Ignite

Chapter Six: The Mystery

They were only a dozen feet into the mining shaft when a sudden rush of dust flooded the tunnel. Two of the marines doubled over coughing, attempting to draw clean air into their lungs where none existed. It took many, long moments before either of them could stand, let-alone see into the dim tunnel. The third, as one might expect, simply watched them with pursed lips. The support beams around them groaned, threatening to give out just as those ahead of them had done.

Kennit was the first to move.

"Irie!"

He darted into the still suffocating dust cloud, crying out for their missing captain. Isobel cursed, taking off after him as Myra called for them to wait. Within moments they'd reached the end of the tunnel-- an area that had Kennit covering his mouth with his hat in an attempt to breath air not coated in dust. Myra was bent over double once again, wheezing. Isobel, however, simply narrowed her eyes and inched closer to the dirt-filled dead end. She pressed her hand to the earth, pursing her lips as she considered her next move.

After all, their captain could be dead for all she knew.

Before she could make a decision, Kennit sprung forward. At some point, he'd shoved his cap back atop his head and-- despite how hard his chest was heaving given the dust-filled air-- come to some decision about the matter. Isobel only watched as he began shoving his hands through the dirt. Her expression stayed even, Myra's a mixture of shock and despair.

"That's not going to..." she began hesitantly. Her words were slightly muffled by her cap. She'd apparently taken Kennit's lead and begun using it as a makeshift filter. "Captain couldn't have..."

"Shut up," he muttered, those two words sending him into yet another coughing fit.

The second he recovered, he was digging again.

Isobel simply shook her head, turning her focus back to the earth beneath her fingers. She closed her eyes, her mind stirring a part of her that she usually left be. If one had been watching closely, they would have seen how the tips of her fingers seemed to become part of the tunnel. No one was, however, and this detail went unnoticed. Within a handful of minutes she'd pulled her hand away-- fingertips normal-- and tucked it behind her back.

"We'll need shovels," she decided. "And a crew. Kennit, you want to be helpful?" She paused, but after a moment decided to take his continued, frantic attempt to pull away the dirt as her answer. "Go back and get everyone you can. This isn't going to solve anything. Myra, go with him, I'm not sure he's capable of coherent speech. I'll stay here in case anything changes. I'm not exactly the people sort, I won't be helpful."

Myra hesitated. Kennit's hands paused above the dirt, his face a mask of mixed emotions. After a moment he nodded, stood, and shot from the tunnel without another word. Myra followed after him, not about to refuse now that Kennit had already took the instruction. That dealt with, Isobel gave a heavy sigh and replaced her hand on the dirt.

Really, this captain was too troublesome. Couldn't Ian have any other ship for his adventure?

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An impressively short amount of time later, Kennit had returned with a large number of miners. Much to his surprise, however, they entered the tunnel to find the dead-end missing, Isobel relaxing against a wall, and Irie irritably telling a tied-up man to "shut up before she kicks him unconscious."

Needless to say, he and the others could only stare in shock.

The evidence that the cave-in had in fact happened was everywhere. The beams were shattered, tables collapsed and jewels scattered every-which way. The other individuals having been involved in the attack (tied up drunkard excluded) were tossed to the back of the small room. It took no stretch of the imagination to come to the conclusion that they were most likely dead, dirt caked their clothing and they hadn't moved a centimeter upon the group's arrival.