Faye had taken a nap, and the arrival of Jyri and Ran woke her up. Blinking, she sat up, rubbing an eye as Jyri took a seat next to her. Ran sat on Jyri's other side, looking visibly uncomfortable.
"Are you feeling better?" Jyri asked.
Faye nodded. "Did you find out anything?"
"Not much," Jyri said. "At least, not at first."
"We only got disgusted looks," Ran mumbled to the grassy ground. "And comments."
"They abhor changelings here," Jyri said. "They say they're horrible demons who cause people to go mad. Just coming into contact with one will make you fall ill."
"And they put spells on babies to make them deformed," Ran said. "That's probably what happened to your wing."
Faye tried to ignore the bit about her wing. "Do you believe any of that?" she asked Jyri.
"I didn't at first until we stopped at the library on a book recommendation. It's by a reputable author. And it confirms that."
"Books don't lie," Ran said.
Faye buried her face in her knees and groaned.
"You're still cramping?" Jyri asked. "I would've stopped to get you something, but our money situation..."
Faye groaned louder.
"Here." Jyri dug through his pack, and pulled out a flask. "Drink some water."
Faye took the flask from him, but didn't drink. "What are you going to do about finding a changeling?"
Jyri let out a sigh. "I don't know."
"How are you going to get one to cooperate if you do find one?" Ran asked.
"If I have to, I'll make it cooperate."
Jyri's tone chilled Faye, causing her to wince. "That sounds harsh."
"Judging from the history I just read, it's not harsh enough."
"The history?"
Jyri nodded. "Thousands of years ago, there was a war. Caused by changelings... and nymphs."
"Millions of people disappeared," Ran added. "The changelings used powerful magic to wipe them out."
"It's unclear how they managed to do it, but it seemed like they had some sort of weapon," Jyri said. "And the nymphs lured humans into their trap."
"Why?" Faye asked.
"Because nymphs and changelings are despicable creatures." Jyri gestured wildly. "The whole reason there's this... rift between humans and magical beings is all because of the chaos started by changelings and nymphs. They only targeted humans. Changelings and nymphs wanted all the humans out, and they almost succeeded."
"The wizards of old saved us," Ran said. "They somehow pushed the changelings and nymphs into hiding."
"Nymphs are obviously around now." Jyri's voice was filled with disgust. "But who knows about changelings. They say they're still around, and that they're the cause of all trouble. Thankfully I've never met one."
Were my ancestors really that bad? Faye wondered as the three settled down for the night. She never knew much about her kind, other than a few superstitions, but she herself would never harm anyone. Anyone innocent, anyway. And what would Jyri and Ran do if they found out her secret?
But what would they do now? Give up on it? Faye didn't think Jyri would last another day living like they were. But they would certainly have to settle down eventually. She just worried someone would find out her secret. And how would Jyri and Ran react? She thought of Jyri's words: If I have to, I'll make it cooperate.
They can't find out, she thought. They just can't.
The next morning, Jyri came to a decision.
"We'll settle down here, get jobs, find a place to live, and then we can figure out how to get changeling tears and nymph blood once we're living comfortably."
"And how are we to get jobs?" Faye asked. "We already tried that."
"In one city," Jyri said. "We'll try the next."
There weren't a whole lot of resources available to them to make them appear decent, but they made do with washing their faces in a nearby river. Combing their hair with their fingers, the three prepared their long trek to the next town over.
The sun was high by the time they came across a wooden sign that said, "Welcome to Biltirm." It seemed to be more of a town than a city, but magical beings still roamed out and about. There were plenty of food stands up, and the smell of meat made Faye's mouth water. But she resisted the urge to steal and focused all her attention on following Jyri into each and every building. It wasn't long before they saw one with a "now hiring coal miners" sign on the dirt-stained window.
"What in Odis' name is a coal miner?" Faye asked Jyri, before they walked into the building.
"Someone who mines coal," Jyri said.
"But what is coal?"
"Black lumps used to power stuff," Ran answered.
Faye was confused enough, so dropped it. "What exactly is 'mining?'"
"Whacking rock with a pick ax," Ran said.
The whole thing seemed pointless to Faye, but she didn't complain when they got the job by simply asking the plump, sweaty man behind the counter. And the pay wasn't terrible. At least to her.
"Only 6 loti an hour?" Jyri complained once they left the building. "We might as well go back to the begging."
"I'm looking forward to it," Faye said. "I haven't had a job in years."
They had to be on site at sunrise. The mine was a ways off from the town, so the group headed towards the site and camped near it. It would make the next day's walk much shorter.
The next morning, they arrived. Several short people Jyri identified as dwarfs entered a cave-like entrance. Someone who looked like a supervisor stood in front of it, holding a clipboard. He marked something down as each person walked in.
The three walked up to supervisor. "Hi, we're new here," Faye said.
The man looked down at her. "Names?"
"Faye Albion, Jyri Ruska, and Ran Ruska," Faye answered as the man scribbled something down on his clipboard.
The man introduced himself as Bane, and gestured towards the mine's opening. "The folks in there will tell you what to do. I just take attendance and handle payroll."
Jyri thanked him as they walked inside. It was hard to see in the darkness, so Faye conjured a flame as they traveled deeper in, downwards. Oppressive heat smothered them, making it difficult to breath. A dim light appeared up ahead. Voices, along with a rhythmic clinking sound filled the air. Several dwarfs faced the wall, hitting rock with pickaxes. The source of dim light came from lanterns next to them.
"What are you doing?" a loud, angry voice shouted. "Put that fire out! You'll get us killed."
Faye obliged, shaken. "I'm sorry. I didn't-"
"We can only use these safety lamps down here." The man held up one of the lanterns, the light revealing a twisted face. His eyes were at Faye's level. "These were made specifically for mining. Anything else can cause an explosion."
"I'm sorry."
"You should be." The man looked up at Jyri and Ran. "I assume you're all new here?" The three nodded. "I'm Lobreck. What are you all?"
"Pardon?" Jyri said.
"Species." Lobreck squinted at Faye's wings. "You some sort of fairy?"
"Yeah."
"Given that flame you conjured up, I assume you know magic. You'll be useful." Lobreck looked over Jyri and Ran with a disappointed expression. "You both humans?"
"I am," Jyri said. "But my brother here is a shapeshifter."
"Really?" Lobreck smiled up at Ran. "What can you turn into?"
"A lynx," Ran mumbled.
Lobreck stroked his long beard. "That could come in handy later. But for now, we just need you to pick the coal. Here." He picked up two pickaxes, and handed one to Jyri and the other to Ran, then pointed towards a wall that others were working at. "You can start next to them. And you," he looked to Faye," you can carry the coal to the cart. Your magic should make that easy."
Jyri cleared his throat. "Aren't you going to ask our names?"
"I already have your names," Lobreck said. "Fairy, Lynx, and Whiner."
"Why am I 'Whiner?'" Jyri asked.
"Because you're giving me a feeling that's what you'll be doing the whole time. Now get to work!"
Jyri and Ran took their places next to another dwarf, who glanced over at them. He said something in another language to the dwarf on his other side, and they both grinned. Jyri held the pickax up, and swung it down on the rock. Only a couple bits fell out. He tried again with the same result. The two dwarfs laughed.
Jyri scowled at them. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," said one of them quickly. The other one said something in Dwarfish, and they burst into laughing fits again.
Lobreck walked over to them. "Now now, Tusgral. Sakhec. I know watching humans trying to mine is funny, but there's lots of work to be done."
Jyri's scowl grew. "Trying?"
"Sorry Lobreck," said Tusgral. He turned and swung his pickax on the rock, and multiple chunks of what Faye assumed to be coal tumbled down.
Using magic, Faye levitated the piles of coal, and dropped it in the mine cart behind them. For a time, all was silent except for the clinking of pickax meeting rock. Jyri barely got any usable pieces out. Ran had a rough time as well, but managed to get a small pile going.
"How are you doing that?" Jyri whispered to him.
Ran shrugged, and mined a large chunk of coal.
"This particular spot is harder than the others," Jyri concluded. "That must be it."
Tusgral next to him let out a snort that Jyri ignored. Instead, Jyri turned to Ran. "Want to switch spots so I can prove it?"
"Okay," Ran mumbled.
Jyri whacked at the hole Ran had dug, and only a tiny bit of coal fell out. He frowned down at the piece, and looked back at Ran. "You must've gotten it all out."
Ran turned to the dent Jyri had originally been working on, and whacked at it. A large mound of coal fell out. The two dwarfs couldn't hold back any longer, and howled with laughter.
"Hey!" Lobreck shouted. "What did I say earlier?"
"Sorry," the two dwarfs called to him, and immediately got back to work.
"I'm exhausted," Jyri muttered to Ran.
"We've only been working for ten minutes," Ran said.
"Is this his first time doing hard labor?" Tusgral asked.
"I've done plenty of hard labor.," Jyri said in his typical snooty tone. "I've spent these past few months walking across country with a heavy pack on my back."
"That doesn't count," Sakhec said.
Jyri looked ready to whack them with his pickax, and he raised it, and swung down on the cave wall. A decent-sized chunk fell out, and he smiled. "Finally."
Faye picked it up, and tossed it into the full mine cart. A fairy she hadn't seen before fluttered towards it. "I'll wheel this one out. My name's Delia, by the way." She narrowed her eyes at Faye's wings. "Who are you?"
Faye introduced herself but Delia said nothing more, instead pushing the cart out via magic.
Everyone worked until noon. The harsh sunlight burned at Faye's eyes when she emerged for lunch. She, Jyri, and Ran sat together, far away from all the rest. Their lunch was apples they had picked on their way over. No way would it fill Faye's rumbling stomach. She was amazed she hadn't passed out by now.
Faye gazed longingly at the dwarfs and their feast of sandwiches, fruit, and baked goods.
"Why do they get to have all that food?" Ran asked.
"Because they have money," Jyri snapped. "And hopefully we will by the end of the day. Then, we can finally have a nice, big meal."
Faye hoped he was right.
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