Spirit Animals: Saving The Evertree

Progress

"Ew!" Rollan said scrunching up his face as black ooze stained his pant leg. "That'll never come off." He grumbled. They had been going at this for hours and it didn't seem like it was helping. There was still a think layer of gunk covering the ground.

"Come on Rollan, it's not that bad." Said Tasha who was to his left digging.

"And not like that's the first stain you've got." Abeke laughed from his right.

Rollan ignored her and looked at the surrounding area covered in ooze. It was squishy and disgusting. Do it for Meilin. He thought. He took a deep breath as stuck his shovel in the muck. It made a swishing sound. Rollan made face as he scooped up a shovel full of the stuff and dumped it in a pile between him and Tasha. The pile was almost as tall as him.

"Ug." Rollan groaned. "How long do we have to keep this up?" Rollan asked leaning on his shovel unclasping his cloak. It was way too hot.

"Until we get through." Shane replied not looking up.

"Ug, but who knows how long that will take!" He moaned.

"Stop complaining and keep digging." Abeke said wiping sweat from her brow. "You want to see Meilin don't you?" She asked pausing leaning on her shovel like Rollan.

"Of course. But that doesn't make this any easier." He sighed pulling his shovel out of the rot and shoved it right back in getting a pile of rotten tree and dumping it into the pile. The pile of rot was taller than him now. Tasha must be working hard. Harder than him at least.
He wondered how Conner was doing. Was he still okay? He shoved his shovel in again to get a shovel half full of dirt.

"I got through!" He announced. "I got past the tree!" Everyone stopped to take a break relieved that they were making progress.

"See it wasn't that bad." Tasha said sitting a distance away from the tree so she wasn't sitting on muck.

Rollan shrugged. "I guess not." He walked over to Abeke and sat. "Now what?" He asked her.

Abeke took a drink from her canteen and replied. "We keep digging."

Rollan moaned. "Dig? Again?"

Abeke grinned standing up and picking up her shovel from the ground. The handle was covered in slime like all the other shovels. "Come on Rollan." Abeke prompted. "Meilin's down there somewhere." She said as she started digging. "And maybe you'll be the one to find her." She grinned at him.

"Hmph. She's probably having tons of fun down there." Rollan huffed. "She got to cave searching while we had to stay up here battling Zerif an his great beast body guards!"

"You're so pathetic sometimes." Abeke mumbled to herself.

Rollan frowned remembering that Uraza was now one of Zeif's 'bodyguards'. He walked back to his spot and continue digging. As much as it didn't seem like it, they were making progress.

"I can't wait till this is all over." He grumbled.