Chapter 2: The Iron Wound

Foreman Dunn led the traveler to the mine's raw new break with shame in his voice. His crews had followed a promising iron vein until the stone gave way into something that was not ore: sealed masonry, cold symbols, and air that tasted of old fear. Dunn had called it progress. He understood now that he had opened a wound.

Gruk barred the northeast chamber in a rage that looked like hatred. Miners spoke of the Overseer as a monster awakened by greed. Dunn watched the traveler fight through that rage and saw a different truth — every blow Gruk landed drove wanderers away from the breach, not toward it. The guardian was protecting something it could no longer understand.

When Gruk fell, the mines did not become safe. His digging had torn the sealed ruin wide open. Something like a forge burned beneath the broken seal, and red light pulsed in the depths as if the mountain itself had begun to fever. Dunn swore his crews would shore up what they could. The Iron Wound had a name now, and Velharrow could no longer pretend the trouble ended at the village wall.