Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:11:16 GMT -6
The state they were in didn't make for a very good means of standing one's ground, either.. but as she leaned in closer and picked one out of the hollow, something else struck her. These.. weren't the same shape as sarane eggs, and definitely not the same colour as one. So, then.. what else could live down here that had the ability to brood as well?
Her brow furrowed as she looked at the mottled one between her hands, and the ears suddenly perked as she turned to look towards the tunnel the gargoyle was in, Hey, Ras? When you lived down here, did you ever see any creatures that had nests with eggs?
The digging stopped, followed by some scrambling as suddenly the gargoyle's black head popped up from behind the ridge. Eggs? The question framed in that way that made it clear he wasn't entirely sure of what she meant on a deeper contextual level.
(200) Darky: 200 - (added) Ras Dashen: 117 (0/5) / 117 (0/5) XQadDa4j
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:17:16 GMT -6
Egg.. what? Ras added, head tilting curiously to the side, and the sphinx understood with some embarrassment that perhaps it wasn't entirely as universal as a context as she thought. Well, rather, as she was used to thinking. Gargoyles, being compromised of living stone, didn't exactly follow the 'standard' parameters of organic creatures, rather charting their own course in whatever magic, science or strange evolutionary happenstance line created them. No-one really knew where they came from, much less the gargoyles themselves, but she rather suspected it wasn't an egg-based conception.
"Oh, ah.. These things," and she held up the mottled egg for him to see. "They are kind of round things with different patterns and colours. Hard outside, soft on the inside."
Ras thought about this. She could tell because there was that slight low-end static down the ribbon line that indicated he was processing unspoken thoughts (sometimes it took a while, too).
(201) Darky: 201 Ras Dashen: 117 (1/5) / 117 (1/5) YLQrwk3c
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:21:37 GMT -6
..Dragon, he eventually concluded. Worm. Worm smaller. Rounder. More hidden. Not that.
The revelation brought about one thing the sphinx was afraid of, assured her of another regarding the origins of the eggs themselves, and somehow also managed to create a whole new concern, all in the span of a few short words. So Ras definitely knew the sarane were around and brooded over eggs, though unclear if in this area. These eggs were also neither sarane nor 'worm', meaning they had to belong to something else entirely.. but also that apparently they would have to contend not only with brood of dragons, but also broods of worms?
Her gut suspected he meant the tunnel worms they had encountered in the past, though while those seemed mostly languid, some of them could get quite big.. and if they also happened to be territorial over a protected nest, well.. Perhaps there are worse things in the tunnels than a wayward sarane.
(202) Darky: 202 Ras Dashen: 117 (2/5) / 117 (2/5) 94Y7aopQ
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:25:37 GMT -6
Whatever these things were and whoever they belonged to, it was clear further investigation was necessary. Unfortunately with the tunnel around them in as many pieces as it were, she could hardly take notes on what nest, if any, existed before the collapse. It seemed more a miracle the eggs survived as well as they did, rather than get outright crushed by the falling stones. Which.. isn't to say they still can't. Reaching in, she picked up the other two as well and handled them with great care, as she slowly stepped her way down the rubble slope towards the cart.
The thing survived the collapse quite well, even though one of the lanterns looked bent at an angle. Even so, while part of it was still stuck under and within the ruffle, the inside container still looked to be intact, with no splinters or rattled seams. The outside was a different story, but one thing at a time.
(203) Darky: 203 Ras Dashen: 117 (3/5) / 117 (3/5) fnHIsx4a
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:35:42 GMT -6
The inside also happened to be filled with rocks, which didn't make for a particularly comfortable perch for fragile things that certainly shouldn't be rattling around with them (and one the cart got moving, it certainly would be doing quite a bit of rattling). So the sphinx spent a time with her mouth twisting off to the side, trying to think of a solution. There weren't many, and some not exactly helpful, like having Ras carry them separate with the cart (though, being made of stone and not exactly 'gentle' in his handling of things, it was more a risk than a benefit).
Eventually, she opted to take off both her jacket and the shoulder bag, placing the latter into the cart. Some of the rocks themselves were fortunately already wrapped in scraps of cloth, to aboid scratching others around them, particularly the not-quite-so-stable crystals. She tried to create a bit of a 'bed' among them best she could.
(204) Darky: 204 Ras Dashen: 117 (4/5) / 117 (4/5) j48BgNuC
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:39:42 GMT -6
Rougher ones on the bottom, smoother ones on top, to surround and support the shoulder bag within. Then, she took the jacket and folded it up into something of a hollow within the shoulder bag itself, thicker layers of it on the outside. It wasn't exactly a thick layer of garment to begin with, but any little bit could only help. With that done, she finally placed the three eggs inside next to each other with tips upwards, as if forming a bit of a triangle or pyramid. A bit of the jacket was laid over them to cover the top, while the flap of the bag pulled down and over, to avoid any of the other stones getting in there once the cart started moving.
Standing back, hands on hips, she blew a stray strand of hair from the face and sighed. Right, well.. the 'getting moving' part still relied on how well Ras could get that tunnel done.
(205) Darky: 205 Ras Dashen: 118 (0/5) / 118 (0/5) 16WaWupS
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 10, 2022 7:43:51 GMT -6
Between the anxiety, the trapped air and the general warm mist that they had previously been travelling through, the sphinx wasn't likely to need to concern herself with going chilly after the surrender of the jacket, though depending on the gargoyle's speed, they could be down here for.. quite sometime. Picking up the pickaxe, she turned and began climbing the slope again, to resume where she had left off.
The gargoyle's reports continued to be optimistic, promising that the tunnel should end 'soon' and 'not yet', but he continued digging for a time even so. Between the rubble the sphinx had to clear out of the tunnel and the rubble she already had thrown down the side of the slope, it felt like the tunnel was a lot longer than she initially envisioned when the gargoyle had previously assured her it wouldn't be much longer now. Perhaps even just enough to let some doubt creep into that assessment..
(206) Darky: 206 Ras Dashen: 118 (1/5) / 118 (1/5) R79AwxNB
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Yang
Flea Market Artist
Posts: 1,001
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Post by Yang on Apr 10, 2022 12:46:49 GMT -6
Something can be spotted tucked away...
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 11, 2022 6:46:51 GMT -6
Crack. The sound reverberated through the hollow cavern with a gut-wrenching sharpness. Immediately the sphinx's head turned upwards, to stare at the ceiling as if expecting more rocks to tumble down on them, burying them for good this time. But no, at best there was only a light dusting coming down from the fracture ceiling, much as it had been the whole time. Then, a spike of excitement hit her that wasn't her own, and her immediate next thoughts were that perhaps the gargoyle had hit something and caused the dug tunnel to collapse instead.
Rushing up the slope, she all but scrambled across the debris, until reaching the entrance to the tunnel. "Ras!" her voice echoed back hollow, as the tunnel ran longer than her flashlight could properly illuminate. It also didn't help that the other end of it looked to be misted in a curtain of dust as well, bouncing the light back.
(207) Darky: 207 Ras Dashen: 118 (2/5) / 118 (2/5) G3KYrEwX
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 11, 2022 6:51:30 GMT -6
"Ras!" she tried again, and despite her best efforts, a certain level of fear still seeped into the voice. Despite the appearance of things, the gargoyle had to have been still alive and moving, for she could feel the subtle buzzing of thoughts and the emotions emanating from him. However, there's also many different states of 'alive', including trapped under rock. Any organic thing would have been coughing their lungs out, but fortunately for both of them such issues weren't really a concern for the rocky gargoyles.
Eventually, a black stony head emerged from the dust and stared back at her, seeming almost quizzical at her shouting. "Oh thank the spirits.." the sphinx deflated, leaned up against the opening of the tunnel. "Don't do that again, please. We've had enough excitement for one day." Collecting herself, she peered in again, "What happened? What was that noise?"
The gargoyle considered. Opening, he said.
(208) Darky: 208 Ras Dashen: 118 (3/5) / 118 (3/5) PsL1qjuY
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Yang
Flea Market Artist
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Post by Yang on Apr 11, 2022 11:06:52 GMT -6
Something can be spotted, tucked away...
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 12, 2022 6:18:25 GMT -6
The sphinx blinked, "On the other side? You were able to break through?"
Yes. Open, the gargoyle confirmed, backing up back into the dust as it slowly cleared from view. Tunnel open. Not closed. For all the times the mammalian only wished she could see through his eyes as well as she could hear his thoughts or feel his emotions, but alas that was a type of magic that required different powers to be. In any case, as the dust slowly cleared, she could see the broad darkness gaping outward from beyond what felt like it could have been the tunnel's edge, as crystalline walls briefly glinted back minute sparks of light from the flash light.
A way out.. Oh spirits, they might make it out of this yet. But first things first, before the euphoria of escape could properly drown out sober practicality - The tunnel was through, but it was largely big enough only for one gargoyle.
(209) Darky: 209 Ras Dashen: 118 (4/5) / 118 (4/5) X8xLxBcH
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 12, 2022 6:22:41 GMT -6
To get herself through (much less the cart), it needed to be a good deal bit wider and taller. In theory, she supposed she could also try to squeeze her way past vertically, or flat on her belly, but neither of those scenarios would have worked well with the cart. (Of course, if the option was cart or bust, well.. Better to get out and come back with bigger digging power to save the cart, than risk remaining stuck and suffocating in the dust).
Still, she smiled properly for the first time since the cave-in had happened, "Good job, Ras.. You're a lifesaver." Beyond, she could feel that burgeoning pride rise in the gargoyle, still having a soft spot for praise despite the rocky exterior. "Alright, we've punched our way through, not we just.. need to make our way through. You start from that side and begin widening up the tunnel as much as safely possible."
(210) Darky: 210 - (added) Ras Dashen: 119 (0/5) / 119 (0/5)
YYGcZAyi
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Apr 12, 2022 6:27:33 GMT -6
And she'll start doing the same on this end. By their powers combined, they can hopefully meet somewhere in the middle (and hopefully in a manner where Ras has actually made the opening's wide enough on his side to fit her through. Everything seems a bit bigger and easier to go through when you're the size of a dog and don't see a problem walking on all fours through sharp rocked terrain).
As the beaked chiseling and clawing began on one end, the chipping and picking began on the other. The sphinx had to be more careful in her process, as she didn't have the same innate senses the gargoyle did. As a result, it could be that much easier to strike at a rock supporting some portion of the wall and causing it to collapse in on itself. But, she hoped that with going one layer at a time, any such dangers could be anticipated ahead of time.
(211) Darky: 211 Ras Dashen: 119 (1/5) / 119 (1/5) QNKXYS||
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Yang
Flea Market Artist
Posts: 1,001
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Post by Yang on Apr 12, 2022 10:24:40 GMT -6
Something can be gleaned, not far off...
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