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Post by Ashe on Dec 16, 2017 6:57:00 GMT -6
AsheMason 3 Feel the node Encounters: Off Looking for: Tainted crystals Level: 98 Loyalty: 97 Stamina: 1 Strength: 3 Resistance: 5 Dexterity: 3 Mentality: 3 Special Abilities: Earth Resistance, Fly, Opposable Thumbs, Magical Moves: Dig, Peck, Claw Level: 120.4 Loyalty: 110.4 Type: Imp Stamina: 1 Strength: 1 Resistance: 0 Dexterity: 4 Mentality: 4 Special Abilities: Flutter Moves: Ember, Scratch Spoils: Last post from Here
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Post by Ashe on May 13, 2018 17:37:55 GMT -6
After their last trip, where Ashe hadn't really found anything that exciting, he had decided to leave the Sarane at home. Instead, he had brought his constant companion and most trusted friend along for the ride. Inyala sat perched in her usual spot on his shoulder, claws digging into the sleeve of his long sleeved shirt. He wore something relatively warm, seeing as it was damp and cold under hundreds of tons of earth, and it never hurt to have something a little more protective when faced with accidentally scraping against sharp rocks. And, you know, Imp claws. Though he was fairly sure his skin had toughened up enough to resist her.
Brazin crawled along after him, her long from legs pulling her along. She was able to scale walls and dig through every surface they had encountered thus far, making Ashe trust her to not get into trouble, or abandon them, or get lost. Her soft glow was helpful in locating her anyway, should Ashe himself derp out and follow the trail of something interesting. It would definitely be him, before either of the others, that wandered off and got himself killed.
This part was always the most boring, Ashe thought. He'd seen it literally a hundred times, walking through the well worn entrance and trying to find a tunnel that hadn't been completely drilled out from constant digging.
Inyala: 0 1/5 Brazin: 0 1/5 Ashe: 0 16/20 (continued count)
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 17:36:26 GMT -6
It was raining. A steady drizzle had persisted for days, almost a full week at this point. Ashe had put off doing much of anything during that time and was content to stay at home around Zanarkand. He dodged raindrops to tend to his pets, then came inside to shower and cuddle with Vixen, if she could make it over. He liked rainy days, it kept her inside with him. Nice days, she was out trying to get herself killed this way or that way, and he had obligations of his own... But today, she hadn't been around, and he was starting to get cabin fever. He decided to pack up Inyala and his Gargoyle, grab his stuff, and hit the mines.
Soaked by the time he arrived at the mouth of the mineshaft, he paused only to crack open the belly of the cart he toted. Brazin and Inyala had both been stashed in there, both for speed and ease of managing, but also to keep them dry. In hindsight, perhaps it would have been easier for Ashe to climb in there himself, since neither creature cared as much about getting wet as humans did. Oh well, they were here, and Ashe was dripping. He decided to stay near the entrance for a little bit.
Inyala: 0 2/5 Brazin: 0 2/5 Ashe: 0 1/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 17:45:31 GMT -6
It was warm outside, a warm spring rain, and Ashe was hoping he could dry off more here by the entrance before they went deeper into the ground. Typically, the further down he went, the cooler the temperatures - unless they went too far down and found a lava pit or something. Ashe wanted to do that, but he had yet to actually find anything. He'd heard there were awesome gemstones that far down. Here? Probably not so much. He was by the entrance, in a well picked over spot. But maybe they'd gotten the riff raff off and he would be able to find the more interesting stuff hidden down a few layers more.
He set up the crate and set up the light, which he didn't really need, and sorted through the tools he'd brought. Which were also in the crate he tugged along. Pickaxe first.
"Alright, Brazin, we're staying here for a little while. We'll move on to more exciting things soon. For now..." He trailed off, gesturing around him. This would be their home for an hour or so. Inyala hopped up onto the cart, perching there and ready to watch. She didn't have the strength Ashe had and wouldn't be as much of use compared to the human.
Inyala: 0 3/5 Brazin: 0 3/5 Ashe: 0 2/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 17:53:31 GMT -6
Brazin wandered over to the wall and started looking it over. Her eyes scoured the rock, her claws reaching up to wriggle some loose bits free. She trailed that clawed hand across the wall, as if feeling for something to speak to her. The hand reached the ground, and the other hand came up. Both clawed hands raked vertically down the wall, creating gauges in the worn-smooth face of it. Once the wall was opened up, Brazin started to pick at the wall, carefully choosing bits and pieces to dislodge and check out. When something didn't catch her eye, she tossed it behind her carelessly, but when something looked interesting, she set it by her feet. Ashe might, if he was lucky, get to go through the interesting pile later on.
With Inyala's watchful gaze upon him, Ashe took the pickaxe and started working on the wall. If he could open up a passageway that started in and then tilted downward, and follow the path, maybe he could make some progress in a new vein or something. That would give him a goal to work for at least, so work at it he did. The sound of the pickaxe, like everyone else's, sounded muffled this close to the entrance.
Inyala: 0 4/5 Brazin: 0 4/5 Ashe: 0 3/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 18:08:38 GMT -6
Inyala began to grow bored of this, sitting around and waiting. Was there nothing for her to do? She climbed all over the crate, peeked in the crate, looking for anything that might help her stay awake and interested. She found an old bag of treats and opened it with her nimble little fingers. Sitting on the edge of the crate again, picking at the treats and eating tiny piece by tiny piece, Inyala kicked her legs back and forth like a little child.
Brazin was doing the brunt of the work, picking one of the crevices she'd created and starting to try and widen it. Occasionally, her claws hit something a little harder than the dirt and rock that started to rain down around her, and she would pause, use both hands to pick and prod at the spot, getting whatever it was worked free. From there, she would look at it, observe it, and decide which 'pile' it belonged to. Then she would continue on with the digging. Ashe, meanwhile, was trying to focus on his own work, which was hard when he wanted to see what Brazin dug up. Plus, this was all very boring and his mind was starting to wander. Wander, however, to much more fun things, which made him restless.
Inyala: 1 0/5 Brazin: 1 0/5 Ashe: 0 4/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 18:22:25 GMT -6
It was really easy to imagine the things he wanted to do when he found some more crystals, or some spiffy new gems. He had a lot of work to do in the Gemstone Workshop, including making a special custom ring for someone very special to him, but every time he had stopped by, the doors had been shut. His tattoo didn't even gain him entrance, because there was simply no one there to harass until the doors opened. That was just it. The end. He sighed, digging his axe into the wall and chipping away. Pieces rained down around him. They were forming piles at his feet, mostly dirt and ground up rock dust, nothing of real interest. He hoped he'd be able to see gems before he broke anything. Assuming a pickaxe could do much damage to any of the precious stones in here.
Brazin was widening the central claw mark, almost making it run into the other two ruts left by her left hand. She made little click-clack noises, which were almost completely drowned out by the rainfall of rocky crumbs. Who knew sand and dirt falling could make so much sound?
Inyala popped another treat into her mouth and watched with boredom. She couldn't even pretend to be having fun at the moment.
Inyala: 1 1/5 Brazin: 1 1/5 Ashe: 0 5/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 18:35:39 GMT -6
Now, if he could find some more crystals, he might be able to make another node. And then with another node, he might be able to quit the Ranger job he had (which he was vastly overqualified for, he figured, but he had fun with) and practice harder to become an archmage. That was his goal, he supposed, until he could become a Necromancer. If they even had that as a job title - he hadn't found anyone willing to hire him on as that yet. But he felt the pull toward certain crystals, the Tainted and the Chaos. He had some of each, just not enough. Never enough. He would have to spend a whole entire month down here, to be honest, he figured. Could he do it?
Brazin continued to dig. She was making a little deeper of a dent now, and had combined two of the claw rakes. She hadn't found what she was looking for just yet so she kept on trying. Ashe expected her to pause, to listen or thing things over, but she didn't. She continued like a well oiled machine, her body moving with a steady repetition. He admired her for a minute, then turned to look at Inyala and see what she was up to. Still eating treats, only now her eyelids were sliding closed.
Inyala: 1 2/5 Brazin: 1 2/5 Ashe: 0 6/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 18:47:08 GMT -6
Inyala caught herself as her eyelids slid shut and her head bobbed forward. It felt so heavy, she just wanted to lean. She nearly toppled off the cart before she caught herself, dropping the bag of treats in doing so. She let out a startled squawk and hopped down to retrieve her bag of treats. She scrambled to try and climb back up the crate while holding the bag. It wasn't working, and she kept finding herself losing her grip and slipping back to the ground. She couldn't jump that high weighed down... So she switched it up and held the bag in her mouth and then climbed up the side of the crate, her tiny claws digging into the wood. She made it to the top and wandered back over to where she had been sitting. This time, not dangling over the edge. She didn't want to fall again.
Ashe tried to hide the smirk on his face, amused as he was by her fall. She was unhurt, and he would have quickly helped her if she had needed it, but there was something precious about his Imp being sleepy, almost like a baby.
Brazin ignored them both and continued on her search. She could feel something in these walls, but it was faint, as if far off. She wasn't sure if there was a better way to get to it...
Inyala: 1 3/5 Brazin: 1 3/5 Ashe: 0 7/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 18:55:29 GMT -6
Inyala munched some more treats, but soon she grew full. She wasn't like the Equillion back home that could eat and eat and never be full, always grazing and looking for handouts. Inyala had a small stomach and when it was full, that was it. She had to stop eating and sometimes she even required a nap. She was similar to Ashe in that aspect; but she tended to eat more than he did, even then. So now that she was full, she was growing bored again. She pulled out a tiny stringy piece of meat, one of the treats, and held it between her fingers. It felt squishy and soft, so she applied pressure - and the strings of muscle pulled apart. She took one of the strings in her mouth and pulled, eating it like string cheese. Kind of a weirdo, if you asked, but no one dared.
Brazin hit something hard. It sounded almost metallic, but when she dug into it further, it seemed to just be a hard piece of rock. She couldn't take any risks, so despite its appearance, she worked diligently to extract the chunk of weird rock and she set it down in her 'to observe later' pile. It wasn't growing as fast as Ashe would like, but anything might be something.
Inyala: 1 4/5 Brazin: 1 4/5 Ashe: 0 8/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 19:08:09 GMT -6
Inyala was starting to doze off again. She yawned widely and decided to do something about it this time, so she curled up into a little ball, her back up against the bag of treats. She finally allowed her eyes to shut and take her off in a deep slumber. It started as light at first, just a quick snooze, but within a couple of minutes she was sleeping so soundly that not even the metallic clang of Ashe's pickaxe in the stone. Over and over, rhythmic and enduring. Ashe was making slow progress on his new path. He was starting at roughly chest height and working his way down - he had maybe an inch or two, from floor to the desired height. It wasn't much, but wasn't too bad for the time he'd worked. He kept going, determined to find something. Brazin also seemed determined, and she was making much faster progress. Maybe he should stop and have her work for him, instead of next to him? Nah, Ashe had his own goal and that might not match up with hers. He trusted her to know exactly what she was doing and where she was going with it. He hoped to be seeing results soon, both in something shiny and also in making their own passageways.
Inyala: 2 0/5 Brazin: 2 0/5 Ashe: 0 9/20
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Post by Renathan on May 30, 2019 19:08:24 GMT -6
What beautiful minerals! Also, a metal; how nice! [1-10] (You may also only choose one type of crystal for your Feel the Node bonus)
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 19:26:49 GMT -6
Together the pair worked and worked. At some point, Ashe's pick landed on something that looked a different shade of greyish black than the rest of the stone around it, and he frowned slightly as he worked it free, prying it with the tip of his axe. It broke free and he caught it in his hand, looking it over. It was of a similar shape to the crystals he was seeking, but it didn't hold the same magic power those did. He could even feel that much, he didn't have to be a mining familiar to figure that out. But it was interesting nonetheless and he quickly tossed it into the crate. It was finally getting some use! That was a relief. He got back to work. Brazin worked tirelessly, doing something similar to Ashe. Continuous, repetitive, but a little bit faster than the human. Her long arms and rock hard claws were made for life down here, after all.
Ohh, what was this?
Inyala: 2 0/5 - Sleeping Brazin: 2 1/5 Ashe: 0 10/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 19:40:11 GMT -6
Brazin was the next to find something. She recognized that silvery gleam, she'd dug metals up before and this one was very obviously a chunk of silver. Brazin carefully tucked her claws around it, digging a small trench in the outline of the chunk of ore. She wriggled it free, trying not to scratch it with her claws but also not leave any rock attached to it. She finally dug it out completely and let it fall into the soft pile of dirt that had accumulated, then she picked it up gingerly and strode over to the crate and dropped the chunk of silver in. It made a satisfying thunk as it hit, soft and not loud enough to wake Inyala thanks to the wood used. She returned to her post and started up all over again, resuming where she left off.
Ashe took note that Brazin had found something, but he was too focused on his own findings to pay too much attention to what she did.
Inyala: 0 0/5 - Sleeping Brazin: 2 2/5 Ashe: 0 11/20
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Post by Ashe on May 30, 2019 19:51:27 GMT -6
It was Ashe who found something next. He leaned forward, seeing a tiny grey spot. He reached out and touched it with a hand, feeling that it was much smoother and softer than the rocks around it. He put down his pickaxe and went to get the chisel set, not wanting to hurt the stone he'd just found. Very carefully, he worked at extracting it. A little on this side, a little on that side, and then he could wedge part of the chisel under it and pry it loose. A little wiggle here and a wiggle there, then the stone fell free and into his hand. He looked at it, noticing that it had a pretty red swirl through the middle of it, then he dropped it into the crate as well. Good, they were on a roll! He set the chisel set aside and picked up the axe again.
It seemed like Brazin's luck had run out, she didn't find anything when Ashe did.
Inyala: 0 0/5 - Sleeping Brazin: 2 3/5 Ashe: 0 12/20
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