Ogda took some time to cool down, literally and figuratively; unfortunately for him though, a voice stopped him from being able to do either. He never disclosed it to anyone, not even Lian, but whatever ordered him to try to lie during the ritual never stopped talking afterward. It’s been whispering ever since, sometimes repeating certain words or phrases, but it kept one command on repeat- “ Protect her”. Over and over and over, reminding Ogda that he had a purpose, whether he wanted it or not.
Zinc -” @*76) 234”, buzzed the little bracelet firbolg. To Ogda’s surprise, Zinc was walking on his own, in a small lizard form, aggressively calling him back to the others. “+895_) 9437(& (_)”
He found Arim and Giol watching over a large uncut stone, which towered over the rest they had worked on so far. At least eight times wider, with multiple outcroppings; some of the crust was already cracked, and showed another, golden layer underneath it.
-” What is this for?”, asked Ogda while stretching his head over the slab of rock. “Let me guess. I can see crystalline portions sticking out, which look like the ones from the surface. Is this used to store light, energy…”
Arim -” Right on the money. These are lifted to the surface to recharge for a day per month, and then the stored charge is used for powering light, heat, etc. until the next lift. Well for a portion of the underground at least, for the entire sector, we have a few more crystals scattered around.”
Ogda -” Ah…ok. So what should I do? I can’t stretch over the entire surface, and it doesn’t sound like we’ll make another mirror…”
A stomp cued Nizzio’s entry, who approached the team with a new set of written instructions. While they were busy reading them, she used her palms the size of an umbrella to gently head pat Giol and Arim for their good work. Before she could do the same to Ogda though, she used a hand sign to ask if he was ok with that.
-” Uhmmm…translate please?”, he asked Arim with a confused frown on his single eye.
Arim -” It’s her way to thank us for our help. Teacher said she did the same to Blitz, Goidel, and Masso while they were kids, mostly to calm them down. Did I get it right?”, the boy asked the mute firbolg, who signaled him that he forgot someone: “...Really? At his age?”
Ogda blushed but tried to play off like he was preparing his boiling, which nobody bought. Nizzio stood still, with a diligent, soft gaze on her face, which Ogda made even more shy and defensive about.
Ogda -” I don’t know…”
Nizzio still waited, crouched down.
Ogda -” Ok maybe…”, he agreed, becoming more red than Zinc’s crimson armor.
The pat lasted only a second, finished in two short motions that he hardly felt, which seemed odd considering how much she insisted on it. Ogda didn’t realize it immediately, but he theorized that she probably restrained herself during the tap. A skill that she probably learned from struggling daily with her towering body.
….
As mentioned in the instructions, the mute firbolg signaled them to take a few steps backward. She then put her hands on the slab and small tremors vibrated the slab's crust. “Crack!”, “Pop!” started to sound off, and the sedimentary surface fractured into tiny canyons. Just enough not to affect the crystal underneath, which meant that it was time for Arim and Zinc to chime in: Nizzio lifted the rock in a vertical position and the two kicked and hit it at different points. Their attacks were light and precise, as the crystal showed more veiled brightness with each scant kick.
-” (jgfd90@, g93@ *93 )(_”, cried out Zinc to Ogda, telling him to prepare himself for his part.
The water firbolg frowned at the bossy attitude but didn’t feel like it would have any point in doing anything about it. His body once again became a temperature pressure stamp, which he used to chip away at the remaining crust, while at the same time concentrating on coating the crystal. It went fine for a few rounds, but at the same time, the repetitive work made him complacent, losing himself in his thoughts like relaxing in a sauna. He was thinking about the second voice, what it was, and like usual, why it was so fixated on Lian.
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