Just because Tal was stronger now and better suited to raw manual labor didn't mean he enjoyed it. The dig team was a dirty, sweaty, exhausting place to be as they drove the road across the meadow and prairie of King's End, and Tal rotated between breaking the trail with the shovel and plow team, and packing the larger rocks in to raise the roadbed up with the construction team. Wagons rolled steadily back and forth from the Exchange along the completed section behind them, heading back empty and returning with more stones and materials for shoring up the sides of the road. The surfacing team came last, laying down smaller gravel and packing it down between the larger stones and dirt to keep the soil from slipping beneath weather and wear. That was the easiest of the building team's jobs, however, and Tal reluctantly let others rotate into it for a rest while he continued to schlep along, growing grumpier and grumblier with every passing day.
At least until the end was in sight.
The scouting team saw it first, of course, but the field of Cursed Daisies wasn't going to let them off the hook without a fight. The sickly scent of them sapped the will and the insects that buzzed around them made limbs feel leaden and weary. The dig team had plenty of extra shovels to spare, and Hawthorn's suggestion was decidedly safer for the surrounding ecosystem than Zavien's! But that didn't make it safe for those dealing with the hazardous plants. The project moved slowly enough under the effects of the void that the digging team was able to catch up to them around the time they finished. The field was duly cleared and the contents very carefully burned, and past it the barrows of Mourn were less than a dozen miles away. The scouts had completed their task!
"Great job, guys," Tal offered, taking a break from his shovel to come over and give them both a tired not-scowl of gratitude. "This'll really speed up travel t'Meadowreach. Drivin' th'road through Mourn'll be a pain--I mean, a project for later, though. If y'want t'go now, y'can, or y'can help us make the last push. Up t'you."
The scouting team has finished up! Say your goodbyes or stick around to help the digging team for the last day!
This PQ will close on Tal's next post.
At least until the end was in sight.
The scouting team saw it first, of course, but the field of Cursed Daisies wasn't going to let them off the hook without a fight. The sickly scent of them sapped the will and the insects that buzzed around them made limbs feel leaden and weary. The dig team had plenty of extra shovels to spare, and Hawthorn's suggestion was decidedly safer for the surrounding ecosystem than Zavien's! But that didn't make it safe for those dealing with the hazardous plants. The project moved slowly enough under the effects of the void that the digging team was able to catch up to them around the time they finished. The field was duly cleared and the contents very carefully burned, and past it the barrows of Mourn were less than a dozen miles away. The scouts had completed their task!
"Great job, guys," Tal offered, taking a break from his shovel to come over and give them both a tired not-scowl of gratitude. "This'll really speed up travel t'Meadowreach. Drivin' th'road through Mourn'll be a pain--I mean, a project for later, though. If y'want t'go now, y'can, or y'can help us make the last push. Up t'you."
The scouting team has finished up! Say your goodbyes or stick around to help the digging team for the last day!
This PQ will close on Tal's next post.
