Crew Eight

Not afraid of hard work, I see?

Well, then, step inside the Squarebeard Mines! Work awaits, as does great reward!

Crew Eight? Yes, yes, they worked here once. No, no, long before they were in the military. What happened? Oh, well, that’s an even longer story.

You have time? Well, why didn’t you say so in the beginning? Sit down, have a pipe. Let me tell you about Big Al and Crew Eight.

*A Sketch of Anderson Squarebeard, owner and manager of Squarebeard Mines*

On Stoneroots

It is an interesting twist of nature that the Stoneroot tree hold both the lightest and heaviest wood known to man. It was discovered when explorers to the area that now holds Squarebeard Mines chopped down a tree, only to find that it would not fall. It wasn’t that it was still connected, it just floated freely. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that Stoneroots, as they were later called, had extremely light wood. From the trunk up, the density was that of the air itself. In most areas, it would remain perfectly still, not moving up or down. However, the roots of these trees were extremely dense. More dense than most rocks you will come across. Why this is, we do not know.

Big Al was a rare breed of gnome. Like the rest, he was big and stocky. Unlike the rest, he took no pride in his physical stature. “My body,” he’d often growl, “Is only another tool. How I use it is what’s important.”

Because of his outlook on life, his Crew wasn’t filled with the biggest, toughest gnomes. Instead, he found the ones who were the best at their respective jobs. His second, Noland, and he had been working together for years. Noland was much like Big Al, except when it came to risk-taking. Big Al knew when to take a risk, but Noland always played it safe.

They had worked with other Crews, but when they met Brendan Strongwood, they knew it was time to start their own. Brendan was cool, calculating and precise, which was important, as he was gnome who made the supports for the mineshafts. The three took the available Crew slot, the Eighth mineshaft position.

And so it was the Crew Eight was formed.

Soon, the crew grew. The three found that they didn’t have enough Gnomepower to mine, and cart the waste back to the surface. And so, Noland pulled his distant relative, Chip, into the Crew. Chip brought his best friend since birth, Chyp. Chyp had what Gnomes call a vein mind. Many times, it would look like the ore vein was running out, but Chyp would urge the Crew to continue digging. Only twice did his instincts fail him, out of dozens of correct assumptions.

Up to this point, Noland had been running the explosives. However, when a misfired detonation laid him up for nearly three months, Big Al found Nicholas, also known as Skull. Although the Gnome had lost an eye because of an explosion, his respect and fondness for the dangerous tools grew, and eventually, he was recognized as one of the top five explosive experts.

During this same time, a mechanically inclined acquaintance of Chip’s named Leo Hargwith joined on. Crew Eight was his first foray into the Squarebeard Mines, but he proved adept at finding ways to make mining easier and more profitable – as well as more difficult, sometimes.

After Noland’s return, the Crew grew close. Leo’s eternal optimism began to rub off on some of the older Gnomes, while at the same time irking them. He renamed Big Al, calling him “Papa Alan,” a name that Chip picked up on, and some of the others would say behind Big Al’s back, but never to his face.

After four years, Crew Eight was recognized by Anderson Squarebeard (who seemed to Leo to be misnamed, as his beard instead formed a sharp triangle) as being the most lucrative Crew in the Squarebeard Mines. So it was astonishing to everyone when Big Al was arrested for murder.

Robert Templeton pushed back from the desk, his chair squeaking against the wooden floor. “Robert Templeton,” he said, stretching his hand across the desk.

The gnome on the other side shook it tentatively. “Leo Hargwith.”

“You know who I am, correct?” Templeton asked.

“The detective assigned to Big Al’s case.”

“Right,” Templeton said, motioning for Leo to sit. “Now, tell me, what happened Crekin Third?”

“Well, I was working in the Squarebeard Mines, like usual,” Leo started. “Big Al and I got there about the same time. I remember feeling rushed. I hadn’t had much time to do anything that morning, and just was rushing to get things done.

“We got down to Mineshaft Eight, when suddenly Spackler showed up.” Leo shook his head. “Sorry, I call Jacob Achren ‘Spackler.’ It’s a long story. Anyway, Achren showed up, and started screaming at Big Al, something about an unfinished payment. Big Al isn’t the most cheerful person, but after that encounter, he seemed extra angry. But I can’t believe he was angry enough to kill someone.”

Templeton let a pause fill the room. “Continue, please,” he said.

“Right, sorry,” Leo said. “After that, we went back to work like usual. Big Al seemed like himself by the time we left. He and Noland went to Chaps for a bite to eat. The next day, things were normal, until halfway through the day, when the police showed up and hauled him off.”

Templeton wrote some things in his notes. Leo had already been interviewed by two other detectives, and gave the same general story each time. “Why did I get saddled with this job?” Templeton muttered to himself, then looked at Leo. “Thank you for coming in. That’s all I need to know. I’ll let you know if there’s anymore information that we need from you.”

“Thank you,” Leo said, then rose and disappeared from the room. Templeton leaned back. It was going to be a long, hard road to prove Alan’s innocence.

Brendan Strongwood flipped a coin at the waitress, and turned back to the gnome opposite him. “What can you tell me about Calvis York?”

The gnome shifted in his seat. “Only thing I know is that he turned up dead two weeks ago, apparently killed by your boss.”

“You have to know more than that,” Brendan said, leaning in. “I know Calvis was involved in something.”

*Brendan Strongwood*, *Crew Eight Member*

The gnome laughed, shifting again. “Nah, not Calvis. He was as honest as they come.”

“Obviously not,” Brendan said. “Tell me what you know.”

The gnome shifted a third time, looking around. “Fine. Calvis got in some debt with some very disreputable people.”

“That’s it?” Brendan asked.

“No. He was paying it off by doing the person’s dirty work.”

“Who was it?”

“I swear to you, I don’t know.”

“What kind of dirty work?”

“I don’t know that either.”

Brendan steepled his fingers and leaned forward. “Who does know?”

“There’s a homeless man, down by the train tracks. He’s where I got the information from. You might be able to get something more from him.”

“Wonderful. Thank you for your time.” Brendan leaned back, getting comfortable.

“That’s it?” the gnome asked. “You’re not going to rush out of here?”

“I have paid excellent money to be here and eat. Now, if you wouldn’t mind leaving?”

The gnome scurried away, while Brendan settled in for his meal.

Noland scratched at his beard, watching the gnome walking closer and closer. “Surprised they let you come see me,” Big Al growled.

“Couldn’t keep me away,” Noland said. He wanted to reach through the bars and put his hand on Big Al’s shoulder, but he knew that would lead to his being dragged out of the jail, or being thrown into a cell next to his friend.

“You know I’m innocent, right?” Big Al asked.

“Never doubted it for a second,” Noland said. “We’ll find out who really did it. Don’t worry, Big Al. You’ll be out of here soon.”

“I don’t doubt it. Tell me, how’s the Crew?”

“Functioning. We show up, we work, we go home. We don’t talk, or joke, or anything like that.”

“You need to hold them together, Noland. I can’t anymore.”

“I know. I’ll do my best, Big Al.”

“You better.” Big Al’s voice was gruff, but caring.

Chip grabbed another bolt and jammed it through the hole. Without even thinking, he had the nut on the other end and tightened as far as he could with his hand.

“I wish we could be doing something more,” Leo muttered next to him, fixing the other wheel in place.

“We all do,” Chip said quietly. “But we can’t.” He finished tightening the nut with a wrench, then stood up. “That’s it. It’s ready to run.”

“If it doesn’t, it’s on you,” Leo said in a half-hearted attempt to make a joke. Chip lowered the jack, letting the wheels touch the ground. The minecart was much like the other basic ones, but affixed to the front was a large crank.

“Give her a whirl,” Chip said. Leo grabbed the crank and spun it. Slowly, the wagon of the cart lifted.

“The only question is whether or not we’ll be able to do that when it’s full of debris,” Leo said, lowering it.

“Only one way to find out,” Chip said, jumping behind the cart and giving it a shove. “Come on.”

Chyp brought the pickaxe down with all his strength. It sunk into the hard packed dirt and rock, and he smiled. Sweet satisfaction filled him.

“Just a little more, and I can fit the dynum in,” Skull said, unloading his pack.

“Sure thing,” Chyp said, each word enuciated by a pickaxe strike. After a few more blows, Skull stopped him.

“Better get behind the shield,” Skull warned. He slid the dynum into the hole, then followed Chyp behind the shield. It was made of wood, with a small peephole of extremely thick glass. Skull lit the fuse, then covered his ears, Chyp mimicking his actions. The tiny flame flew across the rope, and the dynum exploded. It wasn’t as big of a blast as if Skull had used dynamite, but dynum was made to be that way. Instead of destroying the wall, dynum just loosened everything up, making it easier to clear out.

“You should be able to use a shovel now,” Skull said.

“I know,” Chyp replied, grabbing a spade and beginning to hack at the wall. He began to fill a minecart, his mind in another place, and another time. One where Big Al was working right alongside him.

But if he would get those days back, he did not know.