THE TRAGEDY OF A MINER

In the identity window, Tristan changed his name from Tristan of Sindry as the customary names in Sindry are called to simply Tristan. He changed his level to 20 and added a few productivity skills like hunting, foraging, carving, cooking and mathematics. He disguised all his basic stats as being 1 or 2 points, except intelligence which he set at 3 points. He had no official profession anymore, so he set it as gatherer instead of his previous profession of being a herbalist because of how his teacher was a fugitive in Sindry.

There was still something Tristan hadn't yet checked. It was the ability he felt was the most useful of all. An infinite inventory. Inside the menu, the inventory was a collection of boxes. He thought about putting his bag inside the inventory. He placed his hand on the bag and thought about storing it into the inventory. Immediately the bag disappeared along with its contents. All of them neatly segregated into the inventory. If he needed to equip his bag, he simply thought it and the now empty bag appeared on his back. He stored everything into his inventory, including his weapons. He could use them to alchemically create a new dagger from stone or whatever material he could find.

It was now time to explore this cave and then enter Sindry. He had to find the person he knew who was stuck here according to Thespia the god of darkness. He took off his ninja like clothing and replaced it with the clothes he wore during his 6 year meditation that he had stored in his bag. After 6 years, it's tattered state was useful to pass off as a beggar living in a cave.

Carefully, Tristan mapped the cave with his now topped off manna sensitivity skill which provided him an echo located map of the cave system. He was fairly deep inside and began walking. Sensing through manna had shown him that there were hundreds of people in the cave system. When he had disappeared, Sindry alone had a few over hundred residents! He wondered where did so many people came from.

He walked through the cave with his appraisal working overtime. Iron ore, magnesium ore, precious jewels and stones with magical properties, Tristan kept on stocking them into his inventory as he walked on. Appraisal would also tell him the market price of each item, which was also another reason he was gathering materials non stop. He would need money once he reached the village. 

Firebron ore - 30 gold per kilo.

"Finally some luck shining on me.. Huh, that's more than my parents' entire annual savings."

He finally came to an area very close to where the map showed the presence of people. He could see several broken pickaxes tossed to the side. Sounds of metal hitting rock rang in the air. 

"Is..this..mining? A mine? No wonder I found so many worthwhile items."

He contacted Charmy telepathically to find out how his pet dog was doing. He was happy he didn't put his good friend through the trials he went through. Charmy had been busy hunting secretively in the forest at night and guarding the shed at other times. He wasn't fond of raw meat, he said. But little sacrifices are fine.

Tristan picked up fistfuls of fine dirt from the ground and rubbed his body and clothes with it. He grazed himself along the walls a few times until satisfied with his look. He then picked up one of the pick axes that weren't quite broken and fixed it a bit, while leaving its rust plainly visible. His disguise was complete. 

Completely into character, Tristan staggered along into the large cavern where lots of people were hitting rocks periodically. He spent a couple of hours trying to pick at rocks like the others who hadn't noticed. When it seemed like the shift was going to end, guards came in to drag the miners out, Tristan gently tapped on the shoulder of one of the miners.

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(This section is a POV)

I have been working in this mine for four years now. A life of a slave. Dragged out of my home after the war, I was forcefully made to stay in these terrible encampments. I wish I could go back home.

Everyday the guards would come at the break of dawn, drag us to the mines nearby. At first people would protest, but after countless beatings and restricting us from food, everyone of us accepted the reality. I wonder why things turned out like this?

We go into the mine with empty stomachs, work for hours. Lift, thrust. Lift, thrust. Lift, thrust. This binary ri1outine along with grunts became my identity. At nightfall the guards would come back and beat us with sticks, herding us out of the cave like we were cattle. They would give us crusted bread and awatery soup from vegetables. It was clearly not enough.

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Some of us began catching rats inside the cave. They were numerous and we could smuggle them out at night and cook them. Eating meat was no longer a far fetched luxury...until we were found out. Many people caught carrying rat carcasses under their clothes were flogged. I was one of those flogged too. The whips really hurt each time they hit. I couldn't move without intense pain for days, but the guards didn't care. If we slowed down they would beat us even more.

Many died. From starvation, from exhaustion and even from giving up hope. But I didn't have such a luxury. I have to earn back my debt and return to my family. I need to know that they are alright. I need to know that she is alright.

We began cooking the rats inside the mines. Once again we could eat meat. It felt like I had reached heaven. Eating rats felt like I was eating mom's stews. I wonder how mom is doing? How long has it been since I ended up here? The days fly by so slowly. I think my hip bone is broken, but there is nothing I can do about it. It takes everything to not die.

I met him in the camp. He was not from Sindry but one of the villages outside the mountains brought as a slave to mine here. He had black hair but a lot of his hair was turning white. I wasn't surprised by that, a lot of people had their hair turning white here too.

His name was Klaus. He was a few years older than me, but we quickly became good friends. In this nightmare, the other miners were all we had to call our own. He told me about his life in his village, how things changed after the war. He spoke a lot about his girlfriend and how they would spend time together. I too wanted to spend time with someone I loved. I wonder how she is doing now. When I go back, I will surely ask for her hand in marriage!

Klaus and I would end up mining together. We would search for rats together. Eat food together. He truly became my brother in arms. However, one day I developed a cough. The cough wouldn't go away. It wasn't surprising either. A lot of miners were the same. The lighting of fires in the cave to cook rats...we should've seen it coming. Many miners died to the cough. I developed a fever.

I felt like I was going to die. In the end, my life had little worth. Seeing death so often had turned me into a misanthrope. I hate the people who have turned my beautiful Sindry into what it has become now. On my deathbed, I really wanted to have revenge on those bastards!

I woke up after a nightmare, I was still clinging to life. Klaus... I wonder where he disappeared to. If I could see his face before I died, I would be satisfied. The cough had turned into a severe pain in my chest. The guards had thrown my into a cluster of sick people lying on the ground in pain, just like me. I couldn't bear the pain and fell asleep.

I woke up again. But the pain was gone. 

"Am I in heaven?"

I asked out loud.

A hoarse laugh came in response. I turned my head to find Klaus. He was bleeding all over. As he laughed and gave a carefree smile, he coughed blood. He had been badly beaten by the guards.

"I got you medicine from the store.", he said.

" How?"

"I escaped the guards and went to the store. I sold him the blue jewel I had shown you the other day to buy your medicine."

Some of the miners around me told me how the guards mercilessly beat him. The blue jewel..he had said he would shape a ring from it and gift it to his girlfriend.

Without realising it, tears are streaming down my eyes. Why is this world so cruel I wonder? My eyes blurry from tears, hold his hand tightly as the pain returns momentarily.

I wake up from sleep again. I feel refreshed. Klaus is still holding my hand. I open my eyes and look at Klaus, stupified. There were crows sitting on his shoulders, nibbling his ear. His wounds blistered, his clothes covered in blood, but he would bleed no more. Klaus had died from the guards beating.

I went crazy. I caught the crows and roasted them alive. I twisted their necks. I spent two days digging a grave for Klaus. Raving in madness. But when I returned, the guards had already tossed him into the pyre with tens of others who had died as well. How cruel is this world? I took some of the ashes from the pyre. I didn't know who was in there, but they were all my comrades. I buried the fistful of ash into the burial place I dug.

I was alone again. I no longer had optimistic feelings of hope. Revenge was all I sought now. I know now that they would never release me from the bonds of slavery. I will use this pick axe to impale them all. The bastards that ruined Sindry. That murdered Klaus.

I was full of revenge then. But I was naïve. What could I possibly do? Half my body is broken, I can barely breathe properly. I'm malnourished and overworked to death. But I can only continue hitting this damn rock. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. This world. It doesn't care about good or bad. Right or wrong? They are just our projected ideas on a world which doesn't care! Nothing will ever change in this situation. Ending my life right now doesn't seem like a bad idea.

The guards have come in now. Would it be a good idea to take some out as I leave this world? Those bastards who killed Klaus? It's now or never. I pick up the pickaxe that the person beside me has dropped.

I never noticed it before, but he looks younger than me. Except for his long hair and dirtied body he feels like someone from Sindry. It doesn't matter now. It is time to swing the axe.

He taps my shoulder lightly, that familiar but unfamiliar boy does. His hand seems strong and full of life. Not loose and lifeless like mine or Klaus'.

"Rudi...", he whispers in a voice I can't possibly forget.

"????...Tristan??!"