“Been saying for months the mine is tapped out,” he said. “Months. But the cheap old bastard wanted us to dig deeper.”
“We’re kind of new,” Eriko said. “Who’s the cheap old bastard?”
“Mine’s owner, Steban Dyme,” Horace said. “Said he could smell ore just beyond our reach. He wasn’t wrong, I’ll grant him that. But we took down a wall and by the gods, it was as if hell itself passed gas in our general direction. Knew there was evil in there and we just opened the door for it.”
“What happened to the miners?” Morgan asked.
“The noise must’ve brought the creatures. Came bubbling up out of the dark soon after,” Horace said. “We work into the night sometimes—day, night, it don’t much matter when you’re underground. These… things killed a bunch of us. Dragged a few into the darkness. Then came up here, burning, pillaging. Murdering. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
“I have,” Ingo said quietly.
“They came back though,” Jack said. “I can see the tracks. They went back into the mine.”
“Aye,” the miner said. “I watched them. They didn’t much like the sun. Came running back just before dawn, dragging food, livestock… I didn’t see any living people with ‘em, but they definitely took some of our dead.”
“Everything in this stupid world wants to eat people,” Tamsin said.
“How many,” Cordelia said.
The miner shrugged.
“Two dozen, maybe,” Horace said. “A raiding party.”
Morgan and Cordelia exchanged a long look.
“The game wants us to be important,” Morgan said.
“You can’t possibly be thinking what I think you’re thinking,” Eriko said.
“This is what we’re here for,” Morgan said.
“To be heroes,” Cordelia said.
“I had no idea you people were suicidal,” Tobias chimed in. Tamsin shot him a look. “What? I’m in if you are. I’m just saying. Y’know.”
“They’re going to come back,” Jack said. “We can pursue them and catch them unawares, or we wait for them to come charging back up out of the tunnels tonight. Either way, it’s a fight.”
“Just throwing it out there—they’re subterranean critters. We’d be fighting them on their own turf,” Tobias said. Everyone looked at him as if he’d just started reciting rocket science. “Guys, I know I hide my geek, but I’ve read enough fantasy novels to know a thing or two. I’m not as stupid as I pretend to be.”
“He’s not wrong,” Eriko said. “We don’t know their territory.”
“But I do,” Ingo said. “You go, I’ll be your guide. These shits killed friends of mine and burned my home to the ground. I want to take a few of their heads off. And you’ve got a reputation. I know the lot of you can fight.”
Morgan turned to the guard captain, still mounted on his horse.
“You can head back, look for survivors. Maybe round them up and get them behind the town’s walls for now in case we fail. They’ll be safer there than on their own,” Morgan said.
“Good point, Father Bastion,” the captain said. “You want some of my men to back you up?”
“No,” Morgan said. “If we aren’t successful, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
“I’ll come with you as well,” Horace said.
“Absolutely not,” Cordelia said. “No offense, but you can’t fight, and if there’s dozens of them…”
“Let me at least take you as far as the place we broke through,” Horace said. “The tunnels can get twisted if you don’t know the way.”
“Fair enough,” Eriko said, handing the reins of her borrowed horse to one of the guards.
The others followed suit, knowing if things went badly, the horses wouldn’t live long waiting for their riders here outside the mine. Better they take these poor beasts back to town to wait for the worst, Tobias thought, patting his sorrel on the neck before giving his reins to the guard captain.
“I still think this is a stupid idea,” Tobias said.
“Stupid ideas is what we do,” Eriko said. “Are we going to change that now?”
Chapter 8: This is why we check for traps
Cordelia could feel the old dwarf’s eyes burning into the back of her neck as they made their way down the cool, darkened tunnels of the mine. In another life—literally another life, her pre-orc life—she would have ignored it, but ever since they arrived here she found herself less and less willing to tolerate behavior she didn’t like.
“Got a problem, Ingo?” she said
“No, no problem,” the dwarf said. “Your people live underground though, aye?”
Cordelia rolled her eyes.
“I’ve never spent a minute of my life living underground. Or, to be blunt, around ‘my people,’ either. So stuff it, Popeye.”
“Never knew orcs to be so sensitive,” Ingo said.
“There’s a difference between sensitive and impatient with bullshit,” Cordelia said.
Horace, the miner, cleared his throat, awkwardly interrupting. He showed them a rough gap in the otherwise deliberately carved caverns, debris from a cave-in scattered on the ground.
“Here’s where we broke through,” he said. “A few hours later they came bubbling up like a pox.”
Cordelia stepped through the break in the wall. Inside, there was a very different feel. It was murkier, for one, with an organic smell to it that felt more like a terrarium than a mine. The walls were smoother, slick, covered in lichen in places. The lichen glowed with a soft, blue-green light, enough to see by.
“This is terrifying,” Cordelia said. Ingo followed close behind, and then Eriko.
“This is what, eight, ten feet of earth away from the mine?” Eriko said. “These miners could’ve been this close to these creatures for years and never known it.”
“The world is a honeycomb of tunnels beneath the ground,” Ingo said. “There’s parts of the world you can walk for weeks without seeing the sun and get to where you’re going. It’s filled with beasties of all sorts, and surface folk can go their whole lives never knowing it’s there.”
“This is pure, unadulterated nightmare material,” Tobias said. “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s cave this in and go back.”
“That’s a… I was going to say that’s a terrible idea, but why aren’t we going to do that?” Tamsin said.
“Ingo?” Morgan said, awaiting an answer.
“I see your point and don’t disagree,” the dwarf said. “But they know there’s food above them now. They’re like insects. You can bury the opening to an ant hill, but they’ll dig their way out in another place.”
“They’ll really come back up again if we bury the tunnel?” Morgan said
“You see what they took with them?” Ingo said. “They hit the jackpot. They’re going to want more. Stuff like that doesn’t grow down here in the dark.”
Jack put a hand on Horace’s shoulder.
“You head back. Maybe see if collapsing the tunnel is a backup plan in case we don’t make it back.”
“Not what I’d call ideal, but I’ll do what I can,” Horace said. “Good luck down there.”
Jack knelt down to examine the ground for tracks, but the dwarf already started heading into the tunnel.
“This way,” Ingo said.
“How do you even know that?” Jack said.
The dwarf pointed at his eyes.
“My eyes are better in the dark than yours. I can see the footprints clear as day.”
Eriko pushed her way past the dwarf, who glared at her.
“I’ll go first. Scout ahead.”
“By yourself,” Cordelia said.
“I’m the rogue! I sneak! This is literally my job.”
Giving Eriko a head start, the rest of the group followed.
“So, what can we expect from these trogs, Ingo?” Morgan said. “Any advice for fighting them?”
The dwarf nodded.
“They ain’t bri
ght. They fight stupid. Their strength is in their numbers and their ferocity. They don’t have much sense of self-preservation, unlike the rest of us, and you know not caring if you live or die is a pretty solid advantage in a fight in the right hands.”
“That’s alarming,” Tamsin said.
“Any magic users? Healers? Guys we should watch out for in the battle field?” Cordelia said.
“They may have a shaman or two, but magic don’t come naturally to trogs,” Ingo said. “They’re scavengers, really. Scavengers with a sadistic streak. Comes from being underground with no contact to civilization for too long.”
“Got it,” Tobias said. “We’re going up against semi-intelligent suicidal cavemen who eat people. I hate this game. I hate this game so much.”
After some time, they entered an expanse where the cavern widened, the walls rising up high. The faintest bit of sunlight trickled down from a break in the cave far, far above them. Eriko waited for them, hands on her daggers.
“What do you have, Eriko?” Morgan asked.
Eriko pointed. Before her, the cavern floor opened up into a pit deep enough no one could see the bottom. Along one side of the pit, a curving arc of stone acted almost like a ramp into the darkness below.
“And she’s buying a stairway to heaven,” Tobias sang half-heartedly.
“Wrong direction, unfortunately,” Eriko said. “This legitimately looks like a bad idea incarnate.”
“It’s not too late to go back,” Tamsin said.
Jack turned his attention skyward, to the bit of daylight shining in.
“Hey Ingo,” Jack said. “These trog things good climbers?”
“Most creatures of the underworld are good climbers,” Ingo said. Jack gave him a questioning look. “I’ll have you know we dwarves are excellent climbers when we have to be. We live in the bloody mountain. You think we can’t climb?”
“We cave in the entrance and they just climb up there and out the top,” Cordelia said. “And then we’re dealing with the same problem, just from a different source.”
“Hey guys,” Tamsin said.
“Yeah,” Jack said.
“Guys, I have a bad feeling about something,” Tamsin said.
Jack squinted at her.
“Like a mage’s intuition bad feeling, or…?”
“No, I feel it too,” Tobias said. “You don’t? It’s a low…”
Before Tobias could finish his sentence, a single stone rolled down from the wall above, just in front of the opening they’d stepped out of. Ingo grabbed Tamsin, closest to the opening, by the wrist and pulled her back several feet.
“Get back,” he said. “All of ya, get back!”
One rock turned into many, and those turned into may more. With a deafening rumble, the unrefined stone in the tunnel gave way, collapsing on itself as if deflating. The fall kicked up dust and filth, covering the adventurers in gray grime. The cavern went very dark for a moment, then began to glow with the pale lichen light, the sky no longer visible.
“Elf ears,” the dwarf said. “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry. I should’ve noticed it myself.”
“No,” Jack said, examining the wreckage, one hand calmly scratching behind Silence’s ear. Cordelia almost laughed when she saw his wolf sitting calmly beside him—the critter was so quiet and so unassuming she hadn’t realized it followed them into the cave. “Look at this.”
“Guys, we were supposed to be on the other side of the tunnel when we collapsed it! Who is running this operation!” Tobias said.
“What do you have, Jack,” Cordelia asked.
Jack pointed to broken wood and rope.
“I thought you said they were stupid,” Morgan said. “That looks like a trap.”
“That’s… the bastards rigged the tunnel to collapse,” Ingo said. “I swear to you, I’ve never seen this before. Trogs are dumb as rocks. Never seen them engineer anything more than a tarp.”
“This is why we check for traps, people!” Eriko said. “Don’t touch things until I’ve had a look at them!”
“You were already in this room!” Tobias yelled. “You check for traps, that’s your job!”
“Shit! Okay, fine, I missed the trap,” Eriko said. “My bad. That’s on me.”
“So… we’re stuck down here,” Tamsin said.
“Aye, lass,” Ingo said.
“Well, let’s look on the bright side,” Morgan said.
“I hate it when you’re the optimist in the group,” Eriko said. “Whenever you’re the optimist I know things are bad.”
“We don’t have to argue about our plan anymore, right?” Morgan said.
“Fair enough,” Eriko said. “Down we go I guess, huh?”
Chapter 9: Don’t touch anything
The winding ramp quickly proved to be more natural formation than crafted stairway. It was unevenly shaped, often requiring a bit of deft navigation to get across narrow or broken areas. The twins needed a hand more than once, more for lack of confidence than ability. At one point Morgan slipped enough that Jack felt his heartbeat in his throat for minutes afterward.
After a while, the glow of the lichen grew insufficient, and both Tamsin and Morgan cast their light spells to illuminate the walk. Jack and Eriko traded off taking the lead, Jack’s innate ranger skills letting him find the surest footing while Eriko remained doubly paranoid they’d encounter another trap.
Finally, Jack felt the ramp give way to more solid footing as they reached the bottom. The stone ground beneath his feet radiated cold he could feel through his boots. He drew both short swords from his belt and held one out in front of him as if testing the air with the blade.
“What are you doing?” Tamsin asked taking up position behind him.
“Just checking,” Jack said.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” Cordelia said. “Don’t touch anything.”
Tobias reached the bottom and poked at the ground with the heel of his boot.
“This reminds me of that scene in the Empire Strikes Back, in the asteroid field,” he said. “What do you mean, don’t touch anything?”
“In these games, traditionally, everything is dangerous in underground areas,” Morgan chimed in. “Bugs that eat metal, giant rodents…”
“Lots of stories about characters running ahead of their group and splashing full-speed into roaming piles of living acidic jelly,” Jack said. “Eriko?”
“I know, I know, don’t split the party,” Eriko responded. “Why do you treat me like I have poor impulse control?”
“Because you have terrible impulse control,” Jack said.
“Living acidic jelly,” Tamsin said. “Are you serious?”
“I can’t say this is a top five in my own personal nightmares, but it’s pretty high up there,” Tobias said.
“Tam,” Jack said, softer, not intended for the whole group. “Can you shine your magical light on the ground for me?”
Tamsin nodded to him. Jack crouched down, easily finding the troglodyte tracks.
“That way,” Jack said, gesturing to one of the shadowy gaps in the wall around them.
“Okay, Ingo. Now’s the time to tell us anything else you think we should know about these trogs,” Cordelia said.
The dwarf again had trouble disguising his distaste for her, but answered.
“They used to be ordinary humans, like some of you,” he said. “And they’re about human height, I guess, give or take. They can be sickly or strong in equal likelihood. They don’t have good stock.”
“These feet don’t look human,” Jack said, staring at the heavy, wide footprints with three toes, more pig like in shape than human.
“They don’t look much like humans anymore,” Ingo said. “Their heads are oversized. Big teeth, beady eyes, malformed sometimes. The dark magic in the underground took its toll on them. Or maybe their misdeeds led to their malformation. Either way, they are a far cry from the humans above. Vicious and strong and sadistic the way only the stupid and cruel can be.”
“Do they have kids?” Tamsin asked.
Ingo looked at her as if she’d started speaking in demonic tongues.
“What?”
“The trogs. If we find them, do they have kids? Like, are we going to have to fight families?” Tamsin asked.
“Dammit,” Eriko said.
“Now is not the time to develop an overabundance of empathy,” Ingo said.
“You’re about 19 years too late for that,” Tobias said. “Guys, we’re in a game world. I don’t really see a problem. Chances are we won’t see anything but trogs and boss trogs.”
“But they must be hunting to provide for something, right? A village or whatever? Hunter/gatherer cultures…” Tamsin said.
“I am now questioning every game I’ve ever played since I was five years old and whether or not I’ve regularly been committing genocide,” Morgan said.
“Me too,” Cordelia said. “You’ve just given me an existential crisis and I think I hate you a little bit for it.”
“What if we come across little trog babies when we find the hunting party?” Tamsin said.
“Then we kill ‘em,” Ingo said.
“Whoa,” Eriko said.
“Little trog babies turn into big trog hunters and big trog hunters kill your family and burn your house to the ground,” Ingo said. “Don’t ask me to have sympathy for ‘em. You haven’t been on the receiving end of a trog hunt.”
“I can’t kill babies,” Tamsin said. “Even if they’re psychopathic monster babies.”
“Fine, don’t,” Ingo said. “Who recruited the soft touch?”
“That’d be my fault,” Tobias said. “She got all the empathy when we were born. I got all the looks.”
Ingo glared at Jack and pointed angrily at the entrance to one tunnel.
“This way, lad?” the dwarf said. Jack nodded. Ingo stormed off down the tunnel. Cordelia gave Jack a long look then followed the dwarf, then Morgan and the others joined. Tamsin hung back and put a hand on Jack’s arm.
“We’re not really going to… kill a whole village of these things, are we?” she asked.
“I’m not,” Jack said. “The thing about games like this is there’s always an alternative to charging in and killing everything. That’s the easy option. It’s the lazy option.”
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