Expansion - Chapter 2

 

2 – Brammir – The new veins

Brammir’s pick feels heavy in his hands, but the weight is familiar. With each swing, he feels the solid jolt of metal striking stone. The copper ore in the seam is easy enough to free, but the surrounding rock is stubborn. Working the Bimadizi‑Kor Worksite is less like mining and more like carving a new chamber out of the mountain itself.

When his ore cart is full, Brammir Thuldrenson hauls it out of the section to give the engineers room to check the supports. He tips the load into the rope‑pulley ore train bound for the smelter. As the engineer begins the rock‑sound checks, Brammir walks to the old fountain in the center of what used to be the Bimkor community. The water is cool and clean. He splashes his face, wets a rag, and scrubs the dust from his beard.

“I wish my brother could have seen this,” he murmurs, thinking of Helmir.

Has it only been a year?

A year since Helmir’s death—death or murder, no one ever gave a straight answer. A year since everything unraveled, no more Grand Market, no more Two Forges school, no more Bimkor.

“I should’ve pushed him to get his Guild certification,” Brammir mutters. “That lone‑wolf life was too dangerous.”

The engineer gives the “All Clear,” and Brammir pushes his cart back into place. He grips his pick, sets his stance, and swings again. Between his own strikes and the distant rhythm of the other miners, the pings of metal on stone almost sound musical. If they were all working the same section, they’d be singing to keep time. But each miner has his own claim today.

Dig out the visible ore. Shape the stone around it. Let the engineers judge safety. Continue until the seam is gone—or until the shift whistle calls them home.