The heavy smell of metal against stone filled the air as the 16 year old boy hammed into the ground with his pickaxe. The mines were a harsh place often full of injuries, lung disease, and death time to time. The air in the mine was thick with choking dust, every breath like inhaling powdered stone. Sweat clung to the skin never drying in the sweltering heat. The walls groaned ominously with the weight of the earth, and the constant threat of the mine walls collapsing lingered in the air.
The harsh conditions of the place were the least of the boys concerns as a short man with a long brown beard walked along the mineshaft barking commands at the other miners. The man looked down at the boy barking commands. "I better not see you slacking off boy! I know you have debt to pay off to the governor!" The boy looked up at the man with a wary look trying to look at him without giving away that he was exhausted.
"Of course sir I'm doing my best trying to make a living here sir." The man looked at the boy with a suspicious look then scoffed at him turning around and focusing his attention to the other miners. "Well then Gabriel you better get back to work before I cut your wages again."
Gabriel nodded and quickly went back to the task at hand. He lifted his pickaxe and continued to hammer down into the ground clearing away the rubble and dust. The musky scent of earth filled his lungs as he coughed and mined away.
When Gabriel finished his quota at the end of the day he picked up his pickaxe and headed up the mineshaft back to the surface. As he was lining up to collect his payment he looked around as people began coming out from the mines covered in rock and rubble their faces full of weary and weakness. The mines were a constant reminder of the harsh living conditions the miners endured everyday. He then quickly adverted his eyes as he saw a short figure approaching the mine entrance along with two bodyguards.
The Governor of the town walked into the mine entrance. The governor a dwarf wearing a royal tunic carrying one of the ceremonial dwarf hammers given to him by the Dwarf king Thrain Stonehelm. The humans of the Everworth kingdom and the dwarves of the Dwarven kingdom were close often trading with each other sharing farmland and resources. So they shared a unique history of coexistence that lasted since the last 200 years.
However that didn't mean that the hostility between the two kingdoms were gone. Gabriel had seen the dark side of both sides trying to gain the upper hand politically and economically. The mines ran deep beneath the Blackstone hills, carved by the generation of dwarves yet it was no longer their hands that swung the picks. What was once a symbol of dwarven pride had become a machine of profit and control. Gabriel had the pleasure of working for minimal wages in a dangerous worksite mining precious minerals for the self interest of the dwarven royalty.
Gabriel tried reaching for the bag of coins that contained his daily wages but then got knocked to the side by one of the bodyguards. The Dwarf looked at him with a disgusted look spitting on the floor and looked at the instructor of the mine with a subtle stare. "Tell me instructor could you explain why this little rat is still working in my mines?"
He snapped his finger and the two bodyguards grabbed Gabriel from the ground. "Take this little street rat away he is far too weak and scrawny to work in the mines and will only get in the way of others." Gabriel looks up at the Dwarf desperation showing in his eyes. "Sir please I need the job and the money I wont be able to eat for another week if I'm not payed."
The Dwarf scoffs looking down at Gabriel. "Well I don't see how that might be my problem take this little street stray away." The bodyguards threw Gabriel out the mine entrance. Dirt and dust flooded into Gabriel nose and mouth as he landed on the ground. Gabriel struggled to get up coughing and trying to wipe the degree from his face. Gabriel sighed softly picking himself up and brushing himself off walking away knowing that he had no choice. He walked down the grey cobble path heading into the town and into the dirty slums where he cautiously opened the drainage gate the smell of the waste and dirty water hitting his nose instantly. He slowly headed down the ladder into a shadowy corner leading to a rusty door.
Gabriel opened up the door entering a small cramped room. The small room was located in the sewers was dirty but still warm and protected Gabriel from town guards that were kicking the homeless from the streets. He searched through his room trying to fish out anything edible but failed miserably. "Why do I need to suffer? Because of the ego of that noble Dwarf?" Gabriel sighed miserably leaning against the wall his legs giving up making him slide down into a sitting situation.
Gabriel looked into the shattered mirror across from him in the room watching as a scrawny boy with black hair and brown eyes staring right back at him. "What I would give to have a normal life with a family and a roof over my head…" The sound of his stomach growling broke the silence reminding him of the hunger building in his stomach.
He glared at his reflection anger filling him as he got up and picked up the shattered mirror lifting it up and slamming it onto the ground in frustration. The glass shattering across the floor cutting into his feet making him wince slightly. He sighed hopelessly and left the room heading out the rusty door to the small stream of water coming out from the walls of the sewer.
Gabriel arrived at the small stream of water flowing out of the walls and lowered his head. He let the flowing stream of water washing the grime and dust from his face. He cleaned off the sweat and dirt from his body and wiped the water from his eyes blinking the water away as the water dripped off his body.
Someone beyond the walls small clicking noises stirred the silence. The sounds reverberated from one of the tunnels leading into the heart of the sewer. Gabriel looked up curiously listening to the clicking sounds. Time to time there was a chance of lizards and other small animals getting stuck in the sewers Gabriel had been lucky time to time finding wounded animals and being able to capture it and feed his starving self. He began heading towards the sound praying to the gods to send him hope in his hopeless world.
At the entrance of the tunnel he noticed a trail of blood on the damp slick floor. He curiously looked down at the trail of blood wondering what kind of creature had left this trail of blood. The blood wasn't red but was more of a silver color like the crescent moon. Gabriel continued down the sewer tunnel leading into a more open wide area where the afternoon sun was shining down.
Green vegetation had grown around the place thanks to the lack of care for the sewage system. Glowing mushrooms glowed from the shadows where the light didn't reach. From the cracked stone ceiling above, vines draped like ancient curtains, their tendrils curling and twisting all around the sewer. Small white flowers bloomed in places where it met the dark sewer water flowing through the centre. The vegetation made the place feel alive the air was thick with the scent of earth and decay and yet laced with something sweet, wild, and primordial.
Then Gabriel noticed that the trail of silver blood led to the patch of the delicate white flowers. He cautiously walked towards the patch of flowers his heart pounding his breath shortening as he gazed at the body of a pale white figure nestled into the ferns and flowers glowing softly in an ethereal light.