Rise of the Hegemon

Meeting the miners

As we continued to pour inside the gate, I can't help but shrink before the presence of these hardened men, to them, I'm probably just a burden.

The miners parted with a gradual shuffle, creating a path for us. Amidst the shifting figures, an elderly miner emerged, positioned beside a rack laden with pickaxes that rested upon a waiting cart.

He appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, his weathered visage bore witness to his years in this quarry, yet amid the wrinkles, his thick mane of graying hair cascaded untamed, a testament to untamed vitality, he also has a full beard. Draped in rags that mirrored the attire of his comrades, he stood barefoot. In stature, he measured shorter than I, a mere inch or so.

A few guards that were leading us approached the old miner and began talking to me, one of them pointed a finger at us a few times amidst their conversation.

When they're done, all of the guards that were accompanying us at this point finally withdrew back towards the gate. A faint rumble of footsteps filled my ears as they organized into a line, synchronizing with the closing of the gate. Presumably, this was to prevent anyone from attempting to flee through it.

The large doors made a distinct thud as it eventually closes, finally leaving us alone in here... not alone exactly, considering we're surrounded by men who looks like they spent their entire lives digging holes, which is not entirely false.

Murmurs from my group and the miners began to echo around the area, I glance around my fellow prisoners, only to see fear and uncertainty on their faces, well except Little Fish, he just looks unsure.

That was the moment when the old miner suddenly erupted into a yell. Though the exact words eluded me, whatever he had shouted accomplished its intended purpose, a swift hush fell over the crowd.

Not a seconds had pass, a group of club and axe wielding miners suddenly emerged from the direction of the old miner, there's also a clear difference between them and the miners who were here first.

This new group seems to be well fed and less scruffy compared to the others ragged and famished appearances. Not only that, but there was also an unmistakable tension between the two groups, I could observe a few individuals from both sides exchanging glares and scowls at each other.

Am I seeing another class structure or system here? a hierarchy perhaps? After everything that I have seen so far.. should I even be surprised at this?

Shaking my head with a sigh, I observe as the armed miners approach us. Upon arriving, they barked something at us before directing us towards the waiting old miner.

Sensing the gazes of the other miners as we pass through them, I cast a glance at them and I could see the mixed expressions on their faces; Some appeared eager, while others wore expressions of annoyance. There were those who seemed tired and defeated, and then there were those who lacked any discernible emotion, their faces appearing empty and impassive.

When we finally arrived, the armed miners made us form a line, just like what we did earlier. Then, the old miner started distributing the pickaxes from the rack at each one of us, one by one.

As I observed the unfolding process, I noticed that as soon as someone received their pickaxe, an armed miner would step forward to guide them elsewhere. The mining area sprawled vast and makeshift structures obscured my view, allowing me only a fleeting glimpse of their figures for a mere few seconds before they vanished from sight.

Minutes passed and it was finally my turn, when the old miner's gaze fell on my broken left arm, he muttered something under his breath before taking a long and deep breath. And just like that, he offered me a pickaxe.

However, the moment I gripped it with my free right hand, I was taken aback by its unexpected weight, it felt as if the tool's gravity had doubled in an instant. I couldn't do anything as the tool drops to the ground, slightly dragging me along with it.

It produced a resounding clank upon impact with the ground, causing a small blast of dust particles beneath it.

Shit!

I could sense everyone's gaze converging on me as murmurs once again erupted all around. Casting a swift glance at my surroundings, I observed the looks that the miners were directing towards me. Most of them were looking at me in annoyance, while others regarded me with pity.

The armed miners however.. showered me with glares and what presumably were curses, my heartbeat rose in fear at this as my cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Wasting no time, I swiftly reached out for the pickaxe on the ground, attempting to lift it. It felt as though the combined weight of everyone in the mine was resting upon that pickaxe, rendering it nearly impossible for me to lift.

But relief washed over me as I suddenly noticed frantic footsteps behind me, the figure of Little Fish appeared at my side, crouching down to lend a hand as he helped me lift my pickaxe.

To prevent me from dropping it once more, he positioned the tool on my right shoulder, allowing my hand to grip its handle. This setup utilized my shoulder as an additional point of support. Despite feeling the weight pressing heavily on my shoulder, I found that I could manage and endure it.

"Thanks..." I said to him.

Little Fish flashed me with a grin, said something to me, before finally moving back in the line.

Waiting for someone to lead me away, it took no more than a few seconds for one of the armed miners to appear besides me.

However, instead of leading me right away, he suddenly turned towards me before a strong blow landed on my left cheek. The weight of the pickaxe nearly caused me to lose my footing, but fortunately, I swiftly managed to regain my balance, nevertheless the world around me is slightly spinning.

WHAT THE FUCK?!

As my vision starts to clear, I slowly begin to process what had happened.

Someone struck me..

But who?

My eyes then landed towards the armed miner that came up besides me earlier, now in the middle of an argument with the old miner that had offered me my pickaxe. There were also armed miners and ordinary miners surrounding the two people, each one seeming taking the side of the other.

Then, my blood begins to boil, I felt my fingers sink at the wooden handle of my pickaxe as I glared angrily at the man who had struck me.

They can't simply go about smacking everyone whenever they please!

Just as I was about to launch myself at the crowd, Little Fish suddenly stepped in front of me, shaking his head rapidly, he tried to open his mouth to speak, but after a sec, he seemingly decided against it.

"Get out-" My words were suddenly interrupted at the sound of a blowing horn, it was deep and carried the feeling of power, It evokes memories of sound effects often used in medieval movies to depict scenes where armies sound their horns.

Turning my head towards the source of the noise, my eyes found themselves staring at a shouting guard atop the second wall, he was also accompanied by several other guards.

At this, the crowd finally broke up and the argument between the armed miner and the old miner died down.

Was that a threat?

Gosh.. this language barrier is killing me, I could even now feel the frustration building up inside of me.

I need to learn Artanian as soon as possible! the sooner I learn everything, the more information I could use and more correct decisions I could make to keep myself safe.

But will I still have the time to learn Artanian in here?

Before I could ponder even more, I suddenly felt a pat in my shoulder. Turning away from Little Fish who was still in front of me, I find myself face to face with the old miner again.

"Saragonian?" he asked in a gruffy voice.

There's no point in arguing that I'm American, I'll just go along, maybe I could get some advantages or benefits in this.

To think I could still be thinking of the benefits of the language or whatever it was that sent me here... so ironic.

I just nodded my head.

He nodded back before gesturing for me follow him.

I hesitated at first, but when I finally notice the warmth in his eyes and remembered how he tried defending me earlier from that fucking miner, I finally relented and followed him, but not before taking one last look at Little Fish who was waving his hands at me.

Taking a deep breath, I couldn't help but wonder how much harder my life was going to become from now on.

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CHAPTER DONE!!