"All these puzzles, quick decisions,

each are pieces that make me whole..

All these friendships and our struggles,

I can't hide these feelings anymore!

Live or die, there is no choice here..

my path is golden and crystal clear!

Let's continue to the surface,

I'll show you that,

there's nothing to fear.."

-Frisk Dreemurr

(From Undertale - Hopes & Dreams Cover by Edobean)

". . .But I Would Save Them"

Chapter 3: Minecarts & Madness

". . .The entrance to the Gorlek Mines lay in the Windtorn Ruins. . ."


Grom and Twillen made their way through the abandoned wooden structures. A small, midnight blue dog-like creature with a collar made of leaves ran forward, leading the two onward. Twillen's furry little companion led the pair to a rickety but still very much functional wooden lift.


". . . long ago had they been sealed by the Gorlek who sought to hide from the decay. . ."


With his pickaxe in one hand and a lantern in another, Grom reached into his pack with his third hand and pulled out a Metal Cog.


". . .but Grom still had the key. . ."


Grom placed the Metal Cog into a nearby mechanism, and then he pulled a lever on the center of the lift. There was a loud clanking sound, and the trio began their descent into the Gorlek Mines.

"Ah, it is a pity that the Lone Miner of Windswept Wastes did not want to join us," Twillen remarked.

Grom shrugged and said, "He simply could not bear to see or think of what has been lost, and broken. He has thrown himself headlong into his mining. Just as I throw myself into my own work."

"True. Very true. Oh, but there is a difference," Twillen observed, "Your work comes from a promise to others. To provide safe haven for the Moki and any creature who wishes to live in Wellspring Glades. You surround yourself with others, while he remains alone. I understand that some things are not so easy to replace, but one should not allow their regrets to stop them from doing anything worth remembering."

Grom looked to Twillen and leaned on his pickaxe thoughtfully. "You may have a point there, friend. Perhaps there is more to being a true Gorlek than just mining and building. After all, what good is a house if no one is living in it?"

"BARK-BARK!" went Twillen little companion, and he scampered up to the Gorlek.

Grom chuckled and petted the dog. "You certainly are clever, Twillen. Training this one to sniff out Shards in abandoned places. Imagine if the Gorlek could have trained such creatures to sniff out Ore?"

"Oh yes, my little friend is quite handy," Twillen replied, "Although I must admit that he is the truly clever one. Ooh, all the care and feeding he gets just from sniffing out a few shards. One must wonder who's the master and who's the pet, yes, yes!"

The lift suddenly came to a halt, and Grom gestured with two of his arms and said, "And here we are. The sole source of Gerora's wealth."

Twillen gazed up and around at the many purple crystals sticking out of the cavern floor and ceiling. Aged wooden scaffolding and abandoned tools surrounded them, all illuminated by the eerie glow of the crystals.

"Dazzling. Brilliant. Mystifying," Twillen remarked, then he blinked his eyes and said, "Now then, how do we find this mysterious Crystal Fever cure?"

Grom explained, "Many Gorlek claimed it would be buried deep within the earth, lower than the lowest point of the mines. My brother. . .he believed those claims, but I had always had my doubts. But if the Spirit Trees says it is there, then I am a believer."

"BARK-BARK!"

Twillen turned and called out, "Truff-Truff! Heel! Don't go to far!"

As Twillen and Grom chased after Truff-Truff, Grom laughed and said, "Ha-ha-ha! The pup has spunk! Perhaps he can even smell the cure from here! He is certainly going the right way!"

Before long, the trio had arrived at a large minecart, big enough to accommodate a Gorlek, with enough space left over for Twillen and Truff-Truff.

"Oh, my my my, are we going for a ride?" Twillen asked.

Grom grabbed the two with his free hands and jumped into the minecart. "Indeed we are, my friend!" Grom declared gandly as he held onto the pair tightly. He continued to hold onto his lantern, but put his pickaxe into his pack so he had one hand free. "Forgive me for hanging on to you, but you'll see why shortly!" he said, and he pulled a lever next to the track they were on, and the minecart began to move.

At first, the ride was smooth and uneventful, but nonetheless quite beautiful as they rode through a large mineshaft studded with gems and crystals.

Then Truff-Truff barked out urgently, and Twillen's eyes widened as he pointed and shouted, "The track is gone!"

Indeed, the minecart appeared to be headed to the end of the line, which incidentally was a sheer drop onto razor sharp crystals below.

Grom just laughed and said, "It's time you see how Gorlek's build tracks!" Grom then hit a lever on the minecart, and he held onto his friends as the minecart suddenly leapt upwards from the track, flipped upside down, and stuck onto a track on the ceiling.

Twillen cried out and screamed all the way as they rode across the ceiling, coming across gaps that the minecart jumped right over and cleared. The wheels clanged as they jumped off and came back onto the upside down track. Soon they were headed for what looked like a dead end of solid rock, but Grom merely hit the lever again and the minecart fell back down and flipped right side up to land safely on the track below.

The minecart continued to race downward through the mines, switching between the ceiling and floor several times as the slope got steeped and the cart moved faster and faster.

"We must STOOOOOOOOP!" Twillen shouted as he saw a large sign with a red X painted on it coming up ahead.

There was a loud screech as Grom hit the breaks, causing the minecart to slowly but surely come to a complete stop right as it touched the wooden sign at the end of the line. A second minecart lay on an adjacent track to them as well.

As Twillen and Truff-Truff panted heavily, Grom let out a hearty laugh and asked, "Well then, what did you two think of that?"

Twillen was silent for a moment, then he said thoughtfully, "I wonder if anyone would be willing to pay to ride in something like this just for the thrill of the ride?"


". . .Down into the depths of the earth they went. . ."


Truff-Truff was sniffing away at the head of the group, and they soon came to what looked like a makeshift barricade. The dog stopped and growled at it, as if sensing something behind it.

"What is this? What shoddy construction!" Grom remarked, "Reminds me of my out of practice building skills from before Ori first arrived." Grom approached the wooden barricade and took out his pickaxe. "I'll get right on this!" he said as he began to swing away.


". . .They would find what they sought. . ."


"Grom, wait. . ." Twillen said nervously, "Truff-Truff is smelling something unfriendly."

The barricade quickly crumbled from Grom's blows.


". . .but that is not all they would find. . ."


As the dust settled, a large, hulking shape could be seen approaching. And when the view was clear, Grom's eyes widened as he gasped out, "Brother?"

The other Gorlek lumbered forward, growling as purple crystals covered his face like some sort of obscene mask. He snarled as he wielded a pickaxe of his own and raised it threateningly at Grom.

"Grol, please," Grom said as he raised all four hands non-threateningly, "It's me. Grom. Your brother. You must remember."

Grol only snarled again in response and lunged forward, swinging his pickaxe down hard. Grom quickly took his own pickaxe back out and blocked the attacked, and roughly shoved Grol backward.

"You were always much smarter and wiser than I, brother!" Grom called out, "How can it be that you would fall to the corruption like this?"

Grol let out a fierce roar and jumped straight up onto the ceiling. He grabbed onto the many pits and stalactites, using them as hand hold for his four hands so he could climb across the ceiling and drop back down onto Grom.

Grom rolled out of the way and swung his pickaxe into the crystal on Grol's face. "If I must smash the corruption out of you, I shall!" Grom shouted, "If the Spirit could free Mora, then I must be able to do the same for you!"

Again, Grol jumped up onto the ceiling, this time knocking stalactites down below. Grom tried to avoid them, and even used his pickaxe to knock them away, but a one stalactite caught him in the right shoulder.

Grom shouted in pain, and quickly moved his pickaxe to his left hand, only to then be pinned down by Grol when he landed on top of him. Grol roared in Grom's face, but Grom was undaunted as he hugged his brother with all four arms and proceeded to suplex him onto his back.

Grol then kicked Grom off of him, and then jumped back up onto the ceiling a third time. Not only did he knock stalactites down, but he also started to rip boulders and crystals out of the ceiling to hurl down at Grom.

Grom swung his pickaxe wildly to avoid the bouncing boulders and falling stalactites. Inevitably, one boulder knocked the weapon from his hand. Another boulder stuck him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him.

Grol thudded onto the ground right in front of the stunned Grom. Grol raised his pickaxe for a killing blow, only for Truff-Truff to suddenly jump over and bite his arm. Grol roared and tried to shake the dog off, only to be further distracted when Twillen began chucking rocks at his face.

Seeing this as a golden opportunity, Grom got up, brought his left fist back, and punched Grol in his crystal covered face as hard as he could.

The crystal shattered like glass, and Grol fell flat on his back, panting heavily as the shards dissipated into mist that faded away. Truff-Truff let go and back away, and Grol lay there in silence for a second, the only sound coming from him being that of his breathing. Then, he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. He looked over at Grom and gasped out, "Brother?"

Grom immediately ran over to Grol and hugged him tightly, and his brother returned the gesture.

"Oh, Grom. . .What have I done to you?" Grol asked, regret evident in his voice.

Grom patted his brother's back and said, "Nothing of any great consequence. All that matters is that you are free." Grom stepped back to take a good look at his brother, love and relief filling his eyes as he beheld his only remaining family. "How long have you been like this, my brother?"

Grol shook his head and said, "Not long at all, although when the corruption finally did begin to take hold, I feared that nothing would free me. I didn't think it could simply be smashed off as you did. . . but perhaps it was because I was carrying this on my person."

Grol reached into his pack and pulled out a soft looking, powdery golden yellow rock that seemed to have a slight glow to it.

". . .Is that-?" Grom gasped in awe.

Grol nodded and said, "Yes. The cure for Crystal Fever. This was all I could find of it, but I am certain there is more of it buried slightly deeper."

Truff-Truff sniffed the rock and barked excitedly.

Grom nodded and said, "Yes, indeed. But it is far more than just the cure for Crystal Fever. When combined with the right ingredients, it can be used to free those who have been turned to stone by the Decay! The Spirit Tree has declared that to be true!"

Grol's eyes lit up excitedly, and he said, "The Spirit Tree lives? Light has returned to Niwel! In that case, let us go and unite this mineral with the other ingredients! This is a joyous day for this land, indeed!"

Twillen looked back at the two minecarts nervously and sighed. "Ah. I suppose, in this specific case, what comes down must go back up. . ."


Author's Note: This chapter is mostly my interpretation of cut content from the game. The Gorlek Mines was a minecart level, Grom's brother Grol was a boss, and Twillen had a pet dog (I made the dog's name up myself though). Again, let's hope that one day there's a Definitive Edition of Will of the Wisps so we can get to see all of this cut content put back into the game.