Brone Heavyaxe was summoned by Mr. McDonald again to his estate. Upon arrival the high class, plump man greeted the dwarf with a smile and a warm welcome in relation to their first meeting, obviously because Brone had successfully completed his last request which provided the plump rich man with a vein of crystals as a marketable resources, "Brone, my favorite dwarf! You have grown so much!"

The dwarf realized Mr. McDonald didn't care about his height, since the dwarf had stopped growing in height nearly an entire century ago, and simply wanted to be on his good side, "Oy, Mr. McDonald, ye've grown yerself" the dwarf laughed while pointing at the the rich man's belly which may have gotten bigger since the two have last seen one another. Mr. McDonald, not wanted to sour the meeting between the two, bit the bullet and let the joke go although it did annoy him.

"Yes, well that aside, I called you here to ask you to head back into the Dawncliff mine and search the lower level of area you spotted for me last time" the pudgy man had then lit a cigar and leaned back in his chair; then eyed the two ravens that sat perched on the dwarf's golden shoulder guards, "Are the birds, necessary?"

"Lower level? If ye workers found a lower level, why send me to scout it instead of yer workers?" The dwarf was suspicious of the request. Even though he normally wasn't quite observant in social interactions, he knew of the costly need of having more than needed workers during mining operations, and even for a pump rich man, having an extra person on the payroll wasn't needed not unless there was some trouble that needed a specialist, "And the birds are my seeing-eye birds".

Mr. McDonald looked at the ravens again, then back at Brone, specifically into his eyes. For a moment the rich man wondered if the dwarf was serious, but noticing that they had locked eyes ever since they first met and the lack of characteristics that were obvious to a blindman, he knew the dwarf was lying, but dismissed the side conversation, "My men had spotted a lower level that is a series of interlocking tunnels and chambers, however their sense of direction isn't superb and I'm requesting for that area to be mapped out and secured before my team can advance any further." The rich man then took a long drag from his cigar before blowing out a long stream of smoke that nearly filled the room that was his study.

"Fine" Is all Brone said before he turned around and headed out the door.

"He lies" Huginn spoke into the dwarf's ear as the dwarf reached the front of the estate where his tempest wolf, Geri, was.

"I'm not surprised there, but I want to know what is he keeping from me, so Huginn, stay here and listen in on him and if he mentions anything I need to know, find me" Brone said as he mounted the wolf. As the dwarf took off with the speed of the wolve beneath him, Huginn bid a temporary farewell to his partner Muninn and flew off to perch upon the windowsill of the rich man's room.

550

Brone had reached the mouth of the Dawncliff Mines. He took at the positioning of the setting sun and realized he had made great time. He patted the side of Geri, thanking the wolf, and appreciating now he had a companion that will help him cross great distances in moments. Though a number of his friends and allies and even enemies had their ways of traveling by air, the dwarf didn't prefer such travel methods unless by airship. He had grown up relying on the earth and solid ground to the point it is part of his religious practice and fighting style, so to not feel the ground means to him that he is vulnerable; in this exception when it comes to riding ground mounts, he may not have his own feet touch the ground, he can feel Geri's footfall hitting the earth with every step the wolf takes.

"Go get something to eat, boy" Brone said as he dismounted from the wolf. Geri gave a slight lick of the dwarf's face before running off to find game. For the next several minutes, the dwarf and Muninn waited until Huginn returned. When the raven did indeed returned, he reported hearing Mr. McDonald speaking to his confidant about something or someone that had used so sort of magic to shift the tunnels to keep the workers away, then an mercenary was hired to investigate, but never returned. Mr. McDonald intended to hire Brone, knowing that the dwarf was well suited for such difficult situations given his status in the guild, but reframed from giving too much information on the matter, hoping to avoid an expensive cost to the quest as well as avoiding this to be well known, for the rich man wanted to keep his work in the mine secret until he fully had taken it over.

"Greedier than a mind-sick dwarf" Brone said as he turned to head into the mine, "Stay here, mineshafts are too dangerous for aviary, a gas leak could kill ye before we knew" the dwarf told his ravens before he descended into the mineshaft. Unlike the last time he was there, the mine, or at least the entrance, was lit by lanterns, the mine rails were replaced with brand new ones and the distant sounds of work filled the tunnels; obvious the workers were employed by Mr. McDonald.

After following the new rails into the tunnels, without straining to remember where to go, Brone ended up greeting the workers who were tending to the equipment that stabilized the tunnels, kept everything lit, and hauled minerals in minecarts. Eventually, Brone reached the cavern where he found the obsidian crystal, which was mostly mined out by this point. The manager of this team greeted Brone, confirming McDonald had sent him. The human pointed to a tunnel that lead deeper into the mine, stating that the tunnels were too complex to map out and was hoping a dwarf would be able to figure it out.

When Brone asked if there was anything within the deeper part of the mine, such as odd happenings or if anyone was down there at the moment, the human reacted, trying to hide his expression, but ultimately said "no" outright, though didn't seem convincing. Brone nodded, though he knew well by what Huginn had reported of what McDonald knew.

Brone slipped on his blue helm onto his head, completing his fully armored regalia. A chill filled the air within the tunnels due to the magical aura of the helmet. The next moment, the dwarf descended into the deeper tunnels.

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The tunnels below were as the miners had described, a series of corridors intersecting, so much so it seemed as if these series of tunnels were not naturally made and Brone was sure of it. As he walked in, each step he took echoed into the tunnels, given his heavy footfall and the sound of metallic armor clanking was giving him away, but he was use to it at this point. The dwarf was never a stealthy person, so he figured waiting for the enemy, if there was one, to come to him would be the best plan of attack, like an ambush predator. He was indeed cautious, for the mercenary who had entered had not returned as far as Brone knew, meaning either there was an accident which implies the tunnels were not stable, or something living got him. But the question that rang in his mind was 'What could live down here that would be a threat to a full humanoid?'

After going straight, passing by nearly a dozen intersection with no real clear destination, Brone came to a halt, he could have sworn he had heard something, but when he focused his hearing, all he heard was silence, so he continued to walk on. Every now and then, the dwarf would place a hand on the stone wall to try and get a feel of the area, but it all felt like silence, until...

The earth shook, tremors were running through the ground and ceiling. Brone wondered at first if it was an earthquake, but the tunnel before him closed off, a wall of rock shifted and blocked the tunnel as if the tunnel never existed, "Ain't that weird, to see you here again" a familiar voice caught Brone's attention, causing him to draw his black axe and green axe while turning about. The dwarf was ready for a fight, though he was shocked to see a dwarf facing him, but not just any random dwarf, but Grekter, the black haired dwarf who had invaded his mountain home and stolen a valuable object and left Brone defeated, "You kept your hair white" The smirking black haired dwarf said, jesting of the fact that the stressful battle between the two dwarfs had caused Brone's natural brown hair to turn white.

"What the hell are ye doing here, Grekter?" Brone's voice was low and rumbled like an earth tremor. His anger was showing as he glared at the other dwarf.

"Minding my own business, as ye should be" Grekter scoffed as he began to raise his right hand, Brone immediately rushed forward, knowing well how powerful of a mage the black haired dwarf was. Grekter flicked his wrist, causing another stone wall to block off Brone's path, ceiling him inside a small closed off tunnel, but Brone didn't slow down, he slammed his black axe against the newly made stone wall and shattered it to dust; the rubble burst into the other tunnel, Grekter having to brace himself from this sudden surprise; his stone structures were so dense, it should have been near impossible for someone to destroy his wall with just one strike.

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The black blade of the axe nearly struck Grekter, but the black haired dwarf had avoided the swing at the last moment, then rolled further into the tunnel to keep away from Brone, but the dwarf with the golden armor didn't slow, he continue to run forward, yelling "Whatever yer doing here, I won't allow ye to finish!" his anger and distrust of the scoundrel didn't have any room for diplomacy. Though the two have only met once, the fact that Grekter had stolen from the Heavyaxe clan was a high offense in dwarven society and high disrespect to the family.

"Ye don't even know what I'm here for, Heavyaxe" Grekter scoffed as he clapped his hands together, a magical circle appeared on the floor before him and stone spikes began to erupt from the ground, like a wave rushing towards Brone. But the white haired dwarf wasn't surprised, for he faced against the spell before and he knew in these tunnels, it was near impossible to dodge such an attack, which was why fighting Grekter was so difficult in the first place, but Brone was stronger this time, and sure he had a fighting chance to avenge his family's dishonor. Several spikes struck the golden armor just as a layer of ice coated the breastplate, stopping two spikes from penetrating it, "Ye sturdy bastard" Grekter growled in annoyance as he watched Brone swing both his black axe and green axe, destroying the spikes and clearing the way as he ran for the thief.

"Give me back my family's emerald!" Brone yelled, his booming voice being carried throughout the series of tunnels as he chased after Grekter, who decided to run away.

"I don't have time to deal with ya" Grekter called back as he ran down a side corridor, then gestured his hand and causing the corridor to close up, but Brone broke through the nearly made wall with his black axe. The black haired dwarf thought he was at least gaining distance from his opponent, but the tunnels were dropping in temperature and he finally noticed by seeing his own breath. The next moment he realized the cold was slowing him down. This was unnatural, and he had been in these tunnels for at least a fortnight, so he would have been aware if there was any magical source that would have caused this... no, this was some kind of magical ability that Brone had, for as Grekter took a moment to look over his shoulder, he spotted Brone rushing after him, not seeming affected by the cold air of the tunnel, "The Heavyaxe has gotten more stubborn I see, but not smarter!" He called back down the tunnel as he spotted a four-way intersection down the way.

Once he reached the four-way intersection, he closed off the tunnel he just came from and ran down the tunnel to his left while causing the remaining three tunnel openings to close up. Brone then immediately burst through the wall that closed him off, but to see what looked like a dead-end. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tapped into an ability he had learned during his trials of becoming a God of War, a way to speak to the Stone around him.

He sensed there were three tunnels behind the walls, so this was not a true dead-end. He focused more and noticed heavy footprints along the path of the tunnel to his left. Brone didn't hesitate and destroyed that wall, then rushing down that tunnel, determined to not let Grekter escape him again.

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The tunnel filled with the cold air immediately; Grekter knew Brone was on his tail again, "Damn lad won't give up" he gritted his teeth as he conjured five new walls behind him as he ran, soon enough he would hear those same walls shatter. He wasn't sure how it was possible that this was the same dwarf he had defeated so easily more than two years priors, such a short amount of time for a dwarf, and yet the Heavyaxe was like an entirely different person.

Eventually, Grekter would enter a large open cavern which then dropped into a wide pit. He then came to a halt and turned about, waiting for Brone who then arrived soon after, landing onto the solid ground of the pit with fire in his eyes, "Where's my family's emerald?" he growled as he began walking towards Grekter, each step he took felt like a tremor.

"That jewel ain't yers anymore" Grekter scoffed as he pulled out from his pocket a large ruby, "And neither is this."

Brone didn't know what the ruby had to do with his family's emerald, but the gesture annoyed him and he lost all interest in allowing the thief a chance to return what he stolen, so he rushed forward with his axes ready to cut him down.

Grekter shoved his free hand in front of him, a magical circle appeared in front of him, followed by a blast of grey sand which erupted from the circle, heading towards Brone; this was the spell that weakened the lad, eating away at his lifeforce and mana to the point Brone had gone into a coma so his body could recover from the intense strain, which also left the dwarf with white hair, now this time, Grekter wasn't holding back as he did before, which was to teach him a lesson, now the lesson was death.

Brone swung his green axe, and as the blade touched the grey sand, the entire spell vanished. Grekter was so surprised, he nearly allowed Brone to land a hit on him, but the thief escaped just in time. Grekter was levitating on a platform of solid bedrock, "Ye grown, lad, but don't think ye've gotten any closer to me" Grekter called as he annoyingly stared down at Brone as the platform continued to raise.

Brone didn't reply, he just stared up at the escaping thief. Eventually, Grekter escaped into a tunnel on the higher level where Brone couldn't reach. The Heavyaxe eventually gotten to the surface, and even though he completed the quest, he felt he had lost. "Worry not" Muninn said as he perched himself on Brone's left shoulder, "There's always another day" Huginn said as he perched on the other shoulder. Brone mounted Geri the wolf and they were off to report to Mr. McDonald.

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[Exit]