Chapter 64

  The tower door opened and the group spilled out into the yard, blinking against the sudden sun light.

  Riley moved first, Valrik at her shoulder, Thorne a half step behind. Nikola and Landryn followed, their conversation low and brief as they debated something about timber bracing. Zelgra walked among them, tar still crusted along her trousers and sleeves in dark, uneven streaks that caught on the rough fabric, drawing more than a few glances from passing soldiers who paused in their tasks to stare.

  The yard did not stop for them. A cart creaked past, loaded with stone from the mine. Sparks leapt from the forge in a brief burst of orange and white heat. Above, two guards shifted positions along the wall walk, their boots scraping faintly on the stone.

  Near the edge of the open space, Nami stood waiting near a stack of freshly cut timber logs, their bark still rough and resin-scented, half in shadow. She held her hands clasped tightly in front of her, knuckles pale against the worn fabric of her skirt. When she spotted Riley, she straightened slightly, drawing a quick breath as though steadying herself. Her gaze moved to Zelgra and lingered there, curiosity warring with something more guarded.

  Zelgra noticed the scrutiny and tilted her head faintly in acknowledgment.

  Riley did too, her own gaze flicking between the two women.

  “I want to speak with you later,” Riley said quietly to Valrik as they walked away from the tower, boots scuffing the packed dirt. “Once we finish in the mine. I want scouts sent farther out, at least to the second ridge line if the weather holds.”

  Valrik gave a single nod. “We will be ready by dusk tomorrow at the latest.”

  He peeled away without another word, already calling to a pair of soldiers near the barracks with sharp, practiced gestures.

  Riley’s attention shifted back to Nami, softening as it settled on her.

  Zelgra stepped closer as if to speak, but Riley lifted a hand slightly, palm open in a small staying motion.

  “I will be right back,” she said to Zelgra and the others, voice low enough to keep the words between them.

  Zelgra’s eyes narrowed faintly, but she did not object, only crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip.

  Riley walked toward Nami, her expression easing into a smile as she approached, the kind of smile meant to reassure before words were even needed.

  Nami returned it, but hers was less natural, corners tight. Her hands twisted together, fingers braiding nervously into small, anxious knots.

  “So,” Nami began, her tone light but strained beneath it, “we have another new community member?”

  Her eyes flicked briefly toward Zelgra again, then away. “She looks strong and capable.”

  Riley stopped in front of her and noticed the tension in her shoulders, the careful way she stood as though bracing for a refusal.

  She reached forward and gently took Nami’s hands in hers, thumbs brushing lightly over the cold knuckles.

  “What is it?” Riley asked softly. “Is Mali all right?”

  “Yes,” Nami answered quickly. “She is fine, sleeping soundly this morning when I left her.”

  Her gaze dropped to their joined hands before lifting again, searching Riley’s face.

  “I suppose others joining is good. It means we are growing.” She hesitated, searching for the words, lips pressing together briefly. “But I can do more here. To earn my place. To keep it for both of us.”

  Riley’s brow creased slightly in quiet concern.

  Nami pressed on, voice gaining a little strength.

  “We are not here to be taken care of,” she said. “I do not feel right unless I can help. You have done so much already, more than anyone could ask. It would not be fair if we did not give back in whatever way we’re able.”

  Riley blinked once, surprise flickering across her face. Then the confusion softened into understanding, a small warmth entering her eyes.

  “Yes,” she said gently. “Of course you can help. I never thought you were here for charity, not for a moment.”

  She turned her head and called across the yard. “Nikola.”

  He broke from his conversation with Landryn and approached at once, wiping his hands on the sides of his trousers.

  “Please work with Nami,” Riley said with a small smile. “She wants to contribute.”

  Nikola inclined his head. Riley’s tone shifted slightly as she added, “Nami and Mali’s safety is important. Keep that in mind with work assignments, nothing too heavy or too exposed for now.”

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  “Understood,” Nikola replied, voice steady.

  He turned toward Nami, his expression practical but not unkind. “Let us talk about work assignments. Do you have any particular skills, cooking, mending, tending animals, anything at all?”

  Nami’s shoulders eased a fraction. She gave him a real smile this time, small but bright, before glancing back at Riley.

  “Thank you,” she said, with clear relief shining in her eyes.

  Riley squeezed her hands once before releasing them, letting the warmth linger a moment longer.

  Nikola led Nami away from Riley into the work yard, and the two continued discussing possibilities in low voices that were soon lost amid the clang of tools and distant shouts.

  Riley turned and almost walked into Zelgra, who had come over in anticipation of Riley being free, arms still crossed but posture relaxed now.

  “What’s with her? Does she have a problem with Drolls?” Zelgra asked, looking at Nami.

  “I suspect she may never have seen one. Her expression seemed vaguely familiar, like when I first met you in the market and you stared at me as though I’d grown a second head.” Riley smiled as she turned to look at Zelgra. “Remember?”

  “Yes, I do. I remember thinking: this one looks lost,” Zelgra said, turning her head to meet Riley’s eyes, a faint smirk tugging at her mouth.

  ***

  The entrance to the mine lay quiet when they reached it, the only sound the low sigh of air moving up the ramp.

  What had once been little more than a rough hole in the earth had been transformed. A broad dirt ramp sloped downward into the ground, packed firm by countless cart wheels and boot steps until it felt almost as solid as stone underfoot. Timber braces lined the sides, holding the earth back while guiding the path downward in a steady descent. The angle allowed carts to move easily in and out, hauling stone and ore without fighting the climb, their iron wheels ringing faintly even now in distant echoes.

  Warm air drifted outward from the darkness below, carrying heat like an exhaled breath.

  It carried a faint smell with it. Not strong at first, but unmistakable. Something sour beneath the damp mineral scent of the mine, faint yet persistent, like fruit left too long in the sun.

  Rot.

  Riley slowed at the threshold, one hand resting lightly on the timber brace.

  Behind her, Valrik lifted a hand and the soldiers tightened their spacing without needing further orders. Two stepped ahead with torches raised, flames snapping in the updraft. One moved to the rear, watching the entrance as the others gathered, hand resting on sword hilt.

  “Standard formation,” Valrik said quietly. “Keep the torches staggered. Watch your footing, the ramp can be slick in places.”

  Flames flickered as they started down the ramp, shadows stretching long behind them.

  The dirt walls gave way gradually to cut stone as the mine deepened. Torchlight played along the surfaces, revealing the smooth curvature carved by steady labor, chisel marks still sharp in places. The air grew warmer with each step, pressing gently against exposed skin.

  The group said nothing, only the soft scrape of boots and the hiss of torches breaking the silence.

  At the base of the ramp the passage widened into a broad chamber. Wooden beams supported the ceiling above the open floor where carts could turn and workers could sort stone, ore and gold before hauling it upward. One tunnel stretched deeper into the earth toward the north, its walls scarred by recent tool marks.

  Landryn stepped forward and lifted his torch.

  “The active shaft,” he said, nodding toward the northern tunnel. “With all the extra miners you sent, I started pushing the tunnels in a few new directions.”

  Riley paused.

  “How far north does that one go?”

  “Quite a distance,” Landryn said. “Farther than I thought we’d manage.”

  He turned and gestured in the opposite direction.

  “This way.”

  The group followed him along a narrower corridor that branched west. The air shifted as they moved. The smell that had lingered faintly at the entrance grew stronger here.

  Riley covered her nose with a sleeve.

  The tunnel extended only a short distance before narrowing sharply. Yellow deposits clung to the stone walls beyond a jagged opening barely wide enough for a single person to slip through.

  The odor here was stronger still.

  Zelgra wrinkled her nose and glanced toward the dark gap.

  “Cursed air,” she muttered.

  Landryn held the torch higher.

  “This is where the workers stopped,” he said. “The chamber beyond has not been explored.”

  The opening forced them to turn sideways to pass through. One by one they slipped through the tight gap and emerged into the chamber beyond.

  The ceiling vanished upward into darkness.

  Torchlight struggled to reach the upper stone. Warm air pressed heavily against their skin. Somewhere in the darkness, water dripped at slow intervals.

  The torchlight flickered along the walls.

  Then stopped.

  Yellow.

  The stone was coated in thick crusts of bright mineral that clung to the rock in uneven layers. The color caught the light strangely, almost glowing as if it were dull gold hidden beneath the surface. Some sections drooped from the walls in hardened folds, like melted wax frozen mid-drip. In places the crust looked soft enough to flake away under the lightest touch, yet it held fast, radiating a faint heat of its own that made the torch flames seem pale by comparison.

  For a moment the sight held everyone still.

  Then the smell sharpened again, biting deeper into every breath.

  “Thorne, break me off a piece of this yellow rock,” Riley said.

  Thorne drew his sword, and with the pommel struck the wall, breaking the substance because it was soft and brittle. He bent down and retrieved the yellow crust and handed it to Riley.

  Yellow dust scattered across her hand.

  The air changed immediately as the fragment broke loose. The scent thickened, sharper now, biting at the back of the throat.

  Zelgra watched the piece in Riley’s hand.

  Landryn leaned forward slightly, studying the wall. “Looks like gold,” he said. “But it isn’t.”

  Zelgra crouched and brushed a finger across the crusted surface.

  She rubbed the powder between her fingers and frowned.

  “I have seen this before,” she said after a moment. “Brimstone. It burns hot and clean, almost blue in the old forges I knew as a child. Not many buyers for it here anymore.”

  The soldiers glanced toward her.

  “It burns,” she continued.

  Thorne took a slow breath through his nose and grimaced.

  “The air is pleasantly warm,” he said, “but it smells like the hells opened a tavern down here and forgot to air it out.”

  Riley turned the brittle fragment over once in her hand.

  “Take a sample,” she said. “Fill a bucket.”

  One of the soldiers stepped forward and began chipping pieces from the wall into a waiting container.

  When it was nearly full, Riley looked back toward the narrow opening they had squeezed through.

  “Seal the passage as best you can for now,” she ordered. “We will study it before anyone works this chamber. This air doesn’t seem safe to breathe if we start mining it.”

  Torchlight flickered across the yellow walls as the soldiers moved to obey.

  Landryn hesitated near the tunnel entrance.

  “Riley,” he said quietly. “There’s something deeper in the mine.”

  He glanced toward the southern passage.

  “And I don’t think we should have found it.”