The rain stopped and work in the quarry resumed once the ground was dry enough. It was unfortunate that no one bothered to check up on Baldra, but it was a good thing Foresna visited the quarry that day. He looked up and goggled in horror. “Baldra’s moving!” he called.
“Don’t be so silly!” replied Velmar. “It can’t!” But it could…and it did! The boulder came tumbling down onto the track! The workers quickly got out of the way, but the machinery was crushed under Baldra’s weight. “…Sweet Steam Pipes!” gulped Velmar. “That was close!”
“Come on, we gotta raise the alarm!” urged Foresna. Velmar, her crew, and Foresna quickly made it to the signal box and told the signalwoman the situation. A warning was sent down the line, halting all traffic until the boulder could be moved. The signalwoman then got a bit of bad news concerning the repair crews and approached Foresna’s group.
“Guess who are laid up with their own problems in the Western District?” she grumbled.
“I don’t believe it!” complained Velmar’s firewoman. “You mean help won’t be coming?!” The driver tapped her chin in thought.
“…Tell you what, we’ll make a battering ram,” she said. “We load a train of freight cars up to their maximum weight tolerance and use them as a battering ram. That should knock Baldra aside.”
“Or knock us silly!” argued the firewoman.
“Do you have a better idea?” asked Velmar.
“Yes, we wait for the proper authorities to deal with this mess!”
“We can’t afford to wait,” replied Foresna.
“Mr. Falshenda’s right,” agreed the signalwoman. “We don’t know when or if the authorities will arrive. The longer we wait, the longer the Plan is halted. We have to get Baldra out of the way.”
Velmar got a train that was the heaviest she could push at high speeds. Normally, it would be too dangerous, but she only needed a few seconds to go fast. She got into position behind the train and was backed up to get a good run. “All right,” she said, “whenever we’re ready!”
“Three!” counted Foresna. “Two! One! CHARGE!” Velmar dug her wheels into the rails and charged the train at Baldra. The results…were disappointing. The freight cars and their contents were smashed, and their remains were scattered all over the tracks.
“Depths-fire and save matches!” fumed Velmar.
“Well, we had to try something,” remarked Foresna. Just then, Kelofel came up to them.
“What’s going on here?” she asked. “I heard Baldra landed on the tracks and is blocking the quarry.”
“You heard right,” said Velmar. “We tried to knock it aside, but only succeeded in smashing up freight cars.”
“Well, that’s why I’m here,” chuckled Kelofel. “I had express permission from the Emperor himself to clear it in…‘my preferred manner’, I believe he said.”
“That I did,” replied Galnyar’s voice as he came up to the group.
“Her preferred-?” The driver then realized what he and Kelofel were proposing! “No! Not explosives! My Lord, please reconsider it!”
“I initially did on the way here, then reconsidered it all over again when I heard about your battering ram incident. Good in theory, but it didn’t do so well in practice. Much as I hate to rob the Eastern District of their good luck charm, we have to blow Baldra up. Kelofel, get to it.”
Kelofel set the explosives near Baldra and wired them up to a fuse. “There we go!” she said once she was done. “One match strike and Baldra will be blown sky high!”
“Sky high is TOO high for my liking,” grumbled Foresna.
“All right, let’s light this sucker!” cheered Kelofel. She struck a match and lit the fuse, then joined the group while counting. She made it to six when she joined them. “Five! Four! Three! Two! One! FIRE!” The explosives went off. Baldra disappeared in a cloud of smoke and rubble. Once the aftershock passed, Kelofel motioned that it was okay to look. The cloud was still there.
“…Did…did it work?” asked Foresna.
“…my sleep…” whispered a voice.
“Whose sleep?” asked Galnyar.
“That wasn’t me!” gulped Foresna.
“…my sleep!” repeated the whisper in a harsher tone.
“Well, it’s definitely a man’s voice!” gulped Kelofel.
“You…disturbed…MY SLEEP!” The cloud suddenly vanished, revealing that Baldra was still standing, but it had a man’s face on it, contorted in rage! The face disappeared, then Baldra started moving!
“SWEET HEIGHTS! RUN!” shouted Galnyar. Velmar threw everyone into her cab and quickly reversed, putting some distance between her and the runaway boulder! She could still see it!
“Sweet Merciful Mordek! IT’S STILL ON THE LINE!” she wailed as she raced along the tracks. She rounded a bend and lost sight of Baldra. “…Okay!” she shuddered. “That was a-!”
“HOW DID IT GET BEHIND US?!” cried her driver. Velmar shot forward with Baldra in pursuit! She then saw a set of points with one path leading uphill. The signalman saw the danger and changed Velmar’s path to the uphill line. Baldra thundered down the other line. Velmar was relieved that she and her crew and passengers survived. The signalman called to her from his signal box.
“I already sounded the alarm!” he said. “Get after that thing!” She went back over the points and took off in pursuit, pouring every ounce of steam into her cylinders.
A team of ants pulled a carriage alongside the rail line, carrying Arsha and Lardeth to the quarry. It was a nice, sunny day and it felt perfect for a carriage ride. Arsha’s ears then flicked as she heard rumbling. “…Earthquake?” she muttered. She and Lardeth then looked out to see Baldra leave the tracks and roll down their road!
“YIKES!” shrieked Lardeth as the ants were turned around and urged to go at top speed. These were the fastest silver ants around and they easily pulled the carriage ahead of the boulder. The carriage driver saw an uphill road and got the ants to go up it. The road ran alongside the track. Once they stopped at a safe distance, Baldra continued on its path down the hill. Velmar rushed past them as Foresna explained the situation as quick as he could.
“Alarm’s already sounded! We’re after it!”
“Go get ‘em!” cheered Arsha.
“Arsha, the port’s down there!” yelped Lardeth. “My parents are supposed to be arriving there!”
“And Falnii’s supposed to meet them!” realized Arsha. “Quickly! After that boulder!” The carriage driver wasted no time in urging the ants on.
Rellmeer and Felfar were on an open-topped automatic coach as it coasted along the rail line. That section was up a hill, a hill that Baldra crested once it rounded the bend up on top. “Is that Baldra?!” gulped Felfar.
“It is! And it’s running loose!” Rellmeer quickly reversed the coach, but the speed wasn’t enough to outrun the boulder, just enough the maintain the gap. The coach then suddenly went on an upline. Baldra rolled by and smashed a water tower. Rellmeer released a breath. “Rather a smash than a squash.”
“That thing’s heading to the port!” gulped Felfar.
“You take the coach after it!” directed Rellmeer. “I’ll fly overhead!” Rellmeer flew out of the coach as Felfar took the controls, the pair of them chasing after it.
Falnii greeted all of Lardeth’s parents and was leading them out of the port when they heard rumbling. “This isn’t a tectonically active area,” muttered Endram.
“Runaway boulder!” warned Ufnamfa. Baldra’s rampage couldn’t be stopped!
“It’s heading right for us!” warned Falnii.
“GET OUT OF HERE!” shouted Emfam as she, Jeefef, and Olmarfa tackled everyone out of the way. Baldra then crashed into the port, smashing the buildings and ships. Fires sprang up everywhere. The uninjured people quickly cast fire extinguishing spells and fought the fires as the fire crews arrived. Once everything was put out, everyone could see the damage Baldra had caused. There, standing in the center of the ruined port, was an undamaged Baldra. More of its brown coating had fallen off and revealed an orb of obsidian with ruby ore flowing like lava through it. “…Baldra, your stones have caused enough damage at the end of the First Age of Unity!” hissed Emfam.