Chapter 580: Gears

As the party headed toward the gates there was a series of clicks and they watched as the gate opened by itself. They also witnessed some small gears at the sides that appeared to be the cause. "There is a little steam escaping from where the gears are. The steam makes them move! That is amazing." Walker was finally seeing the truth from the many tales told of the dwarven city. 

"That is what the merchants meant by self opening doors. It isn't magic but steam and gears." Gil felt that a huge puzzle had been solved. This was something that many just assumed was magic that the merchants had not understood. 

"They rely on mana powered and steam powered golems along with other things. This is a very wondrous city already. I just fear what this empty space means." Su knew well that this reception area was mostly for travelers and merchants. Seeing it empty was a foreboding of what dangers the city must be facing. 

The tunnel they were in was filled with neatly organized steam pipes on the roof and a lot of space for many different sized cargoes. There were also some gears that protrude from small spaces that seemed to have crystals inlaid in to the walls.

The large space soon opened up in to a massive area easily the size of the Crystal kingdoms' city of Diamond that they were from. There were massive metal arches arching all the way up to the ceiling where a massive metal and crystal creation was constantly releasing light that mirrored the sun. 

"How can this exist just under the ground. It's like a whole other world." Walker was turning around examining the massive area. From his view, he could see many shops and small forges set up to make modifications to different gear and items. There were even storage buildings with different merchant groups markings along with some personal crests used by those who forged goods. 

"The roof is so high. Those metal braces must have taken years to forge. I wonder how they managed it." Su couldn't help but be caught by the massive supports that were keeping the ceilings held above their heads. 

"I see why the city is in a state of danger. The acidic slimes could easily be eating away at those braces and risking a massive collapse." The moment the words left Walkers' mouth he knew he had just piled on a massive amount of stress. 

"At least we will get used to the heat down here…" Remey knew that the sheer size of this portion of the city was going to take a long time to traverse. This meant that they would need to get used to the heat no matter what. She also wanted a distraction from Walker's words. 

Midnight shook herself and stood taller than usual. "I am sure you are comfortable as ever. You like to sleep in heat like this all the time." Walker found her actions adorable and couldn't help but give her a few head pats. 

"Some of these are homes. This may be a merchant area, and it is massive. But there are people that live here." Gil easily spotted the buildings that appeared to be homes and knew that this was a much worse situation than expected. 

"I can see that this will need more attention. We should pick up the pace and get to the administrative section as soon as possible." Walker took the lead with his staff at the ready. He was sure that they may encounter some danger as they moved through the large market streets between the many mercantile buildings. 

Seeing the boarded up and sealed doors made the entire party feel that there was already a loss. This was obviously the hub of their entire city and should be full of merchants looking to export goods or buy materials. However, there was only silence with the clicking of gears or steam. 

"Look, there is a line of golems blocking this route." Remey found that the little golem was guiding them down a side street around a group of golems with significant damage. They had multiple limbs that had been melted by acid and it was clear that they had tangled with the acidic slimes. 

"I have a feeling that beyond there is a mess of yellow slimes they are dealing with…" Gil could only imagine the issues that were behind the blocked street. 

"We need to find a way to solve this problem. I wonder if there is a way to make some sort of poison or liquid to break apart the acid bodies of the slimes?" Walker was thinking that Remey might have an idea on how to do this. She was their resident alchemy expert and if there was any way to oppose the slimes with a potion she would figure it out.

"I might be able to make something. I need a place to start experimenting though. They are acid slimes and will dissolve just about everything. But if I can find something that is the opposite of their bodies acid then it might break their structure." Remey began mumbling to herself with this new focus. 

The party formed up around her so she wouldn't need to worry about defending herself while walking and thinking. This was much the same tactic that they had used when Walker was meditating on the earth elemental mana and walking. Walker couldn't help but feel strange to be on the other side of things. 

"You know how we felt now walking with you like this." Gil gave him a nudge in the arm as a joke to lighten the mood. Walker was glad that Gil was trying to relieve some of their stress. It was clear that Walker would not be able to use his new fusion spells here due to the damage it would cause. He was hoping that Remey would pull through with proper results. 

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