Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Buried (III)

When the root finally arrived at her, she grabbed onto it with all the strength she could muster, and even summoned Suction Cups. Then, the druid archer asked it to go back, and take her with it.

As it retreated, the root left free the space behind, that a few moments before it had been compressed and pierced. However, it wasn't enough to avoid the elf from continuously colliding and brushing against the dirt or the rocks buried in it. Her Armor of Thorns was taking considerable damage, especially to her back, head, arms, hands, and shoulders, which were her most exposed parts.

The level 65 equipment was also suffering damage. It included the helmet, which she didn't normally wear, as it hindered her vision. Nonetheless, it was doing a great service this time.

Again and again, the force of the earth separated some part of her body from the root. It forced her to make great efforts to stick to it, in addition to summoning Suction Cups again. If she let go of it, she would be buried by the dirt that was reclaiming the space after passing the root. She was also forced to continually use Basic Healing to alleviate her ongoing injuries.

Her mouth tasted like dirt, and her lips were continually ripped, as was her nose or cheeks. She kept her eyes tightly closed, under the bandage that covered and protected them.

The elf could barely breathe. She was unable to hold Bubble while being pushed by the earth which she was traversing next to the root. Goldmi could only hold her breath, and try to take a breath of air when she had the chance. Although she had to be very fast, or it was dirt that entered her mouth instead. She would need to cast Bubble again when that happened, to gain a few more moments of air.

She was feeling her arms and legs tremble with the effort of opposing the force of the earth. Though slow, the movement of the root was firm, whether or not the elf was on it, whether or not the earth was opposing its movement.

The only thing she could do was hold on, while feeling the fatigue in her muscles despite not having used any skill, only spells. As such, her sisters used Energy Link to give theirs to her, and the goshawk added Mana Link.

Her helmet was holding, although there was dirt stuck inside it. On the contrary, her gloves had shattered and her hands were raw, so the pain was intense. However, she couldn't let go of the root. It wasn't just for her, but for her sister.

Her neck and part of her shoulders also suffered the constant friction of the dirt that was ripping her skin, and which made its way through the armor. It was designed to withstand weapon attacks, and it couldn't stop the dirt from creeping through it. Thousands of tiny grains of sand were stuck into her skin.

She could feel how the distance with her winged sister was closing little by little, too little by little. The elf wasn't even sure if she could hold out until then. The continuous pressure against the earth was too strong and incessant.

However, this pressure was diminishing. The space was wider as the root receded, as it was the area that had been occupied by the thickest part. Besides, it was no longer so close to the wall that had been hitting the elf.

Knowing that other entities, no matter how powerful they were, could hardly supervise the actions that the dryads exerted directly on their domain, the plants, Ribvla had decided to help the root. She had subtly directed it so that it brushed as little as possible with the earth. Perhaps, some other dryad could have sensed it. If so, they had looked the other way.

As a result, the space she had to breathe became more stable, and the constant oppression of the earth practically disappeared. She was exhausted, but she had managed to overcome the danger. Soon, sunlight began to filter through the bandage, and she, by taking it off, discovered that she was arriving above the gap left by the root.

The lynx was soon out of the shadows. So, Goldmi rode on her, and they went away from the enormous sinkhole, as the root came back into the earth, which was unusually blessed by the power of a dryad.

The goshawk lunged at her sister, to caress her gently with her head, while the elf ran her fingers over the soft feathers. The bird had been very worried, desperate and frustrated at not being able to do anything, and now she was feeling tremendously relieved. However, it wasn't long until she took off to watch the surroundings, while her sister created a Vegetable Home.

She had ridden the lynx to get away from there. Then, the feline had climbed a tree, and they had Floated from a branch to a dense scrub area, within which she had cast the spell. After what they had suffered, they didn't want to leave traces.

Inside the protection, she took out her tent in the shape of a fairy castle and went straight to take a bath, to remove the dust and dirt that even plugged her ears. She fell asleep there, while taking a relaxing bath in the big tub. Her sisters watched her a little further, as they were eating some stored leftovers.

They hadn't dared to ask her sister to cook in her state. Anyway, the food stored in the inventory was in perfect condition, even hot.

While Goldmi was resting from the exhausting chase of several days, and from her escape across the earth, a half-elf had reached the big hole. Given the sound and its consequences, such as the temporary flight of many animals, it was impossible to go unnoticed.

"It appears that one of the ancient underground tunnels has collapsed. So they still existed..." he told himself.

He knew that forest perfectly, and the existence of the tunnels was almost a legend. Many believed that they had collapsed a long time ago.

"Was it something natural or caused? There are only tracks of one animal, it looks like a big cat. Hmm, it's a lynx. Did the sinking catch it, or did it come closer out of curiosity?" he murmured to himself.

He didn't give it much greater importance. Although difficult to spot, they weren't the tracks of a rare animal in those forests. What he did care about was whether there were more tunnels left underground, and whether they could collapse.

He had to report to the Council as soon as possible. They would probably have to survey the terrain and assess the risks of this happening again. Hopefully, it would only have been a one-off event.