52 The Mines 1 *bonus Chapter*

\"Weird, very weird,\" Edgar the Apprentice Magician said and stood up from his crouching position. 

\"What is it?\" a blonde woman beside him asked attentively.

\"A trail. It must be less than a few days old, but I just can't put a finger on what animal made it. They remind me of a deer's, but it looks like this one walked on two legs,\" he answered, then turned to the woman, \"And... What exactly are you doing here? Go home!\"

\"I am coming along,\" she stated firmly in denial.

\"You can't come with me, Elisa. It's dangerous!\" he tried to persuade her.

\"I am coming along!\" But she had a differing opinion.

\"And what are you planning to do once we find what is responsible for this?\" Edgar asked in return.

\"I will help,\" she replied.

*Sigh*

Edgar heaved a deep sigh and stopped trying to achieve the impossible. Teo's mother, Elisa, was an extraordinarily obstinate woman, and arguing with her would do him little good.

But why was he ranging the depths of Thorn Forest with her in the first place? To answer that question we will have to go back a little further...

It had all started around a week ago.

The small village of Ritark was beginning to thaw up after the harshest part of winter, and the village was back to its usual bustling self. The hunters went hunting, the farmers were preparing the fields for sowing, and the mines had opened up business again... Like any other year.

One detail, however, was different. There were complaints.

Ever since the Mines had reopened, workers have been reporting unusual noises and the feeling of being followed. Tools would suddenly disappear from where they were left, and several days later, the small hut that the miners used for their breaks had been vandalized.

It must have happened in the middle of the night since the miners heading there for their morning shift only found one of its walls with a gaping hole, and most of the furniture torn to splinters. The vandals nowhere to be seen, and the only clue they left were vague hoofprints in the soft earth of the forest.

Initially, the village people thought it to be a tasteless prank, but they were proven wrong soon. People began to disappear.

The first one was a miner that headed towards the village after finishing his shift and never arrived. The second, a woodchopper with a very similar story.

And the third one was the local Blacksmith, Rainert. Teo's father.

As a blacksmith, he was not usually near the area of the mines, but he had been asked to deliver several new sets of equipment and decided to take measurements in person. No one had seen him since yesterday evening.

Now, the unlike duo of Apprentice Magician and housewife were investigating what was behind these mysterious events.

Owing to this responsibility, Edgar had been planning to investigate this matter for a while, but the appearance of a furious housewife on his doorstep today had accelerated his departure from the comfortable Magician's Office considerably.

By now, they had already made their way to the vicinity of the mines that bored their tunnels deep into the sides of Mount Kroll and were investigating the surroundings of the local outpost. Edgar had been unable to shake off his pesky appendage throughout the whole morning and had by now already accepted her company as an unavoidable inconvenience.

\"So, what is the plan? Do we question the nearby workers first, or should we directly investigate the mines?\" Elisa said nonchalantly without much of an expression. Somehow it did not show on her face, even though she must have been quite worried given the current situation.

\"You really are serious about this, are you? You want to head into the mines now, without preparation or the necessary equipment?\" Edgar retorted with a baffled look. He had not expected her to be so... practical.

\"Why wouldn't I? We need to get to the bottom of this as fast as possible; there is no time for dilly-dallying,\" the headstrong woman replied and quickened her pace.

\"But your a wo—\" Edgar started but held himself back at the critical moment. Then he continued, \"Nevermind. These hoofprints are the only clue we have so far, and I don't think whatever made them lives down in the mines. We should start by questioning some people in the area. Maybe we can find a few more clues,\" he said and followed beside his temporary sidekick.

Soon, they arrived at a more extensive clearing on the edges of the lonely Mount Kroll that towered high above the trees, where a few shed-like buildings defied the natural order of the forest.

They strode directly towards the largest of the bunch, where the supervisor of the mining efforts resided during the day and knocked on its wooden door. Directly afterward, Edgar entered the small cabin without waiting for a reply.

\"Hmm? Who's there?\" a grumpy man who had a striking similarity to a barrel said from behind an unorganized desk.

\"Edgar Atkins. Senior Apprentice Magician and official delegate of the Magic Association. This is about the missing workers,\" the lean Magician said and nonchalantly took a seat in front of the messy table.

\"Ohhh! It was about time you showed up. My people are hardly working out there with all that crap happening lately, bunch o' slackers. Hurry up and blast these dang culprits with a fireball or something!\" the portly man replied as he hurriedly rose from whatever he was doing on his table before.

Edgar scrunched his eyebrows and glared at the vulgar man. Due to his high position in the small village of Ritark, it had been a while since he was exposed to such ill manners, yet he surprisingly kept his calm and said,

\"I don't do fireballs, but consider the case as good as closed.\"