“What the fuck is your problem?” Stick yelled at PP, trying to break free from the big man’s grasp.
PP’s hand remained firm on his shoulder. Stick couldn’t see his face in the darkness.
“Soft wall,” he heard PP say.
The big man released something from his other hand, and a trickling sound like falling sand filled the tunnel.
“It’s not safe. We have to tell Reacher.”
Stick had forgotten how deep and soft PP’s voice was. It was the first time in months he had said anything to him.
He could only utter a quick “Okay,” when PP was already climbing out of the tunnel. What about our quota?
Stick followed him through the mine, and every slave they encountered on the way had the same reaction. At first, they were confused since no one had given the signal to leave; then they fell silent and got back to work. Whatever discussion they had been interrupted. When they finally got out of the cave, the winter sun had already set. They saw a small fireplace to the side of the cave, where the knights had erected a small canopy to shield themselves from snowfall.
“What is it?” Becket asked when he noticed their torchlight approaching him. “You’re not done yet.”
“Gravel,” PP answered. “We need supporting structures.”
The Sword glanced over to Reacher, who rolled his eyes.
“Don’t give me that sass. You were the civil engineer.”
Reacher sighed. “It’s cold in there.”
So we’re not freezing, is that it?
Reacher begrudgingly got up and followed them back inside. He insisted on carrying his own torch to keep warm. When they passed the other miners again, all of the usual conversations accompanying the clanking of their pickaxes were missing. No one dared to look at them. In six months, I have never seen Reacher or Becket set foot in here, but the others still knew that this could happen.
After a while, they passed the big hole. A thought intruded his mind: What if I push Reacher inside?
It was a golden opportunity to escape. With Reacher out of the picture, Becket would be completely surprised and outnumbered. There was no need for his plan because all of them would be outside the manor already. It’s just that…
He didn’t want to kill anybody. If they had to take a life to gain their freedom, then they would stoop to the Baron’s level. Even though his hand trembled in anticipation, his consciousness forbade him to act. I’m not a murderer. That’s not what heroes are.
They continued towards the deep tunnel, and Reacher nearly slipped at the steep decline.
“Fucking hell,” he yelled.
Stick stifled a laugh. In an effort to sound more serious, he warned Reacher about the lack of air at the bottom.
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
The Mace’s weakened torch lit up the tunnel, and he started to inspect the walls. The tunnel the two slaves had dug over the last couple of months was roughly two metres high and as wide as Reacher’s whole armspan. It was a few metres deep, leading through two different layers of rock. He turned to the slaves for a quick look, and his eyes were wide in amazement. Reacher hit both sides with his gauntlet and muttered something about “Type A” and “sheer wall collapse”. When he got to the far end of the tunnel, he picked up a sample of the wall and let the grains hit the ground.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
image [https://i.imgur.com/nvMMqyW.jpeg]
“Yeah, that’s Type C,” he said to himself.
He stomped the ground near the gravel wall before walking back to where the slaves stood, counting each step. Then he examined the tunnel as a whole from afar.
“Fourteen. And it’s consistently seven by six,” he monologued, looking at Stick and PP. “Jesus Christ.”
Stick and PP had no idea what he was on about. The numbers don’t make sense.
“Let’s get out of here,” Reacher ordered. “My head hurts from the lack of oxygen.”
And with that, they headed for the exit. Stick worried because he hadn’t reached his quota when they left the cave, but the knights didn’t pay any attention to the slaves who turned in their yield. Instead, they were talking about how they would collect enough lumber. He already knew that it would mean total chaos in the dinner queue, as everybody would use that to make the most extraordinary claims about how many gems they got today. In that case…
With a swift move, he got the diamond out of his bag and hid it beneath the knot on his collar, which held the mantle in place. Once he turned the other gems in, he picked up the pickaxes of the others, placed them into the sack, and started the trek back as if nothing had happened. Maybe tomorrow.
Dinner was as chaotic as he expected. The men were pushing around and yelling at each other. Everyone wanted priority for having found “the biggest haul ever”, but Cadmun called all of the bluffs. If the miners didn’t want to starve, then they’d have to stop bullshitting him. He’d only serve those who gave a realistic answer based on the men’s previous performance.
“How would you know that they speak the truth? It’s the same damn problem,” Titor yelled.
“If we can’t rely on each other to speak the truth, then how about no one gets to eat?” Cadmun yelled back with a grin on his face.
A collective grunt went through the hungry crowd. When their complaints got louder, the bald man took the cooking pot hostage and threatened to spill the stew on the ground. Luckily, Shadis arrived to calm the crowd. He made a counterproposal to prioritise seniority. It was the only logical way to determine the order in which they’d get served. He made sure the Lords ate first. Of course, they’d all agree when PP and I are the ones last in line.
Knowing that he wouldn’t get anything to eat, he left to get ready for bed. After washing himself, Stick took up a spot near the tent’s entrance to be able to breathe better in the night while also being out of the other men’s way. He didn’t want to get kicked in the middle of the night again. He made sure to be alone in the tent before pulling up his [Inventory] from the [Menu], as Becket had unintentionally taught him how to do, and placing the [Diamond] next to the [Carrots] and [Potatoes] he had saved up from the meal during Hero Day. He closed the menu and laid down, marvelling at the fact that the food was still fresh. There are perks to being a Player!
He’d regret that thought a few hours later when he got woken up by none other than Becket.