[PQ] [RQ] Life is a road, don't know what's along the way

Liam

Why do you stay until you see blood?
Why does the weight fall upon us?

The sun’s glare was blinding despite their preparations, and Liam found himself blinking hard every now and then, as much to clear the light from his eyes as to blink away the sweat that dripped down his forehead. He listened and watched and dug, and their efforts were rewarded with a second small deposit of quartz. Still not enough, though, and without complaint, he followed along and dug in deeper, searching for more.

The sand shifted beneath his feet, and Liam stumbled slightly, stabbing his shovel into the unstable earth to keep his balance. Swearing softly under his breath, he painstakingly removed his shovel from the sand and continued to dig, hoping to hear the telltale tink of rock against metal at any moment.

—-

Liam digs in deeper!

We're on the same side in the same war
Why stay 'til you see blood?

Raining on me so damn long, but that's relief to a man who calls a desert home

It's the combined effort of Liam's shovel and Thalassa's claws hauling away enough sand that they can go deeper, and Colt does her best to work around them to rake the sand back and away before it can spill back in and undo their efforts. This produces an immediate glisten of sweat along her skin, Liam soon looking similar, the heat sapping strength from them all with a readiness that makes Liam sway at one point. The shifting ground is cruel to balance, and the glare around them adds readily to it, robbing senses a bit more than usual.

One such quick and hefty slam of her rake into the ground elicits the faint tink of something being struck. "Here!" Colt calls, volume trying to rouse the excitement, hoping it will not only be what they need but finally enough to be done, though her energy falls shy of managing what kicks around in her chest.

Together they work out the ground around it, and the size of this one quickly shows itself to be much more substantial and impressive than all the rest. Requiring both hands to lift it from the ground, Colt breathlessly holds it up, head dipping with relief. "Thanks the gods," she breathes, stashing it in her pack with a weight that she's more than happy to bear. "Thank you guys, we finally have enough." Getting back to her feet from the crouch, tool used now like a cane and a crutch, she smiles over at them.

"Let's head back and wash up. I got some cold drinks waiting for our return." An ice mage waiting behind the bar, a popular man here. "Well, for Liam and me. Wouldn't dream of frosting yours Thal." A grin before turning back the way they'd comme, now thoroughly more salt-stained and dusty than when they began, and far more accomplished.

---

They found enough quartz and are heading back!

[FIN]

Colt

Still gripping the shovel that got me here, fear if I let go I might disappear