"You're an outsider," the tall man said, casting a worried look at Captain Kaleesh. "You wouldn't dare—"
"I'm an outsider with two hundred well-armed troops at my back," the captain interrupted him. "And you are the overseer of a worthless mine. Tell me what you know, or you will discover exactly what I would dare."
Despite the obvious threat in the captain's words, his voice was friendly, as if he had only given the man a friendly reminder of the situation. Yet there was a coldness to his eyes that suggested the threat was not an empty one.
The overseer faced Captain Kaleesh with a stunned expression, and briefly, it looked like he was about to burst into anger. But just a moment later, the outrage fled his eyes and he gave the captain a small nod.
"I suppose there's no harm in telling you," he said. "Though I suggest we discuss this matter somewhere more private." He looked around nervously, then added in a low voice, "If word spreads among the miners, the work here will come to a standstill."
"Very well," the captain said. "Have your people arrange barracks for my men. After that, you can explain the situation to me and my commanders."
Though the overseer hurried in doing as Captain Kaleesh said, it still took him a good quarter-hour to summon his subordinates and set them to work on providing quarters for the mercenaries.
After that, when he was satisfied the task was handled, he invited the captain and his commanders into his offices, which were situated in one of the many stone buildings the camp held.
Arran found that the overseer's offices were only barely worthy of the name. The building held little more than some wooden desks and chairs, and a thick layer of rock dust covered much of the ground.
As they sat down, the overseer let out a deep sigh.
"Like I said," he began, "this is only an iron mine. While the lower levels were once rich in valuable metals and gemstones, nobody has ventured down there in centuries."
"Why?" Captain Kaleesh asked curtly, some impatience in his tone.
The overseer hesitated in answering, but after a glance at the captain's irritated expression, he said, "As far as the miners know, the lower levels are unstable, at risk of collapsing at any moment."
"But that's not the truth," the captain said. "So what's the real reason?"
"Diggers," the overseer said. "They're—"
"I know what diggers are," Captain Kaleesh interrupted him. "Vicious creatures, but hardly worth closing a mine over. Why haven't Kadun's men cleared them out?"
The overseer shook his head. "It's not that simple. All of this happened long before I came here, but from what I've heard…" He took a deep breath, then continued, "The diggers first appeared several centuries ago. Naturally, they were cleared from the mines at once. Some soldiers died in the effort, of course, but they succeeded in their task."
"Then what's the problem?" the captain asked.
"Just weeks later, the diggers returned," the overseer said. "And in greater numbers than before. Again the mines were cleared, but again they returned. This repeated for several times, until finally, Kadun sent a large group of Rangers and soldiers to explore the deepest parts of the caverns."
"And?" By now, there was curiosity in the captain's eyes, and Arran was growing interested as well. While he did not know what sort of creatures these so-called diggers were, anything that could cause trouble for Kadun's forces was worth learning more about.
"And nothing," the overseer replied. "Not a single one of them ever returned to the surface. Whatever they found down there, none of them lived to tell the tale."
A frown crossed Captain Kaleesh's face. "Kadun didn't think to send a Knight?"
"He did," the overseer said, smiling wryly. "But the Knight he sent never returned, either."
"A Knight died down there?" The captain stared at him in disbelief. "There's something down there with the strength to kill Knights, yet the mine remains open?"
The overseer shrugged. "The upper levels are safe enough. I've been here for over three decades, and I've not once heard of any of the miners so much as seeing a digger. But on the upper levels, you'll only find iron."
Captain Kaleesh sighed. "I've heard enough. You may leave."
At this, the overseer looked at him in confusion. "Leave? But this is my—"
"And send someone to clean this place," the captain interrupted him. "Now, off with you. My commanders and I have matters to discuss."
The overseer hesitated before leaving, but no more than a moment. Evidently, he'd decided that he would rather relinquish his authority to the mercenary than risk conflict.
And as the stepped out of the room, Captain Kaleesh groaned in frustration. "That bastard Payam got us good," he said. "Solving this mess won't be an easy matter."
"I don't see a problem," Gar said. "We stay here a few months, mine some iron, and leave. What's the issue?"
The captain gave him a dark smile. "If only things were that simple," he said. "But Kadun won't give us our citizenship for some months of mining iron. To earn our freedom, we'll have to do more than that."
"But captain," Lasha interjected, "didn't you make a deal with the steward? What difference does it make whether we mine iron or gold?"
"The deal I made," Captain Kaleesh said, "is only as good as Kadun's word. Should he wish, he could keep us here for years, even decades. And if our efforts aren't to his liking, he'll gladly seize the excuse to change our deal."
"Then why send us here?" Lasha gave the captain a frustrated look. "If there's only iron to be found on the upper levels, and we cannot enter the lower levels…" Her voice trailed off as realization finally dawned in her eyes. "They want us to enter the lower levels?"
The captain laughed mirthlessly. "Of course. I imagine that they expect us to mine what we can while fighting off diggers. And slow as that will be, we certainly won't produce anywhere near enough to satisfy Kadun's demands. If we're lucky, we might be free in five years — at least, those of us survive that long."
For some moments, all of them remained silent. Spending half a decade in the mines while fighting off monsters would be a disaster even if they all survived. And from the overseer's tales, that seemed an unlikely outcome.
Finally, Arran turned his eyes to the captain. "These diggers, what kind of creatures are they?"
"They're vicious monsters," the captain replied. "Eyeless beasts, eight feet long from head to tail, with skin like steel and a bite strong enough to crush rock. Legend has it that they subsist on rocks and ores that lie buried deep within the earth. But if true, that certainly hasn't diminished their taste for flesh in the least."
Arran nodded thoughtfully. "And are they strong enough to threaten Knights?"
"No," the captain said. "Any of us five could easily defeat half a dozen of them, if not more. Perhaps they could overcome a Knight through sheer numbers, but I cannot even begin to imagine how many of the creatures that would take."
For a moment, Arran remained quiet. But then, a thought came to him.
"I should scout out the mines' lower levels," he said. "See if the creatures are still there, and how many there are. It'll be easier for a single person to move unnoticed."
Lasha looked at him in astonishment. "Did the iron dust begin to rot your brain already? The overseer said even a Knight did not escape. What chance do you have?"
The captain, however, gave Arran an appraising look. "What makes you think you can survive down there?"
"I've spent some time underground," Arran replied. "I'm used to the dark. And from what the overseer said, only the deepest parts of the mines should be truly unsafe. I'm not planning to go that far."