Hazelhearth Hires Heroes

by D. H. Willison

  Chapter 25

  In contrast to the deference of most townsfolk, miners paid little heed to Lady Isylnoir’s presence, their mood dimmed by months of overwork. She descended to the newly opened section, paused to examine the high water marks on the cavern walls, and turned to Sam. “Apparently my great foresight extends to the scheduling and operation of water pumps as well.”

  “Your wisdom is a credit to the Empire,” said Sam.

  “And your anticipation of my needs is on par with the finest elven retinue.”

  Lee simply grinned.

  They proceeded to the seam, where Lady Isylnoir removed a crystal, holding it in front of her. Gazing at it, she sang, producing a faint hum, barely perceptible to the human ear. The crystal glowed from within.

  “These power crystals are weak and impure.” She paused, cocking her head ever so slightly. “But not so impure that they cannot be used. And if we are able to excavate enough, it may prove sufficient. I do not suppose I have divined the location of any transmuter gems?”

  “Lee, do you have that amber gem from earlier?” said Sam.

  Lady Isylnoir took the gem from Lee, rolling it between her long fingers. “Interesting. This is actually of respectable quality. It might pass the imperial commodity grading scheme.”

  “Are you certain of that?” said Sam.

  For the second time in a day, the corners of Lady Isylnoir’s lips curled uncharacteristically upward. “Now that you mention it, it probably would not pass the imperial grading scheme. However, if I am able to muster ‘resourcefulness’ similar to your own, I believe I shall be able to make the city’s lightning thrower operational.”

  The party worked the next three days in the mine. Alone at first, but hour by hour Gnebnik’s gruff countenance chipped away at the dread of the miners, and more of them ventured into the cavern to assist. With more hands came more crystals, yet most of what was extracted was misshapen, discolored, flawed.

  “Here is the latest batch.” The crystals clinked musically as Sam placed the burlap bag on the workbench.

  Lady Isylnoir nodded.

  “How close are we? To having enough, I mean?”

  “It is more a question of time than quantity,” said Lady Isylnoir. “A lower quality crystal may still be used, but it takes significantly longer to tune. Each crystal must resonate at the same frequency as the rest, or the device will self-destruct.” She motioned to a tray of rejected crystals. “Were I to use all of those, I could probably complete the device. Yet each superior crystal you are able to supply me with will speed the completion considerably.”

  “Perhaps I could assist with the sorting and tuning.”

  “You are neither elf nor mage, it would not be—” Lady Isylnoir drew a deep breath. “The process requires one to channel magic energy. Though it might be possible for you to learn, it would take many months.”

  Sam nodded. “I shall return to—”

  They were interrupted by a rapping on the workshop door.

  “Enter.”

  “My lady.” A messenger, a boy of twelve wearing the green and black surcoat of the city watch, bowed. “Word from a scouting party. Ogres have been spotted. Just over a day’s ride.”

  Nary a hint of emotion crossed Lady Isylnoir’s face, and none could be heard in the tone of her voice. She responded as if she were simply selecting her lunch. “Keep them under observation. Evacuate all outlying farms and orchards to the city.”

  “And the mine?”

  “We need to keep it operating as long as possible. The ogres are far too large to enter the mine, but were they to trap any workers there, they could starve them into submission. I shall leave the exact time to the discretion of the master armorer.” She turned to Sam. “I trust you will inform him.”

  The messenger nodded and exited.

  “Earlier you stated that you could complete it with what you have, but that it would take time. How much time, hypothetically speaking?”

  “I would estimate a week,” said Lady Isylnoir.

  “Then it looks like I have some mining to do.”

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Sam arrived at the mine entrance to find Gnebnik unloading rather than loading his donkey cart. “What’s in the cart? I thought we were trying to get everything from the mine to the town.”

  “Aye,” said Gnebnik. “But if ther’s one thing about a battle ta remember, it’s that it never goes as planned.” He slung a burlap sack over his shoulder and trudged into the mine. “Help me out with these.”

  Sam peeked into a second bag. “Walnuts?”

  She dragged the sack into the mine, placing it next to a small stack of crates and sacks.

  “Rations, just in case,” said Gnebnik. “Grab a few.”

  She joined Lee in the main chamber of the natural cavern system. The water level had continued to drop, and now amounted to but a few scattered pools on the floor.

  “The miners say they’re getting mostly just fragments from chambers three and four,” said Lee.

  Gnebnik scowled. “We’ve got to push deeper, then. Tunnels five and seven are our best bet. We’ll go first. Got to set an example.”

  The party arrived at the narrows of the tunnel a few minutes later.

  “This is as far as we’ve gone. A good choke point if nothin’ else,” said Gnebnik. The gnome dropped to his hands and knees to fit into the constricted gap. “Come on.”

  Lee, whose burly frame was least suited to traversing the narrow passage, cracked his helmet on the ceiling twice. Both times he bit back a string of curses. He stood, removed his helmet, and rubbed his head.

  “Glad to be able to stand again,” he said. “Not to mention draw my sword. Don’t like the idea of having to fight in a confined space to begin with.”

  “I concur,” said Shin.

  “Ther’s an art to it,” said Gnebnik. “Let’s go.”

  The passage was, by the standards of a naturally formed tunnel, remarkably uniform. But unfortunately also quite barren.

  After three hundred paces Gnebnik raised a fist.

  A clicking, like metal against stone, sounded in the tunnel ahead.

  “Is that bad?” said Lee.

  “Aye,” said Gnebnik.

  “How bad is bad?” said Sam, not really wanting to know the answer.

  “Dunno.”

  Lee glanced at Shin. “Well? Mr. Nature Boy? Can’t you tell what it is by sound or something?”

  “Sorry. Gnebnik’s the expert on subterranean creatures. I am uncomfortable in confined spaces. I normally try to get out as quickly as possible.”

  The clicking grew louder, echoing off tunnel walls. Was it the sound of four limbs? A dozen? A hundred? The group drew weapons and pressed themselves against the walls. The beams of their lamps darted about the darkness in the cavern ahead.

  A beetle with a silvery shell the size of a wine barrel scuttled toward them, a set of scythe-like mandibles snapping open and shut.

  “Ya still want that answer?” said Gnebnik, backpedaling several steps.

  “I think you just gave it to me,” said Sam.

  Gnebnik raised a finger to his lips and tossed a stone behind the creature.

  The creature turned, focusing its attention on the stone clattering along the tunnel floor.

  At a gesture from Gnebnik, the group retreated back along the tunnel.

  “Was that one of the subterranean horrors?” said Lee. The creature didn’t appear formidable. Not much more than a larger version of the fire beetles that the woodsmen had engaged with maces those many weeks ago. But Lee knew saying this out loud was an invitation for fate to laugh at his stupidity.

  Followed closely by Sam.

  “Silverback scarab,” said Gnebnik. “Tremendously strong for their size, with a carapace as hard as the finest steel. Fortunately, they are completely blind. React to sound and vibration.”

  “Creatures of the subterranean realm are said to have adapted over the millennia,” said Shin. “Senses attun
ed to darkness, bodies shaped by strong magic and brutal conditions.”

  The party doubletimed their way back to the choke point, Lee managing to smack his head on the reverse trip as well.

  “Better to block off the passage,” said Gnebnik. He stepped into the main cavern and addressed a pair of miners on their way back into the fourth side cavern. “You two. I need you ta block off passage five with rubble stone.”

  The closest miner, a gnome with matted charcoal hair, leather gauntlets worn smooth from overuse, and many layers of dust and dried sweat on his sage-green twill work shirt, replied, “What’d ya find?”

  “Lone scarab.”

  “Not without protection.”

  “Fine,” said Gnebnik. He motioned to Sam and Lee. “These two’ll watch yer back. I need ta take a look at passage seven.”

  “These two? Never. I’m not trusting my life to anyone but another gnome.”

  Gnebnik winced. Rumors swirled about town. Fear of the ogres, fear of the unknown in the caverns and now fear of the known in the caverns. Morale hung by a thread. “Right. I’ll cover ya. Now get to it. Ther’s a good spot fer a barricade five hundred paces in.” He turned to Sam and Lee. “Not what I wanted, but no choice. Scout out number seven. If ya don’t find anything useful in half an hour, turn back. If ya run into any beasties, turn back. Got it?”

  Lee nodded.

  Sam nodded, biting back an ‘oh, dear.’

  Passage seven was at the top of the cavern, requiring a thirty-foot climb up a near vertical face to reach it. It was also barely wide enough to crawl through.

  Lee took the lead, managing to avoid cracking his head on the ceiling, and after a fifty-foot crawl, the passage opened up: tall enough to stand, and wide enough to walk two abreast.

  “A single beetle makes Gnebnik that nervous,” said Sam. “Not a good sign.”

  “Not nervous. Cautious. And if he’s playing with our lives, it’s not a bad thing.”

  “Says the most reckless member of the party.”

  “I like to think of it as ‘enthusiastic.’ ”

  Sam smiled, but hid this from Lee.

  “You were just with Lady Isylnoir,” said Lee. “She making any progress with that lightning ray thingie?”

  “Yeah, just not—” Sam froze and waved at Lee.

  “What is it?” whispered Lee.

  “You hear it?”

  Lee strained to concentrate on the faint sound. “It’s behind us.”

  “And it sounds like screaming.”

  Chapter 26

  The pair sprinted back along the passage, the beams of their lamps bouncing and jerking chaotically in front of them. Yelling, screaming and muddled voices grew louder. Voices were too jumbled together to understand what was spoken, but the tone was clear.

  Lee charged ahead, practically diving into the narrow section of the passage. Hands, elbows, and knees banged against rough stone, bruising and slicing exposed flesh, yet he paid no heed. He popped his head into the main chamber.

  “Oh fuck.”

  “What, what is it?” yelled Sam, who could see nothing but Lee’s backside.

  Lee froze, fighting to keep his mind on task. The center of the cavern swarmed with silverback scarabs. With several fallen miners among them.

  The count was unclear, as there were not bodies, but pieces of bodies: the scythe-like front mandibles of the scarabs that could cut through stone, proving they could cut through armor, flesh, and bone with equal ease. Pools of water were stained blood red, while the clacking of hundreds of chitinous limbs mixed with tearing and rending of bodies filled the air.

  “Lee? What’s going on!” yelled Sam.

  Yrsa and Gnebnik stood either side of the exit, fending off stray beetles as a human miner dragged a wounded gnome through to safety.

  “We… I don’t know if we can make it.” Lee locked eyes with Gnebnik. “What do we do?”

  “We can’t hold them, we’ve got to plug the shaft,” yelled Yrsa.

  “Run, lad,” said the gnome. “And live.”

  “We’ve got to find another way out,” said Lee.

  Yrsa and Gnebnik backed through the exit.

  “Tell them to keep the pump running!” said Sam. “Maybe… maybe we’ll find a way to get to the old…”

  A dull rumble emanated from the exit shaft. Lee’s gut hollowed out as rubble stones poured through. Sealing them inside with some very unpleasant roommates.

  “We’ve got to move. Get back.”

  As soon as he could stand, Lee grabbed Sam’s hand, pulling her into the tunnel after him, not letting go until she was running.

  “This is going further into the mine, and we don’t know where. Or what’s there!”

  “Yup! But the tunnel we do know is now infested with silverback scarabs. This one might not be.” Lee panted, dropping from sprint to jog when a glance behind revealed no obvious pursuit.

  “Yeah, can’t argue with that logic.”

  The passage widened to the point where a half-dozen people could walk abreast.

  “I don’t suppose you have an actual plan,” said Sam.

  “Plans are your thing.” Lee stopped, motioning for Sam to do the same, turned in the direction they had come from, and shut off the lamp in his miner’s helmet. The echo of their footsteps faded, their ragged breaths quieted. A forlorn plop sounded as a drop of water fell from a stalactite into a pool below, somewhere deeper in the cavern.

  Sam’s heart rate calmed with each passing second in which neither the rending of flesh, nor the sharp clacking of chitinous limb against stone could be heard. She drew a long, deep breath, exhaling slowly, quietly, ears still perked for some dreadful sound. She grabbed Lee’s shoulder. “Then let me do my thing.”

  “Right!” Lee nodded, a confident smile painted across his face.

  With everything that’s gone wrong he still manages a smile, thought Sam. She removed her knapsack, taking out her copy of the map. “How far in do you think we are?”

  “I dunno. Maybe five hundred paces?”

  “Sounds about right. From now on let’s count our steps. It’s not exact, but better than nothing.” She fished around in her knapsack, locating the miner’s kit and removing a luminous pink stick. “This is what we need.”

  “Magic chalk?”

  “Exactly!”

  “Serious? It really is magic chalk? You know I was just being sarcastic, don’t you?”

  “Lee, when have I ever not gotten one of your sarcastic quips?”

  “Right. Real magic chalk. So what does it do?”

  “It glows in the dark.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Would you prefer if it lured bloodthirsty demon hordes to the area?”

  “I suppose not. But that’s a great idea for my game.”

  Sam shook her head, marked a vertical line on the tunnel wall and an ‘S’ next to it.

  “S for Sam?”

  “S for start.”

  “Right.”

  The two counted off steps, Sam continually reminding Lee to do so in his head rather than out loud. Every hundred paces they paused, listened for the ominous clack of insectoid limbs, and chalked a mark on the wall.

  “At least the air in here is fresh,” said Sam. “That’s a good sign, I hope.”

  At one thousand two hundred fifty paces, the tunnel widened into an elongated cavern.

  “No signs of damp,” said Lee, running his fingertips along the cavern floor. “So we assume this cavern was dry before they started the pump.”

  “The entrance to the tunnel was well above the water,” said Sam.

  “The tunnel could have been sloping downward. If it were a gentle enough slope we’d have never noticed it,” said Lee. “It’s like in the desert when people don’t realize they’re walking in circles.”

  “Until they die of thirst? There’s a cheery thought.”

  “I just meant at least we know it hasn’t been sloping down. It might have been going up or right or l
eft, but not down. And we’re not gonna die of thirst, Sam.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Look, we’re well away from those scarabs, the air seems decent, and we should be able to find water again.” Lee grasped Sam’s upper arm, a gesture whose reassuring effect was partially negated by the glare of light from his miner’s helmet. “We can survive for days down here. We’ll find a way out by then.”

  “We’ve seen no channels branching other directions. This tunnel might go nowhere.”

  “Worst case scenario, we make our way back the way we came. Maybe the scarabs are gone, and they can clear the shaft again. We know that way leads out.”

  “Maybe the scarabs are gone? That’s wishful thinking, not optimism.”

  “I thought Shin was teaching you the ways of the wild? The scarabs are animals after all. There’s nothing in that cavern for them. Once their frenzy subsides and they finish—” He couldn’t bring himself to complete the sentence. “I’m just saying there’s no reason for them to be there.”

  “Makes sense. And for the record, Shin’s been teaching me the ‘sneaking around, so as not to get hit, clawed, and/or chomped on’ part of his skill set.”

  Lee nodded, and the two proceeded through the cavern.

  “There!” Lee’s tone was as energetic as a jaunty sea shanty. “A branch to the right.”

  A tunnel veered off, smaller than the first, though still high enough to stand in.

  “Hmm. I’m going to take a page from the Lee book of positive thinking and assume this won’t be the first branch we come to.” She pulled a notebook and her map from her knapsack. “I’m gonna mark this as intersection ‘A.’ We’ve gone a total of two thousand six hundred forty paces.” She sketched the distance in pencil in her notebook. “The passage has been more or less straight, so I’m hoping we’ll find a tunnel heading that way.” She motioned to the right.

  “The lower mine.” Lee bit his lip as he scrutinized the sketch, then flipped back to the map. “The shafts that were abandoned? You thinking maybe with the pumps going the water level will be low enough that there’s a way out?”

  “It’s the best I’ve got.”

  “Right. Which way, then?”