Chapter 17

The grey rock of the ascending mountain pass made way for the deep red earth from which the mine was dug. The burgundy ground stained everything it came into contact with, causing the entire area to look as though it was covered in blood. Even the metal buildings and huts were blanketed with a line layer of rust colored sand.

Hundreds of tiny tunnels dotted the ravaged landscape. These very small tubes seemed to dig into the earth wherever there was an open spot. Where there wasn't a tunnel there were giant smelting facilities present, and each of them were constantly spewing grey smoke into the air. The mechanisms inside of each chewed on the nearby rock in hopes of finding gems for their owners. These creations apparently ran during all hours of the day.

The valley had at one point been covered with the same redwood trees as the pass. But unfortunately, the discovery of a large rose quartz vein beneath the area was its downfall. Men from all around came to the valley to ravage the land in hopes of wealth. It was only a matter of time before an organized effort was initiated in order to rip the quartz from the land en mass.

Marissa and Beaumont slowly made their way into the valley down a road that ran down through the middle of the mine. On approach, the young female mage noticed that the tunnels were very small, and that they were much too constrained for an average sized person to fit through them. "Why are the mining tubes so small?" she asked her companion.

The young man to her left replied, "The owners of this land found that it was cheaper to dig tinier tunnels. They discovered that they could retrieve the same amount of gems for a lesser price."

"But who could ever fit in such small spaces?"

"Dwarfish humans and small children are the most common miners found at this site."

"Children?!? They use children in order to gain wealth?"

"Yes, if a family needs to eat they will do whatever is necessary to provide for its members. Even if that means sending their smallest son or daughter off into these mines."

Marissa looked around, "And so, where might they all be? I don't see anyone working in these mines right now, nor can I hear any of them picking away."

Beaumont was taken by surprise. He had simply expected that the miners would be here. Nowhere within his range of view could he see any signs of their presence. When Marissa pointed out that they weren't around, a slight chill went up his back. He quickly spun around to look up the path behind him.

Marissa, in turn, bent to look in his same direction.

"Katabear," she whispered. Several different sized katabear were walking across the path behind them. Their furred claws were covered with dry blood. Red stains were splattered over the matted hair covering their maws. Growls from other members of their kind echoed from multiple spots peppered throughout the facilities.

"Quickly," he replied with a low voice, "Hide!"

The pair drove their horses to behind one of the smaller mining shacks. Their impromptu hiding spot would only last for a short while. It could only be a matter of moments before they were discovered by the rampaging katabear.

"We need to get through this pass, but we cannot just run past these beasts. We will be torn to shreds before we make it back up the hill," Beaumont instructed.

Marissa motioned to remove the bow from her backside. Beaumont stopped her, "I'm afraid arrows are not going to stop these beasts. You may have gotten lucky with that one earlier, but these creatures will take innumerous shafts and still keep coming. We'll need another plan."

Marissa thought for a second then asked her companion, "Well, what do they mine here? What gems come from this ground?"

"Quartz, specifically rose quartz. There is also the occasional ruby found beneath the soil. But primarily…"

An idea popped into her head, "Great, now we just need to get our hands on some. Thoughts?"

"This really isn't a time to think about filling your purse do you think?"

"I'm not thinking about the gems' wealth! I'm thinking of the quartz as a spell component! Are you not a mage?"

A feeling of ignorance washed over Beaumont, "Okay, I'm the fool. What do you have in mind?"

He spied the nearby area in hopes of looking for a cache of gems. Beaumont found that the immediate area had been scraped clean of any of the crystallized objects.

He then peered out from the side of this protective shack. The young man then turned to Marissa and spoke, "Our best bet is by that office over there." He pointed across the path, "That is where the owners usually can be found. If anything they should have a few gems in their desk drawers."

Very discreetly, the young man and woman scuttled across the road to the manager's office. As they ran, Marissa noticed that there were brighter streaks of red mixed into the soft burgundy soil. Deep claw marks had been dug into the dirt where the stains appeared. Tattered pieces of bloodied clothing were also strewn about.

Marissa now had a partial answer to her question regarding the whereabouts of the miners. "They must all be dead," she thought.

It was immediately apparent that the office had been attacked as well. The iron door guarding its entry had been broken down and blood was smeared all over the floor. Most certainly the katabear had gotten inside and taken care of the managers just as they had the miners. On the ground in front of the building were several barrels full of plain quartz: a byproduct of the mining process. Behind the barrels was a picketed fence just a few feet high.

"Wait," she whispered right before he was about to enter the office.

Beaumont replied, "I thought you said you needed rose quartz?"

"Not for this spell, I only need some plain quartz. Grab a few of the larger crystals."

The pair gathered as much quartz as they could hold and hid behind the fence.

Nonchalantly she asked, "I'd assume you do not know of the spell we're going to cast?"

"'We're'? You don't expect me to…"

"You do have an affinity, yes? Well then I can teach you the basics of this spell."

Kneeling down behind the fence Marissa produced a small stick of flint. "What you need to do is strike a flat edge of the quartz with your flint just like this." She motioned with the two objects in order to show Beaumont. "Then say the following words, 'Natteea Uyala' as you throw the quartz."

He repeated the words several times. "What will this spell do?"

"You'll see, it's…"

Marissa's speech was immediately halted. She became quiet as she heard the heavy growl of a katabear walking by the office on the other side of the fence. The pair could see the top of its furred head from behind their hiding spot. As the growls became louder, she tried to bend down further in order to hide herself. Her chest began to beat quickly with fear.

As it had happened before, her devotion to her duties was the main force in overcoming her fears. The confident young mage stood up so that she was easily in plain sight of the katabear.

It was now easy to see this horrendous creature's appearance. This particular creature appeared larger than the one she had previously defended herself and Beaumont from. It was almost twice her height and was covered head-to-toe in long brown hair. It stood upright on its two large legs, and five long claws poked out from its furred paws. Other than the mass of hair, all that could be seen on its form was sharp blood-stained teeth and a pair of completely white eyes. For just a moment, the mage and this hideous beast gathered eye contact. The creature sneered towards her.

The young mage held the flint within her left hand facing downward. In the other was a large piece of cloudy quartz crystal about the size of brick. Marissa ratcheted her right arm backwards, and then she quickly slid the large crystal across the flint on a trajectory towards the beast. The flint sparked when the quartz made contact and the crystal flew forward out from her hand towards the katabear.

Marissa spoke the mystic words 'Natteea Uyala' as the object hit the creature.

The air around the katabear began to shrink. A pulsing wave began to pull the space around the quartz inwards. The vision of the katabear began to envelope in onto its self. With a quick pop resembling the sound of a rock thrown into a pond, the katabear's body disappeared. Ripples of distorted space echoed out from the quartz's prior position. Where they once stood a large creature: there was now nothing.

The noise gathered the attentions of the other katabear. They saw the young female mage and began to run towards her position. From every direction around the pair came the other rabid katabear.

One by one, Marissa cast the same spell using the quartz crystals. Sparks continued to fly from the flint in her hand. The odd popping sounds echoed through the valley until there were no more beasts to dispose of. Silence fell over the mining camp save for the rumbling of the processing machines.

Tired from all of the exertion, she sat down on the porch outside of the office. There on the wooden planks she tried to gather her breath.

Suddenly another katabear lurched out from behind the broken office door. Having witnessed the prior events unfolding, it was now very upset at the female mage. It roared in anger.

'Natteea Uyala!"

A crystal flew through the air, and the space around this last creature popped and was no more. Just like the others, this katabear too had been sent to places unknown.

Marissa turned to see Beaumont standing up on the other side of the fence. He had a stick of flint in one hand and his other arm was still outstretched.

"Thank you, Beaumont," she tried to speak as she caught her breath. "Thank you."

The young man was now congratulatory, "Excellent work there. I didn't think you would be able to hold off all of those katabear."

"Neither did I," she caught a few more breaths, "I've never cast in such rapid succession before. Must be the heat of the situation that has heightened my skills."

"Might I ask a question?"

"You may," Marissa replied.

"Where have all these monsters gone? They could not have just disappeared into nothingness?"

"You are right, they have not just been banished from this plane. We should probably watch…"

From way up above the pair, screaming voices could be heard. Sheer howls of terror echoed down from the sky. They were howls of futility and fear.

Beaumont looked up to notice tiny blurred specks racing down towards the ground. The objects fell down from the sky at a tremendous rate. The pair raced to hide behind the fence.

Marissa and Beaumont moved just in time for the first of the katabear to return to earth. It landed with a sickening thud, easily crushing every bone in its body. The howl stopped instantaneously with its impact with the ground. It had landed in the exact spot from which it had disappeared.

The other katabear fell just as the first, each in their original spot. Several katabear bodies lay upon the ground in a massive heaps.

The final katabear crashed through the tin roof of the office's porch. The sharp metal tore into the flesh of this last falling creature. The monster's body was shorn and black ooze spilt from its body. Marissa's eyes went wide.

The young female mage quickly walked over to the creature's dead body. She knelt down to examine the odd black liquid.

"Pontia," she said. "The Pontia has infected this creature, as I must assume the others. Poor beasts. This massacre was not of their own accord!"

"What do you mean, Marissa?"

"These beasts were blighted by the scourge of these lands. It was the black evil that caused them to go mad with bloodlust."

The whole picture was coming into focus for the young woman. The bodies of the workers around her helped to paint a clearer picture. She screamed.

"The children! The dwarves! The blasted Pontia not only killed the workers of this mine, but also these innocent creatures!" Tears ran down from both of her eyes.

Sadness overcame the young female mage.

Marissa spoke, "We must at least make sure that no Pontia make use of this area again. We cannot allow them to abuse these people and creatures anymore. We must burn all the bodies."

As dictated by the Church, no bodies which were bereft of live were allowed to remain on this plane. A corpse could be used by the Pontia to sprout more of their kind. The dead were often a large portion of the Pontian race, and the undead were especially deadly should they be encountered. It was for this reason that the Church mandated that all bodies to be burned.

Slowly and for the rest of the day, Marissa and Beaumont located each and every body that they could find. Much of the workforce had been devoured by the katabear, and so only a few half-eaten worker bodies remained. Horrific images of the slaughter could be found everywhere.

To truly remove the bodies from this plane, a magical dust created from the Ifriit seed had to be used. The Ifriit seed possessed heavenly properties that aided in the disposal of Pontia. For every corpse they came across, human or katabear, the bodies were set aflame. Green fires burned across the mine from the use of the magical powder. The corrupted forms of the katabear burned extremely bright when touched by the essence of the Ifriit.

Emerald clouds from the burning bodies mixed with the smoke of the still operating machinery. Their gears and mechanisms still ran although no one was feeding them any more earth.

Solemnly Marissa and Beaumont remounted their horses. Having believed they had dealt with the situation, they felt it was time to move on. With a small prayer sent by the female mage, the pair began to climb back out of the valley and towards the west.

As they began their ascent out of the mine, Marissa could still the grey smoke of the mining equipment continued to billow out of the tall lifeless smokestacks. Another single tear fell from her right cheek.

Continue reading onto Chapter 18