Chapter 14: To the Dwarf's Mine

Moments later, the Dark Mirror has taken Briar, and the others to a dark night area known as the Silent Forest. The first is dark and spooky. Sereia is so nervous about being here that she is practically hugging Briar's legs. Even Trinket is nervous that she ducks herself inside Briar's hair.

Briar kneels down to Sereia, "It's okay Sereia."

Then has her eyes looking above where Trinket is, "You too Trinket."

As long as we stay together, we won't have too much trouble," Briar says.

"Okay," Sereia nervously says.

Trinket nervously answers in soft ringings.

"So this is the Dwarfs's Mine… Long ago, the mine was flush with magestones," Deuce says

Grim grows frightened, "Urgh… Who knows what luks in there now?"

"Well, it's best we start heading into the forest and find the mine," Briar says.

"You're right. We must find the mine to find the stone," Deuce says.

With that, the group begins to walk into the forest. Grim and Sereia make sure to remain close to Briar as the three humans walk through the forest.

Soon, Ace notices, "Look, I can see a house."

The group looks ahead to see a cottage in the middle of the woods. It's actually a little small, but has an open area. In front of it, is a small river with a small bridge going over it. There is even a stump that has an old ax on it.

"Let's go see what the people there have to say," Ace adds.

Agreeing to the idea, everyone walks towards the old house.

Briar knocks on the door, "Hello…"

So far, no one is answering.

Briar knocks on the door again, "Hello, can we come in?"

"Musty be empty," Deuce says.

Briar then gently grabs the door knob and turns it. There, she opens the door and walks inside. The others carefully follow after them. When they look around, they see a very small table, with very small chairs around it, a few wooden ones. There's a pickaxe on the table with a candle holder. There's a broomstick leaning by the fireplace, with a small pot hanging in the fireplace. There's a lot of dust, cobwebs, and there doesn't seem to be anyone here.

"It looks like it's been abandoned," Deuce says.

Grim looks around and soon ends up getting cobwebs on his face, "Bwah! I got spider cobwebs on my face!" Then begins to spit them out, "Ptchoo! Ptchtoo!"

Trinket looks around to see the dust. She then sneezes and is pushed back into a small cup close by that is lean to the side. She flies out and undusts herself.

Briar looks around to notice the small chairs, "Aww, look at these chairs. They're so cute and tiny."

"They look like they can be my size," Sereia says.

"You're right. Look how tiny these desks and chairs are. Did children live here?" Ace wonders.

Then begins to count them, "One, two… Seven!" adds in surprise, "It's like a clown car in here."

"When the mine was flourishing, this house must have been a lively place," Deuce says.

"Well, this isn't getting us anywhere. If we're gotta find a magestone, it'll be in the mine," Ace says.

"Hmm, maybe instead of seven children, but seven Dwarfs. I've noticed a few pick axes lying around," Briar says.

"You might be right. This place probably belonged to the dwarfs who were mining the stones from the mine," Sereia says.

"So?" Grim asks.

"So if this was the dwarfs home, then the mine must be close by," Briar says.

"I think you're right, Briar," Deuce says.

"Let's head over there and look inside," Ace says.

"Yeah. And I think the pickaxe and other stuff from around here can be useful," Briar says, and picks up the pickaxe.

Ace says, "Yeah. They might come in handy."

Just then, Trinket points to a couple of candles and old mining lanterns.

"Look, Trinket found some candles and lanterns," Briar says.

Sereia picks one, "We can use these two."

"Well then, let's gather some stuff and head to the mine. I'm sure they won't mind," Ace says.

After gathering some supplies from the old house, the group. leave the old house and decide to head to the mines to find the magestone. They walk through the forest. They walk and walk a long way until they've reached the entrance of the Dwarfs' mine. Even the mine looks like it's been abandoned, even the railroads looks like it hasn't been used, and rocks and the tree are covered in green moss.

"There it is. The Dwarfs' Mine," Briar says.

Sereia leans her head against Briar's leg, "It's scary."

Grim nervously asks, "You wanna go in THERE? It's pitch black!"

"What, are you both scared of the dark? Pathetic," Ace says in a mocking tone.

"Knock it off, Ace," Briar sternly says.

Grim tries to put on a brave face, "Myah?! I'm not scared of anything!"

Then says with a determined look, "I'm taking the lead. You all follow me!"

"Okay, but let's light the lanterns first. Think you can give us a hand," Briar says.

She opens the lantern and places the handle inside of it. Deuce does the same with the other. Grim then gently blows a bit of his fire and it lights up the candle. With that, Grim begins to march inside the mine with Ace, holding the two pickaxes, and Deuce, who is holding one lantern, walking inside behind him. Briar, who is holding the other lantern is about to go in, but feels someone tugging her leg.

She turns to see Sereia. It's easy to see that she is deeply frightened.

"Are you okay, Sereia?" Briar asks.

"Uh huh. I'm really scared. Can you um, pick me up and uh, hold me…" Sereia asks, frightened.

"Okay," Briar says.

She picks Sereia up and holds her as the little doll wraps her around her and presses her face against Briar's chest. Briar gives her a warm smile and then follows the boys into the mine. Trinket stays close to the group whole being on Briar's head.

The group continues to walk deep inside the mine and follow the old railroad tracks.

Just then, Deuce calls out, "Huh? Hold up!"

"What now?" Ace questions.

"There's something there!" Deuce answers.

"Myah?!" Grim yelps, frightened.

"Something's there? Like what?" Briar asks.

Just then, ghosts wearing hoods appear before them.

One of them laughs, "Hee hee hee hee! Visitors! The first in ten years!"

"Do make yourselves at home…" The second ghost says, "You can stay forever!"

Sereia and Grim scream in fright, "Gh-gh-ghosts!"

"Oh no. Not again," Briar says.

Grim quickly runs behind Briar with a scared look on his face.

Annoyed, Ace says, "Give it a rest, scaredy cat!"

"Ghosts are about the last thing we need right now…" Deuce says.

"You're right. We need to get rid of them somehow," Briar says.

Then Deuce says, "Let's give those ghosts the slip and run for it! Follow my lead!"

With that, the group begins to run away from the ghosts, but they begin to give chase.

Sereia looks back and panics, "They're after us!"

Then Briar calls out, "Guys, use your magic to blast those ghosts!"

"Right," Deuce says.

And they run, Deuce and Ace begin to use the magic pens to fire their magic at the ghosts. They continue to fire their magic and they strike at the ghosts. The group continues to run as fast as they can through the mines, hoping to lose track of the ghosts.

Grim huffs from exhaustion, "They're still hot on your tails!"

"WE need to run as fast as we can to lose them," Briar says.

Soon, the ghost expresses his exhaustion, "What's the… hurry? Ease… ease… up a bit, would you?

"And just how a ghost short of breath?" Grim questions.

"Maybe the ghosts have lungs?" Deuce asks.

"Ghosts don't have lunges. They're not really alive, you know," Briar panics.

"We don't have time for this! LET'S MOVE!" Ace cries out.

The group then continues to run away from the ghost as fast as they can. Ace and Deuce continue to use their magic to fire at the ghost. They continue to run down through different tunnels of the mines, and they run so fast and so long that the ghosts are starting to run out of breath. Soon, the ghosts are too tired to follow them anymore, so they give up and disappear. Soon enough, the group stops and looks around to see the ghosts are gone.

Hah… Phew! I think we lost 'em!" Grim says, feeling like he's going to collapse.

But Deuce says, "We're not out of the woods just yet."

"He's right. We still need to find that magestone," Briar says.

"Let's keep going!" Deuce says.

Suddenly, they begin to hear a strange sound, catching everyone by surprise. Sereia becomes frightened and presses her face against Briar's chest.

Grim screams in fright, "Myah! Did you hear a noise just now?!"

"We didn't lose them after all?" Deuce wonders.

Ace then notices something, "Shh! Something's over there!"

They all turn around to see a few more ghosts, but they don't seem to notice them. Instead, they seem to be looking at something up ahead. Something makes them uneasy. Suddenly, they begin to hear a strange sound, and it doesn't seem to sound like a ghost.