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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7312908" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Thanks!</p><p></p><p>* * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 108</p><p></p><p>The mining complex was expansive, spreading out across a broad area on the edge of the forest. The active works were situated in a shallow dell surrounded by knobs of exposed granite. As they emerged from the woods the four adventurers could see at least a dozen man-made gashes in the landscape, ranging from exposed veins that had been hacked open to shafts that burrowed at a steep angle into the substrate. It was immediately obvious which were still active, as the others were choked with brush and tall weeds that had rushed in to reclaim those areas as soon as the miners had turned their attention elsewhere. Old, rusted machines and rickety huts stood sentry around those abandoned sites, slowly decaying into nothing.</p><p></p><p>For a long moment the four of them remained on the lip of the dell, studying the area.</p><p></p><p>“No bugs,” Glori finally said.</p><p></p><p>“We’re a good distance off from the active mines,” Quellan said. “Over there, I think,” he said, pointing to a location near the far end of the dell where several intact huts and a scattering of tents were just visible.</p><p></p><p>“Should we circle around?” Bredan asked. “Stay in the cover of the trees?”</p><p></p><p>“They’re beetles, not an enemy army,” Kosk said.</p><p></p><p>“It can’t hurt not to go rushing in blindly for once,” Glori said lightly.</p><p></p><p>“Fine,” Kosk said. He started forward along the edge of the dell, forcing the others to hurry to keep up.</p><p></p><p>“Just like old times, eh?” Glori said to Quellan as they followed the dwarf.</p><p></p><p>It didn’t take long for them to make their way around the rim of the dell, even though they had to detour around crumbling gullies and dense tangles of brush that seemed to spring up everywhere there was even the slightest gap in the forest canopy. As they got closer to the mines they could see more of the works, including mounds of tailings that had been excavated from the shafts. It looked like only the bare minimum of refining was done on-site, with several crude smelting ovens situated close to the edge of the dell and the ready source of fuel offered by the forest. They could see now the rough road that exited the forest and trailed down into the dell before culminating in the current mining operation. The busy part of the works seemed to be centered around three shafts that all burrowed into the steepest side of the dell, its southern face. The area was dotted with formations of exposed granite that ranged in size from a wagon to a small inn, with some composed of clumps of boulders and others a single mass of weathered rock that stuck up from the ground like a giant’s fist.</p><p></p><p>“If they were smart, they would have just climbed up on one of those when the beetles attacked,” Bredan said, pointing to one of the larger formations.</p><p></p><p>“It’s easy to make plans when you’re not in the middle of an attack,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“In any case, such a course might have offered only temporary shelter,” Quellan said. “Many species of insect are excellent climbers.”</p><p></p><p>“Do your books offer any suggestions for wiping them out?” Bredan asked.</p><p></p><p>“Oil,” Kosk said. The dwarf had gone about fifteen paces ahead of them but was clearly still listening in on their conversation. “We find the supplies that Caleron mentioned, then we burn them out.”</p><p></p><p>“Those mine tunnels could go pretty far in,” Glori pointed out. “This site has been worked for decades. From what I heard in town, some of the veins of silver go way, way down.”</p><p></p><p>“Then we block off the entry, and let the smoke do our work for us,” the dwarf said.</p><p></p><p>“Dwarves do know more about working underground than just about anybody,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>Bredan frowned—he knew that a fire would go out if it didn’t have air to feed it—but he admitted that what he knew about mines was limited to the metals that came out of them. He thought about how long it had been since he’d worked a forge, and for a moment found himself actually nostalgic for the blazing heat and the burning in his muscles as he wielded the heavy tools, forcing metal to bend to his will.</p><p></p><p>He reached back to check the fit of his sword in its scabbard. He still used a heavy tool, though in a different way.</p><p></p><p>Kosk led them though the last fringe of trees and scattered brush to the road. “Road” was actually a fairly generous term; it was little more than a path through the forest that had been expanded by years of carts, pack mules, and miners traveling between the mines to Wildrush. In its heyday during the silver rush this place must have been intense with activity, but now it was just an echo of its former self. From their vantage they could see most of the camp, though there were considerable portions hidden behind overgrown mounds of tailings and the ubiquitous heaps of boulders. The signs of the miners’ hasty retreat were evident, with a number of tents having collapsed and tools left scattered where they’d been dropped. Faint wisps of smoke rose from a campfire that was still smoldering.</p><p></p><p>“I admit, from what the miners said, I expected this place to be crawling,” Bredan said.</p><p></p><p>“Maybe they went back underground,” Glori said. “There probably isn’t much for them up here. They can’t eat rocks, after all.”</p><p></p><p>“We should still be careful,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>They set out down the road, but had only covered maybe twenty paces when Glori let out a hiss that had the three men jumping. “There!”</p><p></p><p>They followed her pointed finger and saw a dark form that skittered out from around a rock maybe fifty paces ahead and to their left. The beetle was about the size of a hunting dog, maybe three feet long from its mandibles to the end of its abdomen. Its entire body was the dull black of deepest night. It skittered over the rocks, moving generally in their direction without any apparent urgency.</p><p></p><p>“Doesn’t look like much,” Bredan said.</p><p></p><p>“We know those mandibles are strong enough to snap bones,” Quellan reminded him.</p><p></p><p>Glori lifted her bow, but hesitated. The beetle was still coming closer, but it wasn’t clear if it had detected their presence.</p><p></p><p>“Save your arrow,” Kosk said. He picked up a pebble and slung it at the beetle. The missile missed, but smacked hard into a large stone a few feet from it. The beetle immediately shot forward.</p><p></p><p>Bredan drew his sword, but Kosk didn’t wait for him. He strode forward into the rocks to meet the charging insect, which immediately changed course to meet him. The thing went for his legs, but before it could get close enough to strike the dwarf thrust his staff out. He caught it under the front of its shell and flipped it over. The beetle landed in the rocks nearby and skittered in a wild effort to right itself.</p><p></p><p>“Thick shells,” Kosk said, tapping it with his staff as he circled around the thing. “Softer on the bottom, of course, but it might be thick enough to turn an arrow, barring a direct hit.”</p><p></p><p>“It looks like a relative to the common fire beetle,” Quellan said. “Similar bite, body type… without the illuminative glands, of course. And I’ve never seen such pure coloration before.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, if it lives underground, there’s no point to colors, right?” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, but most subterranean species develop an absence of coloration, rather than pure black like this,” the cleric said.</p><p></p><p>The beetle lurched and almost got itself turned enough to gain purchase on the rocks. Kosk raised his staff, but before he could strike Bredan thrust down with his sword, stabbing into its head and instantly ending its struggles.</p><p></p><p>“Another glorious victory for us,” Glori said with a grin. “Let’s hope his brothers and sisters and cousins don’t come seeking vengeance.”</p><p></p><p>They resumed their progress into the dell, following the road for the benefit of mobility it gave. The miners had cleared away most of the brush in the areas where they had been working, but hadn’t bothered with the rest. In some places there wasn’t enough soil to support a lot of growth, but they passed several dense thickets that could have each hidden a hundred beetles. They gave those spots as wide a berth as they could. As they got close to the camp they veered off the road, clambering up onto a small mound of boulders that would give them a better view.</p><p></p><p>From their perch they could see more signs of the damage wrought in the surprise assault. One of the huts where the miners slept had completely collapsed, and they could see more tents that lay in tatters in sheltered spaces among the rocks. They also saw more beetles skittering around the area, looking for something edible.</p><p></p><p>“Okay, this seems more dangerous,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“There’s a couple dozen at least,” Bredan added.</p><p></p><p>“From what the mine foreman said, they must have come from that shaft over there,” Quellan said, pointing to the dark opening that stood closest to the road. Above it the crumbling edge of the steep rise that marked the southern boundary of the dell rose about thirty feet, the summit covered in a dense fringe of tall weeds.</p><p></p><p>“That must be the miners’ supply hut over there, then,” Glori said, indicating a hut about a hundred and fifty feet from the target mine. The hut appeared to be mostly intact, though they could see only one side of it from their current position.</p><p></p><p>“We’ll need to deal with these bugs before we can make a move on the mine,” Bredan said.</p><p></p><p>“Perhaps we can use your earlier suggestion, and engage them from high ground,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>“I thought you said they could climb,” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>“Well, if we can delay them, that may give us enough time to kill them all,” the cleric said.</p><p></p><p>“Whatever we’re going to do, we’d better do it fast!” Kosk said, punctuating the comment as he hopped down from his boulder and drove his staff through the body of a beetle that had crept up on them unobserved. The staff impaled it, killing it instantly, but a second beetle emerged from the bushes behind it a moment later. It issued a sound, a sharp whine that was just shy of painful. The pulse lasted only a second, but every other beetle in sight suddenly turned and charged toward their position. They were joined by others that had been hiding in the rocks or in the bushes nearby, until there were at least thirty of the creatures converging on them.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, damn!” Glori said.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7312908, member: 143"] Thanks! * * * Chapter 108 The mining complex was expansive, spreading out across a broad area on the edge of the forest. The active works were situated in a shallow dell surrounded by knobs of exposed granite. As they emerged from the woods the four adventurers could see at least a dozen man-made gashes in the landscape, ranging from exposed veins that had been hacked open to shafts that burrowed at a steep angle into the substrate. It was immediately obvious which were still active, as the others were choked with brush and tall weeds that had rushed in to reclaim those areas as soon as the miners had turned their attention elsewhere. Old, rusted machines and rickety huts stood sentry around those abandoned sites, slowly decaying into nothing. For a long moment the four of them remained on the lip of the dell, studying the area. “No bugs,” Glori finally said. “We’re a good distance off from the active mines,” Quellan said. “Over there, I think,” he said, pointing to a location near the far end of the dell where several intact huts and a scattering of tents were just visible. “Should we circle around?” Bredan asked. “Stay in the cover of the trees?” “They’re beetles, not an enemy army,” Kosk said. “It can’t hurt not to go rushing in blindly for once,” Glori said lightly. “Fine,” Kosk said. He started forward along the edge of the dell, forcing the others to hurry to keep up. “Just like old times, eh?” Glori said to Quellan as they followed the dwarf. It didn’t take long for them to make their way around the rim of the dell, even though they had to detour around crumbling gullies and dense tangles of brush that seemed to spring up everywhere there was even the slightest gap in the forest canopy. As they got closer to the mines they could see more of the works, including mounds of tailings that had been excavated from the shafts. It looked like only the bare minimum of refining was done on-site, with several crude smelting ovens situated close to the edge of the dell and the ready source of fuel offered by the forest. They could see now the rough road that exited the forest and trailed down into the dell before culminating in the current mining operation. The busy part of the works seemed to be centered around three shafts that all burrowed into the steepest side of the dell, its southern face. The area was dotted with formations of exposed granite that ranged in size from a wagon to a small inn, with some composed of clumps of boulders and others a single mass of weathered rock that stuck up from the ground like a giant’s fist. “If they were smart, they would have just climbed up on one of those when the beetles attacked,” Bredan said, pointing to one of the larger formations. “It’s easy to make plans when you’re not in the middle of an attack,” Glori said. “In any case, such a course might have offered only temporary shelter,” Quellan said. “Many species of insect are excellent climbers.” “Do your books offer any suggestions for wiping them out?” Bredan asked. “Oil,” Kosk said. The dwarf had gone about fifteen paces ahead of them but was clearly still listening in on their conversation. “We find the supplies that Caleron mentioned, then we burn them out.” “Those mine tunnels could go pretty far in,” Glori pointed out. “This site has been worked for decades. From what I heard in town, some of the veins of silver go way, way down.” “Then we block off the entry, and let the smoke do our work for us,” the dwarf said. “Dwarves do know more about working underground than just about anybody,” Quellan said. Bredan frowned—he knew that a fire would go out if it didn’t have air to feed it—but he admitted that what he knew about mines was limited to the metals that came out of them. He thought about how long it had been since he’d worked a forge, and for a moment found himself actually nostalgic for the blazing heat and the burning in his muscles as he wielded the heavy tools, forcing metal to bend to his will. He reached back to check the fit of his sword in its scabbard. He still used a heavy tool, though in a different way. Kosk led them though the last fringe of trees and scattered brush to the road. “Road” was actually a fairly generous term; it was little more than a path through the forest that had been expanded by years of carts, pack mules, and miners traveling between the mines to Wildrush. In its heyday during the silver rush this place must have been intense with activity, but now it was just an echo of its former self. From their vantage they could see most of the camp, though there were considerable portions hidden behind overgrown mounds of tailings and the ubiquitous heaps of boulders. The signs of the miners’ hasty retreat were evident, with a number of tents having collapsed and tools left scattered where they’d been dropped. Faint wisps of smoke rose from a campfire that was still smoldering. “I admit, from what the miners said, I expected this place to be crawling,” Bredan said. “Maybe they went back underground,” Glori said. “There probably isn’t much for them up here. They can’t eat rocks, after all.” “We should still be careful,” Quellan said. They set out down the road, but had only covered maybe twenty paces when Glori let out a hiss that had the three men jumping. “There!” They followed her pointed finger and saw a dark form that skittered out from around a rock maybe fifty paces ahead and to their left. The beetle was about the size of a hunting dog, maybe three feet long from its mandibles to the end of its abdomen. Its entire body was the dull black of deepest night. It skittered over the rocks, moving generally in their direction without any apparent urgency. “Doesn’t look like much,” Bredan said. “We know those mandibles are strong enough to snap bones,” Quellan reminded him. Glori lifted her bow, but hesitated. The beetle was still coming closer, but it wasn’t clear if it had detected their presence. “Save your arrow,” Kosk said. He picked up a pebble and slung it at the beetle. The missile missed, but smacked hard into a large stone a few feet from it. The beetle immediately shot forward. Bredan drew his sword, but Kosk didn’t wait for him. He strode forward into the rocks to meet the charging insect, which immediately changed course to meet him. The thing went for his legs, but before it could get close enough to strike the dwarf thrust his staff out. He caught it under the front of its shell and flipped it over. The beetle landed in the rocks nearby and skittered in a wild effort to right itself. “Thick shells,” Kosk said, tapping it with his staff as he circled around the thing. “Softer on the bottom, of course, but it might be thick enough to turn an arrow, barring a direct hit.” “It looks like a relative to the common fire beetle,” Quellan said. “Similar bite, body type… without the illuminative glands, of course. And I’ve never seen such pure coloration before.” “Well, if it lives underground, there’s no point to colors, right?” Glori asked. “Yes, but most subterranean species develop an absence of coloration, rather than pure black like this,” the cleric said. The beetle lurched and almost got itself turned enough to gain purchase on the rocks. Kosk raised his staff, but before he could strike Bredan thrust down with his sword, stabbing into its head and instantly ending its struggles. “Another glorious victory for us,” Glori said with a grin. “Let’s hope his brothers and sisters and cousins don’t come seeking vengeance.” They resumed their progress into the dell, following the road for the benefit of mobility it gave. The miners had cleared away most of the brush in the areas where they had been working, but hadn’t bothered with the rest. In some places there wasn’t enough soil to support a lot of growth, but they passed several dense thickets that could have each hidden a hundred beetles. They gave those spots as wide a berth as they could. As they got close to the camp they veered off the road, clambering up onto a small mound of boulders that would give them a better view. From their perch they could see more signs of the damage wrought in the surprise assault. One of the huts where the miners slept had completely collapsed, and they could see more tents that lay in tatters in sheltered spaces among the rocks. They also saw more beetles skittering around the area, looking for something edible. “Okay, this seems more dangerous,” Glori said. “There’s a couple dozen at least,” Bredan added. “From what the mine foreman said, they must have come from that shaft over there,” Quellan said, pointing to the dark opening that stood closest to the road. Above it the crumbling edge of the steep rise that marked the southern boundary of the dell rose about thirty feet, the summit covered in a dense fringe of tall weeds. “That must be the miners’ supply hut over there, then,” Glori said, indicating a hut about a hundred and fifty feet from the target mine. The hut appeared to be mostly intact, though they could see only one side of it from their current position. “We’ll need to deal with these bugs before we can make a move on the mine,” Bredan said. “Perhaps we can use your earlier suggestion, and engage them from high ground,” Quellan said. “I thought you said they could climb,” Glori asked. “Well, if we can delay them, that may give us enough time to kill them all,” the cleric said. “Whatever we’re going to do, we’d better do it fast!” Kosk said, punctuating the comment as he hopped down from his boulder and drove his staff through the body of a beetle that had crept up on them unobserved. The staff impaled it, killing it instantly, but a second beetle emerged from the bushes behind it a moment later. It issued a sound, a sharp whine that was just shy of painful. The pulse lasted only a second, but every other beetle in sight suddenly turned and charged toward their position. They were joined by others that had been hiding in the rocks or in the bushes nearby, until there were at least thirty of the creatures converging on them. “Oh, damn!” Glori said. [/QUOTE]
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