The winding tunnels of the mines seemed to repeat endlessly. Even though they had been walking for hours, it seemed to Corin as if they had just been crossing the same stretch on a loop. Nothing he could see would help him discern this portion of the mine with the one they had crossed earlier. It was only Svelti, one of the dwarves that Simeon had befriended and now guided them, who seemed to be able to tell what the correct path was and guide them through the unending maze

Now the group rested in a small open area. The long trek through the narrow shafts was more tiring than Corin could have imagined. It did not help that he still felt the aftereffects of the alcohol from the previous night.

“The length these mines go is amazing. How many years have your village been working on them?” Livia asked.

“Us dwarves have only been carving this mountainside for the past five years.” Svelti replied cooly.

“You were able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time?” Corin asked.

He could not believe that the dwarves had been able to accomplish this much in such a short time span. They had walked enough distance to cover the distance between towns in Trinixo. Despite that Corin saw many other paths that they did not take, so he knew that the area that had been mined underneath the mountains must truly be expansive.

“It weren't us who carved the majority of these mines.” Svelti replied.

The red headed dwarf, with the shaved face, was short on words, stature, and temper. Anytime any of the group began to lag behind he would start shouting at them. Even the usually outspoken Zhi had to put all her effort into keeping up with the group.

“If not you then who?” Nanaua asked.

Simeon, understanding the temperament of his host, began to answer on his behalf.

“When I was talking to the dwarves yesterday-” Simeon began.

“Is a mystery.” Svelti interjected. He did not bother looking up from his bowl of stew.

The group was astonished at the revelation.

“A mystery?” Livia asked.

“None knows who was digging or why they was digging here. We only been here a short amount of time. Where we used to live, the same Giant had been lord for generations, Bron. Not too long ago another took his place, their fight knocked down half our village. New lord don't like us, so we had to leave.” Svelti mentioned.

That had been the most he had spoken thus far to the group. They were all enraptured at his story.

“Bandiros, the new Giant lord, made short work of the rest of the village, so we had to find a new home. We weren’t having any luck finding a new home. Many years we traveled the lands, until we came here.” Svelti said.

He stopped to take a bite out of his stew. He relayed the previous story with no emotion.

“But from what your friend says this tale might not sound strange to you. He says your brother was killed in a Titan clash, and your whole village destroyed.” Svelti looked straight at Corin.

The words, said with no malice at all, dug deep at Corin’s core. He gnashed his teeth. He felt an intense rage at the mention of his brother, but this was nothing to do with the dwarf. He calmed himself down.

“I know, you are angry. We all are.” Svelti replied at Corin’s reaction.

“For generations we thought us safe from the titans. Others would be scared of Titans, but not us. We thought them giants would never bother us. But us were fools. Always at the mercy of something that could destroy us when it wanted. And then one day it did. That’s why when us were looking for a new home, it had to help us defend against a Giant.” Svelti finished.

“So you began to dig the mines?” Livia asked.

“Right. First thing to do when we move here is start carving the mountain. Try to create a place where we might hide if another Giant decided it don't like us.” Svelti said.

“Didn’t take long to find other tunnels that had been here already. Still today we’ll find tunnels with no clue to where it goes. But we've found other things in here, not just them paths.” Svelti added.

“Have you found other furtives?” Corin asked.

“If only. Then we might know what else is down here. At time we'll come across a big troll or two. Not smart, but strong. Hard to put down. But it's the things that we don't know about that worry us. On several occasions we've had entire groups of dwarves disappear. Sometimes there's one or two survivors. Just out of nowhere they'll come back after being lost for months. They come back rambling. Saying things about monsters in the mines.” Svelti trailed off and went back to his stew.

The group all stared at Svelti, and then Simeon. Simeon seemed uneasy but not surprised.

“Simeon you knew about this?” Corin asked the old apeman.

His face contorted.

“What I know, based on the limited information I received is that compared to the other routes available this one was the one with the least dangers. Besides the stories some of those dwarves say don't add up. It’s probably some sort of psychosis that afflicts those who get lost within the mines. It's nothing unheard of, isolation makes the mind see and hear things that are not there.” Simeon tried to calm down the group.

“Things like what?” Zhi asked.

“Creatures made of smoke, you start to notice wisps of it flooding the ground and then your torches go out. There are also those who claim they've seen dead dwarves roaming around the mines, their mouths dripping with fresh blood. One even claimed they saw a titan underground.” Svelti replied.

The group once again began to stir, feeling as if they were being led to their deaths. Simeon interjected before they could begin to complain.

“We have trained hunters on our trail! We know there are Zifors out there who will kill all of us if they get the chance! We don't know any other road available that is not being watched by Zifors. If you want to go back out there we can, but know that this was the fastest and safest way to get to Yranto.” Simeon acted fast to quell the unrest.

Livia and Zhi got up as they prepared to say something, but Simeon once again spoke up.

“What exactly did you think we would face on our way to complete this artifact? We stole from Arandu and he himself tried to destroy us. Did you think that since we were on the continent the danger would stop? The danger will never stop, not until we succeed or we die!” Simeon yelled.

Zhi and Livia did not appreciate that Simeon had cut them off before they had even begun speaking. But they did not say anything, they knew he was correct.

Now silent, the rest of the group went back to their food. Corin had to force himself to eat. The revelation he had just heard had lodged itself deep in his stomach and made it hard for him to want to eat. But he knew Simeon was right.

“Come, let's make haste. The last leg of our trip is coming.” Svelti said.

“Are we almost done in the mines?” Nanaua asked confused.

“I am, but you and yours still have quite a ways to go.” Svelti replied.

***

As promised Svelti had led the group for several more hours of traveling before parting ways.

“Us dwarves have etched the walls with a white circle. Keep on that same trail and you will find yourselves on the other side of this mountain. Don't leave that trail.” Svelti cautioned the group and went back the way he came.

“Alright let's cover some more ground before breaking for camp.” Simeon urged the group.

The rest of the group all eyed him warily. While they understood his reasoning they were not fond of his method of execution.

Simeon led in the front with a lit torch, followed by Zhi, Livia, Corin and Nanaua who acted as their rearguard.

After listening to the tales of what might be found in the mines the group was ever more keenly aware of their surroundings. The smallest noise would startle the whole group. They made sure that their footsteps were as quiet as they could be. No words were spoken between any of them. Eyes darted from side to side. They always thought there was something right at the corner of their eyes.

This fear infected all of them, even Simeon who claimed otherwise. Despite his best attempts at portraying himself above believing any of the tall tales, it was clear he was acting different than usual. Sometimes he would wave his torch erratically in front of him, he flinched at the sound of a loose pebble being kicked by Corin, and he reached for his dagger at one point. What exactly alarmed him Corin did not know.

They continued for several hours before stopping at a small clearing.

“We should make camp here.” He stated quietly to the group.

No further words were needed and the group established their camp. They carried out all their duties as they had grown accustomed to starting back from Trinixo. Without exchanging words they started a fire, set up individual cots, and after eating went into their sentry rotation.

Corin's shift was the first.

His eyes darted back and forth, to the long cramped corridors of the mine that stretched to and from their location. The edges of the campfire's light seemed to hold at bay tendrils of darkness that were hungry for the group. The darkness beyond the light was all encompassing. Corin peered into it and saw nothing.

Corin could barely hold his eyes open as his shift continued. The soft crackling of the fire, the rhythmic breathing of his wife. Little by little they would drag him further into a state of dreams, the tiredness he had been carrying with him all day finally amassing to such an extent that he was unable to resist it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Corin's eyes closed. He remembered a time where he and Cyril were returning back to their home as the sun rose. It had been a long hunt that Simeon had promised them would only last one or two hours that eventually went on to last a full day. He remembered coming back to his home feeling so tired and going straight to his bed. As he went to sleep he had opened his eyes to see his brother staring back at him. Cyril wanted to know if Corin would join him on his morning swim.

Corin opened his eyes now. In the deep darkness it seemed as if something was staring back at Corin. In the distance he saw reflections of the campfire shining off of two dark deep pools. They were at the very edges of the light and as soon as Corin noticed them they retreated into the darkness again.

Corin jumped up as he grabbed his blade. He unsheathed and swung it from side to side, expecting an attacker at any moment. He looked all around. He stood as still as possible. There was nothing he heard, nothing he saw, nothing that came from the darkness.

Did I imagine that?

Corin waited. He gripped the hilt of the blade until he could no longer feel his hands.

Corin was compelled to move towards the darkness. Inching carefully. Blade held at the ready. He did not trust the darkness. If he even saw the slightest hint of movement he was ready to strike.

I'm sure of it, I saw something.

As he stepped closer to the darkness his heart began to beat faster. The all encompassing darkness was getting closer. Corin felt as if it were awaiting to ensnare him, to hold him captive in the deep chasms of the mines and never let him go. But yet he moved ahead.

Corin faced the dividing line between the light and the darkness. He peered into it, expecting a response, but nothing came.

Is there something there?

Corin began to inch forward, a voice spoke to him softly.

“Do not take one step further.” Simeon ordered Corin.

Corin turned to look back at Simeon and suddenly felt the urge to get as far away as possible from the darkness.

“Sorry.” Corin replied as he tried to play off what had occurred.

He walked back to the camp and sat where he had just been to continue carrying out his sentry duties.

“Your shift is over. Go rest.” Simeon told Corin.

“What? No, I'm fine, I just thought -” Corin began.

“Go.” Simeon ordered Corin.

He had the same stern look he had used whenever he told Cyril or Corin something that they had to do. Simeon had been the only person who was able to command Cyril to do as he was told. Corin knew there was no point in arguing.

He got up and did just that. He was concerned about what had just happened. He did not know what he had seen but he had felt its influence.

Try as he might to distract his mind as he lay down the thoughts continued to pester him. He could not shake the unnerving experience that had just occurred. But the day had been long and Corin's exhaustion won out in the end finally leading him to a slumber.

***

Corin awoke to find the rest of the group in several stages of preparedness. Livia had everything prepared to continue on their day, Simeon although asleep lay next to a pack that was ready to pick up and continue moving. Zhi was surprisingly enough almost all done with her preparations to continue on while Nanaua was the last one to wake.

The moment they were all awake and ready to continue the group did so. There was no hesitation on their part and they continued down the mine at a rapid pace.

“If we continue this route, we should be on the other side of the mountain in one or two more days.” Simeon told the group.

“What's after that?” Zhi asked him.

“The dwarves let me know of a town a short distance from the other side of these mountains, Hi’alol. He says that we should be able to trade for horses that will help us get to Yranto at a much faster pace.” Simeon replied.

“Horses?” Nanaua asked. “What sort of contraption will help us arrive at Yranto faster?” Nanaua asked.

“Oh right, I forgot that you probably never seen a horse before. Horses are animals, and you can ride on top of them and they will allow us to cover ground at a much faster pace. There are no horses on Trinixo, but they are abundant on the interior of the continent. We'll definitely have to get you a very large one.” Simeon added.

“I see, what an intriguing concept.” Nanaua replied.

“What about Titans? Were you warned of other Giants that we might encounter?” Zhi followed up.

“Yes.” Simeon began

“Not really a surprise, but do you have any other details?” Zhi asked.

“The area that is right outside the mountain as we leave is home to the giant Bludse. He is known to lay for sleep for long periods of time, and then when he wakes he will unleash havoc for a long period of time.” Simeon said.

“And?” Livia asked feeling as if there was something missing.

“Apparently Bludse has been asleep for quite some time now.” Simeon added.

“Of course.” Zhi replied.

“What about Yranto?” Corin followed up.

“The dwarves did not know much about the giant that claims that area as his. Yranto is quite far from them and none of the dwarves there have seen Yranto for themselves. All information they have is hearsay.” Simeon said.

The group continued along their way. While they were eager to leave the mines, what awaited them outside did not bring them any comfort.

On two different occasions the group paused for a break, but they kept as low a profile as they could.

As they moved down the mineshafts they would come to different junctions, with multiple paths branching out. As instructed they continued following the paths with white circles painted on them. Some of the other paths had different markings on them. A square, a cross, an arrow. Corin was curious where some of these may lead to, but after what he saw the previous night he preferred to not adventure down unknown paths.

The long shafts of the mine seemed to play tricks on Corin's mind. He felt as if they covered the same stretch of mine, again and again. They would continue for a bit, find a junction, find where the white circle was and follow that path. To him it seemed as if everything time they cross the invisible threshold beyond the junction it would send them back a certain distance that they had already covered an innumerable amount of times. This endless repetition took Corin's mind out of the moment. He began to hum songs that he and Cyril would sing along their trips. He would tap his foot along to an inaudible beat, one that only he could hear.

Corin led at the front of the group. As he continued his lead and tapping of his foot, he felt his foot hit a puddle. It was not too deep but splashed water everywhere.

Splash!

“Careful all, there's a puddle of water here.” Corin announced to the group.

Splash!

Corin took two steps and paused.

“What is it Corin?” Livia asked.

“That was not me.” Corin said to Livia.

“What do you mean?” Zhi asked him.

At this point the group had come to a halt behind Corin. Simeon and Nanaua began to move up to see what was holding up Corin.

Splash!

This time it was very clear and all of them heard it. They knew it came from beyond Corin and were able to tell that someone else must have made that noise.

They all stood perfectly still as they stared ahead of them towards the source of the noise.

Corin held up his torch. Beyond the light, in the darkness, he saw it again. The two deep dark pools that reflected the light. This time Corin went to it with his torch.

As he approached it, the deep dark pools began to coalesce around a shape. It was a small familiar shape. In front of Corin there was a dwarf who was stared back at him as he approached him.

The dwarf did not seem to react to Corin’s approach. His eyes focused straight on Corin and his body did not move. For a second Corin was not sure if he was walking up to a statue.

Corin looked back to his group, all of them stared at the dwarf.

Nothing about the dwarf seemed amiss. He was or average height and build, had long black hair and a long black beard. Yet his eyes would not blink and they kept staring at Corin.

Corin took several more steps towards the dwarf. When he was just outside of his blade’s reach Corin stopped.

“My friend, are you lost? We were guided here by Svelti. He's one of your fellow townspeople. We were hoping to make it through the mines to go to Yranto.” Corin spoke to the dwarf.

He was unsure if the dwarf was some sort of guard, or why exactly he was down there.

“We are not lost.” The dwarf spoke. He still stared at Corin.

Although Corin was sure he heard the voice come from the dwarf, it was hard for him to tell if his mouth had moved. The dwarf continued staring at Corin.

“We?” Corin asked.

Beyond the dwarf Corin could see several more dark pools begin to appear at the edges of his torch. Some where at the same height as the dwarf in front of Corin, others higher up, at Corin's height, and some seemed to be attached to the roof of the mine.

Corin turned to look at the dwarf again. He moved into the light and Corin was able to make out more details about this dwarf. The first thing he noticed was that the dwarf's beard was matted with blood. It was caked into the beard as if it had been on the dwarf for a long period of time. The next thing Corin noticed was that the dwarf had part of his arm missing and that the stump was rotting, the dwarf also had a large hole in the his chest. It was large enough that Corin could see the dwarf's insides which seemed hollow. It did not seem possible for anything to be alive in the condition that the dwarf was in.

“What-” Livia began to speak but Corin did not hesitate.

As the dwarf approached him, he quickly grabbed his blade and slashed at his neck. Corin severed most of his neck and the dwarf fell down.

Behind the slain dwarf him the looming mass began to move towards them. Countless reflecting pools coming at them from every single spot they could see in the cave. Corin held his blade as he saw the eyes move closer to him.

“We need to leave now!” Simeon yelled at him.

Corin reacted instantly and so did the rest of the group. They turned around and began running back the way they had just come.

They soon came to a junction on their path and looked at the path they had just come through.

“They are coming from there as well!” Nanaua shouted.

“Let's go this way!” Livia shouted as she turned down an alternate path.

“But the white circles-” Nanaua began.

“Nanaua now is not the time!” Zhi urged her as she grabbed her hand.

The group ran behind Livia down the unmarked shaft. Livia led at the front, followed by Simeon, Nanaua, Zhi and Corin.

The horde quickly reacted to their deviation. Behind them Corin saw the two incoming streams clashing against each other as he and the others ran down the unmarked path. As Corin turned and continued running he could still hear the angry snarls and growls behind them. The horde had found prey and they were not about to let them escape.

Corin and the rest ran as fast as they could, but despite their best efforts he could hear them closing the distance. Corin turned his head to look at the oncoming creatures.

One of the creatures crawled on the ceiling and moved at blinding speed towards them. It seemed like a large reptilian humanoid but its eyes were completely white and its skin, covered in thick scales, was completely black. The creature was focused on Corin, its nearest target and once it was close enough it lunged.

The creature jumped at Corin. He reacted as quickly as he could, turning around, pulling out his blade and holding it straight out, impaling the creature as it landed on him. Corin quickly tossed the creature aside.

Behind the dead creature Corin saw two dwarves stumble over each other as they attempted to get to him. As they lay on top of each other and struggled to stand up Corin stabbed through both of them. He pulled out his blade and continued running after the group.

As he looked back he saw the reptilian creature he had just impaled begin to stir. Within seconds it has gotten up and had jumped on the ceiling once more. On the floor the two dwarves untangled themselves and began to rise up again. Behind the risen creatures the hordes continued flooding into the mineshaft the group was running down.

“They keep coming!” Corin shouted to the group.

The reptilian once again caught up to Corin and lunged at him. It did not matter that mere moments ago it had done the same thing, Corin once again impaled the creature and threw it to the side, but within moments it began to stir again. Corin did not bother to see what it would decide to do and continued running.

The hordes kept closing the distance between Corin and the rest of the group. Now Corin saw several reptilian creatures hurrying towards them, within moments they would be overtaken.

Corin saw three arrows fly one after the other. Each of them struck their targets, causing the reptilians to fall to the ground. But much like Corin's attempts at bringing them down, the reptilians were only down for mere moments before getting back up.

“They do not die!” Simeon shouted.

“I know!” Corin shouted.

Zhi stepped up now. A large bolt of lightning shot forth from her and a blinding flash was seen where the reptilians had been. Corin saw three smoldering bodies fall to the floor. They did not continue moving. Yet their corpses served as mere obstacles that were quickly overcome by the hordes that followed. Corin could see no end to them.

“It's useless! There's too many! We have to keep moving!” Corin shouted.

“We can’t outrun them!” Zhi shouted back.

She stood her place, and began chanting. The hordes saw their new prey and began screaming. Their shouts pierced their ears.

“I need your help! Protect me!” Zhi shouted.

Corin, Simeon, Nanaua and Livia all stood next to her. They did not know what she was planning but they knew they had no other choice.

Arrows flew and the creatures fell for mere moments before getting up again. Shots flew from Livia and Corin. Two shots from Corin hit two of the reptilians and they fell to the ground. One of them did not continue moving, the other was back on the wall quickly. Livia was more accurate in her shots. Each of her targets fell and did not stand up. But where one fell, two more would quickly be behind it. The ones that made it through were cut down by Nanaua.

She cleaved a dwarf in half, cleanly slicing his torso from his legs. His upper half fell to the ground, no blood gushing from his wound. Despite his injury he still crawled to them. Nanaua crushed his head and finally he stopped.

“The head!” Nanaua shouted.

Corin had seen it and did not need to be warned. A dwarf with only half his upper body, missing his right arm and a large portion of his torso came up to him. Corin thrust his blade into the man's head and it went through it easier than he expected. His blade slid out from the rotted head and the man fell dead.

Simeon shot several more in the head, those falling dead and not getting back up. Despite the amount of corpses that were beginning to pile up around them, the horde was not hampered in any way and continued their furious advance. Death did not deter them.

“Morphos!” Zhi shouted.

The ground beneath them shook. Loose rocks began to fall around them.

“Stay close to me!” Zhi shouted.

The group did just that.

At a distance the falling rocks were much larger. These boulders began to rain down on the approaching horde, crushing them as it collapsed and blocked the mineshaft. A rock larger than Nanaua fell onto a dwarf, completely crushing him and spraying his body parts around. As the mineshaft collapsed the creatures that evaded the rocks continued towards them.

A half rotted dwarf jumped at Zhi. Nanaua’s pike caught him mid air and threw him to the ground. She crushed its head with her pike. Another ran up to Corin who quickly reacted by slicing his head clean off.

The tunnel finally collapsed and no more of the herd could be seen coming through. A lone reptilian crawled towards them, only one arm available for it to move. Nanaua went up to it and crushed its head under her heel.

Zhi collapsed on to the ground. Livia caught her.

“Are you all right?” Livia asked.

“I'll be ok.” She said while looking at Simeon.

Simeon paced back and forth, exasperated. His tail fluttered about. He was thinking.

Nanaua went and relieved Livia, holding Zhi and helping her up.

The group was silent.

“We have no choice but to press on.” Corin broke the silence. He was looking beyond the group to the shaft that extended beyond them.

Simeon still paced, thinking, his tail fluttering.

“You're right.” It was Zhi who spoke.

Simeon stopped his pacing.

“There is but one choice,” Zhi said “ahead.”