Brotherhood of the Yellow King: Chapter Four

IV: Into the depths.

My first impression of Endomaw mine was that it was a lot smaller than I had expected, much like the above surface complex. Whereas I had, especially given the size of the city that was supposed to only be a town, expected a vast subterranean chasm full of industry and noise, instead there was only a small chamber with a few carts of ore and a trio of tunnels with a smattering of stooped workers in mining suits processing and digging. I tried to hide my disappointment and perplexion and instead followed Jerrod as he strode down the right most tunnel. His shadowed form appeared intermittently as he passed the halogen lights that dotted the passageway and I hurried to close the distance lest I lose my guide and become lost, I noticed that there were junctions at irregular intervals but no signs for navigation and resolved to not stray from Jerrod again as i could see no markings of guidance nor direction. 

Presently, after a few minutes walking and a couple of changes of direction we came to another small dimly lit chamber. Here, Lek awaited us, somehow looking simultaneously both bored and nervous. He greeted me in his soft tone and explained that we needed to progress even deeper, that this original network of tunnels was little more than the earliest parts of the excavation, created primarily for the logistics of earth moving. A trial and error attitude towards finding the best seams and digging areas. I stepped into the small cage that he was indicating and he followed me, a heavy tread signalling that Jerrod would also be accompanying us. Lek hit a small switch by the side of the cage and with a sharp jolt and anguished squeal the cage started to descend. 

For a few moments we were surrounded by rock as the shaft the cage occupied was closed in and barely wide enough for our conveyance to pass undamaged. I felt claustrophobia closing in and gripped the rail of the cage tightly, trying to control my breathing and not think about the megatons of rock above me. Then the walls of rock gave way and we emerged into a large cavern much more in line with my expectations of Endomaw mine. Though still not gargantuan in scale there was at least a lot more activity and progress apparent. The cavern was dotted with further tunnels from which wire cables were suspended with ore being constantly moved from tunnel to tunnel. As I looked over the railing below me I could see that this mine was deep indeed, the bottom being well beyond my sight, and a sudden movement and shuffling of feet behind me convinced me to step back, even as I put the paranoia down to the remnants of my earlier feelings of claustrophobia. 

"Impressive isn't it?" Lek breathed, seemingly oblivious to my discomfort though i noticed that Jerrod suddenly seemed angry. I nodded, stepping further back from the railing and making a show of taking my communicator from my satchel. I checked the signal and was gratified that even this far down the Machine Spirit endeavoured to deliver a reasonable quality of signal, I breathed a prayer to the Emperor and subconsciously touched the chain around my neck, feeling the golden Aquila against my chest. I looked up at Jerrod who was positively glowering at me and quickly looked away, busying myself with the innards of my satchel. In silence we continued to descend, the cage juddering from time to time and preventing my fears from being completely allayed. In time our downwards journey reached its climax and the cage halted at what i estimated to be 600 metres below the entrance of the cavern. Below us the chasm yawned and the bottom of the mine was still out of sight. I saw all this through the grille of the cage floor, being unwilling to approach the railing again, somewhat perturbed by the expression on Jerrod's face. I must confess my legs were a little unsteady as I exited the cage but with solid rock beneath my feet I swiftly regained my equilibrium and started to turn my mind to work once more. 

To his credit, Lek fielded many of my questions adroitly, only a few of my queries proving beyond his knowledge. These, he assured me, another would be able to answer. To this end he led me down another tunnel, one that curved often and sharply. Eventually however, and after a slight incline which I estimated had put us about 80 meteres closer to the surface, we came to a large metal door. Activating a comm panel Lek spoke some pass phrase which was beyond my hearing and the door slid open. Stepping inside I was taken aback at the change in surroundings, metal walls and rooms surrounded me and corridors and other such familiarities of internal architecture abounded. After some time traversing rock and tunnels it was quite jarring but I quickly recovered and turned to face the tall character that was approaching me. He had thin, pinched predatory features and a high pronounced forehead which lent him a regal and imposing air. He introduced himself as Ganvan Seris, a senior figure among the hierarchy of the mine, though he neglected to divulge his exact title. 

Ganvan spoke in an almost hypnotic low and mellifluous tone, clearly enunciated and in the manner of a master orator. I found myself compelled to look at him and he had my complete attention. Unable to look away I swiftly assessed him as best as I was able. Clad in a rich yellow robe, he carried a staff of ebony topped with a four armed figure. He too wore a mining suit, though it seemed to be heavily customized, lacking many of the bulky accouterments and lights that adorned my own outfit. Furthermore his suit featured a tall cowl which only added to his stature. His face was gaunt and he was completely bald, in fact so were Lek and Jerrod, not just bald but completely hairless. It was at that moment that I resolved the nagging feeling that I had been experiencing. Every single individual I had seen in Endomaw Mine was bald, completely bereft of any hair at all. A chill ran down my spine as I realised that even back on the journey in the limousine every denizen of Endomaw I had seen had been cowled or hooded. Suppressing the tremor from my voice, I raised this point with Ganvan. His smooth answer that it was prolonged exposure to the ore seemed to ring false to my ears but his tone was soothing and I felt somehow compelled to believe him. He also reassured me, with a disarming smile, that I was safe and it took many months continuous exposure to see any effects. I queried if the hair grew back once the individual was removed from proximity to the ore and Ganvan airily replied that he didn't know. Thinking back to Geriok and citizenry of Endomaw it seemed unlikely but even as my brain tried to work through the sudden haze it was experiencing to argue that the citizens I had seen had surely had minimal, if any, exposure to the ore, I found myself unable to reason or cogitate and indeed the fog became denser the longer Ganvan spoke to me. 

Desperately trying to regain some sense of control and mental faculty I took a Stimm pill from my satchel and swallowed it. Maybe I was just tired and needed to clear my head. I started repeating my earlier questions to Ganvan, more to break his monologue than anything else, and he answered them immediately and to my satisfaction, though again I couldn't profess to having any real capacity of clear thought at this time. Ganvan gave me a short tour of the facilities, speaking at length about what had been accomplished in Endomaw. The Stimms had perked me up enough that I was at least able to make notes based upon his words and I trusted that they would make sense to me later when it came to preparing my report. After a few hours I was fatigued and requested that the day's activities ended and I be allowed to return to my guest quarters to absorb and compile the data I had captured and more importantly rest. Lek and Jerrod accompanied me and I barely noticed their taciturn silence on the ascent so tired was I. As we approached the room I was occupying I noticed them talking but couldn't make out their conversation as they were a good few metres ahead of me. I had no idea of the route back to my room so was allowing them to lead me though I must confess I was actually ruminating on the days events rather than focusing on navigation. 

Returning to my room I removed the heavy and now dusty mining suit with some difficulty and locked the door, once again bolting the door as well as an afterthought. I spent a few hours or so working on my notes and recording observations and submitting a short Vid-report to Narthley before sleep took me into its comforting embrace.

My dreams were most discomforting though, as my unconscious mind attempted to sort and process the days experiences. Twisted dream logic aside the sequence of events were largely accurate (reality contains less bubbles and spiders). As I descended down to the mine in the cage I could hear guttural snarls and sibilant hisses behind me, getting closer and closer. I leaned over the rail looking into the darkness below and recoiled as yellow tentacles rose from the depths, undulating and writhing as they reached for me. I stepped back, but suddenly Lek and Jerrod were either side of me gripping me firmly by the arms prohibiting my retreat. I struggled as the tentacles approached but could not move in their vice like grip. The tentacles reached my face as Lek urged me not to resist. Within seconds my head was enveloped and I was suddenly pulled over the railings my captors released me. Falling down into the depths, my scream was muffled by the oily grip of the yellow tentacles as I was dragged into the darkness. 

I awoke with a start, sweat pouring from my body despite the relative coolness of the environs. All was still, silent. No. There was something, a quiet shuffling and scraping, i strained my ears to pick out more but struggled with the competition from my hammering heart. Then I felt the cold all too well as the door handle scraped and turned and the door was tried. There was some muttering and then I heard the shuffling and scraping recede until it passed the reach of my hearing. I listened for a while but heard nothing else before sleep once again overtook me and I fell into a thankfully dreamless slumber for the few hours I had till first rise. 

The recording ended once again, and Carn opened his eyes. Though far more detailed the logs were proving less insightful than he had hoped. That there was something untoward was clear but the only one that could provide the information he needed was locked in an asylum and far far beyond any use. He rubbed his face and reached for the bottle of Skee on his table before remembering it was empty. Damn, perhaps some still remained in his hip flask. Just as he got up to rifle through his overcoat's pockets he noticed the wall comm flashing red. He didn't remember muting the chime but it was easily enough done and he'd probably done it without thinking. The insistent red pulse continued and he walked over to it, shaking the worst of his fugue off before hitting the acknowledgement rune.

"yeah, who is it?" His throat was dry, his voice hoarse, Throne but he could use a drink! Besides, he knew who it was going to be. Exactly who he didn't want it to be...

"Carn? Where the hell have you been, do you have any idea for how long I've been trying to contact you? What are you playing at? Throne, you'd better get your arse in gear, I've been voxing you for hours!"

The words came in a torrent, Ralscon's reedy yet bellicose tone bleeding into Carns ears, far more than he could take, especially in his current state. He only heard half of his supervisors rant, tuning out the rest as white noise. He blearily interrupted Ralscon with an irritable growl.

"Ralscon, in the Holy Emperor's name, what do you want? It's late and i'm tired. It can't be that important"

"Oh? How would you know Carn? I'm surprised you are aware of anything at the bottom of that bottle of Skee. Now shut up and listen. It's Endomaw. They've started responding to our communications, said they've had technological problems which they've now sorted. I though YOU should know this as it might help you with your half arsed investigation, Emperor knows why I bother though."

Carn's eyes widened as the salient information from Ralscon's diatribe filtered into his brain. This was the last thing he had expected. He shut Ralscon off with a terse thanks, advising he was coming back into the administratum, He fumbled for his flask, feeling the cool metal at his fingertips. He pulled it out and was gratified that it seemed at least half full. He allowed himself but the faintest of sips though. He needed his head clear and he would also need to save what was left for later. There was one other place that he could get the answers he needed and he could return Larkarsky's charm at the same time. Besides, he was almost out of logs and definitely out of options. There was nothing else for it, he was going to have to go to Endomaw.