Adventure of Artok Rune 1

Artok looks to Sera and Katie, then gathers his gear and cracks his neck beneath the black bandanna. Both women remain ready beside him in the hoist chamber.

Sera crouches beside a fallen brace. Beneath it, bootprints mark fresh dust, and pale ash clings to the stone before trailing toward a narrow passage unfamiliar to them.

Katie kneels near the ash without touching it. Behind them, the rune-stamped anvil stays chained twice around the fallen brace, cold and secure beyond the shaft’s reach.

Artok takes water from Sera, washes the torn left palm, and draws a bandage from his thigh bag. He wraps the hand lightly before reclaiming his gear.

The passage climbs through black stone toward a faint draft. Dust still drifts from above, and somewhere beyond the rising tunnel, hurried footsteps disturb the silence.

Artok moves quietly into the rising passage, with Sera and Katie close behind. They place each step on bare stone, following the draft and hurried footsteps toward the surface.

The tunnel bends sharply, and the footsteps resolve into several quick crossings above them. Artok reaches the bend beneath a broken stone lip, close enough to hear voices beyond the unseen exit.

A pebble slips beneath Artok’s boot and clicks down the passage. The sound carries upward; the hurried footsteps stop, exposing that someone above has heard the approach.

Artok, Sera, and Katie settle beneath the broken lip, having reached the draft’s source unseen despite the betraying click. Pale daylight spills through cracks ahead, and dust trembles above the exit.

Artok slips back from the broken lip and finds a narrow side cleft climbing around the exit. He circles through it, placing each step on firm stone while the Raiders search the tunnel below.

The cleft opens above the surface passage. Artok emerges behind the fleeing Raiders among scrub and broken rock, cutting off their route into the hills before they see him.

Below, Sera and Katie remain concealed beneath the stone lip. The Raiders halt at the blocked exit, their hurried formation tightening as the draft carries their voices down to the women.

The Raiders turn toward the hills and find Artok waiting across the only open ground. Behind them, the tunnel mouth offers no clear retreat past Sera and Katie.

Dust settles around the exit. Artok’s circle is complete, with the Raiders penned between the rising passage and the hard wilderness beyond.

The command carries across the broken ground. The Raiders freeze, then weapons strike the dust one after another as their formation breaks and every hand rises.

The hooded ritualist steps clear of the others and lowers both empty hands. Beneath his cloak, a leather packet lies exposed among the stones, marked with a charcoal sketch of the mine.

Below the ledge, Sera and Katie emerge with weapons ready but do not strike. The surrendered Raiders kneel in the dust, and the charcoal map gives Artok a clear route through the hills.

Artok gathers his gear and cracks his neck beneath the black bandanna. Sera gives him water; he cleans the torn palm, wraps it from his thigh bag, and returns his attention to the captives.