Wilder's spell reached out, and though it was weak, it struck off magic almost at once.

The magic with which it resounded lay below: beneath the soil, deep, within the ledges. It might have to be dug out, but it was a few feet down at least, and it seemed... more than a simple gemstone.

Much more.

@Wilder

Wilder flinched as her spell, small as it was, immediately touched the magic of more then just the howlite she was looking for or the lost stone of Ancilla. She didn't know what it was...perhaps many gemstones beneath the earth, perhaps something much more then a gemstone. Something more powerful.

Immediately she staggered to her feet and stumbled to the spot where she had felt the pulse of magic. Disregarding the ache in her claws, she began furiously digging into the earth, throwing damp soil into the air and over the ledges. It was slow work, with her being tired and hurt, but she needed to get down there.

As she dug further into the soil, her legs began to burn and her strokes became wild. But she was desperate to discover what was done there, beneath the ground. What kind of magic was that strong? But her recklessness bit her back - her paw struck something hard in the soil, most likely a rock, and one of the claws immediately snapped off. She shrieked and pulled back, pain lacing through her entire leg.

She tripped back and collapsed on her butt, staring at the hole in the soil, wondering how she was gonna do this now.

As she stared at the hole, trying to figure out her next move, an idea came to her head. Why didn't she think about it earlier?! Why go through the physical means of digging when she could just...throw the dirt away quite easily?

She threw her magic forward towards the earth, trying to bunch it together and finding it much harder to not just grab a single particle of soil. Eventually, she managed to lift some of it up and out, this time resting it on the rock next to her, in case she unearthed more then just dirt.

Whatever it was was several feet below the surface. It would take a small cat like Wilder many hours of work, likely with periodic rest, to get down there, and her Telekinesis would throw barely more than a handful of loose dirt out at a time. Were she to rely solely upon her magic, she would be exhausted before delving more than a few inches down.

For a good digger--a dog, perhaps--it might only take a couple of hours.

Regardless of whether she chose to make camp in the ledges and come back to digging until she unearthed the source, or chose to go and get help, she would eventually strike a surface: dirt-stained white stone, like marble, threaded through with black.

@Wilder

She was panting heavily, but the magic she detected was still so far down. There was no way she could dig this hole all by herself. She couldn't do this alone. For a moment, she considered going back to Eridanus to get Rift's help, but he'd made it clear that he was busy. Perhaps Black was a better digger - or Yoosung. Aure, she very much doubted would do much better then her.

Going to Polaris would be her best bet then. She stood and scampered away, beginning the slow descent down the side of the ridges.

*temporary exit

Soon enough, Wilder returned with Yoosung trailing behind. It hadn't been too long of a walk from Polaris to Pisces but long enough that she felt the need to stop and rest for a moment, especially after all the work she'd done in the last few days. But, finally, they were back at the Ridges.

Slowly, carefully, Wilder led the way up, using the same path she'd used before to lead Yoosung to the place where she'd begun digging a hole, glancing back every so often to make sure he didn't fall. She climbed onto the top of the ledge she'd been digging on before and sat, waiting for Yoosung to finish climbing, licking out the grit and pebbles from the pads of her paws.

@Yoosung

Yoosung plodded after Wilder, working the kinks out of his joints. They creaked, stiff from a long rest, and he shed a few of the looser quills, finding that it felt almost like when he shed his fur. A good relief, kind of soothing, almost.

Before long, they reached a ledge, Yoosung carefully climbing up. He wasn't the most athletic of dogs, although he had sworn up and down to fix that after the Trial. Never, ever again. He scrambled up to the ledge, taking a moment to chew the grit from his pawpads so he could dig more easily.

I've been on a lonely tripdragging along a lonely shadow

@Wilder

Wilder breathed out with relief that Yoosung didn't slip or fall on his way up the Ridges, as she had when she'd first arrived. They both took a moment to prepare before Wilder stood and led him over to the hole. Which was, really, more like a very small crater in the ground. "Alright, are you ready? I sensed something in the soil here - I'll tell you all about it while we're digging, but there's something really interesting that happened here! And there's something even more interesting buried under there!"

Without further ado, Wilder launched herself forward and began scooping out dirt and earth from the hole she started as she worked, she began to tell Yoosung all about her findings - her vision at the Eyes of N'chard and Rezik. How N'chard had once been a king during the time of the Overseers, a king that wanted to lead his kingdom to freedom but Rezik, once a loyal subject, murdered him for the good of their people, believing that the Overseers would hunt and kill them, seeing slavery and life as the better option. How he led the kingdom to the Ridges where they eventually fell. She told him about the vision she'd seen from Ancilla's eyes - a daring word had gotten him a broken stone and death. The kingdom had been hopeless, suffering under the Overseers' cruelty and there was still a secret buried in the soil - she was looking for a stone and what she found was something more.

@Yoosung

The dog rolled his shoulders to try and loosen the muscles in his shoulders as he followed her to the hole--she had already made some good progress, it looked like, and he turned his ears to her as he began to dig.

His work was slow, but he was bigger than Wilder and able to put more dirt out with each strike of his paw, and he listened intently to her story. It was farfetched, hard for him to believe. Whether it was a tall tale or something true, he didn't know, but either way he provided it all of his attention, knowing it was greatly important to Wilder, and rather curious himself.

I've been on a lonely tripdragging along a lonely shadow

@Wilder