Kosziri wipes the sweat off his brow, grateful that his thick hair is swept back in braids. Working at the forge and being in the mines all day takes a toll on a dwarf even if it is part of their nature. He sets down his tools right as the whistle is blown to signify the end of a work day. He rolls his shoulders back and cracks his knuckles to relieve some of the everyday aches and pains.
Everyone starts packing away their tools and heading out of the mine. Kosziri paces a few meters behind everyone knowing he isn’t as welcomed as he’d like to be. Now that they are out of the mine, he grabs his field cap from his back pocket and straightens it out. He makes sure to shove most of his hair into the cap before fastening it on his head. With the chill air blowing and his hair no longer on the back of his neck, he’s now able to cool off faster from working at the forge all day.
He’s aware that hiding his hair as a dwarf is a looked down upon act, but for some reason wearing hats has always given him a sense of comfort whether it be the style or that it’s a way to protect himself from others. He trudges through the dark, wintry forest as his coworkers are laughing and jibing each other farther up ahead.
He had wanted to grab a bite at the tavern in Frerin’s Court, but it seems the lot ahead of him had the same idea. Even with his stomach grumbling, he continues on ahead to home, knowing that he would sour everyone’s mood if he entered the same tavern.
The commute is not long, not nearly as long as when he worked in Gondamon, but still he finds the quiet to be too much. In the regard that the quiet allows his thoughts to increase in volume- and not good thoughts either. He just has to make it home and then he’ll be safe (from himself).
Finally arriving to the entrance of his home, he just lets out a long sigh as he looks around. His once highly prized garden of spicy peppers is now withered and dead in the ground. He just has not the energy to care for his plants like he used to. He walks up closer to the door and just stares at it. He lightly brushes his fingers over the wood of the door, wishing things were how they used to be.
He never realized how much he relied on the presence of his sister until she was gone and now she’s happily married and will never be coming back. She rarely visits too and he knows he’s not much fun to be around. But, they are family. That should count for something. He frowns as his bottom lip begins to tremble.
“No. Stop it.” He mutters to himself, shaking his head to clear away his thoughts. He grips the handle of the door and pushes it open.
The inside of his house appears very cozy and decorated in a way not typical of other dwarves. It has light, flowery wallpaper all around the house along with dark, wooden floors. There’s a long table adorned with simple dishes like water pitchers and mugs for ale, it seems to all be for decoration more than actual use. A few white wicker chairs sit besides the table on both sides and a fireplace in the far right corner of the room provides a fair amount of light.
This setup to the living room has not changed for some time, the only real difference is that he’s moved one of the chairs from the fireplace to Amliri’s room seeing as he’s the only person that’s been staying here the last couple of years.
He kicks off his work boots and meticulously places them near the door. He, then, shuffles his way on over to the fireplace and sticks his hands outward to the heat. (It’s self-controlled). Instead of going to his room, he immediately heads to Amliri’s room and finds his chair in the corner and sits down.
Amliri’s room is the most vibrant of all the rooms. There are many plants, that unlike the garden outside, are green and thriving. A sort of spiritual light emits from this room and gives off a calming aura which is odd considering anyone who knew Amliri knew that that wasn’t her vibe. In her absence, Amliri’s room has become Kosziri’s safe haven. When he sits in this room, he’s able to reminisce on his past and his negative thoughts will not show presence here.
An unknown amount of time passes as Kosziri just sits and relaxes in Amliri’s room. Eventually, his eyes grow tired and signal that it’s time for bed. He slowly walks to his own room, a sense of foreboding spreads across his body as he enters his side of the house. He changes into more comfortable nighttime clothes and places his hat on his dresser as he climbs into bed. He wishes to fall asleep fast.
His body immediately wakes up a little after dawn. He wrestles on a new pair of work clothes and grabs his hat. Having not eaten anything last night, his stomach is roaring for a nibble of anything at the moment. He does a quick search in his cupboards for any food he might have- he really needs to go grocery shopping. “Aha! A small piece of stale bread… it’ll do.” As he scarfs down the morsel, he dons his work boots and heads out the door (making sure to lock up, of course).
He starts walking at a brisker pace than last night. He’s not a huge fan of his job, seeing as he’s been doing the same thing for practically half his life, but he does like to arrive on time if not a little earlier.
Once he gets out of his neighborhood, he notices the light snowfall weather and actually hopes he’ll be able to work in the mines today so he doesn’t have to deal with the snow. He travels quickly through Frerin’s Court noticing the same merchants trying to sell their wares and soldiers lining the streets.
He arrives at the small gate near the entrance of Silver Deep Mine already spotting his supervisor, Alvar, who’s holding a small leaflet of papers and yelling at the other workers where to go for the day. He sighs quietly, steeling himself for another day of monotonous work. He takes a step forward and is slammed into the side of the gate causing it to reverberate violently. He grunts and turns slightly to spot Dronin, they’ve been working together for over a decade and Kosziri finds Dronin just can’t help to “tease” him.
“Better watch where yer goin’, freak.” Dronin threatens as he continues to shove past Kosziri into the courtyard.
Kosziri shakes his head, shoving his hands into his pockets and slowly shuffles past the gate. He glances about seeing all his fellow dwarves rush around gathering their tools and heading to the mines or working at the few forges they have here. He stands off in the corner awaiting his call time.
It’s not until most of the courtyard has cleared out that he realizes his name was never called. He’s not particularly eager to get on with his work, seeing as he’s not in favor with his boss like Dronin or some of the others. He tends to get stuck with the jobs- no, not jobs, errands that nobody else wants to volunteer for. Clearly, he’s not wanted around by his peers.
He steps up to Alvar, coughing politely to gain his attention.
“Yes, what?” The day has barely begun and his supervisor already seems annoyed. He barely glances at Kosziri, “Oh, it’s you.”
Feeling his ounce of confidence shrink, Kosziri mutters quietly avoiding all eye contact, “Uh… S-Sir, you never called m-my name.”
Alvar’s eyes furrow in confusion, “What? Yes, I did.” He shoos Kosziri away. “Go back to work.”
Kosziri curls his fingers into his palms to keep his hands from shaking, “Y-Ye didn’t, Sir.”
An audible sigh of annoyance or disappointment breaks the silence- Kosziri has no clue- as Alvar shuffles through his papers to find Kosziri’s name. It isn’t till Alvar gets to the last page that he has a revelating moment, “Ohh, tha’s right. I forgot to tell ye last shift. Yer being transferred to the kingdom to complete a project.”
Kosziri’s eyes widen in a state of shock. “T-The Kingdom? Are ye sure they wanted me? Sir?”
Alvar nods. “Ye were personally requested by one o’ the higher-ups. Ye start today. So best for ye to get ye gear and head on up to the castle.”
He nods quickly and skips over to a workbench with an array of tools lying on it. He’s no longer going to be working the same old boring job and maybe at this new job he can actually make friends! He finds himself actually looking forward to this new change; for years he hated any sort of change, but he feels that this one needs to happen for his greater well-being.
With his tools gathered, Kosziri waves to Alvar, who gives a nod of acknowledgement, and begins his trek to the Kingdom. It isn’t until he’s further down the road that he’s accosted by Dronin and some of his followers.
“I couldn’t help but overhear that yer being transferred… There’s no way a foreigner like you got a job working in the Kingdom.”
“W-Well….” Kosziri looks to the ground trying to come up with a response. “Someone up there thinks I’m worth something.”
Dronin bellows out a laugh and continues to laugh heartily for a few moments (a couple of his goons snicker with him). “Clearly they’ll find out their faith was put in the wrong person. If they’re going to recruit any dwarf, it should be one who was born n’ raised here in the Blue Mountains. Not scum from beyond the Misties.”
Kosziri shakes his head, seeing that the present conversation is hopeless, and carries on down the path with not a word said to the others.
Just as he turns the corner, he hears a yell in the distance, “Don’t think this means yer better than me!”
He knows he’s not better than Dronin. He’s not better than a lot of people, but he’s hoping that this new job will give him the strength to keep going.
