The Biggest Sandpit | A Literal Goldmine

Of course, anyone who was put in a large amount of sand would want to dig. But Coralyn couldn't help but be worried. Eptesi had been in Sandfall for what? A Few weeks? at that point it was obvious that he needed to follow along and make sure that he was okay. Thankfully, Eptesi had left a map for the other beastling with directions to where he was heading.

The trip itself wasn't difficult, neither was following the same path that his partner had taken, though when he got to the destination as stated by the map, he only found himself confused. He looked up and saw a fenced off area with two large saurians blocking the way. And it was clear that they had noticed Coralyn as well.

"Stop! What purpose do you have here?" One saurian asked, holding out his hand to make sure Coralyn kept his distance. He coughed nervously, trying to keep himself from collapsing in fear as he responded. "Ah, yes. I am here to visit my boyfriend. Eptesi? Bat wings, black belts across his chest, stripes across his arms and legs, About this high including his ears?"

The two guards looked at each other, and then back to Coralyn. The second saurian spoke up. "You expect us to believe that Eptesi is in relations with someone as soft and pathetic as you?" The vulpel, despite his fear, couldn't help but huff slightly. "Well then! That's very rude of you to say-"

"Cora!" A cheerful voice yelled from behind the two saurians, who quickly moved to the side to allow Eptesi through. The vesperus wrapped his wings and arms around Coralyn in a big hug, laughing a little. "You actually came to visit! That's awesome!"

"Aha, yes." Coralyn laughed nervously, unable to say anything more until he was dragged past the guards and towards the middle of the fenced area. He noticed how a square of land had been completely blocked off with wood and stone, creating a wall to block sand from falling into the hole it surrounded. And by the stars it was a large hole, large enough to the point where before he could see anything else, he had to go down flights of stairs.

As they moved downwards, Eptesi was happily describing what he had been doing this entire time. "Welcome to my mining operation! At first, it was just going to be a little bit of fun to see if we could find some fossils or anything like that, but let me tell you! We've found enough gold here to sustain trade for years, no, centuries, millenia, even!"

"I uh, I see." Coralyn nodded. "And uh, if I may ask, what about those two up there-?"

"Oh, don't worry about them! You see, a few saurians weren't so happy with my operation, so they tried to spar me in order to have the right to tell me to leave, but none of them won, so I'm still here! Alongside that, some of the saurians that I've impressed with my skills have come to join me in the mining operation, either as guards or as miners!" He turned just as he walked off the last step, proceeding to walk backwards as they entered the mining tunnels properly.

This far down, the sand had been replaced with some form of stone, and the tunnels were decorated with all of the supports needed to make sure the operation was safe and functional. "And, mutually beneficial!" The vesperus was incredibly proud about that part. "All I ask for is a portion of the gold found, and to be put in discussion for what to do with some of the fossils that could be put in museums!"

"I... uhm... I see." Coralyn stated, his voice a mix of awe and confusion. "So... this is very impressive and all, but... when are you coming home?"

That made Eptesi pause. "Well... You see... I actually... hmm.." He tried to find the words, and the more he stuttered the more he saw the frown on his boyfriend's face deepen. "I'll be home as soon as I can, I just need to find someone to handle the mining operation for the further future while I go and explore more places. It's... somewhat difficult when most of the individuals I've met who want the position are either greedy merchants or those who I know would refuse to give me my portion of the spoils."

That didn't seem to be a good enough answer, so Eptesi thought quickly to add more to his statement. "But! I promise that it won't take much longer to find someone. And, if you want, you can stay here until I'm ready to come home! I've actually made a pretty sweet deal with the nearby tribe, I'm sure that if you tell them that you're with me, they'll happily let you stay for a while! Who knows, it might be... a nice vacation?"

As much as Coralyn knew this was a desperate attempt to keep him from being upset, he couldn't help but be charmed a little. And... admittedly it would be nice to have a break from his regular work. Maybe he could even learn something from the saurians.... he had always wanted to learn some self defense when he had the free time.

"You know what... sure. I suppose I can let you dig your hole a little bit longer." Coralyn was once again pulled into a big hug, Eptesi smiling and snuggling into him. "Yay! Thank you so much, Cora! You're going to have at least a little bit of fun here, I promise!" The pink male chuckled slightly, rolling his eyes with a little bit of affection behind it.

Even if the mining operation was already huge, it definitely wasn't going away anytime soon. Even after Eptesi found someone else to take over for him, it was already an accepted fact that the Golden Scales would never let this literal goldmine go to waste.

Biggest sandpit in the realms, meet the biggest hole in the realms.