|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 24, 2021 20:34:06 GMT -6
It looked as if Fiera and Snowdrop were going to lose track of the gemmorn the second time that day, were it not for the fact that the gemmorn came to a scuttling stop, looking out into the gloom. Fiera wasn’t sure what made it stop, but she wasn’t about to let it get away again. The humanish dropped the lead for the mine cart briefly, setting Snowdrop on top of it before diving forward at the creature, her hands whipping out to catch it. Despite knowing she was there, the gemmorn squeaked in surprise as she grasped it, dropping the red gemstone it had stolen. “Finally!” Fiera groaned with relief. Without further ado, she unfolded the top of the mine cart and set the gemmorn in there, along with the gemstone. It hissed at her slightly before curling up in the corner, as if realizing that it had lost.
Fiera 1 Snowdrop 3.1/5.1 16
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 24, 2021 21:18:27 GMT -6
The minute the gemstone was set down however, Snowdrop began huffing and pushing away from Fiera toward the mine cart. “Uh, ok.” The humanish said, gently setting the kitten down. The moment she did however, Snowdrop toddled over to the garnet and curled up around it like a dragon protecting its hoard before pulling over a few of the other gems Fiera had found. “Huh. Well... ok then.” Fiera said with a shrug. She didn’t THINK there was any dragon blood in tailypo, but now she wasn’t so sure. She hadn’t seen this sort of gem hoarding behavior in any of her other kittens, but she supposed anything was possible. This may have well been just a weird quirk of Snowdrop’s. It seemed useful for now though- any time the gemmorn snuck up to try and grab another gem, the young tailypo hissed at it to scare it away.
Fiera 2 Snowdrop 32/5.2 17
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 24, 2021 21:42:09 GMT -6
Every time the gemmorn came forward, Snowdrop pushed it back again. It was easy enough for her, considering that the moondust tailypo kitten was (barely) bigger than the gemmorn, and was this able to intimidate it a lot easier. Soon the gemmorn was reduced to sitting in a huff with the one piece of ore Fiera had found while Snowdrop curled herself around “the good stuff”. Fiera chuckled at their antics, glad that Snowdrop was enjoying herself. That meant that she could finally get to mining herself... once she figured out where she was. It was especially dark in this part of the tunnel, and SOMETHING had spooked the gemmorn. Not wanting to walk right into it, Fiera slipped her bag off of she shoulders and dug around in it for a moment before pulling out her flashlight. This would do! She fumbled with the button for a moment before switching it on.
Fiera 3 Snowdrop 3.3)5.3 18
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 24, 2021 22:11:34 GMT -6
The battery had been recently replaced, so the beam from the flashlight burst out strong and true. Once Fiera blinked the afterimage from the sudden bright light out of her eyes and let them adjust, she was able to see what this part of the mines had to offer. Immediately, she could see what cause the gemmorn to hesitate. Instead of the winding, short tunnel, the space up ahead suddenly opened up into a larger chamber with a drop off in front of them. The humanish shone the light down and saw that the drop off was only about two feet high however before it sloped back down to the floor. For Fiera it was navigable with a bit of effort, but she could see why a pocket pet would hesitate before jumping down. Sure she’d have to lift her mine cart and set it down, but it wasn’t enough for Fiera to suddenly stop her adventuring.
Fiera 4 Snowdrop 3.4/5.4 19
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 24, 2021 22:15:20 GMT -6
The rest of the room was pretty raw rock, all things considered. It was clear that it hadn’t been carved out by a sapient’s hands, and was instead a natural gap from nature. There were stalagmites and stalactites jutting from the floor and ceiling in arcing patterns, and shallow pits in the floor from where there might have been water once that had now dried up. On the far left side another tunnel yawned, but it was still dark beyond about a foot in. She would have to check that out later. When she turned her ears toward it however, she could have sworn she could hear the sound of running water, if just a trickle. That could be interesting, but she had to be careful- the water down here tended to be freezing. With the room now cleared for entry to her satisfaction, Fiera turned to her mine cart and gripped it firmly on either end.
Fiera 5 Snowdrop 4.0/6.0 20
|
|
|
Post by Jack on Feb 25, 2021 8:20:52 GMT -6
Two more stones appear, seemingly out of nowhere!
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 25, 2021 16:55:38 GMT -6
She lifted the cart up gently, taking care to not spill either her ward or the gemmorn, and to also not throw out her back. Then she gently stepped backwards off the precipice, ready for the drop waiting for her below. Then it was just a matter of pivoting around and setting the cart back down. There. Easy peasy. Now it was just a matter of getting it back up when she decided to bring her mining trip to a close later... but they could cross that bridge when they came to it. Now that the cart was in the cave however, it was a lot easier to see Fiera’s surroundings- including a few familiar glints on the floor. “Oh?” The humanish said, interested already. Sure enough, there were a couple of gems lodged in the floor of the cavern, worn partially free by the actions of the former water.
Fiera 6 Snowdrop 4.1/6.1 21
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 25, 2021 17:07:25 GMT -6
While the water flow in this part of the cave had stopped for reasons Fiera couldn’t say, it’s effects were still apparent. The floor in this area had been worn smooth by the flowing liquid, and these harder crystals were slowly uncovered by the current. If only she could be so lucky to find a fossil in this way! She had been hunting for a bone or a shell of that sort for a while now, but hadn’t been lucky enough to find anything yet. Perhaps someday, but not now. These gems would certainly do for now, though. Fiera grabbed her hammer and chisel and got to work, gently prying the pale crystals the rest of the way out. It barely took her any effort to pop them out with a small cracking noise. “Excellent!” She mused to herself as she scooped up the little rocks, holding them up to the light.
Fiera 7 Snowdrop 4.2/6.2 22
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 25, 2021 21:22:33 GMT -6
They weren’t the rarest stones she had ever seen. A basic turquoise and a rather plainly colored quartz. Nothing she had found so far had been that rare, now that Fiera thought of it. But still, even these she could trade in for credits, and that was worth its weight in literal gold. Something was better than nothing, and this could easily lead her to a bigger find. The humanish turned to the mine cart and went to put the stones away. Before she could even set them down however, Snowdrop was already batting at her hand, ushering her over. Fiera chuckled and deposited them next to Snowdrop’s other finds, adding to the moondust tailypo’s steadily growing hoard. She decided to play along with it for the kitten’s sake- for now, at least. “Look after those for me, ok Snowdrop?” She said cheerily before picking up the handle of the cart again.
Fiera 8 Snowdrop 4.3/6.3 23
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 25, 2021 21:28:34 GMT -6
A gentle tug later and she was off again, trundling through the room. Fiera was grateful for the mostly level floors that made pulling the mine cart easy enough, but she wished the floor was a little less damp. She had to actively focus on not slipping and used the surrounding stalactites for support, which she knew were far less stable than they looked. Other than that though it was an easy enough trip downhill across the sloping floor, letting the humanish make good time toward the next room, which she was now even more sure had flowing water in it. She kept her eyes peeled for more gemstones, but this area didn’t seem to have too much in the way of glittering things. Still, she edged her way along the dry streambeds and empty ponds, just in case this room decided to surprise her again. It wouldn’t have been the first time!
Fiera 9 Snowdrop 4.4/6.4 24
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 25, 2021 22:14:03 GMT -6
Fiera wound her way around the empty pools, looking for anything of interest. She had never found a significantly sized body of water down here before, but she knew that if she did find one, there would likely be animals as well, albeit... not anything she’d find impressive. Sure this place had more mysterious and intimidating creatures like tunnel worms and gem dragons, but it also had plenty of the usual creepy crawlers as well. Crickets, worms, and flies were common, but she had also heard of blind fish and salamanders, bats and white mice living down here. Normally they scuttled away too fast for Fiera to see- the gemmorn were usually the only ones that were brave enough to actually stay and face the humanish, even if their efforts weren’t all that successful. If trapped in a body of water however, perhaps Fiera would actually be able to catch a glimpse of the cave’s mysterious fauna for once.
Fiera 10 Snowdrop 5.0/7.0 25
|
|
|
Post by Jack on Feb 26, 2021 7:54:09 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 26, 2021 17:19:44 GMT -6
Fiera was just about to move on to the next room when she realized something felt... a bit... off. She tilted her head one way and the other before glancing over to her right, what was that? “...Stay there a minute, Snowdrop. Guard the cart.” She said to her tailypo as she dropped the handle of the mine cart, letting it clatter to the ground. Snowdrop honked at her plaintively, but didn’t budge from her spot on her hoard of gems. As the humanish walked away, the humming sensation only grew stronger and stronger. She knew this feeling- an elemental crystal was near. But where? She always had to play a game of hotter or colder with these things, it was never obvious. As she approached one of the dried up underground ponds however, she had a pretty good idea. She readied her pickaxe just in case she needed it.
Fiera 11 Snowdrop 5.1/7.1 26
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 26, 2021 17:23:16 GMT -6
Sure enough, when she looked out over the pond bed, she didn’t se any immediately obvious stones. It was just a flat expanse of smooth, water worn rock with a lip over it where the water line had used to be. Fiera stepped down into it- it was only about half a foot deep. Her steps displaced tiny puffs of dust as she walked, most likely the remnants of the sandy bottom of this pool. As she walked, she realized it was slightly iridescent too, shimmering in the lantern light. Could it be worn down crystals she was walking over? As she moved though, the humming sensation only grew stronger until she could no longer stand it. Switching out her pickaxe for her shovel, the humanish pushed it into the soft ground, shifting aside the glistening dust to see what lay underneath. As she did, a faint blue light began to shine through...
Fiera 13 Snowdrop 5.2/7.2 27
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 27, 2021 12:56:51 GMT -6
“Oh, there you are!” Fiera chirped as the water elemental crystal finally came into view. She plucked her brush out of her back pocket and swept away the excess sand, shoving it to either side. Soon all she had was the revealed crystal... and a couple of friends! “Oh, excellent.” Fiera mused to herself as she levered all three stones out of the soft rock. It was easier than she thought- she was able to yank them out with just her bare hands, and the floor of the empty pool crumbled beneath them. No chisel was needed. The water crystal she immediately put away. To her surprise however, Snowdrop didn’t immediately add it to her growing hoard. Instead the tailypo seemed to have some vague distaste for it, nudging it away from the main pile. Fiera knew that tailypo were vaguely magical- perhaps she didn’t quite understand what it was?
Fiera 13 Snowdrop 5.3/7.3 28
|
|