He had never been to this part of Sieghart Mountains even though he had spent almost a year in these rocky and unforgiving hills. Without the knowledge that his new guild mate, Caius had given him regarding the Dawncliff Mine, he could have easily missed it. The entrance was unassuming with minimal workers mingling outside, the only clean evidence of work being minecarts being pushed by workers brimming full of coal and iron. The coal and iron was then loaded up into an awaiting train whose conductor watched lazily from his booth smoking a cigarette. Kon had been a smoker in the past, but never again, the appeal was lost on him ever since becoming a Nephilim. Always wanting to represent his guild as its leader, Kon was dressed in his regular guild attire, a suit adorned with the syndicates emblem with matching lapel, cufflinks, even the tie had a pattern that included the guild’s insignia. “Bastard” A grizzly soot-coated miner swore before spitting on the ground as Konstantin entered the outskirt of the mine’s workplace.
Coal dust rose from the ground with each step that was made clinging to his midnight-blue pants. This harsh black cloud followed up the nobleman’s front before passing through his nose tickling the back of his throat. Coughing profusely at the discomfort, the men around him sneered and laughed at his reaction. “Need a handkerchief, Ma’lady?” One of the men asked, pulling out a greyed piece of cloth from his rear pocket and waving it in front of him. Wasting no time and ensuring that the men understood just who he was, Kon rushed towards the jester and grabbed his bulky forearm with an unrelenting grasp. Steadily his flesh turned metal with a golden sheen replacing the flesh and clothing he wore. Screams of mercy left from the man’s lips as the shift continued to crawl up his arm. “Please sir, please, forgive me, sir…” Tears left the man’s eyes while snot bubbles blew out of his nose. The men around him had mixed reactions to the transition before them, some stood petrified, others ready to fight the man, either way he could sense their fear.
Evident that they all knew who he was, Konstantin released his grip only after pulling the golden limb from the man’s shoulder. The golden arm dropped in the black soil serving as a reminder to all those that opposed him in these mines and all of the Sieghart Mountains. “Hang that in front of the mine so your workers can see what happens when you cross me!” He barked at the miner who struggled to lift the golden arm. “Faster, Faster!” He shouted, almost tempted to kick the man who finally managed to shoulder the burden of the arm before fleeing from Konstantin's violent gaze. Remembering why he was there in the first place, Kon spoke with another miner who could barely give a response still stunned from what had just happened. Clicking his metal finger hard enough to make sparks, he drew the man’s attention back to the original conversation. “Have you forgotten who you work for?”
Sweat glistening from his blackened skin, the miner looked briefly into Kon’s eye before averting his gaze. “No, sir…Just we were just having some fun, sir, won’t happen again, sir.” Nodding to himself, Kon looked around at the miners stunned, before backing once more. “Get back to work!” Wanting to ensure they didn’t meet the same fate as their counterpart, the burly men double-downed their focus and returned to their tools, pushing the minecarts once more. The conditions in the mine itself were reportedly terrible but it wasn’t something he was concerned about, Kon was purely after results. If those results cost a few limbs or even lives so be it. Kon was living proof that sometimes terrible sacrifices were needed. And fortunately Rush Valley was close by and known for cheap and accessible prosthetics, so the man would be back in the mine before the day's end.
Kon had already forgotten about the man, he was more concerned about the reports of reduced profits from the mine. Knowing that this issue would be hard to resolve without proper equipment or the hand of a skilled individual, he took it upon himself in spite of being a mage, in spite of being even a Guild Master to enter the mines and use his abilities. But so far from a quick glance, even his golden eye couldn’t do much for him, afterall it was designed to read people not look at ore deposits. Knowing that he’d only be wasting time to further look from a macro level, Kon reopened the conversation with the miner whose name tag read, Peter - Manager written underneath in red ink, waving him over. “Oi Mate.”
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