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Post by Xentus on Sept 20, 2020 0:49:24 GMT -6
Neptune planted itself in a comfortable spot atop the rubble to that it could better watch over its master and the work he did. It was a patient being, uninterested in anything else save for the leopard and keeping him content. One of the things Xentus enjoyed the most about the golems in general was that they had no innate curiosity or drive to wander and explore. No getting lost or getting into too much trouble. Varus was shaping up to be something in the same vein. A bit cautious and reserved, not keen on running off without notice. The leopard hoped to commune with the gargoyle at some point. It had the capacity to, just not the means. He did have a couple of unused magic ribbons at home.. Something to consider. Perhaps he'd take the golem back and spend some alone time with Varus. He had hopes for the being to become a reliable mining partner.
It took some time, but finally the leopard was satisfied with his excavation work on the ore vein. There were glistening chunks of metal embedded in stone scattered about the floor - enough for a few ingots, he figured. And heavy enough that they'd weigh him down..
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Post by Xentus on Sept 20, 2020 8:42:18 GMT -6
A frown curled the leopard's lips down as he mulled on what to do exactly. This exploration venture hadn't exactly lasted long.. But there was an irritating splinter wound in his foot which would get compounded by the weight of all that rock and metal. He sighed, rubbing his neck. The best thing to do would be to leave and come back another day. It would cut this little trip short, but it wasn't like this place would disappear if he left now. It would be better to leave before he got too deep in and invested anyway.
But, before they left, he did want to finish mapping out this section of the mines. If it wasn't too expansive, that is. The mammalian man gathered up the ore, nesting it in his pack. He also asked for Varus to give what all it was holding. The gargoyle handed off the few precious stones and the flashlight, head tilting curiously as if to anticipate something else being handed to it. But instead, he and the golem were simply beckoned to follow as the warden left the room. The stone being skulked after him, careful to avoid the path of the cyan walker.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 20, 2020 8:49:31 GMT -6
The crystal torch illuminated the hall fairly well, allowing Xentus to see to what seemed like a dead end further down. Just to be sure, he started toward the rock wall, and was pleasantly surprised to find a corner. A short straight led to another room. He couldn't tell if it was big or small or opened to another area. Cautiously, he approached. The entry was open, no door here. His keen pointed ears flicked forward, detecting what sounded like.. Water dropping. That seemed like a bad sign.. If this place was flooded, there might not be much of an adventure to be had here. The beam of light from the flashlight illuminated the room, confirming his suspicions. Most of this room was covered with a layer of water on the ground. But not entirely.
"Come along, Neptune, Varus. Carefully", the leopard advised as he crept forward, almost tip-toeing. If there was anything living in here, he didn't want to startle it. Not that the beam of light shining in wasn't a dead giveaway. Both of his companions were fairly silent beings, so he didn't need to worry about either of them making much noise. Save for Neptune if it was perturbed by something.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 20, 2020 9:05:16 GMT -6
Aside from the occasional water drips, he didn't hear anything else in here. Stepping into the room the air was definitely moist, perfumed with a hint of mildew. The crystal torch illuminated the area with a soft glow, revealing that most of this chamber was flooded indeed. There was only a thin strip of dry ground leading to the right side wall. Enough to allow he and his party in, though not much space for anything else. In the water seemed to be a couple of broken wooden crates and a chair.. And a faint, green glimmer. He squinted at it, trying to discern what was lurking in the murk. Could be something valuable.. OR garbage. Considering that this room wasn't in the best condition, garbage was the most likely outcome. But, his endless curiosity drove him to check anyway.
The leopard cast a glance toward the golem and gargoyle. He figured Varus probably wouldn't enjoy water all too much. But the golem would definitely follow him into the liquid pool. By the looks of it, it wasn't deep.. But electricity mixed a little too well with water. Should there be anything that triggered the golem, he would surely get zapped.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 20, 2020 9:14:18 GMT -6
He.. Would just careful about it. Neptune wouldn't do anything to hurt him, but would it know that its power could easily travel through water? It probably didn't. He didn't expect it to know any better. "Neptune stay there, yes?", the leopard asked of the golem, expressing his wariness and fear of consequence to the creature. Admittedly, he still wasn't entirely sure how to best impose his will on the golem, but this was his best attempt at the moment. Ideally, he just wanted to be quick. The cyan walker seemed to stay still after the request.. The leopard's eye lingered on it for a moment longer as he slowly edged into the water, which was deceptively cold and biting. And thankfully, it reached only half way up his foot, it seemed. The ground beneath the surface seemed somewhat sunken in, perhaps as the result of erosion.
Xentus carefully reached in for the faint green glimmer, hoping it wasn't something like the tail end of some kind of gem creature.. Or trash. Clawed fingers touched the surface of something smooth.. And stuck. Varus watched from the edge of the room, head tilting curiously at the man. He seemed stuck. But it wasn't too keen on entering the water itself and helping..
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Post by Xentus on Sept 20, 2020 9:49:12 GMT -6
So it would just watch and wait. Surely the warden wouldn't balk now.. He was a rather impressive man, it thought. Perceptive, definitely. Xentus could feel those hollowed eyes staring at him. He ignored the feeling, trying his best to get a better grip on the lodged green thing.. But to no avail. He sighed, then unhooked the pickaxe from his belt. It was hard to see where he needed to strike with the wavering ripples of the water's surface. But this would only take one firm blow if he struck true. The mammalian heaved and cracked the metal tip of the pick into the watery depths with a resounding 'pink!'. He reached into the murk again to feel.. That the target was still thoroughly wedged in there still. He tried again, breathing in, heaving a strike, then exhaling. Probing fingers fished around into the water. The green glimmer was gone from where it had been.
Ah, got it! Pulled from the liquid was what seemed to be.. A small chunk of jade. He knew this one was actually jade this time - he'd done his research about it. It was odd to finally garner himself jade after guessing any green gem was it for so long. His efforts were not met with any sign of celebration or approval from either the golem or gargoyle, however.
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> Exeunt Neptune, dismissed from this point onward (50)
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Post by Nadia on Sept 20, 2020 10:59:17 GMT -6
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Post by Xentus on Sept 21, 2020 9:06:21 GMT -6
Well, it was quite the nice find in any case. Probably. Jade wasn't the most valuable gem as far as he knew, but it was something! The leopard looked over to the gargoyle, offering the jade forward as he waded out of the water. "Here, take", Xentus said, "It is meager, but it is nice, yes?" Varus cocked his head at the warden, seeming to eye the stone for a moment before plucking it from the man's hand. The stone being made no comment about the rock, clutching it until the leopard wanted it back. Whenever that would be. But the warden seemed fine with letting it have the jade, he was walking off back the way they came. It walked after the man, sauntering a little awkwardly on three limbs. It didn't need to go far, however. Xentus stopped just before the broken doorway, settling himself on the ground with his notebook.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 21, 2020 9:13:47 GMT -6
Thinking on it, the warden didn't really ask for it to follow along this time. Did.. That mean it was free to wander? Not that there was much place to even wander here. The man was blocking the only exit. Clever. Intentional? It could only assume so. Truthfully, there was nothing too interesting about these couple of rooms, aside from what was already pulled from the earth. It would rather examine the ores if they weren't going anywhere at the moment. As much as it wanted to exercise caution around the warden.. It was beginning to think better of the man's company. Perhaps it could try to.. Ask. Varus held the jade out to the leopard, hollowed eyes staring hard at the man. Xentus returned the gaze, a brow raised as he slowly took back the stone. "Not of interest, hm?", the leopard presumed, "Well, thank you, Varus." The dimly illuminated smile still managed to reach the gargoyle, welcoming for it to ask for something more.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 21, 2020 9:20:59 GMT -6
The stone being slowly cocked its head, averting its gaze from the leopard's own and redirected it to the swollen pack on the ground. It wasn't sure how to express its desires. It could only hope the warden was as perceptive as he seemed. Between the scrawling of a loosely defined map, replacing the gem, and noticing whatever Varus did, the leopard's eyes were spread rather thin. He rifled through the pack to settle the jade in a certain spot, where it hopefully wouldn't be damaged by the chunks of ore in there. His struggle was interrupted after a moment when a prying hand joined itself into the fun. Almost startled, the leopard's eyes snapped up to look at the gargoyle.
"Ah.. Interested in something here, Varus?", he asked, withdrawing his own hands, "Go on, take." It was a bold move by the stone being, but not necessarily an unwelcomed one.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 21, 2020 9:31:32 GMT -6
Xentus was delighted that the gargoyle was brave enough to assert itself in such a way. A little unmannered, yes, but that was fine. Seeing Varus overcome its reservedness was heartwarming. He really did want to know what the gargoyle was really like.. What it thought. What it wanted. It had been less personable than even a golem, much too cautious and wary to act naturally with him. For all he knew, Varus was actually a playful spirit, who's will had been broken from capture. What would be revealed when the stoic facade crumbled..?
Given the freedom now to rifle through the pack, Varus honed in on a hunk of ore and pulled it from the mix to examine more closely. Xentus watched it for a moment to ensure it wasn't going to do anything strange, but it seemed the stone being just wanted to study. Its hollowed eyes stared hard into the mix of stone and metal.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 21, 2020 9:48:11 GMT -6
He felt happy if the gargoyle could keep itself occupied without fear. And with that, the leopard returned to his work. His map was scant, but it now charted out this tiny wing of the old mines. He'd also made a note of the minerals he'd come across so far, and where. He did have a field guide for gems, which he thought to rifle through and identify the ones he wasn't sure about. Since it seemed Varus was content with his lump of metal, he decided he was at liberty to spend the time researching. He was most interested in the gems that the gargoyle had found earlier in the rubble. They didn't seem like anything specific. The book was retrieved and flipped through in search of the strange discovery. Meanwhile, Varus pecked at the lump of stone and metal, breaking off excess material from the ore. The leopard had done a shoddy job at doing so.
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Post by Nadia on Sept 21, 2020 10:36:19 GMT -6
Pebbles skitter around your feet. Somewhere along in the tunnels, rumbling can be heard.
[Nothing happens.]
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Post by Xentus on Sept 22, 2020 17:54:34 GMT -6
Alright, well it seemed these gems were simply regarded as 'multigems'. Unspecific, though still rather pretty in any case. Into the pack they went. Xentus looked over to Varus, who looked like they've grown bored of the chunk of ore at this point. Fair enough. They've been sitting here for some time now while he was busy with the researching. Time to get going, he supposed. While he spent time researching, he did decide that he wanted to head back home to drop off these finding thus far. With this map, they could easily return and get their bearings.. Not that hey'd gone very far. Xentus beckoned for Varus to follow after him as he lead the way out of the mine shaft. They were met with the lit lanterns and a few traveling bodies passing through to the depths. Varus did well to trail after the warden, clutching its piece of ore tightly.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 22, 2020 18:00:20 GMT -6
The night passed by without any event. And come morning, Xentus headed off to resume his exploration venture with the gargoyle. Neptune was to stay at the kennels, seeming to have grown substantially despite being surrounded by earth. It seemed like it needed to cultivate more electricity, and it would do that best while tended by Xio. Varus was retrieved, supplies and tools were packed, and before long, they were back beneath the earth. Varus seemed to be a little more active today, eager to be in his not-so-natural surroundings. The gargoyle fluttered his shingled wings, keeping pace beside the warden as they traveled the descending hall. Xentus was happy to see the stone being much more chipper today than it was yesterday. Perhaps it was getting to understand that he wasn't here to try to confine it? Or just growing more used to his presence and company? Whichever the case, he hoped the trend would continue.
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