A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands

Chapter 25: Give & Take

The Great Below, the Everdark, and the Realm of Shadowed Rock are just a few names given to the great expanse that lies beneath the surface. The Dwarven miners of old were said to have first made entry there even before the cataclysm. Great artifacts from bygone ages are said to lie there, guarded by monsters and natives who have only known the embrace of the night. Adventurers from the guild have been sent on countless expeditions to map out its depths, searching for a fabled treasure trove said to lie in a place called the “Inverse Mountain.”

- The Fanciful Travels by Beron de Laney 376 A.C

Something broke in Durhit then, as he began to cry silent tears. I was simply disappointed that Gunne’s death was only worth seventy experience points, and did not bring about any improvements to my attributes or skills. Gunne, almost useless to the end. For a fleeting second I also wondered how much experience I could get if I finished off Kidu in his weakened state…

“Get yourself together Durhit,” I said as I moved to touch his shoulder in false sympathy, “We need to get out of here before the rest of this tunnel caves in.”

“Gunne, he was a good lad. Always arrived on time, always willing to give a smile. You know he had a lovely singing voice? That’s why that slagheap Harun took him under his wing.” He rubbed his eyes, “Good lad, shouldn’t have ended like this.”

“Are you ok…I mean, alright Durhit?” He looked at me quizzically as I subconsciously used the unfamiliar English word. “Kidu is in a bad way and we need to move him. I can’t heave his great bulk alone,” I said, pointing to the wildman’s prone form.

Something in my words spoke to his sense of responsibility as a leader, and he rose up on his two short legs. Giving Gunne’s remains a last forlorn look, filled with melancholy, he slapped himself on the face with both palms.

“You speak the truth, Gilgamesh. Let us get Kidu to a place of safety and search for other survivors. In the undermines a quake like this is usually followed by others, often more deadly than the first,” he intoned in his gravelly voice, before setting his shoulders and walking purposefully in Kidu’s direction.

We moved Kidu as far as we could down the tunnels before having to stop for rest. Quickly, we returned to look for any more survivors. I began to shout but was quickly stopped by Durhit, who clasped a firm rough hand across my mouth.

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“You don’t want to be shouting after a cave-in. Quakes are bad enough, could bring down the whole thing on us!” he warned in a stern voice, looking at me intently.

I nodded my understanding and we continued our search for survivors in low voices, listening carefully for any sign. Durhit picked up a fallen Zajasite stone, casting its light around the area, its blue glow throwing up strange shadows in the darkness.

As the dwarf was searching, I decided to do something to improve my situation. Not wanting to hurt myself, I focused on a single link of the manacles around my legs. I slowly released the Rust spell, barely registering the scratchy alien whispers and the radiated heat. Black lightning flowed down into the metal, corroding and eating away at it in the gloom. After a time, the energy had subsided to a light thrumming and I called out to Durhit softly, making my way toward his moving light.

Tripping on something in the gloom, a hand suddenly gripped my ankle. I gave a shrieked yelp which drew the dwarf’s attention. Looking down in surprise, I could just about discern Elwin’s features, covered as he was in rock dust. He looked like some sort of mud or earth elemental.

“Could you check where you’re stepping?” Elwin said with a grimace before coughing, “Also a little help if you would be so kind?” He chuckled, wincing in pain.

Durhit quickly made his way over, helping me to raise Elwin up as we supported him on both sides. His arms draped loosely around our shoulders as we moved him further down the tunnel.

“Wait here and keep an eye on these two, I’ll be going back to look for anything useful to keep us alive in this mess,” the dwarf spoke in a commanding voice, and I nodded my assent.

“Well thanks a lot back there, now instead of dying quickly I get to die slow. Not like we can go anywhere too far with these,” Elwin said, darkly pointing at his collar, “And not like our glorious masters will be sending a rescue party down a dangerous mine to get some trouble slaves! Glad the big man made it through, at least we’ll all be eating well before we die of thirst,” he finished with a dispirited sigh that echoed around in the gloom.

The situation was dire; the threat of being buried alive was very real, and I needed all the help I could get. The time for keeping things close to my chest was over, and I needed to roll the dice.

“There might be a way to neutralize these collars,” I said slowly and hesitantly. Unease crept over me with my sudden confession.

“I told you before lad, I’ve tried just about everything, except for magic…” He paused, understanding slowly dawning in his eyes. “The big man said something about you being god-touched,” he uttered solemnly.

“There is however a problem, it might be a little painful…and I need to rest before I make the attempt,” I replied, uncertainty obvious in my tone.

“Ha! I knew it all along. I knew you were hiding something big. A lad like you could have never taken out a Nord like Haran if you didn’t have something special in you,” he said almost too quickly for me to comprehend, his voice animated with childish excitement.

“But first I’ll need something from you…” I raised a hand and he stopped yammering almost instantly. Give and take, the simple language of transactions was what a man like Elwin understood. “Tell me quickly what you know about magic,” I breathed, attempting to contain my eagerness for this esoteric knowledge.

“Can’t say I know much myself,” he started before noticing my expression, “...And I don’t know anything more than what is commonly known, also don’t think this is the best of time to be wagging tongues. But that bit of magic you used just there, never heard of its like before and I don’t really see how it’s going to help us get out of this little predicament. That is unless you’ve got a few other different tricks in the bag?” he asked, an edge of desperation to his usual good humor.

He was right, now was perhaps not the best of times to be having this conversation. But I thirsted for any scrap of information. Was the man holding out and hiding something from me?

I looked him in the eye, now not quite trusting the man. After casting Identify on him, my suspicions were confirmed.

Elwin Tucker - Rogue (Human lvl.12) Health 74/132 Stamina 27/38

Mana 10/10

Most certainly not a Forester then, which meant I probably couldn’t trust his spiel about his tragic past. For all I knew HE could have been the poacher turned bandit in his little story. Challenging him on this would be of little advantage to me at this moment, and I would have to reveal another of my abilities if I did so.

I had no way of knowing if what he told me truly was just common knowledge in this world. Something in my gut told me not to trust the charismatic Rogue fully just yet. I was able to take some assurance that from his Status I was probably a little stronger than him physically, despite his higher level if it came to blows.

“Thank you…” I replied weakly. “I’ll need rest to gather my strength, can you and Durhit watch over me and Kidu?” I began as I leaned against the rock.

“You do whatever it is you need to, now that I know you can help me get away from this cursed hole I’ll be guarding you with my life, even if the Dark Lady pays a visit!” he answered enthusiastically, thumping a fist to his chest.

The reference to the Dark Lady didn’t ring any bells for me, but I figured it must be some grim entity held in terror in this world. Speaking to him had opened up more questions than answers, but at least I could be assured of his motives. Our only hope was to work through this together, we would all die together, here, underground.

Durhit raised the Zajasite crystal, its dull blue glow illuminating the walls slightly and declaring this length part of the tunnel structurally sound. Deciding to roll fate’s dice, I finally relaxed my shoulders and tried to rest. Soon enough I would fall into the clutches of a nightmare of drowning under a blanket of dark choking earth.