To fade away

I would never have chosen that life. It was a life far away, no proper civilisation within many days of travel. But my sister had always been one who sought after money and riches, and well, tamarite was one of the most expensive things money could get you. And there was something about it's dark and mysterious nature, that also appealed to her. I wanted nothing to do with the whole thing, but it wasn't my life it was about. I had my house in the city, about 10 days travel from the mining encampment. The land was lush there, tall grasses covered the land, and life was good. My family had a herd of vonnots, and we made yarn and fabric from the fur. I worked at the farm from a young girl, and when my parents were too old and sick, I took it over.
My sister was a lot younger than me, and she had no interest in herding animals or spinning yarn, activities that I found calming and grounding. She was always on the lookout for riches, something shiny and exciting. Whenever merchants came into town with goods from overseas, she was there, ogling over the precious stones and gold and silver trinkets. I had just gotten married and was pregnant, and had a hard time looking after her, she was only 14 at the time, and she was not one to obey rules. And then one day, she came home and said, she had made a deal, tha she would become a miner apprentice. There was a lot of money to be made, and she would be able to get all the fine clothes and things she always wanted, to dress like a princess.
Did she realise how hard the work was, I doubted it. She was always very whimsical and dit not often understand when people tried to use her or trick her. But she had made a pact, and even if there was a way to get her out of it, it surely was not possible if she didn't want it. The details of her pact were unclear, and she didn't tell me much, but she said she was going to the Misty mountains (my insides went cold when I heard this) and was going to see unimaginable riches and great mystery. Everything an adventure-hungry, bored teenager who was unhappy with the career she had laid in front of her would like to hear. And she had bee hanging sround these miners and merchants for ages too.
I made sure to give her warm clothes, and a sturdy package of food, even though I made it also clear what I thought of her idea. She did not listen to me, and the next morning she was gone. Time passed, my first child was born, and I was busy. I did not see her for almost a year, and when she came back to the city, she had changed. She did not complain or say a single bad word,, but she had the weary look in her eyes, and she was so thin. But she had some gold, not any more than we made with our fibre business, but it was gold, and she asked me to keep it. Put it away, hide it, and never speak about it. She would come after it later. I thought it was odd, and so did my partner, but we put the gold away, and never spoke about it. She stayed with us for a couple of weeks, and I had never seen such an appetite on her before. She seemed to gain a little weight and seemed a little brighter when she left again, with as much food as she could carry, and a new soft dress to keep her warm.
My child grew and soon I became pregnant again. Me and my partner were happy, the business was going well. I spent my days weaving, and he would herd the animals and do the farmwork. It was a couple of years before we saw my sister again. My firstborn was now 3, and my sister on the verge of 18. She was still very thin, and even if she did not complain, she did not seem happy. But when I asked her, did she get the riches and the mystery she was promised, she didn't answer. It was like her eyes tried to talk, but her mouth wouldn't let her. I had not met many miners, and was not sure if this was, what working in the Misty mountains did to you, but it seemed odd. She gave us more gold, and told us to keep it safe. She seemed very fond of her niece though, and they were playing together a lot. And then she left again.
Next time we saw her, was sooner than expected. I was shocked to see, that see was visibly pregnant, and looked sick. I immidiately sent my partner for the healer, and put my sister to bed. She asked me to seal the door with salt, and as odd as I thought the request was, I did it, and told my partner not to touch the salt. She had a high fever, and the healer looked very worried when she came to see her. "It is not good," she said. "Who is this child's father?" "I- I- I don't know.. He was wearing a mask, it was like a ritual. A part of the pact, to give my children to them. But I don't want to." She seemed more relaxed now that the house was sealed with salt. She was sick for many weeks, but slowly got better. She did not want to leave the house.
After a full two months has passed, one evening, strange things happened on the yard. There was talk, and there were lights, eerie white lights, and not yellow like normal torches and lanterns. They spoke a language I didn't understand, but my sister seemed to be listening carefully. She then went and closed all the windows, all the curtains, every single hook on every door and window, and she checked that all the salt was properly placed. Then she started talking to me very quietly.
"They know I'm here but they can't get in and they have no power over the salt and copper. I've not spent long enough there yet, so I am not yet overpowered by the salt. But over time I will be too. Fade away, and if my child was born there, they would be from the birth. I could not let that happen, I saw how happy your children are, and I cannot give this one's childhood into darkness. I have all the gold I can dream of, but there is darkness, so much darkness, and the voices, of the dead, from the otherworld, it's like they echo in the mining tunnels, making everyone slowly insane, whispering, telling stories... And there is no food. We have to get our own food, after the work in the mines. We get bread when we work, but then we're on our own. And I can't do it, I'm no good at hunting, so I get leftovers from the others, and I pay them. Sometimes they want gold, sometimes they want services. I will do their shifts, or other things. And the rituals... they happen every month, all the men wear masks, and in candlelit tents we chant and dance in circles, and pray for the right time of the mooncycle, and then when the music stops, whoever is closest to you, you will lead them to a free bed, and you're supposed to undress them, and offer yourself to them... and I know the only reason they do this, they hope every woman will bear a child to them, and have it born in the mountains, so it will be living a half-life from birth, and never want to go away to the full life. I have talked to other miners, from other mining encampments, and they are not the same. There is something wrong with the one I'm at, but I can never escape, they will find me from the others. I made a pact, and I should have listened to you and stayed here."
I listened to my sisters word, and I was horrified. It was so much worse than I ever imagined. I hugged her tightly. We did not go to sleep all night, and as the first rays of morning sun became visible, the voices on the yard faded, and it was like nothing had happened. But my sister seemed a little happier. After a few weeks her child was born, a healthy girl, but my sister was still weak and was struggling to take care of her. I helped as much as I could, and slowly my sister regained her energy too. Every now and then they came looking for her in the evening, and would always go away at the sight of the morning sun. But my sister had to go back, and even if she felt better, she said she had grown accustomed to the voices from the otherworld, and felt odd without them. So she took the child with her, and left again.
Many years passed, before we saw her again, and it was obvious she did not have too long left. The years in the mines under the Misty mountains had done what a lifetime in the city would not have managed. She was slowly turning into a spirit, I could see it, and so could my children, who had liked her before, but were now afraid of her, and would not stay alone in the same room with her. She was oddly transparent, in a way she did not seem to notice herself. She had her child with her, she had grown, and seemed like a healthy, normal child, maybe a bit small and skinny. My sister said, we should take the child, the mining camps were not a place for a child, and they got the others, but this one they could never get. So I took the child. She would need plenty of healthy outdoor air, hearty food and friends to play with, and she would probably not be very different from her peers in some time.
Once the children had gone to bed, I sat with my sister and talked. I had a peculiar feeling, that this would be the last I ever saw of her. We talked a lot, about everything, and I felt sorry for her, for the teenage girl who longed for adventure and riches and only got betrayed and bound into the darkness. There were other children, who she could not save from the darkness, and other with the same fate as hers. But she could not return, the call of the Otherworld was too strong, and she had become a part of it way too early. She left the next morning before the morning sunrise. I saw her disappear quickly, as if she had just gone invisible, and that was the last I ever heard of her. She had never asked for any of the gold she had asked us to keep safe, but we kept it, and when her child was old enough, we gave it to her. My sister had worked hard for that gold. When we were going through the gold, I was surprised to see an amulet made of tamarite in one of the bags. It was large, and probably more valuable than the whole house that we lived in. It was made with incredible care, and shined that eerie green light around it. But when I held it in my hand, it felt warm and comforting. I also had a feeling that it was not meant for me, and called in my niece. She looked at the amulet, and her eyes lit up. She picked it up from my hand, and put the chain around her neck. She was old enough to understand how valuable that thing was, and how much work it had required. She kept it always with her, hidden under her clothes.