Ursula’s lips curled up as she saw the intricate workings of the whole healing magic spell. That was something none of her inventions and tinker machines could ever reproduce, much to her chagrin. Seeing such a rare gift being used for the good of others was somehow new to her - Ursula bumped on many mages on her wandering, but few did not succumb to the arcane or divine powers. “Ya know, always good to see some mage peeps usin’ that magic thing for a good cause. It’s funny, ‘cause I ran into a lot of trouble because of magic and other Elysid guys.” She commented, wide grin on her face, “I’ll make sure to git a good chunk ol’ orichalcum to git ya some nice shinin’ new weapon, thanks for ye help.”
The blacksmith let out a hearty laugh as Eldhi asked her to lead the way, “Drop the Missy, will ya? I ain’t that old ya know, not yet. Feels wrong to use that shinin’ noble word for a peasant like me, aye.” She tried stepping once more on the cursed and crystallized cave ground, no audible hints of severe infection. “Aye, good to go!” , as they walked, the mixed light sources of her mining helmet and Eldhi’s magic painted the crystallized interior in many colors. “Well now, ain’t this some whole lotta ligh--”
Ursula suddenly stepped back and threw her body to the ground near Eldhi’s feet, instinct biting fiercely on her neck. From the walls, large crystal spikes protruded abnormally towards her previous position, clashing against one another. “Aye, see that? I told ya this place ain’t a big fan of us!” she gritted her teeth, standing up as soon as possible and pickaxe readied in case something else happened. With no movement in sight, her stance loosened just enough one could see her shoulder movement. “Well ‘dis doesn’t look good, Eldhi.” Her eyes shifted to Eldhi, and soon after to the base of the crystal spikes. If one squinted enough at them, it’d be possible to make out the shape of a crystallized human being, almost invisible because of the multitude of color streaks from the light sources used to maintain visibility.
“Ya know, this place is givin’ me the creeps. Not that I dislike it or anythin’.” She inhaled a great deal of air, “Aye, press on!” Ursula pulled back her pickaxe forend handle, reloading the weapon with powdered mana and along with a loud and characteristic ‘k-chak’. With one over head swing, her weapon clashed against the crystals on their way, generating a powerful kinetic blast strong enough to break the crystals and clear the way. “I git the feelin’ we’ll have to kick something’s butt, so be on yer guard.”
Much to their dismay, however, as soon as they progressed further in the orichalcum mine cracks could be heard in the entirety of the cave. Soon after, warped moans echoed throughout the crystal walls, agony clear from the abnormal intonation. From the cracking walls, crystallized humanoids emerged, consumed by the crystallization curse - they were, in fact, not that far from zombies. There were fewer inside, and the quantity coming from behind them increased by the moment, with more and more emerging from the walls.
“Uh, ya know, maybe I ain’t kickin' their butts. Ye see, they’re probably pretty hard because of the crystallization thing, aye?” She kept her back towards Eldhi, weapon in hand. “We goin’ further in, or we gettin' outta here!?” Ursula reloaded the explosive addon again, ready for another attack.
