Chapter 9: Blessing

Chapter 9: Blessing

We ran to the mining tunnel as fast as possible. Doc Opal quickly peeled off ahead. I guess she has a higher agility stat. I gasped at the dwarf running beside me between panting breaths.

“What happened?”

“Balin got sloppy. He was wantin to finish ‘is indenture quicker now tha’ Annie’s in the picture. He, Annie, and Wreck dug too deep on a dive withou’ waitin fer proper mine supports. He shouted about finding a freschie, and we all came ta see, but then there was a rumblin’.”

“Dear Firmament.” I whispered, dreading what came next.

“Annie and Wreck were with ‘im. He pushed tha two of ‘em outta the way when tha ‘ole roof caved in. E’s trapped in a damn freschie!”

That was bad. It was beyond ‘dwarven beer’ bad and into ‘beard caught in a drill press’ levels of bad. Walking into a freschie, or newly opened cavern, was what had nearly killed me. I had barely been inside a freschie for a few moments, and Balin was stuck in one.

There was a good chance he was dead. I tried running harder... damn stubby legs!

We pounded down the mining tunnel, a couple other dwarves joining us as we ran. The entire mine was running to come help, and there was soon a pack of us. I grabbed an abandoned minecart as we passed by.

“Everyone push!” First one, then two, then most of the dwarves understood my meaning as we began to push the minecart up to speed. The mining tunnel went down for nearly a kilometer and the current dives were down near the bottom. We needed a vehicle or we’d all arrive too tired to help. “Now, jump!” With a shout, the entire grumble of dwarves leaped into the minecart. One dwarf was slightly too slow and fell out of the minecart. Someone, Tim I realized, reached out and grabbed his beard, dragging him behind. We rocketed down the passage, the unfortunate dwarf kiting behind us swearing at the top of his lungs.

“We’re comin up on tha end!” The dwarf that had fetched me shouted. “Every dwarf brace fer impact!” He grabbed the brakes and sparks flew as the minecart began to come to a screeching stop.

With an ear-shattering *BANG!!!* the minecart hit the blocks denoting the end of the tracks. Dwarves were catapulted into the tunnel, with a bevy of expletives and shouts of “By Barcks’ Beard!” And “Solen’s Socks!”

Why socks?

I rolled to a stop; my ego bruised more than my body. There’s that dwarven vitality again. Up ahead I could hear a commotion down a side tunnel. I ran down it to see Annie, Wreck, and a few other dwarves hammering their picks on stone and desperately moving rubble away. A few dwarves were hanging from the ceiling, maneuvering large wooden blocks in to act as supports. They were wearing something more closely resembling leather overalls than the leather armour I was used to. The front pockets were full of tools.

Annie saw me approaching, her pickaxe stopping mid swing. Her eyes weren’t filled with tears, though they were slightly panicked. She was 100% desperate, serious, efficiency.

“Pete!” She called as I sprinted over.

“How long has he been in there?” I went to grab a pickaxe and Annie stopped me as a few other dwarves ran over and began hammering stone.

“Nearly 10 minutes! Go help Wreck!” Wreck was pulling rubble off of the cave-in as fast as possible, her beard glistening with tears. I fell in beside her and we soon had a whole chain of dwarves passing stone from dwarf to dwarf out to the minecarts. We worked in grim silence, the only sound the occasional orders from Grim, who arrived a few minutes after I did.

Wreck muttered beside me. “It’s all my fault...”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, grunting as she passed me an especially heavy piece of granite.

“Balin and Annie were talking about their plans after the mine. I told them that their best bet for early release was to find a gem cache or new vein. Speaker John can find veins pretty easy, but he can’t see freschies; they’re the best bet for striking it big. Balin and Annie were so excited by the idea that we dug at random, pushed too hard, dug too deep, went too fast...” Fresh tears began to run down her cheeks. “If he dies it’ll be all my fault... Oh Annie.”

“Stop it Wreck!” I snapped at her. “It’s not your fault, it was an accident, and he’s not dead yet!” Wreck nodded at me with sunken eyes.

Grim yelled out a change in line. The fresh dwarves, myself included, were moved up front to the cave in. Wreck was shifted to the back of the line, her hands ragged. “Go see Doc Opal, you can’t work like that.” I told her. She nodded blankly at me. Not good, I’d seen a friend in shock once after a bad Lacrosse accident and she had all the hallmarks of it. “Doc Opal!” I called, waving her over. “We need you.” Opal ushered Wreck away with soothing words. I redoubled my efforts, now first in line.

Balin was my best friend here in Erd, and was the closest thing I had to family. He had cared for me from the moment I came here, full of patience and kindness. We were going to go to the brewery together and I was going to show him the wonders of craft beer. A stone slipped and landed on my foot, but I barely noticed as I grabbed it and passed it to the next dwarf in line. After a few minutes I could feel my stamina beginning to bottom out. My leather gloves were beginning to fray from the sharp rocks, and I could feel my fingers beginning to bleed. I gritted my teeth and paced myself, falling into a familiar rhythm. I played lacrosse and rugby in high school, and I learned a lot of mental tricks to keep going even when I was exhausted. A game of rugby can last over an hour, and your legs and back are burning by the end of it. I bent my knees and put my head down like I was back in a scrum, and began to *heave*. I put all my willpower, all of my focus into it; the cave around me becoming nothing more than a dark blur as I lifted and passed.

Lift and pass.

Lift and pass. Someone was hitting my shoulder but I ignored them.

Lift and pass. I’m coming buddy.

Lift and pass.

Silver and gold.

Treasure to be mined.

Down in the deep,

Tiara’s Keep.

No dwarf to ever find.

Hear now the stone.

Rumble and groan.

Shift and crack and grind.

Beg to the Gods.

We sorry sods.

True Luck is never blind.

Now strike your pick

Now make it stick.

No dwarf left behind.

Down in the deep,

Tiara’s Keep.

No dwarf to ever find.

Hear now the stone.

Rumble and groan.

Shift and crack and grind.

Strike! Heave!

Strike! Cleave!

Strike! Heave!

Strike! Cleave!

With a crash, a section of stone fell away, revealing a small portal into the darkness. There was a cheer before Grim instantly hushed the crowd.

“Balin!” I shouted into the darkness. Stale air hit my face, but it felt wet and breathable. The timer on my quest still read 2 minutes. Was I in time? I listened with desperate hope.

Silence was my only reply.