The thick planks shook under the feet of the squad as they walked around the edge of the hole. Work on the stop-point had progressed momentously since they had confirmed it was the well in question, but there was still no end in sight. Even with Gawayen forcing the every single person who had been chosen to work, the bottom of the well was still not even visible. Instead, when one looked over the edge of the rickety wooden pathing they would see an endless maw that could swallow them up at any moment. The hole was not alive, everyone knew that, but for those of weaker dispositions it still felt alive. It was like a monster waiting for them to let down their guard and when they did it would wake from its false slumber and devour them all. For all but the strongest, the oppressive aura was too much, and those at the deepest sections of the build had to be cycled out and replaced every few days in order for them to not have complete and utter mental breakdowns.
The entourage stopped occasionally and assessed the work done as workmen set up the supply point on the long stairway down. They would stand behind those working and just watch for several minutes before moving onto the next area, and as they moved the path became more sparse, more rickety and less complete. Above them were men and women hanging below their path to secure and solidify the partially complete pathing and to extend out any completed area. Below them was simply the maw of the void.
As Gawayen reached the end of their path, he finally turned back to his followers and spoke. “What is the estimated time on reaching the ground?”
“It’s about two miles down from what we can tell, but flying mechanisms don’t work at all so it is a little difficult to actually gauge properly. Add in the fact that we are currently on a floating island and your guess is literally as good as mine. That said, if it is as deep as we assume, if we can keep the pace we’re working at we should reach the bottom within a year”.
Gawayen looked at the blonde woman who just spoke. He knew her. He knew all of his followers, even if they did not know that he knew them. He was a religious despot, but he was not stupid. He had long since learned that the best way to keep your enemies at bay was to make sure you knew your followers better than they did and to make sure they did not know you as well as they thought they did. The carrot and stick worked well, but just showing a little bit of interest in the lives of your followers would make that carrot so much sweeter, and that stick so much more meaningful. After a second Gawayen walked over to her and put his hand up to her chin. He began tracing the path of her bone piercings under her jaw towards her ears before leaning in close. “I remember you, Ayna. You were Yveth’s playmate when she was young, weren’t you?” She shivered in response to his voice. It was difficult to tell whether it was in arousal or fear, but he did not care. Both would work perfectly for his needs. His tongue traced the base of her earrings before going up the side of her ear. “You’ve done good work. You’ve made a name for yourself. I’m proud of you. How about we see if your Gi piercings can get an upgrade. Some of the ones you are currently wearing are mighty old”. He could feel the heat coming off her as his hand traced down her body, stopping to caress each piercing he found. As he got to her hips, he broke away and stepped through his entourage, leaving the young woman behind. “I reward success and punish failure, as you all know, and I am pleasantly surprised with your levels of success despite the issues you have come across. If we can reach two miles down from here within a year I will reward you all with higher quality piercings and even the chance to raise your own boneslave. Before coming down here I heard that a raiding party returned with a harvest of ten seeds. If this station can be completed to the standard of the other stations within a week then there will be one for each of you”. He paused as his words ruminated amongst the group before he began moving back up towards the rim of the well. “Chop chop, everyone, and Ayna? Come to my quarters when we are back on the surface. I have a couple of things to discuss with you”.
Striding away he let the group slowly break free from the shock at the chance to earn their own seed. As soon as they did there was a flurry of movement behind him. He knew nobody wanted to be the one responsible for the rest of them failing to be rewarded, they all knew of the value of a boneslave to a Kimbramancer and how it could propel them all to great heights within Avalon, through force of arms alone. As the group walked up the stairs they openly discussed how they could optimise the productivity of those working in the hole. They batted around ideas as those working eagerly listened to gain an advantage but there was nothing set in stone. The conversation only ceased as Gawayen reached the top of their installed stairway. The group knew there was no time to waste, so they split off and began to work feverishly to impress their leader.
He watched them split into three main groups and nodded appreciatively as they began to busy themselves with streamlining grunt-work. As soon as he was sure the group was knee deep in work he grabbed Ayna by the waist and led her towards his quarters.
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