New morning

I was suddenly woken up by movement and familiar voices around me. Opening my eyes, I could see figures hovering and shuffling around, the sound of groaning and yawning filled my ears at the same time.

Though I wish I'm fully well and recovered, I could still feel the lingering pain all around my body, especially the ones from my limbs and broken arm, however, the pain is less intense compared to before. And that's where the memories of yesterday flooded back to me; the journey to the quarry, the exhausting mining work we undertook, all coming back in vivid detail.

Great, more work, more pain..

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and glance around, my eyes darting from my fellow miners to miners until they landed on the familiar figure of Little Fish, not only that, he seems to be locked in a conversation with Arde.

I, along with the other miners in our group who had also just awakened, began to rise from the old and dirty cloth we had slept on. It was spread wide enough to fit within the shed, serving as both a floor and a makeshift bedding that offered barely any comfort.

Better than nothing, I guess?

Dusting myself off, I make my way towards the two men. Little Fish, who seems to notice my approaching presence, turn towards me before greeting me with a nod, probably a 'good morning' to which I return back.

My attention swiftly shifted to Arde as he began to announce something to the men who had awakened behind me. Though his voice was slightly subdued, it carried an unmistakable tone of authority. How he quickly adapted to such a role, I have no idea of. Maybe he's just a natural born leader...

After he was done, the rest of our group erupted into small cheers and nods, their voices covering the entire room. It took Arde an entire minute to silence the crowd.

What did Arde said that made them react like this?

This damn language barrier again makes me want to throw a fucking tantrum against the entire world and god.. if there is one to begin with.

With a sigh, I watched as the miners slowly file out of the room, their expressions happy and excited.

I then turn towards Arde and Little Fish, expecting them to give me any answers about what had just happened, but what I got was a request from Arde to follow the rest of the group outside, gesturing and making a few hand signs for me to understand.

I made a confused expression on my face before I turned away from them.

Why are they so happy? it's just mining.. where's the fucking joy in all of that? But just as I was about to stride towards my pickaxe leaning against the wall beside the others, a familiar hand gripped my shoulder once again, holding me in my place.

What is it again, Little Fish?

I turned towards him, suppressing any annoyance from displaying on my face.

If Little Fish could perceive the emotions swirling within me, he certainly had a knack for concealing it. He held his gaze on me for a brief moment before shaking his head, motioning towards his stomach and simultaneously rubbing it.

That was when realization hit me.

Oh.. it's breakfast!

The rumbling in my empty stomach had escaped my notice until Little Fish pointed it out. Perhaps I was too fatigued or injured to pay attention to such sensations.

Nodding at him with a smile, I pulled the flap open and finally exited the shed, Arde and Little Fish trailing behind me.

At this juncture, miners from various groups had begun emerging from their assigned quarters and residences, creating a bustling pathway outside as they conversed and moved about. Our group was no different, they are seen mingling with miners from other groups.

But something's not quite right...

As I squinted my eyes to take in the scene unfolding before me, it became evident that our group was the sole source of excitement and happiness amidst the otherwise somber atmosphere prevailing in the other groups.

I took a glance at Arde and I can see he was slightly confused at the situation, we met eyes for a moment before he stride towards where our group currently is. It didn't take him too long to gather everyone in front of the shed again.

By this point, the human traffic has began to shift towards the west, the way the miners from the other group moved at such crowded places suggests that they've been doing this thing every morning for a very long time.

Aren't we going to join them?

I noticed a handful of miners from our group beckoning Arde and gesturing toward the crowd, likely suggesting that we join them. However, Arde's response was a shake of his head, accompanied by some words that elicited a few grumbles from our group.

What the fuck's on his mind? Is he going to starve us by making us wait in the open forever?

Right as I was preparing to approach Arde, a miner from the bustling crowd abruptly detached himself and started making his way toward us, with another miner trailing close behind.

Why are they so familiar?

It is by this point that I finally recognized them as Gulfram and Roslik, Arde, too, caught sight of the approaching figures, turning his attention towards them and engaging in conversation.

As I close in behind Arde, I notice Gulfram and Roslik nod at my presence before turning their attention back towards Arde.

After half a minute of conversation, they finally concluded their discussion. I eyed as Arde turned away from the two old men, cleared his throat, and began addressing the rest of our group. He began gesturing for them to join the moving crowd of miners.

"Morning, Carillus," the voice of Gulfram suddenly caught my attention. Turning towards him, he nodded his head before continuing, "How was..." he paused, seemingly lost in thought before eventually resuming his question, "your sleep?"

"Not very comfortable," I nervously chuckled before continuing, "Though surprisingly I managed to get a good amount of rest." I responded with a small shrug.

"Good," Gulfram nodded his head in approval. "Body needs rest," he paused, seemingly selecting the best words from his limited Saragonian vocabulary, before continuing, "energy for... work today!" He lifted both of his arms, flexing his muscles in the process.

Despite his old age, he could likely demolish a small shed single-handedly using only his body. I chuckled at the thought.

Gulfram smiled at this, mistaking my chuckle as a reaction to his statement.

"Me bad in Saragonian..." He placed a hand on my shoulder, "Is okay, we understand is.. important." He said before pointing his finger in the direction behind me, following his fingers, I saw that my group was still waiting for me, frowns and looks of impatience visible on their faces.

"Oh sorry, I got to go.. see you later I guess?" With that, we bid our farewells before I made my way back to the group.

And just like that, we started following the moving crowd. Arde, at the same time, was doing his best in ensuring that none of us got lost or separated.

A few turns here and there, the seemingly endless wooden residences and buildings on both sides of our pathway has finally ended, opening up to a large clearing where a large number of miners are gathering, the numbers seems to grow as miners continuously pour from our direction, including our group.

As I finally step foot in the open area, I could feel the morning breeze wash over me, it's temperature sending a chill down my entire body. Not only that, the cacophony of voices and various other noises began to get louder and louder in each passing second.

As I followed my group deeper into the area, my attention was drawn to the numerous tables lining up everywhere. A few groups of miners were already seated and eating at some of these tables. Their food a combination of... just a piece of bread? There's no mistaking it; each miner seems to have only a single piece of bread, each small enough to be consumed in a single bite.

You got to be fucking kidding me!.. if they expect me to spend eighty years of my life mining in this damn quarry with only that to eat, I'm not even going to last in a single month!

I glance around at my group and it's evident that they too have observed this. Their initial expressions of excitement have transformed into ones of emptiness and gloom.

Taking a deep breath, I swiftly parted from my group and maneuvered my way through the dense crowd. Amidst a few irritated grumbles, I pushed further, delving deeper into the throng, the distant sound of yelling and shouting becoming more audible until I finally reached the forefront.

Right there, a small group of men were handing out bread to a long line of miners. And next to them, sat carts filled to the brim with breads. Not only that, there were also a dozen armored guardsmen circling the carts. While around thirty cloaks maintained crowd control and making sure no miners got too close to the carts. A couple of miners were already getting a beating and yelled at during the entire process.

Damn, it appears the guards outside were also allowed entry to the mining sector.

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CHAPTER DONE!!