The wind falls away as the canyon narrows around them. Stone walls hold the last of the gusts in their cracks, and the faint rhythmic hum rolls under Green's feet like a slow heartbeat.
Green eases her pace. The Earth's ache does not vanish, but it softens into something survivable, a dull pressure instead of a scream.
Purple stops first, turning to study the glowing fissures. Blue settles beside the wall, one heavy hand on the stone. Yellow scans the rear while Red stands with arms loose, finally uncoiling from the march.
Orange
That is the first quiet we have had in days.
Orange moves closer to Green, shoulder brushing hers, his attention fixed on her face more than the canyon.
Purple
We use the pause. We listen, then decide where the vein leads next.
Yellow
Rear is clear. For once, I can say that without lying.
Red the Colossus
Good. Let the world breathe before it tries to bite again.
The rootlight in the fissures steadies, brighter now, and the darker vein beneath it shows like a road under thin ice. For a moment, the whole group stands in the same breath, resting inside the canyon's pulse.
“I suggest we sit and rest for the night”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -3)
Green the Colossus
We should sit and rest for the night.
Purple
Agreed. We make camp here, while the pulse is steady.
Orange
Then Green gets the first pause, no arguing.
Blue lowers himself to the stone wall and Yellow crouches to check the rear slope, both easing out of watch-stance without losing it.
Red sits on a broken shelf of rock and rubs dust from her palm, watching Green with a new, quiet concern.
Purple
How hard is the land pulling on you now?
Green’s relic gives a soft, stubborn glow in her hand, but the cost lands in her shoulders as a fresh tremor of pain. The others wait, close enough to help, while the dimming rootlight keeps beating under the stone.
Quest Complete
Reach the next vein of life
New Gift: Earth Empathy