The inside of the “shed” wasn’t what Jack was expecting. Down one side were lockers, with the bulk of the interior being taken up by an area fenced off with iron bars. A bored looking guard was seated behind a desk, next to a spot where there was a small chest high gap in the bars.

“Mornin’ Isaac”, the guard said to Jack’s guide.

“Good morning Frank”, Isaac replied politely, the ever present smile on his face.

“What’ll it be?”, Frank asked, standing up and stretching.

“Just a lantern. Going to show the rookie here his new office and show him the ropes”, Isaac quipped.

The guard made a note in a large ledger before taking down one of many identical lanterns down from where they were hanging, passing it through the gap in the bars for Isaac to take. “Thank you, Frank”, Isaac said.

“Anything valuable you can’t bear to part with, you can place in any of the empty lockers and hand the keys to the guard on duty”, Isaac explained as they walked. “You’ll be issued a canteen for water, but it’s up to you to keep it filled. Anything else you need, the guard on duty will issue you”, he continued. “Remember; If you break it, you’ve bought it! And you won’t like the prices”.

At the far end of the shed, the passageway through the shed simply dipped and turned into a shallow shaft. “Are we heading underground?”, asked Jack, who had thus far just being following along quietly.

“Wouldn’t be much of a mine if we weren’t”, came the rejoinder from Isaac. “This is where we all earn our keep, so pay attention”, he said, the grin leaving his face.

“It’s not that bad here, but everything has a price, even the slop that passes for food that they serve three times a day. Every meal, the clothes you’re wearing, any tools you damage, break or lose - all of it gets added to your debt”, Isaac elaborated.

“Then how does anyone ever get out of here?”, Jack asked, frowning.

“Simple. You work, harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. You look after your tools, your clothes, your bedroll and everything else you use, because replacing them means a longer stay”, Isaac replied, now completely serious.

“And if you don’t? Your debt just gets bigger and bigger?”, Jack aired a thought.

“That would make the Captain angry. And you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry”, Isaac repeated what the medic had said to him. A running gag of some sort? They made is sound like this Captain of theirs was the Hulk!

“He doesn’t look all that bad, the Captain?”, Jack probed.

“He’s an Awakened”, came the simple reply.

“Awakened? There’s that term again” Jack made a mental note. At some point he’d have to sit down and ask a few questions, even if it exposed his complete lack of knowledge.

The two walked in silence further down the sloping shaft. Here and there, side passages branched off into the darkness. Their immediate area was lit by the lantern, which Jack had seen Isaac bring to life by adjusting a knob at the base, but he couldn’t make out how it generated light. “Actual Magic?”, he added to his list of unknowns.

Now and then, Jack could hear a ting ting ting, echoing up from one of the side passages as they passed. “What are we mining?”, he eventually spoke up.

“Earth Element, I’m sure I’ve mentioned it?” came the unhelpful reply, that really didn’t enlighten Jack at all. “Come”, Isaac said as he suddenly turned down one of the side passages where the sound of mining could be heard.

The passage was longer than he thought, twisting and turning, dipping and raising as it slowly wound through the solid rock. Here and there, small pockets of rock had been carved out, in some places fully fledged side passages branched off; but Isaac confidently led the way.

The ting gave way to a clang clang clang, and soon they rounded one last corner before the source of the sound was revealed as a pair of miners; one chipping out larger chunks of rock with a pickaxe, the other hammering away the the chunks of rock to break them up into ever smaller pieces.

The pair of them stood, Jack at least being deafened by the sounds, watching the two miners at work. Both were large, well built men with dark tans, and they bore a family resemblance to each other. Eventually one of the miners noticed they had company and they paused, resting their tools as they faced Jack and Isaac.

“Isaac”, one of the men nodded to Isaac.

“Gentlemen”, nodded Isaac in return. “This is Jack, our newest addition. Jack, the Dalton brothers”, he did the introductions.

Jack put up an awkward hand, not sure how to greet these surly strangers. The two brothers nodded at him, indifferent to his presence.

“Could I trouble one of you to show our young friend here what we’re mining?”, Isaac directed a question at both brothers.

The brothers looked at each other, before the one with the pickaxe nodded. The other brother reached in to a very small sack that was tied to his waist and took out something tiny, flicking it to Isaac who caught it deftly.

“This”, Isaac said, holding up what he had caught, “ is Earth Element.”

Jack squinted in the lantern light and peered at what Isaac was holding. It looked like a small round glass pebble, brown and translucent. “What’s it for?”, he asked. “All this effort for such a small thing?’

“To us, this is the currency to buy our freedom. To our masters, it’s the key to reinforcing and strengthening the Dìqiú gēn of the Awakened”, Isaac replied.

“I see”, said Jack. “I definitely don’t see”, he thought. He was going to have to start asking some questions soon, otherwise he would just fall further down the rabbit hole.

Isaac flicked the small fragment of Earth Element back, with a small nod of thanks. He turned around and headed back up the passage they had followed here.

Mentor and mentee slowly made their way back up the mined out passage, Isaac returning the lantern to Frank who made another note in the ledger before they left the shed with the hidden mine entrance.

Isaac showed him around the rest of the small tent camp. “This is where you can fill your canteen”, he showed him to a large keg with a tap. “Here, we eat our three meals a day. If we have time”, outside a larger tent. “It’s also where those who wish to mingle gather”.

Eventually they returned to the tent where Jack had gotten changed. “For now, you’ll be bunking with me while you learn the ropes and settle in. Any questions?”, Isaac asked with his customary smile once again plastered on his face.

“Where do I begin?”, Jack answered wryly.