The cave was once a dark hole that traversed deep into the abyss, but now that dark hole is illuminated. There were torches on the sides, each casting light on its surroundings. The orange flames flicker as I walk down.
"Do you replace the torches every time they burn out?" - Ian
"Unfortunately yes. We are using the glue that you made before since it lasts longer than wood, but even that will eventually burn out. We haven't found a way to make a flame that lasts longer, nor have we found any resource that burns longer than the glue. Lime had attempted a couple of variations using the glue as a base, however, nothing has worked so far. Instead, we have to produce a lot of the glue and keep replacing the torches in order to light up the tunnel.
Since the tunnel runs deeper down, we have a total of 30 torches burning at a time. In order to preserve as much of the glue as possible, we only burn them on the way down and blow them out as we come up. This way it only burns during the time someone is down in the mine. Of course, it isn't only one person down there.
There is a team of 3 goblins, Owen and Rex, that are our current miners. At the start, we pushed it, so we could mine as much as possible, however, the placement of the copper was too small, so we had a small team at the start to extract it. Instead, we sent the bigger group to mine the tin that is further down the canyon.
We transport the tin using baskets before distributing it onto wheelbarrows that are stationed at the mine's entrance. Any copper we find is also done the same way because of the tunnel's slope. It became too taxing on our people when they tried to push the wheelbarrow up the tunnel, so transporting it by basket was our safer option." - Noah
"That's good. I prefer it that way, instead of someone injuring themselves because they attempted to push a wheelbarrow full of stone and copper ore. It would be slower, but it is safer. So right now, there should be 3 goblins as well as Owen and Rex at the bottom?" - Ian
"Yes. They should be there. They mentioned that they were going to just check out some things instead of mine today, which is why I didn't see any wheelbarrows at the front of the mine." - Noah
"Let's head down a little faster then." - Ian
Compared to the last time I was here, the tunnel had become a lot cleaner. There was almost no sign of the battle that happened here. All the golem stones had been transported back to HavenFall according to Noah, as well as the powder which was crushed golem stones. The powder was used in the creation of the wall, mixing it with the clay to create a stronger brick, while the larger stones were used to construct parts of the more important buildings.
As we neared the bottom, I started to hear some voices and as I walk out of the tunnel and into the cavern, I see a small group crowded around a hole.
"What seems to be wrong, you guys?" - Ian
"Ian? You're back!" - Owen
Seeing me wave my hand up, to get their attention, Owen rushes over and hugs me.
"I'm glad you are back. There is something I want to show you. We were discussing what to do with this the last time we came down here, and today we were going to decide on our plan after a little more digging." - Owen
"We found it after digging around the place where we have found copper. At first, we thought it was a new mineral, but after digging around it and excavating it, we found it was a door made out of white stone." - Rex
"What the? A door buried in the ground?"- Ian
"Show us." - Noah
The goblins moved to the side, carrying the pickaxes and shovels with them, while Owen picked up a torch and signaled to follow him. Rex followed him closely as we walked toward the current mining site.
A section of the ground had been dug out with wooden poles tied together to give it a frame. Looking down, I see that this section of the mine has been reinforced with more wooden poles, with a wooden ladder lowered to the 'floor'.
"I'll go first, then Rex. Ian and Noah come after us. Use the ladder to go down but be careful to not slip. Gamimi, Gariri, and Gabibi stay at the top and shine some light down for Ian and Noah." - Owen
"On it, boss." - Gamimi, Gariri, Gabibi
Owen sits on the ground before turning around and descending the ladder. He holds onto the torch with his teeth, and nods to Rex who follows after.
"Please be careful Ian, Noah." - Rex
"Will do." - Ian
I follow their example, making sure to feel with my feet first before stepping on anything. My feet eventually find each step and I slowly descend. It wasn't a long way down, but the darkness made the small journey feel longer. I could feel my heart racing faster as I delve into the unknown.
"Are you okay, Ian?" - Owen
"I'm fine. It is a little scary though since I don't know what to expect." - Ian
"HAHAHA! That's okay. Rex was so scared he couldn't go back for a day after we started mining." - Owen
"HEY! I said, don't tell anyone!" - Rex
"Don't worry, my boy. It is normal." - Owen
"Have you dug out a lot in this area?" - Ian
"Not a lot of copper, we have been mainly digging in the direction of copper but recently we slowed and when we were able to change direction, we found the door." - Owen
"Alright, lead the way." - Ian
The tunnel that was made is reinforced by wooden poles to prevent any cave-ins but the tunnel itself was small and constricted. Just enough to swing a pickaxe and nothing more, which needs to be changed. I made a mental note to tell Owen and Rex later, but for now, it seems we have arrived at the door.
A white stone arcing door frame similar to marble, with black symbols, etched into the frame. The door itself was made from a black rock with scratches randomly embedded into the surface. It only seems to fit a person at a time, like it was made for humans or smaller. I can tell just standing in front of it that someone as big as Rautt wouldn't be able to fit, so does that mean this door is made for at least humans?
I place my hand on the door, hoping to see a message from the system, and I'm glad I could see the familiar blue box.
[ This is currently unavailable at this moment. ]
"What? Are you serious?" - Ian
"What's wrong, Ian?" - Noah
"Ahh… Nothing. It seems the door is locked. I push against it, but nothing is moving. I'm not too sure what to do." - Ian
"Right, that's what happened when Rex and I tried to push open the door. We think something was on the other side of the door, blocking it from being open." - Owen
"We also tried hitting the door, but we couldn't even scratch it. I don't know what kind of monster would be able to damage that door." - Rex
"Well, not much we can do now." - Ian
"Huh? Wait, so you are just going to leave this here?" - Noah
"Yeah. What else can we do about it?" - Ian
"I mean, I guess you are right. It just feels weird." - Noah
"Owen and Rex, keep digging around and finding another copper vein. I'm sure you will find more and at the same time dig around the door." - Ian
"Got it."- Owen, Rex
"What are you going to do now?" - Noah
"I'm going to go into the Ikanda." - Ian
"It's finally your turn." - Noah
"Yep. Let's head up first." - Ian
Noah and I left the mine, to go back to HavenFall. I asked Noah to bring over Howard since I needed to tell them about the journey. I updated them about everything that has happened, making sure to not leave out any details.
"And that's everything that has happened outside HavenFall." - Ian
"Wow… That's a lot." - Noah
"Are you sure, Luke is going to be okay?" - Howard
"I believe that Luke will be okay. You also have to remember he isn't just a kid anymore. He has grown up, and we need to believe in him too." - Ian
"… Alright." - Howard
"What do you want us to do while you are inside the Ikanda?" - Noah
"The most important things I can think of are the production of copper weapons and armor, as well as the construction of a water wheel." - Ian
"Water wheel? Like having the wheel from a wheelbarrow in water?" - Noah
"Similar, but not really. The objective of the water wheel is going to be to grind the wheat which we will eventually harvest from the grassland. It will be a big project and will take weeks, especially since we have to wait for the wheat to ripen. I also want to save some seeds to plant near the Krepost.
Eventually, I want to create a field just for the wheat, which we can constantly farm. The grains we receive from the wheat will be used to produce flour and then eventually bread. Bread will become a vital food resource for us in the future and with the meat, we can obtain in the grassland and the vegetables in the forest we will be able to have a very balanced diet." - Ian
"???" - Howard
"You lost me at wheat produce flour." - Noah
"Don't worry about it. Just focus on the water wheel. While you went to get Howard, I told old man Hus about the details of the water wheel, and he said he can do it. It will be made of part bronze and part wood." - Ian
"Understood. How long will you be gone?" - Noah
"No idea. Who else completed it while I was gone?" - Ian
"Luke, Gobi, Howard in that order. Luke took about 4 days, Gobi about a week, and Howard a little over a week." - Noah
"Then somewhere between a week and a week and a half. I'll be back." - Ian
"Good luck in there. It is harder than it looks." - Howard
"I got this, don't worry. Tell Nina and Lynn to relax and enjoy the place." - Ian
"Got it. Good luck." - Noah
I walk towards the Ikanda. It has been over a month since I assembled it, but this is the first time I'm stepping inside. Kingston had already told me about the different tasks and I was ready for them. I ease open and walk inside the dark room.
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