The unsupported ley energy returns to the earth.
The soil is smoothed out, a canvas for a new painting.
Knut: Take heart, comrades.
Knut: Everything he did was for Rayashki.
Vila: We shared the same dream, didn't we?
Vila: To do all we can for the good of the people.
She faces toward the silent cliffs.
Worker I: Reporting: drilling rig clear, ready for new exploration.
Knut: ...
He stomps firmly on the ground beneath his feet.
Knut: That's the spirit! We must keep going! Let's get some wiggles!
Knut: Yuri, start the machines!
Worker II: On it!
A loud call resounds, and the huge drill churns once more.
The steel behemoths roar.
Their sound covering up the sorrow and the gloom of the moment.
After some time, the children carefully and cautiously approach the cliff's edge.
Avgust bends down, placing his sunflower on the edge, as tenderly as a mother tucks in their child.
Avgust: Take this. It's my best friend.
Avgust: I think it will be glad to have another best friend.
Pyotr: I will become a great hero like you. It's a promise, a man's promise.
Avgust: Why are your feathers wet, Pyotr?
Pyotr: ...
Avgust: You have water on your face, Ms. Windsong. Can kids still cry after they grow up?
Windsong: ...
Windsong: I should've known ...
Windsong: The abnormal fluctuation of the ley energy, and how much of an attraction it is to the critters ...
Windsong: I should've noticed they were different from my theory.
Her words are met by murmurs, but a familiar hand wraps hers gently.
Vila: At least this experience will be valuable for the study of ley lines, won't it?
Vila: Take it in, and make something of it. I'm sure it will be of more help in the future.
Vila: You're not only doing this for yourself or for me, but for those who sacrificed for all of us.
Windsong: ...
*boom*
Worker I: We found it! This must be the new resource!
A stream of black rocks rises from the pile, one by one.
In a short time, they are picked up and passed through countless hands.
The air is thick with black dust that covers coats, gloves, boots, and faces.
Knut: COAL!
Knut: It is coal! We did it!
Patrik: This is our coal! Comrades, we will use it to cook our meal tonight!
Resident II: And it will be the best meal I've ever had!
Patrik: Is that so, Comrade Nikita? You got a problem with my food, huh?
Resident I: Hahahaha!
Knut: I made a rough estimate. The reserves here should last hundreds of years!
Windsong: For the first time in history, the theory of ley lines has been verified.
Vila: There is no doubt your work deserves a fair assessment now.
Windsong: Thank you for your help, Ms. Vila.
Vila: We achieved this together, didn't we?
Windsong: Of course.
Cheers travel forward and back over the crowd and out into the boundless tundra.
They echo against the cliffs.
Windsong: The glory goes to every one of us.
Their joy reaches back to the town, carried in by the victorious comrades-in-arms.
Unfortunately, their now-unwelcome guests seem unable to share in the enthusiasm.
Bertolt: I'm very glad to see you again, Ms. Windsong.
Windsong: Hmph! Are you? You don't look glad at all.
Bertolt: Heh. I admit, I underestimated the people here.
Bertolt: Especially you, Ms. Windsong.
Bertolt: The great heroine who found coal deep beneath the town.
Windsong: So, did I manage to ruin Zeno's little plans?
Bertolt: ...
Her sharp tongue breaks the cool of the no longer smiling crocodile.
Bertolt: We have nothing left to do here. Zeno will leave soon.
Bertolt: I know we disagree on many things, our future included. Still, Zeno looks forward to working with you again, hopefully in a more friendly way.
He extends his hand on his own initiative.
Windsong: I hope so, too.
Windsong: You don't wanna be embarrassed by another lowly researcher again, do you?
Bertolt's hand awkwardly hangs in the air, unanswered.
Bertolt: Goodbye, Ms. Windsong.
Windsong: ...
Windsong: Wait! I have one last question!
Bertolt: Please, I'm at your service.
Windsong: Zeno confirmed the existence of Hoituks in Rayashki months ago, but you just took care of them without letting anyone know.
Windsong: You already knew there would be a large reserve of coal here, didn't you?!
Bertolt: ...
He shrugs and leaves without another word.
