"How do think he'll do? Do you think he'll manage to rally the guards as well?"
"If he's got any sense, he'll convince as many workers as he can, and then wait for us. It'll be a lot easier to either take out or convince the guards if every worker and us three are there... Even with heightened security, I doubt the guards will be up to much. I think that they're only working under these conditions out of fear... They probably don't understand the true extent of what they're doing... I doubt any of them are..."
"How long has it been so far?"
"About half an hour or so... Why? Getting nervous?"
"A little... Mainly for Joe, though. I hope he can do some good in there... If he's still alive..."
"Don't worry. He's got his head screwed on the right way. He'll be fine."
We waited for half an hour longer; the time seemed to inch by so slowly... It was almost agonising. What was worse was we couldn't just let our minds wander and start daydreaming; we had to remain alert in case any guards patrolling nearby heard or saw us, and we had to react quickly. When the time was up, we all stood up slowly, and headed down towards the entrance to the obsidian farm.
"Let's do this..."
We peered through the iron bars, and strangely enough found no guards there at all! Either security was much more lax than we had anticipated, or Joe was better than we thought... There was a chest behind the desk off t the right, which UOPETA went to check for explosives... Finding nothing, we continued down the stairs, being careful in case there were any patrolling guards. We all clutched the blowpipes tightly, but UOPETA had made it clear that an option of talking our way out of it would be the higher priority. If we got nowhere with it, we were to use the blowpipes and drag their unconscious forms outside. We made it down as far as the main chamber; the main outlet for the reservoir had been shut, and a large portion of the obsidian there previously had gone, presumably already harvested. The warehouse off to the right remained unchanged from the outside, so we maintained our level of alertness. Heading down the stairs, we moved through the door, to find the bottom floor totally void of life... Had Joe done it? Moving towards the stairs, we heard a person making a shushing noise, and turning around, we found Joe, standing there, facing us, with three workers around him!
"Thank god it's you! I was beginning to wonder if you'd given up and gone home on me! Have any trouble getting here?"
"None... There weren't any guards on the way down here at all..."
"I'm not surprised, he's here..."
From behind Joe, a guard emerged, looking a little sheepish...
"Looks like I'm a pretty good orator..."
"Great work, Joe! Have you checked the rest of the area?"
"Unfortunately not, just the warehouse..."
The guard spoke up now:
"There are other guards and workers here... The workers stay down here, and us guards usually remain in the upper building, keeping the entrance and exit secure. No way out for the workers that way... There are two more guards back near the exit, and one or two more workers near the reservoir."
"Thanks! He's what we're going to do: Joe? You and the rest of the workers go towards the reservoir and convince the remaining workers to come with us. Inform them of our plan, and tell them we have a guard on our side. Meanwhile, the rest of us will head up to the exit and try to convince the other two guards... We'll also look for any explosives there might be lying around."
"If you're looking for TNT, there's still some left over upstairs from when we were excavating the chamber. Joe's informed me what you want to use it for, and I'm certain there's a sufficient amount to pull it off..."
"Thanks. How do you feel about us? Do you understand our cause? Do you even understand HoN Co.'s?"
"To be honest, I know very little about what HoN Co.'s plans are. I just thought I was hired to keep these workers mining obsidian. After all, they are miners; it's what they were trained to do, I thought there was nothing else to it... As for you... Well, now that Joe's told me the full story, I'm not sure I can continue my employment within HoN Co. ..."
"That's great to hear. Now everyone, let's get going. We need this place put out of action for good!"
We all went down the stairs individually, and climbed the back to the top where the path split left and right. I went with UOPETA, THEROS and the guard, who's name was Gray, and ascended the stairs to the exit of the main building. Meanwhile, Joe and the newly recruited workers hopped over the iron railings and went towards the reservoir to convince the remaining workers.
We knew we had a large enough team to overcome the two guards that were upstairs, regardless of the outcome. Hopefully we could reach a peaceful negotiation, or even recruit them to our side... We have Gray with us which should dramatically help our cause. I was certain that Joe and the other workers would be successful. If Joe could rally a guard, then two more workers would be too easy. We reached the top of the stairs, and the two guards were standing there talking, with their backs to us. One turned as though to move away, saw us and drew his sword. The other quickly turned to see what the other had seen and followed suit.
"Who are you? How did you get in?"
"Who we are is not important, nor how we got in. We're here to save you."
The guards looked incredibly puzzled, but maintained their aggressive stance, until Gray emerged from the top of the stairs and stood before them.
"Gray? What are you doing?"
"Hear them out... You'll understand afterwards..."
"You're in danger. You work for HoN Co., but they're not what they seem... Why were you stationed here?"
"To ensure the workers did their jobs... It's what they're paid to do... It's what we're paid to do.."
"So HoN Co. are keeping you in the dark too then...? HoN Co. hasn't employed these workers... They're enslaved miners! They were sent here to find portals, and once they had done, they were imprisoned and forced to work for their nefarious needs..."
"You're lying... Why would they do that? They train the miners... Gray?"
"It's true. I've been speaking with the workers, and they were all once miners who actually worked for HoN Co. ... Once they found a portal, they were sent to Minecraftia, not to dig up and harvest minerals and ores, but to find portals. Once they found a portal, HoN Co. came in, took over and imprisoned the miners indefinitely..."
The guards stood dumbfounded for some time, as though trying to convince themselves otherwise... As if look would have it, Joe came up behind us, accompanied with every worker in the chamber!
"You see...? The workers are being forced against their will to work for HoN Co. ... They want to do something that would risk the entirety of life on this planet!"
"But... If this is true, why didn't the workers try and tell us? Surely they would voice their anger!"
"Joe has told me that they were informed that guards were encouraged to 'discipline' any outspoken workers... Forcefully..."
"We weren't ever told that..."
"You see? HoN Co. is playing everyone who works for them against each other! Subtle hints and small amounts of well placed information is all that is required to keep everyone in line. We were told that these workers were here willingly, and yet the workers were told we would punish them if they spoke out against us or HoN Co. ... Who knows what else they're keeping secret from each other..."
The guards' resolve was beginning to weaken; they lowered their swords to the ground, faces screwed up in absolute confusion...
"So... So, what now? Are you going to... Kill us?"
"Definitely not! It's your choice: you can either side with us and help to take HoN Co. down, or you can leave and find your own way back. It would be a lot more beneficial, for everyone, if you were cooperative and sided with us... We could use you."
The guards nodded...
"We're with you... What do you want us to do?"
"Leave... Leave this building and get as far back as possible..."
"They're going to blow this place up. If HoN Co. find this place void of life, they'e likely to start it up again with a fresh lot of guards and workers. They have a plan to put a stop to that, once and for all... I'll fill you in on the way..."
"Gray? Take everyone, guards and workers, to the North, following the coast along your left. You should find a boat. Stay there until we get back. Joe? You stay with us..."
Gray nodded, and moved towards the exit, beckoning the guards and workers to follow him. When everyone was out, Gray looked back at us, and nodded his appreciation, before leaving for good.
"That was impressive... Now, let's find the TNT! We've got a job to finish!"
----
We were ready... UOPETA had a bit of a difficult time getting the TNT in place, but with it now almost ready, he prepared the wiring that would hopefully do the job. Joe, meanwhile, had found a saw that was used in the warehouse to chop obsidian blocks into smaller chunks, and had set it working; the blade ran continuously, striking the edge of an obsidian block, throwing sparks everywhere! If OROTHO was right, all we needed was for one spark to reach the volatile gases given out, and we could say goodbye to this place for good!
"Is everything set UOPETA?"
"Almost... Just need to run the wiring through..."
This place was going to go up with a bang!
Syeonyx signing off
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