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Post by Ashe on Aug 13, 2020 21:39:30 GMT -6
"It doesn't look like it's too wide. Or that dee-" Ashe cut himself off as he turned around to look up the slope to where they had fallen from. He hadn't thought it was too terribly far away, based on how long he'd fallen, but looking up it looked like a long way. And pretty steep, too. He should be able to grab onto rocks and try to climb up that way, but if he was falling and unable to stop himself then, would he be able to find that great of purchase on the way back up? Inyala made a chirp in his ear, echoing his sentiments. It would be a piece of cake for her to climb up there, light as she was, able to flutter and climb. But Ashe was heavier and needed sturdier footing. "What do you think?" He asked her. "Stay down here and explore, or climb back up and find a way around with Brazin?"
Inyala: 8 3/5 Brazin: 8 0/5 - paused Ashe: 1 3/20
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Post by Ashe on Aug 13, 2020 22:01:48 GMT -6
What if there was something cool down here? On the other hand, Ashe didn't want to miss out on that if there was something. He hesitated, turned to look around. It was just dust and rocks as far as he could see, nothing that sparkled or glimmered. He didn't feel any magical crystals down here... He waited a moment longer, then turned back around and started to climb up the rock wall. "Hang on, 'yala," Ashe cautioned. She nodded and tucked in closer, obediently. Ashe took a few hunched steps up the wall, his feet sliding ridiculously on the loose rock. He kept his balance and slowly started to make progress, inching up step by step. He was a third of the way up - or what looked like it, it could have been deceiving - when his foot landed on an exceptionally loose pile of rocks and he tripped, sliding back down into the hole. He cursed and kicked some of the rocks, then tried again.
Inyala: 8 4/5 Brazin: 8 0/5 - paused Ashe: 1 4/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 13, 2021 0:27:37 GMT -6
Ashe kicked at the rock wall in disgust and immediately regretted it. Now his foot hurt and he was stuck down here and didn't know the way back to the surface if he couldn't go back the way he came. This was a slight worry, but nagging more and more each time he failed to climb up. He sighed and looked at Inyala, who he knew could go and get him help if he needed it. But right now... He had to focus on the exploration, on having fun and finding stuff. He wasn't ready to go home anyway. He cleared his throat and decided he might as well poke around down here. Maybe a way out would show itself later.
But they'd been found! He felt eyes on him the same time Inyala alerted him. It was dark, and hard to see where his flashlight beam didn't reach, so he didn't immediately see the gargoyle perched above on the edge of the hole, looking down at him. She gave a screech of disapproval when he saw her, her shiny shape reflecting the flash light's light all over. Almost like a disco ball. Ashe couldn't take her seriously when she was like that, so he cracked a laugh.
Inyala: 9 0/5 Brazin: 8 1/5 Ashe: 1 5/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 13, 2021 0:41:58 GMT -6
"Are you gonna stay up there and mock us? Or are you going to come down here and help us find something cool?" Ashe challenged her, calling up the crumbling rocky wall at her. Brazin spread her wings and let out a screech. At first, Ashe thought she wasn't going to come down and join them, just stay up there and enjoy the time without them. And then she disappeared, and he figured he was right. "Brazin!" Ashe called, shocked she would just leave like that. Rude! She didn't respond or come back.
To Inyala, he said, "Maybe she's going to get help? Like she knows we're stuck?"
Inyala gave a shrug, her gaze leaving Ashe only to look up the wall and see if she had returned. She was picking up on Ashe's unease and getting twitchy herself. She climbed up and down Ashe's back, and across his shoulders, until Ashe caught her. "Settle, 'Yala. It'll be fine."
Alright, so the gargoyle abandoned them, and Ashe couldn't manage to climb up yet. But this was still a 'future Ashe' problem, as far as he was concerned, and not something he should worry about just yet. "Let's get busy, I guess," he told her, and picked up his axe.
Inyala: 9 1/5 Brazin: 8 12/5 Ashe: 1 6/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 13, 2021 1:04:37 GMT -6
Ashe started digging into the wall with the axe. This wasn;t the wall that had crumbled and he tried to climb up, but the wall to the left of it that had maintained itself better. He jabbed the pick in, wiggled it, wrenched it free, and let the loose rock fall. It was second nature to him now, the amount of time he spent down here digging like this. Inyala jumped down from his shoulder and squatted near the fallen rocks, so she could look through them. She wasn't as rock savvy as Brazin was, but she could help Ashe at least a little bit this way. Together, they worked in silence, just the sound of metal on rock echoing around them.
After a while, Ashe became aware of another sound, a sort of scraping that they weren't creating down here. He paused in his digging, wondering if it was somehow him scraping something. The sound continued even without him moving, and Inyala certainly wasn't doing it. Had help arrived already? He frowned and looked around. They could be under attack, too. It was hard to tell. He waited a little more, and the sound got louder. It was coming right for them! Maybe a worm?
Inyala: 9 2/5 Brazin: 8 3/5 Ashe: 1 7/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 13, 2021 1:23:38 GMT -6
Ashe adjusted his grip on the pickaxe just in case it was something coming for them, intending to fight or attack. He didn't want to fight, but he would if he needed to. Inyala wasn't exactly a fighter and he wouldn't let her get hurt. He could use magic, he supposed, but his first thought was still physical violence. He realized the sound was coming from up above, where Brazin had disappeared to. Perhaps it really was her bringing him some help, but what if it was a monster that had gotten to her before she could go get that help? He grimaced at the thought. "Stay back, just in case," he told Inyala, who ducked behind his leg. She was ready to back him up, he knew, but he didn't want her on the front lines. She just wasn't ready.
What appeared over the edge of the crumbling wall took him off guard. He was surprised to see that it was Brazin... Dragging something. As he watched, she came closer to the edge, and she was pulling his gem chest. She parked it close to the edge, but not too close that it fell in with them. Smart! It would be near impossible to drag that back up!
Inyala: 9 3/5 Brazin: 8 4/5 Ashe: 1 8/20
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Post by Jack on Mar 13, 2021 15:00:13 GMT -6
That's some... pretty intense thrumming you feel.
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Post by Ashe on Mar 15, 2021 15:06:44 GMT -6
"Thank you, Brazin! That was some great thinking. When I find stuff, I can have you fly it up there for me. Right?" She didn't respond to his words, and he watched her as she flew down to join them. She landed and started gazing around, surveying the area Ashe had landed them in. Ashe wondered if she would be able to make the most of this and find something special and shiny, which might make it worthwhile to have fallen in here. He had to stay positive and not worry about getting out - remember that. Brazin, though he waited, never responded and never confirmed that she would do that for him. Maybe she was planning on making him do it? He figured he could toss gems up there, and have Inyala climb up if he really needed it. No biggie.
Ashe walked after Brazin, trusting that she would find a good place to start digging. Inyala scurried up his leg and torso to take her spot on his shoulder, hiding in the dark by his ear, using the light to see ahead of them as well. Even though she didn't need it. Seguchi had called her a demon; did that mean she had demonic powers? Or at least abilities?
Inyala: 9 4/5 Brazin: 9 0/5 Ashe: 1 9/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 15, 2021 15:19:17 GMT -6
As they walked, probably close to twenty feet away from where Ashe had made his grand entrance, and Brazin an even grander entrance, Ashe became aware of a sort of presence. It wasn't strong yet, but it was definitely a magical tug that he knew the meaning of. It started in his gut, but moved to his chest, just a feeling of growing power. He felt his blood quicken; a crystal was nearby! He wondered if Brazin could feel this too or if it was just him. Brazin wasn't magical by nature, but he had socketed a magical jewel in her and perhaps she could sense it now? But would she even know the importance of that tug, if she could feel it? Nah, of course she would, she was smart!
Ashe stopped walking and looked around, trying to get his bearings and figure out what direction he needed to go in order to get closer. It was hard to tell. He started walking in one direction and it didn't move. Another, and it started to get stronger. So he followed that trail, even if Brazin didn't follow with him. He was a man on a mission and he had the pick axe. He wasn't about to give up on it now that he was close.
Inyala: 10 0/5 Brazin: 9 1/5 Ashe: 1 10/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 16, 2021 14:13:33 GMT -6
Brazin hesitated, realizing Ashe wasn't with her anymore. She turned, perhaps to make sure he hadn't managed to fall down another hole. Since she was born and raised in these caverns, she didn't need to see like other creatures did, to tell exactly where Ashe was at all times. He wasn't creeping around that much, either, to be completely honest. Too much loose stone would make such a task near impossible anyway. So she waited, seeing what he was going after since he had purposefully veered off her path.
Ashe and Inyala were being pulled, so to speak, toward a magic crystal. The pull was stronger with each step Ashe took, to the point where he would pause, raise his pickaxe, and bring it down a few times to see if it was nearby. But so far, the feeling just... grew. It didn't drag him to a specific point, it kept going, and Ashe was powerless but to continue on. "Why is this so different?" Ashe asked Inyala. But she didn't know, so she stayed quiet, though she leaned over his shoulder to eagerly watch where they were going. What would be waiting for them at the end of this journey? She didn't feel it, but she knew Ashe's senses were honed for this.
Inyala: 10 1/5 Brazin: 9 2/5 Ashe: 1 11/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 16, 2021 14:20:07 GMT -6
It wasn't too much longer before Ashe felt the source of the magical tug. It was at its max volume here, and if he passed it it was weaker. So he knew it had to be right around here. He looked around, trying to judge the right area to start digging, and that's when he saw the faintest of glows. This wasn't enough to notice while walking past in the dark, but now that he was looking specifically for it, he could see the tiniest hint of purple. Could it be...?! He scraped away the stone and poked around with his pick axe until it was freed - a tainted crystal! He held it aloft, letting Inyala get a good look at it. He was on his way to getting another shadow node! How exciting was that? He gazed lovingly at it for a few moments, then he tucked it safely in a pocket. He liked keeping the crystals on his person, where he knew they would be safe. The regular gems could be flown to the cart.
Brazin sensed that Ashe had found something, and she took to the air, quicker to travel to him. She landed with a scuffling sound, and approached Ashe from behind, craning her neck to see the crystal.
Inyala: 10 2/5 Brazin: 9 3/5 Ashe: 1 12/20
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Post by Ashe on Mar 16, 2021 14:45:41 GMT -6
Though Ashe now had the crystal, and the feeling usually went away when he touched the item that was calling him, he still felt it. Not as strongly, but still there. He frowned, thinking, wondering what would cause that. Was there a second nearby? If that was the case, why did it start to fade when he walked past this location? Could there possibly be a second one right here? That would be close to impossible! Right? Two magical crystals in one spot. But maybe, just maybe... Ashe hunkered down and started digging harder in the same spot. There didn't seem to be anything for a few minutes, but then he cracked open a delicate rock and it revealed the real prize. A prismatic crystal. These things were amazing, they could combine with any other crystal! They were everything all at once! Ashe's jaw dropped when he saw it.
Brazin saw the prize as well, and when Ashe froze up in shock, she scooted in to pry it free, gently and expertly. She looked it over to make sure it was perfect and intact, then she held it out for Ashe to take back. He thanked her and took it, putting it in his pocket. Still shocked. Two crystals??
Inyala: 10 3/5 Brazin: 9 4/5 Ashe: 1 13/20
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Post by Kadin on Mar 16, 2021 16:08:25 GMT -6
It seems someone else here in the mines has heard about those crystals. Better watch out! It might try to steal one...
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Post by Ashe on Apr 30, 2021 14:44:03 GMT -6
Ashe stared at the two crystals, which seemed to glow faintly even when the flash light was off of them. He couldn't believe his luck. What a find! He almost felt dizzy with glee. He had to bring himself back to reality, though, and get back to mining. Maybe find more. Maybe leave with a whole node's worth of crystals! Then he would just have to sit back waiting for his soul to fully recover or whatever the technicality was. Slowly, carefully, he put the crystals in his pocket and tapped them to make sure they were secure. They clinked with the crystal he already had in there and sent a thrum of magic up Ashe's side. He loved it. Couldn't wait for another node!
Brazin's attention was distracted by a little creature scurrying away. She considered it; should she catch it, or should she let it go? She hurried after it and struck out with a long arm, knowing Ashe would like a little creature for himself.
Inyala was pleased; she could feel the excitement eminating from her master, and because he was happy, she was happy. She wished she could find him more crystals! But they were so dang hard to find, and he usually beat her to the punch anyway. He seemed to have a connection with these things.
Inyala: 10 4/5 Brazin: 10 0/5 Ashe: 1 14/20
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Post by Ashe on Aug 1, 2023 22:18:55 GMT -6
Ashe had ended that day when he'd gotten two crystals, not wishing to press his luck any further. He had done a lot topside since then, but he hadn't returned to the darkness underneath the mountain since. He had played easy games, buying the crystals he needed. But he needed more, and faster than he was allowed to buy. It seemed even the city wasn't going to just let someone become an all powerful mage, they had to slow people like Ashe down. Understandable, or else he would use all his wealth to gain immense power, just to regain that wealth. Unchecked, he could conquer.
Not that he wanted this city. He set his sights further than that.
Ashe brought with him his usual duo, his Imp, Inyala - perched on his shoulder for this walk, so she could rest and prepare for the climbing she would do - and his gargoyle, Brazin. He couldn't remember a trip into the mines without his faithful gargoyle by his side! She was invaluable when it came to hunting down crystals and gemstones and any other little scurrying things that Ashe might want to drag home with him. They approached the mines with the usual amount of energy, which would be no doubt drained by the time they took their leave of this place.
[Inyala: 1 0/5 Brazin: 10 1/5 Ashe: 1 15/20
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