draft
=============== PART I ===============
I never knew why I decided to choose mining, when I could have went to somewhere like NASA and have so much more fun.
Its what I chose, so I guess its what I have to live with.
I get to work, grass crunchy, air cold, and sky gray. Everything is tinted blue because of the cold. These mines are located in the middle of the forest, so driving here was quite the task. Ten hours of painstaking work, for only fifty bucks. I sigh. Its not fun, but its the best I can do to pay the rent. Up ahead I can see Bob waiting for everybody to check in with him.
“You’re late.” Bob tells me.
“Yeah, I know. The road was slippery.” I explain.
“I guess I’ll forgive it.”
He hands me my pickaxe without a word. It’s clearly been worn down from years of use. The handles rough in my hand and the head is dented from hitting so many ores.
Walking down the dirt path, I see the entrance to the mine. Just a hole in the ground, with a rope held up with some rickety wood structure. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought that rope would give out the moment I touched it. But, its been stable for years, so I should be fine.
I put on my gloves, and grapple the rope. Sliding down, my body heats up, a nice contrast to the earlier freezing weather outside. I drop down a bit too early at the end of the rope and hit the ground. Hard, groaning in pain from the impact. There’s a puddle below me. The water didn’t help at all, the splash echoes throughout the damp cave. I can at least see, since everything’s lit up with dim torches.
Nobodies over in this part of the mines, since its already been sucked dry of valuable ores. Everybody’s in the lower section, where the good stuff is. I walk on the wet stone, steps clear and heavy, heading towards the elevator that’s slightly sturdier than the rope. Just like the rope, this ones been used for years. Just about everything in these mines have been used for centuries.
I get in and press the button to go down. It shakes a little bit, and doesn’t move.
Strange, it usually works just fine. The shaking is normal, but it never just… Doesn’t work.
I wait for a bit and press the button again. This time, it moves an inch before stopping again.
I guess the elevator just doesn’t work. I’ll just take the other path then. I reason.
But, I don’t have time to get out of the elevator.
It starts shaking and I freeze. This time, it sounds bad. Like the elevators finally given up.
And then, suddenly, the rope snaps.
=============== PART II ===============
The elevator falls, and it falls fast. I try and keep steady, but I can’t and soon enough I fall and hit the roof, head blaring in pain from the impact. The screeching hits my ears like a freight train as the walls collide. I can feel and see the fire spreading across the elevator, and panic surges through me as my eyes start to close. I don’t want to faint, but there’s nothing I can do about it, and I black out.
.
.. drip ..
… splash-
I wake up with a start, a drop of water fresh on my head. I can see the roof of some sort of cave, the elevator chute right above me. I’m stuck in a charred pile of ash and wood. Grunting and shaking the pile, I try to escape making an ruckus so loud that I’m lucky there’s nothing dangerous come to get me yet. Hopefully.
Eventually, I get the splintered wood off me and I get up, although its hard with all of the injuries I’ve sustained.
Surveying the place I’m in, I quickly realize that I’m in a region that I’m unfamiliar with, and that’s not good.
I take a deep breath, and realize, Well. Guess the only thing I can do is explore.
And so I do. Its tiring and painful, but I do it.
This place is dark and damp, and my saving grace for that is the lamp on my hard hat. Luckily, its still intact, somehow.
Its all stone, with barely any ores in sight. This place is ginormous, the emptiness of it making my steps echo all throughout the cave. There’s some stalactites up on the roof of the caverns, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be falling down anytime soon.
Looking at the ground, there’s some strange looking structures. They look like a civilization from the past.
I’ve got all the lore figured out for the first segment of three in the game, which means its time for.. MORE STORY WRITING!!! The second segment of the game is called “The Ancient City”. The miner has recovered from his burns, did a little parkour, found a secret trap that he fell into, and found the entrance gates to the ancient city! Do with that what you will for your story.