Nebo

He’d started feeling better the last couple weeks, and he was almost back to his old self again. He had decided not to go out at night anymore and steal food lest he'd get someone else killed again for something that he did.

Mikhail had asked him what was wrong a while ago, but he couldn't tell him the whole story. It wasn't out of fear of Mikhail being angry, but because he just didn't have the heart to tell him what the extra food had cost. Still, he'd thought about telling him soon, anyway. The burden on his conscience was pressuring him to do so.

He'd gone out exploring with Elka a lot lately, and there were things they picked up here and there by listening in on the shiftmasters conversations, such as rumours from the outside world.

The rebellion had conducted minor raids on several labor camps, and they had freed slaves who were then given the choice to join them or to flee the empire. There were also talks of an important Weaver from the Elysian Tower that would be visiting the mines soon. Though Nebo hated the empire, he was intrigued by the visit of someone who had the same talents as him.

Mikhail seemed to have made new friends in Twenty and Frehar, which Nebo liked. He was still grumpy most of the time, but whether Mikhail would admit it or not, Nebo caught him smiling more than once when he'd been together with the unlikely duo.

“So, is he your father or something?” Elka said, nodding at Mikhail who was eating with the two other men.

He shrugged. “I guess you could say that, he saved my life when I was little and we've been together ever since.”

“I see, he's handsome isn't he?”

Nebo looked at her, puzzled. Mikhail was a large, broad shouldered man and always had a look on his pale, scarred face like he had a rock stuck in his shoe. “You're kidding, right?”

She cocked her head. “No, I'm not. I thought he was your real dad, you kind of look alike, and your attitudes feel the same sometimes, except your eyes are blue and his are black.”

He hadn't seen a mirror for as long as he could remember, so he couldn't compare, but it seemed unlikely to him that he looked like Mikhail.

“Is your mom still alive?” Elka said.

“I don't know, we’ve never met. There was someone who felt like a mother, but she's been gone for a long time.” He tensed his fists. “I don't really want to talk about it.”

“Sorry, I didn't mean to pry, it's just that I actually don't know a lot about you considering how much time we spend together.” She touched her cheek. “It's weird, right?”

He shook his head. “It's okay, I don't remember much from before I came here anyway, so I wouldn't know what to tell you.”

A low rumbling sounded through the mines, it seemed it was storming outside. He hadn't seen the sky in years.

“What were your people like, Elka?” He said. “Do you remember much?”

Her eyes lit up. “Of course! I grew up in a mountain village to the far north, in what the empire calls the Barbarian Union.” She thought for a moment. “My people tend to do a lot of fishing and hunting, though father always said I'd be useless in a hunt because of my black hair, with the snow and all. There aren't many crops that grow in the North, so animals are our primary source of food. Too cold and all, you know?”

He hummed in agreement. “Makes sense, so how did you end up here?”

Her eyes turned cold. “We're a nomadic people, which means we're often easy prey for imperial slavers. My father was a great warrior, but our caravans usually don't contain much more than 15 people since food is scarce.” She looked away. “My father and five other men were the only protection we had, but we were ambushed by a large slaver party and the men were killed almost instantly. The women were all sold off separately afterwards, and I never saw any of them again.”

“I-” Nebo swallowed. “I'm really sorry you had to go through that Elka, I didn't want you to relive it.”

She smiled sadly. “It's alright, it doesn't hurt as much as it used to.”

Nebo looked at her. “The woman that was like my mother gave her life so Mikhail and I could stay together.” He hesitated. “She was executed in front of us.”

Elka stared at him, then smiled and put her arm around his shoulders. “I guess we both haven't had it easy, have we?”

“I guess so.”

“Thanks for telling me, I won't-”

One of the shiftmasters threw a rock at them, and nearly missed Elka's head. “Almost got ya, fucking useless northern cunt, why don't you make yourself useful and come to the shiftmaster’s quarters tonight, eh? I reckon you're old enough now.” A vile, toothy grin appeared on the man's face.

Nebo's muscles tensed, and fury rose in his chest.

Because of filth like you, innocents die every day.

Elka squeezed his arm before he could say or do anything stupid.

Elka looked at the shiftmaster. “I'm sorry master Elryc, but I'm not worthy of such an honor. I'm quite sick, and I wouldn't want to cause you all to get sick as well.”

He turned up his nose, spat on the ground and walked off. “Disgusting barbarian, we’ll see some day.”

Elryc was one of the most sadistic shiftmasters they knew. A short, balding man with a penchant for doling out punishment where none was needed. He seemed to enjoy taking young slaves with him to his quarters, after which they either came back differently from before or they were simply never seen again. Nebo's heart weighed heavy with fear of the day he might really set his eyes on Elka.

Elka squeezed his shoulder, but he could feel her slender hand trembling. “Thanks for keeping calm, it might have ended differently otherwise.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Gods I'd love to smash his balding skull in some day.” Nebo said, fuming.

Elka laughed. “You might want to grow some muscles first then, beanstalk.” She smiled. “But thank you.”

A tap on the shoulder interrupted their conversation. Nebo turned around, and saw Frehar standing there with his arms crossed and a goofy grin on his face.

“Ah, young love. If only I were still your age and, well, not a slave.” He shrugged. “How are you, kids?”

Nebo rolled his eyes at him. “I'd guess you've had quite enough ‘young love’ in your life already, Frehar.”

Frehar winked at him. “More than you'll ever know, young blue-eyes.” He sat next to them and turned to Elka. “You're a bar-”

Elka's eyes made Frehar reconsider his choice of words.

“Sorry, a Caldmori, aren't you?” He put up his hands in a show of apology. “I didn't intend to insult you, my great grandmother's actually a Caldmori. It's just that not many here in the mines know your people's true name.”

Elka nodded her head. “It's alright, but yes, I am.”

“I thought as much,” He said. “You may have hair as black as a dreadraven, but those deep crimson eyes are a dead giveaway.”

“Is there something you came here for, Frehar?” Nebo asked, slightly irritated at the man's jovial attitude. Maybe Mikhail really was rubbing off on him more than he thought.

Frehar's eyes twinkled with amusement, as always. “I just wanted to say hello, my boy.” His expression changed as if he just remembered something. “Oh, there's been a collapse in one of the tunnels, so be sure to steer clear from there for the time being. Dangerous falling rubble and all.” He shook his head. “Those poor sods that are trapped in there, I hope they'll be alright.”

“Thanks, we'll be sure to stay away.” Nebo said, knowing for certain he and Elka would be going to see it soon.

“Good lad,” He sighed. “I guess we'll have to work even harder tomorrow to clear the rubble. Oh, my poor old back.”

Nebo smirked. “I guess being too young does have some advantages.”

“It does, and don't you forget it.” He looked over his shoulder. “Anyway, I'll leave you two to your own devices, I'll go catch a bit of rest for tomorrow. Be good, now.”

“Thanks Frehar, we'll see you around.”

Frehar hobbled off, exaggerating his posture. Nebo chuckled.

“Nebo?” Elka asked.

“Yeah?”

“You want to go look at the-”

“Already ahead of you, let's go.”

They both ran off after asking one of the other slaves where the collapse had happened.

When they got there, three shiftmasters were standing in front of the collapsed tunnel speaking to another man dressed in heavy, red embroidered black robes. The unknown man was of short stature, but exuded an aura of power and authority.

His slicked back grey hair, long goatee and proud posture gave him an appearance that reminded Nebo of a noble.

Elka pulled at Nebo's tunic. “Look at that, it'll take at least two weeks for that much rubble to be cleared. The people inside would never survive that!”

Giant boulders had blocked the entire thirty feet high entrance, there was no way the slaves would be able to clear it in less time than Elka said. Nebo felt bad for Mikhail and the others, their workload would almost certainly be doubled.

“Let's sneak a bit closer so we can hear what they're talking about.” Nebo said.

Elka agreed, and they snuck towards the entrance. When they got closer, they heard the men arguing.

“Master Weaver, we can't keep production up to standard like this. Please, if you could ask the lord overseer to send us a couple hundred more slaves.”

“We need the rubble cleared and we just don't have enough men to do that.” The other shiftmaster pleaded.

“Gentlemen, calm yourselves.” the unknown man's deep voice sounded through the caverns. “I came under the orders of overseer Arolan to inspect these mines and to make sure everything is going as intended.”

The shiftmasters looked at eachother, shifting their weights from one foot to the other. “This is simply bad luck, master Weaver, but it will slow the work for at least two weeks.”

The man they referred to as lord Weaver looked each of them in the eye before speaking. “A subject of the empire does not blame circumstance, you will do well to remember that.” He turned to the entrance. “We can not have production slowing down because of something as insignificant as a tunnel collapse, though.”

“So, you'll send more slaves, sir?”

The Weaver waved dismissively. “Stand clear of the entrance.”

The shiftmasters looked at eachother, and quickly stepped away from the rubble.

“I will help you this time, but Sahrion have mercy on your souls if one more tunnel collapses because of shoddy upkeep and incompetent inspection.” The weaver stepped forward and began waving an intricate pattern in the air.

Nebo felt a ripple of magic, and goosebumps formed on his skin. This man was an Arcaneborne, like Katya had told him. His heart pounded in his chest, he hadn't seen magic apart from his own in years.

Elka shuddered next to him. “I think we should get away from here, Nebo. That man is dangerous.”

But he didn't want to go, he had to see this.

The Weaver’s deep voice got louder. Nebo focussed his eyes and saw him pick out the shimmering strands of magic, weaving a pattern in the air that he'd never seen before. The strands were intertwined, then unravelled, before being sewn together again in a completely different pattern from the first. The air crackled with magical energy, and waves thrummed through Nebo's entire body.

Then, suddenly, the man stopped. He spread his arms out in front of him, softly spoke a single word, and clapped. It felt and sounded as if all the air was sucked out of the cavern momentarily, then exploded in a giant shockwave towards the collapsed cavern. Half of the giant boulders instantly vaporized, and the rest were shattered and blown into the tunnel.

Nebo was utterly shocked, and after coming to his senses there was only one thought running through his mind.

I need to learn this, at all costs.

Mikhail

Frehar and Twenty had told him earlier they'd want to talk to him in a few days. When asked what about, Frehar had just dodged the question and joked around. “All in good time.” He had said.

Mikhail would've dismissed it as more of Frehar's foolishness, but something about Twenty’s demeanor made him reconsider. Curiosity clawed at his mind, and he didn't like being kept in the dark for the time being.

What are those fools up to?

He slung his bag of tools over his shoulder and made his way to the quartermaster for inspection.

Nebo had been in somewhat better spirits since their talk, but he could tell the boy was still not feeling as well as he could.

Maybe some day soon he'd ask him again, but until then he decided he'd wait for the boy to come to him.

He arrived at the quartermaster's cabin. Several other slaves, covered in sweat and grime, were waiting in line to have their tools counted and checked for damages. They did this weekly to ensure no tools were stolen, and to make sure the slaves wouldn't have any excuse for less productivity.

Mikhail looked around and saw the collapsed tunnel off in the distance, with three men in front of it. One of them was dressed suspiciously well. He'd heard there were hundreds of slaves trapped there, and felt relief for the fact that he and Nebo weren't in there when it happened.

Those poor souls, made to work every day and then having to die in such a terrifying manner. At least they were together.

He shook his head. The line moved a step forward, and Mikhail saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Nebo and the girl were sneaking from cover to cover, inching closer to the collapsed entrance.

That fool!

Mikhail's hands shook. Of course he understood they'd want to take a look, but there were shiftmasters and an unknown man there. If they were caught sneaking around they'd be whipped for certain, or worse.

He wanted to step out of the line and grab them, but that would certainly get the attention of everyone around them. He couldn't do anything but watch in silent anger and worry for now.

Then, he felt something. A shudder, a whisper of a thing he hadn't felt in a long time.

Katya?

He turned his gaze towards Nebo, and saw the well dressed man wave his arms in the air. He'd seen this before, the man was conjuring magic.

All of a sudden the man stopped, and clapped his hands together. Mikhail's eyes grew wide as he witnessed the resulting shockwave blasting clear the tunnel entrance. Some of the slaves around him fell over in shock and fear, while others hurried to look at what happened.

Mikhail quickly regained his senses, and joined the slaves that were running to see what happened in order to pull Nebo and Elka out of there.

When he got closer, he saw he was too late. One of the shiftmasters, Elryc, stood behind the two children and grabbed them by their hair.