"What the hell is this trench supposed to be? Why is it so different from the map? Didn't you survey the ground before you started? Or did you all drink too much horse piss last night and lose your eyesight?
This is dereliction of duty!
Every last one of you is going before a court-martial!"
While Murphy and Happy Stick discussed military affairs high above, down on the defensive line, "Samoyelia," dressed in the uniform of the Stonemasons' Guild, was cursing out two foremen beside him, a measuring rod boosted by psionic power in his grip.
He roared like an enraged lion:
"I don't blame the kobolds for not understanding the blueprints. They're brainless. They can't make sense of all these lines and figures. But you're brainless too? You can't read them either? You've got three hours to fill in this trench and dig it again!
If you delay the whole construction schedule, I'll personally drag you before the tribunal!"
Under his reprimand, the two newly promoted foremen kept their heads down, not daring to argue. At his command, they hurried off to gather the kobold laborers and start digging again.
The kobolds had no complaints.
They liked digging trenches anyway, and now they could earn their meals—and even candles—just by digging. It was practically the perfect life.
Having to redo the work was no problem for their feeble intellects, but the human laborers working alongside them couldn't stand it. They clamored for an explanation from Samoyelia, but the foremen held them back.
Although Samoyelia had been in Transia for less than a month, his reputation as the "Grand Overseer" had already become legendary within the Stonemasons' Guild.
Unlike the ash-covered laborers and bricklayers, who had plenty of theoretical knowledge but little practical experience, Samoyelia had worked in civil engineering