Chapter 141: Andemuge

"I have come to understand. When the caravan returns to the Everpeak, I will report what I have seen and heard to my father. If it is convenient, you all may entrust your difficulties and requests to me in the form of letters; that way, there will be substance to my words."

Sinuoli was not qualified to intervene in this matter now; he had not received the relevant authorization, but he did not want to sit idly by while his kin suffered. To some extent, these relatively open-minded Empire Dwarfs were more receptive to his plan to revitalize the Mountain Kingdom.

"That's not quite..." The Mason Elder still wanted to decline, but Sinuoli interrupted him directly and signaled for the tavern owner to continue talking about Andemuge.

"It's just that, facing the unfair treatment suffered by our kin, Andemuge sees it in his eyes and feels the anger in his heart! He and his men have been standing up for those suffering kin in all sorts of ways."

The owner spoke while occasionally looking up to gauge Sinuoli's expression, so as to maintain a reasonable scale of speech in front of a high-ranking person. This was undoubtedly a sense developed from working in the service industry for a long time.

Sinuoli remained indifferent to these things; as long as his kin or the Ancestor Goddess were not directly offended, he was not very sensitive.

"As time passed, he discovered that the little strength he had around him was not enough. You know, we Sons of the Mountains can't compare in population to those short-lived human brats, especially when we are on their turf!"

Seeing that Sinuoli was quite indulgent, the tavern owner spoke with more fire; it seemed he had not been spared from exploitation during this time.

"Andemuge formed a mutual protection pact with other enterprising young people in the settlements. No matter which settlement was being tormented by the human brats, kin from other places would rush over to help. Right now, he has taken a hundred or so men and run off to the Grey Lady Pass!"

Sinuoli nodded repeatedly after hearing the story of Andemuge. In his view, this Andemuge was a fellow with both ideas and ability; if there was an opportunity, he would very much like to meet him.

"So our settlement doesn't have many able-bodied men right now, and no extra manpower to clear out the Skaven, right?" Sinuoli finally summarized.

Watching the Empire Dwarfs in the room nod repeatedly, Sinuoli smiled and finished the beer in his cup.

"Very well, I permit you all to hire the caravan guards to do what you need, but you must handle the specific details yourselves! Whether there are any applicants depends on you." Sinuoli finally relented.

"But you must be quick! I must arrive at Kalake-Zifulin before the New Year; this is my duty!"

He added at the end. The duty of the caravan guards was to protect the caravan, which would not be relaxed just because they had entered a settlement; allowing them to take private jobs was already a compromise on Sinuoli's part.

"Understood, understood! Thank you for your help!" The Mason Elder was quite satisfied with this, and he immediately issued an invitation.

"By the way, may I ask if you have time tonight to preside over a ritual? We wanderers far from home have not bathed in the grace of our ancestors for too long."

Sinuoli naturally had no objection to this. He did not mind doing things that could increase his influence, gain Revival Points, and spread the grace of the Mother Goddess all at once.

After agreeing on the specific time for the ceremony and the necessary offerings, Sinuoli stretched his limbs and returned to his guest room.

He was not in a hurry for the evening ritual. Generally speaking, the temples of the Dwarf Ancestor Gods outside the mountains were usually located in the basements of the settlement's largest industry. For the settlement in Helmgart, that temple was right under this tavern.

For Empire Dwarfs living alone in villages, this would be simpler; they would usually place a Shenkan dedicated to Grungni and their clan ancestors in a cellar or a corner of their workshop.

Just as Sinuoli was preparing to go back and nap for a while to adjust his state, things were not peaceful in the sewers of Helmgart.

"Seer, Seer, there are beard-things!" A sharp and garbled voice rang out.

Grey Seer Kodelu-Ruizhua raised his head from the filthy scroll before him. He covered his entire grey-furred body with a standard grey robe, and the pair of curled horns on his head further highlighted the favor this rat had received from the Great Horned Rat.

"Yes, Yes! This I know!" Kodelu flicked his long tail. "Wasn't this already investigated clearly? Beard-things, five hundred, five hundred! But they are all old, weak, sick, and disabled!"

"Seer, a new batch of beard-things has arrived, many, many!" the Skaven scout continued.

"Many? Impossible! Impossible! Their beards should have been cut off by that, that big fat Greenskin!" the Grey Seer shrieked. Clearly, apart from the Great Horned Rat himself, no creature in this world liked plans failing to keep up with changes.

"Did the beard-things discover Kodelu's plan? No, no! But they are troublesome, troublesome! Harder to deal with than human-things!"

"What to do? Are we, are we still going to subvert this human-thing stronghold?" Another grey-robed Skaven poked its head out from behind Kodelu.

This Skaven looked very young; compared to the twisted bone horns on Kodelu's head, its horns were at most bone protrusions sticking out from its fur.

The vast majority of Skaven were as cowardly as Goblins. In their rat-creed, running away and retreating were never derogatory terms.

"Hmph-hmph! Little rat, do you want Kodelu to fail the mission, the mission, and then be punished, punished by Grey Claw High Priest Kelitesilike?" Kodelu narrowed his red eyes and stared at his young junior.

The Grey Seers were an independent clan, managed by a council composed of one hundred and sixty-nine powerful Skaven. This was because the holy number of the Great Horned Rat was thirteen, and the rat-folk chose the square of thirteen.

Every official Grey Seer Councilor held a very high status in the Skaven Empire. To avoid the internal friction caused by the base nature deep in the Skaven bloodline and to ensure everyone worked together for the great cause of the Horned Rat, the Grey Seer Council strictly forbade official Grey Seers from openly killing each other.

If a Grey Seer violated this, they would be directly kicked out of the council, stripped of the title of official Grey Seer, and hunted down.

But the problem was, it was almost impossible for young juniors to become official Grey Seers by waiting. These fellows could cast powerful Skaven Magic and also knew the technique of using Warpstone to make life-extending potions.

The current Grey Claw High Priest already had a lifespan of hundreds of years, which was unimaginable for short-lived species like the Skaven.

To successfully ascend and enjoy the servants, lifespan, mating rights, etc., that came with power, new Grey Seer candidates could only find ways to kill an official member and then logically inherit everything it had.

Thanks to Cangjiang Sea Area for the monthly ticket, Wanghou Yanhaiya for the monthly ticket.