After a hero's welcome from the locals, it is time to confront the biggest challenge yet... the owner of Ironclad Mine. Mr. Oremonger. There's clearly something mysterious afoot with the Operations of the Mine, but how involved is Oremonger? Chista has her suspicions but no solid proof of his involvement. However, she has a plan, assuming her stomach doesn't rat her out...

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Story Notes:

Boyars: These are the landowning nobility in Markovia. Though their lands can rival the size and populations of smaller nations, these lords swear their fealty to the Tsar and the city of Markova and serve at the pleasure of the crown. However, they have a great deal of individual power. So long as their own decrees and laws do not contradict the Tsar's word and law, they are free to do as they please.

Despite all their power, the Boyars can not enforce their will on their lands alone. They are allowed to raise a regiment of household troops to enforce their will on their lands, keep the peace, collect taxes, and keep banditry and monster attacks to an acceptable level.

"Points": It is unknown who created the "Point System," but it has remained a staple of the vast web of bureaucracy needed to maintain the Tsardom of Markovia. The system is relatively simple: the more points a person has, the more value they have to their organization. The less points one has, the less value they have for their organization. A simple system that has spurred a century of infighting among the dozens upon dozens of Offices, Orders, and Bureaus that make up the vast bureaucracy of the Tsardom of Markovia.

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Author Notes:

I managed to work some screenshots into this chapter! So we can visually appreciate the size of Chista's girth.

We are almost at the end of this little adventure, with more to come!

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