Age of Gods - A VRMMO Story

Finding the jails was actually a little difficult, even with directions. Instead of a large building with thick walls, the entrance to the jail was a pair of inconspicuous doors carved right into the mountain. Honestly, it was pretty clever. Instead of having to worry about if the walls were thick enough, the dwarves just put the jail right inside of the mountain and let the mountain itself become the walls. Thomas had never really put any time into thinking about it before, but now he was starting to wonder how a jail actually held criminals. Their sheer power could easily punch a hole through regular stone and even steel. Reinforced structures with enchantment perhaps? Sometime he'd have to visit a jail and study how they were made, just out of curiosity.

As he got closer he saw four guards in front of the doors. Each guard wore thick heavy armor from head to toe that only revealed their faces and beards. All four kept their long hair tied into braids, beards included. They also carried well crafted and maintained weapons. There was nothing frilly or sparkly about their axes and hammers, they were true weapons meant to be used. One of the guards stepped into Thomas's path and held up his gauntlet covered hand, "Halt and state your business human."

Thomas smiled politely, "I'm here to see Fokgrag Coalheart."

The dwarve's eyes widened slightly before he narrowed them in suspicion, "And what might a human need ta see that crazy bastard for?"

"My Master, Hekrin Graveljaw, sent me to find him so I could learn a thing or two from his own Master. I suppose you could say that Fokgrag is my Grand-Master."

"Graveljaw? That sounds like a dwarven name."

Thomas nodded his head, "That's right. Master Hekrin is a dwarf. I met him in Reykhoten when I was first summoned to this world. He, reluctantly, took me on as his student and taught me all I know about Magitech Engineering. When I was ready, he sent me to find his Master, Fokgrag."

The dwarf continued to look at Thomas suspiciously until he mentioned learning Magitech Engineering. At the mention of that hallowed dwarven tradition being learned by a human, his eyes opened as wide as they could go. Not only his but also the eyes of the other three guards. No human had ever been able to learn the art of Magitech Engineering before so their surprise wasn't... well surprising. After taking a few moments to recover, the guard that had been speaking to Thomas from the beginning spoke again, "I... see. Well, Fokgrag is locked up for damaging private property and endangering the public. Getting him out won't be easy, or cheap. His bail is set at half a million gold and if you paid his bail you would become responsible for him until his final trial."

"What do you mean I would become responsible for him?"

The dwarf shrugged his thick shoulders, "It'd kinda be like you'd become his parent. Anything he did would become your responsibility. I'd recommend ya wait fer him to be released."

"How long would I have to wait?"

The dwarf stroked his beard as he thought, "Well. Unlike ya humans, we prefer our justice ta be quick. Shouldn't be more than a week fer him to go on trial. After that... well depends on if he's found guilty or not. If he is... a couple years or so?"

Thomas groaned, "I can't wait that long. So, if I pay his bail, I take responsibility for anything he does?"

The guard nodded, "Correct."

Thomas sighed and felt his shoulders slump. He was about to blow half a million gold to get Hekrin's master out of jail. It was like paying a huge amount to become a babysitter! After making his decision he looked at the guard, "Just to make sure. If I pay his bail, do I get it back when he shows up for the trial?"

The guard nodded, "Aye."

Thomas let out a very long sigh, "Alright. Is there a bank branch around here I can use? I don't carry that much gold on me."

After getting directions to the bank, Thomas left the jail and made his way there. He'd known that getting his hands on an U.L.T.R.A. wouldn't be very easy but having to pay half a million gold just to talk to the bastard was not something he'd even considered. His expectations were more along the lines of quests and tests. He couldn't resist letting out another sigh as he stood in a short line waiting for his turn with the teller. The Goblin Bank in the dwarven city was just a small branch with maybe half a dozen Goblins working it. The dwarves only seemed to store items in the bank, at least he didn't see any of them depositing or withdrawing any gold coins.

When it was finally his turn, Thomas asked for half a million gold along with a total of his remaining balance. After withdrawing the half a million, his remaining balance was one point eight million and change. Seeing as how he only had about a million after buying the Orichalcum ingot, that meant he'd gotten another one point three million from Rock. Despite what information he'd gotten from Selena, he was still curious to get back to Reykhoten and find out exactly what was going on! Given the value of the weapons he'd taught Rock how to make, the amount of gold he was getting didn't make much sense. He would find out eventually, and maybe teach Rock something new.

With the gold on hand, he returned to the doors of the jail and was greeted by the same dwarf he spoke to previously, "I've got the gold. So how does this work? Do I give it to you or...?"

The guard smiled playfully, "Well, ya could give it ta me, but it wouldn't do ya much good. I'm just the guard. Ya need to give it to one of the Magister's inside. But if ya still want ta give it to me, I wouldn't mind."

Thomas just chuckled, "Alright, so I just head inside then?"

The guard smirked and turned while indicating for Thomas to follow him, "This way."

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As they walked towards the doors leading into the jail, two of the three remaining guards opened up the large, for a dwarf, doors to let them inside. To Thomas, the doors were just slightly bigger than an average door. As they stepped inside, they could still see rather well thanks to the glowing orbs that filled the city. As they walked close to one, Thomas activated his 'All Seeing Eyes' to take a peek at them.