The tunnels that Depths' colony lived in were tame compared to the old ones that ran through the mountains. Whether they were the remnants of lava tubes, the wear of water, or were the veins of some long-ago beast as the stories went, he didn't know. What mattered was that they were eerie. But, they had needed minerals and ores, and so he was gritting his teeth and going in.

Ambergris had brought from friends from elsewhere, Solar and Spring, to give some insights into mining as they were more experienced in the field. Ae and Depths were meeting them at the transport pad, and Depths waved as the two tsabhuas stepped out of the flyer.

"Hello!" Ambergris greeted them cheerfully. "This is Depths, Depths, this is Solar and Spring. Welcome to Skyward!"

Solar and Spring nodded to them, and Depths nodded back.

The usual small talk continued as Depths and Ambergris gave them a quick tour of the colony, before heading out to the entrance to the nearby tunnels. Spring was a little aloof, so it ended up being Solar chatting with Depths and Ambergris. They had heard stories about the glowing bones that wove through the mountains of Rekes - was it true that the mountain range had once been some massive creature.

From behind them, Spring snorted and shook their head. "Don't be absurd," they quipped. "It's probably just some naturally occurring crystal."

"You'll see some of the bones on the way there, you can decide for yourself then," Ambergris jumped in before Solar could speak. Depths only shrugged, not of the opinion one way or the other.

Though the walk was short, their equipment was heavy, and the terrain mountainous. Cliffs loomed on either side as they walked at the base of a narrow valley, too small to warrant flying the hopper through without dire need. Thaw had begun, making the ground damp and squishy underfoot, with all the plants blooming riotously. Still, snowpack as ever clung to the peaks, a constant feature year-round.

They were nearly at the tunnel's entrance when Ambergris nodded at something ahead. "One of the bones for you two."

Solar and Spring both stared up at the crystal spire that erupted from the earth, many times taller than the colonists and curved like the rib of some giant animal. Solar let out a low whistle and got closer to it, curious, while Spring held back and gave it a wary look.

"They provide some illumination in the tunnels," Depths said by way of conversation, then nodded at where the tunnel entrance was visible in the nearby cliff wall, a dark gash in the grey stone.

He and Ambergris headed over, Spring following after a moment, and Solar running to catch up after snapping some pictures. They donned their hard hats and tested their lights before entering the darkness, and Ambergris let out an appreciative whistle at Spring's mining tools.

"That's a nice set - did you make them yourself?"

Spring perked up a little, and held up a well-made scraper to the light. "Why yes - thank you! It was quite the endeavor, but I'm glad of the results."

Solar seemed envious of the attention and so began examining the tunnel walls, apparently looking for any readily available veins of ore. Depths joined them in hooking up is prospecting tool to it's battery pack, while Spring and Ambergris chatted over the niceties of toolmaking.

Solar and Depths examined the tool's readout, and Solar nodded, shouldered their hammer, and headed down into the tunnel, head lamp illuminating the dark.

"Wait!" Depths called, hurting after. "We don't know if there's any wild animals down here -"

Solar cast a glance back and pulled out a knife with their other hand. "I'm not going far. Just want to check that deposit out."

Ambergris and Solar caught up and examined the readout as well.

"We should go together," Ambergris said simply, and hurried after Solar, tools still clipped onto aer harness as ae didn't have the extra set of hands of the tsabhuas.

Spring and Depths watched the lights of the two's headlamps bob down the tunnel, and Spring sighed, tapping a claw against the ground.

"Seems we should follow."

Depths hefted his pack again. "Seems we should."

The two headed into the darkness after the others, hoping they would only find ores and not something more alive… and annoyed at being disturbed.