Interlude: Atohi the Fearless

Atohi had heard from other delvers that Owl Station was run by a giant owl. He had always assumed it was a figure of speech. Like the governor of the station was into books, or stayed up late.

So it was to his great surprise when he entered the governors office and came face to face with a massive owl.

“Ah, my secretary tells me that you are the delver leading the team into the iron mine?” To Atohi’s amazement, the owl’s beak moved up and down, producing a smooth, rich, and distinctly human voice.

For a moment, all Atohi could do was stare, the incongruity of the situation eating away at him.

“Oh, yeah man, owl, governor, sir.” Atohi finally stammered.

“Right. Well, I wanted to make sure your team was up to the task. Your levels are in the mid 40’s?” The owl answered.

“Our highest is nearly 50.”

“Good, the golems in the mine shouldn’t give your team much trouble then.” The owl continued. “But that’s not why you’re here. I like to meet any delvers that Owl Station signs a contract with. It’s good business to keep up relations.”

“Yeah man, for sure. I’m, like, all about that.” Atohi wondered if the mushrooms Inola gave him last night had worn off yet.

“Anyway, I will not take up more of your time. The mines were closed down this morning. As per the contract I expect we’ll be able to open them again within three days?”

“Oh, of course, man, er, sir.”

The owl dismissed him with a click and a ruffle of its feathers. Atohi turned from the office, stepping out into the reception hall.

He was about to leave when he spotted the clerk returning to their desk.

“Did you, like, know your boss was an owl… or?” He asked.

The clerk looked at him with a confused expression.

“I thought it was well known.” They said.

-

Once he had returned to the Owl Station Delver’s Guild, Atohi searched for his companions. The duo were sitting at a table, enjoying the guild’s best ale.

He took his seat at the table and wordlessly accepted a mug from Genoa. The man was like a steel mountain with all the plate armor he wore.

Taking a sip, he asked, “Did you guys know the governor here is like, literally an owl?”

“I thought it was a manner of speech.” Inola replied, shifting the crooked witch’s cap on her head.

“No, like, the governor is literally a massive owl, man.” Atohi said.

“No shit, huh?”

Genoa grunted in response, he never talked much.

“Genoa wants us to head to the mines now that you’ve spoken with the governor.” Inola’s hat nearly slid off the side of her head and she hastily adjusted it once more.

“I don’t know why you insist on wearing that thing, man. It’s so unpractical!” stated Atohi.

“It’s an aesthetic.” She replied.

-

The mines were well lit, thankfully. Atohi was beginning to hate earth manipulators who didn’t bother lighting up the area behind them. He knew they weren’t always personally responsible, he just needed someone to blame. Pitch black tunnels, caves, and dungeons were the worst.

He was used to this kind of work. The System never let anyone have stuff easy. Whenever people started mining, they often had to deal with all kinds of nasties. But hey, golems usually stuck around after they died. Being able to use them as material was like a consolation prize.

The first iron golem they came across had been a cakewalk. Atohi simply opened a [Lesser Portal] below the monster, with the exit above the entrance. The group watched the monster fall for a couple minutes. Inola hummed a catchy tune.

“You know Genoa, I can like, barely tell the difference between these golems and you.” Atohi commented.

A grunt was all he got in reply.

Atohi released the [Lesser Portal] and watched the iron golem slam into the ground.

“Shit, I hope they don’t mind if we scuff the place up a little.”

He hadn’t gotten a notification about defeating the enemy, so the golem must have been alive after its abrupt meeting with the ground. Genoa was already moving to slam the golem repeatedly with a wicked looking mace.

Inola glowed with a deep purple light, and a shadowy energy sprouted from the weapon.

Atohi found a nice waist high chunk of rock and took a seat. “Ah, it’s the little things in life.”