Part 8
Alucard had gathered all the necessary equipment that he needed for the mines. On the contrary of what most people think of Alucard he takes his work very seriously, he knows all too well what the dangers these monsters can pose, alone ghouls are not that dangerous for an average man with no sword training the ghoul could easily kill the man. But vs a soldier or trained hunter, they were easily dispatched. What makes ghouls so terrifying is they normally hunt with the cover of night and in a large pack. They are clever and terrifying creatures especially if one is unprepared.
The mountain path leading to the entrance of the mines was steep and rugged. Alucard followed closely behind Captain Markus, their boots crunching on the rocky ground. The towering cliffs loomed above, blocking out much of the sunlight as they ascended.
As they reached the entrance of the mine, Brok and the others had not yet arrived; a gaping black maw in the side of the mountain revealed itself to them. The entrance to the mine was broken and trusted wood laid before them. The wood that was put in place to seal the entrance was no more. Markus looking confused drew his sword at the ready slowly making his way over to the entrance.
Alcuard did not draw his weapon yet but carefully inspected the area surrounding the entrance to the mine. His sharp eyes scanned for any signs of disturbance or movement. He noted that the wood used to seal the mine entrance had indeed been broken and removed, allowing access to the dark depths below.
The ground around the entrance seemed undisturbed, without any recent tracks or signs of struggle. Alucard couldn't see any immediate threats, but the absence of evidence didn't necessarily mean there was no danger lurking within.
He turned to Captain Markus and said, "It appears that someone or something has tampered with the entrance.”
“No, not something. But bloody kids.” Markus turned to Alucard and showed what looked to be a small badge with a miner pickaxe on it.
“What is that?” replied Alucard as he stepped closer to examine the item
Markus held up the badge, a small piece of metalwork that featured the image of a miner's pickaxe. "It's a symbol the miners around here use to mark their territory," he explained. "They're usually small, easily concealed markers that the miners leave around to show they've been here or claim a particular area."
Alucard examined the badge more closely, noting the miner's pickaxe image. "So, you think some local kids are responsible for tampering with the mine entrance?"
“Most likey, no one really using the badges anymore there more for a conversation starter, but I know this badge it belongs to one of the miners that got injured during the ghoul attack, the man's son and his friends are always going around telling my men they need to clean up the mines or they will do it for them. They must have come up here at some point and opened the mine. But by the look of things they got scared and ran off.
Markus scanned the area making sure there was no sign of any of the kids having been here recently, he could not bear to tell the mother and father they had lost their only son. But luckily there was no sign of anything. “I will have words with the boy's mother and father when we are done here.” Markus handed Alucard the miners Badge, here you go you can have it if you want?” Alucard looked at the piece of metal and handed it back to Markus. “Give it back to the kid when we clear out the mine, tell him we did what needed to be done.”
Markus smiled “Will do Alucar” As they spoke, Brok and the others finally arrived at the mine entrance, and Alucard filled them in on the situation.
“Ah those little brats!!” Yelled Brok coursing the air with foul language. Brok's outburst was met with an understanding nod from Markus, who knew the miners' plight well. "Indeed, those little troublemakers can be a headache. Let's just hope this is nothing more than kids removing the cover boards.
One of the guards walked over to the great big gaping maw and started down the pitch black path that laid before them. “So Captain, What are we doing with?” as the soldier.
“Brok is a local mine expert, I am afraid to say I have not been down the mines much, and when I did it was only at the first checkpoint, checking in with the overseer.”
“That is true my lad.” Said Brok “This as you can guess, is an underground mine. This area is rich in mineral deposits, mostly Iron. hensice where the town's name came from.” Brok sat his bag down on the ground and pulled out a large map of the underground mine system itself. Everyone was quite shocked seeing Brok having such an important item and helpful tool with him, everyone including Alucard was expecting to go into the mine blind and just wing it. Brok notes everyone's expressions on their faces. “What? You really think I would not have brought a map of the area?”
Markus gave a hearty laugh, appreciating Brok's preparedness. "Well, that's good to see, Brok. It'll make this investigation much easier. Let's have a look at the map."
As they gathered around the map, illuminated by torchlight, Brok began to explain the layout. "The mine has a few main tunnels that branch out into various sections. As you can see here this is the overseer office building locked not too far in the mine, that is where we will set up a staging ground. That is the best place to fortify if worse comes to worse and we need to retreat.” Brok looked at everyone expecting some of the guards men to look worried but to his surprise no one had a look of fear in their eyes, everyone was fully ready and prepared. Even Alucard was shocked with how disciplined Markus and his men were, they rly must have been the best of the city watch.
Brok turned back to the map and continued “The deeper you go, the more intricate it gets. Some areas are abandoned and unstable, while others are actively worked by the miners before the mine was shut down. Now as you can see here.” Brok pointed at several places on the map that were marked with small symbols. “Here are checkpoints. This mine runs for a few miles straight down. It takes about half a day to get to the bottom of the mine by walking and that's if you know your way. Because of this there are many checkpoints layed out all around the mine.”
“What can we find at the checkpoints?” Asked Alucard?
"At the checkpoints," Brok explained, "you'll typically find a small office where the overseer or a mine official would stay. It's got a log of who's coming and going, maintenance records, and other documents. Now, most of these documents may have aged or been damaged due to the abandonment of the mine, but they could provide some useful information. Beyond that, you might find some tools, lanterns, or other supplies. Now lucky for us we don't have to walk the whole way down.” Brok pulled out a different map from his bag, it was an updated copy of the mine after they had done excavation within the area.
“As you can see down this shaft.” Brok pointed to the left side of the map. “You can see this long open path leading straight down, this was the lift that the miners installed to help with the extra heavy load they were mining each day as it would normally take too long carrying everything back up to the surface so a few of these were installed all over the mine. We can use them to travel around, as long as they are still working.”
The mention of the lift drew the attention of everyone in the group. They gathered around Brok to examine the new map, which highlighted the vertical shaft leading deep into the mine.
Brok continued, "This lift will save us a lot of time. It's a long journey down on foot, and the deeper we go, the more challenging the terrain becomes. With the lift, we'll bypass a good portion of that. However, I must warn you, it's old and hasn't been maintained. We need to be cautious when using it."
Markus nodded in agreement. "We'll proceed carefully. If needed we split into groups of 2 so we don't overload the lift.”
Brok and everyone agreed with Markus seguestion, no one wanted to be trapped down within the mines. “How many maps of the mines do you have Brok?” Asked Alucard.
“Oh I have a few recordings going back years. One of the old records even shows the possibility of an old deep road leading under the town and the mine.” one of the soldiers looked confused hearing about the deep roads. “Depp roads? What is that?” asked the soldier looking confused.
“The Deep Roads are an ancient dwarven road system built far deep Underground, the Rose were constructed for the purpose of linking all the Lands and every dwarven City. Even to the surface. These subterranean highways were works of unparalleled artisan achievement, with centuries of planning and engineering. They were sight to behold, nothing on the surface compared to the marvellously stretched and craftsmanship of the dwarven people.” answered Markus. Brok was a bit surprised by Markus’s answer he did not expected for anyone apart from Alucard to know about the deep roads and its rich history.
Alucard chimed in, "The Deep Roads were indeed remarkable feats of engineering. The dwarves built vast tunnels and underground cities, connecting their strongholds, and even establishing trade routes with the surface. But with time, these magnificent structures fell into ruin.”
“How did they fall into ruin?” One of the soldiers asked as they all seemed transfixed on this tail. “like all things in this world nothing lasts forever.” replied Alucard
"The Deep Roads began to fall into ruin due to a combination of factors. The relentless attacks of unknown demons, subterranean creatures that plague the underground, weakened the dwarven strongholds. This, coupled with resource depletion and political strife among the dwarven noble houses, caused many of the Deep Roads to be abandoned and forgotten over time."
"Indeed," Alucard added, "the once-mighty network of tunnels, cities, and trade routes was left to crumble and decay, its secrets hidden beneath layers of stone. Now, these tunnels are often infected with dark creatures, making exploration a perilous endeavour."
“That was the start of the downfall for the deep roads.” Brok continued. “What the dwarfs back then did not know or understand was the father they dug into the earth, the creatures living beneath started coming to the surfers. They had disrupted their slumber.” Everyone stood there in silence for a moment just thinking about what sort of other creatures could possibly live so far down within the earth itself, and what horrors could be unleashed if disturbed.
“There are still a few safe passages left within the Deep Roads that are guarded by a few dwarfs factions or mercenary groups. Offering protection and guarded convoys into the deep roads today. but a lot of history was lost with the collapse.”
“You must go there often then Mr Alucard.” said one of the guards as he addressed him. “Someone like you must get offers all the time.”
“I try to avoid that place at all costs.” replied Alucard “For someone in my line of work the deep roads offer up a lot of uncertainty, and it is very easy to get lost down there and never find your way out again.”
Alucard's words resonated with the group, emphasising the danger that lurked within the dark recesses of the Deep Roads. “Anyway” said Brok interrupting the silence that had fallen upon the group. “Back to the matter at hand. We will enter the mine here, it is not too far from the overseer's office. Once there we take this path leading down thouther into the mines, remember the deeper we go in the darker its going too get, we wont be able to see are ass from are elbow in there, so make sure you keep your torch lit, if that goes out and we are separated we are fucked.”
“Words to live by Brok.” said Markus as everyone let out a laughter easing the tension within the group, even Alucard let out a small grin
“Brok” said Alucard interrupting the groups laughter. “Do the maps show the first recorded sighting of the ghouls? How far do we need to go?”
“That's the bit of bad news I am afraid, The first recorded attacks of miners going missing is right here.” Brok pointed far down on the map. “We are going to have to go more or less to the bottom of the mine itself. If the rumours are true and there is really an old deep road location under the mine, the ghouls may have come in from there. We will have to clear it out or seal that tunnel up completely.”
“Understood and thanks Brok, this really does help. Now normally I would tell you all that I am fine doing this alone as it is my job to deal with this and I work better alone, but I am sure that none of you are going to listen to me, am I right?”
“Sorry Alucard” said Markus "but this is home and Town and we are going to do what we should have done a long time ago, am I right men?”
Everyone within the group let out a group cheer, Raising their fists in the air. Alucard stared at Brok “I guess that means your not going to listen to me either?”
“Sorry Lad. No can do, we do this together, or not at all.” said Brok as he raised a large battle hammer resting it on his shoulders.
Alucard couldn't help but admire the determination and camaraderie of the group. Despite the inherent dangers they were about to face, there was a strong sense of unity among them. He nodded in acceptance. "Very well, together it is. But there is one condition, you follow my instructions when we are down there. I don't know how many may be lurking. I don't want to lose anyone. so if I tell you to stop, you stop, if I tell you to run you run, if I tell you all to leave me, you do it, I can look after myself. I am trained for this.
Brok nodded in agreement. "Fair enough, Alucard. We'll follow your lead. You're the expert here, and your experience will be crucial. We're not just protecting ourselves but also the whole town."
Everyone started gathering the things and placed small food rations in bags for the trip, as no one knew how long they would be down there for, it could take days. That is why Markus told his men where he and the others were going and if they had not heard anything back within a few days not to worry, but if more than one week went by and no sign of them, to seal the mine for good.
As everyone was almost ready Brok pulled a large empty bag from the map bag he was holding. “Here put all the food in here from the quick use food rations, best to hold on to some food at all times if we ever get separated, and make sure all your water bottles are full. It would suck if we killed all the ghouls but died of thirst.
Markus and the other smiled at brok’s blunt way of speaking. As they all finished preparing their gear and weapons. Alucard was going about it a bit differently. Alucard was only taking one of his short swords and long swords with him and a whip that was strapped to his waist.
Alucard unhooked his chained morning star whip off his belt and left it by the side of the mine's entrance, Brok noted this and turned to Alucard. “You're not taking that with you?” asked Brok, confused as to why Alucard was leaving one of his weapons behind.
“Trust me Brok. That weapon packs a lot of punch, if I used that in the mine it would bring the whole mine down on top of us.” Alucad did not bring much food or water with him. “Lad?” Said brok, concerned, “you do not bring much with you. Why not?”
“The less I bring the faster I can be in a fight.” replied Alucard as he also took off his large black clock and rested it next to his other belongings. And with that said everyone was ready to set off into the mine.
With their torches burning brightly, they ventured into the mine, leaving the world of daylight behind. As they descended further into the earth, the oppressive darkness and the damp, musty air enveloped them. They moved with caution, every footstep echoing in the narrow tunnels.
The torchlight danced along the walls, revealing the scars and marks left behind by the miners who had worked these tunnels. Every so often, they passed rusted remnants of mining equipment and old wooden support beams, all silently bearing witness to the mine's rich history.
As they ventured further into the mine, the oppressive darkness and eerie silence of the underground world became even more pronounced. Their torches cast long shadows on the uneven walls, creating an eerie atmosphere.
As they descended, the tunnel began to widen, revealing more of the underground world. They could see old, rusted minecart tracks on the ground, remnants of the once-thriving operation. It was a reminder of the lives this mine had once supported.
But now, the mine felt like a tomb, with only their footsteps and the faint echo of dripping water breaking the silence. There was an unnerving sense that they were not alone in the depths of the earth, and their torchlight only penetrated a limited distance into the inky blackness.
Soon, they reached a large, dimly lit chamber. In the faint torchlight, Alucard could make out several tunnels branching off from this central point. Their maps suggested this was the area where the overseers office was located, this was Brok’s first checkpoint he showed on the map. Brok took the lead. “Ok everyone we are here, do you see that small room there.” Brok Pointed forwarded with his touch but not much could be seen within the mine but if one was to look carefully enough you could make out a small wooden door located close to one of the tunnels.
“That is the overseer's office, that is where we will make base camp, from there we gather things and find any information that could be helpful to us before we make our way through.
As they moved closer to the small wooden door, the torchlight illuminated the area better, revealing the entrance to the overseer's office. It was a narrow, slightly weathered door, a testament to the passage of time within the mine. Brok pushed it open, revealing a small room with wooden furnishings and various shelves that held old, dusty ledgers and equipment. A sense of nostalgia and history hung in the air.
Brok immediately set down his bag and took a closer look at the ledgers. Alucard, with his sharp eyes, began examining the room for any potential signs of recent activity or ghouls. His keen senses extended deep into the mine, alert to any unusual sounds or smells that might give them a clue about what had happened here.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group prepared for their exploration. Torches were lit, weapons checked and at the ready, and bags of supplies readied. Alucard watched their preparations, acknowledging their vigilance.
Markus scanned the room, lighting old lamps and torches that were left on the wall, illuminating the room. Markus closed the door as they prepared, as they all waited for Brok to finish with his search.
As Brok sifted through the dusty ledgers, Alucard examined the maps that were scattered around. He pointed at a particular area on one of the maps. "This shows a tunnel that leads further down. The overseer marked it down as an incident report, he left a note.” as Brok scanned the note that was left he began to read it aloud. “Ok, it is said one of the mines left a report of hearing strange sounds coming from the wall, and one miner peering from the dark, glowing red eyes.”
As Brok read aloud the unsettling incident report, a hushed silence fell upon the group. Glowing red eyes in the darkness—ominous signs of a presence not easily explained.
"That sounds like ghouls, alright," Alucard muttered, his voice low. “You are right lad” said brok as he was double checking the map. “If we keep going down the path it will lead us to the first lift, it's not far from this report. Me and you could check it out, Alucard and the rest keep going to the elevator.”
Alucard nodded in agreement. “We will make our way to the split off point as a group, we will mark the walls with signs so we don't end up getting lost.”
“Good idea lad, I got some white chalk here we can use, everyone take one and keep it on you, mark every tunnel we pass with a X, if you see an X its one we did not use.
“Are you two sure you want to split up so soon?” asked Markus with a bit of worry in his voice. But Alucard reassured Markus that everything would be fine and both him and brok were not splitting up for long, the tunnel in question from the report was only around 100 metres long. It was one tunnel that work was holded on.
As the group packed up all the importing items they needed to leave the overseer’s office back into the mine. They walked down the path the Brok pointed out leaving marks on the walls showing the direction they headed.
After a few minutes they came across the turning in questions everyone learned there torches down the tunnel trying to see if anything was down there, but it was dark to make anything out.
“Ok boy, the lift should just be around 150 - 200 metres that way, you start making your way there, and score the lift for us, we won't be long” Markus nodded his head in agreement and ordered his men to follow him. They all walked slowly down the tunnel making sure to check every side tunnel for no nasty surprises, soon the light from their torches went dimmer with every step they took.
As they advanced, the air became thick with a metallic scent—a mixture of earth and decay. Alucard instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon, his gaze scanning the shadows for any signs of movement. Brok, too, held his hammer ready, his dwarven instincts honed for the dangers that might lurk in the depths.
The tunnel opened into a larger cavern, and in the dim light, Alucard spotted the remnants of an old minecart track. "Looks like this place hasn't seen use in years," he remarked.
Brok grunted in agreement. "Aye, abandoned for a long while. Let's keep moving." as Brok looked around he knew something was wrong. “This is not right, lad.”
“What is it?” replied Alucard with a concerned tone
“According to the notes and reports this tunnel should have ended about here, but we still have who knows how many more metres are left.
Alucard gave Brok a look, but both did not need to say a word. They understood each other and what the other one was thinking at that moment. As they ventured further, the echoes of their footsteps mingled with distant, unsettling sounds—a low growl and the shuffling of unseen feet. The source of the ominous sounds remained concealed in the shadows, heightening the tension in the air.
Brok halted abruptly, his senses alert. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.
Alucard nodded. "Something's down here with us. Get ready."
The two warriors advanced cautiously, weapons at the ready, as the darkness ahead seemed to come alive with unseen threats. They both stopped at what seemed to be the centre of the room, but there was nothing around, no side tunnels or signs of death or ghoul’s, just empty silence within the pitch black tunnel. Brok still at the ready, did not let his guard down.
Alucard was like a statue, not moving, barely breathing. Alucard felt a cold chill in the air, as if... the warmth was snatched away, he felt uneasy, Brok had not noticed anything changed, however Alucard could sense something was not right he was slowly scanning the dark, looking and then suddenly he stopped. He could see them.
A small pair of yellow eyes staring at him from the deep dark. within an instant they had disappeared without a trace. Alucard did not move, he glanced down to Brok but Brok had not seen anything; it was only Alucard who had, but what was that he wondered. Ghoul eyes are red not yellow, this was very unsettling news.
Alucard tapped Brok on the shoulder and Brok turned to look at him and with a nod Alucard told Brok to slowly back out the room, and to make their way to the others once more.
With utmost caution, Alucard and Brok retraced their steps, leaving the mysterious cavern with the yellow-eyed presence behind. The tension lingered in the air, and Alucard kept a vigilant watch, wary of any unseen threat that might be lurking in the shadows.
As they rejoined the main group near the overseer's office, Brok turned to Alucard with a questioning gaze. "What did you see, lad? Something's amiss."
Alucard hesitated for a moment, considering the best way to convey the unsettling encounter. "I saw yellow eyes. Something else is down there, and it wasn't alone."
Brok's eyes narrowed with concern. "Yellow eyes, you say? That's not right. Ghouls don't have yellow eyes. We should inform the others and proceed with caution."
Alucard disagreed. “No, keep it between us for now.
“Sure lad, I trust you, but why? Shouldn't they have the right to know something else maybe down here with us?”
“I am not sure if what I saw was actually real. I've seen those eyes before.” Alucard was more concerned than normal, as if what he saw was real. It terrified him to his core.
“What? Have you seen those eyes before? When?” Asked brok as he could see how worried and upset Alcuard had gotten.
“A long time ago.” replied Alucard. “When everyone died.”
Part 9 of Luke's story is available now to read. Please click here to visit and enjoy the latest chapter!
