After that, they went for breakfast, and it was in one of the few wooden buildings that wasn't a ruin in the camp. There must have been over three hundred people crammed into it, and the sour smell of unwashed bodies was thick in the air.
By the time they fought for space and sat, there were workers already standing since there were no seats left for them. Tiber had told him that this was how he wanted to eat the food when it was hot.
He glanced around. There were a lot of tables, but he saw some in the distance on a raised platform. It wasn't that crowded.
"Why don't we go for those ones?"
"It's for the top three wings. They get to eat good food while we eat wherever it is they serve," Slya scowled.
Vale didn't say anything after that, but they did tell him what was expected of him from their wing leader. He had to produce ten carts of the resources they mined every day, or he would be punished or reassigned to another place. They warned him there were places even worse than here.
Eventually, they were served food that was somehow worse than what he ate in prison. It looked and tasted like hot vomit, but Vale ate it all. If he didn't, what would he eat? He had no other option.
Then he followed the others as they made their way to the mine and entered the yawning opening. In the first chamber, Vale was led to the offices that were set up inside, where the overseers stayed, to get his name and wing recorded before he followed them into the narrow tunnels and to their side of the mine.
There was a big tunnel that ran through the whole mine, and spaced along its length were openings for caverns called wings. Inside each chamber were additional tunnels where workers mined.
"This is our wing," Tiber said. He gestured to the dirt-filled room that smelled of dust and stale air. They were the first workers there for now. Torches had been driven into the wall to light it up, but the light was low which suited Vale just fine.
Their wing was the last in the tunnel. It was the final occupied cavern because the deeper one went, the more likely they were to encounter monsters, and it wasn't as if the resources were any better further down.
Vale glanced at the carts, hammers, pickaxes, and shovels.
"Are you listening? Don't forget that this is a ruin, and although it was cleared, monsters still pop up now and then. These tunnels weren't made by us, so they go deeper than you think. Don't go too deep. Mine closer to the chamber," Tiber grunted.
"What type of monster?" Vale asked. He swallowed. If I can see the monster, maybe I can find a way to kill it and see if my core reacts again… wait, wait what am I even talking about? I just want to survive!
"Imps. Very dangerous creatures. They like to play tricks, and although they are considered weak and can be killed by even normal people like us, what they lack in power they make up for with numbers. So anytime you see one, just run before the rest arrive," Tiber said. His voice echoed.
Slya lifted her hammer and pickaxe. "And they can also move through solid objects. They can walk through walls. They infest the mine further in, so just stay close."
With that, she turned and went into a tunnel.
Tiber grunted as well. "That's most of it. You haul your cart back to that first chamber. Make sure they mark your name before you return. Lunch is anytime you haul five carts. Don't die."
Vale watched his retreating back, then piled his axe and shovel into the cart and wheeled it into a tunnel that seemed unused.
Near darkness closed around him, and he breathed a sigh. Those two seemed friendly, but Vale had been a prince, and he knew when people were keeping an eye on him for something. His heart quickened as he scanned the wall. Did they already know he was a Squire?
I don't even know ways to detect a Squire unless they use their power or say it themselves. I should just focus on adjusting to this place first.
There wasn't much light in that tunnel because there wasn't much need for it. Some parts of the wall glowed faint white where the main resource of the mine was embedded starsalt.
A crystal-like stone that contained unaspected essence, they varied in size, and when refined by alchemists, they could be used in many things, converted directly into potions and pills that boosted the core, used to craft other potions, or to cook high-ranked monsters. But the biggest use of all was as fuel for enchanted tools and objects.
In short, the Steelclaw were mining money. Their leader must be rich. Lucky bastard, Vale thought.
He grasped his pickaxe and lifted it with an ease that surprised him. Then, clang! He slammed it into the wall with force. Vibrations ran down his arm, and his bones shook.
Vale winced and glared at the rock when he saw he had only managed to chip a tiny piece off. He looked at the cart and remembered the dead expressions he'd seen on the workers the day before.
He understood now. "It's going to be a long day."
It was. Vale had underestimated the work and how weak his body was. Each swing of the pickaxe made his whole body quiver, and the dust made him sneeze constantly. By the time one cart was full, Vale was ready to crawl back into the prison.
His body felt like painful rubber, and his palms bled. His eyes were red and watery. And he had only done one cart.