Daring Do and the Shroud of the First King

‘So you think… We can break through that tiny gap in the rock?’ Leaf murmured, sitting up in bed some time later. Dust had returned from her shift of hard labour for a rest period, and now the pair planned their escape from the mine – via the tiny crevice in the lower mine. ‘It seems risky.’

‘What other chance do we have, Leaf?’ Dust pleaded. ‘We can’t stay down here forever, can we?’

‘Okay, okay… But how do we break through without having the guards notice?’ He questioned back at her. Dust sighed, slumping down beside him. The oppressive heat boiled all around, and sweat dripped down from her bandanna-covered forehead as she looked him in the eye.

‘I have a plan.’ She uttered, before standing up and motioning for Leaf to follow her. The plan was set out, and after another hour or so of work and preparation, the two were ready. Meager supplies had been bundled hastily into ragged sacks, along with tools and anything else that might prove useful. Having thrown the sacks down beside the tiny opening in the disused tunnel, Dust and Leaf prepared themselves, and swung into action.

As practiced, Leaf made his way up onto one of the higher walkways in the rock. Taking a deep breath, he looked around, and spied the objective he was searching for; a makeshift crane and pulley system which was being used to transport ores up and down between levels of the mine. Taking decisive action, he pulled out his pickaxe… And swung the sharp pick as hard as he could into the rope which was currently hoisting a crate of ore higher up the mine. The rope split instantly, and the crate of ore dropped down to the mine floor, smashing into a slave driver as it landed. The driver was crushed to death instantly, blood flecking across the floor in a dark mess. With his distraction set in motion, Dust’s work began. Having already positioned herself up on the central crane mechanism itself, she set to work using her own pickaxe to hack at the wooden frame of the machine. She smacked her pick into the wooden planks and rusted metal bars, destabilizing the entire structure. It began to falter, shaking violently as she dashed along the support beams and back down to the dusty bottom of the mine. The supports began to creak unbearably and snap in places, the huge makeshift crane swaying and crumbling as it tried to cling onto the mine walls with its rapidly deteriorating wooden supports. Taking cover in one of the alcoves to the side of the main area, Dust could only watch as the crane’s supports finally gave way, and the entire crane toppled down to the mine floor. As she had planned, the heaviest parts of the crane went rolling and tumbling down into the lower tunnels – and hurtling straight toward the thin cavern wall through which she and Leaf intended to escape. A loud crashing of rock and debris heralded the opening of their escape route, and Dust turned to dash toward it. But she was halted by the sound of whip-cracks and heavy, loud beatings of hoof on flesh. Turning back, she saw Leaf. He was perched on the edge of a carved walkway, trying to fight back a pair of slave drivers who continued to pummel him mercilessly with their hooves. All around the mine, in fact, fights had broken out. The stronger-willed slaves (and those who retained some sense of intelligence) had taken the opportunity to rebel against their oppressors. Amid the chaos, Dust dashed back upward to come to Leaf’s aid.

For Leaf, the situation was looking ever more grim as time passed. He dragged himself backward onto a smashed wooden support which had recently held up the mine’s crane, taking another hoof to the face and swinging his pickaxe blindly forward. Luckily for him, it managed to find its mark – and dig into the side of one of the slave drivers’ skulls. The now profusely bleeding driver fell sideways, dropping off the ledge and crashing painfully down onto a pile of sharp, rough rocks below. Leaf wiped the blood from his face, and tried to make out what was happening as he swung again with his pickaxe. This time, the remaining slave driver dodged the attack, and knocked his pick out of his hoof. The makeshift weapon fell into the mining pit below, clattering to the dusty ground. Leaf looked up at the scarred, deformed slave driver, then bowed his head and waited for the killing blow.

There was a loud smack, the sound of metal on flesh… And then a thud.

Leaf dared to open his eyes, and was overjoyed to see the driver lying face-down on the walkway, with a pickaxe blade slammed into the back of his head. Standing triumphantly over the body was the blood-splattered, emaciated figure of Dust. She reached out a hoof, helping Leaf to his hooves. As he breathlessly thanked her over and over, the two ran back down into the pit, and dashed down the lower tunnel. Escaping the chaotic fight in the Citadel’s mine, the pair clambered down further. As expected, the heavier parts of the crane had smashed straight through the solid rock around the small opening which Dust had found, hitting the rock with enough force to open up a sizeable hole into the cave system beyond. Grabbing their scrounged-together supply bags and a holding up a lantern Dust had managed to swipe on the way down, the two proceeded inside the cave system beyond.

The caves stank of rot and stagnant water, along with the pungent odor of volcanic smoke that wafted through the tunnels every so often from the vents below.

‘So do we know… Where we’re going?’ uttered Leaf, limping along and trying his best to nurse his bleeding wounds and not wince in pain. Dust pressed onward, forcing him to follow.

‘Do you hear that?’ She murmured, ignoring his question. ‘Water. I hear water.’ Her voice carried with it a strong sense of hope as she pressed onward through the cave before them, with Leaf in tow. Stalactites and stalagmites were dotted all around, and irregular rock formations made for impractical conditions as the two continued forward. Dust continued to follow the sound of dripping and rushing water until, miraculously, the two came upon an incredible sight; a small cavern, with a deep basin of clear water leading down a natural tunnel and multiple waterfalls of sorts that rushed inward through apertures in the upper walls – presumably leading straight out into the waters surrounding the island. ‘Leaf, this is it… We’re free.’ Dust gasped.

‘Free? How are we free? We’re trapped in a cave underneath a fortress owned by a civilisation of insane freaks!’ He yelled. His voice echoed all around the caverns. Dust simply huffed, rolling her eyes as she readied herself, and clambered up the rock face toward the sources of the waterfalls. She turned back to him, waving her hoof.

‘Follow my lead.’ She called, and without a moment’s hesitation, she took a deep breath and scrambled inside the opening in the rock, fighting against the current of the water with all her strength as she began to push upward… Up, through the narrow tunnel that had been eroded by rushing water… Up, and out, into the open water above. She swam upward, and in a moment, she broke the surface of the water with a titanic splash, taking a deep breath of fresh, cold air. Leaf broke the surface moments later, and the two looked around blearily. Unfortunately, they had not emerged in the ocean – rather, in a narrow lake or river of some kind which lay inland. Gazing up at the night sky above, the two dragged themselves onto dry land and, wrapping themselves in rags and unpacking their supplies beneath the canopy of a lakeside tree, they collapsed into an exhausted sleep.