In The Service of All

by TheFullCrumb

Tale 3 - More Than ore

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

- Theodore Roosevelt

Ingenuity is the hallmark of creation. Creation is the predecessor to invention. Ingenuity itself is described as the innate talent of creative problem-solving. Everyone can do it. How then, however, can those who have never expressed such ever hope to find their means of invention, their muse, as it were?

Dogan closed the book he held once more, looking around at the area beyond the gates. Jinko was, for the lack of more prominent words, dirty. Even the nobles of the town were seen often covered in some manner of grime, some appearing as if they worked in their own smelters just as the simple peasants did. In some cases, there was more truth to the matter in that regard. Tezune seemed very apprehensive, her armour inhibiting her ability to remain inconspicuous. Guyeras had hid himself underneath a hood of cloth, preferring to not be noticed by the common equines of the town. Dogan stopped, staring up at massive smokestacks in the distance.

“The Great Forges of Jinko, correct, Guyeras?” Guyeras nodded, keeping silent. Dogan made a note of it to ask him about his silence later. A few scattered groups of miners were lying still, apparently weak. As Guyeras and Tezune approached what appeared to be a marketplace, Dogan split off to approach the miners.

“Spare a copper for an old beggar?” Dogan sat down beside him, frowning. Reaching inside his bag, he retrieved a small vial of blue liquid.

“Here is something better than a copper. You suffer from low sun exposure. I should converse with the town's magistrate. Low sun exposure is a horrific problem in such industrialized towns.” The beggar frowned, popping the cork of the vial. With a quick swallow, he coughed, but the sound was replaced by confused noises. Turning around, Dogan nodded. The beggar seemed much stronger, his face less haggard than before.

“My thanks, apothecary. A beggar I might seem, but I was once a solder in Guardia's army. Be cautious where you trod, my lord. There are more secrets here than answers, so be warned.” With a quick motion, he removed a pile of dirt on the ground, uncovering leather armour and a sword. In a flurry of movement, the old soldier was strapped up.

“Do you wish to accompany me, elder? I would rather be less suspicious if I were to have a soldier with me.” The beggar-turned-soldier tapped his chin, thinking for a minute. Heavy steps behind him alerted Dogan to Tezune approaching.

“Liam! Oh, it has been many turns of the world since we last spoke!” The soldier turned to face Tezune, a smile on his face. Liam, as Tezune had called him, bowed before Tezune, Tezune responding in kind.

“It has been far too long, my friend. I do miss the days of old when we would gallop into battle together!” Liam and Tezune laughed as they continued to reminisce about past battlegrounds they saw, the enemies they slew, and the lasting call to battle. Dogan lowered his head, sighing as he walked slowly. The weakness permeated the entire facade that was contained within Jinko, the heavy doors swinging shut behind a caravan that had followed Dogan and his party inside. He stepped quickly around a puddle of what he assumed was oil, though its stench was far from the odor of the crude that would be pumped from deep underground. He lowered his head again, following behind the happy tones of Liam and Tezune, only stopping once he heard them stop speaking. The purple robes of the town's magistrate were stark against the dingy grey and brown of almost everything else. From the looks garnered by him from the town's equines, he was relatively despised by the populace, something he seemed blissfully unaware of.

“What rabble seems to have come to my town, hmm? No matter. Put them to work in the mines like the rest.” The guards behind him moved slowly in their heavy clanking armor of iron and bronze, their weapons as bulky as themselves. Guyeras made the motion of stepping forwards when Liam stood forth, his scowl a sight to behold.

“You dare call us rabble? A Mountain Lord, a Royal Apothecary, and those that escort them? You have sunk beneath even the deepest pits of the Maw, Magistrate-” One of the guards slammed his weapon into Liam's face, the heavy clunk the only thing he heard before Tezune's lance slammed into him, the armor he bore only barely containing the impact of such a strike. Tezune's helmet was closed, her eyes barely visible inside of the slits as she focused on the other guards.

“Yet you attack us, so-called Royal Escort! You have no place in Jinko! We supply the ore, you merely use it and do not question our-”

“Enough!” Every equine present closed their mouths and lifted their eyes to Dogan standing on top of a metal crate, fire in his posture and fury in his eyes. He stared down at every one of them, some of the miners themselves slowly moving to investigate.

“You dare-”

“I dare nothing, Magistrate. You work your own subjects to death, barely even giving them a reprieve for exposure to the sun! Many lay dead or dying from complications due to such low sun exposure! What fears plague you that you would risk all-out war with your king in Guardia?!” He stamped his hoof, a bright flash enveloping him as he appeared to vanish, reappearing behind the Magistrate and landing a blow that forced him to kneel.

“You dog-”

“I am no equine's dog, nor am I the plaything of the rich. I serve every equine in the Realm, no matter if they be wealthy, or of no real physical means. A lesson you sorely lack.” With another blow, he slid the Magistrate towards his people.

“You can't! You can't just-” His screams died out as the miners descended on him, the pain evident as his cries grew ever louder, a guttural sound the mark of the spark of life leaving his beaten shell. Tezune and Liam looked at Guyeras, whose eyes remained wide in shock as Dogan moved towards the mines. Guyeras stepped in front of Dogan, pushing him back.

“Are you planning on telling us why you did that?” Dogan looked up, his expression dark, tears streaming from his eyes.

“A Magistrate looks after his subjects. They are equines on equal standing, not tools to be used and thrown away. He deserves everything he gets.” Guyeras lowered his hoof as he watched Dogan slowly walk past, lowering his own head in turn. He understood clearly why Dogan had done the deed, and he would have done the same. A Magistrate he had once been subject to treated every equine without so much as a copper to their name as low as the dirt upon which he now strode. Staring up at the great gates to the Jinko mines, he was reminded of how small he was, the grand designs of those who came before, mining and fighting their way to the mountain in which Jinko resided. A shiver went down his spine as he joined the rest near the entrance, a small tunnel carved out in the nearby cavern wall.

“Yes, well, we are here to investigate the mines, my friend.”

“No one goes in or out. Magistrate's orders-” Guyeras strode up, removing his hood.

“You will find that the Magistrate in question is now in the hands of the equines of this town. I am hereby assuming provisional leadership according to the statutes and accords set aside by the Mountain King for a time of crisis.” The guard stood back, readying his lance as Tezune stepped forward.

“Let us fight another time, fellow soldier. For now, let us see what monsters lie behind the gate that the Magistrate so quickly sealed.” The guard nodded, lifting a horn to his mouth and blowing as hard as he could. With a heavy thud, great counterweights slammed into the ground, the heavy gate doors sliding into slots within the very walls, the smooth stone closing over the holes they entered in and leaving it as smooth as a carved statue. Guards stood to either side, saluting as the group of four entered the mines. Dogan turned to the guards, saluting back.

“Do not open the gates until our return. Keep them sealed no matter what.” The guards nodded, saluting once more as the gates slowly closed behind Dogan, Guyeras, Tezune, and Liam.

--------====||====--------

Dogan shook one of his vials, a bright glow escaping the glass and illuminating the darkness of the mines. Guyeras held another as he stayed beside Tezune, Liam preferring to remain close to Dogan.

“I do not have many of these Vials of Liquid Sunlight, but they do last for a few hours. Do not drop them. They are... volatile if such an impact occurs.” Dogan produced a walking stick from his pack, strapping the vial to the end snugly. With a makeshift torch in Dogan's hooves, they followed closely behind him, not straying far as the dark seemed to shrink back from the light as if it was afraid.

“They are a curious concoction, but you have my thanks, Dogan, for the creation must have been difficult.” Dogan nodded, focusing on the path ahead. Hoofprints were visible in the settled dust, suddenly ending when they reached a nearby support pillar. Shining around, Guyeras was about to question the lack of guards or miners when the bodies were revealed by his light.

“Guyeras, what's- oh. They appear to have been eaten.” Dogan knelt down beside them, pressing into the wounds. Lifting his light-staff over the corpse, he watched as darkness seeped from the wounds. He stood back, quickly finding a place that was solid as he stared down the corpse on the ground.

“Dogan?”
“Those are not normal corpses. Darkness itself removed their hearts. We must be on guard, for what horrors lie in wait, we do not know.” Guyeras was about to respond when a shadow out of the corner of his eye turned to face him.

“Dogan, don't turn around. Whatever you do, do not turn around. Do not look, just run.”

“Guyeras, what-”

“Just run! Gallop as hard as you can!” Guyeras pushed Dogan forwards, tripping over his own hooves and sliding down the nearby slope, Dogan trying to regain his footing. Tezune and Liam shrugged, following closely behind with more controlled descents. Dogan rolled over quickly, tossing Guyeras away as he got up. Tezune aimed her lance, her eyes wide as she watched the darkness itself begin to move closer to them, as if malice incarnate was following them.

“Dogan, please tell me you have a plan for how we deal with them.” Dogan lifted a vial from his satchels, closing his eyes and muttering a quick prayer before shaking it.

“Just one. When you see the vial glow, run for the tunnels behind us!” As he shook it, the vial began to glow, brighter and brighter. Guyeras remembered what Dogan had said earlier about Vials of Liquid Sunlight.

Do not drop them. They are... volatile if such an impact occurs.

“Dogan, toss it, now!” Dogan nodded, hurling the vial as far as he could, the small crack signalling that something both beautiful and incredibly dangerous was about to happen. As they all turned away, the cavern was lit by the most brilliant light possible, the darkness itself burned away by the equivalent of a sun exploding into life inside that very cavern. The entrance collapsed behind them, sealing them inside the tunnel. Pressing against the stone, Dogan could hear the shrieks of pain that accompanied the guttural sounds of dying monsters.

“Our way back is sealed off. Guyeras, pray tell you have knowledge of the Jinko Mines? Whatever those creatures were, I would be more satisfied if we were far from this place before they assault us once more.” Guyeras pointed to the other end of the tunnel.

“Only one way to go, Dogan. We're going straight into the belly of the beast, the heart of the Jinko Mines.” Dogan sighed, lowering his head. He was starting to realize why the Magistrate had sealed the mines in the first place.

“Let us see what horrors this mine truly holds, Guyeras. Lead the way.”

Author's Note:

So, a short chapter this time. There's a lot I wanted to put in, but then I realized I needed to use the Shadows as a creature, which made sense in a MINE.

Anyways, this is short because Chapter 4 is going to be a bit longer than normal. Considering the next chapter is almost entirely about the Jinko Mines, and the horrors held within, I think it pertinent to make it a separate chapter, would you not agree?

Have fun, and remember, the Realm came before the rest.