“What do you think?” I asked Feign who was scrutinizing his crystal closely.
“I think this is better than nothing. But I’d wager that this crystal, and perhaps the charm within it, negates the Demon Kings magic to some degree.” He shrugged. “Or maybe it does nothing at all.”
I stood and stretched. “Well, we needed to save this guy for some reason or he wouldn’t be here. Let’s hope it pays off.”
Mudhoof said, “Let’s go. I need to bash something before I climb the walls.”
“Tress, you’ll need to hide out somewhere. The entrance has collapsed. Can you manage?”
The jeweler nodded. “Yes, yes. Of, course. There are plenty of places to hide down here. I’ll be fine.”
He wished us luck and the three of us returned to the tunnel and headed back to the main passage.
“I’m not reading anything off of this,” Feign said holding his crystal up as we walked. “Usually the game gives even a basic description.”
“I dunno,” I said. “But let’s hope it doesn’t matter. They’re good luck charms, and we need all the luck we can get. Whether the game describes them as such or not.”
Back at the main passage we paused to listen. Silence, thankfully. We resumed our progress down the main tunnel, Mudhoof at the front, Feign in the middle, and me taking up the rear.
The tunnel eventually opened up into a huge cavern. Rail lines and ore carts lined the walls at different levels which also extended downward out of sight. Fire sconces spaced out along the walls offered the only light.
We stood on the edge of our level and looked down. To the right the tunnel continue on.
“This is huge,” Mudhoof said. His voice echoed loudly off the walls.
“Shh!” I said, with a finger to my lips.
There was another sound, coming from deep within the labyrinth of mining tunnels.
We strained to make it out. But soon it became apparent what it was.
“Screaming,” Feign said, looking worried.
The sound got louder and became more defined. Screaming, and hollering and high pitched gibberish assailed our ears.
“Douse these orbs, Feign! Quick!” I said.
He did as asked, and our ledge went dark. Suddenly, at a level across from us people came running out of a tunnel.
They looked similar to the townsfolk, black veined and disheveled but their clothing was different. Most of them clutched a pick-ax or shovel and were waving them wildly about with no care if they accidentally hit anyone near them.
“Miners,” I said in a hushed tone.
Dozens of them shot out of the tunnel and followed its rail line alone the edge of the deep abyss. They streamed into another tunnel and were gone.
“Glad those twits are over there and not…” Mudhoof said when a loud scream to our left cut him off.
A small tunnel entrance I hadn’t noticed suddenly vomited up a group of crazed miners. Similar to the others, they were armed and completely insane.
And they ran straight at us.
“They’re mine!” Mudhoof shouted. And before I could respond the minotaur lowered his steel-pointed horns and used his charge ability.
Instantly, Mudhoof closed the distance between him and the miners. When he collided with the first one a shock wave blasted out from the point of impact.
All the miners, about six of them, flew back into the air. They all bounced off a rocky wall and tumbled over the edge, legs and arms flailing.
Their screams of rage slowly faded as they plummeted into the darkness.
Mudhoof was panting heavily and his eyes were wide. “Been wanting to do that for a while,” he said and chuckled.
From the tunnel the miners had popped out of came more screams.
“Let’s keep moving,” I said. “I don’t want to make a last stand with my back to a cliff.”
As the shouting grew with intensity, we hurried down the nearest passageway.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
We delved deeper.
The tunnel continued onward, and I had the sense we were crossing back under the valley. Perhaps toward Ashbrook as Tress had said. Many off shoot chambers and passageways tempted us, but as a group we decided to stick with the main tunnel.
Occasionally, we would hear the screams and ravings of the afflicted miners, but for the moment, they were far away.
But bumbling along through the dim passageways did not sit well with Mudhoof.
“This is boring,” the minotaur said. “When can we start fighting again?”
“I’m happy things have calmed down,” said Feign. “We don’t want to lose another group member. There is still the final fight to come.”
He meant the final showdown with the Demon King. Defeating him would give us the Legendary Item. But considering how incredibly powerful the King was, I started to have doubts that we’d ever finish this quest.
“Whatever,” Mudhoof said. “Gimme something to kill and I’ll kill it. Prancing along these tunnels is getting to me.”
Up ahead we could see the tunnel ending at a chamber infused with bright light.
“I think you may get some excitement real soon, Muddie,” I said.
With caution we approached the lit chamber.
As we entered I was struck with a strong sense of vertigo. A wide chasm opened up to the immediate left with a sheer drop into blackness. Far across this void was a ledge lit with torches.
We stood on a ledge very similar, lined with torches along the rock wall to our right. A rail line started here and went to the other side of the chamber. There was a large hopper set in the ground at the end of the rail line. It was meant to store ore dug up by the miners. Against the far wall was a small metal door. Finally, there was a large ore cart on the start of the rail line.
“Wow,” Mudhoof said with dripping sarcasm. “Exciting.”
I was about hit back with a little sarcasm, too, when Feign shouted, “Look! Over there!”
We looked were he pointed.
Way over on the far ledge four figures entered. They weren’t too distant to make out exactly what they were. Two looked like ninjas, one in blue garb, the other green.
“Ninjas!” Mudhoof spat. “I hate ninjas more than spiders.”
The third figure walked in a stilted manner and resembled a humanoid statue carved from marble.
“A stone mage,” Feign said with a frown. “That’s not good.”
The final figure was all to apparent. A centaur. His human torso clad in samurai armor.
“Our old buddy,” I said. “Mr. Centaur-Samurai. Well, this should make for a lovely reunion.”
The rival group noticed us, too, and glared across the vast expanse.
“And they’re not down a man, like us.” Mudhoof scowled at them. “I don’t have an attack with range. Why don’t you try shooting at them, Vee?”
“I don’t know what good it will do…” I said before Feign pushed me.
“Look out!” The mage shouted.
Before I knew what happened a pillar of ice instantly appeared at the edge of the chasm next to where I had stood. A shuriken, a ninja throwing star, had buried itself deep inside it. It had been aimed at me.
I blinked in surprise from the ground, not just from the attack but also the quick movement the mage had just pulled off.
“Sorry about that,” Feign said offering me his hand and pulled me up.
“No problem, speedy,” I said. “And thanks.”
Mudhoof looked at the shuriken. “Nice block, Snowball. But do you have enough juice to make more of those?”
Across the chasm, the other group hollered and shook their fists. Even from here I can see little tiny FILTERED labels covering the fingers they held up.
“Not for many more, I’m afraid,” Feign said. “Let’s not make ourselves targets any longer than we must. Which begs the question. What now?”