Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:17:19 GMT -6
Unfortunately they were nothing that would have helped them here nor outside, so she mostly cleaned them away. A break in the monotony did come when a particular piece of rubble was shoved aside, only for something small and green to roll out from underneath it. She almost mistook it for some of the crystal that covered the walls, but the flashlight lit it up enough to show a distinctly greenish hue, as opposed to the mish-mash of purple and blue all around them. A tilt of the head and she leaned down, picking it up from between a few of the pebbles and cleaning it off.
It was still crystal, though a distinctly different type than the walls had been. Something vaguely familiar, though she couldn't recall if she'd ever found this specific green type before (as some minerals could come in a few different tones). And certainly a lot tougher than some of the walls that encased it, considering its battered but intact shape.
(225) Darky: 225 Ras Dashen: 122 (0/5) / 122 (0/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:17:42 GMT -6
Even so, it looked mostly intact enough to perhaps make a ring or a necklace, if she cut around all the chipped parts.. There was certainly enough material to go around. So, standing, she took it over to the cart and placed it among the more delicate stones, wrapped in a scrap of cloth. Dusting her hands off, it was around that time when the empathic lines started vibrating with sudden sheer pride.
Done! the gargoyle chirped along the ribbon, and she could hear the scrabbling of his feet as he pushed himself out of the tunnel again. For all the world Ras might've looked like the proudest of stone statues, and she didn't blame him for it not one bit.
"It's clear all the way?" she smiled, tiredness momentarily forgotten.
Yes, yes, the gargoyle affirmed, tail straight and head high. Big tunnel, all the way to end, to rubble outside.
(226) Darky: 226 Ras Dashen: 122 (1/5) / 122 (1/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:18:04 GMT -6
The sphinx's smile momentarily faltered. Rubble outside? Was even more of the tunnel collapsed than she though? Initially the glances down the smaller tunnel looked like it was clear at the end, though the flashlight could only show so far. Even so, Ras had said there was space beyond the rubble wall, so she'd assumed it meant the crystal tunnel back had only collapsed on this particular section, and the rest of it would be walk-able back (even if more nervously so).
"How.. how much rubble is there? On the other side, I mean?" the sphinx cautiously asked, not sure if she would like the answer.
The gargoyle though about it a moment. Big pieces, ceiling and wall. Large pile. Though the manner in which he said it was a bit hesitant, as the sphinx sudden concern began to seep through the empathic connection again, especially since she had seemed so happy about his work just moments before.
(227) Darky: 227 Ras Dashen: 122 (2/5) / 122 (2/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:18:24 GMT -6
It wasn't Ras' fault, an in truth she couldn't wholly take the claim for it either, at least in terms of how far intentions went. That ever subtle panic had continued to simmer just beneath the skin ever since she pushed herself out of the rubble, and her heart-rate hadn't particularly settled since. In spite of herself, the fear of there being even more collapsed tunnel and rubble beyond their escape route was rousing concerns and worries in her mind that weren't so easily locked away.
Which wasn't to say she wouldn't try. Taking a stabilising breath, the sphinx paced around in a few short circles, "Okay, okay.. that's not too bad. If it's just larger pieces.. we can still get past them, right?" She suddenly stopped, looking directly at the gargoyle, "Right?" as if expecting him to answer.
Ras looked uncertain, quite unfamiliar in this sudden position of relative authority he had been placed in.
(228) Darky: 228 Ras Dashen: 122 (3/5) / 122 (3/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:18:43 GMT -6
Stones large.. piled high.. he started, unsure what was exactly expected of him. When her concern seemed to flare even more at this, he adjusted his reply, But can dig. Path up, path down, can dig. Always can dig. To most it might not have sounded like much, but the sphinx was pretty close to losing that small grip on her nerves as was, and any sort of life line to keep her holding on was welcome.
"Okay, good.." she sighed deeply, leaning on her knees a moment, before straightening, "Good, good, good.. Just keep digging, right. We can make it out." Taking stock of their belonging at a glance, her mind found another lifeline to latch onto - the rubble beyond the tunnel was technically a 'later' problem. To get there, they first needed to get out of here, and it wasn't going to be a stroll in the park either.
(229) Darky: 229 Ras Dashen: 122 (4/5) / 122 (4/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:19:07 GMT -6
"Alright, let's just.. start with getting this up the hill," the sphinx motioned to the cart, and instructed the gargoyle to stand near the front. Ras knew this meant it was time to pull the damned thing along again, but obeyed without too much fuss. Any other day perhaps he would have made just a small fuss, out of habit, but this was a situation where even he was realizing certain gravities were at work.
The harness attached, the sphinx made sure to double-check the knot on the ropes. Normally a good secure hold is the preferred method, but given the tunnel might not be that much stable than the room, it paid to have the option of quickly releasing it so Ras could get away, should it be needed.
With that, the cart slowly began to rumble along, sliding, scraping and being pushed and pulled along uneven ground, until it hit the base of the slope itself.
(230) Darky: 230 - (added) Ras Dashen: 123 (0/5) / 123 (0/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:19:30 GMT -6
From there the path up was a bit easier, despite the incline, but also in large part to the clearing work the mammalian had done the past hour. The gargoyle's clawed feet latched against whatever edge of purchase they could, pulling the cart up, while the mammalian did the same from behind it, trying to both push and not slip on the slope at the same time (a feat that should have been easier than it was). All the while trying to ignore the trembling in her hands, and the thumping in her ears.
In a bit of irony, the path up might yet have been easier if they hadn't already spent some time exploring below. In part the difficult part wasn't so much the shape and wheel placement of the cart, but the fact it was already packed full with stones, ores and gems (along with a passenger or two, who seemed even more oblivious to the whole thing than Ras was).
(231) Darky: 231 Ras Dashen: 123 (1/5) / 123 (1/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:19:54 GMT -6
By and by, inch by inch, the cart did eventually crest the edge of the slope and settled on even ground. The gargoyle paused and turned to look at the mammalian, who was taking a moment to catch her breath (as well as her nerves) before the next leg of the journey - a long slim tunnel heading straight into darkness, chiselled out by rough gargoyle claws.
And what a terrible one it was, too.. To be sure, the gargoyle had done excellent work in widening up the escape tunnel, enough so that even something as bulky as the cart could push through. But even then it was a low space, with walls close by, and the sphinx's inner panic threatened to take over once more.
"Let's go," she said quickly, motioning for the gargoyle to begin pulling again, "before anything else has a chance to break." (And before she had a chance to change her mind out of mind numbing fear).
(232) Darky: 232 Ras Dashen: 123 (2/5) / 123 (2/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:20:12 GMT -6
Ras's head gave a bob, a custom he's picked up from her over the various times they've been down here, and he turned, heading into the tunnel. A short moment later the ropes attached to the cart tensed and it began to rumble in after, leaving just the mammalian to stand on that top slope, vaguely trembling. They had worked towards this moment for what felt like an hour, if not more, and yet now that they'd arrive to it, her mind was right around the corner towards sabotaging the opportunity.
There's people back home, she reminded herself, who still need to be fed and fussed over tonight. If you stay here, the little ones will go hungry, and that will annoy the big ones, and then everyone will be agitated and at one another's throats (again). Sometimes duty manages to trump even the most irrational of fears, and she hunched down, crawling into the tunnel, after the receding cart.
(233) Darky: 233 Ras Dashen: 123 (3/5) / 123 (3/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:20:30 GMT -6
Even though this was now level(ish) ground, the going was only so much easier. Ras had done a good job at making space, but his handiwork wasn't exactly.. refined. Bumps and dents in the rock caused the cart to jitter and wiggle, and the sphinx had to hold onto the back fender to make small adjustments and course corrections in the way that it rolled along, lest it get stuck on an edge.
And it did, more than a couple of times, sending a sudden surge of panic through the mammalian each time (and each time causing her to curse in her own mind at how easily it did so). But despite the worst fear concocted by the mind, none of them came true - bumpy though the journey was, the cart merely unlatched itself when she pulled it back some and angled it true again, and kept going, even as it chipped off a piece or two of the sharper points here and there.
(234) Darky: 234 Ras Dashen: 123 (4/5) / 123 (4/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:20:51 GMT -6
Which was the other problem - Ras was largely made of stone (or whatever magical equivalent allowed him to remain motion-able while also solid to the touch) and so the rocks scraping across his hide did little to nothing. The cart was taking its share of smaller little scrapes that left a lighter note on the wood, but wasn't enough to outright cut it. The mammalian, on the other hand..
Sure, the helmet helped protect her head, and the heavy duty gloves her hands, but her arms, knees and legs were another matter. Fortunately several seasons of training some of the most monstrous thins in the Labs had prepared her to deal with pain in ways that largely allowed her to ignore them (at least, until she was in a position to clean and dress anything too out of hand).
With all this in mind, she didn't even notice when the cart suddenly lurched forwards, as if suddenly falling away from her, and the air that met her was damp, cold, but oh so good.
(235) Darky: 235 Ras Dashen: 124 (0/5) / 124 (0/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:21:09 GMT -6
She wasn't even out of the tunnel yet when the sheer freshness of the air beyond their escape route hit her, and she just paused, taking a few deep breath in delight. It was still cavern air, far from the freshness it could be, but it wasn't dusty, and it was cool and soothing, as if a stream. Her hands might have still trembled slightly, but for a few precious moments her mind quieted, and she could enjoy escaping the room and the cramped tunnel.
Which still brought them to the issue of the rubble Ras had mentioned, and a whole new set of problems.
Letting the flashlight drift around in the room, the bad news was that Ras wasn't kidding - it almost seemed like most of the ceiling had come down in whole blocks and pieces, rather than bits and rubble like the other room. If there was a way out of the tunnel proper, she couldn't see it with her flashlight just yet.
(236) Darky: 236 Ras Dashen: 124 (1/5) / 124 (1/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:21:26 GMT -6
The good news was that all wasn't hopeless - while the tunnel back looked to be a dead end, the slaps of ceiling sloped upwards towards, towards what looked like a tunnel interconnection this section just above. The climb wasn't as steep as the slope they had crossed, but the path was a lot more rocky and jagged to make up for it. And, without knowing exactly what was waiting for them above, she could hardly estimate whether the 'new' tunnel was a better option, or simply another dead end.
But.. beggars can't be choosers (especially when it could be that much worse). A potential dead end is still better than a confirmed one, even though the sight of the climb was already making her feel weary - the path up being on a more shallow incline also mean they had that much more to cross it.
Breathing out heavily, the sphinx sat down on a nearby boulder, hands on knees again as she let her shoulders and back rest a moment.
(237) Darky: 237 Ras Dashen: 124 (2/5) / 124 (2/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:21:51 GMT -6
They'll need every bit of strength left. The gargoyle wasn't making a fuss of it, but the sphinx could feel him getting more weary as well, even if he was putting on a brave face for it. For some fifteen minutes they rested and took stock of the exact shape and path to take along the fallen ceiling, until finally the mammalian stood up, looking to Ras, "It's the best change we've got, but it'll be a rough track. You ready to get out of here?"
The gargoyle puffed his chest even more than before, resolutely clacking his beak, Ready.
With that, the two began their climb much the same way they had in the previous room - with the gargoyle pulling the cart, while the sphinx ran logistics on the path and pushing it along from behind. Immediately the cavern began to sound that much more ominous as the rattling of the cart echoed around in the much more open space, returning in weird ghostly distortions.
(238) Darky: 238 Ras Dashen: 124 (3/5) / 124 (3/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Jan 25, 2023 14:22:08 GMT -6
But it didn't matter. They were on their way, there was much fresher air, and at the end of it they'll have a much smoother path forward, assuming the tunnel above remained intact. If they're lucky, it might even be packed dirt floor, making that last leg of the journey particularly easy.
Before all that, there was still the rough part of the journey. Up the slope the cart rolled, bouncing and clattering on the uneven stone, even as the sphinx did her best to steer it from behind so as to avoid it jostling too much. It was a good thing most of the more fragile stones had been well wrapped inside, otherwise she might end up returning home with quite a bit of dust and shards in place of whole stones.
The gargoyle's part wasn't quite as easy as the last two stretches of their journey either, for Ras had to spend that much more effort in pulling the cart along, and over anything that might snag it.
(239) Darky: 239 Ras Dashen: 124 (4/5) / 124 (4/5)
|
|