At the same time, so many threats had suddenly appeared. If someone claimed there was nothing fishy going on, Paul certainly wouldn't believe it... So he sent invitations to heroes far and wide-no, he recruited people from outposts everywhere. Though he managed to bring in a few more warriors, it was only... better than nothing!
Because at that very moment, the bigwigs in Stormwind City, perhaps after taking a kick to the head from a donkey, had suddenly issued an absolute order. Bypassing him, they sent Stormwind City knights straight to the Goldshire Security Office and took away seventy percent of its warriors... And mind you, they took the ones who had served the longest. Then, without stopping, they marched the troops east, presumably to support Lakeshire in the Redridge Mountains.
Paul only received notice afterward, but what could he say? Their reasoning was sound. Goldshire was inland, after all, while the fighting in the Redridge Mountains was dire. The Blackrock Orcs were practically at the village gates. How could they not pull troops away to help?
But what was he supposed to do about the people staging a sit-in outside?
Paul understood them. The higher-ups hadn't just taken his warriors; they had also placed enormous orders with a whole series of smithies and workshops... Under normal circumstances, everyone would surely have been delighted, but pulling something like this at such a critical time was asking for trouble, wasn't it?
Without a source of raw ore, those workshops couldn't operate at all, much less supply such a large quantity of weapons and equipment... If Paul had been the owner of one of those shops, he probably would have packed his bedding and gone somewhere in the Security Office to make his case too.
But even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice, and Paul had no one at his disposal. How could he meet everyone's demands? For now, all he could do was hang out a truce sign, shut his doors, and refuse visitors... Fortunately, they were all neighbors who saw one another every day and knew what each other was like. The workers didn't intend to make things too difficult for him either... At least, nothing particularly drastic had happened so far.
The entrance to the Goldshire Mine wasn't large, only wide enough for four or five adults to pass through. Some sections had mine tracks laid down to let small mine carts travel quickly. The entire mine had a wooden structure, with load-bearing hardwood supports everywhere and large stones reinforcing key points... How should he put it? Walking through here, the great master felt rather unsafe.
The mine ran deep, so natural light alone wouldn't do. Near the entrance, sunlight could still suffice, but farther inside, it was no use at all. A cheap magic lamp had been lit on the wall every few dozen paces, and their dim yellow light was barely enough to see by.
On the Azeroth Continent, commoners used oil lamps, but relying on them all the time was rather inconvenient in many places. Most places had adopted these relatively cheap magic lamps, which could last a long time on a single charge. As for how well they worked... If you wanted to read by one, you might as well forget it, unless you didn't mind becoming nearsighted.
Kobolds were an interesting race. They liked burrowing into caves, mining, and ore, but what did they do with the ore they mined? They would tell you there was no reason needed to like something, even if they actually had little use for the ore, since their industry was so underdeveloped. Simply put, most of them were miners, but few were smiths capable of working the ore. As for the more advanced engineers, those were even rarer...
Most of the time, they traded some low-grade ore to other races for daily necessities. Humans were among those trading partners... Surprised? Heh!
Aige cautiously had the Goldshire Footman raise his shield and walk in front, ready to deal with any attacks that might come. The two Wisps covered his flanks, one on either side, while Aige brought up the rear as overseer and ranged DPS. It was the party's standard formation and worked well in almost any situation.
Every so often, a Kobold miner swung his pickaxe with all his might, mining the ore he loved. And at intervals, a Kobold overseer carrying a candle patrolled past them...
Inside the mine was actually more enjoyable than outside, if they were only talking about leveling...
Outside, they had to move around looking for monsters to fight, spending most of their time walking and searching. Inside was completely different. The monsters were denser and regularly spaced, one every so often. Once they got into a rhythm, it felt great. Though these less-than-heroic Kobolds would sometimes choose to flee, the great master welcomed that. He was a mage, after all. Anyone who showed a mage their back was as good as dead...
Those miners really did have some strength. Their pickaxes whistled through the air and rang loudly when they struck the Goldshire Footman's shield. Even Aige could feel the powerful impact from behind, and a chill ran down his back. As a mage, he didn't dare claim he could withstand a blow like that. An ordinary person would definitely be killed or injured by one... Young Master Ai's body had been strengthened by attribute points, but he still had absolutely no interest in trying it himself.
Back in the game's damned level-45 era, there was an even more damned mechanic: all weapons had proficiency levels. For example, if you were used to a magic staff and someone suddenly gave you a dagger, you could use it, but try stabbing something and every hit would be a Miss. That was because your proficiency was too low. Defense skills worked the same way. Cloth-wearing classes actually had to stand there and let enemies hack at them to raise their defense proficiency...
It was a complete trap. Fortunately, later versions simplified the mechanic and made the game friendlier. Weapon and equipment proficiency became directly tied to character level, meaning players no longer had to throw themselves into packs of monsters and raise their defense levels through pain and pleasure.
Fighting these Kobold miners was hardly a lossless affair. At the very least, the Goldshire Footman needed supplies. After every few Kobolds they killed, Aige had to apply a low-level bandage to the footman and take the opportunity to recover some mana, keeping his mana points from dropping too low...
Cave connected to cave here, just as the song went, with eighteen bends in the mountain road. At almost every turn and junction, his Goldshire Footman had a close encounter with an enemy. Sometimes they happened to run into a patrolling Kobold overseer, and a fierce, chaotic fight would break out...
Honestly, Aige seriously doubted whether other apprentice mages could survive here without followers like his. It was definitely a major question. In fact, before they grew powerful, mages on the Azeroth Continent rarely traveled alone. Most journeyed across the continent in parties. To put it plainly, they completed quests to accumulate experience.
For mages, distance made things beautiful. Every mage was extremely sensitive to distance, since they had to rely on it to eliminate enemies before they drew close. If they couldn't, the only outcome was death. Frail-bodied mages possessed unparalleled ranged attacking power, but their inability to take on melee classes head-on was a well-known weakness. If they couldn't kill their enemies before those enemies got their hands on them, they had to rely on teammates...
In fact, most low-level mages acted in parties. That was only a generalization. High-level mages actually had followers: some warriors were willing to follow mages and become the shields before them. That would be explained in detail later.
Aige was different. With the help of his Hearthstone followers, he effectively had a meat shield, allowing him to deal damage from the back without worry... Should he worry that this would make him less vigilant, or deprive him of chances to practice and hone his skills? As someone who had previously been a rogue with slick positioning, his grasp of distance was already etched into his bones. Though he might indeed have grown rusty in some areas, overall, he considered himself second to none in positioning and awareness.
Along the way, what struck him most was the abundance of rich mineral deposits in the Goldshire Mine. Rich copper veins were often found exposed right out in the open, making them easy to mine. Even an apprentice miner who came here would surely reap a great harvest. It truly deserved its reputation as a paradise for novice miners in the game. Even Young Master Aige was itching to get started. Though he had no mining skill, as luck would have it, a Kobold pickaxe had dropped for him... For a great rogue who had spent decades devoted to mining, this was undoubtedly shaping up to be a case of wanting to chop his own hands off...
The only thing spoiling the scene was the constant presence of Kobold miners and overseers. To secure benefits for more of his miner brothers, the great master might just have to carry out justice on heaven's behalf.
Of course, he actually barely knew those so-called miner friends and had no connection to them whatsoever. He was just making excuses to amuse himself. After all, whatever the case, they were standing in the young master's way of making money. How could he let them off easily?
The path was winding and difficult, but Aige was in his element here. With three bodyguards protecting him and no damned stealthed rogues around, his safety as a mage was well assured. The party's advance soon settled into a rhythm Aige liked...
Using Aige's party's classic formation, Aige first cast a Frostbolt from the rear, freezing and slowing the enemy while dealing considerable damage and pulling the targeted Kobold over from a distance. Then the Goldshire Footman hit it right in the face with a "Punk!" Taunt, drawing its attention. After that, things were simple: both Wisps immediately swarmed it, with Aige's Lesser Fireballs mixed in...
Innocent Kobolds kept dying horribly to Fireball, their hard-earned handfuls of copper coins and ore stolen by the damned invader. They couldn't even keep their lives. And that villain was, of course, a certain wicked young master. He had come to adore these Kobolds: their health wasn't high, their experience wasn't low, and they dropped money, cloth, ore, and even the quest items of candles and gold dust. They truly were good teachers and helpful friends on the great master's path to leveling... The young master felt a strong urge to compose a poem for them.
He had even thought of a title: Ah, Kobolds, Friends of Novices!