A strange world

Annan woke up in the morning and had to face a fact.

The note was gone, and so was the drawing board.

The door latch was hung properly, and Martin was still sleeping soundly under the quilt. Needless to say, listening to the faint noise coming from outside, I knew that the ghost came again last night and took the drawing board with it.

That was the first gift Annan received, and it was very memorable.

Annan woke Martin up, and the confused guy put on his clothes and fell back on the bed.

Not long after, old Zoron came over and said that today was the last day - I don't know if he would say it again with scarlet eyes at night.

Old Zollen proved his determination with actions - he dragged his lame leg into the gold mine.

Annan didn't have so much pressure. In any case, the ghost took away the drawing board, indicating that it liked the painting. Maybe it's waiting in the mine to lead them to an unexplored mine.

"Which hole do you think will yield the ore?"

Annan casually pointed at yesterday's mine, and old Zollun actually obeyed and urged him to go faster.

They returned to the depression they had dug yesterday and continued digging. Old Zollen followed the chisel a few times and became an overseer because of the pain in his lame leg.

Old Zoron's encouragement influenced Martin, and he worked much harder than usual. Annan was weak-minded, and old Zoron didn't blame him. He just trembled anxiously every time Annan rested.

Annan had no choice but to persist. Tiredness gradually distorted his posture. When he swung the pickaxe again, the sharp pick scraped across the rock wall, sparks flew out, and the loose pickaxe head fell off the wooden handle, grazing Annan's face and Martin's scalp and flying towards old Zoron.

Thank goodness he was holding the pickaxe as a crutch. The flying pickaxe hit the top of the rock, changed its angle, and rushed to the top of the rock, knocking off a rock and ending its naughty life.

The falling stone hit Martin squarely on the head.

"My life plan didn't prepare me for this kind of thing..." Martin muttered, covering his head. He didn't notice Annan staring at old Zorun, and old Zorun staring at his feet.

Under the light of the oil lamp, the fallen stones shone with a dark gold color, and their pale outlines flashed away in the darkness.

Old Zollen rushed forward and picked up the stone, forgetting that he was almost killed, and urged Martin and Annan to dig up the stone quickly.

Martin raised the pickaxe and barely touched the roof of the cave. After complaining for a while, he started to throw the pickaxe.

Old Zoron hid far away with unprecedented agility.

Not sure whether to lament good luck or bad luck, they found nothing in the next few hours. No veins were found, and the ore that happened to fall might simply have been missed.

Boom——

Martin put down his pickaxe and sat down next to old Zollen to rest.

The percussion went away along the deep mine, and when it came back it was covered with muddy noise.

"Did you hear that?"

Annan looked puzzledly into the depths of the mine.

"Did you hear that?" Martin rubbed his stomach, "My stomach is growling again."

"no……"

Annan listened carefully, and the noise that was different from the sound of chiseling did not disappear.

He put down his pickaxe and drilled out of the forked mine. Standing in the main mine, the noise gradually became clearer. It was a chaos mixed with shouts, screams and running.

Realizing that something had happened, Annan ran back to the mine and asked Martin to drag old Zollen, who was holding the ore, and follow the miners running out from the depths.

The oil lamp shone on the chaotic shadows. Annan led Martin and Old Zollen to lean against the rock wall to avoid falling or colliding.

During this period, Annan heard the faint barking of dogs, which awakened the shadow of the recent past - the wandering kobold.

How did the kobolds get together with the undead?

The faint light of the exit appeared in front. They and the miners run out of the gold mine before the kobolds catch up.

For two days in a row, miners were once again driven out of the gold mine.

The foremen gathered in the camp again to think hard, and the miners began to refuse to enter the mine. Annan and Martin followed Old Zollen to crush the ore they brought back, smelt it, and burn out a gold particle smaller than a fingernail.

Just enough for old Zoron to pay his fee and make a small profit - about a little over a silver coin. It is equivalent to old Zoron receiving his own salary.

At least I didn't come back empty-handed.

When they returned to camp, the foreman had not yet decided what to do.

If it had been a gnoll or a horde of ghosts, they would have given up without hesitation. The haunted gold mine had long since dried up and it wasn't worth the risk they were taking. But the deterrence brought by two first-level creatures like kobolds, which cannot beat an adult, is not enough.

What's more important is that the kobold tribe has a profession of miners, and they also like to collect shiny golden things like the dragons. If they find this kobold lair...

It seems the only option is to add money. But this has nothing to do with Annan and the others.

Annan persuaded the old Zoron to give up his unrealistic fantasy and received a salary: he and Martin each had 1 silver coin and 40 copper coins.

"Remember our agreement, cousin."

As Martin talked, he hid 20 copper coins in the feet that had not been washed for several days and the shoes that had not been washed for dozens of days.

There's no telling which unlucky guy will get their hands on them.

Annan promised Martin, ran out of the shack, found the half-tauren in the secluded forest, told him that he was going back, and reminded him to be careful of ghosts and kobolds.

"My name is Annan."

"Tasia," the half-tauren said.

"A woman's name?" Annan noticed the problem.

"What do you think?"

Annan couldn't find Tasia's feminine characteristics in an offensive way, so he had to say goodbye to her over the topic: "Uh... I hope we can see each other again."

He met Martin and when he left the camp, he looked back and saw Tasia, the half-tauren under the tree, still looking over here.

Returning to the town with regret and loss. As he approached Aunt Susan's home, his mood gradually recovered, and he saw the familiar muscular silhouette wearing an apron.

"Aunt Susan!"

Martin, who had not been home for several days, excitedly rushed to Aunt Susan.

"Oh, my little Annan, look at how thin and dirty you are -" Aunt Susan pushed Martin away and took Annan into her arms, "Look at your hands, it really makes Aunt Susan feel distressed..."

Because Annan and Martin are back, today's dinner is much richer. Aunt Susan boiled some hot water and asked the two boys to wash them off.

Martin took a dip and came out. Annan took a dip for a while to relieve his fatigue. When he came out, he found that the atmosphere at the dinner table was not quite right.

Uncle Hollin huddled in his seat, like an audience waiting for the performance to begin. Martin stood beside him and winked at him desperately.

"Little Annan, tell auntie, how much money did you get?"

"40 copper coins a day, what's wrong, Aunt Susan?" Annan tilted his head and asked in confusion.

"Thank you, little Annan."

Aunt Susan grabbed the broom and approached the frightened Martin.

…

Mr. Fast will not return until three days later. If you include the begging before being picked up by Aunt Susan, Annan has already lost three jobs.

"Little Annan, do you want to go out to play tomorrow?" After cleaning up Martin, Aunt Susan asked Annan lovingly.

Annan wanted to say that he was not a child, but he really needed to regain his mood after staying in the depressing mine for a long time.

"And me?"

Martin raised his head and asked while tying the scattered brooms back together.

"Chop me the firewood that has been piled up these past few days!"