The mouth of the mine didn't look like an entrance anymore; it looked like a closed wound. As we climbed the steep slope behind Barun, the sight that met us was where hope went to die. Massive slabs of granite had completely swallowed the path leading into the depths. The cloud of dust settling between the rocks whispered that the life inside had long since been extinguished.
"No... No!" Barun threw himself at the boulders, his massive hands clawing at the stone. His veins looked ready to burst as he fought against the weight of a mountain. After minutes of futile struggling, he collapsed to his knees and buried his face in his hands. He didn't make a sound, but his shoulders shook with the weight of everything he had lost—his friends, his trade, his life.
"I have nowhere left to go," Barun murmured, his voice muffled as if coming from under the rubble. "No work to do. No home to return to."
Eliz and I traded a look. The sharp, guarded expression in her eyes softened with a rare flicker of mercy. I took a step toward him and placed a hand on his massive shoulder. "You're not alone, Barun. Do you want to come with us? We need a friend like you—and those strong hands."
The giant raised his head and looked at me, his grief momentarily replaced by a shadow of surprise. "I'm Barun," he said, extending a hand. I gave him my name, then introduced Eliz. There, in the graveyard silence of the mountain, three strangers decided to become a team.
Barun stood up and ducked into a small, intact tool shed near the collapsed entrance. He emerged carrying two heavy pickaxes, a massive steel sledgehammer, and two buckets filled with iron nails. "We can't build a damn thing without these," he said, shouldering the gear.
When we returned to the shelter, the space felt impossibly small. With three adults, two slimes, and the new equipment, our shoulders were constantly brushing. Eliz leaned in close to my ear, her voice a barely audible whisper: "The three of us can't stay here. This hut won't hold us; we'll be at each other's throats by morning."
She was right. We didn't just need a shelter anymore; we needed a settlement. I turned to Barun and Eliz. "What do you say we build a new home? Turn this place into something real?"
A ghost of a smile appeared on Barun's rugged face. "I've got the picks, and I've got the muscle. What are we waiting for?"
Despite the encroaching darkness of the night, we stepped outside. We stood before the large rock face adjacent to the shelter. Barun hoisted the heavy pickaxe over his head and brought it down with everything he had. The sparks from the impact illuminated the forest for a split second. It wasn't just the sound of stone breaking; it was the first heartbeat of our new world.
ESSENCE HAVEN
KINGDOM POPULATION: 3