Ashley lifts herself with struggle, while looking around .
"Where am I?" It was dark, barely anything can be seen.
She realises she has been kidnapped, the dark empty room had no light. Not even a glimpse of sunlight,
Knowing she cannot see she places her hands infront of her so she can feel around, using them as her new eyes.
She walks until she reach's a wall, then traces the wall until a door handle is felt.
*skree
The handle doesn't budge. She doesn't panic, instead choosing to sit down, knowing for sure that someone will come.
'I should stay here, exploring might be a bad idea.' The young girl assumes, tensing at her former memories of being in a place like this, but she remains calm.
She sits in a corner and sits facing outwards.
-Dale and Adam-
The clanking of metal and rock echos throughout a densely packed cave filled with humans and many other races that were mining and chatting.
The cave was decently wide with wood frames keeping the brittle rock stable, attached to these frames are orange ores that glow with bright light.
Aside from a few sleds most hauled their minerals and metal in rucksacks over their shoulder, by how groups were made racial diversity wasn't a problem.
They all looked miserable, but each held a brother hood towards each other, to the point tents are placed around to help with rest.
Near the outer skirts of the cave held by thick wooden planks that were recently placed, Adam and Dale were also mining.
Klank* klank* klank*
While mining Adam was constantly thinking about what the others situation is like, hoping they have received better treatment.
But deep down he knows they haven't.
"Adam, what can we do now?" Dale who is muddy all over asks Adam who has just briefly stopped.
Instead of answering he begun mining once again, Dale not taking offence resumes his previous work.
The ore they are mining is blue, like them many caves around the mountain filled with slaves are also mining this blue ore.
"Oy rookies, stop the hogging!". A humanoid bison shouts, his size was 6'4, eye level with Adam but towering Dale.
At that moment Adam's body glitches.
Adam looks to Dale then to the bison.
"No need to fight, we will go. Come".
Putting his hands up in a gesture of yielding he picks his and Dales rucksacks up, then signals Dale to follow him while walking away.
Dale grabs their pickaxes up and jogs to Adam.
The bison scoffs at them while readying himself to mine.
"That's the fourth time this day". Dale mentions with a dampened look he can not help but look down in sadness.
Adam ignores this and leads them into a more secure spot that yields less minerals, he moves out of instinct.
Adam is clearly distracted.
Since Adam is out of it, Dale begins to shake him.
"Adam, sir consentrate. Please!" He begins to shake him with intensity trying with his strength, but he was struggling.
The difference in weight class didn't help one bit.
'Should I smack him..' hesitating for a slight moment he still ends up doing it.
He slaps Adam strongly on his right cheek yet he gave no reaction.
Only Dales hand stung, he held his hand in pain.
"Still not awake?" He sighs while holding his hand, which hasn't rested since they got to this mine.
Adam being his hope he sits down in minor defeat, praying that Adam hasn't become crazy.
'Man I was just recovering from the disappearance of Leon'. He thinks back on the moment he saw the giant.
He shakes in fear quickly grabbing his head and shaking it, wanting to get rid of the memories.
Next to him Adam who is standing up, begins to spasm. Dale quickly lies him down properly waiting for the spasm to stop.
The spasm only lasted a few moments, Adam who was previously stuck looking at nothing had now regained his consciousness.
He looks at Dale with only a look you would give a long time friend you had not seen in awhile.
Instead of fixating on this he stands up and grabs his pickaxe off of Dale.
He begins to mine the wall he had chosen in a daze,
"Come on, we gotta mine." He encourages Dale to join him, Adam's swing now had a more skilled temperament to it, Dale fails to notice.
Dale looks to Adam and stands up.
"Adam are you alright?" He asks staring in shock at the sudden change, he also picks up his pickaxe and goes a few meters away and begins his striking.
"Could be worse. I promise you we will escape!"
He expresses with pure confidence in himself.
Dale seeing Adam who had just spasmed, now ripe with energy is pure confused.
"Adam, are you sure?" His voice shakes, he's scared that Adam has actually lost it too insanity.
"Yes I am, come on let's just mine." Adam stops his motion and encourages Dale to mine.
Dale looks at him, he's tired.
Dales eyes are weak and filled with defeat.
"Okay." He accepts Adams request and mines, his arms are sluggish and his strikes are floppy but he strikes the rock.
Heading towards them is a short man wearing silver armour, on his chest is a purple badge shaped like a battle hammer.
"Now, did I hear the word escape?" He arrived to them, his voice is scruffy and seeps with arrogance.
Dale looks behind, and sees the badge. He flinches with fear.
"Keke". The man laughs at them
He adjusts his belt.
"You bitches!" Right after saying this he kicks both of them in the back of their calf.
Kah*
Both Adam and Dale fall to the ground in immense pain their pickaxes just missing their toes.
'Fucking dawarven guard'. Adam thinks to himself while holding his calf, he doesn't dare look straight at the guard knowing the possible trouble.
The guard leaves, Adam and Dale now in pain choose to take a break wether they would like to or not.
Their idea of a break was placing ore inside of the rucksacks they had.
Once they both had finished filling their sacks, Adam begins to speak.
"Our life is going to be quite rough, this will only be the beginning. We have to toughen up!"
He looks to Dale wanting to warn and encourage him, his pain had lessened thanks to the release of small amounts of adrenaline.
Dale nods in agreement, tears begin to fall from his eyes, his confidence slipping of the edge.
"I don't know if I can handle this. It's truely beginning to become too difficult. Adam I want to give up..what is our reason".
Dales tears stream and is his voice weak, Adam moves next to him.
"Remember we are not alone, the others are somewhere around here. I promise you as of right now life will not be any better, but the future, that's something we can build to improve.
Let's not hope to be saved. A mountain you build is greater than any given."
Dale was still feeling down, but this alleviated some of the intrusive thoughts.
'That is very true, the future is something we can build as long as we remain hopeful.'
He agrees with Adam even more so, only ignoring the former part of what Adam said.
"Yes!, I shouldn't cry. Not until we've united with the others!"
Dale affirms himself, trusting that Adam and himself are able to lead a proper path.
"You are stronger than what I had assumed". He pats Dales back with a proud smile.
"Well done, yes let's both not cry, not until everyone is united!" They both shake hands.
"Yes." Dale says with hope, but weakness remains.
Knowing that understanding why they are here and their reason is something he should not think about,
Dale sighs.
Small panic attack now over, he joins Adam who has just begun mining once more. Both their legs hurt, bodies weak, muscle pain all over.
Near where they previously had been a group of slaves talk amoungest themselves.
They were all sat around a small cloth table, that is covered by a cream coloured tent but because of how dirty the cave is, it is covered in mud smudges.
Rope attaches to grooves on the rock wall which keeps the tent upright.
"I heard the head guard Hemlock, has chosen them as his new targets". A pointy eared old man whispers, while lightly gesturing towards Adam and Dale.
"Oh, you mentioning Hemlock. I heard his old man has gained more influence in the court." A dirty blonde haired man said to the whispering old man.
"No way, that lecherous knight, ke. Back when I was your age, he had many romours of him being in brothels and stealing peoples wives. Fucking bastard".
The old man who was previously just whispering couldn't help but insult the father of the head guards, after he did so, the boy he spoke to grabs his shoulder.
"Sh, you don't want them to hear!" He whispers while shushing in the old man's ear warning him of the near by guards.
The old man frowns in anger then finally lets go of his climbing anger.
A small bison man infront of them speaks.
"Yep, do not go speaking wrongly about them, you do not want to know what they did to Raphil".
He shakes in fear after finishing his sentence as if recalling a bad memory. The others look to him.
The pointy eared man speaks;
"Hey now, I know exactly what they do..not something any of us should know".
The old man too shapes a face of disgust.
"So those two grabbed the attention, of Hemlock how unlucky". A man on sipping murky water spoke.
There are eight of them, and all promise in unison to never get close to Adam or Dale. Neither of them wanting to attract Hemlocks attention.
Not knowing the gossip going on, both Adam and Dale remain head strong about gathering the ore.