'Guerilla-style tactics...'

     With mouth and nose still buried deep into my chest, I followed UOPETA and THEROS away from the left side of the vast room, where the obsidian was created. Since one of the workers had opened the release valve for the water flow, it had become unbearably hot and moist, and the potentially lethal fumes weren't helping either! We slowly ascended the stairs, not wanting to draw any attention to ourselves when we were so close to the end. We hadn't removed all threats from the area; some we most likely had come across yet, and others were not directly in our way. We just had to be careful going back up the stairs, and taking the right path instead of the left. There were bound to be guards in that route. After a few minutes, we had moved out of range of the noxious gases, and we could breath clearly once more!

Thank god we're clear of that! That could be potentially dangerous! How they got anyone to work in these conditions, I have no idea..."

"Maybe they never presented the workers with a choice... Maybe they're miners like us, who were captured and imprisoned in the place Syeonyx had been, to be put to work here..."

"I thought HoN Co. killed all the miners that found portals...? You know... Tie up all the loose ends and all that..."

UOPETA shrugged. It was possible that they may do both. Any miners under their employ who possessed remarkable skills in particular fields would likely be applied to varying tasks, depending on their skill set. It would certainly make it more advantageous for HoN Co. ... Even if it was totally inhumane! We continued onwards, still remaining cautious, until we got to the path that split off towards the warehouse. We followed the path along to the right, essentially following the path of the minecart track. After a few moments, the iron railings to our left changed to the wooden banister, and the stairs started.

     As we climbed the stairs, remaining ever vigilant, it occurred to me that it might be worth searching for any information that help us determine where the workers came from. For all I knew, they could actually be official HoN Co. employees, rather than HoN Co.-trained miners, who were imprisoned and set to work mining obsidian in dangerous surroundings! But it was worth a look. I had the feeling that something more sinister was afoot than what might initially be assumed. I quietly put this idea to UOPETA, and he agreed.

"From what you say, it's entirely possible. I mean, if you had captured people that had worked for you, surely it would be more productive and cost efficient to put them to work for you, rather than leave them to rot... When I say 'work for you' I mean in the none legal sense... If these workers are previous HoN Co. miners, I highly doubt they're getting paid... Or even being given the basic human rights! All the more to shut HoN Co. down quickly! Let's just hope that OROTHO has an idea how to put this place out of action. And then let's hope this is the only obsidian farm!"

Oh god! That thought had never occurred to me! It was unlikely that huge portal chamber we had found was the only one. Was it possible that HoN Co. had established multiple obsidian farms? I hope not! Surely the report would have mentioned the construction of more than one... Or maybe this was being used as a prototype... A template... Something to use as a test to see if it was worth the expenses! Surely though the report would mention that the plans outlined were merely a template for what an obsidian farm needed... We may need to go through it again. Let's hope that there are only references to this one in particular! We eventually reached the top of the stairs, and with the coast being clear, we proceeded to the right, going up the next set of stairs. This was slightly thinner than the other, and possessed no mid-rail. From above, we could hear voices, and we stopped to listen. It sounded like two men... One guard... The other... Maybe a worker... It was hard to tell, we weren't close enough. We crept closer though, and the voices increased in volume, but we remained back a little to hear more of their conversation.

"What is the current obsidian output at the moment? Are we meeting the quota?"

"Yes. It's a little dangerous with only one man working on the mining, but we're meeting the demands from the backlog stored in the shed. We'll exhaust them quickly at this rate though. We need more workers."

"I'll put in a request in with the others, and see what we can do. I've just received orders to double our outgoing production! It seems one of the test chambers experienced an unusual anomaly..."

"Anomaly...? How so?"

"Well, they didn't say who, but two guards there were on patrol as normal. One moment they were surrounded by them, the next they had all gone! They can't understand it. No-one can! They're studying the possible theory of a dimension jump, or something... Some scientific mumbo jumbo... I don't get it personally... I'll let the eggheads figure it out..."

We crept closer still so I could get a good look at them. If we remained hidden for long enough, we might learn more than initially thought!

It was a worker! They seemed to be speaking quite colloquially; on the same level, not as a head and a subordinate... Maybe the workers were employed by HoN Co., and not enslaved miners...

"How could they lose that many portals? They can't just disappear! Have they ruled out sabotage?"

"Sabotage? There wasn't anything left! The gates were still locked from both sides, and there was no evidence to suggest anyone had entered... The guards had mentioned that they had felt a little woosy after the apparently sudden disappearance of the portals..."

"Maybe it's a temporal thing... The portals maybe jumped to a different time stream..."

"Oh, don't go down that path again! You watch too many sci-fi films! This is reality! Objects like portals don't just disappear randomly! They don't disappear into thin air!"

"Then again... Portals aren't exactly mere objects... Who knows how little we comprehend of them at the moment... Anyway, I better get back and help Steve... With the way he's been acting recently, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd fallen in the lava! Not been feeling so good what with the gas and fumes..."

The worker turned to us, but before he had chance to spot us, he had fallen to the ground. Moments later, before the guard had a chance to determine what had happened, he too fell! UOPETA and THEROS put their blowpipes away. We moved up the stairs, now content that nothing stood in our way to the exit!

     We searched a few areas around the exit; behind the main desk the guard had been positioned, in chests and on tables. Anywhere where there could be a report or a file that could contain information we could utilise. We found quite a few things, including the report the guard had mentioned about the disappearing portals! In it, there was a reference to us, but only a loose one. It stated that a 'rebel group' may be performing 'guerilla-style' tactics to neutralise the portals. Well, they were nearly right. Only, we were trying to stop them from activating the master portal. After we had found a few reports that contained data that could prove useful, we left the building, careful not to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves, before heading back to the boat.

Syeonyx signing off