Major Test of Strength

“Okay Sonora, we’re here, what do we do?” Verbena asked, trotting around the corner into the cavern illuminated only by crystals. Behind her, Caspian followed closely behind. Initially, Sonora had only contacted Verbena, but Caspian had come along too. The genie puller was no scholar like the forged, but he had insisted in joining the team, eager for a new story to add to his collection.

His eyes widened as he saw the massive cavern, and the large beast trapped within the rocks inside of it. The sight was unlike anything he had ever seen in all his travels; such a creature shouldn’t be able to survive on land, yet these haedians and their Matriarch were all enormous compared to the other reoseans. And he thought the sky-faring empyrians were big.

Sonora’s eyes brightened as her eyes fell on both of them. “Good! You came! Here’s the deal, we gotta get her out, obviously.”

“Her?” Verbena asked, looking skeptical as her eyes fell on the Matriarch, snarling and snapping from her stone prison. 

“It’s a long story,” Sonora explained. “But yes, her. The haedians want her freed, and we need all the paws we can get to do so. There’s reoseans calling for help like I did to you, and those working with prayers for guidance. But I’m thinking we just brute strength this. It’ll be the easiest.”

“Is she… dangerous?” Caspian asked, glancing over towards the mining equipment with a distrusting glance. “I don’t want to get snapped up if I’m going near her to start physically digging.” Verbena nodded in agreement. Though she could probably fare well with her elemental magic as a tool, putting distance between herself and the task at hand, she still wanted to be certain.

“I’m… not sure,” Sonora confessed. “She hasn’t hurt anyone yet. I think we’re safe. She’s in pain, and her cries are terrifying, but I don’t think she wants to do harm to anyone who is helping.” She gestured to the parties already digging, some dangerously close to her claws or teeth. Though the Matriarch continued to sound pained, she didn’t strike out at any of the workers, her torment directing itself towards empty air instead. It seemed proof enough of the task’s safety, and there was no denying the importance towards their job. Sonora didn’t know why the haedians wanted the Matriarch free, only that her being free meant so much to them, and that alone seemed to be important enough to want to help.

Though Verbena hesitated, Caspian shrugged his shoulders. “Good enough for me. If we make it out of this, the story alone is enough to make this worth it.” With that, he grabbed a pickaxe from the box of tools, starting over to the wall that the Matriarch was in with a burst of youthful enthusiasm despite his old age. He began to hack away at the stone, his pick causing sparks to fly in the air with the power behind his swings. Sonora nudged Verbena with one wing, grinning before darting off to take her own tool from the wooden box–another pickaxe, albeit a much larger one sized for a tyrian–to help Caspian.

Verbena thought for a moment before joining them, no tool in hand. She figured it would be a good time to practice her magic. While the other two hacked away with manual labor and muscles, she concentrated, trying to feel water around her. There was more than the others would think if she’d asked them directly; even the seafaring Caspian may not have noticed how much was in this cave, clinging to the rocks and crystals in a thin layer of condensation, making the entire place damp and cool. She pulled that water from the surroundings, forming it into a fast moving blade to strike at the thick rocks with a crack. It didn’t produce sparks like Sonora or Caspian’s did, but it caused the rocks to break apart just as swiftly.

Sonora grinned at the success, heaving her axe higher and striking another rock loose. It was obvious that she called the right help. The two pullers were deeply skilled at their own crafts, and most of all filled with the desire to help. She’d already been working hard before they had arrived, so her muscles were sore, but Caspian was able to pick up the slack for both of them. Pullers had a certain bulk that empyrians just simply couldn’t beat. Verbena didn’t need to use physical strength, but the mental constitution she used to hack away at the rocks was nothing to discount, either.

All three of the reoseans made good time, hacking and cutting away at the rocks until they were panting, tired and sore. One of the Caregivers nodded to them all, an obvious sign that it was time to rest. After all, they had more work ahead of them, and if they tired now, they wouldn’t be able to continue on for the next part of the excavation.