Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress of Ashtown

The Dark Side of Nobility

The actual mines were located several hundred meters beneath Avrondale mountain, and that was where Morrison took Caspian and Erica.

After stepping out of the elevator, Caspian was introduced to a subterranean world of dark cavern walls. Gray surrounded them on all sides, encroaching and confining. Their footsteps echoed through the tunnel, bouncing off the walls, from which several lamps hung, casting light into the darkness, creating shadows that shifted and flickered. He clenched his hands into fists as the walls seemed to close in around them. Having never been in a mine before, Caspian couldn't deny that he felt trapped.

"Are you feeling a little claustrophobic, Caspie?"

"It's Caspian," came the automatic response, "and it's not that I'm claustrophobic. I merely dislike enclosed spaces."

"Ufufufu, you are too cute when you're in denial."

Caspian grunted, thankful that the low light from the lamps didn't allow Erica to see his blush.

It wasn't long before they exited the tunnel and entered a large mining chamber. It looked like a dome that had been hollowed out of the mountain. Large support beams covered much of the circular wall and extended all the way up to a rounded ceiling. The room had two levels, one that acted as a walkway and another down below, where the actual mining was taking place.

"As you can see, all of our workers are most efficient," Morrison said as he guided Caspian and Erica along, taking them around the circumference of the spacious cavern, "and because of the recent vein we've struck, I have been able to hire several workers to help oversee our operations. They ensure that none of the dwarves slack off or become rebellious."

"Indeed," Erica said, though from her bored tone, Caspian could tell she wasn't all that interested.

Down below, a number of dwarves labored, picking at the walls in their effort to uncover the hidden treasures within; Spirit Crystals, which jutted from the granite faces like tiny glowing spikes. A number of humans stood nearby, dressed in a dark gray uniforms. Attached to their belts was a whip.

"And what of dwarves," Erica said, her tone still bored. "Are they well-cared for?"

"As well cared for as any dwarf," Morrison answered. "We make sure they get plenty of food and rest, and we've allowed them to build lodgings inside of the mines. They prefer living underneath the ground anyway."

"So, I see."

Having never seen a dwarf in real life before, Caspian discreetly scooted closer to the ledge to get a better look.

They didn't appear all that similar to the dwarves depicted in his textbooks—in fact, they looked almost nothing like the depictions he saw in his textbooks. While they were short, barely reaching up to a human's waist, their faces weren't covered in warts, nor did they have any deformities. They just looked like really short humans. A little stouter maybe, but still, kind of human. Most of them had beards and long, braided hair, but a few also sported shorter hair and were bald-faced. His sharp eyes could pick out a few other details, like how their faces were slightly more pinched than a human's, but those were minuscule variances in facial structure; nothing worth noting.

As he continued watching, one of the dwarves, and older one with nearly white hair and a long beard, suddenly fell to his knees, dropping his pick axe and holding a hand to his chest as if he was experiencing intense pain. He coughed several times, a hacking sound that reminded Caspian of someone with lung problems, and several globs of blood flew from his mouth to splatter against the ground.

What's going on here?

"Hey! Get back to work!" one of the humans shouted. When the dwarf did nothing but continue to cough, the man growled and struck the dwarf in the back with his whip.