Fred, and Jed advanced with the other soldiers. The steps were treacherously steep, and dwarfed by their human sized feet. These haggard men were lucky to be alive after killing so many enemies. They found themselves trapped deep in the mines separated after the roof had collapsed behind. What kept them going was that outside the mountain would be sunny skies, fresh air, and reinforcements if they survived. Surely the rest of the empire would be waiting for them with mini guns, airships and other heavy death dealing machinery too large to fit down here. For now they remained getting sicker and more lost underground.
It was good for Ned that he had been left to his own devices away from the mouth-breathers. He had the honor of both being the only surviving fool, and wizard in the party. His imagination and uniqueness became separated from his body around the rigid commanders. Fred was starting to act similarly. Jed was already far too brainwashed for his own good, permanently stuck in army mode, and a lost cause to ever rehabilitate. While Ned struck off from further from the party he had an ode to nonviolence that was inconvenient at the moment. He wasn't fool enough to squander away a treasure trove if he discovered it first. The crystal worshiper in him overpowered remaining loyalties to an Empire that mistreated him. So him, and the Dwarves stash would teleport to the core to live there happily ever after. A key step in resetting the balance of Tenare would be found after he immersed himself in crystal mind therapy.
At the bottom of the winding rock staircase was a cell blocked by iron bars. The donkey Ned used to easily descend the stairs. The dwarf was immobile against the wall caked in crystal. It was a symptom of severe overuse of the sacred stones. As they kept down the path more and more crystallized dwarfing bodies littered the floor. A hand grabbed onto Jed that he stabbed away. Dwarves littered around slightly moving groaning in pain immobile beings unable to refill their exposed pipes.
Fred and Jed walked close together with their swords drawn at the ready. If any dwarfs were to charge they would get what was coming. Life was all about being ready for death or to deal with it as a professional soldier and there were things worse than death for betraying orders. After they found out whatever the royals were after they would hand over the treasure, and get the reward offered.
Jed had always planned to retire to be a woodsman, or farmer. The appeal to life in the remote wilderness was that it came without a crown of control sitting over a soldier's eyes. He could finally be free to be himself. After all he had trained by running the family farm with his 9 siblings and wilderness survival when he ran away from home. He hadn’t had the opportunity to earn wilderness survival badges in his youth, but now he could get some medals in the military to make up for it.
Fred planned on stealing just a little bit for himself to upgrade horses, apartments, and party. He was going to take just enough to avoid the heat of the guards looking for the looted coffers. He would go to the bar, and casino for just one weekend. After a brief spell of fun, and finding a hot girlfriend to be his he would invest everything else smartly.
"Hey what's that smell?” asked Ned, loudly sniffing the air.
The donkey he rode was becoming uneasy down a quickly darkening incline.
"Come on keep going mule," he prodded his animal forward while the rest had caught up.
The knights drew swords, and muzzle loaders and plain soldiers around readied bows, and spears. The ramp evened out to a large cavern lit with torchlight. A homely house of rock carved into the opposite wall. The thick oak door was painted green and two windows bathed in yellow. Mushrooms grew in stone window-boxes under the tattered curtains that leaked the light outside. Here the carved statues of dwarfs stood guard, with some knocked over, but all watching over.
“Psst don't awaken the statues for while the dwarfs lay severely weakened their rocks do not,” whispered Ned, holding a single finger above his lips.
He got off his donkey, tying the attached harness rope around a round metal bar. Ned adjusted his baggy wizard cloak to search a compartment. He gripped something small as he advanced to the front door, and let himself in. A gust of dead air blew out stunning soldiers behind for a split second. Fred and Jed remained unfazed and took up forward command. The other dozen sheepishly followed close behind them.
Inside a stuffy cavern faintly lit by just a few dim lights. A long feasting table of short stature ran across the entire length of the room dividing it in half. It was covered in carcasses so decomposed it had mummified, and vegetables dehydrated into dust. At the very end of the room stood thirteen thrones carved out of crystal stones under dwarf artworks.The seats of power stuffed full of still bodies of rusted dwarf armor put together with rusted horns, wrist blades, grappling hooks, and many other gadgets. The armor was uneven, some of it was already hanging off or on the floor. The dead ruler’s eyes had been covered with green luck crystals, and the mouths had been sewn shut.
"These were once kings once upon a time been the finest smelted items now reduced to nothing," said Ned.
The party advanced forward as another piece dropped down clanging loudly. Fred jumped briefly touching the ceiling before falling into Jed's arms who pushed him out.The dead dwarf kings lay caked in crystal orange rust. Their previously dead stuffed bodies showcasing old masterclass armor in their hall. Lining all four walls were packed with pallets of fresh cut crystals stacked overhead and organized into groups. A number of them gasped, while others began to loot.
“This is more crystal than I have ever seen mined in my life, how did they get that many?” asked a soldier.
“That's fresh gas from the sacred center of Tenare,” said Ned, as he bent to caress the side of a fresh cut crystal slab.
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“But how do you know?”
“Must be some kind of magic,” said another.
“He is right," said Fred.
"Yup we were teleported there with him involuntarily against my will and would have caught desertion charges if he kept us any longer,” hollered Jed, visibly frustrated.
“We saw the great cavern of sacred crystals in the center of the planet ourselves,” said Fred.
“Unfortunately, if they have been mass teleporting in crystals mined from the center we are in big trouble," warned Ned tracing lines in the dust on a dead dwarfs helmet then he stuck a finger in the empty eye socket. "The entire system will be out of balance and an apocalyptic event will be in danger of being triggered” he added, licking his fingers aft for further clues. "Yup this stuff comes from the center of the planet 100% confirmed," he finished.
“Zaaaap!”
Somewhere outside the throne room the electricity crackled and popped going wild. Blue bursts of pure energy bolted into the entry striking discarded armor.
“Quick we must investigate,” said Jed, charging forward to battle.
Fred, Jed, and the rest of the soldiers crept forward with arms at the ready. In the next cavern a machine and crystal rigged in the corner runes lit up with light. A teleportation device armed with large Farc crystals zapped alive with electricity from electro-stones. A gang of Elves sat behind the control terminal hitting big flashing manual buttons, sliding slides and inserting cables into holes in the switchboard that sparked. All were clothed in fancy white suites with green polka dot ties. They supervised the unloading of a payload that sparkled. The leprechauns did the dirty work stacking on nearby pallets ultra rare cracked crystals mined from the planet's core.
“Anyone have any ideas for a plan for taking out these guys?” asked Jed.
“We will explode the entire mountain, well just everyone starts running before I blow it. I have an oath to put a stop to this blasphemous operation at all costs,” said Ned, sneaking off.
“Let's get out of here before this fool does something he regrets,” said Jed.
"Aye," said some of the others together. "Good idea," a few more.
“That's not good, I'm scared of explosions,” cried Fred, cowering.
The Elves finished taking stock of their crystals. The Leprechaun got behind the control panel and turned it on, opening a portal. The circle pulsed and swirled a black void that must have led back to a secret mining operation at the core of the planet. A few soldiers stood watching from above with their slow brains still not coming up with any alternative actions. Ned rode past them on his donkey, with a device primed in his hand. He hopped off and tossed it off the overhang where they watched above as it exploded. The elves were caught with a direct hit ripping their flesh into smithereens while flinging the Leprechauns into the portal. The crystals stored below burst up in flames shaking the mountain to its core.
“Ned and Fred hop aboard, and we will ride out of danger up above,” said Ned, attempting to rein in his beast inside the mountain.
“Why have you done this, we are gonna run instead,” said Fred.
“Fine you fools, don't trust me,” said Ned, as his steed continued forward.
"Jed was right about you being a mad wizard," said Fred.
Jed chuckled before being shaken into action as explosions increased in frequency. The soldiers ran while the floor rumbled underneath. Ned was already far ahead of them on the path away from his actions. Rocks fell from the ceiling as it shook and the party ran across a flimsy rope bridge over lava which bubbled. The crystals blowing had set off a chain reaction, and the mountain was set to erupt like a volcano. The donkey was spooked and picked up speed running far ahead of the others.
The donkey jumped over a ball of fire that soared behind them trapping a soldier in a corner. Ned almost lost his head ducking past the swinging ax traps from the ceiling. There was another rumble in the tunnel as the lava climbed higher. The path was blocked until he threw the last explosive he had been holding. It blew a wall open and he rode out the other side as soldiers followed. A group of three dwarfs limped out the tunnel as the advancing donkey trampled them under hoof. An unseen enemy took the chance to ponce, knocking him off, and commandeered the beast. It was a brief rodeo with the Dwarf promptly bucked into a wall like a pancake.
“What a tool,” said Ned, climbing back onboard.
He was speeding ahead, as a dozen enemies tried to trap them. They flew past battlefields full of dead, but nothing more living. Soon they raced out the side of the mountain into a firing range of pointed military guns. There were tanks, grunts, and gunships aiming down at him from above. A single soldier ran out behind him before a massive billow of smoke, then an eruption of flames shot out of the tunnel.
“Are you alright?” asked a hand in order to help up the grizzled man on the ground.
“NOOO! The soldiers behind me have surely fallen,” cried Ned, swatting intensely to stop his wizard robes full of holes from further smoldering.
The other survivor was in the background looking around dazed and confused.
“What is your name, other soldier?” yelled the commander at him a short while later.
“Code name Octo ION I'm a secret operative of the highest department of the crown,” said the soldier, taking off his mask to reveal bald head and black stubble.
“If it was a secret why would you tell us then?” said the commander, stepping over.
Her face lit up with suspicion and handcuffs at the ready on account of the wild story.
“Here you can see my royal badge proving I'm not a liar, I’m here for a top secret ass.. I mean assignment,” he said, reaching out to show his identification.
“Very well sir, and you on the donkey?” she asked, approaching the wizard.
“Lady my name is Ned, and I’m a dedicated pacifist do we really have to do this song and dance? My men are in that volcano surely burning up dead from the intense heat and I am overcome with grief for their passing,” he cried.
“Very well we will recover some of the bodies for you if possible. Don’t worry I’m sure some of the cadavers will be intact for the experiments guys like you love to do,” she said, before turning to order troops.
She and the other commanders stayed outside wearing special dragon plate flame repellent armor. The volcano outside was already slowly ceasing its brief eruption. Black smoke choked the jungle valley of vision. Ned rode away to get some fresh air among the green scenery.