Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 66: Digging for crystals and a way out

"The Flare crystals are everywhere," Visha stated. "The entire chamber is almost made up of Flare crystals. We won’t be able to take them all, but we can take some. In the future, we can come back, if necessary."

She saw Uri looking around the chamber, his eyes landing on the Flare crystals. He had on what Visha called his thinking face. She knew he wanted to take as many as possible. And while she could use the space to take them, she didn’t want to take too many.

She hoped that by leaving some, more would grow again over time.

His eyes met hers, and she smiled.

"We will not take everything. But we need to have enough. I feel they will be very useful in the future," Uri declared.

They did not deny that Uri may be right, so they coordinated to start taking the Flare crystals. The stones they are housed in are easy to break. For things that can be struck to activate, being in such porous stone is a benefit. They don’t need to worry about accidentally setting one off.

After an hour, there was a small pile of Flare crystals at their feet. Visha put them into the space.

"Let’s go call everyone. There isn’t any danger. Plus, this place smells fresh. Don’t let them suffer in the smelly part of the cave," Visha remarked.

Xeno volunteered to go. He left swiftly, hoping to bring everyone back quickly.

Visha made sure to put the flashlight on the highest level of brightness. She didn’t want to start a fire for fear that the Flare crystals would start to activate. Although it was unlikely they would with the distance of the flame from their bodies, she didn’t want to take the risk.

She looked around in the space to see if there was any meat she might have missed. She remembered turning some meat into jerky after they left the Tiger tribe.

Fortunately, she found it.

It was only after seeing the amount that she came to understand just how much meat she had turned into jerky in the past few weeks. Her eye twitched slightly, seeing the amount of meat. She didn’t realize she was such a hoarder before.

Not long after he left, Xeno and the others came in.

Visha wondered if they ran from the cave entrance straight to the tunnel.

If she knew she guessed correctly, she would laugh herself into a frenzy.

The pack did run. Hearing there was a place with free air that didn’t smell like the depths of someone’s latrine, they asked Xeno to take them away quickly.

Their noses are sensitive, and being in the stench made it difficult for them to do much of anything. As soon as they reached the chamber and smelled the fresh air, relief washed over them. Their shoulders sank visibly.

Kit ran over to Visha, hugging her, his little face full of blame. "Sister Shasha, you left us in that stinky place to enjoy yourself."

Visha blinked rapidly, mind turning. "No, I didn’t. I went to find you a place to stay away from the stinky smell. See?" She gestured around the chamber. "Don’t you think this place is better?"

The look on Kit’s face made Visha want to laugh. She stifled it, letting out a small snort instead.

"Don’t be like this. I promise not to leave you next time. You can come with us." Visha said softly.

"Really?" Kit’s eyes widened.

"Definitely," Visha exclaimed.

He wiggled out of her arms. Visha placed him back on the ground. Looking like a little adult, he put his hand on his hips, "I’ll believe you this time, Sister Shasha."

Visha nodded flatteringly, and Kit walked back to Nimo to play.

She could vaguely hear Kit promising Nimo to bring him along if Visha brought him anywhere. She shook her head at their antics.

For the next few days, the pack stayed in the chamber. Thanks to Visha’s multitude of jerky, they didn’t need to cook. They spent most of the day either digging out Flare crystals.

Uri was mapping their destination. Xeno played in the water. Visha didn’t think much of it. They had the water pouch and the Flare crystal she had shaved with the stone-knife, to purify the water.

Someone would end up going to the stinky part of the cave at least once a day. They couldn’t hear the storm when they were in the chamber. So to know when the storm stopped, they had send someone to take a look. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Today was another day of waiting when they head Fil exclaim.

He was standing by the far wall of the chamber, pulling out Flare crystals, when a layer of porous rock fell away. He noticed he could feel air coming from the hole. He didn’t alert anyone yet, waiting to see if he could sense any danger.

There was nothing, but he did recognize the smell of wet grass. He hit the wall a few times, making the hole big enough for him to look through. What he saw outside was what made him exclaim.

Uri was the first to arrive; he was close by when Fil made the sound. He saw him looking at a hole in the wall. His nose twitched slightly while looking at the hole. Uri had the most sensitive sense of smell of all the people there.

It didn’t take long for him to figure out why Fil made the sound. He could smell the scent of rain and earth.

He motioned for Fil to move so he could see. When he saw what Fil was looking at, he realized they didn’t need to walk back to the other entrance. They could dig their way out from this side.

"A hole that leads to outside," Uri stated, his voice carrying to the rest of the pack.

People shouted in surprise, walking towards the hole. They never expected they could find another place to exit. No one was happy about having to pass through the first entrance.

They may have gotten used to smelling it once a day, but that didn’t mean they were happy with the smell.

Before anyone could try to opent he hole wider, Uri spoke, "We cannot open the hole any wider until we are sure the storm has stopped. The rain has lightened, but we still need to remember the other hazards we may face if we leave too early."

"He’s right. Give it some time. We can take it one step at a time," Visha said in agreement.

After waiting another few days, the rain completely stopped.

Xeno took charge of digging the cave wall. They had all expected it wouldn’t take long based on the smell. They thought wrong. After opening a space wide enough in the cave wall, they looked at the ground full of grass and a tunnel that led upwards.

Xeno growled softly, "What kind of cave is this?"

The others saw it as well, but didn’t say anything. It was a change to leave, so they would take it. Although unsure of how long it would take, they made sure to pack up and take everything they needed.

Each person also had a pouch of Flare crystals that didn’t enter Visha’s space.

They cautiously followed the tunnel. The flashlight served its purpose, lighting the way for them as they walked in the tunnel. It was long and winding. The smell of earth and moisture began to prickle their senses. The more they walked, the closer they noticed they were to the surface.

After what felt like hours, they finally came to a dead end. The same porous rock stood in front of them. So the males got to work breaking it down. Another fifteen minutes passed until the entrance was open wide enough to allow two people to pass through at a time.

Xeno was the one who suggested.

He wanted to make sure the entrance could still be hidden from others.

After all that work, they finally emerged from the tunnel. The afternoon light shines on their faces.

They stood on a high mountain pass overlooking a spectacular view.