(Side Chapter) Whats to Come

No more than two hours away from the traveling party stands a walled settlement on the edge of a shear cliff edge. The path leading up to the stone walls had been cleared of all trees and foliage making it so that the guards could easily spot any approaching dangers. There was no real need for this of course seeing as how out of the way it was not even the giant clans came close to this drop off, but there was a sense of safety that came with high walls and guards of course.

The town was quaint, no more than twenty houses dotted the inside of the walls of the settlement all built along a large path leading from the gate to the mountain side where a large mine entrance could be seen with workers coming in and out.

Large mine carts were pulled along tracks to the entrance where they unloaded payloads of ore and useless rock. Those that were found to be of no use or just could not be stored would go over the edge of the cliff. Those of the town had a saying for this "Out of site out of mind".

Near the mine an old vrac stood and seemed to be preaching to all those around but no one gave him the time of day. "We have taken too much" he would say, "All we do is take without thought, the mountain shall come for us all" he would scream himself hoarse like this all day. Many had already gotten used to this as it had become a daily task for this old man.

Some of the newcomers to the town would ask about him wondering why he did this and this is what they would be told.

"He was once a renowned vein finder in the capital. He was known for finding many of the most recent surface veins around this area even going so far as to discover rare minerals in old abandoned tunnels once thought to be tapped dry. He had all the renown and money he could ask for but one day they say he went insane. No one really knows why, its just that he began these ramblings you see here. He used all his money to buy up the rights to the tunnels he unearthed just to collapse the shafts the next day. He went so far as to collapse his own clans tunnels saying that "if we relent now maybe we could be spared" what drivel. He got himself banished to the far ends of the empire that being here and he has done nothing but preach ever day and night."

No one listened to him while continuing on with their day to day duties.

Only a little while later there came shouts and running miners from deeper in the tunnels. This is not an uncommon occurrence for the mine it might be that one of the tunnels collapsed and they would have to unearth the shaft again or maybe someone was trying to get help for some injured miners deeper in the tunnels.

No . . . . this was something else.

Screams followed close behind the shouts while blood and bodies were tossed around from multiple places in the tunnels. Guards were called and those that were off duty came back bursting out of homes with everyday weapons and sharpened picks.

Coming out of the tunnels were large lumbering rock and flesh abominations. They came not in aimless mass but rank and file like any other army would. Every tunnel that went deeper into the mine had these things marching out into the staging area of the mine.

One would hope they could hold on till someone came to help them right?