The walkers decided to stay behind, their task accomplished and their pockets full. They were asked to inform the base camp that the expedition had been successful in finding their target. The rest of the group slithered through the gap and into the darkness of the caverns beyond to explore their find. Viv offered Arthur to stay as well, but the dragonling completely ignored her. She just scurried about, sniffing at rocks and ancient pieces of equipment.

The mine entrance was, unsurprisingly, a massive rectangular tunnel with a twin set of rails covering most of its surface. Viv could barely see anything more until she took out her light stone, but she quickly put it away when one of the guards summoned a cascade of lights. A hive of luminescent dots soon surrounded the group like so many firebugs. It was both eerie and beautiful.

They got a good view of their surroundings. The tunnel continued farther down until they lost sight of what lay beyond. There was a large door set in the wall to their left, and the tunnel opened onto a large square farther on their right.

“Wow, look at that,” the other female guard said, pointing at the collapsed rocks behind them. There were two massive steel panes on either side of them, clearly designed to condemn the mines. Although, right now, they were both wide open. The expedition would never have breached those otherwise.

“They did not close the site?” Viv mused aloud.

//Those doors are designed to lock the mine in case of subterranean monster incursion.

//They were standard imperial practice for every mine.

//Whoever remains inside would rely on luck and a prompt rescue to survive.

//People in the process of leaving would have little reason to seal this location after their departure.

“Right,” Lorn interrupted, “that’s an interesting take on the Old Empire safety laws, but we are not here for that. Surround formation. I take the front, Koro takes the back. Lady Bob will stay in the center with Marruk and Farren. We take it slow and steady. Neriad knows what could be in here right now.”

Viv had to agree. She could not think of a single movie where people explored abandoned mines and it turned out well. With her luck, they would be beset by that winged fire demon with the dominatrix whip from Lord of the Rings. Or giant scorpions. Jesus.

“Let’s move.”

Viv stayed with everyone, finding it hard to take in everything with the wall of flesh and steel between her and her surroundings. She found it more oppressive than reassuring. Back on earth, walking packed like that was the best way to get a rocket up the ass and end up as so much meat paste. At least her height offset the oppressive feeling to an extent.

The group briefly inspected the left door, which led to basic offices with dusty remnants of furniture strewn about. There was also an adjoined guard room with shield and weapon racks, most of them empty. The open space farther right on the main tunnel housed piles of equipment and broken crates covered in tattered shreds of tarp. Most of the equipment was dulled by age but seemed functional. There was little rust around.

They moved on, and soon the way split into several paths. Farren suggested that they explore the upper tunnels first, and they followed a straight corridor through the heart of the mountain. The air was cold and still. The deeper they went, the more the grip of the deadlands loosened. It was not long before the iron started to rust and mushrooms appeared. Pale and translucent insects crawled across moist walls in slow motions that the approaching light did not hurry. On one occasion, Farren stopped the group and had the fire-users torch a circle of purple-capped mushrooms.

“Ornean Blinders. Their spores are poisonous,” he explained, “and the fire will disperse them.”

Viv was glad that he had decided to memorize a book on underground flora since she did not entirely trust her inspection skill. She hoped that they would not need the one on underground fauna as well.

The side passages led to smaller paths, many of them caved in. They quickly found their prize.

“An iron vein,” Lorn said with reverence.

It was simply colored ore snaking across the wall. The stone bulged as if it had organically regrown over a gouged out fragment. Come to think of it, that was pretty much what had happened.

“This is just so weird,” Viv mumbled to herself.

Self-replenishing ore.

What a weird world this was.

She spared a look for Arthur, currently munching on a wiggling pale worm. The dragon tasted the snack, shrugged, and gulped it down in one bite.

That was fine.

They had a quick, cold lunch and a group of other guards started to use magical lights as the first one was getting exhausted. Their trip quickly ended in a large cavern that doubled as a safe area, as far as Viv could tell. It only had two entrances and both were fortified, though they were also left mercifully open.

“We didn’t find any bodies,” she remarked.

“We are quite far from the epicenter of the cataclysm. Not to mention that thick stone blocks most spells. I think it likely that the miners were able to evacuate. Perhaps their descendants till the fields we passed on our way here,” Farren replied.

It made sense to her, and she found confirmation in the open space the group was now exploring. There were wagons in orderly rows on one side, some still filled with crumbling blocks of ore. They found a guard barracks with most of the weapons missing. The last item of interest was a large lift, but the ropes had disappeared a long time ago and only a gaping abyss was left of the original shaft.

“We cannot climb down,” Lorn said, “and this place is not secured so long as the gap remains. We should move on.”

The group stopped to rest for a few minutes, then headed back towards the entrance. Midway, they picked up the largest branching tunnel in the complex besides the one that they had followed so far. It was larger and just as dark, silent besides the sound of water condensation dripping on the ground. That was one thing that marked her. The deadlands had this dry dusty scent, but the mines smelled of mold and humidity and old things. It was alive. It had been alive for a long time before the humans had returned.

The passage led north, not exactly where they wanted to go but it would do. They found something that made the expedition glad an hour later.

“Cisterns. We’ll be able to explore for a few more days,” Koro said.

A pair of guards could conjure water from thin air, but that was not enough to keep the entire group hydrated. Now, they could explore longer before having to resupply. Viv felt ambivalent about that specific success. She did not enjoy staying in dark tunnels for extended periods of time. The entire mine was even more empty and desolate than the deadlands had been.

The next surprise was a bit different. The group came across a specific wall covered in metal and polished to a sheen. The material was silvery, and it emitted a strange mana that she could not identify. Its pulses poked at the wound in her soul though not hard enough to pain her.

“That thing is magical,” Viv warned. The rest of the group stopped.

“Is it dangerous?” Lorn asked, suddenly serious.

[Artefact: Mirror of the People.]

“Says it’s an artefact,” she explained. Farren had noticed as well.

“That thing is ancient,” the Branch Leader said, “if it were dangerous, it would not have been allowed to remain in a mine on a major path. I will go and have a look.”

“Out of the question,” Lorn retorted.

“It should be fine.”

There were a few arguments, but eventually Lorn relented. They would have to pass in front of it to go on anyway. The group advanced, Viv ready to nope any incoming magic. There was none and they managed a better look at their find.

The silvery metal was, indeed, a mirror, and it was perfect. It reflected their worried faces to the last follicle.

“I look good,” Koro said, pleased with herself. She gave herself a bright smile minus that incisor she had lost somewhere along the way. It could not deter her mood.

Viv had to admit that she was not too bad either. The white-grey robe with its dark scripts and slightly eastern style made her think of a secondary character in some high-budget fantasy movie. Her hair reached past her cheeks now in a sort of bastardized pixie-cut, and her green eyes shone lightly in the magic light used by the guards. The black veins under her skin were still visible, but they were disguised under a healthy tan and you would not notice them unless you knew they were there. She didn’t think they would ever truly be gone. All in all, it wasn’t too bad.

Arthur trotted to the front and took several different poses, culminating in a rendition of the dragon on the cover of “The Desolation of Arristan,” her favorite book.

“Squee.”

Under Lorn’s consternated gaze, the full group gave in to their base instincts. Koro pulled a surprisingly long tongue and the bald guard made a convincing interpretation of a dog. Shortly, one of the guards paled and the entire assembly fell silent soon after.

There were people behind them, in the reflection. Viv jumped and turned back to find nothing but dust and darkened stones. The tunnel was as dead and silent as it had been when they arrived. By comparison, the scene in the mirror showed a well-lit corridor with people trailing in both directions. They had the slightly greenish skin tone of the surrounding nations and wore strange miner garments in earthy tones. The fabric reminded Viv of old paintings of the late nineteenth century, but they were also surprisingly clean and of a strange cut. The miners also wore helmets with magical lights, and they carried pickaxes and other unknown tools.

The men and a few women walked to and fro, a handful stopping to check themselves in the mirror with a smile before returning to the flow of anonymity. There were even a few official men with a pinched air and more luxurious clothes bearing an insignia: two pickaxes over a glyph.

“Old Harrakan. Those are the mine dwellers of the past,” Viv whispered.

“The mirror of the people. A fitting name. The artefact probably started as a layer of reflective iron and evolved from there,” Farren said.

“What do you mean, evolved?” Viv asked.

“You can discuss this on the way,” Lorn said, “we must go on. That thing is not moving, so you two eggheads can study it later.”

With some regret, the troop carried on. Farren stepped next to Viv and talked to her in a low voice.

“Careful. Lorn thought that you were talking about specifics but you should know what artefacts are. Have you never heard of named objects?”

“I read your books, yeah. Marruk also mentioned them in Kark folk tales but I always assumed it was, errr, really well enchanted stuff given a proper name.”

“I am talking about true artefacts. They are, hmm, they are what happens when the conditions are right. Essentially, artefacts are born more than made. They occur at a conjunction of factors. For example, that mirror probably came to be after generations of workers used a mundane object to see themselves. Artefacts are rare, but they all have interesting stories. I will tell you a tale tonight, after we have made camp.”

“I would like that.”

They fell silent. They left the ancient place behind with some regret, returning to their usual careful march. An hour later, the tunnel ended in a titanic cavern at least a kilometer across and the group stopped once more.

“This looks promising…” Farren said as they took in their surroundings. The cavern was roughly circular, structured like a funnel, with a wide road circling down to the bottom of the pit. Luminescent mushrooms dotted the ceiling and bathed the expansive complex in a pale blue light. The air was thick with humidity.

The guard who had made the lights took a step to the side and cast his spell again. A beautiful radiance spread, showing wet rock and, more interestingly, tracks. From something with many legs.

“Hey, what’s...”

Viv’s danger sense screamed to her. That was the only warning they got.

A circular maw propelled by centipede legs burst out from the side, bearing right on them. Viv’s senses heightened until she could see patches of reddish eyes. Time slowed.

“Yoink!”

Her reaction was near instantaneous, a reflex born in the deadlands. The bolt flew as a head as large as a doghouse fell upon them. She felt the spell connect, then fail to dig in. It was like trying to pick sand and meet slick stone instead. The creature was still alive.

[Juvenile Depth Worm: extremely dangerous]

Viv was caught in the middle of the formation. She could not even jump to the side. Everything happened too fast.

Viv managed to cast a quick purge spell, cutting a thin line across the creature’s flank.

The guards raised their shields and struck at the same time, but the creature was minibus-sized and smashed through them.

Viv was tossed aside, falling under the heavy weight of Marruk. She heard the shriek of metal and tortured wood and felt a pain in her shoulder.

“Shit, I’m hit!”

“Squee?”

“Dammit, Arthur, remove your claws from my arm. They hurt.”

“Up, up!” Lorn yelled. Everyone scrambled to their feet and the guards formed a protective lozenge with weapons wielded about.

“Loric, curse the risks, give us light.”

Silence. Silence and darkness.

“Loric?”

“He’s gone, chief. I mean, he’s not here.”

“Dammit. That thing took him. After them.”

The group rushed on, other guards summoned lights to see where they had gone. There were a few shrieks above them. Viv had a clear look of Marruk passing a finger through a fresh hole in her shield, then they were beset by flyers.

The creatures looked like scaled, massive bats with surprisingly serpentine faces. Viv cast purge spells in quick succession and limbs started to fly. Motivated by their loss, the soldiers cut into the assailants with cold fury. Arthur pounced on one creature after another, bringing them to the ground with broken spines.

“Enough of this. Purge net!”

Viv focused and covered the entire area above them in a dense network of interlocking void whips. The destructive nature of black mana sang to her as it carved through flesh and bones. A deafening cacophony of death shrieks echoed throughout the cave, and the survivors left in a hurry, back to their lairs under the ceiling. The humans (and that one Kark) were ankle-deep in blood and viscera.

There was no cry of triumph. Koro stepped up and kneeled without waiting for an order.

“There, the trail. Follow me.”

The tall woman rushed down the slope of the large cavern, group in tow. Viv tried to have a look at the ground but there were too many people in the way.

“Thanks for saving me,” she told Marruk in a low voice.

“You owe me a new shield.”

“Deal.”

Viv thought about what they had seen. The creature was massive and covered in a thick layer of skin and, apparently, fat. It had too many legs to immobilize. Its weak point was probably its massive maw. Earthworms didn’t have brains, but that thing was so big that it might have one. Probably close to those eye clusters.

Better not think of the guy who had been taken.

So yeah, she would prioritize the head.

That was her plan.

If you call that a plan.

“Sharp left!” Koro yelled after twenty minutes of non-stop descent. They had passed by a few openings in the cave’s walls on their way down, but Koro had not stopped. Viv supposed that they led to more sections of the mine. Farren had probably underestimated how stupidly massive the thing was. No, Viv herself had been dumb. The mountain range surrounding Harrak was kilometers-deep, probably. Any complex that provided a way between one end and another was bound to be enormous.

The new passage was just as large as the one they had followed a few hours earlier. There were rails as well and they passed by a few abandoned wagons. There was more life here, more humidity in the air. It also smelled quite rank. A pungent smell with a hint of rot filled her nose and throat. The rapid pace was starting to tax her stamina and sweat pearled on her brow.

“Fuck…” Koro said.

They had reached a T-shaped intersection, and the ground was filled with condensed, brackish water. The tracks disappeared in the pond that covered the ground of three different passages.