Orian awoke with a start and looked around the dark room. He wasn't sure if what he just saw was just a guilt induced dream or if he really had met with Tanwen again.
But he somewhat felt more at ease than before. He hadn't thought of it until now, but he realized that much of his stress of late was due to carrying the burden of his past self's expectations.
He was constantly wondering if Mimereus would approve of his actions, or Tanwen.
It was this that caused his guilt at his and Violetta's actions. Now that he had been officially relieved of his self imposed responsibilities, he felt that the last shackles of his old life had been broken.
There was still much to do... he needed to talk things out with Violetta... she might hate him once he told her the truth. But he owed her an explanation.
If the bond endured however, he planned to do it right this time. But first he had a battle to survive. As he felt free of burdens now, he eagerly sought out his brother so that they could continue their journey.
His brother was considerably less keen than him however, Chrome never was an early riser and so Orian had to wake him several times in succession.
He finally succeeded in getting him going after forcing him to take an ice cold shower. After another 2 days of travel, they finally reached the Mythril Mountains Undercity.
And almost immediately it was apparent that the city had been constructed for a different purpose to Sanctuary.
Both were ancient dwarven settlements built with the intention of the creation of items, but that was where the similarities ended.
Sanctuary was multiple settlements, combined into one large city. The Sky Quarter had architecture mainly from Griffins and Dragons. The outer city was built by the Fey and the Kitsune with some Sylvan elves culture mixed in.
The mountain portion was where most of the people's day to day activities were done and were the most diverse of the entire city.
Combined with the architecture that the Ancient Dragon Lord Mortis had used to build his base, it was unlike any other type of building style still used today.
Only the Undercity portion of the settlement was dominantly Dwarven, and as it was the youngest of the city districts, it was also one of the smallest. Especially the parts built into the Underworld, which mostly consisted of farmland and fortifications.
'Mythril city' meanwhile was built by Dwarves for Dwarves, with narrower streets and smaller entryways. The architecture was clearly Dwarven in design.
Unlike Sanctuary's smaller Underworld district, Mythril City was entirely constructed into the Underworld with only a small portion of the city built above ground in the form of a vast fortress with several tiers of heavily reinforced walls.
As Mythril city was built for engineers and inventors, the city was full of wonders that Orian and Chrome had never seen before.
In the center of the city, next to the Hall of Lords was the city's crowning achievement. The highly praised Engineer's Academy, which served as both the workshops where the Engineers Guild made their creations, as well as the school where young students were taught the trade.
The entire vast entry hall served as a museum where the creations of highly renowned engineers and inventors were put on display for the next generation to admire.
Many of these creators had long since passed on, but their creations endured and almost served as some sort of an memorial for these notable dwarves.
Orian and Chrome was currently meeting with the Council of Lords for the city, which consists of several different notable dwarves in a variety of fields.
The Dean of the Engineer's academy held one seat, as well as a head of the military, the chief treasurer, who also happens to run the largest bank in the city, the city seneschal, who served as the head of the council and who was elected by all the inhabitants of the city, as well as the Elder, who handled religious matters for the city.
The remaining seats were occupied by the patriarchs of the most prominent noble families in the city.
"Welcome Prince Orian and Prince Chrome to our humble city! I believe this is your first time to Mythril City!?" Asked the Seneschal.
Orian dipped his head in thanks while Chrome simply continued to stare at the dwarves with a nasty scowl on his face.
Especially the Seneschal that occupied the central seat.
Both dragons had turned into their humanoid dragon forms so that they could better fit into the cramped city.
While Orian had been doing most of the talking, Chrome had been standing with his arms crossed near the door.
While Orian had been trying to be as diplomatic as possible, Chrome hadn't been hiding his dislike for the dwarves currently in the room.
Something that was quickly noticed and was making Orian's job a lot harder.
"We accept your thanks Seneschal. I trust my father briefed you on our reason for coming? The Order refinery is a danger to us all and I think we can all agree that it needs to go." Stated Orian.
"We are in agreement on that, although I must admit, I was expecting Calamity to send more forces to take this place?
Is your band so formidable that you can assault such a fortified position on your own?" Asked the Dwarven military leader.
Chrome snorted.
"We can hold our own, however we were also counting on your support, as well as the people living in the area like the Phoenixes. " stated Orian.
The advisors began to sweat and look at each other nervously.
"W-we would have liked to offer our aid... but we recently had something of a setback at our workshops...
We currently lack the funds to aid in your expedition. " stated the military leader.
Chrome rolled his eyes.
Orian frowned.
"You promised my father you would lend your support!!" Stated Orian.
"We will of course provide you with information... and we will house and equip any you manage to gather for this assault... but we don't have the ma..." stated the military leader.
"In other words, you expect us to die for you while you sit back and enjoy the fireworks!!!" Stated Chrome.
"Does your father's children usually speak so disrespectfully to others?! I would have thought the great dragon would have taught them to be respectful. " stated the Seneschal.
"Well, what can you expect from a 'little freeloader '." Stated Chrome.
Recognition suddenly appeared on the seneschal's face, as well as nervousness.
"Scav?" Asked the Seneschal in shock.