In the end despite Erkom’s objections, the Warden largely agreed with Jonathan’s plan. He seemed enthusiastic even. The last thing any of them wanted to do was to wait days for the next train. They all agreed that since there was no one left to eat in the mines, as soon as the Troll got hungry enough, it would try to break into the compound to find itself something to eat. So, in addition to dispatching a small group of guards that would make the three day journey to Khaghrumer to seek out reinforcements, he also sent two armed guards, along with the necessary supplies, with Jonathan. Erkom went too, even though Jonathan told him that he didn’t have to. “I promised Kaspov I’d stick with ye - that I'd save yer skin the same way ye saved ours, and I aim to do that, even if no one said nothing about any damn troll!” the dwarf grumbled. Jonathan let it be. He was touched by the loyalty regardless. It probably didn’t hurt that the Warden had issued him a wide bore heavy brand for the duration of their mission. He was probably safer outside the walls of the compound with that, than he was stuck inside here with nothing but his fists.
The words that his friend had whispered to him in the armory still buzzed in Jonathan’s brain as they walked towards the mine. “Ye know we’re just the diversion right? We’re just here to make sure the messengers make a clean getaway for the city.”
“That can’t be true. He’s sending his own men with us,” Jonathan hissed back. But Erkom just shook his head.
“Better his own men than his own skin lad. Remember that,” the dwarf cautioned. “No dwarf gets a white beard by being the selfless type.” The words had stuck with Jonathan and echoed in his mind as they cautiously entered the mine again. Better his own men than his own skin.
Everyone had been on edge from the moment the guards closed and barred the main gate of the prison behind them. As soon as they crossed the threshold into the mine though, Jonathan could see everyone got twice as nervous, which was strange because nervous wasn’t a word he usually associated with dwarves. Taciturn, greedy, and stubborn, sure. Maybe even boisterous or quiet; even though they were opposite attributes they were each common enough in different dwarves he’d met since he’d been down here. Nervous, though? Never. It wasn’t just the guards either. They were both city dwarves with smooth shaved faces, and Jonathan didn’t know if maybe dwarves down here acted completely differently than those he was used to. Erkom was positively spooked though, and brought his brand around for every shadow and noise.
“Without phosphorus bullets these won’t do any more good than my hairy arse will,” Erkom grumbled, as he scanned the tunnel, “but maybe if this troll ain’t seen a brand before the flash will scare him a bit before he eats us.” Jonathan said nothing, while the three dwarves conferred for a bit in dwarvish before they set off again. He could admit to himself that the maw of the salt mine certainly looked darker and more imposing today than it normally did, but he really didn’t feel afraid. He wasn’t in denial about that. He felt only anticipation. This was finally something that he, and only he could do. Dwarves could kill most anything with their brands, but only fire could bring down the monster they were hunting today, and only Jonathan could wield raw flames.
“Which way is the side tunnel ye mentioned before Jon? The one without the salt?” Erkom asked, not bothering to take his eyes off imaginary trolls long enough to look at the human.
“It will be up ahead on the right in two… no - three more intersections. Just past the spot where Fedon… where there should be two mine cars.” The place where he and Fedon fought, and where Fedon almost killed him. He couldn’t quite bring himself to say it though. In the back of Jonathan’s mind he was secretly worried that his tormentor was still there. He hadn’t seen him in the cell block after they’d all been corralled in there earlier in the day. “Do you think he’s still there? Should I tell the guards so they can… you know, do something,” he’d asked Erkom.
His friend had only laughed though, slapping his knee as if the question was the funniest thing he’d heard all day. “Don’t ye worry yourself about him, Jon. He’s definitely not still trapped in the mine,” Erkom answered, to Jonathan’s great relief. “Either someone freed him, or the troll has long since torn him to bits, but either way that dwarf ain’t where ye left him.” That joke had haunted him the rest of the day, and he dreaded finding out what the true punchline was going to be when they got to that intersection. Were they going to find blood smeared walls, or nothing at all. Jonathan didn’t know, but as they got close the anticipation briefly made him almost as nervous as the rest of his companions.
Once they rounded the turn, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Even by the wan light of the glow stones that dotted the tunnel he could see no signs of foul play. The only evidence that the fight even happened were the two mine cars that hadn’t been moved by anyone in the rush to leave. “This way,” Jonathan said, pointing to the right but waiting for the guards to lead the way. It wasn’t cowardice on his part - unlike the prisoners their brands were equipped with brighter glow stone and focusing lenses. Everyone was better off if they led the way. Jonathan was just grateful not to have Fedon’s death on his conscience.
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One of the guards had a map of this level, and as soon as they were safely out of the main passage and wedged into the side passage he unrolled it. Then he and Erkom argued unintelligibly about where they were in harsh whispers before they continued on. Jonathan didn’t need them to tell him. He’d spent weeks walking back and forth in these mines, and he knew the way. It wasn’t actually too much farther either - after another fifty feet the vein started to play out so it narrowed dramatically, before widening into a cave that must have been caused by a partial collapse a long time ago. This room only had two entrances and exits. The way they came in, and a small crevice that was left over from the previous collapse. According to the map it led to part of a larger closed off section.
Once they found the spot they were going to make their ambush, Jonathan got out of the dwarves' way while they started setting his plan into motion, dumping some coal in a pile and setting up a spit to roast the ham they’d brought with them. The coal would render the meat inedible - but they didn’t bring it for lunch. It was bait, and they only brought it for the smell. Ideally - the troll was somewhere back in the abandoned section, and when it smelled meat, it would come running for another meal… but there was no way it could fit through the gap and Jonathan could burn it to death at his leisure. It was a good plan - even Erkom admitted that, but there were a lot of points where it could fall apart. What if it sensed the trap? What if it came from the other side? Why if it was already far from here tearing the other team to pieces while they sat here on their asses?
There were a million things that could go wrong, but Jonathan was sure that if they could get it here, to within a couple dozen feet of the monster he could burn it a crisp. Everyone else seemed less confident, but then he could hardly explain that he’d been practicing this every night for the better part of the year in the warehouse, and that pulling fire from coal or fire was a dozen times easier than pulling it grudgingly from the warm stone that surrounded him.
Doubting him didn’t matter anymore. It was too late for doubt. They were committed. They had their orders, and they carried them out, because that was what dwarves did. It was their nature to obey. While Jonathan watched them start the fire and rig a rudimentary barricade on the larger tunnel with spare timbers he wondered where all the rebellious dwarves went. Did they flee to the surface never to return? Did they die tragically from taking one risk too many, or did they run afoul of a random law like he did, and get sent off to the headsman? Maybe dwarven society ended up the way it did because they got rid of all their rebels one way or another, Jonathan considered as the smell of cooking meat started to fill the room.
“By the ancestors that makes me hungry,” Erkom growled after a while. He wasn’t wrong. The scent of ham was better than the sour beer and endless stew they’d eaten the last few weeks. Jonathan definitely could have gone for a bite or two himself. “I think maybe if this thing doesn’t show up we should carve—”
There was a series of low heavy thuds in the distance like something very large was moving just out of sight. Jonathan looked from the larger entrance to the smaller one and back again, but quickly noticed that all the dwarves had their gazes fixed down the smaller tunnel. They were better at determining sound direction than he was, so he trusted their instincts. After that there was almost a minute of silence, but then just when Jonathan thought it was over there was a roar of pure fury and frustration, followed by a pounding on the wall that was intense enough to make dust and grit rain down from the ceiling.
Jonathan wanted to ask what he should do, but he held his breath just the same as the dwarves with him. Time stood still for a long moment, and after that there was no sound beyond the crackling of the fire. They had no way of knowing if it was still there, beyond the crack waiting for them, or if it was looking for another way in. Only after a couple minutes of silence did any of the dwarves start to move or whisper again.
“What are we—” Jonathan tried to ask Erkom, but he was instantly shut down as the dwarf shushed him.
“Just mind the fire lad and be ready,” the dwarf hissed before going back to discussions with the other dwarves. Eventually they agreed to take a look, and one of the guards brought his light around for a peak into the darkness. Erkom kept watch on him with his own weapon while the last guard kept an eye on the larger tunnel they’d originally come through. That left Jonathan to… turn the spit on the ham and make sure it didn’t burn. He’d rather be doing something more useful - maybe if it had been cooler out he could have located the troll by the heat it let off or something. A few more agonizing minutes passed, and Jonathan finally decided to get up. He walked over to Erkom, whispering “Do you see anything?”
“All I see is a nosey human and a dwarven ass, Jon, so if ye want me to—” Erkom was about to chastise Jonathan when suddenly he was interrupted by a blood curdling scream that was cut off as quickly as it began. Jonathan turned his head just in time to see the troll swallow the dwarf that had been guarding the larger tunnel whole. That wasn’t quite correct, he realized as his mind rebelled against what he was seeing. He swallowed the bottom half of the guard that he’d already bitten in half whole. Presumably the first half of the poor bastard was already in its gullet as it suddenly leered towards Jonathan and Erkom with blood still on its lips.