We stood in front of the yawning hole where the iron doors to the storage area used to stand. Unlike the earlier break in—or break out, rather—they had been torn clean from the stone mountainside that they were mounted into. Erland must have had some help, tipping them back into place and tying the site off. I had just pulled them down so we could make our way back into the depths that lie beyond.
I had been told that the Windhollows were a series of pilot shafts that the Polterhaud Mining Company had drilled in this ore rich area. It was said that the Dwarven families that remained in Hlofreden had come here originally to extract silver, but, apparently, had discovered much more than they had bargained for. The portal that sat at very bottom of this mine would even been considered ancient, even to the Dwarves. The thought of that alone boggled my mind.
After they claimed the silver had dried up, the majority of the Dwarven families pulled up their roots and moved on. The ones who did remain converted these pilot holes into storage areas, finding other ways to turn a profit. In Bromm and Sig's dealings with the Shatterhammer brewery, they just happened to end up with the one storage area that was part of the original entrance to the greater mining operation. In fact, one of the requirements of the sale was to resolve a problem that Mister Shatterhammer himself didn't care to handle, which seemed to usher the sale along with considerable haste.
I had wondered if he knew what was down there this whole time. And, when things got active again, he knew it was time to move on. I've found that Dwarves are especially secretive when there is money involved, especially when it directly affects their own coinpurse. And, right now, as we stood staring into darkness, I wanted to wring that little Dwarf's neck. At the edge of my vision, I could just make out the edges of the crudely bricked hole that had been torn through yet again. I shook my head and looked back to the others.
"It's clear all the way to the back."
Floki started to move ahead, and, as he did, Sig spoke a few unintelligible words then touched one of the fletchings of the arrows in Floki's quiver. The soft glow was difficult to perceive in the mid-morning light, but became more obvious as he entered the mouth of the cave and crouched to look for signs of the many-armed creature's passing.
Silah's anxiousness returned. She stood unnaturally still, looking wide-eyed into the darkness. She stood next to Danin and Sig. The milky white dress she wore was being tugged at by gentle breezes. I took a deep breath and smiled lovingly, taking in the view of her as she shone gloriously in the rising sun. The concern on her face fractured for a moment as she became aware of my gaze. She looked away, embarrassed, but then met my eyes with a shy smile.
"It's pretty much what I saw before." Floki announced from his crouched position. "There aren't any signs of foot traffic from before three weeks ago."
As Silah had said earlier, Gevurah likely believed this place was no longer a concern. I wondered how long that would last, considering the steps we had taken to make Hlofreden a target again. I sighed at the thought.
Bromm moved past Floki, peering into the darkness beyond.
"Let's press on, then." Bromm said, crouching by the scattered bricks near the back of the tunnel.
As we filed in, I decidedly took point, with Silah at my side. Taking heed to Denton's word, I had shed my fancy clothes and left them at home. In their place was my considerably more rustic armor. I was disgruntled by their disrepair as I had put it on again. I had intended to visit the armorer and see what could be done about their condition. Or, more regrettably, what other options there were.
The large vertical timbers that were put in place for the lift in the middle of the circular room had stood strong for ages. Their stability was a tribute to Dwarven craftsmanship. Unfortunately, the floorboards leading up to that central support sagged and creaked with each step. Only the cart path up to the lift seemed to be robust enough for my considerable weight.
"Stay around the outside, if you can. Rana said we should try to keep as much weight off of them as possible."
"When you say ‘as much weight as possible', that means you, right?" Floki said with a wry tone.
"Yeah, fine." I grumbled.
"Let's take the stairs over here." I motioned through the branch to the right of where we emerged.
As I walked around the spiraling wooden walkway that clung to the walls of the shaft. My heart sank as I remembered this first time I had seen this room. If not for Danin tying a rope to me and holding on to me, I would likely have fallen to my death. It was a foolhardy stunt, leaping on the back of that giant spider. While it ended well enough, it still stung to think about.
"Ah, I remember this place." Bromm said loudly.
I cringed, waiting for him to elaborate, but he looked toward the ceiling and rubbed at his chest where the spider had bit him. I remembered how pale he looked in that moment, but, even with our foolhardy approach, we all still managed to survive.
The walls still had many of the large insect creatures crawling over them, but the population seemed thinner than expected. The fungus they fed on was still readily available, though. Most of the sounds seemed to be coming from the central mine shaft the next floor down, or, perhaps, lower? This seemed strange because the central shafts seemed bare of the mushroom colonies.
As we neared the bottom of the third level of stairs, I held my hand out to Silah.
"You probably don't want to get wet. We're going to have to wade in from here."
I took her hand and, upon request, she melted into her sword form. I sheathed her and dropped into the cold chest-high water. I cringed from the rush of cold, clamping my teeth to keep from chattering while my body adjusted.
"It's best not to think about it and jump in." I said aloud, splashing around a bit, as I moved on.
Floki and Sig jumped in, their faces contorted as their heads bobbed above the water. Bromm and Danin remained, looking on.
"Gunpowder and water." Bromm said darkly, shaking his head and folding his arms over his impressive long coat. "I'll wait here."
"I will wait, too. I'm not in the mood to swim." Danin followed on.
We waded through the tunnel back into the central shaft. The bottom of the lift was well underwater. Soaked timbers lie at the bottom-tossed around haphazardly-where the car had fallen ages ago. Floki moved past, looking at the long cables that attached to the pump that rose up to the next level. He had effectively disabled the mechanism by removing what looked like a gear and secreting it away. He dove into the water to check the pump.
"It looks like someone did tamper with it, but they didn't get it working." He said, as he came up for air.
"How long will it take to get things back in order?" Sig asked.
"Not long, I've got the part right here." He said, holding up the missing piece, "I don't see anyone floating face down in here, so they must have avoided the poison."
He dove in again, this time down there for nearly a minute. When he surfaced, he tugged on one of the cables. You could hear the pumping mechanism engage with the movement.
"That should do it. Hakaar? Would you like the honors?" Floki stood back from the mechanism.
I nodded and reached down and grabbed the handles. They were set at a low position, being Dwarven made, so I had to dip my head into the water multiple times before the water levels started to drop. The system that the Dwarves had devised was very efficient. In short order, the water levels had dropped to reveal the slick silty surface dotted with standing water. Bromm and Danin splashed through the connected tunnel. Bromm's expression was still one of disdain as he deftly avoided the larger puddles.
I unsheathed Silah, and thought of her in human form. She reformed then bowed to me politely.
"I appreciate the forethought." She said, smiling appreciatively.
"Don't thank me just yet." I said, I had a plan in mind to retrieve the gold ore at the bottom of the shaft with Silah's help.
Unfortunately, I hadn't considered the one problem in all of this: she was absolutely going to get wet. I grimaced and she looked at me curiously which then turned to concern as she read my face.
"What." She said flatly, her open expression had fallen into a deadpan.
"I'll work with Silah to get the rest of the gold ore from the cart." I said to the others then turned to Silah, "Here, come with me."
I took her hand and led her into the darkness of the branching tunnel where we had discovered the submerged cart with the gold ore.
"So, if you'd like to help, the minecart is down there." I looked toward the broken lift mechanism that dangled into the water above the shaft, my vision a mixture of blacks and grays in the deep darkness.
"How do you mean help?" She looked at me, annoyance creeping into her expression.
"I have to breathe and, well, you don't." I said, feeling more and more like this was a bad idea, but I continued, "I didn't really think ahead, though. Your dress would get soaked."
Silah leaned her head forward and glared at me. I waited, feeling sheepish, but still insistent.
"You want me to get naked and retrieve some rocks for you?" She narrowed her eyes as she spoke.
"If you would like to help, yes." I said, frankly, then continued, "Although, saying ‘rocks' trivializes how much this is actually worth. It was a lot of effort for me to get the chunk I did from out of there."
She sat, sullen. I realized that I was still holding her hand.
"It's a matter of dignity." She finally said, "This is not dignified."
"No." I said, shaking my head, "It's a matter of choice. You don't have to do it, but I would appreciate it if you would. I would never ask you to do something that I wouldn't be willing to do myself. And I am still willing to risk it ... if you choose not to."
I sighed and started to unbuckle my breastplate. She put a hand to mine and stopped me.
"Fine," she breathed out heavily, "I will do it. Just, please, don't tell the others."
She immediately snaked her way out of her white dress. Her bare form shimmered in my sight. I shivered for her, still feeling the cold from my own soaked clothes. I did have the impulse to reach toward her, but held myself back. This seemed neither the place nor the time for any sort of affection. She held out the dress and I took it, rolling it up and put it into my rucksack. She turned to face the drop off into the water and I saw the stark black scrollwork slashes running up either side of her spine. I put my hand to her shoulder and she looked back at me.
"Thank you. I do appreciate it." I said humbly.
Silah gave a bit of scoff as she turned forward, narrowed her form, and dropped into the water, creating very little splash. After almost two minutes, I began to get worried, then she crested the water, with two of the stones in her hands. She rested them on the ledge, looking determined, and slipped back into the water again.
The process repeated until the piles threatened to fall back in. I took a portion of the gold ore and called down the tunnel for some help moving it. Floki with his lit arrow poking over his shoulder came and relieved me of some of the chunks of ore, moving it into the central shaft. He poked around the corner and must have seen Silah's naked back and shoulders dropping into the water. He glanced at me with a bewildered expression.
"Really?" He said, looking at me with disdain.
"She doesn't need to breathe. I do." I shook my head at his look as he walked back to the others with the load.
Finally, she came up empty and tried to speak, but water came out instead of sound. She looked annoyed, then pulled herself up onto the shelf and sat. She leaned forward with a noiseless scream, sending gouts of water out of her mouth in the process. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. I was slightly horrified.
"Hacker, you there?" She said into the darkness.
"Hakaar, and yes, I'm right here." I said, waving a hand in her direction.
"Oh, good, I thought you'd left." There was still some sputtering as she spoke, the water not quite cleared from her lungs. "The cart is empty. I patted the whole thing down. I couldn't see anything, so, unless you've got some light to share, that's all there is."
"You … can't see?" I boggled, "I thought you could see in the dark?"
She furrowed her brow and looked in my direction, but not at me. How did I not see that before?
"Through your eyes, yes. Otherwise? Nope." She shook her head.
I put my hand to my face, feeling a mix between shame and embarrassment. I put my hand on her shoulder and she lifted her chin, then raised a hand up. I pulled her to her feet and she looked at me with an expression that puzzled me. She wicked some of the water off of her skin with her hands.
"Now, that deserves another grand night on the town. Perhaps I'll be able to regain some of my composure then." She blindly gave a disgruntled smirk, "Consider yourself in my debt."
Silah paused for a moment.
"Did you bring a towel?" She said, almost with a hiss.
I shook my head noiselessly, then I saw her grimace, brow furrowed.
"You didn't, did you. And you're shaking your head in the dark." She said, her perturbance increasing.
The percussion of a gunshot rattled through the tunnels. I glanced at her sightless expression which was immediately worried. I grabbed her arm and willed her into her sword form and her naked body instantly took shape.
I bolted down the passageway, splashing through the standing water, listening to the shouts coming from the main mine shaft.
"It's coming down! Bromm, fall back!" I heard in what sounded like Floki's voice.
I ran to the opening into the shaft and spun my head to get my bearings. A brown spider, nearly the size of a horse, was descending the wall, a glowing fletching jutted from its body. I heard a restrained grunt from Bromm as the creature darted forward and fangs sunk into him. His face went pale and his jaw clenched as he pointed his pistol at it and let another round loose, blowing a hole right through its carapace. It slumped to the floor and it's legs twitched then began to relax as viscous liquids burbled from the fresh wound.
Danin put a hand on Bromm's shoulder and while the wound stopped bleeding, his paleness did not subside. Bromm shook his head at Danin. This was starting to remind me of last time, and that worried me. Bromm had faced off with a huge Black Widow that nearly killed him. I shuddered. It was what had prompted my disastrous leap from the scaffold.
"More incoming!" Floki shouted.
It took me a moment to spot them crawling through the hole where the lift would come through. Three more massive spiders skittered through then down the walls toward us. One dropped in front of me, raising its front legs menacingly. I moved quickly toward it, hissing through my teeth. It struck at me, but my forward momentum carried me past the bite and I sunk the greatsword deep into its body, just to the right of its mandibles.
Bile oozed as it shuddered and lost use of some of its limbs, but it continued to dance with me, now with only one of its front legs raised, the other dangling as dead weight. It struck at me again, failing to connect as it stumbled around on its now useless legs. I saw a chance to lance at the creature from above and drove the killing blow through the spider's back. The legs twitched, dancing about for a moment longer before falling still.
I saw Floki out of the corner of my eye, speedily lancing the spider with arrows as it rushed toward. It clamped down on his arm as he fell back. He let out a grunt as he gripped his bow and sent more arrows into the creature until it tumbled harmlessly at his feet. Tenner, his wolf, growled at it, watching closely to make sure it didn't move.
Behind me, Bromm's pistol went off two more times. I swung my head to see the last remaining spider moving in on him as he was flanked by Danin. I darted forward, but his last shot went through the creatures clustered eyes and burst its head into an oozing black mass.
I looked around, listening for Floki to say anything else. All eyes were on the walls, but there was only the annoyed rustle of the large insects fluttering around us. Danin motioned for us to gather and called on his power to send a healing wave through each of us. It was a first for me, I had been able to avoid getting injured. Unfortunately, this made me feel like I had failed to do my job by stepping in the way of danger.
"Don't be hard on yourself. They're big boys. They can take care of themselves." Silah shimmered into my mind, wearing an elaborate gown and standing my height.
She looked at her hands and opened and closed them. Her presence was clearly more potent than usual, more substantial.
What changed? I projected the question to her, watching her traipse solidly through my mind with a mix between horror and fascination.
Silah smiled at me, glowing gold eyes holding a secret. She waved her hand and a full length mirror appeared. She walked over to it and looked herself over, then dismissed it with another wave. I had never seen her do that before.
"I feel stronger here, in your mind." She smiled hauntingly at me, "Oh, don't worry, I'll be kind... Maybe."
Stronger how? I pressed, suddenly very concerned about what I had gotten into.
"There's where it came from," Floki's words interrupted our internal dialogue.
He pointed up the wall to a hole where the insects seemed thinner. Sig touched another arrow fletching and Floki launched the lit arrow into the hole.
"I wonder if there's anything else in there?" Floki looked to Sig and myself.
"I've got a grappling hook and a … rope." I said stiltedly to Floki, dividing my attention to him with Silah's unnerving smile and glowing eyes.
"I've got this." Sig said.
His hands waved in front of him and he gestured. His feet lifted off of the ground, seemingly controlled by his thoughts and the force of his will. He looked in, keeping his distance, as he levelled off at the same height as the hole. He peered into the hole using the light from the fletching.
"Not much. Small bones, insect husks." Sig shook his head, "Nothing of interest."
Floki grimaced then shrugged, "Ah well."
I dipped the Greatsword into the water and cleaned it off, wiping the spider's ichor onto my breeches.
"Wait, don't!" She demanded, her glowing eyes both panicked and furious.
What? I thought, wondering what her paranoia was about.
"I can't come back like this in front of them!" She said, her voice hitting a fevered pitch.
I wasn't planning on it. I am very aware of the situation. Believe me. I explained, which seemed to put her at ease.
I was curious why she wouldn't just resist the change if I did it? Apparently, it wasn't as simple as that?
Even with that, I could still feel her grip on my mind was stronger somehow. She seemed more capable and she was flexing this power to an uncomfortable degree.
"Just… don't get any ideas." She whispered, almost playfully.
I could say the same. I mused, watching her form give me a wry smile.
(Get to know Akeron.)
(Read Robyn's Account of Events.)
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