Roland and Kwint were waiting beside a minecart that was six feet long with four sides that were each three feet tall. He would have liked it to be a bit taller, but it was made by and for dwarves, after all. In the center of the cart was a wooden hand lever. Kwint quickly explained how he and Roland were going to maneuver the cart by alternately pushing each side of the lever down. "Just enjoy the ride!" he said. Griffin hopped in behind the dwarves and looked over the side at the rusty wheels. He wasn't sure it was going to be so enjoyable. Roland and Kwint began pumping the lever, and the minecart started to move slowly. Within a few minutes, it was moving as fast as a horse. They soon left the Main Mine behind, as they entered a dimly-lit, stone tunnel. The ceiling looked to be only about ten feet high, and hanging from it were stalactites, some of them precariously low. The tunnel was wide enough for two minecart tracks - one for departures and one for arrivals, Griffin supposed. In fact, one minecart came speeding past toward the Main Mine. Griffin was able to glimpse a massive ruby attached to its front before it passed them by. He asked Roland about it. "Well, first ya 'ave to remember that each mountain of the Kni Hmun Mountains offers a different material for mining. It's quite remarkable," said Roland, as he continued to pump the lever. "Jaggeredge gold, Minstrel Peak sapphire, Fellgong coal, and so on. Each mountain has a Primary Mine, and each minecart sent from each Primary Mine is encrusted with a different gem or material. That one that just passed us was from Glorystone." Griffin and the dwarves rode on for nearly two hours. As they moved, Griffin noticed slight changes in the track. It grew increasingly rusty and rickety. The nails holding it in place weren't as firm, causing the ride to become uncomfortably bumpy. The torches that lit the tunnel began to diminish, growing farther and farther apart until there were no more, leaving them in total darkness. For ten minutes, they rode in dark silence until Griffin asked, "Will it be like this the rest of the ride?" "Surely not!" Roland declared. "The gnomes probably have lit the other side. Maybe." The dwarves continued to pump the lever until Kwint pointed into the darkness and said, "Look there!" Sure enough, a faint red light seemed to be coming from far ahead of them. As they moved closer, Griffin realized something odd. The light was flickering - no, pulsing every few seconds in an almost regular pattern. Moments later, he could tell that the light wasn't coming from torches at all, but glowing red crystals. Each one was set in a cluster of three. As the minecart approached, the crystals grew brighter. Although they gave the impression of being red, they actually consisted of many colors - yellowish white where the crystals attached themselves to the wall, a shade of orange toward the center of the crystal, and a purplish red where a sharp tip protruded about ten inches from the wall. Griffin grew uncomfortable - or, at least, even more uncomfortable. It almost seemed like the crystals could sense their approach. Then he noticed that the dwarves were pumping slower, thus slowing the minecart. Eventually, they came to a complete stop in the midst of the crystals. "Why are you stopping?" asked Griffin, but neither dwarf replied. Instead, they simply climbed out of the minecart without explanation and shuffled toward the nearest crystal cluster, their eyes glazed over. "Roland? Kwint? What are you doing?" Again, he was ignored, but the nearest crystals were starting to pulse faster. "Roland! Kwint!" he shouted now. They didn't so much as glance in his direction. Roland was only a couple of feet from the nearest crystal. He raised his fingers to touch it... "Roland, I really don't think you should - " Roland's finger barely grazed it, and the cavern began to shake. That's when the screeching began. Griffin had to plug his ears. He couldn't hear his own voice and could barely form his own thoughts over the high-pitched sound. The cavern began to quake violently. Then, one by one, the crystals began to shake loose from the wall. Actually, they began to shake themselves loose. At first, a handful of small rocks began to tumble to the ground. Next, cracks formed, and large pieces fell. Then, all at once, the crystals broke free from the cavern walls. Instead of falling, they just hovered there, slowly growing brighter. The crystals were larger than they first appeared. When connected to the wall, the crystals seemed to be in clusters of three. But when they broke free, Griffin could see that each cluster was connected and that there were other crystals inside the walls. He realized that they were basically large, spiked, crystal spheres. The screeching soon became less high-pitched and slightly quieter. It was then that the crystals truly awakened. Two yellow, glowing, rectangular eyes appeared on each crystal sphere. As the strange shapes shook the last pieces of stone from their bodies, Roland and Kwint began to shake themselves from their trance. Roland blinked a few times, then he stared with astonishment. "Per'aps they're friendly..." The crystals answered with a deafening screech and began to move around the tunnel, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Wisps of red seemed to be coming from every direction, as the two dwarves struggled to make their way back to the minecart. One wrong move and they would lose an ear. One crystal grazed Griffin's shoulder, and he staggered in pain. He looked frantically for any sort of weapon that he could use. His crossbow seemed useless, but his eyes settled on a low-hanging stalactite that one of the crystals had jarred loose from the tunnel ceiling. He pulled it free, then expertly swung it back and forth, striking one crystal after another. But when he struck a particularly fast crystal, his stalactite flew in the opposite direction and shattered against the cavern wall. As the dwarves ducked and flinched and finally dove into the minecart, Griffin noticed that a shard from a broken crystal had fallen into the cart. It was barely a foot long, smaller than the stalactite, but it would have to do. Too small for a club or sword, he thought. Maybe a throwing dagger? He looked up to see that all of the crystals had gathered to his left. He aimed for the center, and his aim was perfect. The shard flew straight and true into the center crystal, which shattered on impact, its shards shattering the other crystals around it. Strangely, the shard that he had thrown amid the chaos flew back into his hand like a boomerang. Griffin didn't have time to wonder about it. "Start pumping!" he shouted to his companions. "Let's get out of here." But Kwint merely pointed to the cavern floor, where the crystals were now a collection of broken shards. "I'm not sure what that was," he said, "or how you did that. But that was amazing." "I don't know," Griffin said, eyeing the shards. "I'm uneasy." Kwint and Roland both shrugged. "Looks like we have nothing more to worry about," said Roland, as slowly, ever so slowly, they began moving the minecart once more. But just then, Griffin looked back at the crystal shards, which began shaking and sliding toward one another. They began to form a figure - first feet, then legs, then torso, arms, finally a head with two glowing yellow eyes. Out of its left hand, a large shield formed from the broken crystals. Out of its right hand emerged a deadly crystal flail. "Oh no," Griffin said, quietly, and the dwarves turned to look back, too. Roland's eyes grew wide with fear. "I stand corrected." "Go!" Griffin shouted, and the dwarves pumped the lever wildly, as the crystal knight charged forward. Griffin threw his shard at the knight, but it just glanced off the crystal shield and flew back into Griffin's hand. The minecart began to move faster, but the knight was gaining ground. Griffin attempted to throw the shard a second time, this time aiming for the knight's head. His aim was true, and the shard slid through the knight's neck. It popped out the other side and then doubled back to Griffin's outstretched hand. The monstrous crystal creature seemed unfazed, only angrier. His stride grew longer, the ground crumbling beneath his mighty feet. With only about ten yards between the cart and the knight, Griffin made a final, desperate attempt. He aimed not for the head this time, but for where he figured the heart might be. As the knight lunged forward, the shard struck him in the chest. This time, it didn't slide through. The shard turned white, and yellow cracks formed in the knight's chest around the point of impact. The cracks grew until they covered his torso, his arms, his legs, his entire crystal body. Finally, the knight shattered into thousands of pieces. Griffin pushed Kwint and Roland to the floor of the minecart, as shards flew everywhere, and the cavern collapsed behind them.🏁

Submitted by munkeontop - 11/06/2025

Roland and Kwint were waiting beside a minecart that was six feet long with four sides that were each three feet tall. He would have liked it to be a bit taller, but it was made by and for dwarves, after all. In the center of the cart was a wooden hand lever. Kwint quickly explained how he and Roland were going to maneuver the cart by alternately pushing each side of the lever down. "Just enjoy the ride!" he said. Griffin hopped in behind the dwarves and looked over the side at the rusty wheels. He wasn't sure it was going to be so enjoyable. Roland and Kwint began pumping the lever, and the minecart started to move slowly. Within a few minutes, it was moving as fast as a horse. They soon left the Main Mine behind, as they entered a dimly-lit, stone tunnel. The ceiling looked to be only about ten feet high, and hanging from it were stalactites, some of them precariously low. The tunnel was wide enough for two minecart tracks - one for departures and one for arrivals, Griffin supposed. In fact, one minecart came speeding past toward the Main Mine. Griffin was able to glimpse a massive ruby attached to its front before it passed them by. He asked Roland about it. "Well, first ya 'ave to remember that each mountain of the Kni Hmun Mountains offers a different material for mining. It's quite remarkable," said Roland, as he continued to pump the lever. "Jaggeredge gold, Minstrel Peak sapphire, Fellgong coal, and so on. Each mountain has a Primary Mine, and each minecart sent from each Primary Mine is encrusted with a different gem or material. That one that just passed us was from Glorystone." Griffin and the dwarves rode on for nearly two hours. As they moved, Griffin noticed slight changes in the track. It grew increasingly rusty and rickety. The nails holding it in place weren't as firm, causing the ride to become uncomfortably bumpy. The torches that lit the tunnel began to diminish, growing farther and farther apart until there were no more, leaving them in total darkness. For ten minutes, they rode in dark silence until Griffin asked, "Will it be like this the rest of the ride?" "Surely not!" Roland declared. "The gnomes probably have lit the other side. Maybe." The dwarves continued to pump the lever until Kwint pointed into the darkness and said, "Look there!" Sure enough, a faint red light seemed to be coming from far ahead of them. As they moved closer, Griffin realized something odd. The light was flickering - no, pulsing every few seconds in an almost regular pattern. Moments later, he could tell that the light wasn't coming from torches at all, but glowing red crystals. Each one was set in a cluster of three. As the minecart approached, the crystals grew brighter. Although they gave the impression of being red, they actually consisted of many colors - yellowish white where the crystals attached themselves to the wall, a shade of orange toward the center of the crystal, and a purplish red where a sharp tip protruded about ten inches from the wall. Griffin grew uncomfortable - or, at least, even more uncomfortable. It almost seemed like the crystals could sense their approach. Then he noticed that the dwarves were pumping slower, thus slowing the minecart. Eventually, they came to a complete stop in the midst of the crystals. "Why are you stopping?" asked Griffin, but neither dwarf replied. Instead, they simply climbed out of the minecart without explanation and shuffled toward the nearest crystal cluster, their eyes glazed over. "Roland? Kwint? What are you doing?" Again, he was ignored, but the nearest crystals were starting to pulse faster. "Roland! Kwint!" he shouted now. They didn't so much as glance in his direction. Roland was only a couple of feet from the nearest crystal. He raised his fingers to touch it... "Roland, I really don't think you should - " Roland's finger barely grazed it, and the cavern began to shake. That's when the screeching began. Griffin had to plug his ears. He couldn't hear his own voice and could barely form his own thoughts over the high-pitched sound. The cavern began to quake violently. Then, one by one, the crystals began to shake loose from the wall. Actually, they began to shake themselves loose. At first, a handful of small rocks began to tumble to the ground. Next, cracks formed, and large pieces fell. Then, all at once, the crystals broke free from the cavern walls. Instead of falling, they just hovered there, slowly growing brighter. The crystals were larger than they first appeared. When connected to the wall, the crystals seemed to be in clusters of three. But when they broke free, Griffin could see that each cluster was connected and that there were other crystals inside the walls. He realized that they were basically large, spiked, crystal spheres. The screeching soon became less high-pitched and slightly quieter. It was then that the crystals truly awakened. Two yellow, glowing, rectangular eyes appeared on each crystal sphere. As the strange shapes shook the last pieces of stone from their bodies, Roland and Kwint began to shake themselves from their trance. Roland blinked a few times, then he stared with astonishment. "Per'aps they're friendly..." The crystals answered with a deafening screech and began to move around the tunnel, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Wisps of red seemed to be coming from every direction, as the two dwarves struggled to make their way back to the minecart. One wrong move and they would lose an ear. One crystal grazed Griffin's shoulder, and he staggered in pain. He looked frantically for any sort of weapon that he could use. His crossbow seemed useless, but his eyes settled on a low-hanging stalactite that one of the crystals had jarred loose from the tunnel ceiling. He pulled it free, then expertly swung it back and forth, striking one crystal after another. But when he struck a particularly fast crystal, his stalactite flew in the opposite direction and shattered against the cavern wall. As the dwarves ducked and flinched and finally dove into the minecart, Griffin noticed that a shard from a broken crystal had fallen into the cart. It was barely a foot long, smaller than the stalactite, but it would have to do. Too small for a club or sword, he thought. Maybe a throwing dagger? He looked up to see that all of the crystals had gathered to his left. He aimed for the center, and his aim was perfect. The shard flew straight and true into the center crystal, which shattered on impact, its shards shattering the other crystals around it. Strangely, the shard that he had thrown amid the chaos flew back into his hand like a boomerang. Griffin didn't have time to wonder about it. "Start pumping!" he shouted to his companions. "Let's get out of here." But Kwint merely pointed to the cavern floor, where the crystals were now a collection of broken shards. "I'm not sure what that was," he said, "or how you did that. But that was amazing." "I don't know," Griffin said, eyeing the shards. "I'm uneasy." Kwint and Roland both shrugged. "Looks like we have nothing more to worry about," said Roland, as slowly, ever so slowly, they began moving the minecart once more. But just then, Griffin looked back at the crystal shards, which began shaking and sliding toward one another. They began to form a figure - first feet, then legs, then torso, arms, finally a head with two glowing yellow eyes. Out of its left hand, a large shield formed from the broken crystals. Out of its right hand emerged a deadly crystal flail. "Oh no," Griffin said, quietly, and the dwarves turned to look back, too. Roland's eyes grew wide with fear. "I stand corrected." "Go!" Griffin shouted, and the dwarves pumped the lever wildly, as the crystal knight charged forward. Griffin threw his shard at the knight, but it just glanced off the crystal shield and flew back into Griffin's hand. The minecart began to move faster, but the knight was gaining ground. Griffin attempted to throw the shard a second time, this time aiming for the knight's head. His aim was true, and the shard slid through the knight's neck. It popped out the other side and then doubled back to Griffin's outstretched hand. The monstrous crystal creature seemed unfazed, only angrier. His stride grew longer, the ground crumbling beneath his mighty feet. With only about ten yards between the cart and the knight, Griffin made a final, desperate attempt. He aimed not for the head this time, but for where he figured the heart might be. As the knight lunged forward, the shard struck him in the chest. This time, it didn't slide through. The shard turned white, and yellow cracks formed in the knight's chest around the point of impact. The cracks grew until they covered his torso, his arms, his legs, his entire crystal body. Finally, the knight shattered into thousands of pieces. Griffin pushed Kwint and Roland to the floor of the minecart, as shards flew everywhere, and the cavern collapsed behind them.🏁

Submitted by munkeontop - 11/06/2025