Lucan dragged his steps towards the Basalt mines. The day was a bit cloudy, exactly reflecting his mood. The birds were not silent, but lost their usual vigor. Beneath the grey sky, the grey gravel crunched under his feet.
"A miner… of course they need more miners." Lucan grumbled, even though no one was listening. Passersby avoided his path and murmured their pity. Lucan was still a bit angry at Marcus. How could he do this to an old friend? "There's no shortage of quilters or bakers, nope," Lucan shook his head with his chin slightly raised, lamenting to the grey sky his bad fortune. "Just miners. Hmph."
By afternoon, he arrived at the excavation site and reported to the guards' chambers. It was empty and cold. Seeing the door ajar, Lucan walked in.
"Hello?" He called. "Another legally obligated miner here to do service!" One of the room's doors was left unclosed. Lucan pushed it open and walked into a mess of empty bottles and a sleeping guard.
"You've gotta be kidding me" Rolling his eyes, Lucan nudged the guard on the ground with his foot.
"Rrrr…huuuu…" The guard's snores rattled the glass on the table. Lucan kicked him in the shin. "Anyone awake around here?!" He yelled in the guard's ear. "Yo!"
The man snapped awake, though still a bit dazed. "Hm? What?" He mumbled through his slumber drool, sucking the slimy saliva in from the corners of his mouth.
"I'm here for mining duty. I'm looking for my guard, Eddy." Lucan explained.
"That's me! Eddy at your service!" Eddy hiccupped, waving his half-empty bottle. He stood up and tried to stable himself. He bowed, but nearly fell over. Whatever the green liquid in the bottle is, the alcohol was clearly still in his head.
"I prepared some beverages," He indicated vaguely the empty bottles around the room, "but I…" he hiccupped again, "drank most of them." He might have wanted to sound apologetic, and Lucan sure hoped he was a better guard than a bartender.
"Potato?" Eddy held one up and offered it to Lucan. The sun shone through the window, and the potato gleamed with a fresh, leafy green.
"Ur, no thanks." Lucan tried his best to remain polite. "I ate on my way here." His stomach grunted defensively. "My name's Lucan, by the way." He held out his right hand to shake.
"Nice to meet ya, Lucan." Eddy replied. "My name's Eddy! Let's get started!" He grabbed a pickaxe from the pile and put it into Lucan's outstretched hand. It looked blunt, its points worn down, but that's what you get when you are "legally obligated." Lucan sighed. The two headed out of the room, Eddy still teetering slightly.
"I've been a guard here at the Basalt Mines all my life and boy I'll tell you" Eddy bragged as they walked towards the quarry. He took a swig from the bottle. "I have guarded like you've never seen."
The two were now descending the stairs into the mountain. "…My father was a guard, my" Eddy hiccupped, "brother was a guard, my sister was a guard," He stopped and tried hard to remember. "Wait I don't have a sister" He muttered.
"…and I'm telling him "No, you shouldn't eat spider eyes, they're poison in one bite, but he eats it anyway…" Eddy is now recalling that one time when some miner should have listened to him but didn't as they traversed the wooden bridges. Lucan couldn't care less. He wished there was a muzzle or something to shut him up.
"…uncle was riding a" Eddy took a swig. "pig off a" another hiccup "cliff and landed without a scratch. I think he was trying to achieve something," He again stopped to remember, "but I'm not sure. The pig was fine, but my uncle on the other hand" He paused. The two were deep in the caverns, almost to their mining site.
Lucan had heard enough of his tales. Suddenly, a murmur, quite like that zombie he ran away from when little, sounded. "Shh, QUIET!" Ordered Lucan. "Would you be quiet for a second!" He motioned towards Eddy, who put his bottle down to listen.
Another murmur rang out. "Oh, you get used to hearing strange sounds down here, Lucan!" Eddy said, like it's nothing more than sweeping the house. "I hear them all the time now." He took the lead into the chambers.
"We'll be working over there on our left." Eddy pointed towards his right. "I mean uhh… right." That drink has really gone to his head. They stepped together onto a narrow and rickety catwalk.
The undead sounds were rising now. A whoosh, unlike the wind, but rather resembling a cannon firing, shot out from within the tunnels. Lucan, already on alert, caught sight of a dark object flying out of the darkness. He jumped to catch it, almost falling off the catwalk. "I got it!" he shouted. Turning the black, round thing in his hand, he saw a set of black teeth and a blank, hollow, staring face. It was a pure black skull.
Then emerged an army of Undead. Under the faint glow of the torches, Lucan could see a faint shimmer coming from their skins. Rotten flesh and bones never glint like that. They had to be wearing armor. They were not the common zombies and skeletons found in caves and forests, but armored and armed soldiers going for a battle. Or, a slaughter.
"Zombies! I'll… I need to" Eddy dropped his bottle and drew his sword. For the first time, Lucan noticed the rusty blade. "hold them off!" He blathered. "Go raise the alarm!" He charged towards the nearest zombie.
"Eddy!" Lucan shouted. Eddy swung his sword in the zombie, who raised its to block him off easily. "Whoa..oa..oa. Aahhh!" Losing his balance, Eddy fell over the side of the catwalk, dropping his sword at his killer's feet.
Lucan grabbed the hilt. Just as a skeleton was about to pin it to the ground. He stood up, and came face to face with the horde bearing down upon him. He turned tails and ran. Behind him, he could hear arrows slicing through the musty underground air. One hit him on the left shoulder, making him wince painfully. But he didn't stop. There was only one thing left in his mind: Get out!