Depths had been thinking about forging his own set of knives for a while. Not because he disliked the colony's stock - they were fine knives - but he wanted to make something himself. Noodle was coming along to learn some, and Depths helped ze with zir breathing mask before slipping into the water. They were after a rare ore that was only prevalent in the oceanic crust, and had asked some guides from the local ocean colony to help.

Dragoo and Arazias were waiting for them just below the surface, near an outcropping of rock covered with mussels and barnacles. It sank down into the depths, base indistinct in the slightly murky water, churned up by the crash of the waves against shore nearby. Here, though, the movement of the water was gentle, far from the gnashing violence against the shore. Flish flitted in and out of sight, scales flashing in the shattered sunlight from above.

Learning from their experiences, they each had a small transmitter and receiver so that they could communicate aloud rather than relying on sign language that Depths and Noodle still were unsure about.

Noodle started poking at some of the plants while Depths waved at the newcomers. "Hello!"

Dragoo waved back, while Arazias held back, looking a little more uncertain.

"I'm Dragoo, Arazias," Dragoo introduced the two of them. "You're here for the sea iron ore?"

Depths nodded, pulling Noodle back absently from trying to pick a fight with an eel that had been staring at zem in mild horror. "Yeah, I'm looking to forage some of my own blades and I think it's exactly what I need." He motioned at the tools on his back. "And I brought supplies, so you don't need to worry about that."

Dragoo nodded, and the three swam off.

"There's a known mine ahead," Arazias commented quietly.

"Yes, but it is a bit of a pain to spot," Dragoo admitted.

"And a pain to extract, I've heard," Depths commented.

Arazias, distracted with Noodle trying to chase their tail, didn't answer, but Dragoo jumped in.

"Yeah, takes a bit of strength to pry the rocks away to actually get at the vein. Speaking of which… we need some for our own colony, ourselves, do you mind if we help out?"

"I'll never say no to help!"

Dragoo nodded, contented, then squinted at the ocean floor that began to loom out of the darkness. "Ah- there. You see the shine?"

Depths spotted no such shine, but nodded, pulling Noodle away from Arazias who shot him a thankful look.

The three quickly found an odd outcropping of rock, rupturing from the seafloor. Depths wasn't sure how Dragoo had spotted the glints of metal ore from so far away, but sure enough - here it was. Formed by the combination of the immense pressure of the water and the heat of the lava beneath, sea ore was said to have a wave-like pattern when forged into blades. Depths wanted to see if that was true, but first he had to collect it.

Leaving Noodle to stare, mesmerized, at an octopus, he pulled out a pickaxe. He tilted his head before handing a shovel to Arazias and a crowbar to Dragoo. The three debated about which vein to go after, then decided on one that had a long, if thin split to reveal the ore beneath. That way, they could all work on it together. Depths expected the work to be at least somewhat easier with the reduced gravity of the water, but that was… not the case.

It was still backbreaking work, going at the stubborn stone with the traditional tools used in the area, prying and scratching away at it with pickaxe, shovel and crowbar. Eventually, though, some of the almost blue ore was revealed, and the three looked at it with satisfaction. Depths and Arazias' masks were starting to fog up from their exertion, while Dragoo took the opportunity to float there, looking exhausted.

Depths rubbed his muscles, feeling already sore. "I'm going to regret this tomorrow," he commented, and Arazias and Dragoo shared a weary laugh.

Noodle had lost interest in the octopus, and was playing with the rocks they'd removed, turning them over and making rumbling noises. Seeing that ze was still content, the three went back to chipping away at the ore, now. Dragoo and Arazias had brought some baskets, and the three split the extracted ore evenly between them. They were all doing the work, after all.

They made sure to take regular breaks, but it was still difficult and tiring.

As the light began to fade, Dragoo and Arazias lead them to the surface, swimming made harder by the ore weighing them down. The adults grimaced and dragged the extra weight along, while Noodle, unencumbered, swam around, wailing about them being boring and slow.

Eventually, they reached the surface, and bade each other goodbye, heading home tired but content.