distributed clothing to the elves, and sent Mulin to recruit young Half-Elves from the settlements.

• Commander Berkeley arrived at the Second Mine with supplies, and Roy showed him the spinel he had acquired by trading rum for ore with the Gray Dwarves.
• Commander Berkeley told Roy that Earl Swynborne expected him to manage the Spinel and Mithril Mines, form a Half-Elf Guard Regiment, and prepare for the Silver Pegasus Legion’s possible withdrawal.
• Roy presented Commander Berkeley with plans to expand and renovate the mine, including new shafts, elevators, supports, emergency passages, and a light railway.
• Roy distributed robes and shoes to the Half-Elves and Dark Moon Elves, while many Half-Elves chose to remain at the mine instead of returning to their settlements.
• The Gray Dwarves drank the rum Roy had traded them, then resumed mining and postponed their next trade while Elder Ampton spoke of killing the Dark Moon Elves.
• Roy sent Mulin to the Half-Elf settlements with nearly one hundred and thirty miners to recruit young Half-Elves for the Guard Regiment.

The Gray Dwarves resumed mining in exchange for alcohol and food while Roy expanded the Second Mine and organized its growing Half-Elf community. When a Logistics Department adjutant tried to skim supplies, Roy sent him away with loads of worthless ordinary Spinel Ore instead of valuable gems.

• After sobering up, the Gray Dwarves traded spinels to Roy for rum, ale, and flatbread, then returned to mining the northern tunnels under Dark Moon Elf supervision.
• Malanduo and Maigedi mined together while a hidden Dark Moon Elf watched them, and the Dark Moon Elves settled into improved living conditions underground.
• Roy directed the Half-Elves to widen the mine shaft and build an elevator system, then appointed Mulin to command a Half-Elf Guard Regiment at the Second Mine.
• Mulin brought three hundred young Half-Elves to the fortress, and she and Roy discovered that the latest supply delivery was missing several listed items.
• Roy loaded the Logistics Department pack train with ordinary low-grade Spinel Ore after the adjutant requested gems for transport to Valley Camp.

Roy organized supplies and defenses at the Second Mine, forming a Half-Elf guard squad under Mulin to fight the Highland Headhunters. He then arrived at the First Mine with two hundred warriors, where Langbo welcomed the newcomers as the Silver Moon Elves prepared to leave.

• Roy asked Mulin to gather Red Berries, wrote Leishande requesting a pack train, and rationed the mine’s supplies and rum trades.
• Roy oversaw construction of a stable and established an exchange rate of ten barrels of gemstone ore for one barrel of rum.
• Roy formed a five-hundred-warrior Second Mine Guard Squad, appointed Mulin as its commander, and equipped its members with available weapons and armor.
• As Captain Kepler prepared to withdraw the Silver Moon Elf Guard Regiment, Roy took two hundred Half-Elf warriors to the First Mine.
• Langbo welcomed Roy and the arriving Half-Elves at the orderly First Mine, where the newcomers gathered for dinner and played accordions.

Roy formed a First Mine Guard Squad under Langbo, then discovered that ore production had sharply declined because the prisoners and Gray Dwarf bandits underground were in conflict. Langbo stopped Roy from entering the mine alone, so Roy returned to the Second Mine, where the Dark Moon Elves hurried to meet him.

• Roy opened the First Mine warehouse with Langbo and appointed him captain of a new guard squad.
• Roy equipped three hundred Half-Elf Warriors and had them take over the First Mine from Captain Kepler’s departing Silver Moon Elf Guard Regiment.
• Roy found that the First Mine’s Spinel Ore deliveries had fallen to less than a tenth of the Second Mine’s, and Langbo explained that production had declined for two weeks.
• Roy suspected that the Dark Moon Elf prisoners and Gray Dwarf bandits were fighting underground, but Langbo refused to let him enter the mine without a combat squad.
• Roy took Half-Elf Warriors and equipment to the Second Mine, descended underground, and was met by the Dark Moon Elves.

Roy selected ten Dark Moon Elf Warriors to accompany him on an investigation in the First Mine, promising to return them and to free anyone whose sentence had expired. After leading them out of the mine, he brought them to the dining hall, where they adjusted to sunlight and tasted a small return to life outside.

• Roy offered the Dark Moon Elves a temporary mission in the First Mine and promised to verify their sentences and grant freedom to those who had completed them.
• The Dark Moon Elves held a public vote and selected ten warriors, including Timothy, Tennyson, Fielding, Quinnell, Woodrow, and Bessemere.
• Roy ordered the chosen warriors to obey him and stay with the group, and they swore before the Dark Moon Goddess not to leave or betray their companions.
• Roy led the ten Dark Moon Elf Warriors out of the mine and had them cover their eyes as they encountered sunlight.
• Roy brought the warriors to the dining hall, where they ate Breadfruit and drank Lemon Tea while adjusting to life outside the mine.

Roy investigated the First Mine after its Spinel Ore shipments stopped, discovering that Gray Dwarves had seized the living quarters and stockpiled food. As Roy’s forces advanced underground, he learned that the Gray Dwarves were preparing to dig a tunnel to escape.

• Roy recruited twenty Half-Elf Warriors for the First Mine and told Mulin to guard the Second Mine’s Dark Moon Elves and Gray Dwarves.
• Roy rode to the First Mine with thirty Elf Warriors and sent Timothy’s Dark Moon Elf squad underground to scout.
• The Dark Moon Elves subdued two Gray Dwarves guarding the shaft and reported that at least a hundred Gray Dwarves occupied the mine’s living quarters.
• Langbo brought additional Half-Elf Warriors underground, and Roy led the assembled force deeper into the mine.
• The Gray Dwarves prepared to block the shaft and dig an escape tunnel after deciding to flee underground.

Roy and the Half-Elf Warriors attacked the Gray Dwarf Bandits in the mine, defeating them and forcing the survivors to flee. The Dark Moon Elves ambushed Gray Dwarves through the tunnels as Roy joined the pursuit.

• A Half-Elf squad surprised the Gray Dwarves in their cave and fought them with shields, arrows, spears, and Roy’s Hammer of Judgment.
• The Half-Elves killed or wounded many Gray Dwarves, captured the wounded, and drove the survivors into the mine.
• Roy checked the wounded Half-Elves, found four with shattered arms, and followed the others into the mine.
• The Dark Moon Elves hid at key passages and ambushed fleeing Gray Dwarves, killing several without being seen.
• A Dark Moon Elf killed another Gray Dwarf who had warned his companion about the ambush, then vanished into Black Mist.

Roy led Half-Elf Warriors through the mine, capturing surviving Gray Dwarves and finding the starving, injured Dark Moon Elves. He healed their leader, Captain Lambert, with divine magic and Tree of Life Sap, then ordered the elves to work in the mine and arranged food, tents, blankets, and clothes for them.

• Roy and the Half-Elf Warriors captured Gray Dwarves who surrendered, while the Dark Moon Elves continued hunting the fugitives and left many dead.
• After the battle, a Half-Elf Warrior told Roy that the Dark Moon Elves trapped in the mine were injured and in terrible condition.
• Roy found Captain Lambert unconscious with a severely infected shoulder wound and offered to treat him.
• Roy used divine magic to heal Lambert's wound and gave him diluted Tree of Life Sap, improving his condition.
• Roy introduced himself as the Mine Owner and told the Dark Moon Elves to mine ore for him.
• Roy ordered a Half-Elf Warrior to bring the Dark Moon Elves food, tents, blankets, and linen clothes.

Roy inspected the First Mine after the battle, discovered a vast Gray Dwarf treasury and an escape blueprint, and found a captive dwarven artisan of the Copperbeard Tribe. He offered the old dwarf freedom in exchange for working for him, and the artisan was left weighing whether he had any choice.

• Roy saw that more than sixty Gray Dwarves had died and found the remaining Gray Dwarves' food and tool stores in a mine warehouse.
• Timothy led Roy to a treasury filled with high-grade spinels and rare magic ores.
• Timothy showed Roy a blueprint found on the captive old dwarf, who explained that the Gray Dwarves' escape tunnel would hit bedrock.
• Roy learned that the old dwarf was a dwarven artisan of the Copperbeard Tribe and found his designs for mine support frames and tools.
• Roy arranged supplies for the Dark Moon Elves, buried the dead, and planned to record the elves' names and investigate their sentences.
• Roy offered to take the old dwarf out of the mine if he agreed to work for him, and the dwarf asked whether he had any other choice.

Roy rescued the dwarf artisan Putejisi and commissioned him to design a two-cabin mine elevator, while he worked to stabilize the First Mine and manage shortages across the mines. As Roy contended with the logistics department and avoided taking over the Third Mine, investigator Yalilu arrived at the Second Mine to question him.

• Roy freed Putejisi from the mine, gave him a private suite, and asked him to design plans and a model for a two-cabin elevator.
• Putejisi agreed to prepare the elevator plans and a test model in about three weeks.
• Roy restored order at the First Mine, sought more Gray Dwarf miners, and left with Half-Elf and Dark Moon Elf warriors.
• Roy returned to the Second Mine, gave Leishande a supply list, and continued to face delayed materials and dwindling food supplies.
• Roy ignored repeated requests to take over the Third Mine, prompting Valley Camp headquarters to send investigator Yalilu to question him.
• Yalilu reached the Second Mine and saw extensive construction underway outside and inside the fortress.

Roy used Investigator Yalilu’s visit to expose the Second Mine’s food shortages and discrepancies in the Logistics Regiment’s delivery records, prompting an investigation. After the adjutant was transferred to the Empress Ivini Islands, supplies arrived at the mine, and Roy received Viesel’s list of the Dark Moon Elf prisoners’ crimes and sentences.

• Roy recruited three hundred Half-Elves to guard the Second Mine and arranged to buy lumber from their settlements.
• Roy showed Investigator Yalilu the mine’s dwindling food stores and explained that the Logistics Regiment had failed to replenish supplies despite an application two weeks earlier.
• Roy presented Yalilu with inventory receipts showing discrepancies from the Logistics Regiment’s delivery manifest, and Yalilu promised to investigate.
• A week after Yalilu left, Roy learned that the adjutant had been transferred to the Empress Ivini Islands to fight Gray Dwarf Bandits.
• A large shipment of Breadfruit and apples reached the Second Mine, and Roy received Viesel’s list of the Dark Moon Elf prisoners’ crimes and sentences.

Roy freed twelve Dark Moon Elves whose prison sentences had expired, then prepared to take over the Third Mine as military pressure grew elsewhere. He formed a twenty-member Dark Moon Elf Warrior squad led by Timothy and Tennyson.

• Roy announced that twelve Dark Moon Elves could leave the Second Mine, though the Pattington Plane remained under lockdown and the Teleportation Portal was closed.
• Ten freed Dark Moon Elves chose to leave, while two joined the Second Mine Guard Squad; Roy supplied the travelers and equipped the new guards.
• Commander Berkeley delivered supplies and told Roy that the Silver Pegasus Legion planned to advance into the southern plateau after the Highland Headhunters retreated.
• Berkeley said military headquarters wanted troops transferred to the Empress Ivini Islands and warned Roy to be wary of Wendell, prompting Roy to agree to take over the Third Mine.
• Roy recruited a twenty-man Dark Moon Elf Warrior squad, appointing Timothy captain and Tennyson vice-captain.

Roy took over the Third Mine after its Guard Regiment withdrew, only to learn that Gray Dwarves controlled the shafts and were prepared to resist. After Tennyson scouted the mine and found its entrance heavily guarded, Timothy proposed sending several hoist cages down at once to overwhelm them.

• Roy brought the Dark Moon Elf Assassin Squad and sixty Half-Elf Warriors to take over the Third Mine, leaving the Second Mine’s worsening Gray Dwarf problem for later.
• Roy reached the Third Mine after two days of travel and presented his authorization to the Silver Moon Elf guards.
• Captain Cairns completed the handover and withdrew his Guard Regiment, leaving Roy’s eighty Elf Warriors alone in the fortress.
• Roy sent Tennyson into the mine on the hoist cage to scout, and Tennyson found eight armed Gray Dwarf Warriors guarding the shaft entrance.
• Timothy proposed lowering three hoist cages at once so the warriors could withstand the dwarves’ first attack and seize the initiative.

Roy led a surprise assault on the Gray Dwarf Bandits at the Third Mine, but his Half-Elf squad became trapped as the dwarves overwhelmed them. Captain Timothy’s Dark Moon Elf assassins briefly turned the tide, but Moonstone Powder exposed them, and the chapter ended with Roy facing the charging Gray Dwarf Chieftain.

• Roy accepted Timothy’s surprise-attack plan and sent lift cages carrying his Half-Elf squad and two Dark Moon Elf squads down the shaft.
• Roy’s Half-Elves charged the Gray Dwarf guards, killed several bandits, and held the shaft entrance as more dwarves poured in.
• The Gray Dwarf Bandits overwhelmed Roy’s injured squad, but Timothy’s assassins emerged from the shaft walls and slit the throats of the dwarves there.
• The Gray Dwarf Bandits used Moonstone Powder to reveal Timothy’s Dark Moon Elves and force them to retreat from the Mine Road.
• A Gray Dwarf Chieftain charged Roy, whose Holy Light Hammer shattered the head of the chieftain’s hammer before the dwarf reached him.

Roy and the Dark Moon Elf Warriors fought off the Gray Dwarf Bandits until Vitas brought a ballista and reinforcements, forcing the wounded Chieftain to retreat. Roy then questioned captured Gray Dwarves and found the starving Half-Elf miners they had driven into a remote chamber.

• Roy blocked the Gray Dwarf Chieftain's attack with the Hammer of Judgment Book and helped the Dark Moon Elf Warriors reclaim the shaft chamber entrance.
• Roy treated wounded Half-Elf Warriors and held the entrance until Vitas arrived with reinforcements and a small ballista.
• Vitas's ballista bolts wounded the Gray Dwarf Chieftain, who fled into the mine as the Gray Dwarf Bandits retreated.
• Roy led the Half-Elf Warriors into the Gray Dwarves' living chamber and questioned the captured bandits about the Half-Elves in the mine.
• A Gray Dwarf prisoner led Roy's group to a remote chamber, where Roy found starving Half-Elf miners and his warriors gave them food and water.