24 Is escape even possible?

"So, what would you like to discuss before we begin our lessons?" Gulfram asked, taking a seat behind a table and placing his pickaxe against the wall to his left.

Closing the door behind me, I then make my way towards the table before eventually sitting right in front of him.

"Uh yes," I finally began, rubbing my right palm on my frozen left hand for slight warmth to remove the chill that clung unto me from the outside.

"Did anyone.." I paused, searching for the right words in my limited Artanian vocabulary to continue my question. After a few seconds of pondering, I finally found the perfect ones, "Try escape quarry? anyone succeed?" I knew my Artanian was this bad, but I think it's enough for Gulfram to understand it's meaning.

He froze, his eyes widening at the same time.

"Don't tell me you-" before he could finish his statement, I suddenly interrupted him.

"N-No no no, you think wrong." I waved my hands at him, chuckling nervously in the process, "I's just curious.. yes, curious." 

Of course, it was a lie. In truth, I had grown utterly weary of this place, yearning for my freedom, and there was no better strategy for orchestrating my escape than by delving into the history of previous attempts. Understanding how others had faltered in their bids for freedom would furnish me with the vital insights required to avert repeating their mistakes.

Gulfram narrowed his eyes at me, with this small action of his, I now know that he had seen through my lie, but if he has any plans of pointing it out in front of me, he did not dare show it.

After an entire minute of silence, he finally sighed, shaking his head at the same time.

"A lot, even more so before I came here." A small frown then form in his face, "All of them failed."

At that moment, my heart sank. I couldn't accept the notion that escape was impossible. He must be deceiving me, perhaps to discourage any thoughts of attempting it.

"Impossible" I blurt out, clenching my fists tightly.

"Yes, at least that's what the records said." He pause, his gaze fixing unto mine. "But rumors says otherwise, though I don't know whether to believe them or not."

I felt a small sense of relief wash over me at this, there's really a chance after all, albeit a small one. Because of this, I couldn't help but smile, my heart beating with excitedness.

Seemingly noticing my expression, Gulfram scratch his head before leaning slightly closer towards me, "But I personally believe the records were shown to us with the intent of squashing any hopes of escaping this place." He cleared his throat, before continuing, "Not that we still have any chance of escaping this place even if the records are not true."

I pondered his words in silence, my fingers lightly tapping on the table, blending with the soothing crackle of the fireplace tucked away in the room's corner.

Why does his confidence in escaping this place seem so lacking? He claims to buy into the rumors, yet he doesn't believe in the prospect of our own escape. It just doesn't make any damn sense for me at all.

Well.. I should hear out this rumors first before I come to any conclusion.

"I-I see," I stammered, my gaze briefly scanning the room before finally locking onto Gulfram once more. "Tell me about these rumors," I added in a slightly uncertain voice.

He maintained his gaze on me for a few moments, then replicated my earlier action, turning his head and letting his eyes sweep across the room as though seeking something elusive. After a brief pause, his focus came back to me once more.

"The events I'm about to recount occurred before my arrival here," He finally began.

Wait, there must have been escape attempts regardless of when Gulfram arrived, don't tell me he is the reason why there's none. Everything is just so fucking confusing.

"W-What? no attempts after you.. arrive?" I asked, my curiosity overwhelming me.

"O-Oh you misunderstand," he nervously chuckled after probably seeing the confused expression on my face, "What I meant to say is.. the events that I'm going to tell you were the successful attempts of escape."

I see... then I felt a slight weight lift off from my chest at his words.

"Of course there were attempts during my time here, but all of them failed." He put an emphasis at his last words, he may not know but I notice that he was clenching his fist too hard.

Could he be connected to the escape attempts? Although I harbored a strong desire to ask him this question, I refrained, sensing that the timing was not yet appropriate. I maintained my self-control and held back from inquiring further.

He seems to be deep in his thoughts, so I shook him out of it, "And rumors?" I suddenly asked, causing him to immediately turn his attention towards me once again.

Wait, is that a tear on his eyes?

I didn't know how, but Gulfram seems to take notice of the concern on my face and quickly forced a few laughs, wiping his eyes in the process.

"Um, yes... the rumors," he hesitated, clearing his throat before finally continuing, "I heard a tale once. It goes that a miner managed to escape by incapacitating a guard, stealing his gear, and bluffing his way out... But just as I said earlier, I did not know if these are even true." He shrugged.

My eyes widened at the revelation... Yes, I'll certainly take note of that, but that was until a thought suddenly cross my mind.

Suppose I were to attempt an escape, where could I even find a guard to pilfer their gear? Guards only enter the mining area when delivering food, and besides that, their appearances here are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, even if a guard were present, how could I bluff my way out when my grasp of Artanian is far from proficient? Achieving fluency would require an extensive amount of time, and by the time I reach that point, I might be little more than bones.

It appears bluffing is out of the question then..

"I-I see," I said, my head drooping slightly in defeat. "That reason why..." I paused, sifting through my limited Artanian vocabulary to find the right words to continue my statement. After several seconds of contemplation, I finally uncovered the right ones. "No guardsmen inside mining domain, only cloaks," I concluded with a nod. While my words were far from perfect, they would likely suffice to convey my intended message and meaning across.

Indeed, that would likely explain the absence of guardsmen within our walls. It's probably the reason why they've erected a second wall and a complex around the mine to enhance security even further.

"You're mistaken..." he suddenly blurted out, slightly catching me off guard, "The reason why they pulled back the guardsmen behind our walls is their lack of numbers." 

"Huh?" before I could ask him further, he suddenly cut me off.

"Amidst the ongoing war with Saragon, our forces on the frontlines have suffered significant losses," he paused, placing the emphasis on 'our forces' with a tone of mockery rather than pride. Then he continued, "Since then, our oh-so-beloved king has been depleting castles and cities of their garrisons to reinforce our dwindling numbers. Even this quarry was not spared."

I nodded my head in response, feeling a small sense of embarrassment washing over me.

"So.." I suddenly began, hoping to divert the current subject to it's original topic, "Aside from the uh.." I clicked my tongue, frustrated at my lack of vocabulary, "that miner who... trick to escape, there other more?" I added hand gesture along with my words, hoping that Gulfram could understand my question.

He did..

"Four men," Gulfram raised four of his fingers in front of me, "Those are the number of tales I've heard about miners successfully escaping this quarry, including the one who bluffed his way out. There may well be more, but these are the ones my own two ears have heard."

Just four? is escaping this place genuinely that exceptionally challenging?

"How did they escape?" I asked with gritted teeth.

"It is said that one of them ignited a massive fire within the town in the middle of the night," Gulfram explained, his expression growing slightly somber. "he used the ensuing chaos and the distraction of both cloaks and guards to make his escape. They say at least a hundred miners, not including the cloaks and guards, to perished in the flames."

My mouth fell open in shock at this, sadness and anger enveloping me at the same time.

Sacrificing his fellow miners for his own escape? How could someone contemplate such a horrifying act? I'd never entertain such a notion in my escape plan. But then again, as Gulfram said, it might not be true... I sincerely hope it isn't.

"The other... two?" I inquired, hoping they didn't involve the loss of fellow miners, as the previous one had.

"Oh, they dug a tunnel to escape from this place."

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CHAPTER DONE!!