Into the Deadmines, Part I: Descent
Pinkie was gone by the time they made it round the shack, rushing in to find the others looking terribly confused.
“She… was just there a moment ago… the wall span around, and she disappeared with it.” Fluttershy stammered.
“Let’s not panic. We heard her say something about a switch.” Twilight approached the wall and examined it carefully. At first glance it appeared unassuming, but getting close enough she could feel the slightest of draughts coming from the bottom where the wood was most rotten and degraded. She knocked at it hesitantly, then ran her hand slowly across the damp wood at waist level.
She felt the switch at last, but didn’t immediately press it. “Here,” she said, indicating it to the others, then pressed it and stood back. The door swung immediately, almost faster than she could withdraw her hand, and they were left staring at a narrow passage going down below ground level.
They quickly found Pinkie; she had tumbled through the door and all the way to the bottom, but had sustained no more than a few minor grazes in her fall. “I’m okay!” She pushed herself off the floor as they approached. “Nothing I can’t fix, anyway!”
“This must be the Deadmines.” Twilight decided. We must have stumbled over one of its entrances… But how come they didn’t they know about it? Surely one of the scouts got this far before?
“Okay girls, here’s the plan.” She gathered them around for a team talk before they pushed further into the gloom ahead. I don’t think we should try to sneak through, they’re more likely to attack us if we get caught. We’ll announce ourselves straight away and ask to see VanCleef. Then we can talk and try to convince him to stop.”
“Let us hope they are willing to talk.” Rarity murmured in response, but there was no dissent further than that.
The path opened out into a maze of caves, a vast lot of dimly lit rooms – a dimness matched only by the dust of the mining operation and the dampness of the soil and rock.
Rarity recoiled as a spray of dust fell from the ceiling above her. Fortunately the mine was stable, but there were some things that couldn’t be avoided in an environment like this.
They found mining equipment almost immediately, abandoned pickaxes and shovels littering the cave floors. Torches in brackets provided them with light; Pinkie took the first one they spotted as Twilight added to the illumination with a flame she conjured in the palm of her hand.
What they did not find however was people. No miners, no guards. Nobody. There were traces, signs of prior activity, however – everything looked recently abandoned, as if the workers had up and left not too long ago.
“Maybe they’ve done a runner?” Rainbow offered in explanation.
“Deserted, you think?” Rarity hummed sceptically.
I hope so. Implausible as the timing would be for VanCleef’s stronghold to collapse in on itself at the same time as they were coming to convince him to stand down and make peace, it was something she desperately wanted to be the case.
Occasionally they would hear a faint shuffling, sometimes a faint moan, that always seemed to be coming from up ahead but that they could never quite reach the source of.
It took them about half an hour of exploring before they made some significant progress, hitting numerous dead ends on the way. The trick was to ignore any paths that lacked torches, and knowing to do so limited their missteps significantly. Eventually they came to a bridge over two rock formations along with a track leading to a lower level. Set not far behind the bridge was a large bronze archway – the most ostentatious decoration they had seen in the mines so far, and a good sign that they were on the right track.
Walking through it they came to more caverns, these filled with more mining equipment than had been in those they had passed through previously. This section appeared more like a centre of operations, from where a foreman would organise the day to day running of the mine. I wonder whether the mines were dug out from Moonbrook into the hills we saw to the south, or whether the work started elsewhere and finished out of the town…
“Hey, hold up a sec.” Applejack brought them to a sudden halt as they were traipsing further into the mine. “D’ya’ll hear that?”
“Hear what? The dust falling down and ruining my fabulous hair?”
“…no. Listen close, it’s like a clock or somethin’.”
They listened, straining their ears – and yes, there definitely was a sound. It was faint, but noticeable – and it was coming from somewhere nearby.
A small, old mine cart sat conspicuously in the centre of the hollowed-out room. It had been easy to ignore at first, but now that they were aware of the sound apparently coming from, it stood out to them. It’s weirdly placed, almost it was just left there – but why? It’s not near any of the ore for collection; surely it should otherwise be with the rest of the carts in the corner?
And why is this mine so empty? Where is everyone?
“Hold on, I’ll take a look.” Twilight bent over the cart and peered in carefully.
She saw a jumble of metal, some shiny, some rusty. She saw some kind of grey putty-like substance. She saw a mess of wires.
And the whole thing was definitely ticking.
“Girls, try and stay calm…” Twilight said as slowly as possible, straightening up and looking back at them. “But I think this is going to explode.”
“Uh?!"
“Wha-?”
“It’s going to explode very soon.” she expanded briskly. The others stood briefly transfixed by the unexpected situation, uncertain as to whether they should flee away, run forwards, or…
“What?! Then let’s get out it out of here!” Rainbow made to pick up the small wooden cart and carry it away.
“NO! Don’t move it! It might go off!” Rainbow snapped her hand back as if it had been bitten by a snake. Twilight crouched down again and examined the device more closely. A fuse, a timer counting down, some metal almost thrown into the mix and wires leading down to what she could only assume was explosive material…
It was definitely a bomb. Improvised poorly, true, but it would throw out enough shrapnel to take care of them as was the makers’ clear intention.
The sound was getting faster, more urgent, as if it was ready to go off at any moment.
She had no time to worry about what else happen, could only hope that her action wouldn’t backfire. She raised her hand towards the device, concentrated hard, and the temperature around it plummeted. Before they could all even blink twice it had frozen, the ticking coming to a sudden, premature halt.
She barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief. Then the atmosphere of the room changed in a heartbeat; it was suddenly filled with unmistakeable, murderous intent. The shadows stretched and grew as shapes emerged from them, shapes that quickly morphed into shadows on their own, except for the little things that gave them away to the observant – the odd blending of the light at the edge of the figures, as it seemed to strive to avoid them, the pit-pat of the boots worn by someone light on their feet, the subtle hiss of the unsheathing of a rusty knife…
They had vaulted the first hurdle and found themselves immediately at the second.
“It’s an ambush!” Applejack cried, raising her shield and rushing all the way to the back of the party to face down the oncoming shadows - shadows which morphed into men and women carrying daggers and other short weapons, who wore brown leather armour and deep red bandanas.
The Defias didn’t rush them quickly, but if anything the threat they posed to the group became more pronounced as a result of their slow, methodical pacing. Like they were hunters stalking their prey.
Or maybe they were just toying with them.
“RUN! Rainbow, git to the front, now!” The warrior was saying as Twilight snapped back to reality. She looked down the passageway that Applejack was indicating, the one leading deeper into the mine, one devoid of extra shadows.
It looked like their decision had been made for them.
They ran for it down that most prominent passageway, Rainbow with her heavier armour taking point, Applejack at the rear taking repeated leaps back whenever she could afford to, the rest scattered in between. The bandits pursuing no longer had the advantage of a surprise attack, and had little hope of capitalising on their initial ambush now. The passage was too narrow for them to overwhelm her through sheer weight of numbers – they could only attack three abreast. Their daggers and knives provided them with far less reach than Applejack’s blade, her shield took care of most of the strokes that slipped past, and her armour mostly absorbed those expertly timed attacks that made it all the way through her guard and caught against her chest or arms. When she had been up against the gnolls or the ghoul she had worn a mail vest, leggings and greaves, but the night before had broken in the rest of the gear that she’d been given by her trainers, and was quickly relieved to have done so once how much of a difference it was making became apparent.
The smell hit them before they saw what was causing it as they barrelled out of the passageway and skidded to a halt in the wider, open room beyond. There, standing in front of a huge bronze gate, blocking their advance, was a creature they had never seen before. It stood far taller than all of them, even towering over Applejack. It was naked save for a belt, a loincloth and a pair of bracers, all made of some kind of thick red-dyed cloth, matched in colour by the red tattoos it sported on its arms. Muscled from head to toe, with a large sharp horn protruding out of the top of its head, it seemed like it didn’t even need the massive stone hammer it was clutching awkwardly in one thick hand. Perhaps it was merely for show.
“Uugh!” Rarity’s voice distorted as she clutched at her nose, almost turning away in disgust. “What is that beast?”
“Ogre!” Twilight grimaced, caught between catching her breath and trying not to inhale the stench. “Slow, strong… don’t get hit!”
“VanCleef pay big for your heads!” He – she assumed; she didn’t know enough about the species to distinguish genders - roared, and lumbered towards them.
Doesn’t seem big on grammar, either.
Rainbow met him in the middle, her own hammer raised defensively. His tiny black eyes tracked her and he brought his weapon down where it expected her to be, but she was too quick for him. She danced to the side and thumped him with a heavy strike across the chest, jumping back before he could retaliate – but he seemed not to have even felt the blow.
Wilder dashed forward as Fluttershy released him, joining Rainbow up close and snapping at the brute’s heels. Rarity was nowhere to be seen, but the others knew she was still with them – waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Twilight looked back. It had been a trap, a backup plan to the bomb. Applejack—
“Don’t worry ‘bout me! Focus on that thing!” The defender tilted her head, one eye still on her six opponents, the other winking at the mage to show her confidence. Looking past her, Twilight could see two of the bandits laid out on the floor, groaning and clutching their stomachs. The mage feared for a moment that her friend had been forced to wound or kill again, but no – it looked like she’d not even drawn blood.
Her strikes were more precise, more focused. She wasn’t just lashing out - she was being very careful. She wasn’t winning, but she was buying them the time they needed.
Like before in the forest, Twilight couldn’t do much from afar to support her against so many enemies without hindering her too. Still, she knew she could tilt the scales slightly in Applejack’s favour.
She concentrated on one of the bandits at the back that she could just about see, weaving a spell of transformation. A snap of her fingers finished the cast, and the unfortunate thief dropped to the floor, shifted temporarily – and harmlessly – into the form of a sheep.
Reassured now, however slightly, Twilight looked to Pinkie. “Can you try and split your focus between the two fights? Either could need your attention.”
“You got it boss!” Pinkie’s mock salute morphed into her pointing at Wilder – a shield erupted around him just in time to protect him from a sweeping blow from the ogre’s hammer. She spun on the spot - “Hey, AJ, what did the apple say to the apple pie? “You’ve got some crust!” Ha-ha!”
Applejack grinned as warmth flooded her - the pain she had been beginning to feel diminished, the swelling died down, the bruises faded, the cuts re-knitted. “Keep ‘em comin’, Pinkie!”
Fluttershy watched her friend and her companion battle with the ogre, trembling as she reached for her crossbow. She wasn’t sure what good it would do, but with the others all trying so hard, she felt she had to do something.
She froze as she touched the wooden stock. Remembered that awful shooting range. How she could’ve killed someone through her incompetence.
Her fist clenched.
I can’t do it. But…
She moved her hand down to her pouch and, shaking just as hard, pulled out a shimmering blue crystal.
With both the ogre and the bandits occupied, however temporarily, Twilight turned her attention to the main obstacle to their progress – the big bronze door.
We have to go forward. These are just the foot soldiers. They’re so blinded by hatred they won’t give us time to explain… We need to get Edwin VanCleef to make them stand down.
She concentrated again, teleporting through the fight in a flash of cerulean light, the spell resolving to leave her directly in front of the door.
Back home I could have teleported through the door and brought all my friends along too, but… not here.
She couldn’t see any booby traps – and now was not the time for thoroughness – so sent a small burst of power into the door through the keyhole. Not enough to set anything off or damage the door, but she could feel the resonance of the magic as it worked through the door and that would tell her all she needed to know.
She felt it bounce around inside the mechanism.
She smiled.
It isn’t locked. They must have forgotten to lock the door. Some good fortune at last!
I can open it with a simple spell. But we need to get everyone through, and we can’t have them following us! We just need to incapacitate that ogre somehow…
Rarity waited in the shadows. Waited – and watched. She saw what the others didn’t, because they were too occupied to notice – Twilight trying to get everybody’s attention, gesturing desperately at the door; Fluttershy fiddling with her pouch, something up her sleeve…
And something only her keen eyes could spot. The way the brute kept flicking his eyes up to the fight that was waging in front of him, as afraid of the blonde warrior joining the odds against him as he was hopeful for sudden reinforcements. Invested in the outcome. She pursed her lips. A thread to pick loose. A weakness to exploit.
I have the thread. Now I just need the right moment.
Rainbow felt certain she was whittling him down – at least faster than dodging and swinging at him was tiring her, anyway. Then a desperate swing caught her by surprise across the side of the face – almost more of a slap than a punch. The force of the blow threw her completely off balance and slowed her attempt to recover – making her too slow to dodge his follow-up smash. A finishing move, meant to kill. She managed to block his mace with her own, but he exerted more force in response, pinning her down. He was so intent on taking down Rainbow that he didn’t even feel Wilder’s persistent attacks.
Her eyes started to shimmer, then blaze with light as she tried to push him back, but only succeeded in retaking a knee against him. Pinkie couldn’t shield her, or even salve her wounds; the ogre was bearing down too hard on the stricken paladin – and Applejack needed her attention anyway, growing increasingly tired from holding off all of the bandits now that the polymorph had faded. They were pushing her back, back to the point where four could attack her at once, and they were inflicting increasing damage. Pinkie’s spells could mend wounds and dull pain, but they could only do so much against fatigue.
And then it all came together for them.
The ogre looked up at the exact same moment as Rainbow put her absolute all into throwing him off. As he staggered upwards, trying to focus on regaining his footing, Rarity tossed a pouch from across the room that landed directly on the ogre’s chest. It burst on impact, showering the creature from forehead to neck in a dusty black powder which inflamed the ogre’s skin on contact and blinded where it seeped into his eyes.
He staggered backwards, bawling “Why it hurt? WHY IT STING?” and the reprieve allowed Twilight the opportunity to get the attention of Rainbow and the rest. She sent her spell burrowing into the door, which glowed violet briefly before swinging open.
“Through here!” she cried as Rarity hurried past her, already having started moving before she’d even begun to speak. Rainbow was quick on the uptake, running around the stricken ogre with Pinkie bouncing along beside her.
Applejack weighed her chances, then swung her sword in a wide arc across her enemies, making some space so that she could back away to join the others. Recovering, the Defias hurried to chase after them...
…and found themselves slipping over as the lead thief triggered Fluttershy’s trap, the blue crystal exploding into a large patch of ice. The huntress scooped Wilder away from the ogre and pulled him through the waiting door to the encouragement of the others. With everyone through, Rainbow and Applejack grabbed the heavy door handles and dragged them together as quickly as they could to close it behind them. Half of their pursuers had fallen on the ice and were struggling to regain their balance, while the rest were still up but moving as slowly as they possibly could to avoid joining their friends on the floor.
The last sight they had before the door slammed shut was of the half-blind and furious ogre colliding headlong with the Defias; his last ditch effort to kill the intruders thwarted by his muddled sense of direction.
They stood still for a moment, fighting to catch their breaths.
“They didn’t seem to be in a talkin’ mood.” Applejack said grimly, stretching out her exhausted muscles as Pinkie fussed over her remaining minor injuries.
“We can’t give up hope yet. It’s the leader we need to convince. We can end this through him.”
“So guys… what stops them from just pulling the door open and following us?” Rainbow pointed out.
Twilight frowned and said, “I might have a solution… if I can successfully pull off the magic required.”
She closed her eyes, pressed her hands to the door and drew upon the same forces that she had earlier used to freeze the bomb.
Water formed around her palms, water which turned to ice before it even had a chance to drip to the floor. She ramped up her effort, the intensity and energy she was putting into the spell as the ice grew across the metal, covering more and more of it and to a greater thickness.
She was drained once she had finished but the result was impressive – the frost had spread all the way over the door and the surrounding rock. They could see the door opening on the other side, people distorted into shapes by the crystalline ice.
“Will it hold out?” asked Rainbow.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
The three heavy crunches of tough flesh on ice cut Twilight off before she could reply, the sound of someone, probably the ogre judging from his silhouette, trying to break through from the other side. The ice directly above the hinges shifted and cracked slightly, but otherwise the makeshift barricade held up well.
“S’pose that answers my question.” The paladin shrugged.
“Well… we can’t turn back now. We have to press on.”
“Let’s hurry before they try to blow it up…”
And so they forged ahead.
They carried on through the mines, always taking the best-lit route. It seemed they had come to the end of the main mining area now – all the veins this far in had long since been stripped clean and now the passages simply served as a way deeper into the Defias base.
The first clue they had that something was up ahead was the screech of metal grating on something else. Hacking. Chewing. Overpowering. It got louder as they walked further down the passage, a clear indicator that they hadn’t been mistaken in their route selection, which was confirmed when they came to another large bronze gate separating the path from a distinct room. They gathered at the edge together then carefully peered through…
…and found themselves looking at a carpenter's dream.
“…Wow.” Rainbow muttered appreciatively. Applejack whistled in awe.
How the Defias had managed to set up such a place inside a cave like this, how they’d managed to hollow out the wall so high so as to accommodate all the pieces of whatever they were making – these were mysteries, but they couldn’t doubt what they were seeing.
The mustiness of the material stored complimented the natural damp of the cave in a way that was most unpleasant. Carved timbers lined the far wall neatly while uncarved logs were stacked haphazardly, close to where they were standing.
The source of the din soon became obvious. A large figure made of metal stood at a workbench sized appropriately for it, a mechanical body spewing steam and juddering side to side occasionally. A little green head poked above its shoulders, just visible from their view behind.
“Is someone driving that thing?” Rainbow strained to see without making herself too obvious under the arch.
“He’s a goblin.” Twilight told the others, her research on Azeroth once again coming in handy. “Green skin, very short… about the height of a gnome. They’re apparently very good at making technology, very creative, but they can be a little eccentric. And greedy.”
He brought the suit’s sawblade down and began cutting into a massive log. Sparks flew up into the air.
“That suit, it’s like one of those harvest golems... but different. A machine for industrialising carpentry.” Twilight whispered.
“I think we should perhaps revise our earlier plan, Twilight.” Rarity counselled. “We should sneak past this odd green fellow and his machine. If he is not receptive to our attempts at negotiation then it will end very badly for us.”
“You’re right. I really don’t want to take that thing on as we are.” Or ever. “It’s too dangerous. We’ll get past him and try with someone who isn’t as capable of squashing us. The door’s over there.” She pointed over to the barely-visible bronze archway ahead, fortunately as open as the one they were standing under had been. “Go one at a time, try to stay out of sight.”
They skirted around the closest log and set off towards their goal.
All of the materials scattered around the room made it very unlikely that they would be spotted – and it helped that he was so intent on his work that he didn’t even glance up in their direction. Rarity was again practically invisible as she skilfully picked her way across the room, and even Fluttershy had little trouble with quietly directing Wilder to the other side.
“Can’t believe Smite made me send all the ‘jacks on leave. Can’t believe the captain agreed. Pilgrim’s Bounty? Hmph. Not even a real holiday.” the goblin was complaining. Between the sound of his own voice and the deafening rip of his machine hacking at the lumber, he had little chance of hearing them either as they slowly made their way to the door.
At least until Pinkie, the last of the group to creep through, clumsily tripped over a loose beam, fell into a hanging net and brought a massive log down next to herself.
That got his attention. The machine swung around with a clank of metal, a whirring of cogs and a hiss of steam. “Who’s there?” he screeched, his sawblade out warily, eyes darting back and forth.
He saw nothing. Not convinced, he trundled over to the fallen logs, casting his suspicious gaze all over the room.
The others held their breath in horrid anticipation. They were safe out of sight for the moment, but Pinkie…
After a tense few seconds that felt like a whole lot more, the goblin, satisfied that the sound that had alerted him had been harmless coincidence, picked the logs up, stacked them horizontally against the untouched lumber, and went about his work once more.
Overhead, clutching onto the suspended log she had dashed up to in a panic, Pinkie breathed out a quiet sigh of relief.
They carried on once Pinkie had re-joined them. The goblin was absorbed into his work again, oblivious to the fact that the group had snuck past him, but Twilight turned back briefly to muse, watching him saw into some of the material. A thought played uncomfortably on her mind.
Ore I can understand, but lumber? What do they need all this wood for? And how did they get it all in?
She had a feeling that the answers lay further inside… and that she wouldn’t like what they comprised.
The next passageway felt much longer than the first, and also made them feel like they were making much less progress compared to in the outer section of the mines. There were no deceiving dead ends, just one long path to the end. They passed by more depleted veins and evidence of the base’s critical infrastructure in the form of a series of brass pipes that ran from one wall of the cave to another – and then eventually the ceiling, before disappearing. Eventually, after a good ten minutes, they came to the next major room of the complex.
If the central mines had been dusty and the lumberyards were musty, then the third hub of the Deadmines could only be considered… hot.
Well above boiling, in fact. Considering that it was a forge, of course, this was not perhaps surprising to the group as they emerged from the cave passageway onto an overlooking balcony in a large circular room with a high ceiling. A steel ramp led down to the bottom layer where the work was carried out, dug deeper into the ground to allow the room to go so high. Goblin craftsmen worked below, the floor a hive of activity as they directed ore carted from the outer reaches of the mines into the smelting pits, and then sent that metal to be cooled and bashed into… whatever it was they were making.
First a mine, then a carpenter’s, now a forge. What do they need all this metal and wood for? Are they building something?
“Oh, this heat!” Rarity groaned, half-swooning. “Now I will definitely break out into a sweat! This is horrible!”
“’Least you aren’t wearing armour that weighs more than you do.” Applejack retorted, tugging at her mail collar.
“Hmm… Fair point.”
“They look like workers, not warriors.” Twilight eyed the goblins carefully. “I think they might be more likely to hear us out, or at least take us to VanCleef. Sheathe your weapons.”
They made their way down the ramp, boots ringing out across the metal. Not one of the goblins looked up at the sound – they had gotten used to overseers and taskmasters overseeing their work and assumed that those walking towards them were more of the same.
They had a stroke of luck just before coming off the ramp – one of the goblins was coming their way. He looked younger to Twilight than the other goblin had from their encounter at a distance; she assumed as such anyway from how his skin was less wrinkled and his eyes were… warmer?
His jaw dropped as they approached. His eyes took in their odd appearances, the fact that they were clearly not Defias, their sheathed weapons, before darting over towards where his fellow workers were, clearly weighing up whether or not to risk shouting a warning...
“W-wha, you—”
“Please, it’s okay.” Twilight hoped she could stop him from panicking too much. It wouldn’t look good if he charged over to his compatriots screaming about a bunch of evil humans. She wasn’t sure whether it would be polite to kneel or crouch so that he wouldn’t have to look up so far – or whether it would be viewed as insulting. “We’d like to talk to your boss, please. Would you take us to him?”
“Uhhh…” The goblin, still taken aback by the situation he’d found himself in, nodded slowly. It wasn’t every day that he was approached by six unfamiliar humans with brightly coloured hair and a wolf while at work. Indeed, the safest thing for him to do right now was acquiesce, and he quickly worked that out. “Yea… I guess. Come with me.”
Rainbow sidled up to Twilight as they followed the worker down into the forge proper, and whispered, “You really think this is a good idea?”
She shrugged. “Hey, he didn’t try to kill us on sight. I’d call that progress.”
The forge fell silent as they walked through, the goblins looking up from their tools at their approach, the sounds of metal beating metal ceasing in sequence. Even the pouring of the metal into the smelting pit stopped as the workers in charge took time to examine the new arrivals.
Clearly, visitors rarely came this far into the Deadmines.
“What are you all doing?” A sharp voice rang out. “Get to work, you oafs!”
“Hey, boss! Got somethin’ for ya.” The young goblin trembled as he called out to the voice’s owner, a comparatively tall goblin with a slightly darker shade of green skin, who wore a brown leather outfit with well-fitted black boots.
“What is it, Fimbleblaze? Got a lot of work to be doin’. Work you should be doin’, too.” The other goblin didn’t even look up at them as they approached, more focused on wiping his brow with one hand and holding onto the clipboard he was perusing with the other.
Fimbleblaze rung his hands awkwardly. “Sorry, Mr. Gilnid. It’s kind of important.”
Gilnid sighed. He clearly wasn’t much good at patience; or perhaps he was just regularly frustrated by those under him. “What could be more imp—” He started, but cut himself off as he looked, at last, and stared up at the party who had ended up in his forge.
“Ah. Ah. I see. Very well. Thanks, Fimbleblaze. Run along now, I’ll take care of this.”
The younger goblin positively fled, happy to be away from them. He disappeared out of sight around the back of the forge.
“So… friends.” Gilnid wore a sickly smile as he turned to address them, a smile that held no hint of warmth. Only danger. His cold, focused eyes bored into them as those of a master craftsman could - analysing, assessing, and cataloguing. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, sir,” Twilight began, hopeful that maybe things were now going their way. So focused was she on saying the right thing that she didn’t notice that all of the other goblins were deathly silent and focused, watching her and their boss with great interest. “We’d like to speak with Edwin VanCleef.”
“Oh really? The big boss is quite busy. Why d’ya want him?”
“Well, we’ve come from Stormwind,” No point lying about that now. “And we’d like to talk to him about making peace. Finding a way that we can all coexist together!”
“And have a massive party to celebrate!” Pinkie popped up behind Twilight, a wide grin across her face.
“I… see.” Gilnid sounded surprised, despite himself, and a little perturbed by Pinkie. “And you made it all this way?”
“Yes, well, we weren’t given the warmest welcome once we got into the mines,” Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “But that’s water under the bridge. We’re looking to forgive and forget, and we think a man like VanCleef would be willing to hear us out. What do you think?”
Gilnid thought for a moment, then smiled again. This time there appeared to be genuine mirth in his expression. “Hmm. Yeah, I get ya. In fact, the boss always asked us to take care of people like you if you ever came along. Gimme a minute and I’ll let him know.”
“Wow, uh... Thanks!” I almost didn’t think it’d be this easy to convince him!
“Don’t mention it. Now, you all just wait over by that platform,” He indicated a few steps near the brass door ahead, the one that led deeper into the base. “And I’ll let them know to go get - no, a bit closer… to the right… there you go!”
“All right boys, you heard me. Get back to work! And you two, go get it ready for them!”
The goblin craftsmen jumped back to work at once, hammering, pressing, calling out work orders. The head smelter bowed to them politely, then walked over to whisper to his subordinates.
Twilight turned to her friends. “Well, that went well! I was worried for a moment there.”
Applejack cocked her head. “He did kinda seem more open to it that I was expectin’.”
“I’m so happy it’s working out for us!” Pinkie squealed and pulled the mage into a hug. “I’ll have to start planning the party straight away. Now, red and blue… oh, just think of the decorating possibilities!”
The smelting pot twisted above them, shrieking as it moved.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves, Pinkie.” Twilight patted her on the shoulder, but still smiled. “But yes, this is a good start. And now—”
“Twilight, LOOK OUT!”
The smelting pot tipped and red-hot slag poured out towards them. Rarity’s quick movement pulled the purple-haired girl out of the way, and they all recoiled towards the door as it fell, hissing where it splashed onto the ground.
“Aww, you survived.” They looked back at Gilnid to find him surrounded by most of his craftsmen, all carrying tools, little chunks of metal, even rocks. “The way that floor’s slightly slanted, the slag’s gonna fall towards you eventually anyway, and you can’t get out through the door. Guess we get to kill you slowly now.” It was hard to tell whether he disappointed or pleased at his first effort failing, just for the chance to end them this way.
The slag creeped towards them, rending the metal floor of the workshop as it spread, quickly growing wide enough to trap them against the locked bronze door.
“Why?!” demanded Twilight, as she and her friends pulled back in horror.
“Y’see kids, I don’t know whether to believe you, but I know it doesn’t matter. If you’re here to kill the big boss, we lose out on all the contract money for supplying the Defias, ‘cause, without him, they’ll fold. And if you somehow convince him to stop, well, we lose out on money too. Letting you carry on is a lose-lose situation for us. Much more profitable to end you here.” His eyes glinted with greed as they reflected the metal pouring towards the party.
“You’ll destroy your own forge just to kill us?” Rainbow cried, her voice full of incredulity as she stared wide-eyed at the source of the blistering heat.
“It’ll cool eventually, and the damage ain’t something we can’t fix.” the crazed goblin cackled as the pot finished emptying. They were lucky that it had been mostly gone already when the goblins had started pouring it at them, but there was still enough now covering the floor to create a barrier between the two groups. “But not quick enough to save ya. And I’m afraid the damage you’re gonna suffer will be somewhat more… permanent. If you do survive, I’ll be happy to have the docs take a look at ya. We won’t turn away that kind of work when there’s a hefty medical bill involved… or you can always owe us, and join the Defias.”
The sudden rush of hot air was overwhelming, as was the disgusting metallic assault on their nostrils. “Not good...” Twilight grimaced, pulling her robes close to her mouth. "What can we do?"
“I might have the answer, my dear.” Rarity reached into her luscious hair – still remarkably, though not completely untouched by the grim conditions they had put found themselves – and pulled out a hairpin, which she inserted into the door. “Buy me some time and I shall have this door open so that we can move further forward!”
Just where did she learn how to do all this stuff? The floor was a more immediate problem than wondering about that, however, and if they didn’t find a way to slow its degradation then it would claim them before Rarity could finish her work.
“Can you do somethin’, Twi?”
“I might be able to slow it down…” The mage raised her hands, a series of portals appearing above her as she brought forth a freezing cascade of ice – thought it was more like a waterfall in effect, seeing as it all melted immediately the second she brought it forth – and drenched the metal.
“Any other suggestions, girls?” Twilight strained. The blizzard she was calling was at least holding the deadly flow back, but it wasn’t doing much - there was just too much metal. She groaned as a cold pair of tongs painfully clipped her on the arm. “Try to keep those missiles off me! It isn’t easy to conjure a snowstorm underground, without any clouds…”
I can remove those annoyances from here… the others might not be able to attack from afar, but I can stop these goblins with my magic. They’ll learn not to betray our trust… they’ll learn…
N-no… if I stop calling this storm, the others will be in danger. What am I thinking?
Applejack was in front of her a heartbeat later, shield raised. “I gotcha, hon.”
“Is it a suggestion to point out that I’m regretting that we tried to negotiate?” Rainbow asked quickly, also taking up a position from which she could try to batter back some of the projectiles.
“No.” the mage hissed back. “Practical suggestions?”
“Oh. Then no.”
“Fluttershy, can you do what you did before again? With the ice?” Pinkie asked.
“O-okay.” She pulled out another blue crystal, which she slowly and deliberately crushed, struggling not to let go of Wilder with her other hand. She tossed the remains into the lava where they disappeared, then chilled the metal down considerably. The effect was more immediate, more noticeable than Twilight’s methodical casting, but... “Th-that was my last one… sorry.”
"Rarity... how's it coming?"
“Working… on it.” said Rarity, through equally gritted teeth. “One lock down, only two to go, and… oops.”
“Oops?”
“Twilight?” The rogue looked up at her friend, red-faced, and held out one half of a broken hairpin. “Could you perhaps be a dear and fish out the other half of this for me? I appear to have, uh, erred.”
“…” Out pinged the cracked piece of metal in a violet flash, with so much force that it soared over the molten floor and knocked out the closest goblin.
“Uh, thank you, dear.” Rarity got back to work with a second makeshift lock-pick. “Two down!”
“Running out of room!” Applejack cried, deflecting a tossed shoe into the superheated flow. The goblins were certainly getting more creative with their improvised ranged weapons, even as they ran out of the more obvious ones.
“Can’t… keep this up.”
“Face it, you’re not gonna win, mage!” Gilnid taunted. “We’ll melt you all down just like we would any old scrap!”
"You can do it, Twilight! We believe in you!"
“And that is three!” the fashionista cried triumphantly, making a lie of his words as she pulled her hairpin free and gave the door a heavy push. “Let us proceed!”
Exhausted, Twilight let her spell drop and staggered towards the door with the others.
“NO!” Gilnid cried as they all fled into the now-open passage. In a sharp turn, the molten obstacle now benefited the girls as it stopped the goblin smiths from pursuing them. “Get some water and cool that floor down, fast! We can’t let them get away! MORE WATER, YOU IDIOTS!”
“Good job, Rarity!” Twilight praised as Applejack and Rainbow pulled the doors back together, the lead goblin screaming as they made their escape.
“A lady has many talents, Twilight. I am as always happy to be of service.” Rarity gave a quick, gracious bow as Twilight pulled a half-full skin of water out of her bag and downed what remained. The continuous spellcasting had drained her, and she was grateful for a chance to catch her breath – but even with the water she still felt nowhere as well as she had upon first setting foot into the Deadmines… barely more than an hour before.
She scanned the others as they prepared to move on again. All looked just as tired as she was, even the normally energetic Wilder. She could hear Pinkie's exhaustion in the way the pink-haired girl kept missing beats in the song she was humming to herself.
We can’t keep this up forever. I hope we reach VanCleef soon.
The door, as they had been expecting, led to another cavern passageway with no clear current function other than to be a way from getting from point A to B. Point A being the forge, and point B, well… hopefully somewhere closer to our destination.
Because if we have to go much further than this… I don’t know if we’ll make it.
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When I saw the word Azeroth I literally flipped out. I'm a WoW player :)
and this is why you never trust a goblin, also I don;t know if it would happen but it be cool if Twilight meet Jaina Proudmoore before she goes all crazy and stuff
For me this story is great (not as good as Valey of the damned but still) and I can't in good consciense understand why it has so little popularity as it is.
6762896 Re-reading it now, it does come off like that, yeah. I used "dimension" there when I probably should have used "universe" to clarify that Twilight was making the assumption that the mane six had travelled to an alternate universe in addition to simultaneously travelling through space to end up on Azeroth.
She assumes that they've travelled across universes because they found themselves transformed into humans (as she did in Equestria Girls) but because so little of Azeroth resembles Equestria (whereas Canterlot High was like looking through a distorted mirror) she decides that they must also have travelled through space. She may not be correct, and she still isn't sure, but those are the conclusions she's drawn until she has better evidence to work wth.
I suspect my explanation in this comment for my line of reasoning could be better, but I've gone back to that chapter and changed the paragraph in an attempt to clarify it. I'd appreciate your feedback on how it reads now. Thanks for taking an interest in the story!
6762808 Thanks for the high praise! To be honest I'm not bothered how popular this story is in terms of views/likes/whatever. I churn out chapters of this story mainly for myself, to practice writing and indulge my imagination, and for the entertainment of others. I'm enjoying writing it right now, and people seem to be enjoying reading it, so I'm happy. :)
Between this and Rebirth of the Damned though I suspect it comes down to a number of factors. Rebirth has been going for a longer period of time and is much longer in length than this story, so it's had more time to attract readers and the length probably appeals to people wanting something more developed to sink their teeth into. Borsuq also does a great job getting others involved with the proof-reading/etc of his story, and until recently at least also had a more regular update schedule, which probably draws people in.
I'd definitely agree that Rebirth is a much better story than this in general - with an excellent concept, brilliantly executed, which is why I'd recommend it to anyone who has read Azeroth's Skies - and I can only hope to emulate the quality of his work as best I can.
...he also has a spiffy picture of Arthas as his cover image, so that probably helps, too. ;)
Incidentally, Chapter 14's about half done, so I'm on track to have it ready for you on Christmas Day, tomorrow. Hope everyone's enjoying Christmas Eve! :)
6764009 Quite correct. I'll blame my European metric-centred education for seeping into the narrator there. ;) Change made for accuracy and consistency, particularly as I believe I've used imperial in the story when it comes to "miles" etc. before. I'll take a sweep through at some point to catch any inconsistencies and will be careful not to slip into metric again.
6764074 I wouldn't personally disagree with you if I were put in that situation - but that's not how Twilight thinks at that point in the story. She's afraid she'll go too far with her magic, because she isn't used to combat casting in Azeroth yet - and she doesn't see a justification for killing the gnoll, no matter what it's crimes are. Detaining or subduing? Certainly. Killing, she'd have a problem with... yet she also wants to protect her friends and is struggling to find a way to do so, in a tense and time-sensitive situation. She's torn, hence the moral dilemma. It may not be valid to us - but to her, because of her upbringing and mindset, I'd argue that it is.
6764094 True, perhaps "killing" would have been a better choice of word there, especially given how intellectual Twilight is - she'd doubtless understand the distinction you're pointing out. Then again, she's quite emotional at the moment of thought in question, desperate for her friends not to go any further - it could be argued that she's not the most focused or accurate when she's upset, and I'm not sure she would see it as a particularly "moral" action. Still, I think I agree with your point in line with Twilight's established personality, and I'll change it to "killing".
Thanks again for your help with the story, I hope you enjoy the rest of the chapters when you read them!
And Twilight continues to discover that, in the world of Warcraft, arcane magic is not as well separated from fel magic as one might like. Hopefully she won't wind up rerolling as a Warlock...
Things are getting intense!
Polymorph!