Hot and steamy

Mercifully, there was an elevator leading into the deeper part of the mine, so the quartet of nude women piled into the small metal crate and Bralite pulled a lever to start their descent. Takoff was used to sharing small spaces with her two naked companions by now, but adding a fourth woman to the mix made her face pink with embarrassment all over again. It was plain to her that she was the only one bothered by this predicament, or at least the only one willing to say so, and that only pissed her off even more. What was wrong with these chucklefucks?

As the metal cage went deeper into the caves, all four passengers started to sweat profusely as the temperature rose dramatically. The heat was no joke this far down, as many of the crystals this cave was known for were used for generating heat. Steam wafted from the many veins from which the three newbies could hear the sound of pickaxes, sledgehammers, and other tools clanging away at the rock walls. Needless to say, all of their bodies being drenched in sweat before the elevator doors were opened did not make Takoff feel more comfortable with the conditions, but at least walking out into the main cave gave her more elbow room. She'd shared enough fluids with her travelling mates already; getting more intimate was out of the question.

The section of the cave was lit by a series of glowing jars which Morgala recognized as fairy dust. They did a lot to light up the otherwise pitch black underground tunnel, if only she could forget how the substance was... ahem, produced. Let's just say there had been many an adult novel featuring copious amounts of fairy dust (and she should know; Hilda owned nearly all of them).

Bralite cracked her neck and marched to a rack of tools built into the wall next to the elevator doors. Wiping the sweat from her brow and pushing back her white hair, now slick from the steam, she turned to her charges and ushered them toward her. "You'll be starting with something easy today. We've got a section of this vein that's been mostly cleared out. You lot just have to collect the last bits in that tunnel and send them up." She pointed to a shallow tunnel that was littered with illuminated jars, and then to a conveyor belt leading back to the surface.

"Won't you be monitoring us? You know, showing us the ropes and stuff?" Thurkla asked, adjusting her gloves and eyeing the array of tools in front of her.

"I have some work to do up here, inspecting the newer infrastructure." She waved her arm around the air as if it were obvious what she meant. The three clueless newbies just nodded, wanting to avoid an earful. "I'll be right at the end of your tunnel, though, so just yell if you need someone to save you." The Duergar eyed Takoff with that last bit, causing the surface dwarf's face to go red with embarrassment, though she hoped it looked more like rage.

Morgala looked over the various pieces of equipment, marveling at their sheen. The platinum-coated shovels, picks, and hammers all shone in the light as if they were brand new, despite obvious signs of use. There was probably some kind of preservation magic on them, but the indoor elf was far too sheltered to guess at what it could be. "Is there, uh, anything specific we should use for this?"

"Most of the work has been done for you, so you won't have to use any of the heavy stuff. You've got it easy for your first day; forewoman must like you."

Trying not to think to hard about that statement, the three nude workers picked up a few of the smaller tools. Thurkla and Takoff had no issues picking up a small hammer and pick each, but Morgala had a bit more trouble with the same tools. While her companions were able to lift their chosen implements, the out-of-shape elf was obviously having a hard time holding her hands up. "Do you need help, babe?" Thurkla asked.

Morgala shook her head. "No, I'm fine, sweetie. Thank you, though." She didn't want to seem like a weak link in their trio; if the others could pull their weight, so could she.

At least, she thought as much until she stubbed her toe on a rock and lost her balance, her tools swinging in her arms and carrying her face-first into the cave wall before clattering to the ground. As Morgala pulled herself outside of the indent she'd made in the stone, stars spinning above her head, Bralite sighed and put her hand on the poor woman's shoulders. "Yeah, you're not doing that. I'm not getting anyone killed on their first day." Picking up the hammer and pick, she returned the tools to the rack and bent down slightly to grab something from a lower shelf (giving the newbies a glorious view of her full moon in the process). Standing up and waving her hair back in a fashion that sent all three women's hearts aflutter, she handed Morgala a more suitable tool for her physique.