did you even know their ____?

When Shay explained his request, everything clicked into place.

Zane had an inkling about Shay’s business. Udrefaust used to be the kind of place which flourished purely through its exports, the valuable ore in the area applicable to all kinds of purposes. Swords, armor, you name it. But mining never lasted forever. The town got lucky holding onto their resources for as long as they did.

But all good things come to an end—most veins of ore have been depleted, and merchants relied on a stockpile of ore to sell to merchants passing by. Hiding their weaknesses, putting off their problems. Expanding the tunnels became a danger to the Dwim since their height made it difficult to build stable supports, increasing the amount of cave-ins. They’d need outsider support to construct longer tunnel systems—exactly where Zane and Lucian came in.

Zane’s Rage Magic carved through walls while Lucian used his all-rounder magic to set up the foundations; Shay wanted them to expand the mines into a vein the Dwim suspected to be further in. Once they hit the jackpot, they’d be done and dusted.

Seemed simple enough.

But—

“Man, I’m exhausted!”

Zane sighed and hit the ground, arms splayed to the side as an unbearable ache coursed through him. Lucian’s heavy breathing betrayed his own exhaustion. He leaned on his staff as he mumbled another incantation of sadness, a mirage in the shape of a person stretching upwards to hammer a piece of scaffolding together. Once it finished, it disappeared, and Lucian collapsed as well.

“It’s—a lot more work than I expected…” Lucian sighed, airy voice just as wistful as usual, “do you think we’re almost there?”

“Eh.”

“Eh…?”

“Hey, eh, you two get back to work! I’m not paying you to lay around!”

“You’re not really paying us—” Lucian said. Zane slapped a hand over his mouth.

He gestured to the wall ahead of them, air pockets carved into the face of rock and tightly packed soil. Those little holes hadn’t been Zane’s—they’d been there before, Zane just happened to uncover them along the way. “We’re working on it. But, hey, while you’re not ‘supervising’, mind if I ask you something?”

"Yeah, if you work while doing it.”

Zane rolls his eyes and got back his feet, weakly hitting the wall. Shay sighed, but nodded his head in acceptance.

“Great.” Zane stopped. “Why’re there so many little holes? You got a mole problem here?”

Of course these weren’t from moles—there didn’t seem to be a tunnel system to this, just large empty spots scattered around. But he didn’t know much about the wildlife in this part of Auliam, and if they were burrowing in some creature’s territory, he wanted to know.

Shay hummed. “Nah, nothing like that. You’ve ever heard of these conniving critters called Sparks?”

“Uh—wait, no, it’s coming back to me—” Zane rubbed his temples. “Those big glowing spiders?”

He’d heard about them. Sometimes they got into shipments of ore and went wild snacking on them. They ate more than ore: crystals, jewels and minerals too—it made more sense the longer Zane thought about it why all these pockets ended up here. The mining cleared out a lot, but hungry baby Sparks hatching in their holes must’ve cleared up the veins left.

While legally classified as monsters, Zane considered them part of the 90% that only attacked if cornered. They’d have to be careful in an enclosed space.

“Wait—are Sparks nesting here?” Lucian said.

Shay whistled, clamming up. “Uh—eh, probably not, I think you’re just seeing things. Those holes aren’t big enough for the little grubbers.”

“You literally just said they were,” Zane said. Shay elbowed the man, grabbing his shawl and yanking him down to his level.

The harsh whispering dribbled spit into Zane’s ear, but he processed something along the lines of “Shut up, don’t let the idiot think too much,” before Shay released him.

Unfortunately, the warning came too late.

“Ah, but if Sparks are nesting—I read a study about this, the creatures produce important residue that revitalizes the soil and keeps it fertile for the flora,” Lucian continued, all bright and eager to share his knowledge. “So, if they’ve made their home here, we shouldn’t be mining, should we? I’m sure we can find another vein that isn’t where Sparks are feeding—”

“They’re not creatures, they’re monsters,” Shay groaned, “and we need the ore more than they do. ‘Sides, can’t we just import fertilizer from elsewhere?”

Lucian put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t call them monsters anymore! I… ah, I believe there’s been studies, that the designation of monsters is often used against these creatures to thin their numbers—something that brings damage to the overall ecosystem and forces the survivors into developing hostility towards—”

“Hey, you,” Shay pointed at Zane, “Keep punching the wall.”

“Please don’t!!” Lucian pleaded.

Zane threw his hands up, as if to say don’t drag me into this. “Lucian’s right about harmless… creatures getting more hostile when you mess with their territory.”

“Are you serious? You’re going back on your agreement already?”

Ah, of course this couldn’t be as easy as Zane wanted it to be. “Listen, this goes beyond some ore. You can find ore in all kinds of places Sparks aren’t. A vein is good enough to feed a nest of them for years, so y’know, better not to chance it unless you want the little guys to swear vengeance on this city for years.”

It made sense, didn’t it? Monsters had a good memory, and they attacked travelers because humans gave them that idea by culling them first. Then again, they were hanging around human homes and causing trouble too—but then again, humans moved into their home in the first place. Tricky, tricky. But Zane knew it’d be better for Udrefaust in the long run to keep peace with the creatures and—

“Don’t care. Punch the wall or I’m turning you two in.”

“C’mon, this isn’t about our deal anymore. It’s about your home.”

“My home? The home my dad’s letting go to shit ‘cause he can’t put his pride to the side? ‘Cause he cares more about some stupid god than our future!? He told me the same bullshit you’re saying, and I’m not putting up with it from the kids indebted to me!”

“Hey, can’t say same on his faith, but I think your dad’s got a better head on his shoulders about this than you.”

Lucian looked between Zane and Shay, like a child going through a divorce and not knowing which parent to latch onto. It amazed Zane how a grown man captured that energy so perfectly.

“Okay, I’ll make it simple—” Shay jabbed a thumb at Zane. “You, blonde beauty, get to smashing the wall or Mr. Prince of Darkness is getting handed over.”

“Uh—”

“You got five seconds.”

Lucian saluted. “I’m on it! Sorry, Zane, I hope this doesn’t disturb them too much…”

“Hey, wait—” Zane moved to stop him, a bad feeling roiling in his gut, but Lucian slipped away. Taking a deep breath, the red energy of Rage concentrated on his staff as he swung—

And the wall caved, revealing a wide open space instead of the ore Shay promised. The group had a few moments to gape before the ground cracked underneath them, sending them hurtling into darkness.