42 Enter the Mine (1/2)
As we near the mine, I break out into a nervous sweat.
/Why am I here?/
I live trapped between two worlds that both feel too real to be false.
/What if this kills me?/ I briefly consider bailing. But I quickly smack that thought down. Since meeting Daric and the other orphan children, I can feel the spark of change they triggered. They've made me remember though the world is unfeeling and cruel, there are people worth giving my trust. I've spent so much time focusing on the bad that it was all I saw.
/Who knew all it took was to lose my mind before I could see the light?/
Now, here's an opportunity to help in a way I could never have when I watched as an unseen ghost. I feel my spirit burn with a desire I suppressed and buried under indifference for years. When a small part of me tries to tell me this is all a hallucination, I brutally strangled it. As long as I live according to my heart's desire, what is there to regret?
When I consider all the people trapped, scared, and alone. My spirit grows even hotter. I know isolation, the desperate need for help that never comes. The sinking feeling of crying out into a heartless void that neither cares nor responds. I know I'm just projecting my ideas onto others, but it brings the fire started in my spirit to a blaze.
/Since no one was there for me, I'll be there for them./
As we enter the belly of the beast, we place illumination gems wherever they're needed. Thankfully, many of them remain undamaged, so we don't have to replace them often. As we near the fifth Section, we take detours into branching tunnels to get around collapses without wasting unnecessary time. It becomes apparent when we reached Section 5 because the pungent stench of blood hits me hard. The smell grows stronger as we get closer.
Soon we saw a pair of legs in the distance, and we pick up our pace. Hoping, whoever they are managed to cling to life long enough for us to reach them; as we got closer the words of Elder Ozora rings in my ear. 'Fourteen bodies found, two still alive.' My heart sinks. When we're close enough to see the rest of him, I take a deep stuttering breath. It turns out the pair of legs we saw are the only thing left of him. The rest lays crushed under a large boulder with blood splattered everywhere, already congealed and darkened with time. The smell of death and blood chokes me. The reaction from the others is worse.
Garon growls deep and dangerous, raising the hairs on my arms. Ede and Lex curse fluently. While Alistar's fists glow a vibrant red, he's tensed and on the verge of exploding. I stare at him warily, this is the worst time and place for him to lose his anger. Lark, not so subtly, stands between Alistar and me. Alistar ignores Lark as his anger switches to aching sadness.
”Ribus,” Alistar grieves.