The Oakhaven Iron Mine was a scar on the side of the mountain. It was a place of mud, soot, and the rhythmic *clang-clang-clang* of pickaxes hitting stone.
Taylor stepped out of the carriage. She was wearing a "practical" outfit she had hastily assembled: her riding trousers, a heavy leather apron she stole from the blacksmith, and a scarf wrapped around her hair.
Luna followed, looking like she was stepping onto the surface of Mars. She held a handkerchief to her nose, eyeing the blackened miners with deep suspicion.
"My Lady," Luna whispered. "This place... it smells like men and rocks."
"It smells like industry, Luna," Taylor said, taking a deep breath of the coal-dusted air. "And potential lawsuits."
She marched toward the mine entrance. A burly man with arms the size of tree trunks stood guarding the shaft. This was **Foreman Biggs**. He had a beard that contained more coal dust than hair.
"Halt!" Biggs grunted, crossing his massive arms. "No nobles allowed. Especially not little girls playing dress-up. Go back to your castle, My Lady. This is men's work."
Taylor didn't stop. she walked right up to him, craning her neck to look him in the eye.
"Foreman Biggs," she said. "When was the last time you inspected the ventilation shaft on Level 3?"
Biggs blinked. "Vent-what-now?"
"The air hole," Taylor translated. "The shaft that lets the bad air out. When did you check it?"
"We check it every week," Biggs grumbled. "Checked it yesterday. It's fine."
"Wrong," Taylor said, pointing a charcoal-stained finger at the mine entrance. "I can see the heat shimmer from here. The airflow is stagnant. And judging by the lethargy of your men hauling that cart..." She pointed to two miners who looked ready to pass out. "...the carbon monoxide levels are rising."
She stepped around him.
"I'm not here to play dress-up, Biggs. I'm here to stop you from blowing up my mountain."
***
Quest: Prevention of Industrial Sabotage]
[Time Remaining: 00:45:00]
Taylor descended into the dark. The air grew heavier with every step. The torches on the walls flickered, their flames turning a strange, ghostly blue near the base.
"Luna, stay back," Taylor ordered. "Do not light any candles."
"Why?" Luna asked, clutching Taylor's sleeve. "It's dark!"
"Because the air is spicy," Taylor muttered. [attachment_0](attachment)
She activated her **Architect's Eye**.
The mine turned into a wireframe grid in her vision. Structural stress lines appeared in red. But what concerned her wasn't the rock. It was the gas.
[Warning: Methane (Firedamp)
Concentration: 4.5%]
[Explosive Limit: 5.0%]
They were walking into a bomb.
"Stop!" Taylor shouted.
Ahead of them, a group of miners was taking a break. One of them, a young lad, was striking a flint to light a pipe.
"PUT THAT DOWN!" Taylor screamed, tackling the miner.
The miner yelped as a noblewoman in a leather apron slammed him into the dirt. The flint flew out of his hand.
"Are you mad?!" the miner shouted. "Get off me!"
"You idiot!" Taylor yelled back, holding him down. "Look at the flame on your lantern! Look at the blue cap!"
She pointed to the nearby lantern. The flame had elongated, stretching upward with a distinct blue halo.
"That's not a ghost," Taylor hissed. "That's Firedamp. Methane. One spark, and this entire tunnel turns into a cannon barrel, and we are the ammunition."
The miners went silent. They looked at the flame. Then at Taylor.
"Firedamp?" Biggs asked, catching up to them, panting. "But... the ventilation..."
"Is blocked," Taylor said, standing up and dusting herself off. "Someone blocked the shaft. Deliberately."
She looked up at the dark ceiling timbers.
"Biggs, give me a boost."
"What?"
"Pick me up! Now!"
Biggs, too confused to argue, lifted Taylor onto his shoulders. She reached up to the ventilation grate. It was stuffed tight with wool sacks soaked in oil.
"Sabotage," Taylor confirmed, pulling a piece of the wool loose. "If that lad had lit his pipe, the explosion would have collapsed the mine entrance. Everyone inside would have died. The Count would lose his income. And I would be sold to Baron Hogg."
She looked down at the men. Her face was smeared with soot, her eyes burning with rage.
"Someone tried to murder you to get to me."
A low growl went through the miners. They were rough men. They accepted danger. But they didn't accept being used as pawns.
"Who?" Biggs asked, his voice low and dangerous. He gripped his pickaxe.
"I don't know yet," Taylor lied. She knew it was Isabella's co-conspirator. "But we are going to fix this. Right now."
She jumped down.
"Biggs, get a team to the surface. Clear the shaft from the top. Luna, take your petticoat off."
Luna gasped, covering her chest. "My Lady! Here? In front of the men?"
"Just the bottom layer! We need fabric to make a fan!" Taylor snapped. "We need to manually cycle the air until the shaft is clear. Move!"
***
[One Hour Later]
The air was clear. The "blue cap" on the flames had vanished.
Taylor sat on a crate of ore, exhausted. She had spent the last hour directing a team of burly miners on how to build a centrifugal air pump using a cart wheel and Luna's petticoats.
The miners looked at her differently now. It wasn't the awe of the servants in the courtyard. It was the grit-respect of men who worked with their hands. She hadn't just given orders; she had wrestled a miner to the ground to save them.
"My Lady," Biggs said, approaching her. He held out a canteen of water. It was dirty, but Taylor took it and drank.
"You saved us," Biggs said gruffly. "We thought you were... well... useless. Like the other nobles."
"I am useless at embroidery," Taylor admitted, wiping her mouth. "But I know rocks. And I know gas."
Biggs nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rough stone. It glittered in the dim light.
"Found this deep in Vein 4," Biggs said. "Thought it was junk. But it smells funny. Like... rotten eggs."
Taylor took the stone. It was yellow. Crumbly.
Sulfur
Her eyes widened.
"Biggs," she said slowly. "Do we have a lot of this?"
"Tons of it," Biggs shrugged. "We usually throw it away. It ruins the iron."
Taylor's grip on the stone tightened.
Charcoal (Carbon) from the trees.
Saltpeter (Potassium Nitrate) from the new septic tank compost (eventually).
And now, Sulfur.
The Holy Trinity of Boom.
[Ding!]
[Quest Complete: Prevention of Industrial Sabotage]
[Reward: Blueprint - Black Powder (Gunpowder)]
[Bonus Reward: Loyalty of the Miners Union]
Taylor smiled. It was a terrifying smile. The kind of smile a villain makes when they acquire the laser code.
"Biggs," Taylor said. "Keep digging this. Store it. Keep it dry. And tell no one."
"What is it for?" Biggs asked.
"Mining," Taylor said innocently. "We're going to make the digging... faster."
She stood up. She had saved the mine. She had won the loyalty of the workers. And now, she had the ingredients for the one thing that could level the playing field against a conspiracy of assassins.
Explosives.
"Let's go, Luna," Taylor said. "We have a chemistry set to build."
As they walked out of the tunnel, into the blinding sunlight, Taylor felt the weight of the sulfur in her pocket.
"A" wanted a war?
Fine. Taylor was bringing artillery.