43 Thipan

"A-Alis...tar," Thipan chokes out around blood. A Soma Mage reaches him as well; her hand glows orange and transfers it to him. Some clarity enters his eyes, but remain unfocus. He reaches out a hand and Alistar holds it tightly. Unshed tears hang in his eyes as his knuckles turn white from the strength of his grip. Thipan doesn't seem to notice. "Alistar," he speaks once more, his voice hardly above a whisper.

"Thipan, I'm here. Don't talk. You need to save your energy. We're going to get you out of here," Alistar says.

The corner of Thipan's lips manages to lift into an exasperated smile. He throws in an eye roll for good measure. But, he doesn't bother arguing with Alistar.

Alistar looks to the Soma Mage. She shakes her head and explains, "The rocks have done too much damage. The only reason he's not dead yet is the rocks are keeping him from bleeding to death." He's trembling when she finishes and replies with a jerky nod.

As the horrible realization settles, Thipan breaks the heavy silence. "I could...have told you...that," he tiredly mutters as he coughs up more blood. He continues, "Tell me...did Ribus make...it out okay?"

Thinking of those pair of legs sticking out from under that boulder, everyone shifts uncomfortably while I bite my lip hard enough to hurt.

Alistar hesitates a moment before answering, "Yeah, of course, he did. You know how lucky he is," his voice cracks, "a little worse for wear but he's holding on."

Thipan gives a weak smile before saying, "You're a terrible liar."

A tear slips down his cheek. "Thip-," Alistar begins.

"Listen...to me," he cuts in, "promise to...look after...his son for...me."

Another tear escapes down Alistar's cheek. Before he has a chance to reply, Thipan's body goes slack. Alistar slowly puts down Thipan's hand. As his hands glow red, he clenches his fists suppressing his emotions once more. Watching him relentlessly control of his feelings causes me to shiver. He's bottling up a lot of anger. As soon as he meets whoever is the cause of this tragedy he'll unleash a fury that will haunt my memories.

When Alistar is in control, no one says anything as we continue to delve deeper. After a few yards, we set another relay point. Someone is sent back to relay the message to send more people. The Soma Mage and her group put down their supplies and get ready to receive any injured to pass along to the next relay point; once they pass a series of points, the wounded will be outside of the mine. The next group quickly joins us, and we set off. We come across another person who is blessedly still alive. Finally, we have some glimmer of hope.

Several hours pass and we're still going strong while caked in enough blood and dirt to make us unrecognizable. No one has yet to begin feeling tired despite working so long without rest. I'm fully aware of the passage of time, but I focus only on getting to the next person as soon as I can. Frustration bubbles up inside me when I see everyone using azura to contribute. Though I have the physical strength of a mage, I've yet to be able to use asura. However, it doesn't stop me from giving a hand everywhere possible. Whether it's getting debris out of the way or holding a man down to help Soma Mages work, I didn't pause for a single moment. At one point, while in a rush, I felt a sharp pain come from my hand. Though, I do not keep it in mind as I reach for an injured man; holding him down to treat his wounds.

To everyone's joyous surprise, while severely injured, we came across more people alive than dead. Since most people in town are mages, they have greater tenacity and can survive more significant damage.

As we work, I'd occasionally see the faint green glow coming from the ground or ripples with the small furry creatures popping their heads out. A sign that the people working the formation outside are still going.

The hours eventually blurred together as we stayed in the dimly lit mine. Looking around, Asura Poisoning is beginning to take hold of the others. Garon, an Order Mage, is the worst off with his hands practically vibrating. Bringing enough water to be helpful is too time-consuming, so Garon has been drawing water from the air; since the mine has enough humidity to support the demand. Pulling elements from thin air is something only archmages can manage. There doesn't exist a nathis or a tool that aids in the manifestation of asura; capable of handling a workload this large without shattering. Lex and Lark are also in terrible shape. They're both Mind Mages so they managed most of the digging in locations we couldn't take a detour around.

When we near the point of exhaustion, we're finally forced to stop while another group takes over in our place. Barely conscious, we drag ourselves out of the mine and into darkness. I stare at the sky in confusion.

/It's still dark?/ I know it couldn't have been a few short hours.

In the middle of my ponder, Daric immediately finds his way to my side.

My confusion clears when he says, "After being in there for the whole day you finally came out." Frantic, he looks at me with deep concern. I internally cringe, no doubt I cut a sorry figure covered with enough grime you can't see the original color of my skin. And everyone that came out with me looks no better.

Too exhausted to explain, I pat his head and slowly drag myself to the temporary bunks to catch some much-needed sleep.