Vi'ira planned on making a quick stop in the village of Skypeak following her latest quest in Dragon's Cradle. There was no point in rushing back home to her father, if he truly needed her in this moment he would find a way to contact her. Their next big trade wasn't until a fortnight from now, leaving Vi'ira's free time completely up to her. She enjoyed the art scene in Skypeak, the techniques and style deferring from the norm seen all across Charon. Rather than relying on silky blending and only painting noble figures, they focus more on the message meant to reach the viewer. Many of the pieces are simple in their display, but hold meaning behind every stroke. Especially works catered to The Wanderer. He was never shown as somebody who was above those that followed him, but rather one with his loyal army. It was rather encouraging to be reminded that gods too have suffered, and felt for the people. She had felt inspired by the people of Skypeak, and wanted to take the time to sketch the Temple of the Blessed Wanderer, and perhaps grab a drink whilst listening to stories from the locals.

She wandered throughout the cobblestone walkway carved in a moss-covered cavern, remembering the way to get there after every corner turned. She was amazed at her memory of the layout, having only been to Skypeak a handful of times. However, every time she had come up, she felt drawn to the temple. Vi'ira was deeply religious, as surprising as that was to many who interacted with her. She was soulfully devote to her Moon, her guardian and guide through the shadows.

The temple revealed itself out in front of her, standing proudly across the lake. She made her way over, slowly crossing the bridge as she took in the sights. The temple was made of dark stone, with droplets dripping off every inch of the surface as a waterfall cascaded down upon the establishment. It was quite beautiful, and reminded Vi'ira why she felt so keen on seeing it anytime she was close. As she approached, she noticed the silhouetted shape of a person kneeling at the entrance. The stranger's body shook as they looked into the earth, sobs disrupting the silence that stood still on the island. 

She knew what it was like to feel lost within your own faith, unsure of how gods of such power could let their own creations suffer. "'e's watching over ye, the Holy Rootless. Yer cries echo in 'is mind, they will not go unnoticed." Vi'ira spoke with her hands clasping her journal and charcoal in front of her. 

The cloaked individual jumped, turning around to reveal that she was an elderly woman. Lines of age and experience cracked against her faces, streaked tears emphasizing the wrinkles on her cheers and under her eyes. She moved quickly, and stood up, grabbing Vi'ira's hands.

"You must find him. He's all I have left," she sobbed, "I beg of you, nobody will answer my cries, but then...You arrived. The Wanderer sent you, he must have." Her words came out in a jumble as they ran together in desperation. Vi'ira wasn't sure how to respond.

"Find who?"

"My son. My baby boy. He's all I have left." Tears began to stream down the woman's face once more as she fell to her knees, still grasping Vi'ira's hands. She hated when people cried in front of her. She was not the best at consoling others, for she had a tendency to offer solutions rather than comfort. But, perhaps that was what this woman was looking for. The woman interrupted her thoughts, "The mines. He's in the mines. The mountains are trying to take him from me. You can't let this happen. You're sent by the Wanderer." The old woman was clearly distressed, rambling and repeating herself. She was on the cusp on madness.

Vi'ira felt overwhelmed, but knew that she may have been brought here for a reason. If not sent by the Wanderer, this was surely the work of her Moon. She would feel restless abandoning the old woman on her knees. That wasn't who she was. It didn't feel right to turn this down.

"'ear my words," she spoke, "Yer son will be found." It was a great promise to make, but one that she intended to see through to the end. The woman went on to explain where specifically his venture to the Dragon's Spine was meant to take place, and she scribbled away in her journal. It wasn't an exact location, but it gave her a clear idea of the radius. 

So much for free time. Off to Dragon's Spine she went, unsure of what was ahead.

Blue Raspberry wandered through Skypeak Village, looking around and taking in the sights. They'd ended up wandering a lot farther than they'd expected, not following any path, but just trying to go anywhere interesting. They'd been to a lot of places since leaving Ecplipse City, including underwater, but this place was really interesting. They could see lightning striking in the distance almost all the time from their view up on the mountain. It was pretty incredible.

Along with the amazing view, they also liked sampling all the different foods from everywhere they'd been. There were a lot of things to taste. They remembered that coral they'd tried in the sea that they enjoyed. It was oddly spicy. They wanted to try the street foods here too, but they worried about being suspicious. They never could help themself from asking for a lot more than a normal person would, and this time they didn't have Astrid around to help cover for them.

In their wandering, they eventually saw a dark stoned building that was really wet unlike the other buildings. That was weird. They also overheard a woman sobbing and saw her holding the hands of another woman in front of the temple. She was begging for help to save her son from the mines. The mountains were trying to take him from her?

"I'll help you too! I'll beat the mountain and get your son back. I'm great at eating rock- I mean, beating rocks!" they called to the pair as they walked up to them.

They stopped in front of the pair with a salute. They'd never fought a mountain, but they'd fought other big things, like a Charybdis, though they hadn't really fought that very much, mostly just been eaten by it. But, they wanted to help out! Astrid would help them out, like with those sailors.

Vi'ira was certainly not expecting another voice to emerge from behind her, especially one so jovial. Her head to whipped around immediately, and she locked her eyes on a man clad in armor. He was decorated in red and gold, perhaps house colors. His demeanor though strong, and he seemed eager to help.

As startled by the stranger as she was, their urgency to help was commendable. Not many would jump at the chance to aid an elderly woman in returning her son to her, especially having to go into the range of the Dragon's Spine. They must've heard her mention all of this if they knew what they were talking about, and felt it was quite brave for them to step up like that. She nodded to the woman, gently placing her delicate hands back on her lap.

She approached the knight. Their demeanor was quite strange, and they had a childlike nature about them, especially in the way they talked.

"If yer to be 'onest in what ye say, 'ow can I trust ye?" Her voice came across flat. As harmless as the stranger seemed, it was a harsh world out there. Some in Dragon's Cradle did not hesitate to backstab others when it came to gaining renown and traction to their name. It was her instinctive trust issues, as if anybody could blame her. When you go your whole life dealing with crooks and smugglers, your trust in others diminishes rather quickly.

Blue Raspberry was a bit troubled. They really didn't know how to prove they could be trusted. They couldn't even show their face, since they didn't have one, and they didn't want people to know they were an ooze. They placed their hand on the chin of their helmet and thought for a while in front of the two women.

"Hmmmmmm.... Hmmm. Hmmm? Well, how do I know I can trust you? I don't really have any way of proving you can trust me, but do you have one? I don't even know your name." they said, pointing a finger at the unnamed Moon Elf.

"Oh, right, my name is Blue Raspberry." they finished, turning their finger to point at themself.

They stood with their arms crossed in front of their chest. They really didn't know who this Moon Elf was, or who the other woman whose son was eaten by a mine was either, but they still wanted to help. There should be some way of proving their trustworthiness. They were a very trustworthy ooze, unlike other oozes. And being mistaken for a knight constantly made them feel a bit like maybe they could be a knight if they just acted like one. Knights protect and save people, don't they? What do knights do to earn people's trust? Wait a moment.

"Oh, I have an idea!"

The knight held their hand behind their back for a moment, where the women in front of them couldn't see, and squeezed some ooze from the gaps in their gauntlets which elongated and formed into the shape of a sword before changing color and texture to look like a genuine longsword. They brought the sword out from behind their back and held it with the blade facing toward the ground.

"Here, you can hold my sword! That's a good sign of trust, right?"

Vi'ira watched as the knight moved in a very animated way. She watched as they placed their finger to their chin and looked off into the distance. For a moment she was taken aback by their question. She didn't really have a way to prove her trustworthiness either, but she felt as those she had more of reason to ask them seeing as they snuck up on the two women and began declaring their skill in eating rocks. This was not the typical demeanor she was used to see in a knight. Though cautious, she was more so intrigued by the individual.

Her eyes crossed as she focused on the finger pointing at her. She had never met someone quite like this stranger, but found her eyes widening as they introduced themselves as Blue Raspberry.

"Blue Raspberry?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Are raspberries not red? Or pink? I've never seen a blue raspberry in me life." What an interesting name...or perhaps it was a nickname? But, surely a knight wouldn't introduce themselves by their nickname, right? Vi'ira couldn't help but be fascinated. Before she could introduce herself, Blue Raspberry jumped.

"Oh, I have an idea!"

They held their arm behind their back, and Vi'ira's browed stayed furrowed. She was startled when the knight held out their sword, and her hand darted to her rapier before she realized they were not intending to attack at all, but rather, give her their sword. It was a bold move to making, practically disarming yourself. It did, however, ease Vi'ira's mind a bit about who she may be dealing with. This stranger didn't seem intent on harming her, or the older woman. She reached out and took the blade from them, nodding her head.

"I s'pose it is." She looked up to meet Blue Raspberry's eyes, but couldn't see anything but shadow behind their helmet. For such a casual setting, she wondered why they were entirely clad in armor. To each their own. As she looked at the sword, she unsheathed her rapier from her hilt and held it out in front of Blue Raspberry.

"The name's Vi'ira. It's only fair if I offer my blade to ye as my form of trust. If ye lose it though, it's yer funeral." She said this with a chuckle, but truly did mean it. Her rapier was something dear to her, a gift from both her father and mother on the night of her 12th birthday.

At this point, the elderly woman hand turned her attention back to the temple, and was muttering prayers under her breath as she rocked back and forth. "It's best we get on with this then. I'm not sure how much longer she can take not knowing 'er son's fate."

Blue Raspberry had never actually seen a raspberry before either, but they'd heard several times now that they aren't supposed to be blue. They just shrugged, not really knowing how to answer such a question. It was just their name, but people always thought it was strange for some reason.

They were glad that offering the sword had been enough to prove their trustworthiness, but they were a bit surprised when she offered her own weapon in return. They hadn't expected that at all. They took the rapier a bit nervously. If she was willing to kill the ooze just for losing this, it must be really important to her.

"I'll make sure not to lose it!" Blue Raspberry proclaimed and held it tight.

With that, the two set off in the direction of the mine that the woman had told them about. Blue Raspberry walked behind Vi-ira and waited for a moment before inserting the rapier into the space between their helmet and cuirass. They really didn't want to lose the weapon after receiving such a threat and inside them was the safest place to store it. They wouldn't be able to lose it in there.

"So, have you ever seen a mine before? I haven't. Is it really dangerous?" they asked Vi'ira excitedly.

Vi'ira nodded in response as the knight vowed to keep her rapier safe, and she couldn't help but crack a smile. He was a flamboyant man, and an adventure with him seemed nothing short of a good time. She couldn't be sure to trust him just yet, but a new friend was an exciting thought.

They walked side by side in silence. She wasn't entirely sure what the two of them had to talk about besides painful small talk, which Vi'ira despised. She'd much rather get down to the nitty gritty right away, but that made many uncomfortable, so she avoided it until she was sure they'd get along. When Blue Raspberry spoke, she looked over to him.

"So, have you ever seen a mine before? I haven't. Is it really dangerous?"

She thought to herself for a moment as she recounted her memories. "I've never been inside a mine before, but I 'ave been inside many a cave. That's practically the same thing, right?" She didn't wait for a response before continuing on. "Now those were dangerous, so we best be cautious goin' into this. Stories say mines collapse down on miners all the time, whether it be from blastin' or lack o' reinforcements." She shrugged. 

The two of them continued their way to the Dragon's Spine, saying goodbye to the safety net of civilization. As they walked, Blue Raspberry went on to ask many questions, ranging from inquiries about where Vi'ira had been and the meaning of some words she had said while talking. His curiosity excited her, but it too confused her. For a knight, she figured he'd be much more well-versed in many of the things he was asking about. By the way he carried himself, he did not seem young, but his inclination to learn more was childlike. She couldn't help but want to know more about the man.

Storm clouds floated above them in the distance as they neared the mountain range. It hadn't dawned on her till now that they didn't really know exactly which mine they were looking for, and hoped there would be a marker of some sorts to guide the way. She had a talent for navigation, and trusted her instinct would lead them to the right place. They passed through the rough terrain, pushing their bodies. The Dragon Cradle was merciless towards adventurer's, often posing as a bigger challenge than the foes that are faced along the way. She breathed heavily as they trucked along, and looked up to see a large mine with the mark of the Watcher above the mine painted in red above the entrance.

"I think we may have found our mine."

Blue Raspberry looked past Vi'ira to see a hole in the side of the mountain. This was a mine? Well, she had said it was pretty similar to a cave. From the woman talking about how the mountain had stolen her boy from her, the ooze had thought it was some kind of monster or person, but found out it was just a really big pile of rocks, and a mine was just a hole in it. A little disappointing, but they'd do their best to save them anyways.

"Alright, let's go in then. It doesn't look so bad." they said to Vi'ira before walking past and into the entrance.

However, their walking was stopped pretty quickly. Just a short ways into the mine, the path was entirely cut off buy rocks and debris. Definitely a mine collapse. Several wooden beams that must have been there for support were broken and mixed into the rock and dirt. Blue Raspberry looked back at the Elf behind them.

"It's blocked off. There's a bunch of rocks and dirt in the way. Hmmm. This is probably the problem, isn't it? Found the problem, right there." they said, crossing their arms in front of them and nodding in agreement with their own deduction. "Well, time to start clearing it then."

They began grabbing some of the looser rocks and trying to pull them out. It was a bit difficult. They reached a hand behind their back, hidden beneath their displacer beast cloak, and pulled out some shovels, crowbars, and pickaxes they'd... found... in their travels. With the help of the tools, they continued trying to clear a way through the cave-in.

Blue Raspberry headed in first, lead by their curious nature. As they walked in, they were quickly halted by an abundance of rubble and debris blocking the rest of the mine off. It seems that this is what may be causing the delay on the miner's return, and they had to get them out.

"It's blocked off. There's a bunch of rocks and dirt in the way. Hmmm. This is probably the problem, isn't it? Found the problem, right there."

"Aye, ye'd be right. Good eye," she smiled, looking back over to the fallen rocks. The crash seemed to have come down hard, almost as if they had been purposefully ripped out of the ceiling of the cave. Could there be something else here at play? While she sat back and pondered this, Blue Raspberry was already busy making a clearing, and somehow had tools in hand? She wasn't entirely sure of where they came from, maybe they were on the floor and she hadn't noticed? Did he always carry shovels, crowbars, and pickaxes? But he's never been in a mine before? Her head hurt trying to piece the inconsistencies together.

"Be careful, ye never know if another stone could be the catalyst for another collapse." She moved to their side, and began move rocks cautiously out of the way. Soon enough, they had found a small hole that showed the inside of the cave, but it was entirely too dark to actually make anything out. The only thing that caught her eye was a silhouette darting around in the shadows.

She hushed her voice and looked to Blue Raspberry, "There's something in there."

Blue Raspberry tried to look through the small hole into the dark, but couldn't make out anything. The hole was also far too small for them to fit through in their bulky armor. It'd be a lot easier to fit through if they turned into something smaller, but they didn't know if they could really trust the Moon Elf to keep them being an ooze a secret and couldn't transform without her noticing.

They could see a small bit of movement in the small bit of light filtered through the hole in the rock, but it wasn't much. They couldn't make out any details of whatever or whoever the creature in there might be. As they stood there, trying to peer deeper into the hole, the figure on the other side seemed to have noticed their presence.

"Hello!? Is someone there?" a voice called out. It sounded like an old man from what the ooze could hear. "Hello? Did someone out there make this hole? Can anyone hear me out there?"

Blue Raspberry called back into the hole.

"Yes! We came to save an old woman's son in this mine. Do you have a mom that prays at the big temple in Skypeak Village?" they asked.

"Wha... Um.... No? I mean, I used to?"

"Is there a boy that fits that description in there with you?"

"Um, I think so. But they're deeper in the mine than I am. I got cut off from the others and tried to head back out the entrance, but got stopped here by this collapse. The others are trapped behind a second collapse."

Blue Raspberry looked back at Vi'ira.

"Looks like we found the right place."

Vi'ira stepped back to allow Blue Raspberry to get a closer look, when a voice called out. Someone was alive!

"Yes! We came to save an old woman's son in this mine. Do you have a mom that prays at the big temple in Skypeak Village?" Vi'ira turned to them, stunned. What an oddly specific question, and an entirely unnecessary one. And yet, she began to laugh.

The voice went on the explain that there were multiple collapses throughout the mine, and that he was trapped here alone. Blue Raspberry looked to Vi'ira, an excited tone behind their voice. "Aye! 'and me one of those pickaxes if ye'd please," she spoke as she reached out her hand. They passed the pickaxe to her quickly, and the two of them began to chip away at the stones. She made sure to focus around the hole the man spoke from. Only a few minutes passed before they had picked out a decent sized hole into the next section of the mine. Rays of light began to light up the mine, the floor of the cave heading downward at a slope. As they cleared away the last of the stones, she watched as they tumbled down. The man emerged from the corner with hope glittering in his eyes.

"Thank you! We were sure we'd never be found," he breathed, "I can lead you both to the rest of the miners."

Vi'ira followed closely behind as they were led by the man deeper into the cave. Dust laid thick on the stone floor, coating almost every piece of rock on the ground with dirt and debris. That must've been a nasty collapse, and Vi'ira wasn't sure it was the last.

"We best be quick. The mountain could betray us, too, if we're not careful." She held the pickaxe over her shoulder, being sure to watch her footing as the path steepened. She listened to the dripping water and clinking of Blue Raspberry's armor as they walked. Soon enough, they had come across another wall of rocks that blocked anyone from going any further. She looked up and noticed the ceiling above them looked incredibly unreliable, as if it was waiting for another catalyst to allow for all the rocks to collapse down. 

"Oi, this isn't lookin' too good."

Blue Raspberry looked around at the second mine collapse. They didn't really know much about mines or collapses, so they didn't understand what could have caused this. Once again, there were pieces of wooden support beams mixed into the rocky debris around the tunnel. Was something breaking these beams and weakening the tunnel enough to make it collapse? The old man with them didn't seem to have much more information for them.

Neither of the two noticed as the old man quietly backed away from them, holding a large hammer they picked up off the ground quietly as they could. With a heavy swing, they knocked down another wooden beam and then bolted, running toward the entrance.

"Later, suckers! Thanks for the help!" he called back to them, running far more swiftly than one might expect of an old man.

The stone ceiling cracked and rumbled from the sudden removal of the beam and began to collapse in, sealing the tunnel behind the ooze and the Elf while the old man laughed. They crawled through the small hole that Blue Raspberry and Vi'ira had managed to make.

Blue Raspberry stopped worrying so much about hiding their identity and worried far more about the cave not crushing the two of them to death. They abandoned their disguise, absorbing their armor and taking the form of the best creature they could think of in this situation. A giant blue wolf braced its back against the ceiling, trying to stabilize it as much as possible. It wasn't enough to prevent the part of the tunnel behind them from collapsing, though. They were trapped, with a collapse on either side of them. They couldn't go further into the mine, but they also couldn't exit now.