The Wealth of Kings by Sam Ferguson Page B

clock, we have given each team three shafts as assignments. That means your teams will have two crews per mine. One crew will take a shift of several days, and then the second crew will take their place and work a shift of three days also. The seventh crew will work in wherever you like. Use the extra crew to relieve injured miners, or to add extra hands if you find a promising mine.”
    Dvek looked around the room. “Any questions?”
    None of the team leaders said anything.
    Dvek nodded, pulled a leather satchel up and opened it. He pulled out one rolled parchment at a time, calling out the names written on the outside. As each team leader was called, they would walk forward, take their assignment, and then exit the room.
    When Dvek had finished, a young, green-eyed female dwarf stood alone in the room. Her eyes were fixed on the satchel.
    “What about my assignment?” she asked. “I am as good as any other team leader that was here.”
    Dvek patted the air and smiled. “Easy now, Akmei, the king has an assignment for you, but it isn’t to run a team this time.”
    “Why not?” she asked as she stamped a foot on the floor and folded her arms.
    Dvek laughed. “You still do the foot stomp when you’re angry,” he said.
    “Father, I won’t stand for any of your meddling. I am a miner, and that’s what I love—”
    Dvek cut her off. “This is out of my hands,” he said. “The king has asked me to appoint you as the Mining Advisor.”
    Akmei took a few steps forward and shook a finger at Dvek. “Well, you can tell the king that I…” Akmei stopped and the anger vanished from her face. “What did you say?” she asked.
    “I said, the king would like you to accept the position of Mining Advisor.”
    “He wants me to sit on the council?”
    Dvek nodded.
    Akmei smiled and started to turn around, but then she stopped and turned back to her father. “Wait, what did you do to get me the position?”
    Dvek shook his head. “I did nothing. The king went through the list of qualified candidates and he decided to offer the position to you. He didn’t even ask what I thought about it.”
    Akmei smiled. “I’ll be the best Mining Advisor Roegudok Hall has ever had.”
     
    *****
     
    “You sure this is the tunnel we are supposed to work in today?” Trynt asked as he shifted his pickaxe on his shoulder.
    The lantern Haggart held swayed with each step he took down the newly formed mine. “Yep,” he answered for the hundredth time. “King Sylus said that Tu’luh told him we would find the addorite in the shaft that has bloodgrass growing in it.” Haggart stopped and held the lantern close to the wall on the left as he turned a sour look over his shoulder. “See, bloodgrass.”
    Trynt looked at the bony stems of the strange plant and grimaced. The round, flat leaves hung vertically from small branches shooting off the main stem of the bush-like plant. True to its name, the plant was bright red.
    “Still, you have heard the rumors about these lower tunnels, right boss?” Jasper asked.
    Haggart growled and turned around to point an accusing finger in Jasper’s face. The younger dwarf backed away instinctively as the crew leader laid into him. “You will keep such talk to yourself, you hear? The king wants us to open up the lower mines and that is what we are going to do. We are dwarves, hewn and formed from the very rock this mountain is made of. There ain’t nothin’ down here that can best the five of us. We are going to find the addorite, and we are going to fill the coffers with more gems than has ever been seen, you hear?”
    Trynt nodded, but his mouth opened, letting his doubts tumble out. “If the addorite is so important to Tu’luh, then why doesn’t he come into the mountain and dig it out for himself?”
    A swift back-hand shut Trynt’s mouth.
    The others stiffened and shared a glance, but none of them moved to intervene.
    “You don’t bad mouth the Ancients,” Haggart warned. He looked