210 - The Grey Expanse

The passage beyond the Hollow March narrowed for nearly two kilometers before opening into a landscape that looked nothing like the caverns they had crossed earlier.

The Grey Expanse stretched beneath an immense ceiling of dark stone, its uneven ground covered in pale dust and scattered mineral formations. Towering pillars rose from the plain like the remains of a ruined city, while narrow ridges divided the terrain into winding corridors. In the distance, a line of metallic cliffs reflected the light of crystal deposits embedded in the ceiling.

Their guide, a Hollow March scout named Nessa, stopped beside the remains of a stone marker.

"Beyond this point, the old road becomes unreliable. The ground has shifted several times, and some sections are now covered by mineral dust deep enough to conceal cracks."

Ara compared the marker with the archive map. "The road should run northeast. If we can find the original stone surface, we can follow it toward Ironvein."

"Assuming the road still exists," Jae-hyun said.

Nessa glanced at him. "It exists. Whether it leads anywhere useful is another matter."

Subin smiled faintly and continued walking.

They found the old road before noon. Most of its surface had been buried, but broad stone slabs remained visible between the mineral ridges. The slabs bore parallel grooves, likely carved to provide traction for heavy carts. Every few hundred meters, the team found a broken post or a weathered marker indicating the distance to Ironvein.

The settlement had once maintained a substantial trade route. The width of the road and the remains of its drainage channels suggested regular traffic between several communities. Now, the only signs of recent use were scattered footprints and occasional scraps of material caught between the rocks.

Liu Wei crouched beside a set of tracks. "Two-legged, heavy build. More than one individual, judging by the stride differences."

"Travelers?" Rafael asked.

"Possibly. The tracks are several days old."

Nessa studied them with visible concern. "No caravan has used this route recently. If these belong to Ironvein residents, they may be scouting the road."

Subin examined the direction of the tracks. They followed the road northeast, matching the route toward Ironvein. There was no reason to assume hostility, but the expedition kept its weapons accessible as they moved onward.

By early afternoon, they reached the first abandoned waystation.

Its roof had partially collapsed, leaving three stone rooms exposed to the cavern air. A dry well stood in the courtyard, and the remains of a wooden platform suggested that merchants had once unloaded cargo there. Ara found a metal plaque fixed to the entrance, its inscription worn but readable.

"Ironvein Trade Authority," she translated. "This station served caravans traveling between the Grey Expanse and the northern settlements."

Inside, they found empty storage racks, broken containers, and a collection of rusted tools. Nothing indicated a recent battle. The station had simply been abandoned, though several heavy crates had been dragged toward the rear exit before the roof collapsed.

Subin followed the marks to a narrow opening behind the building. Beyond it lay a descending path cut into the rock, with deep grooves where wheeled cargo had passed repeatedly.

"An alternate route," Ara said. "It may have been used when the main road became unstable."

Nessa shook her head. "The lower path was closed years ago. A section collapsed after a tremor."

"Then someone reopened it," Yerin observed.

The tracks from the road continued through the opening.

Subin looked down the slope. "We'll inspect the entrance. Nobody goes beyond the first bend until we know what we're dealing with."

The descent was short, but the temperature dropped sharply as they approached the bend. A faint vibration traveled through the floor, accompanied by a low metallic hum. Ara checked her equipment and found a strong concentration of mana below them.

"There's an active source underneath the road," she said. "Not a gate. The readings are consistent with a large mineral formation or an exposed mana deposit."

Subin moved closer to the edge and looked into the darkness. A faint blue glow emerged from a crack in the lower wall.

Before they could investigate further, a sharp whistle echoed from above.

Nessa turned immediately. "Someone's on the road."

The team returned to the waystation courtyard. Three figures stood near the entrance, each wearing layered armor reinforced with narrow metal plates. The tallest carried a long hammer, while the other two held curved blades. Their equipment resembled the weapons used by the Hollow March patrol, though their armor was decorated with bands of dark silver.

The tall figure looked at Nessa first, then at Subin.

"State your business."

"We're exploring the old road to Ironvein," Nessa answered. "Who are you?"

"Road wardens." The man pointed his hammer toward the descending path. "You shouldn't be down there."

Subin noticed that the man's left sleeve had been torn, revealing a bandage darkened with blood. One of the other wardens carried a broken shield, and all three looked exhausted.

"Did something attack you?" Rafael asked.

The warden hesitated before replying. "A group of scavengers. They took supplies from our camp and fled toward the lower road."

"How many?"

"Six, perhaps seven."

"And you followed them here?"

"We followed them until something drove them underground."

Subin looked toward the descending passage. The warden's account explained the fresh tracks, but not the unusual mana readings below.

"What was it?" he asked.

The man tightened his grip on the hammer. "We didn't see it clearly. We heard stone breaking, then the scavengers started screaming. We came back up."

Jae-hyun glanced at the dark opening. "That sounds encouraging."

The warden ignored him. "If you're going to Ironvein, take the upper road. It is longer, but the lower route is no longer safe."

Subin considered the man's warning. They could continue northeast along the main road, avoiding an unnecessary confrontation, or investigate the lower passage before it became a threat to anyone else traveling through the area. The decision became easier when a distant crash shook dust from the waystation roof.

The sound came from below.

Nessa stepped away from the opening. "Whatever is down there, it is moving."

Subin drew Simple Edge. "Everyone stay close. We'll find out what happened to the scavengers, then return to the road."

The three wardens exchanged a glance before the tallest nodded. "I'll go with you. My name is Brann."

They descended together.

At the bend, the blue glow had grown brighter. The passage opened into a broad chamber where mineral veins covered the walls. Several broken carts lay scattered across the floor, and torn supply bags had spilled their contents between the rocks. One of the scavengers was crouched behind a stone outcrop, clutching a wounded arm.

"Help!" he shouted when he saw the group. "It's coming back!"

A shape moved beyond the mineral formations.

The creature emerged slowly, scraping its armored back against the low ceiling. It resembled a massive burrowing lizard, with six powerful limbs and a blunt head covered in overlapping plates of dark stone. Its foreclaws were broad and shovel-shaped, while crystalline growths along its spine glowed faintly blue.

Ara's scanner registered the creature at Level 239, A-rank.

Riftstone Burrower.

The creature had been digging through the mineral deposits, and the abandoned road appeared to cross its feeding territory. Its presence explained the tremors and the recent collapses. It had no interest in the expedition until the group entered the chamber, but the wounded scavenger was trapped between the creature and the exit.

Rafael moved to retrieve the injured man while Brann and the other wardens covered the passage.

The Burrower surged forward.

Subin intercepted it near the chamber's center. His first strike glanced off its plated head, but he had already identified the creature's weakness: the crystalline growths along its spine were not merely armor. They pulsed in rhythm with the mana gathered beneath the floor, drawing energy from the mineral veins.

He changed his approach.

Rather than trying to cut through the plates, Subin targeted the narrow spaces between the growths. Simple Edge sliced across one of the exposed connections, and the blue light along the creature's back flickered. The Burrower's next movement faltered, allowing Yerin to drive it away from the wounded scavenger.

The creature recoiled toward the mineral wall, then plunged its foreclaws into the ground. The chamber shook as it attempted to burrow beneath them.

"Get clear of the floor!" Subin called.

The team retreated toward the entrance while the Burrower tore through the loose stone. A section of the chamber collapsed, revealing a deep cavity beneath the road. The creature disappeared into the opening, leaving a trail of falling rock and blue light.

For several seconds, the only sound was the settling debris.

Jae-hyun peered into the cavity. "Did we just win?"

"No," Subin replied. "We interrupted it."

Ara examined the exposed chamber. The mineral veins continued into the cavity, forming a network of glowing channels beneath the road. The Burrower had not been digging randomly. It was following the concentrated deposits through the rock, and the repeated tunneling had weakened the old trade route.

Brann stared at the collapsed floor. "If it reaches the upper road, the remaining waystations could come down with it."

"Then the route needs to be closed until someone can survey the lower tunnels," Rafael said.

The wounded scavenger, now supported by Liu Wei, finally spoke. "We weren't trying to steal from the wardens. We found the lower entrance open and thought there might be abandoned supplies. The creature came out of the wall before we reached the carts."

Brann's expression hardened, but he did not argue. "You can explain that to the settlement."

The expedition escorted the scavengers back to the surface and helped the wardens recover their remaining supplies. Ara marked the collapse and recorded the mineral readings. The lower road was clearly unsafe, but the creature had not pursued them, and there was no reason to risk another confrontation in unstable tunnels.

Before leaving, Subin studied the exposed cavity one last time. The Riftstone Burrower had vanished into the mineral network, alive and moving deeper underground. Its presence would need to be reported to the Hollow March and Ironvein, but the immediate priority was reaching the settlement before nightfall.

They returned to the main road and continued northeast.

The terrain became rougher as the Grey Expanse narrowed between two enormous ridges. Along the route, they passed the remains of another waystation and a stone bridge whose central span had fallen into the darkness below. The old road was still identifiable, but every kilometer brought new signs of damage.

Near sunset, Nessa pointed toward a distant formation rising above the plain.

"That is the Ironvein ridge."

The ridge was unlike the surrounding stone. Its surface shone with dark metallic bands, and dozens of narrow openings dotted its lower slopes. A broad archway stood at its base, flanked by two towers built directly into the rock.

No lights burned in the towers.

Subin stopped at the edge of the ridge's shadow. The road led straight toward the archway, but the gate itself was closed, and the ground before it had been cleared of dust. Something had maintained the approach long after the trade route was abandoned.

Ara checked the map. "This is definitely Ironvein. The settlement should be directly beyond the ridge."

Brann's words returned to Subin: the caravans had stopped arriving, and no one had confirmed whether the settlement still existed.

Yerin rested her spear against her shoulder. "What do you think we'll find?"

"People, if we're lucky."

"And if we're not?"

Subin looked at the silent towers. "Then we'll deal with whatever is there."

They approached the archway together. At its base, Subin found a narrow metal plate set into the stone, its surface marked with an inscription in the same script as the old trade markers. Ara brushed away the dust and translated the message.

IRONVEIN ACCEPTS NO UNANNOUNCED ENTRY. ALL VISITORS MUST REGISTER AT THE OUTER GATE.

Beneath the inscription was a smaller line, added in a different hand.

TRADE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

The message was old, but the cleared ground and intact gate suggested that someone still cared about keeping the entrance functional.

Subin raised his hand and knocked against the metal plate.

The sound echoed through the ridge.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then a narrow slit opened in the gate, revealing a pair of watchful eyes.

A voice came from within.

"Name your settlement and state the purpose of your visit."

Subin stepped forward.

"We've come from Underpass by way of the Hollow March. We're explorers, and we're looking for a route through Ironvein."

The eyes shifted toward the others behind him.

"Explorers from where?"

"Earth."

Silence followed.

Then the voice returned, sharper than before.

"Wait there. The council will decide whether you may enter."

The slit closed, leaving the expedition outside the ancient gate. Somewhere beyond the ridge, metal struck metal, followed by the heavy movement of machinery.

Ironvein was not abandoned after all.

And whatever had caused its trade routes to close had not prevented its people from maintaining the gates.