Slate
Today Tsiru has called me to the newly mined tunnels. Even a bookish forumite like him is proficient with the pickaxe, which probably helps him no small deal in the excavation. As I walk among the new hallways, the very first ones, I can’t help but let out a slight smile at finally being out of the sky. Armok’s blazing eye was always watching out there, only clouds saving us from his gaze. Or so the stories said. I wasn’t personally confident that he had enough power to look at all of us from the sky or else we would’ve lost this war by now. Regardless the cloudy weather and rain for the past month has my thanks.
Really, we should’ve brough spades instead of pickaxes, it’s a surprise the tunnels haven’t collapse on their peat base. At least the soil would make for good farming. Why haven’t we dug down yet though? I let Tsiru take charge of that so hopefully he’ll be able to explain himself now. I round the corner of the wide hallway and at the end I see Tsiru sitting on the ground, his face obscured by his forsaken books. Armok curse the man, why isn’t he working? There’ll be enough time to read once we settle down.
“What is it Tsiru? Did you finally go stark raving mad?” A grin escapes my face. For all the weakness I see in him, I had no dislike for the forumite. People of all callings were needed. He looked startled at my presence and after a moment a look of comprehension, likely remembrance, visualized itself on his face by the dropping of his bushy eyebrows. He got to his feet and still held an open book in his hands. I noticed that on the other side of the wall far from the books was a pickaxe. That must be his. It would be a copper mining implement of little note if not for the fact that it was… damp. I do suppose it has been raining the past month and it’s not surprising it seeps into the ground, though our heads at least were well enough insulated not to let any pass.
“Apiks! I think we may have a problem. You won’t believe what I found! Just as I started digging downwards a stream of water shot right in my face. I thought it a spring and tried digging elsewhere but the result was the same. Then I remembered something, look.” He shoved his short height next to me and then proceeded to also do the same with the open book, but to my face. His enthusiasm was getting annoying. I swatted down the open book farther away from my face so I could see better and noticed that I’ve seen this book before. It was rather elaborately ornamented and the script was very beautifully written, if a bit faded. The drawings at the edges of the pages displayed writhing forms looking as if they would pop out of the paper if given the opportunity. Necrothreat. This is where I’ve seen the book from. It must be one of the chronicles.
“Here, do you see these forms? The chronicles tell of a water demon from the first Necrothreat. One of the very first of its kind and also the first major obstacle to the guardians during the reign of your namesake! Look,” he pointed towards a word “It even had a name – Afer. This is a clear sign that this is the place written of!” After a moment of silence a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead. “It also says how they dealt with it. Apparently a sacrifice was needed to bring down a hill upon it.”
He kept talking about how we needed to find a different solution and something else, but I had already tuned him out by then. Bringing calloused fingers to my nose I started applying pressure to it. Tsiru was such a pain to deal with. Just as I started walking away, incredulity on my face I heard him sounding angry “Why are you ignoring me, Apiks?” His face was now red. “This is big. If we don’t deal with this water demon we won’t be able to proceed! We might even die!” He was practically fuming at this point at my lack of concern.
“Tsiru,” a moment to let him calm down “it’s an aquifer.”