Ben held up the Omnitool.

  It looked like a gun, and its shape resembled something from a futuristic video game.

  What on earth do you do?

  ***

  Omnitool allows the user to perform various tasks. Upgrade it to unlock more features and improve its proficiency.

  Features:

  Scan Resources: This feature scans the surrounding area for resources viable for extraction.

  Extract Resources: This feature allows the user to extract resources that have been scanned.

  Upgrade Tool to Mk.2: 10 Gold Coins. (Unlocks the research and craft features.)

  ***

  Alright. Open up the scan menu.

  ***

  Scan Resources:

  The user may not scan any resources at this moment.

  Please discover new ore types before attempting to scan.

  ***

  It was worth a try, but where will I put it when unused? I can't carry it around with me like this.

  [The Omnitool may be kept in the system when unused.]

  The moment Ben thought about putting it away, the tool vanished. He glanced at Har and Finn, who looked at him with their jaws almost dropping before picking up his weapon. “Come on then, let’s get going.”

  Har rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “You mages are crazy, you know that?" He then shrugged. "Crazy or not, you'll need a torch unless you can see in the dark.”

  “I don’t need one,” Ben exclaimed, garnering a raised eyebrow from the old man. He removed the flashlight from his pocket, pointed it into the darkness, and turned it on.

  The uneven path ahead was illumined in white light, allowing them to glimpse the entrance chamber below.

  Har scratched his head. “And he says he’s not a mage.”

  Finn chuckled. "It looks like Mister Ben has you all confused." He motioned at the tunnel walls as they moved further along, adding, "These walls used to be smooth and a little smaller. It looks like they used that weird fire thing here.”

  Ben gave Finn a raised eyebrow. “Wierd fire?”

  “They called it Greek fire. The knights use that stuff when they need to set things on fire. When lit from an almost closed clay pot, I’ve heard it violently explodes like an inferno." Har interjected.

  “They used it to clear large ore veins, but only when the miners were far away,” Finn added.

  “Ah, I think I know what you’re talking about. From the looks of things, they collapsed the entrance on purpose. I’m certain we’ll be finding out why soon enough.” Ben said, nearly stumbling over something. He aimed the flashlight down and discovered the barbequed remains of a person near some broken clay pots. “We’ve found our arsonist.”

  Finn moved closer to the body and inspected it. “All the miners had to wear an iron badge with their name in case of an accident.” After fumbling around a little more, he found it, passed it to Har, and asked. “What does it say?”

  Har looked at it, taking moments to read the letters as if he wasn't too great at reading. “Jorin Cranmer… I remember him. His mother used to own a stall at the market, and when she fell sick, he had no choice but to start working the mines.”

  “He was a good friend to my father, too. He looked out for me and my sisters. It's not like him to do something like this." Finn explained while shrugging.

  Ben moved closer and shined the light on the neck area. For a corpse that was a few months old, it wasn't too decayed, and patches of shriveled skin could still be made out. He thought it was worth checking to see if those neck leeches were to blame for what had happened. Everything seemed normal, so he got up.

  “We should bury the bodies once we’re done in here," Har said before motioning to the entrance chamber. "Come now, let's see what happened to the others."

  When they reached the end, Ben glanced around the chamber. It was large, with enough space for around fifty people to stand comfortably. The walls appeared chiseled to a smooth finish, and plenty of candle holders were dotted across them. About a dozen wooden wheel barrels rested near a wooden door on one side.

  The chamber appeared empty except for a large locked wooden door ahead and two others on the opposite side. Ben gave Finn and Har the go-ahead to go around the room and light all the candles.

  When they were done, Finn was the first to open his mouth. “This area here was used as a common area by the miners. I still remember being too young to work the mines I used to play in here. Guards were standing at each of the doors, and Mister Blackrock, the foreman, used to shout orders at people.”

  “Blackrock sounds similar to a certain inn name,” Ben muttered, recognizing the name.

  “Damon Blackrock,” Har interrupted, “he owned this mine and much of the village. When the mine fell on hard times, he was forced to sell the land and most of his buildings in the village. Arthel bought the inn a decade ago but decided not to change the name. Damon was able to keep the mine in his possession.”

  “Yeah, he was also the foreman. Do you remember that his wife and children ran across the border after the collapse with all his money?” Finn asked.

  “Ah, yes, they couldn’t wait to get away… alright, Finn, that’s enough talk about that. As the guide, you should tell us where all these doors lead.” Har replied, sternly motioning at the doors.

  “Ah, right,” Finn nodded. “You see those two doors?” He pointed to the side where two smaller fortified doors beside each other rested. “The one closer to the entrance leads to Mister BlackRock’s office. The other one will take us to the ore store.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “If the ore store was in use just before the collapse, it could save us some time if it was filled with what we need," Ben stated before turning to Finn. "That door looks solid to me. Do you know how to open it?"

  “I saw them open it all the time. But, it'll only open with Master Blackrock's key, which he always carried around his neck. He didn’t want anyone going anywhere near his ore.”

  “Mister Blackrock could be anywhere in this place,” Ben mumbled.

  “What about the office?” Har asked.

  “He used to keep his office unlocked in case anyone needed the key for the tool shed. The entrance was guarded, and all the important things were kept safe.” Finn explained.

  “We should get in the office to see what else we can discover, then get in that tool shed as there could be things in there that could come in good use when we’re in the deeper levels,” Har suggested.

  “Alright, the office it is.” Ben nodded.

  The office door was a little stuck but opened after a few heavy kicks. It was cold, dark, and empty, like the entrance chamber. Finn went around the room and lit the candles.

  The room itself was much larger than Ben thought it would be. There was a sleeping area with a dusty old bed resting on it. A large table surrounded by a few chairs was in the middle of the room. At the back, there was another desk with a single fancy chair. Behind that was a square iron box with a tiny keyhole. There was even a little fireplace chiseled out of the stone, and Ben wondered if it had a chimney hole where the smoke would have gone.

  After searching the room, Har found a journal and opened it before moving it closer to one of the candles. “I’m not the best reader, but I can make sense of some words.” He tried to say the words but stuttered all over the place.

  Ben looked over his shoulder and snatched the journal. "Here, pass it over. We’ll die of thirst before you finish that.”

  “You can read?” Har asked.

  “I learned as a child."

  ***

  “What the heck! This isn't good.” Ben exclaimed. He had finished reading through the final entry.

  Both Har and Finn had eagerly waited with their arms crossed.

  “Go on then, what does it say?” Har asked, motioning at the journal.

  “Well, it starts with the mine running as usual.” Ben started, raising his head from the pages. “You both know it wasn’t in the best financial shape. Damon had ordered the few miners he had left to search for any undiscovered ore veins. He grew increasingly frustrated as his debts piled up atop one another. Someone called Sudfeld was on the verge of reclaiming the mine from him to settle the debts.”

  “That figures.” Har scoffed, “Damon's middle name should have been Debt. Constantly borrowing money to drown himself in fine wine and chase noble women. But still, he was miles better than that idiot Sudfield.”

  Seeing the look on Har’s face, Ben continued. “So, he had almost given up hope when one of the miners down at the three-hundred-foot level cracked the surface of high-quality hematite. That’s around the time when all the miners from Robynhill were called. He wanted to exploit the vein, hoping it would give the mine a new lease on life and bring prosperity back to Robynhill.”

  “Prosperity?” Har shook his head in disbelief, “I remember the time of his grandfather when I was a child. With my own eyes, I watched the men of that time build Robynhill from the ground up. Damon wouldn’t know prosperity even if it hit him in the face.” He sighed in frustration and looked away for a moment as if his childhood memories had resurfaced from the archives of his mind. After a short silence, he asked, “Does it say anything about why the entrance was blocked?”

  “The following entry is about the miners doing well with the vein. They managed to fill the ore store to half its capacity… I’m not sure if that will be enough for Halyard.” Ben explained. He then turned to Finn. “What is the capacity of the ore store?”

  Finn took a moment to think about it and scratched his chin, “Erm… from what I remember, Mister Blackrock used to say that it could hold around fifty tons of ore… And that includes the small amounts of coal they stored there, too.”

  “It says they filled it up to half. Do you know how much they would have mined?” Ben asked.

  “Erm… Well, coal weighs less than iron ore and takes up more space. But I think there should be around ten tons.”

  “Ten tons!” Ben explained. That was enough to start things with Halyard and maybe even more, which could be sold off for a decent profit.

  “It would make our lives easier if we could get into that ore store right about now.” Har muttered before facing Finn, “Can't we just break the door, or does it need the key to open.”

  “Well,” Finn started, “Like I said before, it’s a thick iron door and can only open with the key.”

  “Alright.” Ben nodded. “Remember, getting the Mirium is our top priority. If we find the key, then we can keep Halyard happy. We don't want to lose Hauxwell. I found him a great person from my little time with him.”

  Har nodded, “is there nothing about what happened?”

  “There was more entry. He was preparing to contact some caravans to transport the ore to Feruswich… Har, it mentions your name here as ‘the old fool Har and his broken cart.’”

  Finn found the remark funny and laughed, “I remember that.”

  Har gave Finn the death stare.

  The smirk on Finn’s face quickly vanished before he tried to look busy by searching around the desk.

  “Look here.” Har shook his head with a frown. “Nothing was wrong with my cart… just one of the wheels was shaky. That idiot was lucky I was here to transport his ore when he needed it.”

  “Anyway, their progress stopped when they hit another cave system that appeared to run perpendicular to the three-hundred-level. They were ordered to look around the cave and see if they could see the start of any other veins. Some miners were too weary to proceed as strange noises were heard. Someone had even believed to see a rock move in one of the smaller tunnels. Damon didn't care and called it ‘superstitious hearsay.’”

  Har scratched his head, “I don’t believe rocks can move on their own.” Then frowned. “Of course, he would say that. Nothing could get between that man and his profits.”

  “The last words written here mention the remains of a dead miner before it abruptly ends with something do with an infestation. They sent armed guards down there." Ben finished closing the journal and placed it on the desk.

  “Mister Ben, Does it say anything about whose body they found?” Finn interrupted with a worrisome look on his face.

  “There’s no name, but I’m certain we can check the name badge once we find the body,” Ben replied, reassuringly nodding.

  Har nodded, “Don’t worry, Finn. We’ll find out what happened down there.”

  Finn held back his tears and raised his hand. Sniffling, he said, “We should get to the tool shed.”

  Ben patted the kid on his back while Har rubbed his head. They left the office and went straight for the tool shed. Har shot straight for the wheelbarrow pile as they neared and began rummaging through it. Occasionally, some curse words escaped his lips as most of them appeared to be broken. He sighed in relief before rolling one of them out. The wheel wobbled a little and caused it to rattle.

  “This shaky wheel will come in use, don’t worry.” He remarked before parking it directly near the entrance of the tool shed.

  Finn had spent most of that time trying to twist the key, but it wouldn’t budge. “I think it’s seized.” He said.

  “Here, let me do it,” Ben muttered, pushing Finn out of the way.

  Ben budged the key a little after putting all his power into it. It was thick enough that he knew it wouldn’t break if he were rough with it. He smacked the end with the back of his flashlight before it clicked and started moving. Pulling the handle, the heavy door creaked open.

  Like a freight train, the smell of animal fat, spirit, and other things hit Ben’s nostrils. There were no candle holders, and it looked like the room relied on the candles placed just outside the door. He shined his torch in.

  “No torches allowed beyond this point,” Finn warned. “Mister Blackrock didn’t want his mine setting on fire. They stored pots of that Greek fire in here and other things that can set on fire if not careful.”

  “Don’t worry, kid, mine doesn’t use flames,” Ben muttered while looking at the internals better.

  The room was larger than the office and resembled a small storage warehouse. Its interior was lined with many shelves but mostly empty, with only a few items on display. The further they looked, the more open it became, where piles of crates rested. As with the shelves, that area also looked more empty than full.

  Finn pointed out some of the crates and named the various items they contained, and Har went along, filling his wheelbarrow with whatever he thought would be needed. He got towards the end, where the pickaxes were kept, and took two that looked decent. He put one in the wheelbarrow and motioned for Ben to grab the other one.

  Finn took them to the door, which led them down to the first mine level without further ado. A thick wooden beam ran across its middle. Once open, they faced a dark tunnel. On one side, the miners had carved out some steps; on the other, it was just a steep sloop.

  “All right. I guess this is it.” Ben muttered.