“It’s over-”

“We’re going to die down he-”

“Merra I’m so-”

“Why didn’t I-”

“What are-”

The dwarves paced and wept, screaming and panicking in whatever way felt most productive, none of which was actually helpful. Several sat in the corner, staring at the growing puddle of blood while rocking themselves back and forth, other’s clasped their hands together, praying to whichever god would listen, other’s slamming their hands into the ground until their knuckles were bloody, their tears welling inside of their compressed air helmets. Suffice it to say, they weren't taking this well. And now it was her job to somehow get them back together.

“Listen to me, all of you! Nothing is over yet. I will help you get out of this, but I can’t do it without your help. You know these mines better than anyone, that’s why you’re here,” Kiva pleaded, but the dwarves weren’t listening. It was practically pointless.

“Gutted ‘im like a damn fish…” Harvir cried, lip quivering.

“Harvir, I need you to focus,” Kiva said, deciding to switch her approach. She wasn’t quite the leader Trenton was, but she had to at least try. It wasn’t like he’d always be there to save her. “If we sit here for any longer, more monsters might come. We need to be moving. I can protect you. I can save you, but you need to help me.”

“And what the ‘ell do you think you can do!? Andree was worth ten of you on an off day! This isn’t the same mine anymore. It’s infested, like a raving beast's den. We’re exactly where they want us to be!”

“We don’t need to fight our way out, we just need to escape. Whatever took Andree it very purposefully left all of us alive. I’ve already got half of my party scouting to make sure the area is safe, and Trenton is fighting for his life to keep whatever that creature was off of us. So you will do your damn duty, lead these dwarves out of here with me, and potentially see your wife and children tomorrow!”

“So we can be walking when-”

“Shut up and listen! We don’t have time for self pity! You have a job to do and you will do it! Do you understand me!? Andree is gone, which means my authority is absolute! It’s my job to ensure your safety, and I’ll be damned if I let you wallow here because a stone got thrown in your way! STAND!”

It was harsh, and another man might’ve broken under the pressure, but Harvir didn’t seem the type. A hardass like him needed something to shock him awake, leave him with no choice but to acquiesce. Harvir considered it for a moment, torn between fear and action, a war raging across his face to regain control. In the face of a very real death, and of someone much stronger than you at that, it was hard to push through, every option seeming pointless. But if that was all he had to offer her, then they were practically already dead.

“...job to do,” Harvir stood, all eyes turning to him. “All right! Focus up! We’re getting out of here one way or another! Chances aren’t great, but if we can find a way out of here, then we might just save all of our sorry arses yet! I want to see you in your lines stat!”

It was slower, a tentative return to form, but one by one the dwarves stood, lifting each other up, and slipping into their lines with their pickaxes held high. Even though they still quivered with untamable fear, even though they could barely keep themselves upright, they actually listened to Harvir. Kiva was just some random kid, her words meant nothing. But Harvir? He was their boss. He knew what to do. He would save them. It was almost miraculous, like a group of trauma victims standing up against their aggressor.

“Come, not here-”

“Myrl’ll miss you-”

“Have fai-”

“Not alon-”

Soon every dwarf was back on their feet, hoisting their pickaxes into the air in some practiced rhythm.

“Atta boys! That’s what I like to see! Remember-” Harvir shouted, Kiva tuning him out to focus on the path forward.

Shouldn’t Garrote and Karfice have been back by now? They’d been gone for at least a couple minutes. They couldn’t have gone that far…they shouldn’t have gone that far. Well at least the psychic link was still up. Even if they were a little ways away, she should be able to contact them. Kiva formulated a picture of the two boys in her mind, willing her words to reach them.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“GARROTE! KARFICE! WE’RE MOVING! GET BACK HERE!”

…No response. Of course. She should’ve known better. Sending those two out alone was stupid, but she had been so preoccupied she hadn’t even stopped to consider they might just wander off. And they didn’t even take Leo with them. As Kiva glanced around, she noticed that on the ground off to the side, completely unguarded, was Leo’s unconscious body, still locked within his magical prison. Wasn’t Garrote supposed to be watching Leo? Well, looks like it was her duty now.

Kiva hoisted Leo onto her shoulder, wrapping his chronal cocoon in a wreath of protective plants. She really had meant to stop at some point to refresh on her plant storages, get a handful of new seeds, fix up her hardwood tunic, maybe just stop by an apothecary, but she’d been so preoccupied these last couple of months that she hadn’t had any time to attend to any chores. Nature wasn’t magic, at least not entirely magic. At its base all she could do was stimulate natural processes, growing and healing, boosting them beyond what they’d ordinarily be capable of. But if she wanted to do that, she’d need some supplies to work with. And it wouldn’t be a problem if every single area they went to wasn’t so barren. At the very least she’d have to get a new supply of hardwood before they left. They were still pretty close to the Liafer, so someone had to be selling some. If she’d had the proper gear, she would’ve just gotten some herself, but hardwood was…hard, not exactly easy to cut.

The dwarves started to file out, marching and raising their pickaxes in tune as Kiva contemplated. She didn’t have a good place to stand in their lines, but neither did really have to. Her job was to protect them. Sticking to the outsides would be more than adequate. Although, her resources were running worryingly low. She’d said what was necessary to ensure Harvir got himself up, but she really didn’t know what she intended to do to protect them, especially now that she had to see after Leo. If she was one of the rich nature mages, she could afford to just buy a real fancy tunic, one that could stand strong against the mightiest of blows, and repair itself of any damage it sustained. But alas, it was all she had, a gift from her old caretaker.

Some time ago, her tunic was actually something of legend, hardwood mixed with the sacred bark of the mother tree, and blessed by the great Corven priests atop it. Supposedly it used to be the garb of some great champion, a traveling warrior, friend of all. So she’s kept it hidden underneath her gowns her whole life, hiding it even from the rest of the group, but now the point seemed moot. Whatever magic it had possessed before was long gone before it was ever even given to her. Maybe if she could get it back to the corven priests they could restore it, but visiting them was strictly forbidden, the founding rule of all life in the Eternal Forest. Only a handful of people had ever been given permission to actually see them throughout all of recorded history. She was probably better off just buying a new tunic once she could procure one. Even if it was legendary once, it wasn’t any longer. But at least for now, it was all she had, best to make good use of it.

As they continued picking their way through the cave, bold bravado irking out the gripping sense of cold, dead, fear, Kiva noticed it was oddly quiet. Everything seemed still, almost peaceful. She’d expected monsters and creatures around every corner, but the mine seemed almost empty. Something was definitely wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what. Were they watching them, waiting to strike until the right moment? Were they preparing a trap? Were they busy? Did they not know that they were there? It didn’t make sense, and it definitely wasn’t a run of good luck. Yet, the dwarves seemed unbothered, or rather, purposefully distracted. They sang a chipper tune to pass the time, an old sailors tune in classic call response style, keeping rhythm with their stubby feet and hands.

“Take me to the land where no church bell rings;

Graves are filling, dirt is tilling, soul yours to keep;

Take me to the land where no church bell rings;

Lads are echoes, mind is waning, falling endlessly;

We sing our gay songs, and laugh our mournful tunes

Bloody spits of meat will be our dreams all too soon;

So take us to the land where no church bell rings;

And all our placid dreams will merry well to keep;

What woe to we!

What woe to we!

Merry men of sea shan't fall shan't fail easily!

Take me!

Yes, take me!

Freedom still I seek in eternal dreams ere weep!”

They continue on for some time, passing through a handful more refrains to the same tune before finishing, a handful of them continuing to hum in their minds as they walked, “Harvir, do you know where we are?” Kiva asked, easily striding up next to him.

“No, I don’t. I’ve never seen this part of the mines before, no mining, no gear, no lights; it’s not an area we’ve ever explored,” Harvir huffed, eyeing the strange spatterings of foliage and rough rocky walls, starting up a wide slant of stone leading closer to the surface. “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but we definitely didn’t end up at the bottom of the mine. My guess? We’re below the explored layers, probably in a whole slew of secret tunnels we had no idea even existed. So all I’ve got for the time being is to keep heading up, try to get back onto familiar ground.”

“Do you think it was the moles?”

“Could’ve been, but I’m not so sure. Moles don’t make tunnels like these, and they don’t look fully natural either, almost like they were purposefully carved out to look like a normal cave.”

“Not natural? How can you tell?”

“It’s more of instinct than anything else. I’ve spent a lot of time diggin’ in caves, and I’ve never seen one quite like this. The walls are just a bit too uniform, the pillars too frequent, the ground too level. It ain’t random, at least not random how nature does it.”

“I’ll take your word for it. But if that really were the case, then that…” Kiva trailed off, eyes locked onto the top of the ramp. It looked a little like it was…glowing, a mix of different neon hues barely creeping over the edge of the top of the ramp. Kiva jogged up the rest of the way, forgoing caution as the light only grew, the dwarves behind her picking up to keep pace. “Holy…”