Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Safe path

If she had been in a forest, Goldmi could have used the power of plants to support the roof. However, there were hardly any plants there, it was too cold.

Eldi stared at it, as he wished he had studied architecture, even a little. In any case, there was no use regretting, they could only improvise.

They separated the other rocks around the one that served as a pillar, and another adjacent one with a similar function. Then, by using its earthen copy, the companions made sure that the egg could pass through if they were removed.

Eldi had built an Earthen Wall, in which Permanent had been applied so that it wouldn't disappear. Then, they had cut it to give it an egg-like size and shape. It hadn't been completely symmetrical, but it was enough.

They decided to leave that rock for last, so they continued making a path. The companions avoided the obstacles they couldn't move, and prepared the path for the ice dragon egg.

Finally, after three and a half days of work, Eldi created several Rock Walls as columns, and made them Permanent. On top of these, they placed several beams of resistant wood. Gjaki had once stolen them to sabotage the construction of some enemy fortifications, and they had remained in the inventory ever since.

"You never know when you might need some beams," she had laughed when Eldi had asked if anyone had something similar.

They placed four, two parallel, and two perpendicular to support the first ones. They circled the rocks, forming a square, and all of them hoped they could hold the weight in place.

"An arch would've been better," Eldi muttered to himself.

He had read that arches could distribute weight against pillars, but he didn't quite know how to make them. Therefore, they had decided on a more primitive method.

Meanwhile, Goldmi had gone to report the situation to the dragons, as they did with some frequency. They didn't want them to be impatient, and the dragons had to be prepared. Furthermore, she took her sisters to wait outside. They couldn't help them on that occasion, and they could be in danger. If she needed them, she just had to call them.

Gjaki, for her part, had brought out the portable tailoring platform. After several discussions, they had decided on a cloth basket with three long strips to carry the dragon egg. It was too big and heavy to pick it up directly, plus it rolled, and they had to carry it up to the tunnel.

She had used an unusual fabric of great resistance for this. More than one would have dropped their jaws after knowing that a basket for an egg had been woven with that fabric.

They lifted the egg between the three of them, by pulling the long strips of fabric, gently, little by little. Then, they took it near the stone column that they were to tear down. They weren't sure how long those beams would hold, so they wanted to pass it as fast as possible.

Finally, they prepared to remove the first of the rocks. It was too big to move even among the three of them, even if all of them were blessed by Steel Fists.

Therefore, the only option was to destroy it. The Mortar skill was too dangerous, as it could destabilize the entire mound, so they used daggers to hit the rock, with some skills if necessary.

The material they were made of was much stronger than the rocks, perhaps legendary, so they weren't afraid of them being dented. Plus, if that happened, they could easily repair them.

The three attacked the tip, carefully, slowly, without stopping looking at the ceiling. They held their breath when it gave way a little, pressing on the beams, but for now these were holding it on.

They broke some more of the rock, until they were finally able to push it away. All three looked at the beams with apprehension, although everything seemed to work well.

Then, they continued with the second, while always paying attention to the ceiling. They also had information from the goshawk, who was above the cave. She would inform if something happened outside.

When they managed to break the stone, the roof gave way a little more. The noise of the beams supporting all the weight was perfectly audible, as if they were creaking, but they held.

Without stopping looking askance at them, the companions moved the stone away like the first one. Then, they ran to the egg and took it to the other side of the tunnel as quickly as they could. Relieved, all three stood looking for a few moments at what they had left behind. They only had to pass one more stone wall.

"The beams are holding up, there was no need to worry so much," Gjaki sighed and breathed deeply.

"Thank goodness," Goldmi agreed.

"It's not so bad for the first time," Eldi smiled, also relieved. He had feared the beams would give way.

They dropped the egg little by little, as they were always holding the handles that served as ropes. Gjaki then Glided to secure it down, before Eldi also climbed down, and carried the egg to the base of the next wall with the vampiress. Goldmi didn't go down, but Hovered to the entrance of the next tunnel. There, she threw a rope for them to climb. When they arrived, the three of them pulled the basket and the egg it contained, again with great care.

In that step, they had also made a path, a tunnel through which the egg fit perfectly. It had been done so in anticipation of an emergency, which hadn't occurred. They just had to cross it, and the three and the egg would be safe.

"I already told you that you were a little paranoid. This wasn't necessary," Gjaki criticized Eldi, although until then, she hadn't been so sure.

They were walking on a kind of carpet that was covering the floor of the tunnel. It seemed somewhat out of place there.

"It was just in case," he defended himself.

"BOOOOM!!!" they suddenly heard a terrible sound.

They looked back to where the sound was coming from, from the other rock wall. It didn't take long for a cloud of dust to come out of the tunnel they had crossed a few minutes before. Shortly after, they could see how the ceiling collapsed onto the tunnel, and the cracks were heading towards them.

The beams had finally given way, thus causing the part of the ceiling they had been supporting to collapse. That had caused the entire structure to move, which had made new parts of the ceiling to collapse. Even the one that had remained almost unscathed until now was collapsing, and destruction was advancing rapidly towards them.

"Shit!" the vampiress exclaimed, looking at Goldmi.

"It's going to reach us!" the high human feared, and looked at her too.

"Brace yourselves!" she exclaimed.