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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 11, 2019 22:19:56 GMT -6
Despite that positive and absolutely not flimsy thought, Fiera still made sure to hustle away in case anyone tried to connect her with the scene of the cri- er, the scene of the perfectly normal mining remains. Viridia wasn't slow to follow either. Apparently the minute she opened up that hole, it had stopped being quite as interesting. Did she detect the pocket of air and not crystals? The tunnel seemed pretty monotonous for the most part, with the shimmering walls and the crappy lanterns. She noted though, that while this branch of the mine was darker, what light there was was more consistent. the glittering walls refracted it and spread it out more evenly, making the shadows seem less spooky and more comforting. It wouldn't be half bad to take a nap down here, she mused to herself. Well. Provided you had a LOT of pillows. It was still a stone floor, after all.
FF: 18
Viridia: Lv 7.3/Lo 7.3
[Post 38]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 11, 2019 22:31:35 GMT -6
She crept down the tunnels, and couldn't help but notice that they were getting... smaller? The lanterns were less regularly placed too. Not that they had been much help to start with. Soon she had to crouch just to keep moving. It didn't bother Viridia in the slightest (gem wyrms were, after all, practically made for these sorts of conditions), but Fiera had troubles keeping up. She questioned whether or not this was an abandoned tunnel at all, or just a new one, hence its small size. The idea was, admittedly, tantalizing. She could be treading fresh ground here, breaking fresh earth! All she had to do was... ah. She had turned another corner just then, only to come across a complete dead end. Well, that was the end of that particular adventure, wasn't it? Unless... as she tried to turn away, she felt a tug at her belt. Viridia seemed interested in the wall for whatever reason.
FF: 19
Viridia: Lv 7.4/Lo 7.4
[Post 39]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 11, 2019 22:36:05 GMT -6
Fiera tried to tug on the string, but it pulled taught as Viridia refused to move. The humanish groaned loudly and sat down. If Viridia was too stubborn to come with her, she couldn't exactly leave without her. Not to mention, she could hardly drag her away either. The string was far too weak for that, and thus Fiera was at the mercy of Viridia's whims. "What do you WANT?" She whined, gesturing at her mining familiar. "It's just a WALL." Then... a thought. She paused. That outcropping she demolished earlier had been "just a wall" too. Could there be something interesting behind this one? Even if it was a pocket of air like the last one... that could still mean there was another tunnel, just beyond this face of stone! Filled with new energy, Fiera carefully nudged Viridia aside, raising her mallet. If her theory was correct, then this could get exciting soon.
FF: 20 (Level up!)
Viridia: Lv 8.0/Lo 8.0
[Post 40]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 12, 2019 7:41:29 GMT -6
The only problem, of course, was how to get started. This wasn't a rocky outcropping like before. This was, in fact, just a solid rock wall. No matter what was behind it, it would still be a feat of effort to get through it. She leaned over, pressing one ear up against the wall. With one hand, she knocked gently. Her eyes flicked around as she tried to determine if there was an echo. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear anything. That only meant that the wall, if there was one, was a few inches thick. More than a "hollow" sound could get through, that is. She weighed her mallet carefully. There wasn't any point in not trying, she supposed. She'd have to do some real mining eventually, and so far all she had done was get mad at tunnels. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She did a LITTLE bit of real mining earlier.
FF: 1
Viridia: Lv 8.1/Lo 8.1
[Post 41]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 12, 2019 7:47:06 GMT -6
She sighed again, acting a bit lie a petulant child who didn't want to do that chores she was asked to. Wasn't there any way to put this off more? She supposed not. Viridia had nearly fallen asleep in the corner with her stalling. Fiera side eyed her and smiled. Lazy bones. Let's see if this woke her up. She raised her mallet and WHACK, chipped off some of the uneven surface, making another divot in the wall. Viridia seemed to awaken again, writhing on the floor to get upright. She looked at Fiera and hissed angrily. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb your nap?" She tittered. "Well, looks like you'll just have to get back to work with the rest of us!" She said, turning back to the wall. The frequent inclusions seemed to make the stone here brittle. While she had barely been able to touch the rocks in the other tunnel, this stone seemed to chip off easily.
FF: 2
Viridia: Lv 8.2/Lo 8.2
[Post 42]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2019 7:50:37 GMT -6
After a while though, her efforts seemed to come to less and less. It would appear that she just simply couldn't pound her way through a solid stone wall. Distaste turned to frustration, turned to anger. She spent a good amount of time just throwing the mallet around or ranting at Viridia. It eventually became apparent to her endlessly stubborn brain however, that she couldn't get this done with the equipment she had. Once again, she dragged herself out of the caves, hoping nobody would notice that she had done this twice now. She bit the bullet, and bought more equipment. At least the hard had came in her favorite color, though she wasn't happy about the embarrassment of it all. She laid out her new tools just inside the mines; in addition to her mallet, she now had a hard hat, a pick, a chisel, and a set of a brush and tweezers.
(Fiera now has updated equipment and the skill "gem caller".)
FF: 3
Viridia: Lv 8.3/Lo 8.3
[Post 43]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2019 8:00:48 GMT -6
Nodding to herself, she scooped her equipment back up. She was determined to make SOMETHING good of this trip. She marched straight back toward the tunnel, equipment clanking from where it was strapped to her. It occurred to her suddenly that the noise she heard so long ago couldn't have been from down this tunnel either- it had a closed end, and she certainly hadn't found anything in it! Begrudgingly, she admitted that she likely made the noise up, or misinterpreted the wind blowing through the tunnels. What a shame. She could have found something really interesting in the time she wasted chasing around an imaginary noise. "Oh well." She thought, coming upon her shimmery tunnel again. "I suppose there's nothing that can be done about it anymore. I'll just have to work for my entertainment instead." She smirked at the last thought, but it was true. She had been avoiding actually mining for far too long.
FF: 4
Viridia: Lv 8.4/Lo 8.4
[Post 44]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2019 8:09:47 GMT -6
Fiera finally set down the mallet. It was useful sometimes, but not here. She lifted the pick. Far more useful, in this case. Viridia wound by her feet, looking up with interest. She swung it up, down, and immediately glanced it off the rock, fumbling it out of her hands. Woops. Well, there was a first time for everything, she supposed. Fiera glanced behind her, blushing furiously. Of course there was no one there watching her, but she'd always know. "Let's...try that again, eh?" She said nervously, half to Viridia, half to herself. Another stroke up and down, and finally a chunk of rock flew away. Viridia rushed over to investigate it, and Fiera sighed with relief. Now she was getting somewhere. She glanced at the rock chunk; was it big and/or valuable looking enough to warrant tapping it apart with the mallet? Probably not, she thought, and turned back to the wall.
FF: 5
Viridia: Lv 9.0/Lo 9.0
[Post 45]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 14, 2019 10:08:08 GMT -6
Another heave ho of the arm and shoulders, and another chunk of the wall chipped cleanly off. Fiera was amazed and elated at just how much faster this was than using her old mallet. Probably less damaging to anything she might find, too. If she DID find anything of interest, she'd be able to clean it off with the brush, tweezers, and chisel. Before, she'd just have to carry a lump of rock with an interesting thing stuck in it home with her and hope she could rip it out later. Another chunk of rock was wrested free of the wall, clattering to the ground at her feet. Then another, landing ON her foot. Ow. Maybe the next piece of equipment she'd invest in would be proper footwear. These boots only LOOKED like miners boots, after all. Really, they were just fashion forward shoes made of 100% real faux leather.
FF: 6
Viridia: Lv 9.1/Lo 9.1
[Post 46]
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Post by Jack on Jul 14, 2019 16:01:58 GMT -6
A dark red gem lay hidden for you to find.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 15, 2019 13:16:59 GMT -6
Fiera rubbed her foot, groaning with pain. Yowza, that had hurt. She grabbed the offending rock, ready to pelt it at the wall for the trouble it gave her, when she noticed something. Something shiny and red, peeking out from the stone. She gasped, and immediately dropped her pickaxe, fumbling for her other tools. Finally! Something worthwhile! She got out her chisel, and carefully scraped away the surrounding rock, before finally picking off bits and pieces with a her tweezers. A quick brush and buff, and she held the shiny gem aloft. Viridia slithered up, as if to sniff at it, but Fiera was too entranced to give the wyrm a look. Her first gem! Granted, she had found one earlier in the other tunnel, but that one was just lying around on the ground. This? This was something that she had dug up, all on her own, with her own two hands.
FF: 7
Viridia: Lv 9.2/Lo 9.2
[Post 47]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 15, 2019 13:24:51 GMT -6
She rolled the gem around in her palm. It was small, but vibrant. A deep red, her favorite color. With any luck she could polish it further, or insert it into a piece of jewelry. Or just sell it, she supposed, but that would be awfully anticlimactic for something that took her so long to find. She took it as a good sign, a good luck charm, and placed it carefully in her pocket. Safe and sound. Even if she lost her bag, she'd still have it. She then turned to find Viridia winding around her leg. "What, you want it? Like hell. If you want something to chew on, you can have your favorite little river rock in the bag over there, ya parasite." She shook her leg firmly, and Viridia begrudgingly unwound herself, going back to the wall. Fiera hefted her pickaxe again, filled with a renewed vigor, and began mining again.
FF: 8
Viridia: Lv 9.3/Lo 9.3
[Post 48]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 15, 2019 13:32:39 GMT -6
Heavy blows made chips fly off the wall, ricocheting against Fiera's new hard hat. She quite liked it- she hadn't picked the color herself, and was thrilled to see that it came in such a pleasant color. Yes, deep red may have been her most favorite color, but pink? A close second. She was properly fitted for mining, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to look cute at the same time. Of course, she didn't look particularly attractive right now, covered in dirt and sweat, with a foot that was still throbbing a bit. But it was the thought that counts. Fiera knew more than anything else that confidence was where really attractiveness came from. And Fiera had more confidence than she- or anyone else for that matter- knew what to do with. While confidence was the most important element of an ensemble, it was also well paired with shiny jewelry and fancy clothing.
FF: 9
Viridia: Lv 9.4/Lo 9.4
[Post 49]
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 15, 2019 13:37:26 GMT -6
Thankfully, the fancy clothing that she wanted could be bought with money, and shiny jewelry could be made with gemstones. The latter was what she hoped to find here in the mines, and the former could be obtained by selling the latter. All things considered, it worked out quite well. Fiera just needed to apply some elbow grease. And applying she was, having made a sizeable pile of chips beneath her feet. Viridia slithered through it curiously, nosing here and there for evidence of gems. Every time the emerald wyrm found something of interest, she'd end up nudging Fiera. This would usually prompt the humanish to stop and check it out, but more often than not it was nothing. Still, Fiera had already found one gem- the others had to be buried in this tunnel somewhere, just waiting for her. She just had to grit her teeth and work for them!
FF: 10
Viridia: Lv 10.0/Lo 10.0
[Post 50]
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Post by Renathan on Jul 15, 2019 19:49:27 GMT -6
Oh, what a beautiful stone! It glints pale pink and looks quite easy to remove from the rock. [46-50]
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