With the new workspace still a work in progress, Har decided it was the perfect opportunity to go spend some of the budget that they'd been given. He had the list that Kori had provided him, but what better opportunity would he have to introduce his newest apprentices to the wonders of commerce than in furnishing her own lab. He knew that she wasn't really concerned with his trade, so a little self interest would go a long way in keeping her attention.

With her meager belongings packed in her satchel, Kori ventured upwards through the caverns alongside her new mentor and the other assembled traders. Over a dozen kobolds travelled with the pair on their trip between the other traders, several warriors, a pair of mages and even a member of the Circle. She had hoped that her brother Ujr would be among those accompanying them, but he was apparently tasked with organizing the storehouse and collecting goods within the clan. To say he was envious that she would visit the surface before him would be an understatement.

The trip upwards was relatively sedate, the well trod stone of the wide tunnel leading upwards was occasionally blocked by checkpoints manned with warriors and mages. It struck Kori as odd, the path wound in a gradual slope, turning back upon itself several times as they ascended, but never branched. They walked the tunnel for several kilometers without a single side tunnel, chamber, or deviation from its upward coiling trajectory.

Kori questioned her new mentor for the entirety of their trek. Peppering him with questions about the tunnel, which was apparently the sole direct path to reach the clans caverns and could be collapsed if it became necessary. To questions about why they needed warriors, to which she was reminded of the incident with Ortik's mate and informed that they would need to travel several days once they reached the surface before arriving at Whatzakt. But most of her questions were about Whatzakt.

Har regaled her with stories of his travels within the town, the trades that he had made, the oddities that he had seen on offer, and the various peoples that he had encountered. The town was primarily populated by humans, but the continent they sat upon was dominated by an elven nation, The Vorian Federation, and as such they made up a sizable portion of the populace as well. A smattering of other races either lived or traveled there for trade, gnomes, dwarves, and even the odd lizard folk might be found in the town on any given day. He also explained that the humans were a diverse race and while they were all still considered to be human, their storied history of intermingling their bloodlines had resulted in a rather varied appearance amongst the race.

He told her this mostly so she wouldn't stare, it was quite rude, when she spotted humans with various types of fur, tails, or other oddities. Having never actually seen a human and only knowing the vague description that she had been taught, she honestly wasn't really sure what was considered normal for the race. She knew that they were scaleless and near twice the height of the average kobold, but now she was told that some of them did in fact have scales as well which was just confusing. The largest takeaway she got from the conversation, aside from a re-affirmation that humans were an odd bunch, was that surprisingly most humans didn't have tails.

How are they supposed to balance without a tail? Are they just stumbling all over the place?

It took them several hours to reach a point in the tunnel where the slope leveled off and they found themselves amongst many more kobolds than Kori had expected to see, dozens of kobolds armed for combat stood guard within a widening of the tunnel before they reached an unassuming stone door. They paid the group little mind as they went about their business as though such a thing were routine and unremarkable. Which for those who spent weeks at a time guarding this post, it was.

Kori wasn't at all surprised that the entrance would be guarded, nor that the doors opened outwards with barely an effort despite their size. She was surprised by what she saw on the other side. It wasn't the blindingly bright light of the sun, nor even the twinkling of the stars, it was just another cavern in fact. The doors opened to reveal a settlement of kobolds all going about their lives. Easily a hundred kobolds busily moved about, preparing food, stacking boxes, unloading laden carts, some of which were large enough to warrant two axles instead of the usual single of the hand carts she had seen previously.

"Welcome to the waystation, apprentice." Har announced jovially at her surprised expression. "The traders that stay in Whatzakt ferry their goods to and from here and those that remain below do the same."

She gazed about the chamber, seeing several tunnels leading away similar to what one would find deep below. Two tunnels stood out from the others. Both significantly larger than the others. Surprisingly the one behind her was not among them.

Seeing the questions beginning to form behind her roaming eyes, Har pre-empted what he knew came next, "That," Pointing off to one of the larger tunnels, "leads to the surface." He explained, before pointing to the other, "That on the other hand, leads to Bolst's playground." Chuckling at his own little joke. "I pity any fool that thinks they can get down to us through there. Would you believe he's even been trying to get us to let him move that atrocity you created up here?" A shiver running to the tip of his tail as he recalled his encounter with her luminous creation.

Kori straightened her back at his description of her creation, "Hey, it's not an atrocity! It's just a little… unstable." Her attempt to defend the honour of her explosive concoction falling somewhat flat. "You should let him move it up here. I'm sure if he put it in a cart and they went slowly it would make it up here… well, I think it would at least…"

Her words were not particularly persuasive on the matter, and Har leaned in close and lowered his voice before he responded to her, "I'm pretty sure Ortik is just punishing him at this point. He'll let him move it in a few months when he isn't quite so mad anymore." He whispered conspiratorially. "Don't tell Bolst I said that, if he confronts Ortik over it then the stubborn old fool will just dig his claws in and make him wait even longer."

Kori's eyes went wide at his words, "He's punishing him because of what I did? That's not fair!" Her whispered voice raising a bit too high and drawing the eyes of those around them.

Har shushed her and pulled her a little off to the side before he continued. "Not just for that. Bolst's been causing trouble for years with his little escapades." He explained shaking his head in disapproval. "Though it's the spiders that really pulled the cave down on him this time." Another shiver causing his tail to twitch and quiver.

Kori cocked her head to the side, still not really understanding why everyone was so upset about a bunch of spiders. "I don't get it; everyone seems more upset about a few little spiders than they are about something that could collapse a whole cavern?"

Har paused, cocking his own head in reflection of Kori's but instead of a curious look his was one of baffled amusement. "How much do you actually know about redback spiders?"

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She took a few moments recalling the lessons that Kora had given her in the week she spent in the lab and recited the details of their necrotising venom. Her explanation didn't satisfy Har's question however, "No, not their venom. The creature itself. Do you know anything about them?" He let out a sigh after he only received a shake of her head in denial for a response. "Of course, he didn't explain to you the danger you were in if those things escaped…"

Har guided her over to where several crates were stacked and waiting before sitting down and patting the crate next to him.

"We're all upset about the spiders because Redback Cave Spiders are tier three creatures." He explained.

Kori's jaw dropped and scales paled at the simple words that came from her mentor. Tier three. They were evolved creatures. The tiny little spiders were the equivalent of a kobold who had sixty levels, or more, in their class and had passed their first class evolution.

"But… but… they're tiny…" She stammered out. "Beasts are supposed to get larger when they gain levels…"

"Most do. Some don't." Har said with a sigh. "Those… things… do too actually. It's just that they're born in the third tier and grow from there." He tried to explain. "They're honestly incredibly weak for their tier physically, but their size and venom make them a nightmare to eradicate an infestation."

The pieces slowly began to come together for Kori now that she had the information she had been missing. If Bolst was keeping third tier venomous spiders as pets then maybe it served him right to lose his lab for a few months. She was a little upset that no one had bothered to tell her about it and just let her believe for the past two months that she had been the cause of everything. She still thought Blonc's response was a little over the top, if anyone could squish the things it would be him, but the Elder had been truly and utterly horrified at the prospect of encountering the things, even through multiple layers of glass.

"Blonc really doesn't like spiders, does he?" She asked.

Har chuckled at the memory as he shook his head, "Oh no, he's absolutely terrified of the things." He laughed, "Wouldn't have mattered if they were harmless little tier ones, he'd have still run as far away as he could manage."

Deciding that that was enough on the subject, Har redirected the conversation towards their trip. "Now, enough about all that, it's in the past and I hope that lessons have been learned all around." He patted her on the shoulder before continuing on. "We have a few carts to get ready, before we head out. Why don't you head over to the cooks and get yourself a meal before we hit the road." Nodding in the direction of a group of kobolds around several pots and grills.

Kori's meal was typical and uninteresting, the same as all of her meals since the festival really. She hoped that the trip would afford her an opportunity to try something new in the surface town. As she ate, she watched Har in his element, he directed his traders what to load, how to stack or tie things down, and gave dozens of directions and commands as he orchestrated the preparations for their departure.

One thing still puzzled Kori about everything, they obviously used carts to transport the goods from the waystation to the town. The problem was that the door they had entered through, the one that most of those goods and even large blocks of stone must have come into this space through, were not large enough to accommodate such a thing.

When she asked Har about it, he gave his usual laugh and shaken head in response, again complaining about her lacking education, and patted the satchel he wore similarly to her own. "Dimensional storage bags, we don't have many but they make moving blocks of stone and ore and whatever else about, much simpler." He explained. "The town charges us a tail and a half for them if we try to buy them, so we get most of em when some dumb adventurers wander into one of Bolst's traps."

As is typical for Kori, a single explanation opened the door to dozens of follow up questions about how they worked, how much stuff they could fit, where they came from, why were they loading carts if they had bags, and many more questions that for the most part Har had no answer to. One he was able to answer was that bags varied in capacity and that this one in particular could hold half a dozen cubic meters and was one of the largest in the clan's possession. He dismissed her question about why use carts as the bags were too valuable to transporting goods up and down the tunnel to be away for too long.

Soon the carts were loaded and ready and the group were prepared to set out. Three large double axle carts, each laden with crates of unprocessed ores, sat with empty harnesses hanging from the front. It was then that Kori got her first glimpse of sunlight as the doors leading to the surface were opened. Beyond the doors the cave ran for a half-dozen meters before abruptly ending, the entire expanse of the tunnel lit with a bright light flooding in from beyond the threshold.

Several of the kobolds that had been tending the carts rushed out into the bright expanse beyond the mouth of the tunnel after the doors were opened and returned a few minutes later leading a full dozen large brown beasts with short fuzzy fur covering their hides and forward curved horns jutting from the sides of their heads. Quartets of these beasts, half again as tall as any kobold present at their shoulders, were attached to each cart in rows of two.

"They're called Oxen. The carts are too heavy with stone to pull by hand." Har explained. "But never mind that for now." He said with an excited grin, "Come on, there's something I want to show you." Waving her forward towards the doorway.

As the pair walked through the final meters of cave and approached the threshold into the beyond, Kori hesitated. The growing illumination straining her eyes as she got closer, blinding her to what lay beyond. She'd always been able to rely on her sight, it didn't matter how dark a cave was a kobold was at home in it. But the opposite did not ring true, there was such a thing as too much light and for the first time ever she was experiencing just what that meant.

Har's confident guidance drew her forward into the bright light of the surface, the sudden change in everything she had ever known stunned the young kobold speechless. It wasn't just the light, but the sounds and scents and even the feelings upon her scales that changed in those final steps.

The air was alive with dozens of different sounds from all around her, the rustling of something that sounded like a multitude of hides brushing against stone, chirps and chitters of animals she couldn't identify, the plodding hooves of the oxen being led into the cave, and dozens of other sounds all overwhelmed her sense. The strangest part had to be the lack of echoes. She'd lived her whole life hearing the sounds around her reverberate off the stone floors, walls, and ceilings and it was gone.

Wind rustled her clothing and carried scents and sounds to her, she knew of wind from the mages that wield the element, but this was her first time ever feeling it upon her scales. The constant flow of air, different from the simple ventilation provided by runes below ground, tickled her scales in a way that she had never experienced. The feeling was unpleasant, as though something massive were breathing upon her constantly.

It was several minutes before she could open her eyes to the sun shining down on her and even then, she had to shield them with her hands in order to see anything at all. Once she could there was an overwhelming sense of exposure. There was no ceiling above her, no walls around her, the open space was just that, open. It felt as though anything, anywhere could see her at a glance, like she was laid bare to the world around her for all to see. It made her feel small in a way that her lacking height had never managed to accomplish.

But above all, quite literally, was the light. It was like nothing she had ever seen, she was used to pools of light separated by shrouds of darkness kept at bay by whatever source was in use. Here, now, she couldn't see any gaps in the light. It shone down on the space before her without interruption or gap aside from the occasional shadow. It was everywhere equally and uniformly. Her eyes watered as she continued to stare in wonder at the new sights before her and she had to close them before long as they began to sting.

While she held closed her eyes, she tried to focus on what Korse had told her some time ago about how the sun felt on your scales. He was right, it felt warm like she was basking in the light of a flame and the tingling warmth on her scales was quite pleasant.

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