level_act16mini_st05

The curtains in the shack are slightly shorter than the windows. Before the furnaces heat up, the machines start to turn, and the city itself awakens, the first pinpricks of dawn light prod at anyone still asleep.

And yet, I've never fixed those curtains.

In a daze, still foggy from sleep, those rays show me a momentary trick of the light, an immense shadow.

Head still whirling, caught right at that point where my sleep-addled brain doesn't know who I even am, the light gets me up. I ought to tidy up my things and head out already.

Laborers scurry all about, rushing to the mines before they even open, all so that they can get the good jobs before they're gone.

Let's go, Sandbeast.

Hey, not there. You forget already? That mine there already hired some safety specialists.

We'll go try our luck at the northwest side today.

(Slowly stretches its backfin)

Strewth, one that big, must be full-grown, yeah?

Yep.

Don't often see a pitsinker's sandbeast grow that big. Your luck's not half bad.

Could be.

You'll need a little luck this time. If you can get down this shaft today, rules say I pay you double. You'll have to take the 'extra goodies' out yourself, of course.

Alright. Lead the way.

Whoa, hold it. That's it, no questions asked?

You don't look like a hothead new hand. You hear 'double pay' and sign on the dotted line?

A Catastrophe's torn up the land for a few hundred clicks out west the past few days. Big earthquakes. That's got the Originium crystals in our mineshaft multiplying like mad, an absolute mess down there. You got all that?

Yeah. Got it.

You're not taking me seriously here. Awful foolish.

Or are you trying to say that you're really some kind of specialist, seen this sorta thing every day?

Specialist...? Wouldn't go that far. I've just spent a few years pitsinking.

I'll play it safe. If I died, there'd be no one to take care of my Sandbeast.

Hmph. Should've figured. A safety specialist wouldn't go about looking for work in the first place.

Alright. I've said everything I need to say.

Fingerless Ollie! Quit drinking and get prepping. Safety rope's gotta be on her nice and tight before we drop her down.

I don't know what other people think when they say 'mineshaft'.

The pounding echoes, the moist stench, the boiling hot air, the bitterness of sweat on your tongue... Maybe that sort of thing.

I'm a pitsinker. Every day, before the miners get to work, I go down the shaft to scout the conditions. Alone. This early, the shaft's nothing but darkness.

The mine cage descends, the voices up top slowly fade away, and the everything around me gets eaten up by the dark. And that's when my senses get keen.

I'm no fan of the pitch black, but the feeling of darkness is the one thing that's most familiar.

Pitsinker, what's it like down there?

Sandbeast's backfin is raised, but its veins haven't changed color. Standard response. Should be safe for the time being.

Is the map current?

We haven't had time to mark out the new shaft yet, but the major chambers haven't changed.

Alright.

What was that?

Infused Originium Slug. Handled it.

But it's not a good sign.

We almost never see the explodey critters down in the mine. Things might be even worse than we expected.

I gotta remind you, when you're at that depth, you move forward a little bit further and there's no signal.

Yep.

If something happens down here, I'll come back to report.

It's getting darker.

The seal on the sluice gate holding back the water is still in decent condition, and the channel's not blocked. Still operating normally.

What else do I need to check... Originium crystal growth range and activity.

The condition of the support struts. Whether or not they're at risk of collapse.

The condition of the drains. Whether or not they might leak.

Also the air quality. Whether or not there's a chance of toxic gas leakage.

Watch your step, Sandbeast.

The lights down this way are broken too.

I can't really see anything with only my headlamp.

Sandbeast, help me take a peek.

The ventilation shaft's been pierced by an Originium crystal. Floor's covered in fragments, and the crystal surface is still thin. This one's only just emerged.

But there, there is but total darkness.

It looks like there's huge cavities on the back of the support struts. Were they burnt away... or perhaps bored clean? It's crawling with Originium slugs.

But there, there is but total darkness.

There's water pooling above, not yet showing signs of seepage, but there's abnormal airflow in the water. Bubbles are coming up mighty strong.

But there, there is but total darkness.

Your backfin, it's covered in Originium dust.

The color of the blood vessels...

Toxic gas leak.

We've got to go.

Getting hauled back up to the surface from the bottom of the mine takes yonks.

I never did figure out exactly how long. Just chinning up and looking out into the distance was enough for me.

I think this when other pitsinkers would count the rocks they managed to haul up. Didn't matter how much ore you took out. Mine owners didn't really care.

Only those very small, privately-run mines would seek out temporary pitsinkers. Drilling ever deeper shafts, extracting ever more valuable Originium ore, the bottoms of the mines ever more dangerous.

You're still with me, right, Sandbeast?

No haul for me today.

Although there might still be infected critters about, I put away my weapon to have a hand free. Despite this, operating the sluice gate one-handed is really tough. Eats up a lot of time.

I do my best to run out, feeling Sandbeast's lowered backfin pricking my arm.

This was the first sandbeast I bought.

I remember two years back when I bought it. The shopkeep gave me a piece of colored paper and a folded photo.

He told me that the way the lantern light looks passing through the capillaries in the sandbeast's backfin tells you the mine's air quality.

It's been a pretty handy detection method. This time, before I felt out of breath, I recognized that dazzling dark violet on Sandbeast's body.

He told me that with a fella this sensitive, the life lost wouldn't have to be mine.

Captain, raise the cage, if you would.

We're heading back up now, Sandbeast.

I got a pretty decent pay packet, could use it to buy that new feed they put out... We could also go see a doctor. Gotta keep you healthy.

Time was, the folks in the mine wouldn't tell me if things were dangerous, or ask me if I really wanted to go into the pit. They could wait until I was lifted back up to the surface, watch how I breathed, look at the color of the blood in my nicks and scratches.

As the cage rises, I can't hear Sandbeast's breathing over the blowing of the wind and the rumbling of the machines.

It isn't moving. All I can do is chin up and look out into the distance.

After a while, the darkness begins to crack open, just a tad. I can tell it isn't just some trick of the eye from spending too long in the dark, and it definitely isn't me hallucinating.

It's daylight.

You'll be alright.

It feels like I've always been waiting for this moment.

When we're up top, breathing in that fresh air, getting some sun, we'll be alright.

Like that fantasy I've been holding on tight for.

Look, it's the entrance—

It comes to me, that the aftereffects of the earthquake Catastrophes are still ongoing, what with all the dust and sand in the air.

There's no daylight at the entrance.

Checking on a sandbeast is real simple. If the membranes of the backfin have increased bloodflow, it shows that the poison's already had time to accumulate in the body.

If Sandbeast keels over, then I'll just have to buy a new one.

I've still got two sacks of feed in the house, people can't eat it.

Tomorrow morning, I'm thinking of checking out a mine in another direction.

Tomorrow morning...

It'll be alright once daybreak comes.

Where's your sandbeast? Popped its socks?

Well that's not good. We don't want any pitsinker who doesn't come with her own sandbeast.

Those things were basically born to die. If you're not willing to part with the money to buy a new one, you'll quickly meet your end down in the pit.

And you're Infected too. Whew, look, we can't afford that sort of hassle here.

No answer? You deaf or something? Or you just some fool bugger who got her sandbeast killed?

Alright, get going. Better not see you again.

Medicine for sandbeasts? I don't have any, and to be honest I've never even heard of such a thing.

Well, you don't always take meds for your average cold, right? There's even fewer people who would want to give them to a sandbeast.

Best to just buy a new one. These little fellas don't live long anyway, but I can guarantee that this lot were born real healthy. Won't die of the sickness before you get to the pit.

If you're not going to buy, best get out of my store then. I'll say it once more, there's no medicine for sandbeasts. That's just common sense.

You were going to buy a sandbeast to be a pitsinker without even knowing the basics? If the sandbeast dies and you don't, that's called a good day.

Sandbeast, I didn't—

Daybreak.

The dawn light weaves between the bars of the empty beast cage before it stabs her, ending a long, long nightmare.

And yet it's hardly an improvement.

Never mind.

Hear me out, empty cage.

I didn't get it killed.

I tried my best. But when you're down in the pit, it runs into toxic gas. The whole point of the sandbeast is to see how the air's doing.

Deep in the pit, where it's always darkest...

Why, why am I shaking?

Mate, d'you know which one of these transport trucks is heading out first?

You want to go see it?

Yeah, I still remember where I first saw it. Just need to head back thereabouts to find it again.

I still remember... the ray of light.

Other than the dark, what should I be feeling for?

You will remember.

It... actually rescued me, let me keep living on.

It exists, right?

Yeah, it exists.

—The sandbeast opens its eyes.

Wait, Sandbeast, where are we going?

To find the thing you want to find.

You can bring me there?

No, it's no good if it's just me.

But I've only got...

Whoa, let go!

Hood, hood...

...Hood?

Why is it holding on to the Doctor's hood so tightly?!

Atop the rock wall, among the sand dunes, streams of water flow out from holes all about, converging into a pool in the center.

Please let go, if you don't, it's going to tear—

The rock walls and stone columns come together to form a rocky barrier, blocking the oncoming sandstorm and protecting those on its leeward side.

Hey, sandbeast, bet you haven't eaten one of these before! It's a radish biscuit!

The general goods storekeeper mentioned it before, and the animal almanac wrote about it too. So it's this kind of place...

A sandbeast digging itself out of a small hole, two sandbeasts leaning against a branch, three sandbeasts soaking in the pool... no, four, five, even more than that.

Their backfins are all arced, their blood vessels showing a healthy glow.

This here is sourberry pie! We've got some grasspot crispycrusts too!

Heheh... It looks like the sandbeasts get along with me a lot better than the Doctor!

Amiya, help me figure something out here...;......;Potlid, you sure are laughing a lot...

Ghh... I keep patting its head, but it still won't let go...

Don't worry, Doctor, I won't let it rip your hood!

Well, it's obvious right—Hey, wait a second, you're calling me Potlid because you're trying to get back at me! You can't call me that!

...Why?

Why are there so many sandbeasts living here?

There's even more sandbeasts jumping up here!

Doctor, try not to get overwhelmed...

Here, let me have a try.

Oh, I knew Ray would figure it out!

The way that you chased after those sandbeasts just now, I told everyone you're definitely a little critter lover!

Just now...?

It looks like Ray didn't realize we've been following her all this way...

We really just got off the truck for a break, waiting for the braking device to cool down, but then we saw you looking like you were in some kind of daze when you got off. We were worried, so...

...Sorry.

Keep calm, Doctor. Try not to move too much...

Wow...

That was a huge sneeze...! It let go!

That was... using a pointy leaf to poke around in the holes on the sandbeast's back... to tickle it?

Thanks, I can finally think straight again.;So that's the sandbeast's breathing holes.

Alright, little fellas, you're all safe. Run along now.

That sandbeast's reaction is pretty simple to explain. They use their backfins to support their breathing, and are very sensitive to changes in airflow and temperature.

These sandbeasts and the ones bred in captivity are just as small. Look like cubs around three to four months old.

They should grow up to be pretty chunky, and live for a decent amount of years.

What about the one with you, Ray?

Now that I can give you a proper look in the rays of light, your coat's a bit brighter than I thought. My mistake.

Though I have to ask, why are you following me?

Oi!

I've been looking for you lot for half the day! Why'd you all run this way anyway...?

What are all these critters doing here? What are they?

Sandbeasts.

I know they're sandbeasts.

These things... No, that's not important right now. Doctor, didn't you say you could actually read the data from the survey equipment atop the truck?

That doohickey's pumping out fluctuating data, ninety-nine times out of a hundred whatever it says doesn't happen, and I don't understand a thing about the pattern it's spit out...

—Everyone, get back in the truck!;We need to leave immediately.

...Eh?

You saying it could be... a Catastrophe?

The Doctor looked into it. The Catastrophe Messenger who was on the truck with us for a little while had a very limited survey range. We can't rely on that data to provide us an accurate picture of the situation.

And since the Doctor's judgement says to leave as soon as possible, and not to try and take cover here...

That means that we still have time.

Alright, got it.

Let's get a move on, before the Catastrophe wrecks everything here! The farther, the better!

Everything here...

Wh-Whew... From running over to tell you lot the news, then running back... I gotta say—whew... I gotta say that I definitely broke the factory district record!

Potlid, did you manage to get my time?

You need to time your own runs, Lanns... Wait for the others next time!

You guys were playing with the sandbeasts too long, turned you into slowpokes!

I can wait, sure, but the Catastrophe won't!

C'mon, be a good girl, start up already...

Doctor, Amiya, you two ready?

I'm all set...! Eh?

The Doctor ran too hard, still isn't up for talking! ... Right, yes... I understand. The Doctor says 'I'm all set too!'

Alrighty, if everyone's buckled up, off we go! Tootleloo, Catastrophe!

Will we be alright, going at this speed?

Definitely not a problem. The only thing overtaking me now is myself at top speed. A little Catastrophe cloud like that? In your dreams, mate.

That's good to hear...

Huh?

Doctor... What are you trying to say?

Ha...? Hay... Way... Ray?

That's right! Where's Ray?!

I don't think she made it on!

Eh?!

Ugh...

It's okay, sandbeasts. We can... still make it.

The Catastrophe isn't here yet. It's just that the sandstorm's picking up now, but I can still make it through the wind.

I can find somewhere safe for you fellas...

(Vigilantly digging into the soil)

Right, I know sandbeasts can't talk. It was just a hallucination or something there.

(Blowing a whistle) C'mere.

Black clouds about to hit...

Won't be able to see much soon.

Or... I could become that 'somewhere safe' for you lot.

There's nothing else we can do. Even if the sandstorm's huge, all we can do is rush right through it.

It's got to be hard on that kid Rayella. Her first time coming along and we run into this shitstorm.

You lot, come lend a hand, lift up her legs.

This little lady's whole body is burning hot, and her feet are covered in blisters too. She's far too young for this. Don't think she can walk the rest of the way.

Let's go. We better decide which way to get out of here already.

I'm familiar with this sense of weariness and despair. The wind and sand press down upon me. All I see is darkness. My feet feel full of lead.

The adults carried me on their backs. I could feel their flagging stride as it fought against the raging wind.

No... This is a Catastrophe.

I remember. Alanna said a Catastrophe was coming. So this is Originium dust then, not just regular dust? It smells like the pit.

The Catastrophe will destroy the rock wall, pollute the pool. Those sandbeasts will have nowhere to go. I won't let them suffer that.

Pulling them, carrying them, holding on to them, whistling again and again to call any other sandbeasts, following along behind them all.

And then, all I remember is being shaken about like a ragdoll.

How many sandbeasts did I manage to protect with my body?

I heard a bizarre whistling sound go past my ear. It seemed like there was someone whistling for me, guiding the little critters.

Wrww?

...Eh?

Wraw!

Wraw!

Wraaaaw—

You...

Wait, wait a sec. I'm... on your backs?

Where are you all carrying me?

I'm familiar with this sense of weariness and despair.

Whenever the shadow of the Feranmut appeared in my memories, it was always accompanied by a vast, empty wasteland.

I was with the team, fighting against the sandy squall, walking towards where the sun rose.

Yellow sand filled the sky, smothering out all the color of the newborn sun... Yellow-white, muddled yellow, grey-yellow, until it all became deep and darkest black.

In the end we managed to make it to nightfall, covered in darkness for the second time that day. A thick mist creeped in, and those poor sods who were injured cried out in pain. We were lost.

Blood and sweat soaked into my boots, and the blisters on my feet went numb. The adults carried me and kept going forward.

The smell of dust in the air, and a mist so thick that you can't see your hand in front of your face.

Vague shadows, and in the darkness... light.

Where am I?

A great, gaping cavern, with bioluminescent organisms emitting light as dim as an old miner's helmet.

Myriad creatures rustle about in the shadows behind Ray, making her reflexively raise her crossbow.

Several small mounds on the ground scatter and bump into each other, revealing themselves to be sandbeasts.

Sandbeasts?

You fellas brought me over here?

This isn't just your den, is it?

Groups of sandbeasts on the ground and atop the walls jump about, guiding her towards a path that leads deeper into the cavern.

The stone pillars of the cave slant and cross over each other, protecting the glowing area in the center, like a stone nest built by a giant fowlbeast.

The ground itself is folded and creased, the vestiges of the passing of some unknown creature, cutting off at the entrance of a route leading even further down.

The stone beams strewn about are its shed scales. Those great piles of soil its rotting dander.

The sound of the howling gales outside is already cut off, leaving only a drawn-out whistling to echo throughout this natural sanctuary, establishing an order for the creatures who live in the dark.

...I remember.

That time... when I saw that shadow in the mist, the wind brought along a murmur. That sound soothed me, and let me forget the pain for a while.

Move forwards, Rayella. Leave this darkness.

You must...

...Eh?

Why aren't you going ahead, little fellas?

What's up ahead?

Not wanting to deal with the darkness any more than she has to, she turns on her miner's lamp.

It's a closed-off cavern.

Can't get in here.

I could chisel it open. I need to chisel it open.

Ouch!

Wha-!

The whistling stops, replaced by a different sound, one whose pitch stretches from the highest highs to the lowest lows. Countless syllables intertwine with the bellows of the beast.

Ray presses down hard upon her ears, but the echoes still reverberate within her mind.

I thought I was just dreaming that there was something poking away at my eyeball. Good grief, this place is twice as lively as it should be—should be—be!

Strange.

The sandbeast... is speaking again. Hundreds of sandbeasts speaking at the same time.

Sandbeast—beast—east?

How could I possibly be a sandbeast—beast—east?!

I swear, first it's a group of little longears clanging about with their little sticks chiseling away at my braincase, then they tried to dig into my ears with little exploding iron pellets—pellets—lets.

And when they finally got tired and headed off, I managed to actually get some sleep... but I barely even closed my eyes before you came along and woke me up again—again—gain!

Ngh—

Apologies, little one. I got a bit too stirred up just now and shouted at you. I must have startled you into falling over onto your backside.

But given that you were the one who woke me up with your racket and trod on top of my tongue, making me bellow about and make a fool of myself... I'd say we were even!

Ugh...

What's that smell? Why does it stink so much...? What is this?! Get these things away from my nose, right now!

A hallucination?

Hallucination? I assure you, I am no hallucination. If I were, I wouldn't be feeling a little bit itchy right now.

Fellas... Why are you yanking those plants?

Gah! Those are my nose hairs! Smelly little things! Don't pull tho— A-Achoo!

The rock wall splits open, the darkness once more beginning to crack open.

...Feranmut?

Are you the one I've been looking for?

The giant eye shines like a great gemstone.

Ray has never felt her heart beat this strongly before, thumping about inside her chest.

A hunter's daughter, a pitsinker who broke free of the dark, a traveler who chased the light... From then until now, every instance of her reaches out a hand towards that giant eye.

What?

Feranmut? You mean me?

Well I quite like the sound of that name! A much mightier name than 'Sandbeast'!

I'll have to remember that one... I don't remember who decided to give me a name last time, but after waking from my nap I find that I've completely forgotten it all! I swear it was just a moment or two ago.

Ah, forget it, sleep's more important, got to hurry... Say, little one.

Why did you come looking for me?

You... saved me.

Did I?

A sound that's been echoing from deep in my mind, an immense shadow, a light.

It was a miracle. You saved my life, along with many others.

I remember your light.

I've always thought it was something right out of a legend, that the thing that saved us was some giant, friendly beast who lived out in the wilderness.

But I checked so many animal almanacs, and none of them ever mentioned a creature large enough to cast the shadow in my memory, or one that could talk to people.

All I know is, you are definitely not a hallucination.

I just felt that I had to come and find you.

I'm sorry, little one, but I'll have to stop you there.

As you can see, I have no way of moving my body. Even when those little sandbeasts were jumping about in my nostrils, with their horrendously noxious stench, I had no means of removing them.

I am trapped in darkness, bound for decades, perhaps centuries...

So how, I ask, could I have saved you and the other little ones, as according to you?

But, if not you, then who?

Maybe there's another Feranmut out here in the wilderness?

I regret to tell you, little one, that there are no more of my kin about here. What little I know of these wildlands, that much I am sure of.

Take heart, little one. Do not be so down. If it truly vexes you, perhaps you will feel better if you closed your eyes and took a little nap?

Ah, perhaps not, for closing your eyes means being in the dark, and you have a look about you that says that you fear it... Alright, I admit I'm not used to consoling people.

Well, that's enough out of you, I'm feeling sleepy again! You'd best be on your way now, and make sure to take those smelly little things with you!

In the blink of an eye, the sandbeasts beside her are in uproar, coming together to create their bizarre sound once more.

Ahead of Ray stands a muddled darkness, so dark that she is unable to tell which way the sandbeasts are carrying her.

All she feels is that she's getting further and further from the light.

Suddenly, from the cavern that quickly fades into the distance, the Feranmut's voice rings out once more.

Don't mind me, little one. I might not be able to move my body, but that doesn't mean I can't budge a bit.

Since you took so much effort to come all this way, I have one more question for you.

If I am the Feranmut, if I am the light you were seeking...

The roiling sound of landslides washes over her and the earth trembles, as if shaken awake by the jab of a pitsinker's crossbow bolt.

Considering how far you've had to come to get here, what exactly were you hoping I would help you with?