Grugg felt more comfortable now that the distant sounds of impacts ricocheting down from the other tunnel had faded in volume and were all the more behind him now that they had chosen the other path. These yeti were odd, and something strange had been going on; he was totally blindsided by the amount of them now living here and would not like to underestimate however many there could be hiding underground now. He paused for a moment to check his wounds.
[Are you okay, Grugg? How does it look?]
His hand was sore, but luckily the cut wasn’t too deep. Likewise, the slice on his flank was superficial and had quit bleeding and sealed up reasonably quickly under the cold conditions. He would need to try to bring some healing herbs or something, next timet. Although he did not have the regenerative properties the same as troll-kind did, those of mountain heritage were naturally hard-wearing and a bit of rest should see him on the mend as long as he didn’t strain his hand too severely. He was glad he smashed that yeti up pretty well, though. The one that he let go, he was still in two minds about that, but they may cross paths in the near future and then that yeti better start praying to the Great Mountain.
[I do know some minor healing magic... if I could cast. I’m sorry I can’t be of more use right now.]
“Is okay,” Grugg shrugged. “Grugg will be fine after warm sleep. And food."
A warm sleep did sound very nice; he did not travel up this high in the mountain very often. There wasn’t a lot to hunt, and the yeti were territorial; even if they were weak, it would be too much trouble having to fight them on a regular basis - it only took one unlucky day, and he would be on the wrong end of a pack of the creepy-eyed monsters. He hadn’t given much thought to his own mortality other than he wasn’t planning on dying anytime soon. Not only did he have to go prove his tribe wrong, but there was now a whole world full of crimes and mysteries to solve. He tried to clear his mind as he began to continue forward once more.
The tunnel ahead was again dimly lit by distant torches. Where this one differed from the last, however, was the appearance of small alcoves along both sides of the walls. They seemed sporadic in nature, some maybe just a groove less than a foot deep, others almost a whole corridor that ended after perhaps a dozen feet. They were winding and often at an odd angle or depth that would make them ill-suited to traverse. Grugg paused to observe one of the shallower ones, running his finger down the rough wall; there seemed to be a pronounced indent about halfway down.
[It looks like they have been mining for something.]
That would explain the noises coming from the other direction. Yeti weren’t known to be miners - although they often resided in cave systems, they would mostly be naturally formed ones. Restricting their living space naturally helped maintain smaller, better-functioning tribes, ensuring there would be less competition over resources.
Unsure how long they had been underground, the cold was starting to get to Grugg. Despite his thick skin, he could feel the numbness begin to set in, his hands feeling stiff as he flexed them. Any body heat was just being sapped by the freezing stone surrounding him. They’d best find that magic thingy soon. He tried adjusting his fur shawl, but the leathery interior side had become stuck to his skin where his sweat had cooled.
[Don’t worry, big guy; our prize awaits us nearby.]
After a short distance further, another covered doorway came up on the right-hand side wall. Kneeling lower, Grugg put his ear to the dirty brown fabric and closed his eye to focus on listening in. No sound. Gradually, he pushed the curtain to the side with the tip of Thud. Darkness - there were no torches inside. He could only barely make out vague gray shapes in the mass of pitch. His nose did pick something really faint though - the briefest smell of food!
His stomach knotted in anticipation, and he gingerly took a step inside this new chamber, and then a second step. As the door covering slid back into place, blocking out any hint of light from the tunnel, the cyclops stood still to wait for his eye to adjust. A few boxes and barrels sat quietly, unassuming at the end of the room. The chamber wasn’t as spacious as he had first thought, perhaps a dozen feet to the back wall. Cautiously, he approached the first barrel, his mouth already salivating.
I wish I could see as well as you in here - but go ahead, you will probably need the strength; just be careful.
Grugg said nothing, fixated on the barrel before him as he slowly lifted the lid to observe the contents. It was meat! He was almost beside himself with joy, and it took a concerted effort not to cheer out loud. It had been kept well in the cold environment, but he held it closer to his eye to make sure, – although he wasn’t too fussy at this point. He stuffed the meat into his mouth. It was tough due to the near-freezing temperature it had been stored in, but he made quick work of it. By no means as good as cooked, but compared to pine nuts, it was delicious.
He lifted pieces of meat one after the other from the barrel, gorging himself repeatedly until he was scraping the last frozen chunks from the bottom. Finally, he sighed contentedly, the good meal helping stave off the worst of the chill conditions for a bit. Grugg moved over to the next barrel and was about to open it up before the wizard's voice rang in his head.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
[Shh - stop! Listen…]
He stopped, hands clasped around his next potential meal, frozen in place with his ears wide open. It took a couple of seconds before he heard the sounds of footfall from down the tunnel, along with some low voices. The barrel was lowered back to the floor, and Thud was picked up.
“-just don’t see why Hak’ can’t go himself.”
“Shh, or you’ll be next. The others probably got the one-eye by now, anyway.”
“Better have done, I’m getting hungry, and we must go hunt soon.”
The voices drew closer, gradually approaching the veiled doorway. Grugg held his breath, and the wizard was silent. Footsteps closer now, just outside the hanging fabric.
“Eat when the job is done. Or you won’t have need of food.”
“Great Mountain… okayyy.” The voice of the disgruntled yeti trailed off into a growl.
The footsteps resumed walking towards the first chamber, slowly pattering against the stone floor and into the distance.
[That was close. We need to move before they find their friends, and then us.]
“Good idea,” Grugg whispered, and with a last forlorn look back towards the pantry, he slowly exited the room back into the dimly lit corridor. Mental note to return there after the artefact was retrieved, he decided. Assuming they didn’t have to run out, but he was not a fan of running more than a short distance—which the pantry may fall under, with any luck.
It didn’t take long before they reached the end of the tunnel; after a sharp turn left, a big leather drape was covering this doorway too. Even in the dim light, it could be made out that something was painted in some dark pigment, probably blood. The cyclops traced the design with his finger in the air; the Giant symbol for ‘King’. Tribes didn’t have kings, though - whoever this Hakran was, he had indeed gotten a bit too big-headed and wanted to extend his power. There was flickering torchlight around the slight gaps at the edges of the curtain, the uneven shape of the doorway unable to be fully covered. No sounds of voices, however.
[That looks ominous; this must be the place.]
Grugg took a deep breath and gripped Thud tight, stepping through the leather curtain to enter the chamber beyond. It was much lighter in here; many torches had been placed throughout this room, and it took his eye a second to fully adjust to the lighting difference. Once he had a moment to fully take it in, the sight of the chamber before him stunned him.
It was a lengthy chamber, deeper than it was wide, with roughly hewn pillars flanking the central pathway which led to a carved throne near the far end. Perhaps most dazzling of all were the decorations of the place; although seemingly haphazardly placed, among the stone surfaces, rough gem and shining ore clusters were arranged. Dirty silvers, muted blues and reds, the glimmer of the various treasures glinted and sparkled in the flickering flame light of the torches. Grugg had never seen so many shiny things and wouldn’t be able to name most of them - but they were beautiful, and were what he assumed all the random mining alcoves were for.
On a whole other spectrum, there were plenty of things in the chamber that were not beautiful or dazzling to Grugg’s eye. For starters, there were four yeti flanking the throne, standing guard and wearing probably the best armor out of all the yeti he had seen so far. That wasn’t saying much, however, despite their attempts at mining, the yeti had not yet learned smithing, and what makeshift armor they did have seemed to be salvaged or stolen parts pieced together best they could. Not only did these four guards have slightly more proficiently crafted spears, but they each also held a shield. On the face of these shields crude faces had been painted; an angry red one with long tusks, a blue one with a long tongue, a yellow one with spikes surrounding two eyes, and finally a green one that looked happy - somewhat out of place in comparison.
Finally, sitting atop the throne itself was a giant yeti, probably a good head taller than each of his compatriots, slouched with one foot up on a dead yeti at the base of the throne. The corpse had his head caved in and open, an empty cavity present instead. Hakran himself had blood and viscera around his mouth, a large maw filled with sharpened teeth twisted into a cold, malicious grin. Atop his head sat a crown made of rough silver ore, mined in a fashion that would allow it purchase to perch above his gleaming eyes, dark circles and heavy brow amplifying how menacing he looked. Whilst unarmored, the yeti leader was wrapped in fabric that had been dyed red, with a matching cloak that looked too well made to be crafted by the hands of a yeti - probably stolen. He held a dark wooden staff in one hand, the top of which a small orb of glowing white light sat, blue mist seemingly swirling within the glass-like artefact.
[That must be the messenger they sent and- OH, there’s the Orb on that staff!]
The group of ‘royal guard’ yeti all glared his way as he stepped into the room, Hakran himself adjusting his slouch so that he was now sitting more upright - as if in welcome of the new arrival. Kicking the deceased yeti away from his feet, the yeti leader tapped the bottom of the staff against the stone floor, and the Moonchaser Orb glowed in intensity. Hakran’s eyes reflected the same pale-white light as the orb, and then just as soon as they had changed, they returned to their normal yellow coloration. He licked his lips, blood and spittle running down his chin onto his stained outfit.
“Hey! Grugg taking that orb now.” He pointed towards the now only slightly glowing orb. Either he will just turn it over, or it’ll need to be retrieved from the smashed pile of dead yeti if he makes things difficult. It couldn’t hurt to hope that it would go the easy way.
[It seems he knows how to use it, but don’t worry; it is not a combat-]
“No, one-eye,” Hakran rasped in broken Common, spitting out globs of yeti brain to the floor through an obsessive, maniacal grin. “It is I who will be taking that magic hat.”
[Okay, so that is potentially bad.]