The Mines

“I wish we’d found a map,” Elian said as Kaia drew a big cross on the wall with the blue chunk of chalk they’d found yesterday evening, together with some torches. “The tunnels have been pretty straightforward so far, but sooner or later they’re bound to become a maze.”

“I agree. But at least these marks will help us find our way back.” She waved her torch toward the general direction they’d come from.

“I certainly hope so.”

They’d left most of their things in the house where they spent the night, bringing only food, water, and, of course, a torch each.

“Can you smell anything?”

“Besides these things?” She glared at the torch in her hand, wrinkling her nose. Then shook her head. “Nothing useful, and nothing recent. Dust, dwarves, coal, and a damp smell I don’t recognize.”

“Perhaps there are underground springs.”

“I hope so. We’ll need more water soon.”

Heading steadily downward, the main tunnel led them deeper into the mountain. The air down here felt thicker, harder to breathe, as if the weight of the stone above them compressed it.

“Perhaps we should try some of the smaller tunnels?” Elian suggested. They’d passed several so far.

“Perhaps.” Kaia squinted at the massive darkness that lay ahead, then nodded. “It’s worth a shot. This one probably leads to the main mine shafts, but we might find more answers in the living and storage areas.”

“Let’s try this one then.” Elian pointed to a smaller opening to their left. Kaia made another cross on the wall, and they went inside.

This tunnel seemed natural, the walls not smoothly chiseled, but several torch holders indicated it had been well-lit. Eventually the tunnel breached out into a large cavern. Sturdy bunk beds lined the walls, chests for storage sitting between them. It reminded Elian of the room he shared with the other boys back at the garrison. Only larger. And the beds were smaller.

“Everything seems to be in order here. It’s just… empty.”

“Yeah. This place should be bustling.” Kaia agreed while opening one of the chests. “You know, I always imagined mines to be noisy. The sound of hammers hitting rocks, small talk, even singing. Non-stop.”

“Dwarves are a loud people. This quiet, it just seems wrong.”

“Just clothes in here,” she announced, closing the lid. “Nothing useful.”

Together they went through the rest of the chests without any luck. In the last one, Elian found a pair of fingerless soft leather gloves. He looked between them and the cloth he had wrapped around his hand. Travelling like this had taken its toll on it, and it was now a dirty, crumpled mess. Hesitantly, he peeled it off and pulled a glove on, flexing his fingers. It fit comfortably, and it covered the accursed mark perfectly. How had he never thought of this before?

The more he looked at it, the more he liked it, but the idea of taking something that wasn’t his…

“Did you find something?”

“Yes. But I can’t just take it, can I?”

“You would have taken a map, wouldn’t you? Or food?” She held her torch closer, studying the gloves. “I’ve seen humans wear those to protect the skin on their hands.” She sniffed. “Your skin is soft. You should take them and get rid of that stinky rag.”

Stinky rag?

After a moment’s indecision, he kept the glove on, shoved the other one into his pocket, leaving a single silver coin in their place. Hopefully someone would come back to find it.

“Let’s go this way.” Kaia had moved to the far side of the cave, looking over the exits. “That damp smell is stronger here. We might find water.”

They passed a few more rooms with beds, and a large kitchen with tables and benches. Nothing out of the ordinary except for the lack of dwarves and some set tables. A couple of cups and bottles had been knocked over, lying on the ground, a thin layer of dust covering them and everything else.

Still no answers.

Following narrow tunnels leading them steadily downward, they kept going until they once again found themselves in a main shaft. The walls and ceiling were silvery here, reflecting the light. The light continued as far as he could see. Wait…

He went back and placed his torch in one of the holders in the smaller tunnel, and motioned for Kaia to do the same. Once back in the main tunnel, he smiled. The walls were glowing even without additional light. They could see.

“Wow, that’s so clever,” Kaia breathed, running a hand along the wall. “And so pretty.”

“I’ve heard of dwarf inventions, but this is amazing,” Elian agreed, also reaching out to touch it. The stone was covered in a thin, hard layer of something luminescent. “We won’t need the torches here.”

“That’s a relief,” Kaia agreed. “They’ve been useful, but anything with a nose and eyes would have spotted them from far away easily.”

“Not very sneaky, no.”

Continuing down the softly illuminated path, they passed the occasional side tunnel, but they were getting scarcer. Time took on a different meaning down here, and Elian wasn’t sure if they’d been walking for one hour, or three. He took a small sip from his waterskin, while Kaia made another cross on the wall.

“Stop. Something’s coming.” Kaia hissed the words, her fingers grasping his arm tightly.

Elian froze, ears straining, but he couldn’t hear anything. Heart pounding he looked around, searching for a hiding spot.

“In there.”

They bolted into the nearest side tunnel, stopping just after the first bend. Peeking out from behind the corner, they could see a small portion of the dimly lit main tunnel. After what felt like an eternity, a faint rustling, scraping sound grew steadily stronger. Together with a smell… of forest.

“What...?” he whispered, only to get a foot firmly placed on his.

“Shush,” she breathed into his ear, her fingers digging into his shoulder. He quickly clamped his lips shut but leaned a little further out.

At first it was just shadows approaching, then he could see them. Crickets. Four large ones, like the one they’d found dead. Walking two and two, keeping perfect stride. His mouth went completely dry, his mark itching inside the glove. Bloody buggers were here.

After them came lines of antlike creatures, much smaller, more like the bugs he was used to from before. They were, however, dragging big sacks made from pale webbing after them, each one filled to the brim with leaves. Entire tree crowns’ worth of leaves.

Not food or livestock, but leaves. And why bring their loot here? It made no sense.

Not until the last sacks had been hauled past them and the sounds were mere whispers did he turn to Kaia, who looked just as bewildered as he felt.

“What are they up to? Why would they even bother with leaves?”

“They ran out of farmsteads to raid?” Kaia suggested, then shook her head. “No, that makes no sense. But now we know why all the trees and bushes we saw coming here were so barren.”

“Bloody buggers. I really thought it might be something different happening here, but…”

“Like a dragon?”

“Maybe not.”

Kaia straightened and stepped back out into the tunnel. “Come, let’s follow them. We need to find out what they’re doing. It could be important for our people.”

“Right.”

Trusting Kaia’s nose and ears, they kept their distance, walking fast but silently. The tunnel walls turned rougher, widening into a natural cave system. The damp smell was stronger here, strong enough that he finally recognized it. It was the smell of the bugworld. The air on the other side of the barrier.

It shouldn't be here.

The string of smaller caves opened up into an underground space huge enough to contain a half dozen houses. For a moment Elian stood frozen, eyes wide until Kaia pulled him down behind a row of large barrels and sacks. Sacks made of woven fabric, not the webbing they’d seen before. The ants they had followed were nowhere to be seen, but there were several tunnels leading off from this cave, and they could have continued into any one of them.

Closing his eyes, struggling to keep his breathing slow and quiet - controlled - he tried to make sense of what he’d seen.

On the ground, close to the wall to their right, there were two familiar bug tunnel openings. The same size as the ones he’d seen during his time in the military. From one of them, ants came through in a never-ending line. Each one carrying a large, milky white round object that they deposited in the middle of the cavern before disappearing through the other tunnel.

More of the round objects were spread in tight clusters, covering a large part of the ground and up the walls. His stomach sank as he realized what he was looking at.

Eggs. Bugger eggs. Really big ones. Hundreds of them. And this was just one cave of many. What if...?

They shouldn't be here, not in this world.

He would have preferred to find a dragon. A whole family of dragons.

Slowly, he and Kaia rose on their knees, peeking over the barrels. Kaia inhaled sharply, sharp nails digging into his arm as she nodded toward the back of the cavern. Her ears were almost completely flat against her head, eyes wider and rounder than usual.

“What. Are. Those?” she mouthed.

It took him a moment to realize she wasn’t meaning the eggs. Further back, three tall shapes walked toward the pile of eggs, picked one up, then returned to fasten it on the wall with the others. Humans? No, they were all wrong. Their waists and necks were impossibly slim and tall antennae crowned their heads, turning this way and that. They were unclothed, and their smooth, greenish skin showed no signs of fur or hair.

Bug people? 

Impossible. No one had ever heard of such a thing. A new race?

One of them looked their way, huge eyes shimmering liquid black in an angular face. Its antennae shot straight up, and every ant in the room turned as one. Toward them.

The bug person took a step closer, cradling an egg to its torso. Its mouth opened, revealing a row of sharp teeth. 

“Soft flesh…”