Later that day, Little Smo returned to the Tunnel in ordinary clothes.
He had only been gone a short while, but the Ratfolk Artisans had dug another five or six meters.
No wonder the Ratfolk could build one enormous Hive City after another underground...
Gale was overseeing the work. When Little Smo arrived, she merely gave him a cold nod and said, "Tell me if anyone disobeys." Then she left to spend time with Annan.
Soon, only the clang of pickaxes and the spray of sparks echoed from deep in the Tunnel.
The Ratfolk worked while the human laborers swung their pickaxes. They kept working while the laborers hauled rubble out of the Tunnel. When the laborers rested, they worked even harder.
Even Eli felt tired on their behalf. Whenever he brought food, he made the Ratfolk take a break, if only for a few minutes.
The Ratfolk Artisans gathered around the food bucket and dug in. Little Smo wandered over to where they had piled their Gauntlets. He picked one up and, filthy as it was, slipped it on, clumsily imitating the Artisans' swings.
No... A single gauntlet weighed over ten pounds. Forget striking rock with it—just swinging it nearly pulled me off my feet...
No wonder these Ratfolk had such strange builds. A full-force blow from one of those Gauntlets could probably tear through Plate Armor.
If I were a Warrior, I'd probably have the strength to swing one too.
Regretfully, Little Smo put the gauntlet back. Only the head Ratfolk artisan lifted its head to glance his way.
As commander of the Blade of Freedom, Little Smo was entitled to a bottle of Mountain Essence, but he had refused it.
Just as he had come here to work as a laborer, he believed the Mountain Essence should