Over the hills and far away

Jehan

Jehan had entered the tunnels with the rest of the group, the passageways were cleanly formed by some sort of magic that cut through stone, a boring process that would be highly specialised back on Earth, removing instead of moving the mountains rock.

As they progressed the cold from outside lessened, the biting wind reduced to less than a gentle breeze. The sound of the raging storm could still be heard but it was more like a background hum.

The tunnels turned less direct, an interchanging maze that even had a few dead ends. They came across one such dead-end and found a tunnel dug directly down. Jehan flicked a rock into the hole and heard it fall for a good twenty seconds. Ghost suddenly shot around to look behind the group.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?" Replied Jehan.

"The sound of running."

They listened a while longer until the sound of running through the tunnels was heard, briefly with an abrupt stop.

"Hello?" Jehan asked. There was no reply.

Fiona looked towards that direction, a path they were still following.

"Might have company."

They walked the way of the sounds down towards an intersection. Fiona stared at the different paths using her infrared sense. She had enhanced it as time progressed, trying to pick up changes in the convection currents in the air. Everything appearing to her as if she was in a thick mist of changing colours.

"I can see a heat signature coming from the other direction. I think that is our best bet."

"If you're sure."

As they came towards the fork, their sources of warmth, the thermal mana crystals started dimming, the heat within subsiding. Above them, they saw a cyan-turquoise glowing crystal sticking out of the wall. A cluster of gems native to the area.

The shinning of the gem increased as they approached, indubitably reacting with their mana based technology.

"Time to go basic," Jehan stated.

He dug into his bag and brought out a few tools larger than what could fit inside. Torches and a flint and steel. He handed them to each person involved, who proceeded to light the torches and bask in the primitive warmth.

Looking into the depths of the case they tried to see where the sounds of running had come from. It less light reflected from the walls making it difficult to see far down. An eerie chill ran through Fiona.

"Yeah, I can clearly see there is a heat source in that direction," she said, pointing away from the darker path.

A short deep rumble echoed across the walls and then the frantic sounds of footsteps from the same path.

They stood staring down for a moment longer.

"Is there somebody there?" Fiona asked. Getting no reply.

"Hello?" She asked again, still no answer.

Ghost walked ahead of Fiona in the heat source direction.

"I still vote we move towards the heat source. If there was a lifeforce that close it should be emitting some sort of heat,"

"Seconded."

Jehan stood waiting a small moment before joining them.

"I still think we should give a reasonable attempt to converse with any potential inhabitants before moving on. The snow elves are obviously known to enhance the cold and might be masking their presence. Though if you so insist."

"Whatever made those sounds wanted us to go that way. And I don't listen to the advice of weird sounds."

"Point taken, I can remember that curry we had at the base. The first and second."

"Come again?"

"The weird sounds everyone heard your bowls make, would have surely been a command to not teat for the second time."

They worked their way through the inside of the mountain, the cold reduced, seemingly dispersed by the presence of the crystals, the valuable mineral in this area known for interfering with and absorbing mana.

The complexity of the tunnels appeared to change. The snow elves having attempted to dig their own tunnels to attack the invaders. They came across a few more dead-ends, the method of following minute differences in the currents of heat has not been the infallible method that they thought it was. Another hour passed travelling the tunnels.

"I know I shouldn't say this. But are we just following the left-hand side?"

Fiona stood there flustered for a moment.

"And you got any better ideas?"

"Oh of course we are! Yeah, I do, how about we try and go up?"

Jehan interrupted.

"Following the left is a tried and tested strategy and we cannot just go up, if you are looking you will see that most of these tunnels go in straight lines. I would have spoken up sooner but I am captivated by this. It is almost as if the los'alfar, or high elves as we tend to call them. Had no aim to reach the snow elves at all."

"Wouldn't they be mining for the minerals?" Fiona asked.

"Impossible, the minerals are neither focused at this level nor is any notion of the careful process of mineral mining shown in their style of excavation. Further, you would not randomly dig tunnels directly down to mine..."

"Maybe they're trying to make a volcano from this mountain," Ghost stated.

Fiona facepalmed.

"You can't just turn a mountain into a volcano, you need the magma to already be under it. It at least needs to be an active volcano if you want to try and start an eruption and this isn't even a dormant one,"

"How do you know that?"

"You can look at the rocks. Does this wall look like basalt to you?"

"Ok, right. Now I don't know this stuff, I didn't study rocks I joined the army. But you know, this isn't even Earth, you don't know what this is."

Fiona relented, exasperated.

"Well, maybe if there is a hypothermal pocket leading into a cauldron of an ancient supervolcano. Then it causes a chain reaction string of explosions leading to a large scale eruption coating the entire region. But then, that would be like killing everything for miles around this place just to attack the snow elves."

Jehan stopped to listen to this. unaware of the nature of tectonic plates due to his education in the other realm.

"This is troubling. I hope that is not the case."

"It's ok, if this were the case there would be a noticeable caldera from past volcanic activity at set thousand-year intervals."

"And there isn't?"

"No, there is a mountain."

"So, what do you think these tunnels are here for?"

"Maybe they are just really bad at mining?"

"..."

"..."

"I would have gone right..."

"......"

.......

"Multiple heat signatures" Fiona stated. The wafting currents of heat suggesting they were finally in the right place. She had even spotted patches of the ground with an imprint on them showing how something had recently pressed against it.

They moved further down before approaching another fork int heir path. Jehan held up a hand, motioning for the others to stop. He moved further down the tunnel ahead of the group and began inspecting the ground.

"Some sort of markers, an alarm system perhaps. We may have been-"

Suddenly a shard of ice shot out, driving into his head. Out of the darkness approached a few elves, from behind them and in front. the elves appeared to be in tribal clothes of skin and fur, their skin alabaster white against blue eyes, pointed ears and short antlers.

Both Fiona and Ghost immediately put up their hands, hoping that the Earth motion for we surrender translated across boundaries.

Within moments resonant energy began taking shape form within Jehan's bag. Swirrlign energy coalesced in front of them as shouts echoed from the elves. "A bomb," One of them yelled.

The energies seemed to meld together forming another Jehan, a simulacrum of his being forged from his mana passing through the essence stored within his phylactery.

........

Whispers came forth from the group of snow elves as Jehan directly walked towards his body, little more than a toga covering his gems and shaft.

A man with larger horns and multiple teeth on a string around his neck stepped forth raising a hand as if to silence him.

"We do not have a quarrel with the dark lands, nor do we believe any heretic researcher would be with the los'alfar, what purpose does your presence here hold."

Jehan looked up from where he was silently gathering and putting on his clothes.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"I am aware of your magic, lich, but you do not hold the upper hand here," the elf said looking snobbishly down on the man.

"You embed conjured ice within my cranium and don't even say sorry? Is this some sort of fucking customary greeting where you're from?"

"I admit, it was not the best beginning to our negotiation."

"Oh, not the best is it? where do you rate it between dispensing beverages and getting shot in the fucking head?"

"Mind your language, learn some awareness of the situation you are in, peasant."

Jehan was known to have a short temper, this was a major reason he was delegated to this role. He was though, known for his ingenious knowledge of spacial magic, imbuing certain items with the ability to be stored in his phylactery and his interest in enhancing Eartherner technology with mana. At this moment, seemingly all he was known for was shown at once.

"You want to see the fucking situation?" Jehan chimed as he reached into his bag, energy coalescing around until an m16 machine gun enhanced by volatile glowing crystals reared its head. Ghost and Fiona reacted instantly jumping towards Jehan.

"No! Fuck No. NO" Ghost shouted.

"Jehan! put the gun away!" Fiona tried to pressure him.

The elves stood where they were but brief glimpses of worry could be seen on their faces.

A few shots came from the gun in the struggle, the hair-trigger firing glowing bullets at rapid speed, rupturing the tunnel's ceiling, even causing a few rocks to fall down.

Suddenly the elves appeared more worried, one of them slamming his staff to the ground, forming a large spike of ice, ready to both defend them from shots and move to strike.

A brief glance at the ceiling saw that the ice would serve as little protection from the strange device, which could both penetrate the ice and act at a speed they could not prepare for.

In the silence, footsteps of another could be heard, someone was walking up to the group. The elves separated revealing one of their elders.

A hunched old man with a flowing white beard stood before them. His eyes grew wide and a smile chipped away at his face.

"What is this I hear about you impaling the head of one of our guests." The old man says.

"Sir, these intruders are threatening me with a heretic weapon brought forth from the beyond."

Jehan was almost frothing at the mouth as he struggled against the two holding him down.

"It looks to me as though valued guests are being assaulted by incompetents. Lower your weapons or perhaps I should leave and let you suffer under this so-called 'heretic' weapon"

The elves looked to the fuming Jehan and back to the leader with a lot of worry encroaching their face.

"I am sorry for what has happened, Maybe we can go somewhere better and talk things over."

Jehan seemed to relent, Fiona and Ghost reassured as he put his modified heavy machinegun away.

"Let's," Jehan said.

They moved through the cave system, the sound of the storm growing as they travelled. The elder walked a slight bit ahead of them, occasionally pressing his hand on the wall as if to deactivate specialised systems of alarms and traps along the way.

"I do apologise for the greeting you have gotten. it is truly a pleasure to meet representatives from the dark covenant.

I hope you understand how difficult it is to contact us. We would be happy to share a more appropriate route of entry in time, though it may change if we do not have consistent contact."

Fiona placed an arm across her chest, attempting to replicate what she knew of their custom.

"The pleasure is ours, great Nivis'alfar,"

"Ohoho, and a humble representative you are. Now, what is the reason for which you have graced our lands." The group looked at each other, understanding between them that they should get straight to the point.

"We request your support in the coming war with the high elves."

The old one leaned his head back and stopped for a moment,

"Aaaaaaaah, We are not that strong. The church has been increasing its attempts to harass out stronghold, the few we have captured took their own lives before any information could be gathered. Even so, supporting your effort would bring the full might of the high elves down on us, of that we are certain. Out of respect, I will organise a gathering of the elders. Though I doubt it will amount to much. Is there anything else you require?"

Jehan moved further forwards,

"fi at all possible I would like to set up a means of transport and communication between the dark covenant."

"That, I can grant within my power as long as you carry this task out within my area of influence."

They arrived at the exit, a storm raging outside was chipping into the tunnel but as the elder held up his arm he pushed the storm back, it moved further until a bridge of peace connected to a dome-like station. Within which was a camp of sorts, tents of animal hide and wood adorned the settlement, giving the impression it had not been built to last as long as their presence on the mountain would suggest.

They moved through the space the elder had provided and into the dome. In the distance other domes could be seen, adorning the mountainside.

"You may set up your device anywhere whilst I organise the gathering."

Marcus began pulling out strange devices from his satchel. Piece after piece of long crystals, metal rods and other more sophisticated machinery.

"We should be able to hear from Hugo within a day. If all goes well, we may be able to set up a temporary portal back." Marcus said to the others.

Ghost spoke to the elder, who had sent scouts to the other domes, attempting to

"you said something about a recent increase in the Church's activity."

"Yes, they have started building strange tunnels down. Attempting to stop them was difficult, many of our scouts have gone missing and any captured soldiers ended their own lives.

It seems as though those brainwashed by the citadel and following their church are trying to mine tunnels under the mountain. For what purpose, we do not know."