John awoke early to warn Mani and Yara about what they had learned about the abandoned village and the possibility that there may be people to the west. The duo headed out soon after with John’s appreciation and blessing.

That evening, he told everyone what he and Virgil had discovered from the box. He even passed the papers around so people could see them. Some were relieved at the news and some were worried about what may lurk to the west and in the cave. He assured them that they would continue to seek answers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the end of the next evening, all eight of the dwellings were finished. The village now had 32 residences. Work began on the inner walls of the apartments to create bedrooms in each. Other workers continued on the commonhall. Saul began to slowly increase the size and height of the walls surrounding the village. Virgil decided to take up fishing to relax for a while, most of his work done for the time being.

Another field was planted. The children also began making another pen for any more animals that Monty would be bringing back with him. Soon they would need another stable too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John was feeling good when he woke up on the following day. A lot had been accomplished the past two days. It was the second day after Mani and Yara had left. And today, Ivan and he would be going to the mine with Stanley and Steven. Everyone was to meet at the southern entrance shortly after sun-up. John had really wanted to wait for Monty to return, but he had promised Stanley that when he was up to it, they would go.

He didn’t have to wait long for the others to arrive. He was surprised when Willis too showed up.

“Decided to be an adventurer today Willis?” John leaned against one of the posts of the tower.

“No my friend. But I figured one more sword may help. Since you don’t know what you are facing. And, you haven’t practiced with me much yet.” He smiled at John.

“I know. I know. Soon. I’ve tried to watch as much as I could, but Gert just now ok’d me to really do much of anything, so now I’ll be able to actually join in.” John nodded in the direction of Ivan. “I know he’ll be looking forward to kicking my ass.” Ivan laughed.

“Don’t you know it boy!” Ivan slapped him on the shoulder. “Everyone is here. We don’t know how long this will take. Let’s go!” Everyone grabbed their packs, mounted their horses, and went through the entrance to head to the mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After John and his crew had left, Drew met with the other villagers to divvy out the day’s assignments. He knew he didn’t really have to, but he got experience from people fulfilling the jobs he gave out. Not much, but it added up. He got more experience from planning and actually participating in the jobs. He really was almost like a quest giver.

The main goal today was to begin on the flooring and walls for the commonhall. It was going to take a lot of wood to finish. It was about the size of one of the dwellings but would be one large room with a kitchen and two small rooms on one end. They would be offices. Dragi would keep working on the interior walls of the apartments, but the overall consensus was that people wanted a place to actually eat and gather. They had been lucky so far with only morning showers, but he wasn’t optimistic it would last forever now that spring was in full swing.

Because Willis was gone, and with the two guards watching over the fields and the south, the children were required to stay in the walls and help with various tasks rather than continue their work on the fence. One of them being school. Everyone left the kitchen area having been given their goals.

Drew’s job for the day was going to entail bringing boards from the sawmill. Unfortunately, Lenz was their only Lumberjack so he really needed help. Jo had been enlisted in aiding with the horses while Tafa, who had previously been a servant, helped with resetting the cut trees. It wasn’t perfect, nor was it fast, but they had been able to mostly keep up with demand with only a few snafus.

Drew was worried about John and the others in the mine. He also worried about Monty. He was due back any time. He would stay busy today to keep his mind off of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group of adventurers and miners reached the cave about an hour and a half later. They tied their horses to some rocks and climbed the steps to the entrance.

Once they got to the top, Stanley pointed to some rocks to the left of the entrance.

“When we came to survey the last couple days, I saw a depression in the rocks. I think it may have been a pulley system. I bet they had carts they put the ore in and had them go down the line to a station below. That could be how they got supplies up here too, by pulling the carts back up. I’m sure it was easier than trying to traverse those steps.” Stanley moved to the area to show them. “We can probably do the same thing once we get started. We can make one inside too. I’m not sure how yet, but it’ll be difficult to move much ore even though the grade isn’t very steep so we may have to come up with something. They probably used animals, but we have nothing small enough to fit in the cave to pull them. But, I thought about what you had said a while back, and maybe we can pay the Goblins to do it.”

“That’s absolutely a possibility. I really hadn’t thought about how you were going to get it back to the town. We may have to rig something up.” John smiled at Stanley’s input. “Let’s go in. We don’t know how much of the tunnel collapsed. It could take a while.” They all lit torches. Ivan led the way in and the others followed.

“That’s not totally correct,” replied Stanley as they walked. John raised his eyebrow. “I can get a sense of the amount of rock in an area using a skill. Or maybe a better explanation is, I can sense the composition of the rock in an area within about ten meters if I focus on a particular spot. When I focused on the tunnel and beyond, I only sensed rock for four to five meters. I don’t think it will take too long.”

“I thought you could sense deposits for quite a ways.” John answered back, having remembered what he had said before. “You said you could detect a lot of them when you first told us of this cave.”

“You’re right. I did. But when I said that, I was using another skill, Locate Lodes. It scans out in all directions from me, and I get a general direction of where they are. This time, I used a directed skill called Land Composition. I get an idea of what makes up a certain area. It’s used for when we are actually looking for the lode in certain spots. It gives me an approximate makeup of the ground in that direction. And sometimes, like with this tunnel, it tells me there’s nothing there. That’s why I’m called a prospector and not a miner even though I have some of those skills as well.” He continued walking.

John was satisfied with the explanation. “Makes sense I guess. You’d definitely need a way to actually locate them.”

They meandered down the tunnels. They took the left path again at the first split. They followed along until they came to the last split that either headed to the room or the collapsed tunnel. This time, they went to the collapsed tunnel. They could see the collapsed area even from the split.

“May as well get started.” Steven got out his pickaxe and began to break the larger pieces into ones that were moveable. Stanley joined him. John and Ivan helped by moving the broken pieces as well as some of the smaller pieces out of the way. Willis did his usual leaning while he kept watch to their rear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For hours, they carefully removed pieces of rubble. It seemed to John that they had barely made any progress moving forward. He felt that they had barely cleared halfway when Stanley spoke up.

“When we remove this large piece here, we should be able to see to the other side. I’m worried though that it may collapse again if we remove all of the rocks. Here’s my plan. We will remove enough to create a tunnel through. Maybe three feet tall using the rocks around to support the rocks above. I know it’s not ideal, but without the right equipment and removing everything, I think it will simply collapse again. Perhaps tomorrow we can come back with Saul and he can shore up the ceiling and walls for us. What do you think?”

“I wish you had told us this before. We would have brought him along to begin with,” replied John, annoyed. “We’ll try it, but if it doesn’t look safe at all, we aren’t going in.” He looked up at the ceiling now worried. “Nothing has fallen on us yet thankfully. Give it a go.”

Stanley and Steven continued to meticulously remove pieces creating a small tunnel through the rocks. The air that now came through was stale but didn’t smell of any animal or beast. About an hour later, they had made a small tunnel that was about three feet in diameter.

“I will go through first since it was my plan.” Stanley quickly crawled through before anyone could reply. He then quickly crawled back through. “Nothing moved while I crawled through. I’m pretty sure for the moment that it’s safe.”

“Then I will go first. Followed by Ivan. Then you two. Then Willis in the rear.” John blew out a breath and hesitated going in. “Sorry. Not a fan of tight spaces. The cave is bad enough, but now I have to worry about being crushed in there.” He took a deep breath and crawled through as quickly as he could to the other side. Trying not to be too loud, he told them to come through.

In short order, each was now standing next to John on the other side of the collapsed rock.

“Now what,” asked Ivan.

“We go on. Like last time we were here. We go until there is a split, but this time we stay together. I will lead and Willis will bring up the rear. Listen for anything out of the ordinary. And please, try to be quiet.” John looked at Ivan and smiled.

They traveled on even ground for a short distance, really barely any distance at all. John stopped when he came to the end of the tunnel and allowed everyone to catch up. What they saw bewildered them

“This is crazy.” John took a step out into what would best be described as a cave in the shape of a corkscrew. The others followed suit with gaping mouths. He looked up and around and then down over the ledge that was a short distance in front of them. “I wonder how far it goes down? Look at this. They must have been mining here for years.”

The cavern was basically a large vertical cave. But around the edge was a spiraling walkway that went up to the left and down to the right. And at various points on different levels, there were tunnels and offshoots that must have been where the Goblins mined.

“This is astounding. Now we know why they collapsed the tunnel where they did. They had no other choice. I’m going to drop a torch and see how far it is to the bottom.” John walked to the ledge followed by the others. He leaned over and dropped it. They all watched as it spun on its way down. Eventually it hit the bottom, but it was just visible in the distance. “I can barely see it. What do you guys think? A hundred meters? Maybe more?” No one said anything. “It may go up just as far. This must be the main junction for their mine.”

“Aye. I’m sure it is. I don’t like it. No way can we check all those tunnels to make this safe. We can’t guarantee their safety.” Ivan picked up the head of an axe from the ground.

“I know. Damnit. It’s like a damn beehive in the walls.” He turned to Stanley. “I’m sorry, but it’ll take us months, maybe years, to go through all these tunnels. If I can’t guarantee your safety, I can’t let you come in here. I understand you can make your own decisions, but I think you’ll agree with me. We have no idea what we may face. That is, if whatever made the people leave is still alive.”

Stanley looked disappointed. “I understand. But with your permission, perhaps when the new guards get here, we would like to come back and try the other side. With my skill, we will be able to avoid any existing tunnels that may branch from here.” He scratched his chin. “Of course, we did find some lodes a little farther west of here. It may be better to just start a new mine and avoid this place altogether.” He sighed. “Once we go through, I will determine the best place to cause another collapse of the tunnel. I can see why now they were left with no other choice but to abandon this place. Our curiosity as to what may have been here will never be sated.” He smiled and started walking back down the tunnel.

Willis led the group back, and John brought up the rear. They had made it nearly to the collapse when John heard a sound from behind. Quietly he whispered, “Everyone stop.” They all froze. John slowly turned around. Continuing quietly, “Ivan. By me. Everyone else slowly make your way to the tunnel.” Ivan stood next to John in the corridor. “Dark Sight.” John squinted, using the skill in the barely lit tunnel. The sound he had heard, like quick tapping, was getting louder and more numerous. The duo walked backwards towards the tunnel that Willis and now Stanley had already gone through. Steven stood behind them, scared. “Damnit, Steven. Go through. We don’t have time to waste here.”

“I see movement. Just at the edge of the light.” Ivan had his two swords drawn and ready.

As soon as he said that, the creature entered the light given off by the torch. At first, to John, it resembled a lizard as it slowly moved closer. But much, much larger. The head alone was a foot across. Its two visible feet were huge and had several long claws protruding from them. It’s long forked tongue flicked out of its mouth which also contained several rows of pointed teeth. As it continued towards them, John could see spikes along its head and back.

“Identify,” whispered John.

Adult Basilisk

Level 45

Hardened Scales

Petrifying Gaze

“Oh shit. We need to go.” John turned to see Steven still standing there. “You’re going to get us all killed, you fool.” He slapped him, waking him out of his stupor. He shoved him into the hole. “Your turn. Get in Ivan. Quickly, and don’t look at it. It’s too big to follow.” Ivan backed up and crawled as fast as he could through the tunnel. John dove into the hole behind him. John heard a hiss that was far too close and then felt the Basilisk’s massive teeth clamp onto his boot.

“Ivan! Pull me! Now! Hurry, it has my foot!” John reached behind him with one hand to untie his boot while Ivan yanked on his other arm. Willis was behind him pulling too. “Don’t look in the tunnel! Keep pulling! I almost have it!” John worked frantically to untie the boot. The basilisk was winning the tug-of-war, pulling the trio farther into the narrow tunnel. Finally, the boot came free, and the three went tumbling through to the floor as John shot out of the tunnel.

“Quickly! Bring it down before it can work its way through!”

“Here! Hit here. And then hit there!” Stanley shouted frantically. Ivan grabbed the axe from the ground and swung with all his might. A slight rumbling could be heard as he pounded on the rocks. “Now there! It should bring it down! Get ready to run! The whole thing may be unstable!” Ivan moved to the other side and swung, the pickaxe bit deep. Dust began to fall from the ceiling and the rumbling became louder. Larger pieces began to fall. He hit it again causing more to fall.

“Run!” John grabbed Steven by his vest and pulled him along. All five took off at a full run, barely able to see where they were going as the air began to fill with dust from the collapsing tunnel.

They made it to the first split, the debris cloud still following them. The collapse was now a deafening roar as the collapsing roof chased them closer to the exit.

Steven started coughing, causing him to stumble. John caught him and dragged him forward. They ran towards the light in the distance, the exit, as the tunnel continued to collapse behind them belching forth dust filling the air with it.

Willis was the last to exit the cave as the entire entrance began to fill in with large rocks. Several crashed around them having rolled down the side of the mountain. Dust continued to billow out from the former entrance.

The group sat or laid on the ground, exhausted from the run.

After having caught his breath, John spoke. “I guess it’s safe to say that you won’t be reentering the mine any time soon. Let’s not do that again.” He laughed. The delirium spread; the others joined him in tired laughter.

“No. I’d guess not.” Ivan sat up and leaned against a nearby rock. “What was it? It looked like a big lizard. And how was it still alive?"

John replied. “It was a basilisk. Level 45. I don't know much about them, only stories. Supposedly they turn their prey to stone and then eat them. I guess it's safe to assume they can eat rocks, too, or it would long be dead by now. Let's hope it gives up trying to get out.” The others had looks of surprise. “No way could we have killed it, and I doubt whoever was here could have either. I bet a lot of lives were lost in that mine to entrap that thing. I’d sure as hell wouldn’t want to stick around either. Speaking of which, I say we get out of here. I’m not worried that it’ll escape, but I’d rather not stick around to find out.” John stood, gathering the items that he’d dropped when he fell to the ground. He went down the stairs followed by the others. They mounted the awaiting horses and went back to River’s End.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drew was helping clean up the area around the kitchen when a call rang out.

“Riders! Riders from the south! I see two!” Sara shouted at the top of her lungs from atop the watch tower.

Everyone able grabbed a weapon and headed to the south gate. Several others helped wrangle the children and entered one of the apartments.

Son of a bitch! Not again! How many more bandits can there be? Drew thought to himself as he picked up his bow. He quickly ran to be behind the wall with the others. He squinted his eyes thinking it would help him see better. We aren’t ready for this. No John. No Ivan or Willis.

The group rolled the last two remaining wagons into the entrances to block them. People held bows and swords, axes and spears. Everyone was ready as they could be.

They watched as the two riders got closer. After they disappeared behind a small hill and then came visible again, Nathan, the other guard, shouted. “It’s Monty! He’s back! He has someone with him!” The group let out a collective sigh of relief, yet the tension still weighed in the air. Only as he got closer did everyone relax.

They rolled the cart out of the way. Everyone immediately went out of the gate to greet him and the stranger.

“Monty! It’s so good that you’re back safe!”

“We’re so glad you’re here!”

“Did you talk with the Baron? Where’s the guards?”

“Who’s the lady with you!”

Monty got off his horse. The lady did the same. They walked up to the group holding the reins.

“I’ll answer your questions once inside.” Monty motioned to the woman with him. “She is Veronica.”

Veronica bowed. “Hello folks! You can call me Vee if you want. Makes no difference to me.” She walked up to each to shake their hands. She had a toothy grin plastered on her face. Many Nice to meet yas were exchanged.

Then she came to Drew. She shook his hand. “Nice to meet ya pal. Vee.”

Her voice has a distinct accent to it, but I can’t place it. “Drew. Drew Cooper. Pleasure to have you here,” greeted Drew. He could tell though that he wasn’t holding her attention as he noticed her eyes looking over his shoulder and around through the crowd.

“Is John here? I was looking forward to meeting him.” Veronica continued to glance around.

“They haven’t returned yet from the mine. They should be back shortly. It’s nearly nightfall.” Drew cleared his voice to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s go inside the walls. I’m sure Monty has lots of information to give us while we wait for John, don’t ya?” Monty nodded.

Several escorted the newest arrival into the village, flanking her on each side. Paranoid much? She looks friendly enough, but so did those others. Drew waited as everyone went in. He waited for Monty who was last.

As he approached, Drew asked with a serious tone, “Who is she Monty? She doesn’t sound like any of you.”

“I don’t know, but she thinks John will.” Monty made an unsure face, one Drew had never seen before.

“Ok. We’ll wait for John then.” He slapped Monty on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back. Everyone has been worried sick about you.” Monty smiled as he and Drew entered the village.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone milled around eating and waiting for John and the others to return. Veronica continued to engage in pleasantries and answered any questions the villagers asked. Eventually, as the sun was beginning to set over the Forest, the group returned. They were quickly ushered to the kitchen area having been told that Monty and a guest had returned. On the way, they quickly tied their horses to anything they could find.

John and Ivan immediately went to hug Monty who was sitting with his wife and son. No one even bothered to ask how it went in the mine. Stanley and Steven went to sit somewhere quiet, defeated, and the others didn’t offer up any information.

“I’m so glad you made it back safely,” John said to Monty. Then he turned to look in the woman’s direction. “And with a guest.”

“Yes. She is Veronica,” he coldly replied. “You, and maybe Drew, will want to talk to her as soon as you can.” Monty never took his eyes off of her.

“Maybe in a bit. Tell me about Innsbruck and the Baron. Did you find their bodies? And is there no one else coming?” John looked around the camp thinking maybe he’d missed the others.

“We rode ahead. They are maybe two days behind us. No, I did not find Richard and Simon.” John frowned. Monty reached into his vest pocket and removed three envelopes and handed them to John. “From the Baron. I did not read them.”

“I wouldn’t have cared if you did. I have nothing to hide from you.” John put the letters in his pocket. “Thanks for these. I’ll read them and then fill everyone in. Enjoy the night with your family. I’ll talk to you tomorrow about your trip.” John smiled and went to find a seat near Drew.

John plopped in a chair and let out a long breath. “What a day.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.

“Not good news in the mine?” Drew was sitting, finishing his plate of food.

John opened an eye and looked at him. “You could say that. I’ll fill in everyone tomorrow about the mine and the content of these letters.” He waved them at Drew. Then he used them to point to Veronica. “Monty said we will want to talk to her. Not sure what that means. He kinda gave me a look.”

“Hmmp. She seems to be getting along well with the others. Something we can deal with in the morning. I don’t feel like opening a can of worms tonight.” Drew set his plate down. “What’s in the letters?”

John opened the first one giving it a quick once over. He handed it to Drew. “A trade agreement about the ore, if we are willing to trade it at all. That’s your department.” He smiled and Drew accepted the paper. He opened the second. “Also yours. A receipt of everything he sent us.” He quickly looked it over. “Looks like he got everything except some of the animals. Oh well.” He handed the second letter to Drew.

Then he opened the third. It was a personal letter to John.

John Mitchell,

Please accept my sympathies for the two lost guards. I know they were in my employ and returning home, but I understand how it feels to lose someone who you came to know. I’ve sent ten guards and guards in training to your village to help with its defense. There are also about a dozen villagers joining them. I know you will take good care of them. I was able to convince a Stonemason to join you as well. His name is Samuel. He has been with me since I first ventured to the plateau. Please treat him well; he is fond of cake.

Monty informed me that you are trading food for ore with Goblins. Goblins! I dared not believe him when he told me so. It’s unheard of! But alas, when questioned, he stuck to his story, so I did not pressure him. I do hope you wish to trade the iron ore with us. We are in dire need of replacement weapons. The other villages to the east have cut back their supply. Trading with your village would release the hold they have on us. So please, I graciously ask that you accept.

In two weeks from the time Monty and your new villagers left, I will be sending a caravan your way. I will have more supplies for you that hopefully you will be amenable to trade for iron. There may even be some more volunteers. If this is acceptable, please send a letter back with the group that arrives. We can begin formal trade henceforth.

I hope you and your citizens are faring well. I also hope we can talk soon. I always enjoy our chats.

Kind Regards,

Baron Danielson

“Huh.” John muttered out after having read the letter.

“What? Asked Drew. “Bad news on that front too?”

“Not at all. Good news really. He wants to start trading immediately. He’s sent a convoy that’s two weeks behind Monty.” John shrugged. “We’ll look at the trade details tomorrow.” He folded up the paper and put back into its envelope and stuck it in his vest pocket. “I’m so exhausted. Too exhausted to even speak.”

It was at that moment that Veronica decided to make herself known. She casually walked over to John and Drew.

“Good evening boys. I heard Monty introduce me a bit ago as he gave me the side-eye. Veronica. Or Vee if you’d like.” She put out her hand. John stood and shook it. As did Drew.

“Pleasure. I’m John. He’s Drew.” John motioned for her to have a seat. She politely declined with a nod.

“Just stopped to say hey. You look tired, so we can talk in the morning.” She smiled a toothy grin. “But I wanted to introduce myself. Monty is pretty apprehensive about having me here. So in the morning, I’d like to talk to you, share what I know. Then if you want me gone, I’ll go.” John looked at her questioningly. “It’ll make sense in the morning. Everything will.” She waved and left to find somewhere to sleep

“That wasn’t cryptic at all,” replied Drew after a few moments. “Wonder what it’s about?” He stretched his arms. “The way she talks seems familiar, but I can’t place it.” He yawned. “Find me in the morning. I’d love to sit in on your chat, if it’s relevant.”

“Will do. Good night Drew.” They parted ways, each heading to their apartment to get some sleep. John was too tired to even wonder what Veronica’s news may be.