After another day and a half, we finally arrived at the village while it was still dark out after following the directions that were on the paper and Rudges directions, he knew the landscape like no one else.

During the travel Lope tried teaching me letters, how to recognize and write them with the help of Rudges, drawing them into the air with his finger. Wilmot didn't join any of the fun and mostly was just quiet.

Now I realize I don't remember most of what they tried to teach me.

Lope suggested that the first thing we should do was to search for someone who could act as a guide, someone who had first-hand experience with the problem.

"Is there something in the instruction to who we should turn to when we arrive?" I asked.

Lope held the papers, "no, but someone called Herve created the request. So maybe him?"

We went around, most likely waking up some of the locals, asking for this so-called Herve, and found out that he was one of the miners who saw the haunt first hand, we also found out where he was living.

We then walked over to his house and knocked.

As he opened the door shock was painted across his face, no wonder.

How should one react when four armed men show up at your doorstep?

I was a bit disappointed to see that he wasn't charcoal black all over, I thought that miners usually are but because of the monsters and animals in the mine, I guess he wasn't getting smudges all day long in one.

Or maybe we aren't even at the right house.

"Are you Herve?" I asked for confirmation.

"...Yes?" He said unsure.

"The same one who posted a request to the guild? That Herve?" I asked again.

"Yes," he found his composure.

"Are you free at the moment? We'd like to ask some questions about the request," Lope handed him the papers.

After we were invited into his house we all sat down and surprisingly, Wilmot start the questioning, "tell us from the start what happened."

"No time for some rest or relaxation?" I asked.

"It's better if we get all the information we need first then we can decide what to do," Wilmot answered.

As a group, we turned to the miner and listened, "around a month ago when the other miners and I were working, we found a small cave that was in the way of the progress of the mine, and after digging for a while corpses fell from the ceiling. There must have been an old graveyard above us and the vibrations of the mining loosened up the earth."

"How many men? And where is the mine?"

"Twenty-two, including me. The mine is just an hour out, there are paths that directly lead to it. At first, we didn't know what do to with them but then 'it' stood up and started walking."

"It?"

"You know, IT, the thing we requested about," I saw the fear in his face.

"The haunt, you mean?" Rudges asked.

"Zombie, walking dead, the soulless, call it whatever you like but it's still horrifying and clearly not human... or at least not anymore. We all ran out and didn't return for a week then we tried looking into the mine again but some kinds of cat-wolves made their nest in there."

"Like lykoi?" Rudges asked.

"I don't know, they were bigger than dogs, that's for sure. The animals aren't a problem but none of us dares go near 'It'. Please just get rid of the monster."

"That's what we're here for," Lope reassured him, "but could we do it in the morning? I'm not sure how I feel going out in the middle of the night."

"Of course, you all can stay here till morning, that the least I can do to help," he offered.

So we rested at Herve's house until morning. It was actually very nice of him. I feared at first that he would say something like "I paid for you to terminate that thing so I've done more than enough", but it turns out he was much nicer than I expected.

I should have more faith in people.

As soon as the sun rose we headed out following one of the before mentioned paths we easily found our way there.

I was stopped when I was trying to go into the entrance.

"Hold your horses," Rudges said, "let's first examine the situation." He looked around, "there are two lanterns here," he opened them, "luckily there still fuel in here."

I could see candles, "how are we going to light them?"

He took out a candle and screamed, "let there be LIGHT!" A small spark came out of Rudges' hand and lit the little candle.

"You're a magician?" I said astonished, "but couldn't you just light the way with the magic?"

He lit the other candle with the one that already was, "I couldn't hold a flame for so long. And you see...," he looked very serious at me, "that small maneuver cost me a month of my lifespan"

"Really?" I responded, shocked.

"Just joking around, I don't really know how magic works, and that's the only thing I can do," he said with a big smile, then extinguished both candles. "I also have a torch in my backpack, just in case. I would have gotten more if I knew where we were going."

"You're awfully well prepared for someone who's just joining the guild," Wilmot commented.

"We have two shield bearers, me and Lope," Rudges explained, "Pike has a spear, and Wilmot, next to having a backup sword, has a bow. It's kind of tight in a mine, and standing next to each other swinging weapons wouldn't be favorable, so forming a line would be the best strategy. Me and Lope being at the front and back with the lanterns and you two between us. Agreed?"

"We could light a fire and try smoking out whatever is in the mine then set up a trap," Wilmot suggested.

"We don't know if there is an air shaft somewhere in the cave connected to the mine. We would just sit around for hours and waste time, also I don't think the undead would mind smoke," Lope interjected.

"We could try flooding it," I suggested.

"How?" Lope questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Any other ideas?" Rudges asked optimistically.

I didn't have one and neither did the others. Rudges lit the candles again with a spark from his fingers. We got in a line, Lope and Rudges held their shields and lanterns high. I readied my spear ready to stab anything that came my way, and Wilmot nocked an arrow, with our weapons in hand we made our way through the dark mine.

Even with the lanterns in front and back, the visibility was low and there was a rocky smell, "is this is a coal mine?" I asked.

"Keep quiet," Wil warned me in a whisper.

"He's right, we don't know what could be lurking in the shadow," Rudges whispered too.

"Sorry," I was nervous.

I didn't mean to endanger us.

I didn't feel safe as we advanced, not just because of the imminent danger that could befall us any minute but because of the mine itself. The supporting beams just didn't seem all that safe and I've never been in a place where I'd hit the ceiling with just a light jump, not even that. I could actually touch the ceiling when I stretched up, even Lope, who was the smallest of the four of us could.

Did I just now find out that I had a fear of tight spaces? No, no, it's just under the circumstances it didn't seem safe. On any other day, I would feel like I was at home here.

With that thought, I calmed down and focused.

"I can't let these guys down," I thought.

They depend on me as I do on them.

It looked like the mine went on forever with only darkness in front of us and to the back of us.

I wanted to say something or anything, like, "You can cut the tension with a knife", or "Feels like walking in a dream", but the situation was much too serious for something like that. Any noise that wasn't the light clanking and rattling of armor could help or hinder us and I didn't want to be responsible if something bad happens.

But as we went on there was a noise. We stopped and readied ourselves for anything, front and back. Wil drew the bow back straining the string of the bow. Lope bound the lamp to his belt and Rudges set it down and both drew their weapons.

I couldn't make out what it was or where it came from. It was accompanied by a tremble. I never heard or felt anything like that before. It was no animals or anything that could talk, that was for sure.

The tremble got stronger, and Rudges was the first to say something, "what a peculiar noise."

Lope gestured to make our way forward but before we could even take a step, a rock with a heavy sound like that of a bell fell on my helmet.

Rudges screamed, "IT'S A CAVE-IN, RUN."

He pushed us forwards while debris showered us. We ran while everything behind us collapsed. I sprinted as fast as I could but saw that a supporting beam snapped like a twig.

Its age has weakened the wood too much.

The rocks and dirt showered me like rain and I was wrapped into another kind of darkness.

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