The days traveling with Jaki and the other debtors passed quicker than Arianna had expected. At first she had hugged herself as she moved farther away from everything she had known. Fear and uncertainty but as they had traveled closer to Tuleth, she started paying closer attention to the scenery. It was a city she had only heard of, one of the major cities in the imperial region. It was the primary location for the headquarters of the Miner’s guild and had one of the best military training outposts in Rystria. The mines of Tuleth were legendary. Vast caverns in the earth where thousands would dig each day to mine the rich ore and crystalline prisms.

The horses kicked up a cloud of dust as they increased their speed. Arianna coughed as some of the dust tickled her throat. Her legs were sore from sitting on them for so long. The last day they had all sat quietly while the wagon slightly weaved its way to the mines. Arianna watched the others sharing the wagon with her. One or two appeared younger than her but for the most part they all seemed several years older.

           There were three other women, four men and three children. Arianna didn’t know their names or even why they were being brought to Tuleth. Excitement slowly bubbled in her chest as she watched the tall stone wall gradually come closer. She could not wait to finally be out of the wagon. A moment of guilt tugged at her excitement. She had no idea how her mother was doing. She hoped what the Jaki had said was true. She wanted to be able to send something back to her mother to help her. Arianna had periodically wondered what it would have been like to travel to other larger cities and visit the large libraries she had heard about. She never thought she would actually be living in one.

           The wagon turned and followed a well worn path around the city. They approached an encampment with many tents. People moved quickly and donkeys were tied to wooden carts. Arianna watched in open-eyed wonder as a huge pulley lifted and fell in the sky, it was attached to a wooden support structure. It looked like a giant water pump. Creaks and groans came from all around her. She heard the voices of dozens of people talking. The air was thick with dust and she felt little grains of it on her tongue.

           “Come with me” Jaki said as he lowered the back of the wagon. They slowly climbed down. Her legs tingled with the feeling of a hundred needle pricks.

           “Ouch” she said as she rubbed her legs.

           “You’ll be hurting a lot worse now that we’re here.” One of the women said.

           “Why?” Arianna couldn’t help but ask.

           The woman gave her an odd look and shook her head. “My name’s Marje.”

           “I’m Arianna.” Jaki turned and waved for them to be quiet. He then led them down a path between many tents. He led them to a large white tent with green ribbons holding open the flap.

           “Ah, Jaki, I see you have finally arrived. Let’s see what you have brought us today.” A short man with a large belly stood from behind a short table. The end of his nose was covered in a large patchy scab. The little bit of hair that remained on his head stood straight up in wispy strands. His eyes were dark and calculating and Arianna shivered when his gaze turned to her. He picked up a wooden board from his table and made a few scribbles.

           “These four men look fit and hardy. They’ll immediately go to the deep mine.” He walked toward them continuing to write on his board. He stopped in front of the children and motioned for them to spin around. “These two can go for the burrowing crew. This one is still too small. He’ll help in the kitchens until he’s larger.” He grabbed the little boys arm and made a circle on the back of his hand.

           “How old are ya?” He barked the question at Arianna, staring at her petite figure.

           “I’m sixteen.” Arianna straightened her spine, realizing that the next oldest woman was still half a foot taller than her. He nodded at a Jaki and continued to pace over to the three remaining women. “You three stay with me. I’d like to tell you about how we can help you pay off your debt quicker.”

           Arianna and the others were led out of the tent by the man. She wondered what the women were being offered.

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           They were led to another tent with red ribbons holding the flap open.

           “I’m dropping off some new ones.” Jaki said and pointed for them to enter.

           They were lined up again. A woman had each one of them open their mouths and asked them how they were feeling. When she was done examining them she motioned to a guard to come and get them.

           The guard took Arianna to a stone building and knocked twice on the door.

           “You have a new recruit.”

           The door opened and a heavyset woman looked her up and down. “A tiny thing aren’t ya?”

           Arianna nodded quickly. The woman wore a metal chest piece and a sheathed sword at her side.

           “Come in.” She moved aside and Arianna walked into the building. Her eyes blinked several times to adjust to the darkness of the room.

           “The others are still working for the day. I’ll go through the rules. I only do it once. Are you listening?” The woman spoke quickly and Arianna found herself nodding along while she tried to take in her surroundings.

           “You sleep here. You’ll eat with the others at the sup tent. Each morning you get up at the second ring and go with your group to the mine. You work and get lunch there. You come back here. Don’t speak to any of the other groups. Don’t question the guards. What’s your name?”

           “Ar-Arianna.”

           “I am Commander Illyana.” She picked up a stack of papers. “What’s the debt?”

           “Um, my father Anderth… I was told he owed 100 gold.”

           Illyana flipped several pages aside. “Ah, there is the debt. You will need to work a full cycle to pay off this debt. If you meet your quota for the week you will receive a silver, if you do not… you get nothing.” She opened a side door, bunk beds lined the walls. “These are the beds for your group. Most of them are all taken. You will have to wait until they get back and take one that’s available. When your clothes wear out speak to Lieutenant Pateer. She’ll make arrangements to get anything else that you might need. She’ll also give the group the weekly quota.”

           Commander Illyana left her alone. Arianna circled the bunk room slowly. She counted ten beds. She wondered who her group mates were. Less than a sennight past she was helping her mother struggle to buy flour. Now she was being forced to work to pay off her father’s debt. She didn’t know what she would do. She had never been so far away from her mother. She curled up on one of the beds and pulled her small bag close to her chest.

           The sound of the door slamming woke her suddenly. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She could hear voices in the main room. She quickly stood up and opened the door to the front room. When Illyana showed her around earlier she hadn’t paid attention, now she saw the room had two tables, one large enough to fit at least 12. The other was smaller, but much nicer. Two other doors were on the other side of the room. She saw several girls sitting around the larger table. Many looked around her age, some were younger. They were staring at her.

           “You must be Arianna?” One woman stood up from the smaller table. She was tall and slender. Her dark hair was cropped short. “I’m Lieutenant Pateer. Sit down.” She motioned toward the others.

           Arianna quickly sat on the end of the bench. The Lieutenant was reviewing a stack of documents and shuffling through the papers. Everyone was quiet while Pateer was working. Arianna took the time to observe the rest of her group. There were ten of them. They were all dirty and their hair pulled back into tight buns or braids. They wore pants that were ragged and torn at the edges.

           “Ok, fine day. Tomorrow you’ll have to work twice as hard. Now that we’re a full group we’ll have to do even better.”

           Everyone stood up from the table, Arianna did the same.

           “You didn’t work today so you stay here. You work, you eat. If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Lieutenant Pateer said.

           Arianna stood waiting. Her stomach quivered in hunger. She had eaten anything all day long. The others had already left the building and Arianna found herself alone again.