The rest of the day went uneventfully. It was easy to explain their meeting with Father Monahan. When asked they just said he was checking to see how they were adjusting, and people moved on in the conversations.
The next day started out just like every other day started. Trychon and Raezyr would get dressed and wash up, then help set up for breakfast. When that was over, everyone pitched in for clean up and then it was off to start their work day.
By mid-morning, Raezyr had worked up a sweat as usual, swinging the heavy sledge down onto the hot iron. He was getting much better at landing his blows exactly where Mathias would indicate with his small hammer. The blacksmith even commented that Raezyr was a fast learner, and noted that his reflexes and coordination made him a natural at the trade.
"I think tomorrow I may start let you bang out a few horse shoes, if you'd like," the big Monk said.
"I'd like that," Raezyr returned. "I've learned a lot just watching... what is that?" Raezyr dropped his sledge to the ground as the sound of a large bell began to ring out from tower of the Temple.
"That's the warning bell. It hasn't rung in a long time. They only sound it during an emergency... come, let's go!" Mathias said, dropping his tongs and moving quickly toward the door.
They stepped outside to see everyone in the village moving toward the Temple. Some were running, others walking quickly, but everyone was making haste. There was a murmur through the villagers, everyone wondering what was going on.
Halfway there, Raezyr and Mathias saw Trychon and Violet heading toward the crowd gathering at the Temple, and made their way over to them.
"What's going on?" Mathias asked his wife when they drew near. They were still a ways off from the gathering crowd.
"I don't know, but it cannot be good, let's hurry!" She said and the two picked up their pace.
Trychon and Raezyr held back just enough so they could talk quietly as they continued. "I guess this is it," Trychon commented to his brother.
"Now we just have to bring the dead back to life," Raezyr said sarcastically.
Trychon just chuckled, but stopped quickly when a monk he didn't know gave him a strange look. They finally reached the crowd just as an older monk, who they guessed must be one of the Elders, stepped up on a chair to address the people.
"People! There has been a cave-in at the mine!" the monk shouted and a horrified whisper ran through the crowd. The Elder waved his hands for people to be quiet, and the whisper died. "Every able-bodied man needs to go to the mine immediately. Women, please go home and gather all your digging utensils: shovels, picks, and wheel barrows, and bring them to the mine as quickly as you can. Brothers Thalos, Bartholomew and Francis could still be alive, and they'll need everyone's help! Now go! Father Monahan is already there and will direct you when you arrive!"
Quickly everyone began to run in the appropriate directions. Trychon and Raezyr trotted along with the men of the village as they headed toward the mine.
It was located several kilometers away on the nearby mountain-side, and several people were already digging furiously. Dust covered every surface for a hundred meters around the opening, and Father Monahan was standing on a large rock, giving orders as people arrived.
Many of the men stopped and stared at the place where the mouth of the mine used to be. It was choked with rocks and debris, which they expected, but there were also large boulders. Chunks of stone which had fallen from the roof of mine mixed in as well.
Instantly people began springing to work as Monahan gave them their tasks. Several men started digging furiously with shovels, loading dirt and gravel into wheel barrows which were whisked away, only to be replaced by another wheel barrow so the shoveler didnt' need to stop. Other men began to form chains, picking large rocks out by hand and then handing it to the person behind him. The rock then moved from person to person to one of the nearby slag piles.
Trychon and Raezyr joined in the digging. Their human forms made them bigger and stronger than most of the slightly built monks, and they shoveled furioiusly, loading large amounts of dirt and gravel in the the barrows with each shovel full.
The digging and rock picking went on for several hours and into late afternoon, and most of the smaller debris was nearly gone, but now they were down to the larger rocks and boulders. Some were already trying to move them, using large pry bars.
Finally one of the other workers said what was on everyone else's mind. He stopped and threw down his shovel. "This is completely hopeless. There's no way anyone is still alive, and even if they are, we'll never get to them in time. Not at this rate."
Everyone had been feeling it for the last hour or so, but now that the feeling was finally spoken, everyone began to mutter their depressed agreement.
It was the cue that Trychon and Raezyr had been waiting for.
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