Licking Walls in the Dark

There are two types of dwarves. The fortunate and the unfortunate. Those born to the right parents, and those born to the wrong. The winners and the losers. The rulers and the workers.

Pon was born into a world of darkness and servitude. He is a miner dwarf. He began mining the day he was old enough to hold a hammer, and will be a miner until the day he dies. He lives, works, eats and sleeps deep underground in the darkness of the mine.

Pon has never seen daylight, or breathed fresh air. Each day the tunnels seem a little bit narrower, and more difficult to live in. Pon finds himself at a point in his life where, unlike his fellow miners, who are able to accept their lives underground, he feels he must take the drastic step of trying to get out of the mine. A fortuitous turn of events means Pon finds himself on the very cusp of leaving his old life behind him. However, just as he thinks he is about to get everything he ever wanted, Pon begins to learn that his lot in life is even bleaker than he realised. Pon learns secrets about the true nature of his place in dwarf society, which he could be killed for knowing.

Pon’s quest to escape the mine is complicated when a dwarf, of a type he has never seen before, comes into his life. For the first time in his life, he finds himself caring about something more than his freedom, which he would go to any lengths to protect.