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Post by Ashe on Jun 3, 2019 17:40:36 GMT -6
Inyala ended up being the deciding factor. She leaned forward and pointed down the right most tunnel and Ashe saw no problem with that choice so he started forward. Brazin trailed them, not having an opinion at all, really, so this was fine with her. She ended up passing Ashe and his imp when Ashe stopped suddenly in the middle of the path. She paid him little attention, focused on leading the group toward riches again, and she got several tens of feet ahead of them before she realized he hadn't just stepped aside to let her lead them, he had actually found something.
The stone he'd picked up was round and almost node-looking, except maybe a little bit bigger than one of those magical stones. Ashe had hoped, but he didn't feel any magic from this thing so he knew it wasn't what he hoped. But it could be something shiny, with something pretty inside. "Do you know what this is, Y'la?" Ashe hefted it up, looking it over, excited. "This is a geode. You crack it open and you can see what you get." He knelt on the ground, setting the stone there and picking up the pick axe. He didn't know the best way to do it, but this was effective enough.
Inyala: 4 0/5 Brazin: 6 1/5 Ashe: 0 19/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 3, 2019 17:47:38 GMT -6
He held the stone steady with his hand and held the axe up to it with the other. Inyala looked on, intrigued and a bit concerned; what would happen if his hand slipped and he hit himself instead? Inyala didn't want her master hurt, but he seemed to know what he was doing, so she let him. He tapped it once, twice, and then the third time he let the rock have it, but in a quick and controlled burst. The stone looked like it was going to hold together, until, before her very eyes, a crack appeared all the way around it. Ashe set the pick axe down and lifted the stone up, appearing to twist it with both of his hands. There was a slight grinding noise, then the stones parted and Ashe held one in each hand, gazing thoughtfully down at them.
Brazin had wandered back, seeing that Ashe had very obviously found something she had missed. She was confused when she saw him holding a stone, it looked just like a round rock and she didn't know what he thought was so special about it. then he cracked it open and she was able to see at last - and she could definitely agree, it was worth stopping for!
Inyala: 4 1/5 Brazin: 6 2/5 Ashe: 1 0/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 3, 2019 18:08:46 GMT -6
Ashe held the split geode in his hand. One side wasn't really worth keeping, it was just shaved off rock and that white stuff that's in a lot of geodes - he was a miner for adventure and profit, he didn't know geology! - but the other was a gorgeous red color, almost like rubies, and it caught, held, and sparkled in the light from Ashe's flashlight on his helmet. The man looked it over, appraising it, and then stuffed it into a pocket. He hadn't thought much about what to do when he found stuff he wanted to keep, and he didn't have the cart with him. He should have brought it with him or stayed closer to their home base. Oh well, couldn't change that now. He had to keep going forward as long as his pockets held out.
Inyala was about to hop up on Ashe's shoulder when something caught her attention. Done again, Brazin had left ahead of them to lead them down the tunnel again, and Inyala was digging something out of the dust on the ground. When she picked it up and handed it to Ashe, the man was able to see it was a ruby red shard. How pretty! He'd definitely be taking that home.
Inyala: 4 2/5 Brazin: 6 3/5 Ashe: 1 1/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 3, 2019 18:15:34 GMT -6
"Thank you, Inyala! Great eye, good catch." If she wouldn't have seen it, Ashe would have completely missed it himself. The light didn't reach down there and he had no reason to look down there, really, so he would have just passed it by. Good thing Inyala was so small and had seen it! She handed it to him and hopped up onto his shoulder, her favorite place to be. If she had to stay on the ground, her short tiny legs moving fast wouldn't be able to keep up with Ashe. She could scramble and probably climb the walls with ease, but Ashe was ready to traverse miles and miles down here.
The imp chirped when she was ready to go and Ashe started walking. The Gargoyle was far ahead now, having decided not to wait for them to catch up before she continued. That was no problem, Ashe's long legs covered the ground with ease and soon enough they were within calling distance from one another. He kept a watchful eye on the wall, seeking out anything shiny that might have made its way to the surface, but had yet to be discovered by a human eye, considering no people had walked this path before.
Inyala: 4 3/5 Brazin: 6 4/5 Ashe: 1 2/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 3, 2019 18:20:15 GMT -6
Their walk didn't last too long this time. They rounded a bend and ended up at a dead end. The path widened just slightly, like the head of a Salaves minus the hood. It wasn't that wide, just slightly more round than the tunnel itself. Strange, he wondered what was in here at some time that had caused this shape. Maybe this would be a good place to set up shop real quick? Ashe called for Brazin to wait a bit, and he gestured to the walls, indicating he wanted to search the area. Brazin seemed to understand and she quickly went over to one of the walls and started picking at loose stones and digging in with her claws. It wasn't long before she found something of interest; it was almost aqua blue, almost clear, and it was in a chunk rather than shaped or smoothed out at all. She made a clicking sound and called Ashe over. The man arrived, Inyala peering down at her from behind the glare of Ashe's flash light, and he took the stone, looking it over. "Great job! This place must be full of stuff! Keep digging." And he silently vowed to do the same, hefting up his pick axe.
Inyala: 4 4/5 Brazin: 7 0/5 Ashe: 1 3/20
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Post by Jack on Jun 3, 2019 18:43:36 GMT -6
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:39:35 GMT -6
The next thing that Ashe found wasn't really that exciting, and he almost passed over it even with the help of his flash light. It was a drab brown stone, sorta flat, and while its earthy tones made it pretty, almost like a chunk of pottery, it didn't stand out or draw attention to itself so he almost missed it. Inyala gave a soft sound when he unearthed it and he'd been in the middle of prying it free. Instead of letting it fall to the ground, he reached out and caught it, looked it over and tested its hardness. Yep, it seemed to be something solid and not just a flimsy chunk of rock or clay. Interesting. He pocketed it and kept going. Pick up the axe, line it up, bring it down on the wall, break it free, repeat. He could feel the muscles in his arm tense and tighten - they were getting quite the workout today!
Brazin was the next to unearth something - she'd found something metal. It was a chunk of ore, and since she was in the dark she couldn't see what color it was or how special and rare, she just knew it was metal and not the same rock she'd been digging up for hours on end.
Inyala: 5 0/5 Brazin: 7 1/5 Ashe: 1 4/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:39:51 GMT -6
Brazin worked diligently to unearth the ore and her claws made quick work of the rock around it. She pried it loose and looked it over to try and judge to the best of her ability in this lack of light whether or not she had retrieved all of it. When she was satisfied that she'd done her best, she carried it over to Ashe and handed it to him. He groaned inwardly, knowing he wouldn't be able to carry many chunks of ore if he was going to keep going. He'd better go back and get the cart, set up a new base then. Maybe they should set up the base in the middle of the three paths intersecting. They could continue to mine here in the chosen path, which was a dead end, and then when they were done, explore the other path, and never be too far from it.
"Can you guys keep mining? I'll be right back?" Ashe asked them. He had Inyala hop down from his shoulder and pick up the chisel. She couldn't do much, but she might be able to do that much. Ashe emptied his pockets of gems, minus the crystal, into a pile near Inyala.
Inyala: 5 1/5 Brazin: 7 2/5 Ashe: 1 5/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:40:03 GMT -6
Inyala looked at the gem pile, then at Ashe, slightly alarmed. He was leaving her with all these precious stones? And, did she mention, he was leaving her? What if he ran into something on the way back and he needed her? She didn't ever like being separated from him, though if they did have to be, she was much better when there was a task at hand for her to do. And "mine for me" wasn't really the best task she might have in mind. If they were on a mission and she had to do something useful, like scout ahead... Okay. But guarding stones? Couldn't Brazin do that? Ashe had chosen her to do this, though, so she would have to suck it up. She gave him a nod and gathered them close to a spot on the wall. She held the chisel, but unsure. How did Ashe do this?
Brazin had heard Ashe and understood that he was leaving them briefly, so she went back to her spot and started poking around, looking for new and interesting gems. She would have to find something interesting for the man before he got back, to make all of this worthwhile. She hoped Ashe would hurry back.
Inyala: 5 2/5 Brazin: 7 3/5 Ashe: 1 6/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:40:12 GMT -6
But at the same time, the idea of time passed differently for gargoyles like her. She had been here in the dark mines for who knows how long, but it hadn't seemed that long to her. She had also been with Ashe for a long time, though that didn't seem like a long time for her. And whenever Ashe took her mining, it was all encompassing her time and mind, but when it was done, it didn't seem long. All the same, she'd like to have the guidance and praise. Inyala would, too. The little Imp was struggling to lift the chisel and push it into the wall. This wasn't going to work, she just didn't have the skill or the determination. Or the strength, really. Even Brazin's arms were much bigger than hers.
Satisfied that they would all survive while he was gone, Ashe set off back down the path that they had come. It didn't take him long at all to reach the place where the paths forked, and he started down the long, long path that would lead him back to their home base. He wondered, and not for the first time, why did they walk all this way and not bring the cart with them...
Inyala: 5 3/5 Brazin: 7 4/5 Ashe: 1 7/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:40:29 GMT -6
It had made sense back at when they were walking. He didn't want to carry it along when what they were going to do was adventure, but he hadn't expected there to be such an abundance of things to find and carry. He probably should just carry it with him now, he thought, as he walked the lonely path all the way back. The same old rock, the same old path. Ashe felt like this was taking forever, and he could probably still see the branching tunnel if he turned around. He had taken the only light with him, and he felt bad for leaving Brazin and Inyala alone in the dark. He didn't see much of a choice, if he wanted to find all the things that he could find. Brazin knew her job, and Inyala might become a decent miner one day if he trained her up a little bit. He had faith in her.
Meanwhile, back at the dead end, Brazin had found something. She gave a chirp of surprise when her claws unearthed a smooth stone, obviously a gem, and Inyala hopped up onto her shoulder in her excitement. The chisel was dropped onto the ground, forgotten and barely used. This was more important!
Inyala: 5 4/5 Brazin: 8 0/5 Ashe: 1 8/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:40:40 GMT -6
Brazin rolled her shoulders, brushing the Imp off. She didn't much care to be climbed all over by anything, let alone Inyala. The Imp tried once more, used to Ashe letting her sit there and help from up high, and again Brazin shrugged her off. She was patient, however, and didn't attack the overzealous familiar, so at least there was that. She dusted off the gemstone she had in her hand and wandered, by touch and feel, over to the pile of gems Ashe had left. She had no idea what she was dumping there, just that Ashe might enjoy it, then she went back to her little corner and started digging some more, eager to find more and more stuff.
Ashe was growing bored, and a bit lonely. He'd spent so much time down here recently that he thought he'd started to enjoy being alone. That wasn't the case, as he was finding out. He had always had the constant, if silent, companionship of Brazin. And he was rarely ever alone at all ever since he had bonded with Inyala. The blue Imp was the world to him now and he felt her absence. But their bond was strong, he wasn't going that far away thankfully.
Inyala: 6 0/5 Brazin: 8 1/5 Ashe: 1 9/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:40:51 GMT -6
Ashe couldn't help but think about when he'd first met his precious Imp. To his knowledge, she was the only one of her kind in the Labs' territory. He had gotten her from an eccentric, a powerful man who owned a... dragon? or something. Yamase. And he had run a shop, bestowing travelers with a deepest desire for a price. Ashe had been given Inyala. He didn't even remember what gems he had used to buy her, and he'd been told she would make a wonderful addition. And she had. She was beyond special, just herself but also to Ashe. He didn't know what he would do without her. He reached a bend, remembering the bend, but this time...something was calling to him.
Brazin went back to work, tirelessly searching and searching. Inyala had given up pestering the gargoyle baby sitter and was once again trying to figure out the chisel. She had nearly tripped over it in the dark, but now she held it in her hands and was poking at the wall. How did Ashe do this? True, he used the pick axe, but that was a little too big for her to swing comfortably, productively. So chisel it was. She poked and prodded and tried her best.
Inyala: 6 1/5 Brazin: 8 2/5 Ashe: 1 10/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:41:01 GMT -6
Inyala happened to get the chisel wedged underneath a rock. At first she thought it was stuck, then she gave it a push and a twist and it broke free, sending some smaller rocks falling to the ground. It was only a little change, but the motion was successful in her eyes. She was mining! She was almost as good as Brazin was! If she could keep this up, she might be able to find something precious that would make Ashe happy. Maybe he would get her her own mining tools and she could go on journeys herself! Brazin was oblivious to her day dreaming and continued to claw away at the wall. Nothing else of interest was popping out at her yet. So far.
Ashe felt something again. He recognized this calling, it was a crystal speaking to him. Calling to him. It was much closer than the other one had been and he hoped that meant it wouldn't be under so many layers of rock because, well, he didn't have his pick axe with him. He had left it behind because he had thought about jogging back to get the cart and the less that he had to carry, the quicker he could be, and now...this.
Inyala: 6 2/5 Brazin: 8 3/5 Ashe: 1 11/20
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Post by Ashe on Jun 4, 2019 17:41:12 GMT -6
Ashe slowed his walk to barely a crawl and closed his eyes, blocking out the light. He felt like losing his other senses helped increase his magical awareness, able to pinpoint where the prick of magic was coming from a lot quicker than if his eyes were straining to see as well. He started one way, then hesitated and leaned the other way, trying to hone in on the correct direction. It had to be somewhere so close he could almost touch it, the feeling was so strong. It also felt like, maybe, his pocket was responding to the crystal as well, humming as it got closer to its brother. Ashe felt like he was finally zeroing in on the location, walking careful blind steps, hands outstretched to find a wall. Careful, careful now...
Brazin let out a grinding sound, surprised as she suddenly pulled out another something. She wasn't sure what this was, either, some sort of stone. It was smooth and sort of tear drop shaped, but the texture didn't speak to her the way some things did. It wasn't a metal, it was a stone, but beyond that she couldn't do much to identify it herself. Inyala wasn't much help, playing with her little stones she'd pried loose.
Inyala: 6 3/5 Brazin: 8 4/5 Ashe: 1 12/20
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