Chapter 15: A Simple Job (Part 2)
"You should get some rest." Patches nagged from the ground behind me, our small stone cell not offering much in terms of sleeping arrangements. "Tomorrow won't be any better I'm afraid."
I didn't answer him and instead kept my eyes fixed on the crack just a few inches ahead of me. I sat cross legged and completely still, peering through the crevice and into the darkness on the other side. After a few seconds of silence Patches let out a defeated sigh and lay his head down onto the cold stone floor.
I stayed locked onto the inky blackness, waiting for even the slightest hint of movement.
I was sure of it, any second now… Zecora would appear from the shadows and I'd have my chance to escape.
Though I had to admit, the longer I waited the more my confidence wavered. Ten minutes became twenty, then an hour… and before long I'd completely lost track of time. The only sound which broke through the thick silence was the steady drip of water and occasional snore of my cellmate.
'Perhaps I'd somehow… imagined her?'
The possibility had occurred to me, that maybe it was just some trick of the hearthstone light and my worsening migraine.
I banished the thought with a shake of my head, electing a twinge of hot pain down my neck. I had to have confidence in what I saw, just as I had to have confidence in her, too. Zecora, if anything, was a very clever and determined mare. She'd taken most of my lessons in stride, even requesting to look through what few books I had in my possession the instant she managed to grasp written Common on her own.
I felt a sudden wave of tiredness as my vision drooped slightly. I groaned and rubbed my face, trying to push the small tinge of fatigue down before it's grip on my mind worsened. Though it wasn't much use, the fresh wound and recent laborious work having drained most of my stamina.
"Dal…?" The barely audible whisper suddenly cleaved through the silence and caused my breath to hitch.
I sat silent, unsure if what I heard was even real as I peered into the darkness... the sound of dripping water and my beating heart suddenly much louder than before.
"Oof!" A pebble suddenly rattled through the small cavern as Zecora collapsed into a heap onto the floor outside my cell, landing in a small puddle of mud that had accumulated under a dripping section of the cave.
I blinked in surprise as I shifted my seating, getting as close as I could to the crack and taking in as much of the scene as I could. Patches murmured something and began shuffling in place nearby.
"Mmm… hm? What…?" He groggily looked around the cell as I ignored him and pulled closer to the wall.
"Zecora!" I spoke in a harsh whisper through the crack.
Zecora's ear flicked for a moment as she instantly spun around to face me "…Dal? Are you… how did you get in there?" She spoke in an anxious whisper while scanning the wall, trying to find where I had spoken from.
I pat the stone by the crack, getting her attention as she maneuvered over to look at me through the small fissure.
"Long story… listen, you can't open the cell without magic-" I began, before patches interrupted from behind.
"Dalandor? Who-" He started, but fell silent as I rudely shushed him with a swift motion.
"How'd you even get in here? They've got a guard posted at the entrance." I asked, trying to peek around her figure and into the dark cavern beyond with no success.
"Invisibility potion, followed the caravan in… but I only have one more." She replied nervously, flipping open her saddlebag and pulling out a single purple vial.
I shook my head and felt a small smile creep onto my features. An invisibility potion… brilliant! She's already made such tremendous progress! I pushed down the small swell of pride I felt, for now, and focused on the task at hand.
"Zecora… they have my things. I don't…" I paused, and sighed quickly before continuing. "I don't care about the axe, but you must retrieve the pouch. Do you understand?" I asked as Zecora squinted a bit, processing my words. "Find it and bring it to me and I'll handle the rest. Without it… I'm nothing."
She went to speak, before the sound of hooves suddenly shuddered through the cavern behind her.
"They heard us. The potion, take it!" I whispered harshly, electing a quick nod from her.
"I… can't make any more of these." She stated nervously, pulling the cork out with her teeth and locking eyes with me through it's blue fumes. "Get the pouch and that's it, right?" She asked nervously, bringing the potion to her lips.
Her face just barely illuminated by the potion's glow showed only one emotion, worry. I felt a slight twinge in my chest, the face wringing a familiar memory from my past.
"You'll have to wait until they let us out, tomorrow, for work." I explained, looking back towards Patches who watched me with a bewildered expression. "Listen, If you can't find it… just leave, ok? I'll find another way."
"But-" Zecora began to argue, until an orange glow began to illuminate the cave behind her.
"No time!" I whispered harshly, electing a worried glance from her one last time just before she threw the vial back.
With the barely audible sound of wind gusting through the cavern, she vanished from sight as Patches shoved me to the side.
"The door by the loot hoard! Check-" He added, before going dead silent as an orange light pierced through the fissure.
I had to squint my eyes as the glow blinded me for a moment. I scooted back a bit as a streak of orange slowly crawled across the ground, Thunder's hoof steps echoing just outside the wall.
He finally stopped outside the cell as everything fell quiet. There was a long silence as I leaned against the cold stone wall, until eventually the steps retreated away and brought the light with it. My eyes flicked over to Patches and saw him wordlessly scanning me from his spot on the floor, a look of misbelief covering his features.
"You weren't kidding," He began with a shake of his head. "You really are gonna break out."
Even in the near darkness, I could see the swell of hope filling his features from across the cell.
He scooted forwards slightly. "How's Herb?" He asked, before folding his ears down. "N-Nevermind… sorry, you probably don't even know who I'm talking about." He added as I waved my hand.
"Nah I know him. Had a small stick up his ass, but didn't seem like a bad pony." I said with a shrug, before pointing at him. "Brother?"
"Cousin." He corrected, getting a nod from me. "I actually moved here because of him, believe it or not. Was always telling me to give up my job at the hospital back home…" He trailed off as I shuffled a bit in place.
"Where did you live before here?" I asked, getting him to pause and re-adjust his cracked glasses.
"Ahem, Manehatten. I'm- well… I WAS one of their top Doctors." His features glowing with momentary pride before fading into regret. "But… all that seems so far away now."
"A Doctor, huh…?" There was a short silence, before I shifted my seating a bit. "Well done, not many where I come from pursue such a profession. Noble ambition, working to heal others with nothing but your bare hands- er… hooves."
He gave me a strange look which got me to break my own stare and look at the cell wall.
"Hands, huh? So that's what you call them." I sighed and crossed my arms, concealing the appendages from sight. "Come now, the others may be too dim to see it but give me a little credit. You're obviously no minotaur, nor anything else I can think of." He concluded, looking my way like he was expecting me to fill in the details.
"…" I continued to sit in silence, ignoring his words.
He was either oblivious to my interest in the conversation or thought his incessant stare would squeeze something from me.
"You're not from around here, not in the slightest. Your skin's cold as ice, are you cold blooded perhaps? And what about-"
"Patches." I stated suddenly, turning to meet his eyes. "For your own sake, I'd suggest you to stop taking notes about me."
He looked like he wanted to argue, but relented at my hard gaze and slowly sunk back into his place on the ground.
He was quiet for a while, and at first I thought he'd fallen asleep.
"Hey." He whispered.
"…what." I replied plainly.
There was a hesitation in his voice as he shuffled a bit in place. "What's the plan? For tomorrow, I mean."
I thought about it for a minute, then sighed. "At lunch, you'll have to tell everyone." I began, turning my head to look at his reaction... unsure.
"The brothers maybe but..." He began, but hesitated with a shake of his head. "I-I don't think Flint will-"
"They'll believe you, Patches." I assured as his brow furrowed in thought.
Nodding slowly, he went to speak before I cut back in. "Just tell them I'll handle it after Zecora gets my satchel, and to not get themselves in the way. Alright?"
"…okay."
Nothing else was said, and all that was left to do is wait.
Though, one thing did suddenly occur to me... the identity of a certain black pegasus.
Flint...
If it's who I think it is, I had to find a way make this work… no matter what. Maybe I really could set things right for that kid after all.
Even if it meant using that damned sword.
Perspective: Zecora
I wasn't sure how long I'd been laying here, tucked behind a rock half my height as I pressed my body into the cold stone floor. The potion had worn off hours ago… so here I sat, observing the on goings inside the cavern. Dried mud covered my contrasting coat, bringing it all to the same dull brown hue.
When I'd entered this cavern, my eyes were glued to the first thing I noticed, the massive gem pile. This time, however, I was much more interested in the door which sat just next to it… nestled into the stone wall to the right of the glimmering mountain.
'The door by the loot hoard…' The words echoed to the forefront of my mind.
I wasn't sure who's voice it was, but they wouldn't have risked telling me something like that if it wasn't important. I wanted so badly to just go retrieve Dalandor's pouch and be done with this place, if not for one problem…
"I'd wager you're lyin'." The gruff voice of the orange unicorn, who I quickly learned was named Thunder, said from his chair at the round table.
He sat with a few other ponies, a blue unicorn named Misty and an olive pony named Dozer, as they played some kind of card game. The table sat not too far from the pile of gold, and far too close to the door.
"Ahhh… damn you Thunder." Misty groaned as she huffed and slouched back in her chair. "Alright, I think I'm done." She finished with a sigh.
"Me too. At this rate I'll lose my life savings to this guy." Dozer exclaimed as he too stretched in place, before hopping down.
Thunder pulled all his winnings towards himself, and even from here I could see his toothy grin.
"Alright, see you both tomorrow. Don't forget, we start even earlier. Have to make up for lost time after our recent… guest incident. Misty, you're back on watch." Thunder said with a gesture towards the cave exit.
The blue unicorn quickly galloped off, the olive earth pony following closely behind.
"Dozer, wait." Thunder spoke up, getting the pony to skid to a halt. "Going to the Inn again? Celestia help me if you lead another stupid patron to our dig site-"
The other pony groaned in reply. "Knocked the guy out, didn't I?" Thunder snorted in annoyance, getting Dozer to shake his head. "He was alone, we don't have to tell the boss anything!"
"If the boss knew who you were buying drinks from, all our heads would roll!" Thunder accused back.
Shaking his head, dozer waved his right hoof. "It's the only bar in town! Come on!"
There was a short silence as Thunder stared him down, before waving him away. "Just go. Get some rest, but skip the liquor this time, yeah?"
Dozer grumbled in reply before running off. I could hear Thunder mumbling something to himself too, but I couldn't make out specifics.
I just had to wait until this guy leaves, then I would make my move… the sooner the better.
Apparently my luck was getting worse before it was getting better, because instead of following the other two ponies out of the cave… he yawned and made his way towards the door.
I groaned silently to myself as he pulled it open, giving me barely a moment's glance into the dark interior before it slammed shut.
Well, that complicates things.
The wait was an agonizingly long one. My joints ached as I shuffled a bit in place, laying in the same spot for so long starting to take it's toll on me. I'd waited as long as I could but I couldn't stand it anymore. The deafening silence was so great, I swear I could hear a low hum coming from the giant Hearthstone.
I couldn't just hide here forever, eventually I had to make a move.
I eased my way out from behind the stone and locked onto the rickety looking door.
'He should be asleep by now so no more waiting… come on Zecora!'
Despite the attempt to bloat my confidence, I found myself unable to budge from behind my cover. I was getting cold hooves as all the possibilities of what could happen if I was caught ran through my mind. Shaking my head I swallowed hard, my mouth dry as I tried to push down my rising worry.
Inching out with one hoof at a time, I slowly pulled myself out from behind the boulder.
My heart beat in my throat, and I swear I held my breath the whole time. What took only seconds felt like minutes as I slowly crossed the empty room. Every sound caught my attention as my ears swiveled like mad, listening for anything which could signal needing to hide. As I reached the door my worry didn't quell as I realized there's only one way left to go. With a quick glance around, I bent down and tried to peer through anything I could. It was no good however, as the door was seemingly flush with the stone around it… like it had been carved with magic.
I took a look at the massive pile of jewels beside me and noticed what looked like a large, flat piece of wood pressed against the sparkling mound. It looked like a makeshift effort to keep the pile from spilling towards the doorway. Every now and then it would let out a barely audible creak, filling my head with thoughts of being squished by many of tons of gems.
Banishing the thoughts from my mind, I focused on the door just ahead as I lay my hoof on the handle. The door swung outward silently on it's hinges, slowly revealing the nearly pitch black interior. I crept into the dark and narrow corridor and slowly closed it behind me.
Sure enough, the door was flush with the stone and plunged the cave into complete darkness… not a single drop of light from the hearthstone penetrating the doorway.
I waited, and waited… until my vision finally adjusted to the darkness. I could just barely make out the corridor ahead, that… and a subtle red glow from my saddlebag. I flipped the side pouch open and my eyes locked onto the glowing crimson vial. It was a healing potion, and the first potion I ever made.
I gently pulled it out from my saddlebag and held it in my teeth, it's red light illuminating the corridor ahead just enough to walk. I crept forward quietly, following the narrow passage carefully as I watched the ground for any uneven spots.
A sudden noise ripped through the cavern, causing me to nearly drop the potion as I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. I stood completely still, listening for whatever that was as I scanned the darkness.
Suddenly, the noise rippled by again!
…
'Snoring…' I realized, a wave of relief washing over me.
With a small sigh I continued forward as the corridor quickly changed into a small room. As I entered, the glow from the healing potion could barely reach the ends of the room, leaving small dark spots in the corners and making the room appear much larger than it was.
However, my attention was firmly planted on the source of the snoring… Thunder, who was slumbering peacefully on a small cot next to a desk.
The rest of the room was a very bare, seemingly perfectly cut square. I crept over towards the desk, before a glint on the wall nearby drew my attention.
Dalandor's axe hung on the wall, a bit of blood still present on it's edge from his last 'encounter'. For a split second, the memory of when he struck that griffon with the axe flashed to the forefront of my thoughts and I felt a cold shudder coarse through me.
It would be difficult to sneak it out of here… it was too large and unbalanced for a pony to hold. But he insisted he didn't need it, only the pouch.
I pried my gaze from the weapon and scanned the nearby desk, looking for the familiar little bag. But it was nowhere to be seen, the only things present being random documents talking about mineral types.
Sparing a small glance at Thunder, I slowly pulled one of the two drawers open, revealing some more documents and a few letters. Pushing the letters aside, I looked for the small pouch to no avail. Furrowing my brow, I turned to the last unopened drawer.
As I pulled, the drawer let out a shrill squeak. My ears instinctively folded down as my heart skipped a beat, the sleeping unicorn nearby suddenly moving in place.
I watched him with dread as he grumbled a bit to himself, before quickly falling back into his steady rhythm of snores.
I let out a silent sigh of relief, before glancing down into the now open drawer as my hopes soared. There, sitting at the bottom, was the all too familiar bottomless pouch. Whether he was aware of just how extraordinary it was I wasn't sure, but I was sure he would probably notice this open drawer tomorrow…
It couldn't be helped, I didn't want to risk waking him up again. I elected for gently placing the potion on the desk, careful to not let it roll off, before retrieving the pouch in my mouth. Lifting it from the inside of the drawer, I stuffed it hurriedly into my saddlebag before retrieving the potion on the desk.
I could feel my body shaking with adrenaline as I cautiously made my way back to the entrance, back to my hiding spot.
Time to enjoy another few hours behind a rock.
Perspective: Dalandor
The night was a long and restless one as I stared towards the cracked stone wall from my position on the floor. Thoughts raced through my mind as I tried to come up with some kind of plan, but everything came back to that wretched Unicorn.
Their magic was a whole different kind than I was used to. I'd suspected as much after observing Celestia and Twilight, but after actually feeling the force it can exert in combat… it really was like trying to fight a brick wall.
Then there was Zecora. I just had to hope she didn't get caught.
Patches rolled over in his spot nearby, catching my attention for a moment as I glanced at his sleeping form. He actually went to sleep with a smile on his face, probably the first time in a while.
The atmosphere rapidly changed when the quickened sound of hooves approaching the cell broke the silence. For a split moment, I thought it might have been Zecora considering the pace. However I stashed that thought away as a familiar orange glow peered out from the cracked stone.
I quickly shook patches, startling him awake and, upon seeing the light, quickly sat up just as the wall began to shimmer.
Thunder stepped through quickly, motioning us to follow him.
His demeanour seemed… different, somehow. He marched behind us as we descended the narrow passage, but constantly pushed us along from behind like we weren't moving fast enough. But in not-Thunder like fashion, there was no verbal threats or angry comments of the like. Just silence.
Something else is on his mind… and my gut was telling me it wasn't good.
Even after adjusting to the orange glow from Thunder, the light of the hearthstone still momentarily blinded me. As I rubbed my eyes and regained my vision, I could sense a familiar chill nearby.
My Runeblade, it was getting closer.
Another push from Thunder jarred me from my thoughts as he ushered us towards our familiar mining group. I glanced to my side and took in the sad form of Patches. If there was any indication of his hope last night, its now far buried under this depressing façade.
We were starting on a new opening in the wall, the others already lined up and hacking at the glittering surface. I took one last glance around the cavern, trying to spot Zecora hiding anywhere amongst the scattered boulders. With no luck, I relented and got into a swinging rhythm.
It wasn't even a few minutes after we'd begun that a sudden commotion roared up behind us. It must have been quite the rare occurrence, because even Flint stopped swinging with a look of curiosity on his face. All at once we stopped swinging at the wall and looked back to see Thunder yelling at Misty.
"It was either him or you, Misty!" Thunder accused while pointing a hoof at the pony, barely an inch from her chest. "I know I put it there, and the drawer was wide open this morning!"
"Thunder, I already told you he hasn't come back yet, I was on watch all night!" Misty said back in a heightened, but not quite screaming voice. "I'm not stupid enough to take anything from you, not after all this time and not something as worthless as that!" There was a short pause, before she spoke up again. "Maybe you just forgot where you put it."
There was a long stretch of silence, until Thunder snorted and looked away, directly towards us. "Did I say stop?!" He shouted at us with a lit horn.
We all swung around in a hurry and got back to work, double time. There was a few more words said, but I couldn't focus my hearing well enough over the sound of the pickaxes. Though, as the minutes went on I noticed a change in one of his behaviors… his eyes.
They were glued on me from behind, unmoving.
Usually he'd always alternate between us, but now he was unquestionably fixated on me. This was going to make things much harder.
This went on for a while, a long while. We'd moved a few feet into the cavity in the wall when his focus finally released from me as he, to my surprise, suddenly walked past us. It made me hesitate for a moment with my swing, as I wasn't expecting he had been coming towards me.
That was the only problem with my 'sense', it couldn't tell me from how far I was being watched. I quickly composed myself and continued swinging, but stole some glances at Thunder, curious as to what he was doing.
My heart sank as I knew immediately. He was examining the room.
'Nonono... it's too soon!'
My adrenaline spiked and I turned to Patches. It took him a couple swings until he looked my way and noticed my expression. His features filled with dread as he glanced at the passing orange pony. Bending down to Flint-hoof next to him, he hurriedly whispered electing the black pegasus to finish one last swing before slicking his mane back with one hoof.
I spun back towards where Thunder was, and my heart sank as I saw him reaching the far end of the room and his vision lock onto something I couldn't see.
"What the-" He stopped and stumbled back as Zecora appeared from behind a nearby boulder, striking his horn hard with a rock, shocking the Unicorn for a moment as she turned to me.
"Dal!" She screamed and launched the pouch as far as she could with her right hoof, the item spinning through the air rapidly before hitting the ground.
In the moment the pouch landed, three things happened.
The pouch's binding came undone, spilling much of the contents of books, my sword and gold coins indiscriminately across the stone floor.
Zecora became enveloped in Thunder's magic and screamed.
And I, crouching down and already dripping in mist, shifted forms and leapt... just coming within range of my sword that had tumbled free of it's wrappings.
It's whispers and promises of power filled my senses, but before I could even touch the ground to pick it up I stopped midair in a glow.
Thunder's titanic grip held me in place, attempting to crush all the air from my lungs as it squeezed unrelentingly.
Thunder took a moment to process what he was looking at, flicking his vision between the pained zebra and myself with a look of bewilderment, then realization as he took in my visage.
"Misty!" He shouted, a strained look showing on his face.
Something was different this time. Other than the fact he was holding both Zecora and I, it was something else. My new strength, my unstoppable thirst worming it's way back into my being as the sword whispered encouragement into my ear.
I pushed against the magic binding me, my eyes igniting in a misty blue flame as his magic relented for a moment and shuddered, causing me to shift in place.
The mood shifted as everything went silent, Thunder's expression contorting in effort as he clenched his teeth.
Suddenly a yell roared from behind as both Rock and Stone come out with a large... rock and stone, and launched them towards the unicorn. He reeled back as his horn shone twice as bright, catching the two miniature boulders midair, causing his magic on me to shudder once again as I moved a few feet further and landed on the ground.
He held me there mid stride as he dropped the two boulders from his grasp, panting, before blocking another pair launched in unison from the two ponies now acting like miniature catapults. As Thunder intercepts the stones he gets pelted on the side of his head by a smaller rock, thrown by Flint as he zipped around in the air, avoiding being grabbed by rapidly zigzagging.
His magic started to flicker constantly now, as I moved in spontaneous intervals towards him. Fear swelled in his face as he locked eyes with me.
As I passed my Runeblade, I cast the ability I'd been pondering on since being trapped down here. I felt the spell materialize around me, a green glow protruding from my body as the small barrier of runes encased me.
He tried to apply his magic back onto me, and for the single second it took him to notice it wasn't working, I'd already crossed the distance and pounced him head on.
My claws dug into his chest as I knocked him onto his back, holding him down by the neck as I stared down at his surprised face.
He looked back up at me, frantically flickering his horn for a moment before finally realizing there was nothing left to save him.
A second of silence went by, the fear swelling in his face as he inhaled sharply.
"NO-"
I lunged.
From the moment the blood let loose, I went blind. I ripped and tore anything that I could as I went deaf to all other sounds. My wounds regenerated, my headache vanished. I felt like I was, for a moment, alive.
"Dal..." A voice broke through the sound, and I turned towards it.
Everything suddenly flooded back at once. The light of the cave, the looks of the ponies, the blood dripping down my chest.
I swallowed, my throat dry as the sickly taste of blood trickled down causing me to cough. Zecora was looking at me with terrified eyes as she clutched her right hoof. Turning to my victim, I looked at the body that was once Thunder, almost every discernable feature having been... scattered.
I only looked at him for a second, but it was enough for the image to burn into my retinas. Tearing my eyes away I locked onto two other figures coming down the cavern's exit, Misty and Dozer. The two were talking to each other with a smile, until finally Dozer glanced towards us.
His expression dropped as he suddenly stopped, his unicorn partner looking back at him in confusion. I didn't waste a second as I spun around and bound towards them as fast as I could, down on all fours and dodging the large rocks along the way. I grabbed my sword with my left hand as I went, before leaping towards the two as Misty finally turned to see what Dozer was looking at.
I raised my sword, intent on cleaving her in half first.
Dozer knocked her out of the way, charging into her side and sending them both tumbling over. Dozer recovered quickly, and tried to jump me like he did last time. I gave him nothing to grab as I quickly skittered back, before lunging forward and swiping him with my sword. This time my attack was rewarded with a howl of pain.
The tip of my sword just barely caught his face, tearing upwards through his right eye and drenching his features in blood.
He screamed in agony as the enchanted steel ripped through his flesh, like thousands of freezing needles let loose into his skin. As he fell backwards, I reached out and grabbed his forehoof. With a small yell I twist my body, my muscles burning as I heaved him upwards in an overhead throw.
As he moved through the air he hit the Hearthstone face first, applying a generous splash of red to a small surface of it's body. A portion of the cavern instantly plunged into a reddish hue as Dozer landed onto the nearby gold pile, tumbling down it like a ragdoll.
I turned my attention to Misty, who was collapsed nearby and too frightened to move. Her eyes were locked onto me, her frame shrunken to the ground and shivering. With a flick of my wrist, I summoned some chains of ice. They exploded out of the stone around her in an instant, contorting around her and stinging her skin with metal so cold it burned.
She screamed in surprise and pain as it attempted to reel her downwards and sap her energy.
Turning back to my other target, I saw that he was, to my surprise, still moving. Just next to the loot pile he was attempting to compose himself as he lay half collapsed and covered in blood. Dozer shook his head multiple times as he tried to clear his vision and look in my direction.
With the unicorn incapacitated, I decided to prioritize the one who'd put me here to begin with.
With a single leap I bound towards him, and I could see the surprise on his face as I barreled his way. He fell onto his side as he tried to recover and I pounced, knocking him onto his back as I stared down at his face with barred teeth.
We were right next to the loot pile now, the sound of a creaking board filling my hearing as my eyes flicked to the left out of reaction. That's when Dozer sent his right hoof out and hit the board hard, creating a crack in it that spread almost instantly. With my reflexes I had no problem reacting and jumped back off the pony to avoid the imminent disaster as the board snapped in half, all of the gems and gold spilling over and infront of the nearby door.
Dozer however, was not so fortunate.
He scrambled to move as it happened, and just barely managed to recover and inch forward… however almost the entirety of both his hind legs were quickly swallowed up under the crushing valuables. He howled in pain as he lay, half crushed by the loot pile as it covered the door behind him as well.
Swearing to myself internally, I turned my vision back to the pony below me as he frantically looked for something, anything, that could help him. But his determination had long since changed to panic as his one good eye looked around, before finally looking up in reluctance to meet my gaze.
Staring into his one good eye, I could see the realization of whats coming finally hit him as I slowly turned my sword over and gripped it in both hands. I situated it over him as he scrambled under me, and I let out a breath before plunging it downwards.
"No!" A voice shouted from nearby, causing me to stop and glance.
Misty watched in horror from where I left her, the chains worn off ages ago but having left their marks printed along her coat.
"Please, we surrender… just-" Collapsing in place, she begged me to spare him as she looked at me pleadingly. "D-don't kill him, please."
I dropped my two handed grip and held it with my right hand, bringing it's tip up to Dozer's neck and electing a pained yell from him.
"I was planning on killing all three of you." I stated, looking her way as I twist my blade in place and elected more pained groans from Dozer. "But you just reminded me, it's information I came for."
She quickly nodded, waving with her hoof. "Y-yeah! I'll tell you w-whatever, I don't care about-"
I silenced her with a raise of my paw, "No," before contorting my hand into a grabbing gesture. "It's not for me."
My hand filled with a spiraling purple energy and seized the unicorn in place, before rapidly ripping her towards me in a straight line. As she made it to me I grabbed her by the side of the head and knocked her out on the gold pile as she collapsed in place next to her friend.
"No! Y-you damned mutt!" Dozer yelled as he frantically trashed below. "When I get out of here I'm gonna-"
"Hush now." I said as I delivered a swift thwack of my sword hilt onto the top of his head.
They both were out like a light. I looked down at them for a moment, before nodding to myself and putting my sword on my back in it's 'sheath'. Really, rune-weapons will stay wherever you put them. They're an extension of yourself, after all.
I took in a breath, and let out a silent huff, before brushing my hair back with one paw. That's when I realized I was still in my worgen form. Slowly, I turned around to meet the mixed looks of everyone else left in the cavern. The two grey brothers watched me from where I'd previously been working, staring at me with varying levels of apprehension.
Flint hovered just under the Hearthstone, about seven feet in the air, his eyes locked on me in caution as his body remained tense.
And Zecora, still partially hidden behind her boulder regarding me with her absolute attention.
The last few minutes had finally released much of my pent up anger, and specifically with Thunder, healed me in the process. My anger having nearly entirely dissipated, I let out a slow breath from my nose as my form shrank back down to a human once more.
Shaking his head, Flint waved his arms infront of himself as he lowered down. "Nu-uh, what in Celestia's name was THAT!" He exclaimed, situating himself between me and the rest of the ponies as Patches peeked out from inside the cave. "What in Tartarus are you anyway? Some kind of cursed minotaur? A monster?" He added, backing up with his wings flared.
Blinking a few times, I looked between the accusing pony and Zecora watching me from afar as I slowly opened my mouth to speak.
However, Patches beat me to it. "Forget it." He cut in, stepping out from inside the small cave. "It's not important."
Flint looked about to argue, before the two grey brothers came up behind him and pat him on the back as they passed.
"Patches said forget it, mate. So forget it." The long haired grey pony 'Rock' said, speaking for the first time since I arrived here.
Somehow, the two brothers accents were completely different...
I saw Patches give me a quick look before calling out to the others. "Grab your things quick. We're getting out of here."
"Bout' time, can't wait to smell that surface air." Said the shorter haired grey pony, 'Stone', as he moved towards another section of the cave and knelt down, pushing up a rock that unearthed a tiny hole.
That's when I realized everyone was doing the same. Patches, Flint-hoof, both brothers... they all had hiding spots where they were keeping something away from Thunder.
Patches' looked like it was an old medical watch. Seemed like a useless thing to keep hidden at first, until I realized it was probably their only reference for the time of day down here.
Rock and Stone both shared the same rock, actually. And they were hiding a... rock. A small red rock, that seemed to glint off the Hearthstone light from the moment it was unearthed.
And Flint, who was brushing dirt off a picture of a familiar little Pegasus.
I ignored them all and sprinted over to where Zecora was laying, running past my spewed items and books scattered among the cavern floor. Skidding to a stop, I placed my hand on the stone to balance myself as I looked around it to find her sitting there fiddling with something.
"Zecora are you-" I started, making her jump a bit and almost drop the red potion in her teeth.
She looked at me for a few seconds, before sighing and spitting the potion out into her left hoof. "Lend me a hand?" She asked, presenting the small red potion to me.
Looking down at it, I gave a single chuckle as I swiped the potion from her grasp and moved to open it before stopping.
"Better not use this one. I think you'll need at least a regular healing potion this time." I set the potion down onto the floor infront of her, taking one last glance to her right hoof as she nursed it under her body.
It was bent completely the wrong way.
I felt a pang of anger shoot through me as suddenly the memory of what I did to Thunder didn't weigh so heavily on me anymore.
Moving swiftly over to where a lot of my items had spilled out, I picked up my pouch and slung it to my waist. Looking around quickly, I found the item I was searching for in the shape of my vial heater. Picking it up, I rummaged through the now incredibly disorganized pouch's interior until I found all the necessary ingredients.
Zecora had moved away, or rather limped, to a new section of the cavern away from Thunder's body. Sitting down next to her, I set up the vial and got to work showing her what to do.
"So Briarthorn can be a bit tricky to work with... you have to clip off the thorns and just use those." I added as I broke off the thorns with my fingers. "And don't use the stem of Bruiseweed, just the leaves." I finished, adding all the herbs into the vial and giving it a good press with a cork.
A small red pop of mist happened inside the bottle as I swirled it and the liquid glowed a soothing crimson.
Quickly pulling the cork off the bottle, I slowly held it over for her to take. As she did, I looked away from her.
"Zecora... listen." Sighing, I leaned back as I sat, using my arms behind me as leverage. "This was selfish of me." I stated, turning to look at her as she held the potion in her hoof.
She was watching me quietly, a look of surprise in her eyes as she went to open her mouth.
"And before you say something along the lines of 'I had a duty to repay you or whatever', that doesn't excuse it. I shouldn't of come here on my own without telling you, especially so unprepared. I should have known you'd come here looking." Pausing, I took in a breath and sighed. "This should have been the quest that finally killed me, I think."
I stayed silent for a while, looking away from her, until she finally broke it by speaking up.
"Dal, why don't you fear death?" She asked, getting me to turn back and look at her. "This whole thing sounds like you're more upset I could have died, rather than you being sorry for almost dying yourself."
"Because it's true." I said with a nod, getting her to look at me strangely.
Sighing, I leaned forward and looked around the room at the ponies talking excitedly to each other.
"Tonight, I'll tell you everything. Okay?" Waiting a moment, I turned to her and saw her wide eyes looking at me. "We have to be honest, right? No more secrets."
She blinked once, scanning my face as if looking for some other form of deception. Turning away from her, I stood up and stretched, before looking around at all the scattered items and groaning.
"Zecora... when you're done there could you help me with something..."
A small time later and I was now angrily looking down into my disorganized heap of a blackhole device on my hip. Something I'd have to sort out later as I pulled the string shut tight and pushed the thought from my mind. My sword had long since been wrapped back up and put into the pouch, away from prying eyes.
Turning to Zecora as she tightened the strap on her saddlebag, I cleared my throat.
"Did you end up finding my axe?" I asked, getting a quick nod from the zebra as she pointed to the... now half covered door in the wall.
There was no way we'd be able to dig the door out of all those gems any time soon.
"It was hanging up in there... sorry Dal." She replied sadly.
"...It's fine. I'll just ask Tusk to dig it out."
"You know Tusk?" A voice suddenly spoke up behind me as I turned towards it.
Flint-hoof looked like he was sizing me up with his eyes as he walked up to me. "Yeah, now that I look at you I can tell you're not a minotaur. Whatever, If Patches said to drop it I'll drop it. But you said you know Tusk?"
Nodding my head, I walked past him towards where those two ponies still lay unconscious. "He told me to come check the mountain out, he had no idea you guys were still alive."
"So it wasn't him..." He said low to himself. "Buck... so he really didn't screw us over."
I looked at him strangely as he sighed, before motioning behind himself towards the cavern. "When we broke into this place, it was like an instant celebration. Of course we were all working under Tusk at the time and I thought maybe someone got out and... told him what we found and-"
"Collapsed the cave on your heads." I finished.
"...yeah." He said with a nod. "But, if he didn't know what we found then who-"
"Not really my concern." I interrupted. "I was just here to find proof of something happening." I stated as I knelt down to the unconscious unicorn. "I think they'll give him what he needs. If you want more, inquire with Tusk."
Flint looked a little annoyed, but didn't say anything as he walked back to the group.
"We told you he'd never do something like that, greenwing." Spoke up the short haired pony, Stone, as he bumped him on the shoulder.
Turning my attention back down to the two, I noticed Dozer was starting to squirm a bit while Misty remained completely out. Giving another swift thwack to the back of his head put him out cold once more. Turning to the teal colored unicorn, I pondered on the possibility of her waking up.
Deciding the magic was just too much of a threat, I reached down to her horn and grasped it in my hand. Tensing my arm, I pulled against it as she suddenly awoke in a gasp.
"Stop!" Patches shouted to my left, causing me to stop just as Misty let out a pained whimper below. "What are you doing!?"
Looking at him, and glancing to the others around the room staring my way, I shrugged.
"Removing her magical instrument. Incase she wakes up." I stated simply, electing a shake of his head.
"You can't! Breaking a unicorn's horn puts them in immense pain for their whole lives!" He pleaded, looking down at Misty who was now awake and watching me with a terrified expression.
Looking down at her, I rolled my eyes and let go electing a sigh of relief from her as she moved to back up.
"Fine." I conceded, before reaching forward and smacking her head off the gold pile again to knock her out.
Patches eyes bulged as she collapsed in place. He looked at me as I shrugged and made my way towards where the "Exit" apparently was. Everyone quickly realized what I was doing and wasted no time in scrambling behind me into a small line.
The large cave stretched upwards into the stone, the floor flattened down giving a much smoother walking experience. As we walked, it got darker very quickly as the light of the hearthstone faded away behind us and plunged the area into darkness.
It was a long walk. At least it felt long walking at the pace we were, in near complete darkness. Eventually Zecora pulled out that red potion of hers, and decided to walk side by side with me to make sure we didn't collide with any sudden walls.
The moment we could see a blue spot in the distance, the ponies behind us started to murmur to each other.
Many of the ponies picked up the pace, quickly outpacing Zecora and I. Now it was just the two of us, walking side by side as we watched the small group come to a stop just infront of a glowing wall.
A small stone area was bathed in sunlight turned a blueish hue from the barrier along the large exit. A large portion of the cave wall shimmered in a translucent blue sheet, revealing the outside world just beyond. It was a place I recognized, next to the massive boulder by the base of the mountain I'd been knocked out at before.
All of the ponies were stopped just before the barrier, staring out and curiously prodding at it.
Holding his breath, Flint went first, followed closely by the rest.
I walked out with Zecora shortly after, looking around at the exact same scenery I'd seen just a couple days prior, yet it still elected a sense of nostalgia from me.
Nearby, the grey pony Stone took a deep breath in, before sighing contently.
I took a few steps to the right out into the sun, feeling it's sting on my neck instantly. For the first time in a while, I welcomed the feeling happily.
"You're okay! I knew she'd help!" A small voice suddenly chirped ahead of me.
Opening my eyes, I looked at the hovering form of Raven just a few feet away. I blinked a few times, but before I could speak another beat me to it.
Stepping out from behind me, Flint shook his head."Sapphire?" He half whispered, staring at the small filly.
Raven's eyes grew massive, her wings sputtering to a stop as she quickly lowered to the ground.
"D-dad?" She spoke in a cracked voice, blinking a couple times trying to process what she was seeing.
"You're alive! Oh my Celestia you're alright!" Flint shouted as he took off towards her, wrapping her in a large hug as she enthusiastically returned it. "Look how much you've grown! You're not a little raven anymore, are you?"
That's when a sudden pain pierced my heart, reopening a familiar wound deep in my soul. Something that pulled at the very core of my being while an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over me. For a moment, a brief glimpse into a long lost memory surfaced...
"Dad?" The voice rang out.
...
"Dal?" Zecora's voice suddenly pulled me back as she tugged my hand, grabbing my sudden attention. "...are you okay?"
I blinked, before looking back at Flint and his daughter as they embraced.
My headache had returned again.
"I think so." I paused, before looking back at the rest of the group to see them smiling at each other. "Come on," I interrupted, getting their attention, "I need to get to Tusk before our friends in there wake up again."
I sat across from Tusk's massive chair which, even while empty, was a behemoth in size as it dwarfed the smaller desk between us. I let out a huff and squirmed a bit, trying to get comfortable as the door behind me suddenly opened.
Tusk took a couple heavy steps as he walked past me, before spinning around and sitting in his massive seat. He landed with a sigh, looking at me in silence as he sized me up and down.
I still had blood covering the front of my chest, having walked in here covering myself with a cloak the whole time while hiding in the crowds. If I were seen like this I'd definitely be labeled a murderer or even worse, devourer, of ponies.
Definitely not the kind of image I'm after around these parts.
Scratching his chin, he shrugged. "You don't look too good."
"I'll change later."
"Hm." He hummed back, before tapping his right hand digits on his chair arm. "Not how I expected this to go down."
"Did you find them there like I said?" I asked, electing a nod from him. "Then is there a problem?" I continued, keeping my voice even as I matched his stare.
"...no. I'm just simply wondering, does this alter our deal?" He asked with a wave of his left hand.
"A bit." I stated with a nod. "After all, you kind of owe it to Flint. To all of them, actually. Considering they worked for you anyway. Right?"
He just looked at me, before nodding once. "Very well."
Pulling a drawer open, he retrieved the letter he showed me before in his desk and placed it on the table.
I reached forward to take it, but as I pulled it away he pushed down from the other end and stopped me.
"I could make you rich. If you worked for me, I could put your muscle to use very well." He stated seriously, looking me dead in the eyes.
"I know." I replied, pulling the letter out from his influence and looking down at it. "Freelance only. Maybe another time."
"And how do I know you'll be back?" He asked, leaning back in his chair as it groaned in displeasure.
"My axe." I stated, looking back at him. "I left it back there, in the cave. Ill be back for it, I expect it to still be here."
There was a moment of silence until he nodded. "Of course, It'll be waiting."
Without another word I made my way out of the room, and into the main lobby of the inn. I hurried past any patrons walking around midday, and scurried up to my room where Zecora was waiting. As I walked down the hall I looked down at the letter in my hand, rubbing my finger over the wax seal binding it.
"Hey." A voice spoke up from behind, causing me to momentarily flinch as I remembered what the front of me still looked like.
Taking a peek back, I could see it was just Herb looking at me sheepishly from the start of the hall. I decided to go see what he had to complain to me about this time as I rolled my eyes and walked his way.
"Listen…" He began, looking to the left… back to the interior of the inn.
As he did I peeked around as well, and saw the miniature celebration going down inside.
The two grey brothers were both singing some kind of chant about a 'fire ruby' as they laughed together and chugged their drinks.
Flint and Raven, well… I guess it's Sapphire, were sitting at their own table and sharing a platter of hayfries.
And poor Patches was standing nearby, nagging to Rock and Stone about how their consumption of alcohol at this rate will kill them before the end of the night.
"I never thought I'd see him again." Herb finally spoke, shaking his head. "I blamed myself, I asked him to come here after all. And somehow, of all ponies, you changed everything."
I shook my head, chuckling a bit to myself. "Herb, really, don't give me too much credit. This is something you can only thank a higher power or luck for."
Herb laughed, literally, before shaking his head. "Heh, maybe you're right. Regardless, have a good night, Dalandor."
I was still shocked at his total personality change, but managed a single nod as the pony happily returned to the room with the rest. Stealing one last glance at Flint's table, I returned to my room.
The apartment door swung freely, revealing the darkened interior as the windows light was blotted out by the closed drapes. Zecora slumbered nearby, her chest lightly rising and falling as she faced away from me. I walked past the bed and towards the other door in the room, opening it to find a small cramped bathroom.
Wasting no time, I cleaned up what I could off my face and neck while changing my clothes to a new set. When I was finally content with the lack of blood on my figure, I gave my face one last look over and noticed the stubble was much more visible on the bottom half of my jaw.
A small rub of my chin elected a sandpaper like texture and a shake of my head as I turned to leave with my messy clothes in tow. When I opened the door, I noticed Zecora was awake as she sat on her side, holding a quill in her mouth as she scribbled into a book open on the bed.
Her eyes flicked my way for a moment, before blinking and locking onto me as she dropped the quill into the book... closing it tight.
"So..." She started, crossing her front hooves together as she looked at me. "You said you'll tell me everything later, yes? What did you mean by that?"
As I stuffed my dirty clothes into my pouch I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Not here. On the road. Speaking of which I'd rather leave now, if you're ready." I asked, pulling my hood over my head and turning towards the door.
"Dal..." Zecora began but trailed off, causing me to look back.
She was standing now, looking away from me and thinking hard about something.
"I'm not sure I can go with you."
Her words hit me like daggers as I squinted slightly. "What? Why?"
She started rubbing her right foreleg, before sighing. "Dal back when you... when you killed Thunder. It was-" She paused as I looked down to the floor, furrowing my brows. "I mean it was like you were eating-"
"I wasn't!" I shouted suddenly, looking straight at her. "I'm a killer, Zecora. I fully understand that. But I do not devour the living."
Shaking her head, she didn't break eye contact with me.
"One question." I added, getting a look from her. "You can ask me one thing, right now, and I'll tell you the truth. Want to know what I am? Now's your chance."
"Can you control it?" She asked, getting me to pause as I stared back down at her.
"..." I opened my mouth to speak, and found it hard to formulate a response.
'Can I control it?'
No matter how hard I tried to think of an excuse, the truth was I already knew the answer.
"No..." I admitted, getting an inquisitive look from her.
I tried scanning her face, but decided against it as I turned away. Besides, I already knew what her answer was going to be. I quickly let myself out of the room, before making my way out of the inn and into the cool outside air.
I gave a small sigh to myself, looking up at the alien night sky.
Somehow, the sun had crawled down to the horizon in a few minutes, even though I swear it was only around 6 o'clock.
Ignoring the unnatural celestial bodies of this world, I began my short walk over to the office to check out my carriage. As I did, my thoughts wandered back to Zecora and for a moment I almost felt sorry for myself. Though, I knew this was going to happen eventually, even in Azeroth nobody would really be willing to adventure or even party with a Death Knight.
Most consider it a 'Bad look', I guess.
As I reached the offices, I paused as my hand touched the door.
'What lot number did Zecora say we were in? Eleven?' I thought hard as I tried to recall, but grunted in annoyance as I backed up a step only to bump into someone.
I fell backwards over them, both of us toppling over into a heap. I let out an annoyed grunt as I looked at my tripping victim, only to dawn a look of confusion.
Shaking the dirt from her mane, Zecora huffed as she looked at me.
"Jeez, you really power-trot fast for somepony with two legs." She quipped, before getting up and brushing the dust off her cloak.
Standing up, I shook my head. "But, I don't understand. You-"
"Dal, I would have been more upset if you told me you were in control, after having done... that." She looked away for a moment as she said it, but returned to meet my gaze. "This just means we have to work on control, is all." She added with nod.
I stared at her in bewilderment for a moment, before chuckling a bit and shaking my head.
"Plus, you probably forgot the lot number." She added as my smile dropped.
"Eleven." I quickly answered.
"Twelve." She corrected.
I didn't even acknowledge her answer as I walked through the nearby set of doors.
The steady sound of wooden spoke wheels on stone filled my ears as Zecora pulled the carriage along the path. The sun had long since left us by now as the stars sparkled overhead. Zecora said she was still a little thrown off after having stayed up for so long then napping, so she was content with leaving right away.
The town was finally starting to dip over the horizon as I looked back, before turning to the envelope resting in my left hand. Flipping it over, I went over the seal holding it shut, the image of a crystal pressed into the red wax.
"So this new route..." I started, meeting Zecora's gaze as she looked back towards me. "Where'd you hear this from?"
I pulled the map out as Zecora turned ahead again. "Got it from a pony back at the inn, said there's a village we can stop by on the way to the Empire that's nestled near a mountain pass." She paused for a second, before looking back to me. "Said he saw it while flying to the Empire."
Looking down at the map, I tried to trace my finger over where this supposed town was.
"Well, lets try it. If we don't find the pass I guess the Manehatten path is nearby..." I trailed off, rolling the map up and setting it aside before looking at the nearby envelope again. "Zecora-"
However I was cut off as a small blueish figure suddenly landed on the passenger seat.
I jumped in place as the cart lurched forward, Zecora bending around to look at the sudden sound. Sapphire sat in the seat next to me, giggling at both of our surprised faces.
Shaking my head, I looked down at the filly. "Your dad's gonna have a heart attack."
"He's asleep." She said with a shrug. "Besides, I had to come see you."
"Why?" I asked with a raise of my eyebrow.
"Uh... to say thanks?" She added jokingly, before suddenly bounding forward and wrapping her small legs around me.
"...thank you." She said again, before letting go and looking up at me.
I struggled to say something, but elected for just smiling at the filly and patting her on the head.
She said her goodbyes, then tore off towards the town on the horizon.
'That kid had some fire in her, that's for sure' I thought to myself as I watched her form quickly melt into the night sky.
"See, you can have a positive influence after all." Zecora added with a small chuckle as I rolled my eyes. "So, what were you saying?"
The previous topic I'd been sitting on suddenly resurfaced as I locked my eyes with the letter once more. Reaching over and picking it up, I flipped it over and slowly broke the seal.
"Back when I was making a deal with Tusk... I-" I started, but quickly tapered off as I opened the top of the envelope and noticed something off.
"Huh?" Zecora added, looking back at me to see me holding the letter in my hands. "What's that?"
"I.."
Looking down at the now exposed letter, I scanned the whole page for any information I could. However, one single thing held back any attempts to gleam even so much a hint from it's contents.
It was blank.
Completely. From the top to the bottom it was a fully blank sheet of paper, the only imperfections being the creases from it's folds.
This was a trick, surely? Some clever spell was hiding the real message behind an illusion?
"Dal?" Zecora asked again, looking back at me in worry.
Meeting her look, I quickly stuffed the letter back into the envelope before putting it away in my pouch.
"Nevermind..." I began, leaning back and letting out a sigh, "Alright, so..." I paused, looking up at the sky. "...what'd you want to know?"
A long stretch of silence ensued, until Zecora finally broke the quiet with a question I'd felt coming for a long, long time.
"What are... what do you call yourself?" She asked, not looking back to where I sat.
There were plenty of answers I could give her, plenty of less dangerous or better suited terms I could use. But I figured, after all this time, she deserved the truth of what I really was.
"We were created to bring the downfall of Azeroth's champions, and subsequently, Azeroth itself… if possible." I said slowly, blinking once as I focused on one of the many stars in the sky. "I was raised by The Lich King, forced to kill for him and, ultimately, broke free of his control."
I took in a small breath, before looking down to Zecora who'd by now stopped walking and was just listening.
"I'm a Death Knight."