95 Mining Town Iro

"Madaline, can we talk?"

Madaline turned around to see she was standing in the shadow of another goddess. She could recognize the voice of one of the oldest ascended gods so she turned around to face Uriel. She could only wonder what she was trying to do while the other harbored the same level of suspicion.

"I've been hearing some unsavory rumors in the heavenly court, specifically about me. I'm not trying to say you're behind those rumors but I would appreciate it if you said something to clarify them."

"Since when did the heavenly court become a common human kingdom where gods are concerned about their reputation? If I recall correctly, you're always busy, Uriel. I don't have time to entertain your whims."

"Madeline, I respect you as the familiar of Nataroth. No one denies your position here. I can't understand why you hate me. Did I do something wrong?"

"When Nataroth died, the control of the heavenly court landed in your hands. It's not a position you deserved but one you got nonetheless. What I want to understand is why, under your control, the heavenly court has become some sort of political court over human matters? Since when was the concern of gods human lives? Humans are not the only race that live on earth, even if they are the most abundant."

"Is it because of your feud with the dragons? I couldn't do anything about it, Madaline. We aren't allowed to interfere…."

"Go ahead. Contradict yourself. I'm waiting."

"Madaline, it's not like that. I'm serious. We cannot interfere in the lives of transcendentals. You, Gaijin and Leilin were all transcendentals. We can't just pick a side and watch you destroy each other."

"But you have all decided to preside over several kingdoms and divide them against each other. Is it because the humans can spawn anyhow they wish and they are unlimited resources? You don't actually care. Humans or non-human races, none of them matter to you all. You're asking me for what I have against you, well, why don't you look inwards, Uriel? I'm glad to see you haven't changed. It was the same thousands of years ago, it's the same now."

"I'm...sorry. I know it's not enough but I truly am."

"You didn't think I would actually ascend so soon, did you? I don't need your apology. My children whom I've lost, my children who died and my children who are eternally lost, I have no one to blame but myself. However, if any of the gods are directly involved, then it would be your karma."

She unfurled her wings and flew back to her palace. As she did, she passed several statues of creatures with one eye and several wings covering their eye. Others were a humanoid figure with a blindfold over their eyes and large wings that covered a part of the heavenly court. Those were the angels. They were in a perpetually inactive state until they were summoned or activated. If an Angel was present or summoned, it wasn't a sign of something good. She finally flew past them and didn't notice the crack in the otherwise perfect statue.

Down on earth, in the secluded region of Polivia, the North, the new Duchess had been awake since the day broke, tending to work. She had breakfast in that office and barely stood the entire morning, tending to documents. She surprised Count Brenn who was sure the women of Ducroft never functioned in official capacity like tending to an entire territory. She was also sorting through it like it was easy, like she had a wealth of experience. She stopped at the half mark and set some documents to the side.

"Call in the steward."

Antonia came into the room a few minutes later, standing by the door. Natalia invited her closer with her hand, giving her a set of documents.

"The control of the castle and the castle funds are in your hands. Take care of it appropriately."

"Your grace, don't you think that's a little risky?" Count Brenn asks.

"I dont have the time to pay attention to little things like purchasing ingredients. I'm sure if you were selected as my steward, you would have an eye for quality, Antonia."

"I won't let you down, your grace" she bowed, leaving the office. Natalia set out another set of documents, placing them in a folder. She stood up and stretched.

"Get the carriage prepared. I'm going to the mining town and then the mountains."

"...yes, your grace."

While she went to change into something more suitable for the outdoors, Count Brenn went to prepare the carriage and all they would need. Once it was all ready, the carriage started moving.

"Count Brenn, I need a breakdown on the transport route for the ores mined and the price set for the exchange. I want to understand how this affects the life of the miners."

"Yes, your grace. As you know, the sky tube does not extend fully to the North so transport is carried out with strong mules pulling large carts. The miners have several different captains that sell their ores to different families. This sale depends on the quality of the ores and the influence the captains have. They make the journey to the exchange town and sell their ores to the different families they're acquainted with. The high quality ores sell for 50 gold. The mid quality ores sell for 25 gold and low quality ores sell for 1 gold a piece. The bulk of these ores are low quality and high quality ores are as rare as rain in the desert. These teams make these trips two times a month and make an average of 25 gold to 30 gold per team. A team has an average of ten people so this money is rarely enough and because the North is barren, 3 gold is hardly enough for a family to survive in a month. Now that the mountain is blocked off, I'm afraid of the economic implications."

"Mythril is sold for 15 gold a piece, low quality ore. The price used to be higher before Adamantine was discovered. The whole kingdom thrives on this trade, especially with the sky tube. It fuels the engineering village. How are they being paid so low?"

"People prefer buying at low prices and selling at high prices. It's more beneficial for people in the middle of the chain than for the people at the ends."

"Can't a better price be enforced?"

"I'm afraid it would be difficult to change the mind of the nobles about the price at which they buy the Mythril."

"I see. Is that the mining town?" She asked, looking at the town slowly entering their vision.

The smell of smoke and oil ushered them into the town. It was better than the engineering village, bringing a sort of warmth to the village located in the cold North. They disembarked at the entrance, standing in front of the town. Natalia stood there and stared at the town, waiting for something. The people there stared at her curiously, especially since her clothes were made with high quality materials rarely seen around there. Eventually, after waiting for a while, a tall woman walked up to her.

"Hallo, ma'am. Might you be the noble from the capital who has come to help us?"

Her accent was thick and it was almost hard for Natalia to understand what she had just said. After taking the time to interpret what she had just heard in her mind, she spoke.

"My name is Natalia Adamantine, the Duchess of Graviscera. I'm here to inspect the mines and the territory. Who is in charge here?"

"Ah, your grace! I'm so sorry I didn't know it was you. Please forgive my manners. I'm the chief of this town. My name is Grecia. This is our humble town Iro. We had no idea the Duchess would come here."

"How many people live in this town and how many are miners?"

"About 250 people live in this town and 70 of those are miners. Because of the disaster, they haven't been able to mine and it has been causing a lot of problems for us. Not to complain too much but if your grace can intervene..."

"I want you and the captain of the different mining team in my castle tomorrow. Now, is there anyone who can lead me to the mines?"

"I will do that, your grace. The path is steep but it isn't dangerous this time of year" the chief volunteered. Natalia nodded and followed her lead.

"I truly never expected a noble would come here again to inspect the mines. The last time they came and we tried to ask for help, they ignored us and just hired more people to work to build the castle. The pay was higher than what we usually get and is what we have been surviving on. Most of our youths want to leave and take up manual labor in the capital but it's very hard to do."

"May I ask how much the workers were given?"

"The workers were given 25 silver per day."

Natalia stopped in her tracks. As far as she knew, the pay was supposed to be 1 gold per day. It became very obvious that someone was tampering with the finances of the mining town.