A moment of joy was followed by awkwardness and silence.
The dwarf lord Prince Uther Stonehammer took the old knight Essek's hand and walked into the underground mine together.
They chatted from time to time, but the atmosphere was no longer as harmonious as before.
Talinnam was keenly aware of the strange expression on the dwarf's face.
Frustrated? Annoyed? Or hostile?
He couldn't guess.
But what is certain is that the joy of meeting again after a long separation was quickly replaced by another instinctive emotion.
The firelight reflected the displeased look on each dwarf's face.
Although Essek is the nominal owner here, he has not set foot on this land for hundreds of years. It is all managed by dwarves. This castle has long become the property of the dwarves.
However, dwarves are a trustworthy race. Once they make an oath or sign a contract, they will abide by their promise. No matter how great the temptation is, they will not break their promise. Traitors will be cast aside forever in dwarf society.
This is very different from humans, so we cannot look at them from the conventional perspective of the human world, Talinnam thought to himself.
Not long after, they arrived at the underground mine of Terfelheim Castle.
I saw densely packed mine caves scattered on every rock wall and stone bed of this underground city. Some simple mine carts shuttled back and forth on the tracks, transporting piles of rough ore out of the cave.
From time to time, there would be a few dwarf miners talking loudly on the corridor platform, or holding shovels and digging hard in the cave.
The elevator transported Essek, Talinnam and the dwarf leader from the first floor to the eighth underground floor. This is also the deepest layer they have dug so far. No one knows how much gold can be mined in this mine. But there is
One thing is, it will be dug out one day. When the gold mine is dug out, this place, like all resource-based towns, will gradually become deserted.
"That's all Terfelheim Castle has to offer."
The dwarf leader Uther Stonehammer pointed at the underground mine and said.
The roar of the machine forced him to shout when speaking.
"Damn it, stop it first!"
The Stone Hammer King turned around and yelled at the engineer behind him.
The rock drill then slowly stopped rotating, allowing the deep underground to return to calm.
"According to the oath, when you come back, this place belongs to you and me."
It could be seen that the dwarf leader and his men looked disgusted, but they still took out their territory and property.
On the one hand, there was abundant wealth and mountains of gold, and on the other hand, there was a contract made a hundred years ago. The dwarves finally chose the latter.
A difficult choice... Talinnam lamented that if it were a human being, he would have killed the heir in the city and then monopolized the property. However, the dwarves are such a magical race. They regard oaths and promises as life, even though
Like humans, they also have greed. But most of the time, they still choose to fulfill their promises.
"I think you misunderstood me, Prince Stonehammer."
"I am not coming back this time to inherit territory and property."
Essek stepped forward, stepped on a big stone, and spoke loudly to the dwarf underneath.
This scene really stunned all the dwarves present.
They have been dealing with humans for many years, and they already knew their nature and greed. However, the old knight in front of them chose to give up?
Traveling thousands of miles, risking your life, and traveling through most of the empire to the Kingdom of the Dead, just to take a look at your former home? No one can understand this.
However, Essek is not a normal person either...
When a person has experienced too much, he will regard money and wealth as nothing.
Talinnam believes that there is such a person in the world, and there is one right in front of him.
"You? Are you telling the truth?"
King Stone Hammer repeated.
The old knight still nodded solemnly. Obviously, he stood on a high place just to let other dwarves see this scene and see that he was serious and voluntary.
This time, the dwarves won't be able to deal with it...
But at the same time, what the old knight didn't know was that at this moment, his image in the minds of these dwarves instantly grew taller.
A pure adventure knight with no personal greed is the most sought-after image in dwarf society. Even within the dwarf kingdom, there are few such characters. But a human can actually do this.
This could not help but make all the dwarves present stand in awe.
Although he refused to be a lord, the dwarves still regarded him as a lord in their hearts.
Talinnam keenly read the changes in emotions from the changes in the eyes of these dwarves.
Playing hard to get? Obviously, the old man does not have such wisdom, and even if he does, he is not that kind of person. Talinnam firmly believes that not inheriting the territory is also Essek's true idea. He never likes to be imprisoned in a certain place, and has been wandering and wandering all his life.
Take risks, enjoy wandering, and enjoy adventures. If you want him to be the lord of a city, sit in the castle every day, read documents, and enjoy the service of servants, it is simply more uncomfortable than killing him.
"Do you think I'm joking? King Stone Hammer."
Essek turned his head and met the dwarf leader's eyes.
After confirming that the other party did not intend to inherit the territory, King Stone Hammer laughed loudly.
"You are exactly like your father!"
Prince Stone Hammer laughed loudly.
"Back then, your father was also obsessed with adventure and left here on his own. You and him are right, right?"
"Many years later, you actually grew up to be just like him."
"It's really different."
"However, it also makes me proud. The members of the Compton family are all true knights."
Prince Stone Hammer danced for joy...
"but……"
Just when Essek was about to walk down, King Stone Hammer changed the topic again and stopped him.
"However, according to the contract, you must take 30% of the profits from the gold mine in Terfelheim Castle."
As soon as he finished speaking, Talinnam was dumbfounded...
He thought he heard it wrong, but the dwarf leader repeated it again——
"This is a contract between me and the Compton family, and it must be fulfilled."
It was only then that Talinnam was convinced that he had heard correctly.
No one will voluntarily give up their property to others, even if they sign a contract. But that was more than a hundred years ago. The parties involved have long since turned into ashes, but the dwarves are determined to fulfill the contract...
This allowed Talinnam to truly see the stubbornness of the dwarves, and at the same time, he felt deeply in his heart - if humans could be 1% as trustworthy as the dwarves, then the world would not be what it is today.
Some of the qualities of Bretonnian chivalry were actually found in the dwarves, which made Talinnam feel dumbfounded.
Those knights who talk about fairness, integrity, and trustworthiness every day are often not as good as these dwarves who wear rags and dirty cloths deep in the mines.