The Non-Human Society

Chapter One Hundred and Three - Renn - Nebl

      My helmet shifted as I hurriedly dumped the wheelbarrow. The black coal clunked loudly as it fell to the ground.

The effort wasn't too strenuous. Nothing more than I had been doing back at the smithy... but it was still hard for some reason. I felt exhausted, even though I knew I could do this for hours more. Especially since the cause was so great.

Pushing the wheelbarrow back to the other side of the area, I watched for a tiny moment as Vim swung the pickaxe. It struck the wall of stone, causing tiny rocks to splatter all around.

He was digging into the wall several dozens of feet away from the caved in area, and had also done so away from the black coal. Even though every so often he ran into it, Vim didn't seem to like digging that stuff out.

I put the wheelbarrow near one of the piles of rocks and dirt he had accumulated. It was actually two piles away from the one he was making now, but he didn't want me near him as he actually dug. He had worried I'd get hurt by the chipped rocks that flew every time he swung.

Picking up one of the shovels I went to filling the wheelbarrow. It was monotonous, and probably the hundredth time I had done so, but it was all I could do to help.

Vim hadn't wanted me to do any of the actual mining, just in case something happened.

He had almost convinced me to leave the mine entirely as he worked... If not for his friend being in danger, Vim would probably have never given in and allowed me to help. I paused a moment when I heard a strange thump.

The pick had gotten stuck in the wall.

With a heavy oomph he pulled his pickaxe free of the wall. A large boulder fell, following the tug free.

Quickly finishing with the wheelbarrow, I pulled it aside as Vim hefted the big rock and quickly tossed it away, over to the other wall. It landed with a heavy thump and rolled a few feet.

While I emptied the wheelbarrow I wondered if I would have been able to toss that rock aside as easily.

With a huff I returned, and once again filled the wheelbarrow up with the smaller rocks and dirt.

It was repetitive, and made me wonder how humans did it day in and day out. This wasn't just hard, it was... annoying. Moving the dirt made a bunch of dust go into the air, making it hard to breathe. I had wrapped a part of my shirt up over my mouth and nose, but it didn't seem to be helping much.

To think I had thought sweeping soot had been annoying. I'd never complain over that again.

"Hold on," Vim mumbled as he dug deeper.

Seeing Vim so seriously focused made me forget about all my complaints, and I hurried to follow suit.

What seemed like hours went by, and at first what had seemed like little progress... quickly turned into results. Dumping the wheelbarrow once again onto a massive pile, now almost as tall as myself, I glanced over at where Vim was and found him a distance away.

He was now outside the little lantern's reach. I had lit a few torches for him, but had only put two inside the little... hallway looking area he was creating. He no longer was swinging a pickaxe but was instead using a shovel. He was now more so digging than not.

It was actually rather surprising at how much earth he was moving. Dozens of massive boulders and rocks were scattered around the room, and there were three piles of smaller debris similar to the one I had made. Vim wasn't just breaking the wall apart, he was moving it too.

There were also now three rows of timber supports hanging above Vim's head. Although he was in a rush to save his friend... he was being smart about it. Methodical. I had helped him push one of those beams into a subsection of wall he had cut out, and was very surprised at how he had done it. He had put another piece of wood on top of it, and against it, to better support it in a way that didn't need nails it seemed.