Chapter 5 - Return to Gildspire

“Get up.”

…

“Aeval…”

…

“Wake up!”

Her eyes snapped open, her breath coming in quick, shallow bursts. Sweat clung to her skin. The dim artificial light flickered against the cold metal walls of the cell.

Spoon stood over her, shaking her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?” he asked, concern etched across his face.

Aeval pressed a hand to her forehead, wincing as her fingers brushed the wound. The dull ache pulsed beneath her skin, a painful reminder that none of it had been a dream.

“Ugh… yeah,” she muttered, pushing herself upright. “I was just…” She trailed off, shaking the haze from her head. Her eyes met Spoon’s, and for a moment, the weight of everything pressed down on her. Then, her expression hardened.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.”

She swung her legs off the cot, her muscles stiff as she stood. Outside the cell, prisoners shuffled into formation, the dull hum of a new day’s labor awaiting them.

They made their way to the mess hall, where the day's breakfast special—another serving of bland prison slop—awaited them. Grabbing their trays, they joined the rest of the group at their usual spot. No one spoke about the previous day, but it loomed over them all.

Each of them knew it was only a matter of time before the missing guards were noticed. It was a miracle they weren’t already. Perhaps the thick rock walls of the mine blocked the signal to their implanted chips—otherwise, the entire prison would be on lockdown by now. Unless… the guards were still alive. No one had checked their vitals before tossing them down that pit.

They finished their meals and headed out to the mining camp. Two unfamiliar guards stood by a cluster of prisoners, their expressions unreadable. The group fell into line to hear what they were saying.

“…they never reported in last night. Their vital chips haven’t pinged either. If anyone finds them, you are to report back to me immediately. We will be making the rounds to each mine for a full check.” He scanned the crowd, his voice thick with unspoken menace. “Warden wants a detailed report on every team. I suggest you work extra hard today.” He paused, letting his words hang in the air. “It could save your life.”

The prisoners dispersed, picking up their pickaxes and explosives before boarding the mine trucks. Most of the workers were assigned to the east side of the mountain, but Aeval’s group was stationed in the newer western tunnel, where the magenta glow still pulsed deep within the rock. They started on foot—there were no rails in place yet.

“What are we going to do when they check on us and see the hole?” Huzz asked.

“We collapse it,” Spoon said without hesitation. “We start blasting somewhere else. We’ve got to cover it up before they start asking questions.”

Bwompy scoffed. “And what about the fact that the hole’s glowing like a neon sign? We might as well hang up a damn billboard saying ‘We Found Some Weird Shit Down Here!’”

Spoon chuckled. “We don’t have a choice. We block off the corridor and redirect the patrol’s focus. They don’t know this mine well enough to notice any changes.”

Bwompy wasn’t convinced. “And the thing I saw?”

“What thing?” Hydro asked.

Bwompy threw up his hands. “The goddamn thing I was running from! I told y’all I saw something down there!”

Spoon smirked. “We figured you were just afraid of the dark.”

The group burst into laughter. Bwompy’s irritation grew. “Man, fuck all ya’ll. I saw something. A shadow moving, and it sounded like it was speaking in some weird language.”

Spoon grinned. “Sure it wasn’t your stomach growling?”

The group laughed again, but Bwompy’s frustration only deepened. He knew what he had seen… didn’t he?

The Mine Prison

Return to Gildspire

The tunnel was eerily quiet when they arrived. The magenta glow seeped through the cracks, pulsing like a heartbeat. They wasted no time. Bwompy, Aeval, and Hydro set to work planting charges along the walls of the glowing corridor, prepping for the collapse. Meanwhile, Huzz, Nick, and Spoon moved deeper into the mine, setting explosives to create a diversion with a new passageway.

As Aeval secured the last detonator, she glanced at Hydro. “Where did you two go that night?” Her voice was quiet but firm.

Hydro kept his focus on the detonator wires. “What night?” he asked.

“Silent Night.” She replied, using the code name they had devised for the planned assassination.

Hydro exhaled, his shoulders tensing. “We made it to the industrial district.”

Aeval’s eyes narrowed. “And?”

Hydro finally met her gaze. “They caught us a block from the power station. A dozen Enforcers jumped us. A drone must have been tracking us because they knew exactly where we were.”

It had only been a week since the failed assassination. Aeval was still reeling from the betrayal of her husband. Now, she found herself questioning everything—everyone.

Hydro sighed, pausing his work to face her. “I get it,” he said. “It’s hard to trust people after something like that. But think about it—if any of us were in on it, would we really be rotting away in this prison too?”

His words settled into her mind. He was right. No one would willingly sign up for this. As much as it burned, she had to accept it. Her husband was a coward. A traitor. The love she once felt for him now warred with a deep, simmering hatred. If she could go back, she would. But the past was set in stone. All she could do now was look forward.

She had to get out of this prison.

She had to confront him one last time.

 Disturbance Below

The team stood back as the detonators counted down. 3… 2… 1…

A deafening explosion rocked the tunnel. Dust and debris filled the air, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.

Then—

A scream. Faint, inhuman, echoing from the depths of the magenta-lit corridor.

Bwompy’s eyes widened, his pulse spiking. “I FUCKING TOLD YOU!” he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the cavern.

The group froze, exchanging wide-eyed glances.

“Was that one of the guards?” Spoon asked, his voice hesitant.

“No way they survived that beatdown,” Bwompy scoffed. “Plus, that’s at least a hundred-foot drop. They didn’t survive that.”

Spoon exhaled sharply. “We need to figure out what’s making that noise before it alerts the patrol when they show up”

Without hesitation, he started toward the hole.

“Wait!” Bwompy barked. “I’m telling you, there’s something down there. If you’re going, we’re all going.”

Aeval swallowed, gripping her pickaxe tighter. The air felt heavier now, charged with something unseen.

Huzz cracked his knuckles. “Where did you put that rifle?”Bwompy smirked. “Don’t you worry about MY rifle.” He crawled over some rubble, reaching behind a loose rock. “I got her right here,” he said, pulling back the charging handle and chambering a round.

Bwompy peered down the hole, shielding his eyes from the pulsating magenta light. The glow was too intense, distorting the darkness below and making it impossible to see what lay beneath.

“We’re gonna have to go down there,” he muttered. “but I’m telling you, that didn’t sound like no guard.”

“Not yet,” Spoon cut in. “We need to wait until after the patrol checks in. We cover the hole, keep working, and act normal.”

Reluctantly, Bwompy stashed the rifle above the wooden support beams—hidden from the guards but within reach if things went sideways. The team worked quickly, covering the hole with thick timber and layering it with loose rocks from the explosion. It wasn’t perfect, but it might be enough to stifle any more sounds from below.

The patrol arrived, their approach silent but methodical. They questioned the team about the missing guards. The prisoners denied knowing anything, and the guards moved through the area, their inspection thorough but clinical. Unlike the usual brutes, this patrol

carried themselves differently—disciplined, purposeful. They weren’t here to torment. They were here for something else.

After finishing their sweep, the lead guard turned to them. “Keep working. When we return, I expect another 200 feet of tunnel.”

The patrol’s shoulder lights faded into the cavern’s darkness. The group exhaled in unison.

“We don’t have much time,” Aeval said. “Nick, Huzz, stay back and watch our lines. If you see any lights coming, warn us.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied.

The team cleared the debris from the hole, secured their ropes, and with a final breath, began their descent into the unknown.

The Descent into the Unknown

The ropes creaked as the team descended into the glowing abyss, the magenta light casting eerie, shifting shadows on the jagged rock walls. The deeper they went, the more the air seemed to hum—not just with the weight of the unknown, but with an actual vibration that seemed to pulse in harmony with the glow.

Above them, clusters of pink crystals jutted from the cavern ceiling, their radiance illuminating the stone in a ghostly shimmer. The crystals hummed softly, their resonance sending faint tremors through the rock. They weren’t just glowing—they were alive in some way, pulsating like the heartbeat of the cave itself.

No one spoke. Even Bwompy, usually the loudest of them all, was silent as he scanned the cavern below. The deeper they went, the more the atmosphere changed. The walls became smoother, unnaturally so, as if shaped by something other than time and erosion. Then they saw it—etched into the stone—glowing blue glyphs, humming softly in contrast to the magenta light.

Aeval’s fingers brushed the symbols as she descended past them. “These… these weren’t made by us.”

Their boots hit solid ground as they untied themselves from the ropes. The cavern stretched before them, the floor littered with scattered crystals, their glow dimmer than those above. But it was the glyphs that held their attention.

Blue symbols pulsed faintly along the walls, some meticulously etched, others fragmented and incomplete. The carvings looked fresh, almost as if someone had been working on them just moments before.

Aeval ran her fingers over one of the glowing markings, feeling the smooth indentations.

Hydro knelt beside another. “Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?”

Spoon exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “Can’t say that I have.”

Bwompy crossed his arms, skeptical. “Could be another mining team.”

Aeval stepped back to take in the full scale of the markings. Her voice was edged with unease. She turned to the others, her brows furrowed. “they’re not here…”

The others spun around, looking on the ground they found no traces of the guards they had thrown in the day before.

“How did they survive…”

Just then, a faint movement flickered ahead. Aeval's heart clenched as she saw it—a shadowed figure, small, hunched, moving with purpose along the rock wall.  It was too quick to make out clearly but it certainly wasn’t tall enough to be one of the guards.

“Did you see that?” Bwompy whispered. His grip tightened on his rifle.

“Yeah…” Aeval replied, keeping her voice barely above a breath. “Stay back. Don’t let it see us.”

The creature scurried off into another chamber, its movements quick and deliberate. Hydro, his curiosity outweighing his fear, rose from his crouch and instinctively stepped forward.

Reluctantly, the rest followed, their steps cautious as they trailed behind Hydro. The cavern walls pulsed with the dim blue light of the glyphs, casting shifting patterns along their faces and the magenta glowing above them illuminated against their backs.

They followed the figure from a distance, watching as it traced the blue glyphs with delicate, clawed fingers. More symbols stretched ahead, some carved cleanly, others incomplete—still being worked on. It was shaping them, crafting them into something more than just marks on stone.

“It’s making them,” Spoon murmured. “But… why?”

They crept closer, carefully placing each step. Then—

A sudden crunch. A rock shifted underfoot.

The figure froze.

It turned, its glowing eyes wide with fear. A rapid, sharp phrase escaped its lips—a language they couldn’t understand, but the fear in its tone was unmistakable.

Then, suddenly, light erupted from its body—bright, pure, and unnatural. The cavern was bathed in the glow, illuminating the ancient walls and casting long, wavering shadows.

“Get down!” Aeval hissed, diving behind a jagged outcrop. The others scrambled for cover just in time as the light passed over their heads.

The creature hesitated, scanning the cave with wary eyes. Then, clutching something close to its chest, it turned and bolted deeper into the tunnels.

Silence stretched between them.

Bwompy was the first to break it. “What… the fuck… was that?”