I lit the lantern and the entrance of the mine became much brighter.
"Oh!" Renn smiled as she looked more at the lantern than the mine it had just illuminated. She seemed to like the way its flame danced inside the mirror cage within the glass.
The metal mining helmet on her head shifted a little, even with the three layers of extra padding and straps that Lellip had added to it. But now at least it stayed on her head, and didn't crush her ears.
Turning I took a small breath and focused on the smell of the mine. I could smell the dirt. The grease of whale oil mixed with wood and metal. I could also smell rust… which told me that they had probably allowed one of the shafts to get flooded. Though based off the smell, it wasn't recent. Not even a few months ago, but years ago. The smell had seeped into the very dirt they were excavating.
"So uh… why are we here Vim?" Renn asked as she followed me. She walked with a small skip in her step, causing the lantern to cast dancing shadows as we headed into the mines.
"I want to see where my friend died," I said.
"Oh…" The light stopped moving, as Renn stopped walking. But after a few moments she returned to following after me.
"Ever been in a mine before?" I asked her.
"Nope."
"See these?" I pointed at a nearby mine timber. It had a pickaxe rested up against it.
"Hm," I saw her nod thanks to her smile. That smile drew my eyes sometimes, even when I didn't know it existed.
"Those are some of the only things keeping the mountain from burying you alive. If you want to join Nebl in his tomb, than feel free to go down any shaft that has yet to have them installed," I said.
"Can't I just stay with you? I bet that'd be the safest," Renn asked. She examined a pile of tools for a moment before hurrying over to me.
"Don't know if I could hold up a whole mountain on my own," I said.
"That's funny, since something tells me you'd survive it," she said.
I had before, but I'd not say that aloud.
Rounding a small mine cart, I studied the half empty cart as I walked past it. It had a bunch of black rocks inside.
Judging by the severe lack of people, the completely dead torches, and all the mining equipment scattered everywhere… it seemed the village indeed hadn't returned since the cave-in.
Mines this valuable weren't left alone for long… let alone for what was considered typical accidents.
"A cave in is normal for mines. Too normal for this level of abandonment," I said aloud.
"Really…?" Renn asked as we came to the first intersection. I paused for a moment to look up and down the different paths. One led ever forward, not descending. Another descended sharply enough to become dark rather fast… and the last one looked as if it went upward some distance down the path.
"Which way?" Renn asked.
"Lellip said it was deep. We'll try this way first," I said as I headed for the darkest pathway.
"How big are these things?" Renn asked as we headed down the path.
"Some can be huge. Last time I was here it was only a few miles worth of mines," I said.
"Miles?" Renn asked, and the echo her voice made me flinch.
Did I just use that word?
"A term used for great distances. A thousand paces," I said, and wondered why I always slipped up with her. A part of me hoped it was because I was thinking of other things, like my friend's death… but…
"A thousand paces… Your paces?" she asked as she got closer, to illuminate my feet.
"A pace is about two steps, Renn," I corrected her.
"Oh… Wow," she seemed to comprehend the distance it represented.
Great, now she'd probably use the term herself.
Reaching the end of the path, the mine now diverted two different ways. One was a little thinner than the other. The larger one had two small wooden rail paths, yet no carts anywhere around. Other had a pair of torches placed into the ground at the entrance, forming a cross.
"This is probably the one," I said.
"Hope so, can I tell you the truth? This place feels… wrong. Why's there wind down here Vim? It sounds…" Renn turned around. I glanced behind us, to see what she thought she was hearing.
There was nothing there of course, but I knew what she probably heard.
"The cries of the damned?" I teased her.
Renn quickly spun to look at me. The lantern she held clanked since she had moved so quickly, and I realized I really shouldn't have teased her in that way.
"I uh… I'm kidding. It's just the wind, Renn. Passing along the rocks and shafts," I said.
She obviously didn't believe me now, and I turned away to hide my flinch.
Sure. Tell the very astute woman with cat-like perception that the cries and wails she hears in the wind inside this pitch black mine were the souls of the damned. Oh did I mention that hyper-perceptive individual also has a penchant for religion?
"Vim. Vim!" Renn hurried to follow me as I walked past the two torches that were meant to warn off anyone from entering.
The lantern's shadows danced as she hurried to walk closer to me. The thin shaft was just big enough for her to walk by my side.
"It's the wind Renn, I'm sorry for teasing you," I said.
"Hmhm…" she made an odd noise as she turned to look behind us. She flinched and looked ahead, as if she had seen something.
If not for the very clear distress on her face, I'd almost bet she was messing with me.
We walked slowly, since this shaft had a rather strong decline. Under normal conditions I'd not worry over her tripping, but right now she was far too focused on the sounds she was hearing than she was where she was walking.
"Bad time to tell you I've never met a ghost?" I asked her.
"Oh. Best time. Perfect time," she said quickly.
"Well it's true," I said.
Renn glanced at me as I studied the left wall. It was growing smooth, thanks to the many months of mining. It looked almost as if it had…
Reaching out, I ran my fingertips along it. I didn't need to see the stains left on them to know that it was clay. Renn lifted the lantern a little, to let me see better. Sure enough the gray stains confirmed it.
"What's that?" Renn asked.
"The reason for the cave in, most likely. This is gray clay," I said.
"Clay…?"
I stopped walking as we arrived at another branch in the mine. This time it separated from the shaft we were currently in, leading to our right. This shaft continued onward, and based off the feel of the air it continued for some time.
"Clay like that doesn't absorb moisture well… yet when it does, it cracks and shifts easily. Not something you really want to trust," I said as I studied the ceiling. None of the gray clay looked elsewhere yet, but I knew how quickly earth could change. A few shovel scoops, and it's like you're in a different land.
Renn shifted a little, causing the lantern to dance as she looked behind us. Once again acting as if she had heard something.
I could hear the far off whistles and cries. I knew she was hearing them as I was… but odds were the hat and its padding were muffling her ears. Distorting the sounds just enough to make them easily misunderstood, and allowing her to hear things she shouldn't.
If not for the clay I'd have let her take the hat off.
"So uh… what now?" Renn asked, a little apprehensively.
She must really not like it here.
Taking a small breath, I tried to taste the lingering scents of death. A part of me thought I could smell something like it, but it was so diluted that I was questioning it.
What if I was only able to smell it because I wanted to?
"Do you smell anything odd Renn?" I asked her.
"Odd? This whole place stinks. I smell metals, oil, dirt… I think I smell water too," she said.
"Smell anything human?" I asked.
"A little. I smell their tools, and I sometimes catch a scent of sweat or blood… but who knows where it's coming from," she said.
I nodded, that was the same for me. But that didn't mean that blood was my friend's. Miners hurt themselves all the time. We could just be smelling old wounds, dried blood and whatnot. Knowing miners, there were probably even fingers and limbs buried here and there too.
"Let's check this one first, I suppose," I said as I headed down the new passage. This one was a little more normal. It had been widened already, and there were even torches perched onto the timbers that held it all up. None were lit of course, but it told me this was a more frequented path.
Renn grumbled as she followed me down it.
I'd ask if she wanted to leave, but something told me she'd grow even more unsettled if I did.
"Is this where the smithy gets all its ores?" Renn asked as we passed a wall of coal.
"Yep."
Quickly the coal took over. Becoming not just a single wall, but the whole shaft itself. The black rocks were pointy, and all over the floor was the soot and crumbling remains of whoever had dug at the walls and ceiling.
Entire chunks of usable coal were scattered on the ground, which was a little odd. But not, if I considered this shaft had been affected by the shift of the cave in.
We were getting close.
"Why was this shaft dug out so much more than the last?" Renn asked.
"Coal's valuable," I said.
"Oh."
So far I'd seen copper, hematite, the clay… now coal. They all seemed to be layered upon one another more than not.
This mine would have been better as a surface mine. Not that they had the proper technology to do it that way.
"Dead end?" Renn asked as she lifted the lantern a little to study the open area we found ourselves in.
My eyes focused on our right, where another shaft had obviously been started… and…
"Oh," Renn realized it as she took a single step forward… as to better illuminate the cave in.
Black coal, brown dirt, gray clay and rocks… the mix was an obvious mess. The shaft had caved in, and so had half the mine around it. Another shaft to the left, which might not have been entirely created yet, had also succumbed to the weight.
Stepping up to the pile of rocks, I studied the dozens of timbers not only in the pile but around it.
"Nebl had tried to re-enforce this area before heading in. Before trying to clear out what was probably a cave-in deeper into this shaft," I said as I made out the obvious.
"Re-enforce…?" Renn tried her best to stand next to me as to help light up the scene. I didn't bother telling her there was no need.
I could have come in here without that lantern.
"So this is a cave-in? Looks like an avalanche," Renn said as she looked around.
"It basically is," I said as I glanced around at the rest of the room. They had opened this area up, probably with the intentions of making it another hub. One to let them really mine out all the coal and other stuff they found here.
Had the clay been their downfall? Or had they rushed? Too many shafts at once maybe? It did look as if they had planned to expand nearly six different ways from here. Too much for this soil.
What was interesting though was Nebl's handiwork. It was part of the reason the cave-in hadn't been worse. I put a hand on one of the large timbers holding up what looked to be a huge rock. It wasn't free or loose, of course, but it had been a great aid in keeping the rest of this room from falling down as well.
"Did he put these all up while it was collapsing?" Renn asked as she too examined another timber. That one was paired with another, supporting each other as they held up a section of earth.
"Not likely. There was more likely another smaller cave in, deeper down that way… He had done this as to try and start dislodging the rocks as to unbury whoever had gotten stuck. This was preemptive, not reactive," I said.
"Preemptive," she repeated the word, and I realized once again I had used a word she wasn't familiar with.
I needed to stop that. Renn was far too astute. And too smart for her own good.
If she used such words openly, where the wrong people could hear her… she'd draw attention. The wrong kind.
Either I needed to be more mindful of myself, or I needed to simply teach her why those words shouldn't be said aloud. At least not in certain company. She was intelligent, she'd understand.
But if I did that she'd wonder where those words came from... and why I knew them but on one else did and...
"Focus," I told myself. This was more important right now.
"Hm?" Renn obviously heard me, but I ignored her worried glance as I knelt down to study a footprint.
One that had dug into the coal.
It wasn't mine either.
Nebl's foot wasn't as big as mine. But it was clearly his. The grooves of rubber, where his toes had probably dug into the earth first, were obviously visible.
He had exerted himself here. But why? It was several feet from the collapse, and any timbers…
If this collapse had happened afterwards then…
"Vim," Renn drew my attention as she knelt in front of something near the collapse. Near a large timber sticking out, broken in half.
Something reflective was in front of her. Something that didn't belong in a mine.
Walking over to it, I sighed as I stared at Lellip's handiwork.
"Lellip's," Renn said with a sad tone. She couldn't take her eyes off it.
The little plate was made of steel. Something she shouldn't have been able to craft on her own. But it was obviously not perfected. I could see the impurities. She had made it to honor him, and hadn't done a very good job… but she had designed a lovely poem into it.
"His real grave," I said.
Renn sniffed.
Deciding to leave it be, I stepped away and went to the farthest section I could. The closest I could get to the original shaft's location. I had to round the cave-in, and walk under a dangerously unprotected ceiling… but…
Walking up to a wall of black, I laid my hand on it and tried to listen. As close as possible.
I could hear wind. I could hear the echoes beyond the wall.
There was open space beyond this cave-in. Probably not too far from it either.
I tapped the coal with a solid knuckle. A piece of it broke off thanks to the impact, and I closed my eyes to listen.
There was the sound of wind above me.
The falling crumbles from my tap echoed up throughout the mine.
Renn's feet as she shuffled to look at me. Her very small whine which trembled from inside her, from sorrow and pain and worry. Grief and fear, mixed together.
Her breathing. My breathing. Her ears and tail as they brushed what they were connected to.
I blocked it all out and focused entirely on the world before me. The mountain before me.
Tapping the coal again, I heard the thump roll along the stones. I heard it shuffle tiny grains of sand, and unsettle the tiniest of rocks deeper in the wall… and then I heard the sound of debris falling off a wall opposing me, and landing on an open floor. It was muffled, but obvious.
Opening my eyes, I shifted at the realization that the open area wasn't far at all. Probably the distance that was between Renn and myself right now. I glanced back at her, and found her still standing near Lellip's little plate of steel. She was staring at me with watery eyes.
Chances are this cave-in had only happened here. Not taking out the whole shaft, but just this area.
I'd ask Renn for conformation, but she said she'd never been in a mine before.
No… I should ask.
"Renn, come here. Take your hat off for a moment," I said.
Renn happily obliged. She laid the lantern down a few feet from me and took the helmet off with a relieved huff.
Once she did, I watched as she flinched and hurriedly moved her ears around. That hadn't been a flinch from pulled hair or a pinch, but because of the sudden influx of loud noises. At least to her.
After a few moments she nodded as she stepped up next to me, up against the wall.
"What are we listening for?" she asked, excitedly happy to help.
"Cries of the damned?" I asked her. She immediately lost her happy smile and glared at me, so I quickly pointed to the wall. "I'm going to flick the wall. See if you can hear anything odd when I do," I said.
"Flick the wall…? Is that what you had been doing? It sounded as if you hit it," she complained as she nodded and stepped forward. She pointed her ears at the wall and closed her eyes. She nodded again, to let me know she was ready.
Reaching out, I went ahead and flicked the wall. This time a little harder than the last two times.
Renn's eyes furrowed as she focused, and I wondered if the initial impact had been loud enough to hurt her.
Then as I heard the sounds reverberate throughout the mine… Renn tilted her head quickly, and her frown suddenly became a worried look.
"Uhm… Something flicked back," she said worriedly.
Frowning at her, I wondered if she had never heard a real echo before. Surely not? One didn't need to be in a cavern or mine to hear them… even open plains and fields could and…
But then she jumped with a small yelp, and I heard it this time too.
"Vim!" she reached out to grab onto my arm, but I ignored her as I put my forehead against the wall.
And there—sure enough.
Something… or rather someone, knocked on the mountain on the other side. A very heavy thump.
Reaching out, I knocked on the coal rock in three times in quick succession.
Three slow knocks came back.
"Vim?" Renn's voice didn't sound as terrified now as I slowly leaned back and realized the truth.
"He's alive," I whispered.