Virigard bounced impatiently outside the heavy door to Juserin's estate. Ugh, when's he gonna get out? she wondered, twitching her tail impatiently. I have the worst luck! After leaving the tunnel, Virgard had returned to the jerboa headquarters in search of rum coke. To her disdain, there was absolutely none to be found in the newly-established city-seed. Upon this realization, she'd approached more than a few verdora in the hopes of procuring rum or coke.

Why? she lamented internally. Why do they look at me like I'm crazy? She had a translator now; shouldn't they understand her when she spoke? Back on Earth, everyone understood "rum" and "coke," even the Arabic-speaking denizens of Jerboaland. In her naivete, she didn't understand that rum coke was an export of Earth, and Earth only.

Alas, after failing to track down rum or coke, Virigard had immediately sought out Dean. Just when she caught up with him, he'd disappeared into the verdora leader's mountainside abode. I'll just have to wait.

Inside...

"A pleasure to see you again, human ambassador Knight," Juserin greeted warmly, his pale blue skin shone full of health in the light of the foyer.

Dean bowed his head respectfully, in line with verdora customs. He'd read all about the verdora before entering the Illudis gate. If there was one thing Dean had realized since assuming a position of political power, it was that knowledge was his friend.

Now, with the improved thought-to-text technology relaying notes he'd compiled on verdora cultural customs straight to his mind, he had little difficulty in maneuvering through a simple dialogue.

He'd first tested this new application of the technology out when the Earth vanguard first arrived at Whitesun. Then, it had been a little clunky, and Dean found his "notes" more of a distraction than an asset. However, after a few days of practice, he found the notes undoubtedly helpful.

"To bear witness to your home is a pleasure all its own," Dean said smiling. Thank god for the director, artist, and tactician boons, he thought to himself. Or else I'd just be a stuttering mess. Standing before Juserin, Dean gave his other boons the credit for his ability to stand firm under pressure, but in reality...he knew that the unspecified, secretive mental boons Bath had bestowed upon everyone were the reason that, standing before the strongest of humanity, striking out through the gates, discussing politics with an alien overlord...Dean no longer felt fear.

In fact, doing all of the above felt...familiar, like he'd been doing it for years rather than months. Dean originally felt repulsed by the thought of people rapidly acclimating to violence and other aspects of COTD. However, now, his inhibitions lay stagnant at the back of his mind, shackled by the phrase, "no use worrying about what can't be changed."

"To be blunt, why have you come?" Juserin asked, his eyes searching.

Dean nodded. He'd last visited four hours ago, so Juserin's question had merit. "Do you know what shook the mountain a few minutes ago?" Dean asked, forehead wrinkling.

Juserin's eyes enlarged slightly. "Is that...irregular?"

Dean nodded sharply. "The city-seed's done growing; the mountain shouldn't be cracking underfoot. If anything, the dragonleaf should stabilize the mountain."

Juserin turned his head slowly. "Ah, of course. Well," he began, "I asked the same question of Her Radiance Asil, and she said that there was nothing to fear."

Dean's expression remained candid, the PP investment in the artist tree's acting path assisting him in concealing his turbulent thoughts. "In that case, I'm sure that Her Radiance knows best."

"Indeed," Juserin replied, inclining his head with a sagely air.

"Until the next," Dean smiled.

"Until the next," Juserin repeated as he gestured for a servant to open the front door. Dean bowed his head, then stepped through the entryway into the brightness of day. He nearly tripped over a small, white form...

"Dea-Knight!" Virigard exclaimed, bouncing back like a fencer.

"Hold on," Dean murmured, dashing forward. Virigard kept pace until, after a few minutes, they were at the base of the crystalline mountain Spire. They walked inside, proceeding to a room five floors up. This remodeled Spire had a plethora of rooms designated for COTD's quasi wasps, however, until the wasps arrived, the rooms lay vacant.

Dean sat on one of the office room's swivel chairs, his legs straddling the backrest. Virigard decided, instead, to hop up on the table; now, Virigard towered three or four feet over Dean's sitting form.

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"I want rum coke," she said. Tallest speaks first, she thought smugly.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Wait a few weeks. Now, getting down to business..."

Virigard thumped the table with her feet impatiently. He blew me off, like that! This is a serious--

"--do you know what caused the mountain to shake?"

Virigard froze. "Uh, like it was struck by thunder? That cracking noise?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I guess," he said, scowling. "But, anyways, do you know?"

Virigard gave him a dead expression. "Well, I might know...if you had a little something, y'know, to loosen my tongue."

"Virigard, seriously," Dean grumbled. "I hate having no idea what's going on."

"Alright, alright, 'cuz we're friends," she said, sighing dramatically. "I think it might be the Creator's doing."

Dean's pupils dilated. "Wait...Seriously?"

"Yeah. He found something really delicious under the mountain." Virigard's expression screwed up in contemplation. "I wonder if it tastes like--"

Dean growled. "Viri, it doesn't taste like rum coke. It just doesn't, whatever it is." Virigard's eyes widened, her hands pulling up to her chest. "Not to be harsh or anything."

"Okay," she whispered back.

"So he's digging under the mountain now...Can you bring me to the tunnel where he first dug into the Earth?"

Virigard shook her head, her ears compressing against the sides of her head. "Can't."

Dean groaned. "Why?"

"The rock closes up."

Dean gave Virigard an exhausted expression. Of course it does. "Can you show me?"

Virigard shrugged, her tiny shoulders rising up. "I guess."

---

Lisa knew that Bath's technique of eating the rock wasn't an option: she didn't have a bottomless pit for a stomach.

However, what she could do was make a different kind of rotating, sharp object: a drill. If she could spin it fast enough, and angle it around to make a bigger entry hole, Lisa felt confident she could drill a hole to Bath in a few hours.

This is a trap, thankfully, so he probably won't move around too much once he's found the tortus' juiciest part. And if he does, I'll track him down.

Lisa was slightly apprehensive about digging into the outer tortus shell. It self-healed, for fuck's sake. Considering that the hole Bath had made less than an hour ago was completely filled it, it's healing speed would be comparable to her drilling speed.

"If I mess up, I could be stuck," she murmured, cognizant of the situation's dangers. Thinking of that brought up other concerns. What about oxygen? Lisa knew that Bath had given her excellent survival boons, but she still wasn't sure if she could survive in an environment with almost no air.

If I keep hesitating, I'm never gonna go, Lisa thought, steeling herself to use her rapidly-spinning metal drill head to bore into the rock. Just as the drill made contact with the wall...

"Lisa!" a male voice called out from behind. Lisa was uncharacteristically startled: her shell was currently radiating out below her, rather than parallel to her body. As a result, she'd completely missed the approach of...

"Dean?" Lisa called out, turning around to behold Dean and Virigard running toward her. "Why are you here?"

"Probably for the same reason as you," he replied. "Is something going on with Bath?" He peered at the dead-end wall of the tunnel. "Also, that's a pretty, um, sizable drill."

Lisa beamed. "Thanks!" Immediately, her expression returned to its former severity.

That's a quick turnover, Dean thought nervously.

"You asked if something is going on with Bath," Lisa stated before giving Virigard a look. "Well, he burrowed into this wall," she pointed, "because there's a giant monster living underneath it."

"Monster?" Dean asked, perplexed. Under the mountain? "I thought...Virigard said there was something delicious under the mountain."

"Wanna see?" Lisa asked, snorting. Without waiting for a response, she pulled open her chip reader and opened her encyclopedia. After a few seconds, she found the right entry. "This monstrosity," she bellowed, "is that wall, right there."

Dean's upper lip curled up in repulsion. "That's disgusting," he exclaimed. "What the hell do you mean, it's the wall, right there?"

"That thing is living under the mountain, like a disgusting growth," Lisa explained. "Bath is, well, he's trying to destroy it. But it heals really fast, so he's having trouble...and when it heals, it draws in material from the mountain, so..."

"And when that thing--what's it called?--heals, the mountain cracks above it?"

"It's called a tortus." she said, spelling the word out.  "And yes, that's the gist. So, to prevent Bath from inadvertently collapsing the mountain, I'm going to find him and tell him to stop."

"Wait, why do you have to find him? Don't you guys have some sort of..." he trailed off, pointing to his head. "Thought thing, going on?" Dean had seen the two communicate remotely a few times.

Usually, Lisa groaned internally, he just uses his essence to keep track of me.

"It doesn't work through rock," she sighed. "The only way to contact him is to find him. Hence, as you see, the drill."

"How is that gonna solve anything?" Dean asked. "He could be anywhere."

"Remember that stuff I told you about kursi, a while back?" Lisa said. She saw a hint of recognition in Dean's eyes, taking this as a cue to continue. "Well, I can sense Bath's mind through the rock, so I can find him that way.”

Dean nodded slowly. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. How fast can you drill?"

Lisa groaned. "Not very. Maybe a few miles in an hour through this layer of rock; if the rock changes, it might take longer."

Dean averted his eyes to the ceiling, his hands crossed behind his back. He locked his eyes onto Lisa's, then said, "Well, uh...think you could use some help?"

She blinked. "Sure." In truth, Lisa didn't know how they could help her; however, the thought of two others accompanying her into the depths of the tortus was comforting. "Do you have something in mind?"

Dean paused. "That drill." He looked pointedly back through the tunnel. "Can you attach it to something?"

"Yeah; it'd be easiest if the something is metal."

"Give me a few minutes," Dean muttered, his shadow stretching across the ground as he retreated from the tunnel. "I need to make a call."