Matriarch: Maintain

Recovering from the digging still took time, but when the trio of empyrians stood in front of Cailu, they felt marginally better. Oeric watched Cailu think about what they could do next, while Griffith and Aule glanced around them. The pair was taking in the hundreds of reoseans moving about helping the Matriarch. Some moved quickly, racing back and forth almost panicked, but others moved calmly, with purpose. Eventually, their attention was brought back to Cailu when he started to talk. 

“You can help take care of the Matriarch,” Cailu said as he tapped his chin. 

“How can we do that?” Aule asked. 

“More digging?” Griffith grimaced, taking note of his tight and tired muscles. 

Cailu smiled, “You can help trim the crystals growing out of the Matriarch.”

Oeric’s eyes went wide, and he was about to say something, but Cailu continued, “But you can also help by feeding the Matriarch or caring for her pets.”

The trio looked at each other as they considered all the options. Maintaining the crystal growth seemed like more digging to Griffith and Aule, but Oeric was all for it. Griffith and Aule felt more inclined to help feed her, but Oeric wasn’t thrilled by that idea. The three friends could only stare at each other while they managed to have a whole conversation with their eyes. Cailu watched them, his eyes flicked back and forth as if following a conversation. 

“We’ll help with the crystals,” Oeric piped up quickly. 

Griffith and Aule pinned him with a hard look, but neither of them said anything against it. Cailu gave them a doubtful look, but when Oeric insisted, Cailu nodded and directed them near the Matriarch’s tail. 

There were more crystals in this area than the other places the trio had been. Tall cylinders of colour stretched for the ceiling, but they couldn’t quite reach it. Patches of black rock were scattered in a twisted line with multi coloured rocks laced in between them. More crystals, smaller than the others, grew from the coloured rocks. The four tyrians stood for a moment and watched as the crystals grew taller. 

“You see,” Cailu said, “You’ll need to break them off and try to keep them from growing too much.”

“That’s a never-ending task,” Aule said. “If we leave, they’ll keep going, making it pointless.”

Cailu shook his head, “They’ll stop or slow down eventually.”

The trio had their doubts, but they had to trust that Cailu knew more about the Matriarch than they did. So they nodded and turned to the growing crystals. The three empyrians went to grab a crystal when Cailu stopped them. He asked them to watch him as he gave a demonstration. The empyrians didn’t think they needed it, how hard could breaking the crystals be? Cailu had an advantage, and they all realized it when they watched him grasp a crystal in his hands. He gave a quick twist and then pulled it to the side to snap it. 

“Seems easy enough,” Oeric said. 

“Be quick and it will be less painful for the Matriarch,” Cailu advised. 

“Wait,” Aule blanched, “This causes pain?”

“Yes,” Cailu nodded solemnly, “But it’s necessary. Be quick and it won’t be so bad.”

The three empyrians nodded before they went about their task. Cailu stayed with them for a few moments, helping them get used to pulling the crystals off. 

When the three had first started the task, they thought back to their digging games and wondered if they could do something similar here. However, when Griffith broke off a particular crystal, there was a strangled cry that halted any idea of turning this serious task into a game. Aule and Oeric pulled off crystals quickly, mimicking Cailu’s demonstration. The eerie cry didn’t happen every time a crystal was pulled, it was usually only with the bigger chunks that the Matriarch’s cries echoed through the cavern, causing everyone to cringe. 

After several moments, the section Aule was working on stopped regrowing crystals, just like Cailu had said. He moved down the curved, tail-like mass of rock and crystals until he found another section growing more crystals. When he was settled, he started again, breaking off the crystals quickly. 

Griffith stayed near Cailu, and the pair quickly made work of the section they covered. Griffith would have found the task satisfying if it weren’t for the Matriarch’s pain that she made known every few crystals. The two tyrians shifted to a spot further up the tail. They pulled and snapped the crystals off, before they paused for a moment to see how fast the crystals were growing. Then they would break them again, over and over, until the growth slowed. 

Oeric didn’t work as quickly as the others. Every time the Matriarch made any noise of discomfort, he would flinch and have trouble starting again. He would need to take several breaths before snapping off a crystal. In the time his friends had cleared two or three sections, Oeric had only done one. He wasn’t bothered by his lack of progress because he figured any help was better than nothing. So he took deep breaths before yanking on any crystal. 

The four tyrians had been working for a couple of hours, when Cailu motioned them away. 

“That was good,” He smiled, “Thank you, go get some rest.”

[890]