I Own a Brothel in Another World

Chapter 216 – Chase the Light

“No, seriously, I really need to know what you’ve done to this saddle.” I keep staring down the crafty Dwarf acting all shy. “At this point, I don’t know if I even can call it that.”

“You use it to ride on Diana’s back, do you not, Master?” Sirgia asks innocently.

“Don’t get smart with me, girlie.” Squinting, I point at her. “You know what I mean.”

Showing a big smile, she tones down the cute act and trots up to me, giving me a delicate hug. “I just figured out that with all this empty space due to its size, I could add a few things and make it more useful for you, Master. Diana is so big we were able to fit five different weapon modules into the design. Plus a few more utility ones.”

Brushing my fingers through her fragrant hair, I shake my head. “And here I thought that trick with the handles was all to it. But, I should have expected that my little Dwarf genius wouldn’t stop at the more indecent concepts. You aren’t that far gone, are you?”

A deep blush taking over her soft cheeks makes it clear that I might not have yet seen everything related to that purpose. Rolling my eyes playfully, I lean down to place an appreciative kiss on Sirgia’s forehead.

“This was fun. A lot. But, it would have been much safer if you told me about some of these beforehand. Diana had to guide me and I feel like we would have done much better while properly cooperating, which we began doing near the very end,” I explain.

“I wanted to surprise you, Master. Hoped to make a presentation soon. I’m sorry for delaying it so much.” An honest apology is what I receive in return judging by the slightly sad glance.

“It’s alright. Things often don’t go according to plans and you know it.” I give Sirgia a few more loving pats. “What can you tell me about it now? The presentation is pretty much over, and I did get a nice look.”

We move closer to Diana, who remains vigilant as her purplish tongue hangs out off her muzzle while she cools herself down with rather adorable canine panting. My tiny lover looks the saddle over, and understanding her intentions, I lift Sirgia so she can examine the potential damage much easier, checking if nothing requires her immediate attention.

A few minutes later, I bring her down and Diana sets her impressive body on the ground too, allowing us to rest on her. Sirgia gently brushes her fur while returning her attention to me.

“So far, you discovered the chain shot, the pellet burst, the harpoon launcher, and the net caster,” she lists while counting on her fingers. “I don’t think I need to explain their respective roles. From what I have seen, you used all of them properly. Well, besides the harpoon. It was intended as a tool to bring the target down or hold it in place by multiple individuals, not to be used as a swing.”

“The credit for that one goes to Diana.” I give our clever girl a few ear rubs. “You two must have tested these quite a lot for her to already be comfortable coming up with new uses.”

“A little bit. We didn’t have that much time since she joined our family just recently, but I could tell that she enjoyed the test runs in the forests around the city,” Sirgia replies with a tiny smile. “There is one more basic function, which I’m thankful you haven’t used. Enclosed spaces aren’t the best environment to release it. Plus, Wyvern scales are fairly heat resistant, even if they are far from immune.”

“Heat?” I raise a curious brow at her.

“The last contraption is a high-pressure tubular liquid spraying system. But, the actual liquid is easily flammable and hard to douse. There’s a sparkstone attached at the end of the channel to ignite it on exit. I think you can imagine the inconvenience of having half of the fortifications covered in that post-battle,” she explains with a fierce glint in her pretty eyes.

A flamethrower.

She’s attached a freaking flamethrower to the dog.

Goddess almighty…

“And… it’s completely safe for Diana, right?” I smile wryly.

“Of course. The entire thing is mounted far on the sides so that any excess can drop away from Diana’s fur, even if there shouldn’t be any with how it’s designed. But, I wouldn’t risk our friend’s safety ever. We have thoroughly examined the results with water and other substances first. Even if used mid-sprint, there is no risk of getting burned or accidentally catching on fire. You can trust me on that, Master.” Sirgia stares back at me with strong confidence, though I can tell she is anxious deep down.

And it’s not about her creation failing.

“You know I always trust you.” Placing my palms over her warm cheeks, I join our lips in a tender kiss. “You have never given me a reason not to. Plus, I bet you have introduced a safety measure in case something happens even when it has almost no right to.”

She mumbles something while directing her adorable face down.

“Sorry?” I lift her chin back up.

“Seven of them…” the little Dwarf lady whispers, her eyes timidly escaping to the side.

I snort quietly and let out an amused chuckle. “See? I can’t even imagine three ways of preventing accidents yet you have come up with so many. I love how creative and hard-working you are. And I’m sure Diana does too.”

The wolf-in-question tilts her head our way and nudges Sirgia’s cheek with her big snout, causing the lovely girl to giggle shyly.

“One thing keeps me wondering, though.” I capture her attention again. “Where does all of this hide? We are talking about five or more contraptions, no matter how big the saddle is. All that gear is squeezed inside the material?”

“Only the devices themselves, Master.” Sirgia starts working on some latches, belts, pins, and other stuff to reveal what looks like part of the flamethrower piping winding around the rest of the equipment. “All the ammunition is kept in dedicated spatial storages linked to the respective weapons. It’s both much safer and frees up a lot of space. Weight reduction is extremely important for projects like these. Especially when you want to further reinforce the whole thing to function not just as a carrier for the implanted gadgets but also a highly effective armour.”

“A great idea. Getting hit in the munition reserves was a big issue back home. I’m glad this is not a problem here since they are attached to a living being. Well, save for the moment when the liquid flows through the pipes as the flamethrower is used, but that’s unavoidable. And they seem decently insulated.” I nod to myself and help her close the gap. “Is that all?”

“There are a few situational and environmental functions to mention but that would take a while,” Sirgia answers. “Like the tent-blanket that kept Diana protected overnight. Or buoyant self-expanding bags in case you end up in deep water with no land in sight. Or gelatine launchers that create a safety bed in case of an abrupt fall from grand heights.”

Ruffling through her brown hair, I grin proudly. “You’ve thought of almost everything, haven’t you? I can sleep easy knowing you are my personal mechanic. I hope this journey will be enough to learn all the little secrets you have hidden in this masterpiece of yours.”

“I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece…” She once more starts timidly digging her foot into the floor.

“I would and that’s final.” With one last peck on her rosy cheek, I get up. “Now, how the hell did those bastards get in here if it’s supposed to be a super-sealed ancient fortress?”

“Inversicate is highly durable, but it’s not impenetrable.” Sirgia hops after me as I go around Diana to look around. “After so long, it’s possible that a natural breach has been created somewhere around. It might link to a cavern where these Wyverns used to have their nest before. It’s the only explanation I can come up with.”

“So, they panicked because we showed up in their new territory that they considered safe.” I stroke my chin ponderingly. “Is it possible they came from the inside? I’m not sure if they would have anything to feed on, but these guys seem… off? They are smaller than what I’ve read and seen, and it doesn’t feel related to their age.”

“Hmmm… You are right, Master…” My keen Dwarf wife crouches down to take a better look at one of her kills. “Their scales are somewhat softer too… They are slightly different from how I remember the wild Wyverns from back home…”

“This is a wild idea, but… could your ancestors have been raising them?” I suggest.

Her radiant eyes find mine. “A domesticated Wyvern… Breed specifically for the purpose of… Transport! That could be it!”

An equally sunny smile curls her petite lips up.

“There are no cart tracks on this road or any parts of other transit systems like cable lines for aerial lifts! If the ancestors managed to tame a tribe of Wyverns to do the heavy work, it would have certainly sped up everything as travelling under the ceiling would not come in conflict with the travellers moving on the ground!” she sums up excitedly. “But, you are right about the sustenance. There is no way the remnants of the domesticated creatures could find enough unspoiled meat to survive here. And they don’t show symptoms of cannibalism.”

“Let’s try looking around and see what we can find,” I propose, glancing towards the left side of the buildings. “Do you think they had a map of this place or simply memorised it?”

“I don’t know. Either could be possible, Master.” Sirgia shakes her head. “Let me just clean these bodies up with Diana and we can move. I’m glad she will have some fresh meat to dine on while we are moving through these tunnels. At least for a while.”

I let out a quiet chuckle. She’s not exactly wrong. These Wyverns have come in clutch. The meat should be fine for some time in the spatial gems.

Naturally, I give these two a hand. I’m not going to simply stand there and watch the girls do all the dirty work for me. Sirgia has already stained her impressive armour with enough blood as it is. Diana hasn’t been spared either. We’ll need a good long bath to get rid of all this red. It looks like we are taking the dog with us this time.

In a matter of minutes, we collect whatever we can and get even dirtier thanks to all that thick dust lying around everywhere. It makes Diana sneeze frantically and us laugh at the amusing show and sound. She always shakes her head while doing that, kicking up even more dust in the process.

After being done, we need to pick the direction. Without too much conflict, we decide on the side where the Wyverns first came from. We climb up to the first level of the old battlements and look for an entrance, finding it right away. There might have been wooden doors locking it down once in the past, but only the metal hinges are now left behind.

It feels like we are entering a haunted house from the very moment the three of us pass the doorstep. There’s no light other than our headlamps, which illuminate everything perfectly like the strongest LED flashlights you often see blast the sky open in those presentation videos, but that only counts for the room we are in. Scary shadows dance past the edges of other doorways and intersections. Not to mention all the furniture and appliances.

Anything wooden is either in pieces or far in the process of decomposition. Only the mineral and metal stuff retain their original shape if we ignore all the rust and sediment. The first few chambers we go through are nothing special. They are the closest to the outside so it’s fair that they would be kept more or less empty in case the enemy pushed inside.

Then, we move into longer corridors and hallways, all made from the same grey Inversicate if I’m not mistaken. Crystal lamps decorate the ceiling or the walls depending on the section. All of them are black, of course. Sirgia tries her best to lead us through this maze and find some kind of a command centre or anything of importance, basing her tour on whatever Dwarven knowledge she possesses in that wise head of hers.

Obviously, no maps are hanging on the walls for all to see.

What is on the walls are traces of claws and scrapes at various heights. There is no doubt this belongs to the Wyverns, who had a fairly hard time squeezing around the Dwarf-sized passages. Maybe this is one of the reasons why they are smaller. Evolution as one would call it.

But that would mean they lived here for quite some time, leaning towards the second of our theories.

Sirgia suggests following them to verify that we have truly taken care of all the Wyverns before settling down for the night and I agree with her. These beasties have been rather curious and inquisitive because we are led into multiple rooms and corridors on the sides. That also means we stumble on occasional droppings and other unbecoming of such location decorations. It’s pretty much confirmed they lived here.

As for what other things we find in the rooms, there’s not much. The shelves, cabinets, and counters mostly offer tableware, utensils, various containers for liquids, specifically an abundance of steel mugs, and so on. Occasionally, we go inside small storages and gear repositories, where stands with weapons and armour are set in rows.

Most of those have been taken away judging by the visible numbers, but the Dwarves still left behind quite a collection of leather and metal armour. It’s now all pretty much derelict after this much time without proper maintenance and after being used as chewing toys by the Wyverns. A few swords, hammers, and axes do appear alright, made from something better, but we choose not to investigate after Sirgia waves her hand at me.

Nothing of significance would have been left to rot in the common rooms.

Well, there’s also the matter of how much has actually been left behind. Some stuff had to be taken away with at least part of the population that didn’t wish to die on top of this hill. I don’t think they would have been this united. It’s almost never possible. But, some of the most dedicated and selfless individuals definitely chose to guard these secrets until their last breath.

About half an hour later, we notice a slight draft from ahead and exchange glances. Considering this is an enclosed space, something like that shouldn’t exist. And it doesn’t feel artificial or like the breath of a massive sleeping monster. Wary of any traps or ambushes, we move forward carefully, our weapons at the ready. Diana slowly paces behind us, just as attentive.

If we stumble on any Dwarves or other humanoids, the sight of a massive black wolf with a glowing purple tongue and mouth filling the corridor completely should be a decent intimidation advantage.

But, when we step into a sizable chamber, we spot the source of the cold wind. The upper left corner of the room has a rough hole in it, through which moisture drips down onto the wall and the floor. From the looks of all the claw marks and chipped-off mineral, it’s been dug out from this side, barely wide enough to fit our winged friends.

They must have somehow sensed that this was the weakest link in the entire structure, perhaps eroded from the other side by the force of nature. This Inversicate might be incredible against magic, but as Sirgia said, it’s not invulnerable to everything else. The water that makes its way in here had to have been prodding at the edges of the keep for decades, thinning the barrier considerably. Then, these crafty beasties simply finished the work by making a new passage into…

A natural cavern, I think.

“If this leads outside, the Wyverns might have been using this place as their nest and hunted for prey in the mountains,” Sirgia notes thoughtfully. “The hole came from this side. You might be right about them being a domesticated group, Master.”

“That will become certain if we find any signs of an incubation sector or something.” I plop a hand on top of her head as she examines the rough exit. “Should we deal with this? It’s a potential risk. Someone could find it one day.”

“The chances of that happening are low as this has to be a cavern deep inside one of the main peaks. But, we could ask Diana to verify that for us. If it’s easily accessible, we’ll seal it right away. If not, we should be able to leave it for later. Perhaps for the morning. Though, it might be hard to tell when that is.” She glances up at me adorably.

“We’ll be spending days here if not more so let’s not bother ourselves with stuff like that.” I smile at her reassuringly. “Day or night won’t matter as long as we feel rested. And your mansion can imitate the rising sun so we won’t go crazy from the switch of environment.”

“You are right, Master.” Sirgia nods and turns to Diana. “Would you mind helping us out?”

The big bad wolf parades closer to our spot and gives Sirgia a long lick, evoking a sweet chuckle from the Dwarf. Then, Diana skilfully hops into the breach and rushes into the unknown. She immediately starts conveying her thoughts through images to me and I focus on processing them, watching the flashes of a dark and complex system of caverns spanning over the nearby area.

Five minutes later, I recall her to our side, judging that we are safe enough. She reappears in the room from the shadows with some water dripping down her muzzle. An underground stream must have been located somewhere on her path, allowing our friend to quench her thirst. In case of an emergency, she will be able to lead us there.

Since it’s already been late when we solved the puzzle at the entrance, we decide to take a break before continuing our exploration. Moving to another room, we tidy it up a little for Diana’s sake, prepare comfy bedding for her, and hide our suitcase behind a set of illusory runes. For a moment, I wonder how we will fit her into the opening to clean her up on the inside, but Diana’s body turns into smoke as she dives in, using her ability right as she passes the magical boundary. Descending the stairs, we find her waiting for us in the lobby.

Without further ado, we head for the baths and jump straight in. Diana doesn’t give us any problems with washing her. On the contrary, she seems content being taken care of by the two of us. We share a pleasant moment working on our big dog from all angles. The pool gets a little chaotic each time she moves, making us laugh and hold onto whatever we can.

Then, we move to the kitchen. There’s not much Siriga has to do with the meat for Diana, but she still gives it her all to prepare a decent feast for our four-legged companion. It doesn’t take long and we switch to our own meals while she chomps on the Wyvern delicacy on the floor.

Not wanting to disturb her, we proceed to eat in the kitchen too, chatting about the adventure so far. Sirgia has many ideas about what we might find inside this place, but nothing is certain since most of them are based on stories and legends. The one thing she is sure about is the power chamber with some kind of gem furnace. It would be good to locate it first or we will be forced to explore in total darkness, relying only on our lights.

After we are done, Sirgia retreats to the bedroom while I escort Diana outside and give our proud guardian some scratches before clocking in for the night. My lovely wife is already waiting for me with a delicate flush on her pretty cheeks, the lack of anything underneath the covers rather obvious. But, we simply choose to cuddle affectionately and drift off into the dreamland in each other’s embrace.

The morning follows a similar pattern but in a reversed order. In an hour, we are ready to delve deeper, Diana is already back in her harness and with the suitcase attached to her side. Before departing, though, we spend a bit more time to secure the breach. It’s nothing fancy, but Sirgia creates a makeshift grating with the tools she has on herself, which are a lot, and attaches it to the wall. Infused with mana, it shimmers and becomes an illusory image too. This should make it harder to be spotted from the outside.

Returning to the middle of the defensive arena, we gaze into the depths of the ancient refuge.

“So, according to the plan?” I ask.

Sirgia nods and gets to work.

Yesterday, she came up with an idea on how to locate the heart of the power installation without spending weeks in its search. While the ducts can carry mana to the light crystals, nothing says they can’t work the other way too. But, she needs to send a perfectly calculated pulse that will pass through the bulbs without triggering them and spending that energy. If she succeeds, we will rely on Diana’s speed to follow the trail until the very furnace or battery, whichever is real.

So, the first step is to reach the ducts. Which are high above us in the ceiling. But, I have a solution.

“Ready for a little fun, Diana?” I smirk at my canine partner and receive a quiet bark of confirmation in response.

Hopping into the saddle, I pull the lever that ties me to the stirrups and grab the handles. Diana gives me one last glance over her shoulder before grabbing Sirgia by the collar with her sharp teeth and hoisting the little Dwarf into my lap with a surprised squawk from the victim. Pressing myself onto Sirgia, I trap her between my body and the saddle and prepare us for what’s to come.

We sprint forward and disappear into the world of shadows before we crash into the wall. Just like yesterday, we emerge from the ceiling while upside down. Sirgia lets out a shocked yelp at the sight but Diana is already twisting herself around. As we begin to fall, I aim at the ceiling and press both triggers at once, sending two harpoons out of the launchers. They pierce into the tough surface quite deeply, making me realise that they are additionally spinning like drills, and end up stuck halfway in the carved channels.

Now aware of where the ropes come from, I hastily let go of the sticks and grab the lines before we descend further than their length extends. With a few twirls, I coil them around my forearms and grab the fleeting snakes, clenching my teeth. Sirgia squeaks as a violent tug sends us into an arc, but I’m already grinning at the fact that the harpoons held. And they have hit perfectly where I wanted them.

With Diana’s help, we lose the momentum until we end up still in the air. Sirgia opens her eyes and straightens up now that I no longer pin her to the saddle. Her petite fingers quickly grasp the edge of the seat at the front as she notices the ground. I would reassure her with a firm grip, but unfortunately, both of my hands are tied at the moment.

Literally and figuratively.

So, not to prolong the situation we have found ourselves in, I start to slowly pull us up. We haven’t fallen too far, so it’s not that much to go. Bit by bit, one hand at a time, I bring us closer to the ceiling while Sirgia peeks at me with a glint of wonder in her beautiful dark caramel eyes. And when those charming eyes skip down my quite flexed front, she can’t help herself from nibbling on her bottom lip as they rove over the section where my clothes got pulled up, which becomes a tad distracting.

Directing my attention to the task at hand, I get us where we need to be and lock gazes with Diana. Knowing my intentions well through our bond, she starts moving in a way that pushes us into a swinging motion again. We work together to increase that force since it’s rather tough on short ropes, but after a few good swings, we reach the horizontal line.

At that very moment, I give the ropes one mighty pull and drag my legs up. We flip upside down, with Sirgia once more pressed tightly into the saddle, as Diana’s paws hit the ceiling. Securing her footing, she turns her head to me and lolls her tongue out, her tail starting to wag.

Smirking softly, I move my mouth closer to Sirgia’s ear. “Now, be a good sport and get on her belly. I don’t know if these harpoons can stay in the ceiling forever.”

“You are insane, Master.” A mesmerising giggle escapes her lips. “But that was amazing.”

Shuffling carefully, she flips herself around, effectively sitting on my stomach now as I keep leaning forward. She flushes deeply as our eyes meet and just has to sneak a peck on my lips right when I can’t do anything about it. And from the look she gives me, she would love to do even more if the situation wasn’t this dire.

Using my armour and Diana’s fur as handholds, she wiggles her way onto the wolf’s side before crawling onto our furry friend’s belly. Ensuring she has proper balance, she stands up and chuckles at the silly sight of Diana’s head peering at her between her front legs. Giving our canine companion a few pats on the snout, she turns to the crystal just above her.

“Be ready to drop us down when I tell you, Master,” she warns me and I nod to myself.

I can’t see that much over Diana’s bulky frame, but I can tell she has brought out some kind of a hand-sized contraption which emits light of various colours from its runes, sigils, or whatever those are. A bigger flash illuminates the ceiling briefly and I can see some kind of an energy flow through the duct, switching the black crystals on as it passes through them. For a moment, they give the tunnel a warm, yellowish hue, but the spark doesn’t travel further than three or four gems.

“Wrong…” Sirgia mutters under her nose.

She tries again, and after another flash, the energy once more dissipates throughout the installation, but this time travelling slightly further with a much weaker glow from the crystals. Sirgia curses cutely under her nose and keeps at it, adjusting that gadget of hers to find the right frequency I would say. Or something like that.

Two more fails take place before Sirgia lets out a deep sigh. Each one was closer to the target, but still slightly off. It’s clear she is having doubts as no more follow.

“Come on, I know you can do it. It’s almost there, I can feel it. Take your time and I’ll wait here with a big, loving kiss for when you get it right,” I attempt to cheer her up at least a little.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell what her expression looks like, but she reaches above her head again and gives it another try. The flash that she evokes lights up only the second crystal after the one we are hanging under, but she immediately follows with another charge and a bolt of mana goes through without any reaction.

“I got it! Now, Master!” Sirgia shouts with an overjoyed tone and I let go of the right rope a second later.

She manages to send one more spark through the installation before losing her footing with a yelp. Diana spins around and I catch my Dwarf lover as she passes by our side, tucking her underneath me once more. With Sirgia tightly secured against my chest, I release the other link and we drop right away. The whole time we descend, I keep an eye on the escaping energy as it travels into the depths through the semi-transparent duct.

Darkness surrounds my vision and recedes a moment later as we avoid crashing into the path below and emerge already running. “There! Chase after it, Diana!”

Our valiant steed responds with a confident bark and we speed up. Thankfully, this mana doesn’t travel at the speed of Earth's electricity but more like a quickly-flowing river. Sirgia wiggles around to slip into her seat, but with my hands free and my feet firmly locked in, I turn her around so she rests on her back on the saddle.

“A promise is a promise.” I grin at her wide eyes and lean in to steal her lips.

A soft moan makes my mouth tingle as Sirgia wraps her arms around me and reciprocates the passionate embrace. Our tongues dance together as Diana carries us forward and I keep tenderly stroking Sirgia’s hot cheek, doing my best to convey how proud of her I am. Judging by the satisfaction flowing into me through our bond, it works decently well.

But, we shouldn’t inconvenience our friend too much and I hesitantly draw away with one last peck. Having my assistance, Sirgia flips around without an issue and takes a proper position on the saddle. Not without pressing herself into me, of course, but I humour her and set the handles forward like on the first day.

We try to look around as Diana speeds through the massive tunnel after the bolt of mana above our heads. I can sense Sirgia’s anxious mood, most likely over the chance that it goes out before reaching our goal, but if that happens, we can just do it again. She’s already cracked the code.

Regardless of her worries, the signal doesn’t go off and we keep going after it. Ten minutes later, we have passed two more underground mini-towns like that one near the entrance, and finally arrive at a crossroads. Two paths lie in front of us, but we don’t need to think as the mana picks the way for us.

Soon after, the scenery changes to some extent. The distances between hubs decrease, and the style changes into something akin to open underground caverns with sporadic square buildings. The third time we pass one, our guide takes a hard right into a much smaller passage, not much bigger than to fit a mining cart. We barely squeeze into it, my hair brushing against the top dangerously.

Since it’s harder to see the energy now, Diana has to speed up a bit, and we suffer in this claustrophobic tunnel for about three more minutes. Then, the passage opens up and she barely slows down right before a sizable metal gate, kicking up clouds of ancient dust and making us cough. The mana disappears on the other side. Something must have tipped Diana off because she could have jumped through the shadows. Or perhaps she didn’t want to risk it.

When all the dust falls back onto the floor, we look around. Something akin to a booth is carved on one side while there are weird benches, lockers, and crates on the other side. Feels like a changing room or something.

“I’ll check the door,” Sirgia says and slips away.

She trots up to the heavy gate with a giant sigil carved on its surface, which signifies burning in Dwarven. Not finding anything useful by simply examining the entrance, she jogs to the booth on the side, vaulting in through the pane-less gap. Disappearing below the edge, she starts moving things around according to the various scraping noises.

“Found it!” she shouts back and a mechanical click follows.

The gate briefly shines blue before the glow escapes to its edges and dissipates. A metallic groan fills the air from the booth, joined by Sirgia’s light grunt, and something else slips into place with a heavy thud. A moment later, the gate gives a loud screech as it starts descending into the ground.

My clever Dwarf lover jumps out of the booth with a pretty smile. “The protective array was still active even after this long. We could have triggered something worse if we tried to go through by force.”

“It’s alright now?” I give her a hand to help her back up onto the saddle.

“Should be. But better still to be careful.” She snuggles into me and pats Diana’s side.

We slowly walk past the lowered gate and follow the single mana duct through the same narrow corridor. It doesn’t continue for too long as just a few seconds later we set foot in a truly massive space that spans damn wide and high. But, the sheer size of it isn’t what takes our breaths away.

The humongous metal furnaces set in three rows do.

Each machine is an amalgamation of stone, wood, and metal. Some glass and other materials are woven into their structures too, like leather for the giant bellows poking out of their sides. Those things are higher than a three-story building and pretty much the width of a single-family house. Multiple mana channels are routed into them from above, forming artificial crowns of fake branches.

“Well, looks like we found our source of energy. Now what?” I chuckle softly.

But, Sirgia is already on the ground, walking towards the closest one with an awed expression. I haven’t even noticed her slip away.

If anyone has any chance of starting this shit up, it’s definitely her.