211 - The Gates of Ironvein

The gate remained closed for several minutes after the guard disappeared from the viewing slit. Subin waited without impatience, while Jae-hyun examined the metal framework and Liu Wei watched the towers above them. The machinery inside the ridge continued to move, suggesting that Ironvein's defenses were still operational.

At last, a deep mechanical clank echoed through the entrance. The gate opened just wide enough for a single person to pass.

Four armored guards emerged, followed by a woman in a dark coat with silver fastenings. A short sword hung at her hip, and a metal badge bearing the symbol of a crossed hammer and pick was fixed to her collar.

"I'm Commander Elira Voss, responsible for Ironvein's outer district. You claim to have come from Earth through Underpass. Who can verify that?"

Nessa stepped forward. "I'm a scout of the Hollow March. We traveled together from our territory, and I can confirm their account."

Elira studied Nessa's insignia before turning toward Subin.

"Your weapons will remain sheathed while you're inside the settlement. Our guards will escort you to the council hall, where your request will be reviewed."

"That's reasonable," Subin replied.

The guards opened the gate fully.

Beyond it lay a broad tunnel illuminated by lines of crystal lamps. Ironvein had been built inside the ridge, with buildings carved into the stone walls and bridges spanning a deep central shaft. Lifts moved between different levels, carrying crates of ore and bundles of processed metal. Workers watched the newcomers from balconies, but nobody approached them.

The settlement was alive, organized, and clearly capable of defending itself.

Yet its outer markets were empty.

Elira noticed Subin looking at the closed stalls. "Trade has been suspended for three months. Until the northern road is secured, we don't permit merchant caravans to enter."

"Because of the Riftstone Burrower?" Ara asked.

Elira stopped walking.

"Where did you encounter one?"

"Under the old road in the Grey Expanse," Subin answered. "It caused a collapse while we were rescuing a group of scavengers."

A brief exchange passed between Elira and the guards. Their reaction told Subin that the creature was more than a minor inconvenience to Ironvein.

"Come with me," she said. "The council needs to hear this."

The council hall occupied a large chamber near the center of the ridge. A circular table stood beneath a vaulted ceiling, surrounded by representatives of the settlement's major trades. Several wore miners' harnesses, while others carried weapons or displayed the insignia of the Ironvein guard.

At the head of the table sat an elderly man with a mechanical brace covering his left forearm.

"I am Councilor Dren Valt," he said. "Commander Voss tells me you've encountered a Riftstone Burrower."

"One of them," Subin replied. "It was feeding on a concentrated mineral deposit beneath an abandoned road. We disrupted its activity, but it escaped into the lower tunnels."

Dren's expression darkened.

"Then the northern route is still unsafe."

"How many have you encountered?" Rafael asked.

"Three confirmed sightings in the past month. Two involved damage to mining passages, and the third forced a supply team to abandon its cargo. We have not established whether they are separate creatures or whether one has been moving between the tunnels."

Ara placed her map on the table and showed the location of their encounter.

"This deposit lies directly beneath the old trade road. If the Burrower continues digging, the route could collapse further. We also found signs that the lower tunnel had been reopened recently."

Dren examined the map.

"That road was closed after our miners began disappearing. We sealed the main entrance, but someone must have reopened a secondary passage."

"Could the miners still be alive?" Yerin asked.

"We recovered two bodies. The others were never found."

The answer silenced the room.

Subin studied the map. The Ironvein council clearly had a serious problem, but the expedition had not come to take responsibility for the settlement's entire territory. He wanted information about the surrounding region, a chance to explore its roads, and an opportunity to test his sword against stronger opponents. Helping Ironvein could provide all three, provided the arrangement remained practical.

"What can you tell us about the lower mines?" he asked.

Dren looked at him carefully. "Why are you interested?"

"Because we need to understand what lies beyond Ironvein. If the tunnels connect to other settlements, the Burrowers could threaten more than your trade road."

The councilors exchanged looks. Eventually, Dren nodded.

"We can provide the mining records and the last known survey. In return, we'd ask your team to help us determine whether the northern road can be reopened. We cannot spare enough experienced fighters to investigate the lower tunnels while maintaining our defenses."

"Access to the records and a guide familiar with the mines," Subin said. "We'll investigate the route. If it can be made safe, we'll tell you what we find."

Dren agreed, and Commander Voss arranged for the relevant records to be brought from the survey office.

The expedition spent the remainder of the afternoon reviewing the maps. Unlike the older trade records, the mining survey included details of the underground passages, marked chambers, and several abandoned extraction sites. One branch descended beneath the northern ridge before turning west toward a broad cavern system identified only as the Deep Veins.

A note beside the final surveyed chamber read: Unstable mana concentration. Further excavation suspended.

Ara traced the route with her finger. "This is probably where the Burrowers are finding the mineral deposits. If the passages connect to the Grey Expanse, they could be moving between feeding grounds."

"Can we reach the chamber without going through the damaged road?" Subin asked.

"There's an old maintenance entrance on the eastern side. It should still be accessible from inside Ironvein."

Dren, who had remained to answer questions, nodded. "The entrance is intact, but we stopped using it after the last mining crew failed to return. I'll assign someone who knows the route."

A young guard named Kellan volunteered. He was a capable fighter, though his equipment showed signs of frequent repairs. He had worked in the mines before joining the outer guard and knew the first several chambers well.

"We won't have to descend far before reaching the old extraction area," Kellan explained. "Beyond that, the maps become unreliable."

"That's enough for the first survey," Subin said.

Before the expedition departed, Dren made one additional offer. Ironvein possessed several weapons and pieces of armor recovered from abandoned mines, including materials that could be useful to visiting Awakeners. If Subin's group helped secure the route, the council would allow them to choose a share of the recovered equipment.

Jae-hyun immediately looked interested.

"Now that sounds like a proper trade agreement."

"Don't choose anything until we've seen what's available," Yerin warned him.

"I'm only looking."

"You said that in Kharad, too."

"And I was looking there as well."

Subin left them to argue while he followed Kellan toward the eastern maintenance entrance.

The entrance lay behind a row of storage rooms, concealed by a thick metal door. Kellan unlocked it, revealing a descending staircase cut directly into the rock. The air beyond carried the sharp scent of minerals and old machinery.

They entered with a compact team: Subin, Yerin, Jae-hyun, Liu Wei, Rafael, Ara, and Kellan. The others would remain in Ironvein to prepare supplies and review the remaining maps.

The first chamber contained abandoned mining equipment and a broken cart. Farther down, they found fresh scratches along the walls, too deep to have been made by ordinary tools. Kellan examined them and tightened his grip on his weapon.

"Those weren't here when I last came through."

A faint rumble rose from below.

Ara checked her scanner. "Something is moving in the next chamber."

Subin drew Simple Edge.

They proceeded until the passage opened into an excavation hall. Several enormous mineral formations rose from the floor, their surfaces shining with blue light. A broken drilling machine lay near the far wall, crushed beneath a mass of dark stone.

Then the stone moved.

A Riftstone Burrower pulled itself from behind the mineral formations. It was slightly smaller than the creature they had encountered in the Grey Expanse, but its shell was thicker, and several crystalline growths along its back pulsed with an intense blue glow.

Riftstone Burrower — Level 242 — A-rank.

The creature turned toward them, and the floor trembled beneath its weight.

Kellan took an involuntary step backward. "That one is stronger than the creature reported near the northern road."

"Stay behind Rafael," Subin told him.

The Burrower charged toward the entrance, but Subin intercepted it before it could reach the narrower passage. His sword struck the exposed connection between two crystalline plates, disrupting the energy pulsing through its shell. The creature veered away from him and crashed into the remains of the drilling machine.

Yerin used the opening to force it back toward the center of the chamber. Liu Wei and Jae-hyun kept the smaller debris from blocking their retreat, while Rafael protected Kellan and Ara.

Subin's second strike broke one of the crystalline growths.

The Burrower released a grinding roar, then slammed its foreclaws into the floor. A fissure split the chamber between Subin and the others, and the creature began digging into the exposed rock.

"Don't let it reach the lower passage!" Kellan shouted. "The old mines connect to the main supports beneath Ironvein!"

Subin moved before the creature could disappear. He crossed the fractured ground and drove Simple Edge into the damaged section of its shell, cutting through the exposed connection beneath the broken crystal. The Burrower's movement stopped abruptly. It collapsed against the edge of the fissure, its limbs scraping helplessly across the stone.

Subin delivered the final strike through the vulnerable joint beneath its head.

The chamber fell quiet.

Ara approached only after confirming that the creature's mana signature had disappeared. "This one was using the mineral formation as a feeding site. The deposits here are much richer than the ones beneath the Grey Expanse road."

"Which means there may be more," Yerin said.

"Yes, but we don't know how many or how far the tunnels extend."

Subin looked toward the fissure the Burrower had opened. Beyond it, blue light shimmered across a passage that had not appeared on the old survey.

Kellan stared into the opening. "That passage wasn't on any of our maps."

"Then we'll mark it and leave it for a proper survey," Subin said. "We're not descending into an unknown tunnel with a damaged chamber behind us."

He collected a sample of the broken crystal for Ara and checked the fallen creature for usable materials. Its hardened plates would interest Ironvein's smiths, while the intact crystals might prove useful for mana equipment. They recorded the chamber's condition and marked the newly exposed passage before returning to the surface.

When they reached the council hall, Dren listened to their report without interruption. The discovery of a second Burrower beneath Ironvein confirmed that the northern road's danger was not an isolated incident. More importantly, the creature's feeding ground lay close to the settlement's supporting tunnels.

"We'll close the maintenance entrance until the engineers inspect the chamber," Dren decided. "No one enters those mines without authorization."

He turned to Subin.

"You've done more in one afternoon than our last two survey teams managed in a week. Ironvein will honor the agreement."

That evening, the council provided the expedition with a collection of recovered materials. Jae-hyun chose a set of reinforced gauntlets, Liu Wei selected a compact whetstone made from a mana-rich mineral, and Rafael accepted a piece of lightweight armor for testing. Ara received permission to study the crystal sample with Ironvein's engineers.

Subin chose a narrow strip of dark metal recovered from the old mines. It was not a weapon, but its unusual resistance to mana made it potentially useful for future sword maintenance. He preferred to understand the material before deciding whether it could improve Simple Edge.

Later, Yerin found him on a balcony overlooking the central shaft.

"Two Burrowers in one day," she said. "I thought we were visiting a settlement, not clearing its mines."

"We're not clearing anything. We found a problem, dealt with the immediate threat, and gave the engineers something useful to investigate."

"You make it sound very simple."

"It wasn't."

She leaned against the railing beside him. Below them, workers were moving equipment away from the eastern maintenance entrance, while guards carried fresh barriers toward the lower levels.

"Do you think the northern road can be reopened?" she asked.

"Eventually. But not until they understand what's happening beneath it."

"And after that?"

Subin glanced toward the far end of the ridge, where the old trade road disappeared into the Grey Expanse.

"Then we find out what lies beyond Ironvein."

For the first time since entering the underground territories, they had reached a settlement with records, equipment, and people capable of helping them explore farther. The immediate work beneath Ironvein would fall to its own engineers, while Subin's team could prepare for a journey beyond the known mining routes.

The next destination would be the Deep Veins, where the old surveys ended and the mineral passages continued into unexplored territory.