Sand & Stone

Chapter 1: Armor

"The desert is the greediest place on Great Talmanar. One could spill oceans of blood here and yet the sand would always stay thirsty."

-Excerpt from Merchant King Ulgar's Memoires 

The pickaxe smashed into the sandstone wall, sending shockwaves up my forearm.

I stopped letting the pick slip from my palm dropping to the mine floor with a thump as I stretched out my lower back, my head nearly scraping the top of the tunnel. Damn cheap picks were more heavy than sharp, dull after years without replacement. The sound of picks filled the tunnel, only occasionally broken by the crack of a whip and accompanying scream of pain. Sighing, I tried to use the bottom of my shirt to wipe the sweat off my brow but it too was drenched, I squeezed it with frustration, thick beads of sweat dripping from it. If there was anywhere in creation that rivaled the hells I expect the artifact mines of Tandoor rivaled it. An ancient civilization buried under the desert dunes, once upon a time artifact after artifact was pulled from this ruin, wealth for merchants and miners alike, but no longer. When the wealth vanished the cooling and ventilation artifacts were the first to go, paid miners were replaced by slaves shortly after that and-

CRACK

I grunted as I felt the sharp pain of the whip across my back. Wincing with anger as much as pain I looked back at the guard who had just whipped me, his eyes scanned me with open disdain.

"Back to work, Ogre."

Ignoring the casual insult I studied his equipment, breathable chainmail without gambeson and only leather bracers, it was too hot in the mines for anything more heavy duty. In his hand he held a whip but it wouldn't do much in a fight, it was meant to make slaves work after all, not permanently injure them. It was the cludgel at his side that might be a problem, but I bet I could pin him before he could hit anything vital.

"I said back to work!"

The whip cracked inches from my face but I didn't blink, enough years of the whip and the pain, the sound, it all becomes normal. The guard failed to hide his concern as I continued to ignore his commands and he moved his other hand towards his cludgel. Untrained and inexperienced, his kind always died early in the mercenary wars. I took one step forward and the chain shackle around my foot rattled heavily, it was the kind hunters favored for captured sand bears, the regular kind didn't fit on me. The guard's eyes widened with fear as he fumbled for his cludgel, dropping the whip.

Sloppy, he was so sloppy.

The mercenary wars had scraped the bottom of the barrel and there were very few left who could put up a proper fight in the City of Sand and Stone, this guard was no exception. He brandished his blade, pointing it at me screaming "You dare disobey?! You've earned ten lashes for this Ogre." He blew into a whistle which all guards wore around their neck smiling slyly at me. "I know what you did to the last guard, I won't take you on alone you brute." I cocked my head laughing deeply. Already I could hear the clinking of chainmail as nearby guards were coming to investigate.

I guess he was smarter than I gave him credit for.

But I was crazier than he gave me credit for. I took another large step forward and the guard hesitated for a moment before his face scrunched up in fury raising his cludgel high to strike me down. The fool wasn't used to the weapon and it smashed against the ceiling, his grip was weak so it tumbled out of his hand. I reached out and fury drained from his face, replaced with panic as he fell on his butt grasping for the cludgel but I was closer, I picked it up and he fearfully pushed himself back against a tunnel support "BACK, GET BACK YOU MONSTER!". It was at that moment that other guards showed up and seeing the scene they instantly began yelling for me to drop the weapon brandishing their own, I saw one of them whisper into another's ear before he ran off.