85 Ashan 722
One of the mines had collapsed.
They were harvesting some ore from the side of a room and pillar mine when the pillar holding up the room gave out. No one was expecting it. No one knew why or how it had happened. No one had a chance to question it. At least a dozen miners were trapped beneath the earth, inside the mountain. They could have been dead for all the runner knew but he had heard voices on the other side of the collapse. He was confident, in his delirious state, that they were alive.
The camp was abuzz with conversation when Balthazar left his tent in the morning. Some were curious about what had happened, others were quickly working to make sure that none of their research was compromised, and a few were too tired to realize what was happening. Balthazar was among the first grouping and he knew exactly where to go to find out. He made his way towards the Dean's tent and about halfway there he was flanked by Robin from the side. He'd heard the boy approaching but thought nothing of it.
"What did you do?" Robin asked in a very quiet voice.
"This wasn't me but if we can help, we will." Balthazar replied as they neared the Dean's tent. "Then maybe renegotiate."
The duo of hopeful helpers pulled back the flap of the Dean's tent and found it was even more active than it had been the trial before when they arrived. Much like the last time, nobody stopped to address them in the light of the news that had just come in. The University needed to respond quickly to the collapse of one of their mines. They needed more people from the Order to treat the injured and they needed Elements to help clear the rubble. Balthazar and Robin slipped into the back of the room, Balthazar a little less noticeable than Robin and listened carefully to what was going on.
Dean Henri Wagstaff's leadership was in full display. He commanded the room very well for an academic in Balthazar's opinion but it could have been better. Maybe it was ego, but Balthazar felt Henri should have addressed the powerful Defiance mage who entered the tent. Knowing that no one would overhear them over the orders that Wagstaff was delivering, Robin whispered to Balthazar. "Did you really mean what you said about using this to renegotiate?"
"I'm not going to let people die." Balthazar said in a normal volume. He was not nervous about being overheard. Robin didn't seem convinced so Balthazar added, "I will help where I can." Though he had to admit that if they did not recognize he was providing them a great service, he would probably be angry about it later. Robin said nothing else, instead choosing to stand silently and watch. He was good at that. Like Fuego and Crow. However Fuego and Crow were quiet because they were observing. One to learn and one on alert for dangers. Robin was quiet because he was thinking. In this case, he was thinking about whether or not it really would be a bad idea to use the situation for leverage.
Balthazar motioned for Robin to remain where he was before taking a few steps forward to try and make the Dean more aware of his presence. Wagstaff was still too preoccupied with organizing a response to the disaster to notice the mage waiting for him. "Get these to the Element Hall and the Adunih outpost in Scalvoris Town as quickly as you can," Dean Wagstaff said as he handed off folded letters to a one of the researchers who's name Balthazar did not know. Henri turned quickly to another of the university's team, "Get word out to the mine on Ornthrus, have the miners there bring their gear to the Syper mine so to begin clearing away the rubble."
"It will take trials to a response from Scalvoris Town," Balthazar said in a loud enough voice to be heard, causing the Dean who still hadn't noticed him to turn with a measured look. Henri was pulling things together well but this was not a situation he wanted to be in. "Take me to the collapsed mine. I can find out if the miners are alive and get them out with magic."
"How?" Henri asked, unwilling to bet the lives of the miners simply on 'magic.'
"I can project my senses beyond the collapse with attunement and that should help me figure out if they are still alive inside. Then I can move the earth out of the way with defiance. It would have to be slow to avoid causing any other cave-ins but defiance is not as blunt a magic as you might think. I should be able to tell if the earth will fall again." Balthazar explained before adding, "More importantly, I can do it all now- not in a few trials when the miners might run out of air or injuries might get worse."
Dean Wagstaff didn't seem sold on the idea but it was for the same reason that they hadn't come to an agreement the trial before. He did not know if he could trust Balthazar. He also didn't know if he could sleep well knowing he could have let the mage help the miners and instead waited while they died. He made a decision. If Balthazar did help, he could be trusted a little more. If Balthazar got the miners killed, he would be held responsible. After far too long of a pause, Henri nodded to the mage and began writing something on a piece of parchment. "Powell will take you to the Syper mine. Find him in the camp and give him this," Henri rolled up the parchment and held it out to Balthazar.
"I'll need Robin but feel free to instruct the rest of my men. They'll help in whatever way they can." Balthazar offered as he took the note from Wagstaff. The Dean of Science nodded to the mage and Balthazar left to find Powell. Robin fell in beside him as he left the tent.
"That went better than last time." Robin whispered.
"People tend to trust magic more in emergencies when they need it. You should have seen me in Quacia." Balthazar said with a small shrug as they went to look for the geologist.