Patience and perseverance were nothing new to the General, and his attention to detail was impeccable when given the time to shine. With Jigano buying him that time Deimos was able to create stronger supports and to place them in the best place to shore up the weakness of the wall. The Spire would never again be the solid obelisk it once had been, but at least now it would be stable again, and he would find the rest of the supports going up more easily around the perimeter, adding strength where it was most needed and shoring up the weakest points.
Concentration was a beautiful thing for focusing magic, and the bear returned to work with a steady competence that most humans in the Hollowed Grounds would be hard-pressed to match. Maybe the stones on its side of the rubble pile were more stable, or maybe it was just that good, but either way the dent it had made earlier continued to grow steadily as the debris was cleared and moved out of the way of those who would soon be making use of the portal beyond. Now that the initial collapse had stabilized again, the Launceleyn would find his water magic no longer precipitating disaster but instead forestalling it as he plucked the upper stones away and deposited them safely to the side. The pile was only six feet high now in most places, and shrinking from the edges inwards.
Jigano held the wall steady until Deimos had done his work. When the big man moved on to the next portion of wall the bard finally allowed himself to relax, wiping away perspiration and looking around at his newly-planted garden of roots that worked to stabilize the foundations below ground. They were already well-established and flourishing, and there was little more to do with them so instead he turned his attention to the rubble. Moving up beside Loren (taking advantage of the ice shield), he looked for where the Launceleyn was working and focused on the central area, tugging at the top layer of debris with his Earth magic. He broke the larger pieces down into gravel, sand, dirt and smaller chunks that could be much more easily shoveled or swept away when the pile was reduced, and which wouldn’t pose a danger to the men (and bear) should they shift and tumble free. He was growing weary with the exercise of so much magic, but the end was in sight.
”One more big push to knock this mountain down to a molehill and I think we’ll be there,” he called to his colleagues. Indeed, all three of the men could now easily see over the top of the pile and into the portal room beyond, though some larger pieces of debris were being unearthed that Loren’s bear wouldn’t be able to budge by itself. ”If we all work together we should be able to get the path open soon!”
Final stretch!
Loren and Jigano have successfully reduced the pile to what looks suspiciously like a manageable level, though the pieces remaining on the bottom are larger and will take teamwork to move.
Deimos has braced the walls and staved off the chance of further collapse for the foreseeable future!
No posting order!
Concentration was a beautiful thing for focusing magic, and the bear returned to work with a steady competence that most humans in the Hollowed Grounds would be hard-pressed to match. Maybe the stones on its side of the rubble pile were more stable, or maybe it was just that good, but either way the dent it had made earlier continued to grow steadily as the debris was cleared and moved out of the way of those who would soon be making use of the portal beyond. Now that the initial collapse had stabilized again, the Launceleyn would find his water magic no longer precipitating disaster but instead forestalling it as he plucked the upper stones away and deposited them safely to the side. The pile was only six feet high now in most places, and shrinking from the edges inwards.
Jigano held the wall steady until Deimos had done his work. When the big man moved on to the next portion of wall the bard finally allowed himself to relax, wiping away perspiration and looking around at his newly-planted garden of roots that worked to stabilize the foundations below ground. They were already well-established and flourishing, and there was little more to do with them so instead he turned his attention to the rubble. Moving up beside Loren (taking advantage of the ice shield), he looked for where the Launceleyn was working and focused on the central area, tugging at the top layer of debris with his Earth magic. He broke the larger pieces down into gravel, sand, dirt and smaller chunks that could be much more easily shoveled or swept away when the pile was reduced, and which wouldn’t pose a danger to the men (and bear) should they shift and tumble free. He was growing weary with the exercise of so much magic, but the end was in sight.
”One more big push to knock this mountain down to a molehill and I think we’ll be there,” he called to his colleagues. Indeed, all three of the men could now easily see over the top of the pile and into the portal room beyond, though some larger pieces of debris were being unearthed that Loren’s bear wouldn’t be able to budge by itself. ”If we all work together we should be able to get the path open soon!”
Final stretch!
Loren and Jigano have successfully reduced the pile to what looks suspiciously like a manageable level, though the pieces remaining on the bottom are larger and will take teamwork to move.
Deimos has braced the walls and staved off the chance of further collapse for the foreseeable future!
No posting order!
