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Post by Kristofor on May 5, 2021 5:07:57 GMT -6
Dated 05/01/19 - #02 This note is on the quest board just below the other one, far more refined and written in blue ink.
"I have need for someone to go out to the mines and retrieve an... Item, of mine, from a Sarane's nest. You will be rewarded handsomely, feel free to keep anything else you may find along the way."
In order to succeed, post your own thread in the quest area with all of your usual mining gear and list your skills (as you would for the mines).
Prize: I am a renowned metalsmith and gem-crafter; you will get a choice of my prized stock if you bring me the item I seek. - You also get to keep all the things you find in the mines along the way! Note: This quest no longer rewards QP, but you can still get a prize for completing it!
Challenge Rating: Medium
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Post by Kristofor on May 5, 2021 5:09:38 GMT -6
It was time for a change of scenery. By contest protocol, Mira had to hang around for results. Apparently mailing out the result wasn't a thing? And if Mira wasn't around, Sirius really didn't want to do anything. So instead Kristofor tied him up, grabbed the baby bird out of its towel nest upstairs in the apartment and headed out for a walk around the town. Perhaps to pick up a spot of extra work to do; he could use the credits; with the addition of Dawson's pup, he'd need to expand the dog 'run' part of the garden, and fencing per the grumbling of his family, wasn't cheap. He'd picked up a book from the city library of how to construct your own fences, and most were interestingly enough, made of stone. The fox checked the title on the spine, yes, it did mention being about fencing, but on the inside 'masonry'. Did someone swap out the fencing book for a masonry book? Weird, and how rude to deface a library book. Stone wasn't in shortage here in the city, he had to go mine it himself though. Go rent a wheelbarrow and get it yourself, apparently. Well how kind of them. 1
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Post by Kristofor on May 5, 2021 5:42:19 GMT -6
The pile of rocks he'd received to get the amber for the museum for the bird chilling out in his backpack, the little warm body rising and falling against his spinal column had also been enough to purchase a full set of mining supplies. Though putting on the helmet in the reflection of his kitchen window flattens his ears down considerably. Was there a way to carve out holes on this to get it to fit over ears that were not humanoid ears? The mental image of having his fox ears halfway down his cheekbones gave Kristofor the shivers. No thanks. The bag of tools jostles around in the wheelbarrow noisily as he wheels it awkwardly down the cobblestone walk of the main throughfare, his map that was edited in Laiyan and his own writing for further edits on where places were and what sold what in hand. Sirius hopped along behind him, his clawed hands holding his ears flat to his head. He wasn't a fan of the noise, it made even his armored bits rattle. "Head'd for the mines there, young fox?" someone calls out as he passes past the quest board area. He pauses for a moment. 'Yes...'? 2
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Post by Kristofor on May 5, 2021 5:47:21 GMT -6
"Take a look at the bottom of the quest board there. Someone's been hunting up relics out of the passages, and apparently either hasn't received the item in question or forgot to remove it. You could get something good for your trouble." they point out a blue inked page, tacked to near the bottom of the board. it was quite crowded now a days. Lets see... the fox skimmed the page. What the hell was a sarane. So he asked the stranger. "How long you been in this city to not know what a sarane is?!" they exclaim in more surprise then should've been given. What it wasn't like he was a recluse. Or a spider... "A sarane is a type of gladiator dragon made up by them labs. Damn monsters double each time they spawn, so their population's rather...out of sort. Few wild ones live out in the mineshafts, way down deep. So be mindful of where you step." That didn't fare well in the fox's opinion. He didn't try to actively take a risk if it could be helped. He looks back to the piece of paper. The relic of question was in the nest. Near the nest? 3
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Post by Kristofor on May 5, 2021 5:55:36 GMT -6
'Do they want an egg?' he pondered openly. The stranger shrugs. "No idea. Far as I know when it first went up last year, several folks delved and pulled up something, but as the paper never got taken down, hell, nobody takes down their requests anymore unless it was a one timer. I'd assume it wasn't the 'right' relic. Anyhow, good luck, don't die." and they amble off. 'Steal an item out of a dragon's nest. Escape and live to tell the tale. Oh boy...' pros of the situation, he could get some stone for the fencing and hopefully run into the nest on his way. Sirius gets to see another space beside the apartment and the garden and a cage, which might help him loosen up whatever is shoved up past the tail exit for attitude. Cons; they were sitting ducks if caught. But he's not a silver fox with black fur for nothing. and can sort of see in the dark. What a conundrum. And he'd essentially sworn off being a thief; because a dragon's nest, hell any sort of nest, is tat creature's livelyhood. Their territory. The memory came up of having to separate his cousins from a big fat angry goose for poking around her nest too much. 4
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Post by Kristofor on May 5, 2021 6:02:15 GMT -6
Goose bites are no picnic; and they don't even have teeth, but little barbs on the insides of those murder beaks. His aunt nearly went out to bring the mother goose back for dinner, but he had to convince his cousins to admit they'd been skulking too close to the nest. It took both written and verbal apologies to the goose and to their mother to pacify the situation. Something his kit cousins didn't like to do; write apologies. Or give them. Apple crate and a shoelace. Sigh. Massaging over his muzzle and right eye to sweep back over his ear, Kristofor resolved to finish the task quickly enough to get in and out without distrubing the nest. If the writer of said quest wanted an egg, they were gettign it themselves. He'd have nothing to do with being a thief of eggs, and being murdered in the process. Giving a little tug on Sirius' lead, the fox picked up his wheelbarrow and proceeded up the cobblestone walk till he reached gratefully flatter terrain. The tools still made plenty of noise, but not nearly as much. It was proof so that the jackaroo removed his paws from keeping his ears flat, and they gradually sprung back to their normal position. Behind his head. The bird hadn't made much fuss on the noise; likely asleep again. 5
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Post by Kristofor on May 6, 2021 4:05:22 GMT -6
How the city managed to keep an entire mountain mine running without running out of ore veins eventually...no, he wasn't going to proceed down that mental path. Several too many irate happenings in this city made no sense at all. Like their animal breeding situations. Was this the 'power of science' that he'd read about as a cub? Or magic. Sometimes magic can be an irate happening too. This is why no one goes into those fae forests; its too deep, too wild even for the wild animals, and too mad. Mad as in crazy, not mad as in angry. The grit under his paws as the wheelbarrow continued to trundle along on its rubbery single wheel, the weight and texture of weathered wooden handles in the grips of his pawhands, along with the generous pressure accumulating on one pawhand as he tried to coax along a reluctant jackaroo. Jackaroos dig out tunnels, thats what they do. Sirius absolutely could do a burrow in his sleep if he wanted to. Let it be reiterated, if he wanted to. He grumbled to himself as he hopped along, making it very difficult for the panilla's fox to make any forward progress. 6
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Post by Kristofor on May 6, 2021 4:11:22 GMT -6
'You are insistently making this difficult on yourself.' the fox exclaimed with a grunt as he set down the wheelbarrow in the middle of a well traveled dirt path. He rounded on the jackaroo, who dug in his big ol' heels and had two foot long drag marks behind him. 'I will put you into the wheelbarrow and you'll ride there until we reach the destination. You're too big to carry in the satchel, so please act the adult animal and stop being a cub, Sirius.' The jackaroo pulled up on a piece of roadside grass, placing the stalk in the corner of his mouth, with a bored expression crossing his rodent features. The rope wasn't taut anymore and he could likely snap it and be on his merry way if he wanted to. What sort of reason did the rabbit with a skin condition have to hate him like this; it felt like his cousin giving him the bully treatment all over again; except without the rumorous insults. Stepping forward, he reaches out to grab the creature, like you would a young fox, by the scruff. THUMP OW. The wind got knocked out of the fox, with just one sharp kick. 7
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Post by Kristofor on May 6, 2021 4:19:15 GMT -6
'If...I were...in lesser...shape, that would...hurt more.' the fox wheezed out, his teeth gritted as he hauled the jackaroo up by the scruff. He wasn't nearly as heavy as something this big would be, maybe because his skin condition made him look bigger then initially thought? Just tall. He must've caught the jackaroo by surprise by not releasing him on first impact. The blunt impact to his stomach button...ow. Hauling it up by the scruff, and not by the ears, because that would be cruel and unusual, the fox gently placed the jackaroo in the wheelbarrow's tray, next to the bag of tools. 'dont' prick... yourself on those.' he points out to the creature, releasing the scruff, lifting the handles, and taking a short breath to lift the now much heavier load of barrow and proceeding up the path. This time around, he took more breaks, being forced to catch his breath. Tracing the edges of his ribcage with a pawhand to check for any cracks, because the lean musculature of his gut hurt. Wasn't doing him any favors to be utilizing those muscles to get two pets, a wheelbarrow and a bag of tools up to the mountain. 8
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Post by Kristofor on May 6, 2021 4:27:44 GMT -6
Were these cave dwelling sarane more likely to be living deep underground or would they roost closer to the surface. If they ate the miners or whatever else came with the miners (like errant jackaroo?), having access to the surface was imperitive. The mountain itself looked more like a very holey hill, with the path splitting off into several directions, all well traveled. Years of digging out, he supposed. He stopped at the crossroads of paths, setting down the wheelbarrow to catch his breath. In good shape or not, that took muscles he rarely used in a routine. This time, he'd been smart enough to buy a canteen with his run to the general shop, and filled it with the fresh clean water of the apartment complex (after cleaning it out of course). The cold liquid dripped down the corner of his open maw as he drank several sips worth. Looking down at the jackaroo as he drank, the creature watched his drinking... 'Thirsty?' he pondered, then poured a bit of water into the cap of the canteen. It was a large mouth model, so he could fit both thumbs in the cap. Carefully holding it out to the jackaroo, before the creature started licking up the water. 9
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Post by Kristofor on May 6, 2021 4:33:04 GMT -6
One hand busy with holding the cap out for Sirius to drink from, the fox removed his satchel and checked on the sleeping bird inside. He could count its little heartbeats when its against his spinal column. The dry bundle of feathers and scales is comfortably situated beside an apple and a few other implements, still fast asleep. Good. Carefully zipping it up with one pawhand, he shifted the quarry back over his back, with enoguh space for the birt ti poke its little head out in case of need. He'd fed the little creature before leaving this morning. Finally Sirius finished the cap of water, wiping the edge of his rabbit muzzle with his front paws, gauntleted by thicker portions of skin condition. Almost looked like little plates of armor like that, as they fit together over the joints of the fingers, hand and wrist. The fox splashed a bit of water into the cap again, and offered but the creature turned away. Ok then. Kristofor dumps the cap, shakes it once and recaps the canteen. Its large enough to last them both a while. Fishing out one of the apple twigs he'd stored for Mira originally, the fox offers it to the jackaroo, and has it taken from his paw, before hearing chewing sounds. 10
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Post by Kristofor on May 7, 2021 5:20:03 GMT -6
Ok, he's busy. Good. The fox carefully wraps his harness rope around the handles of the wheelbarrow. The jackaroo's stronger then he likely believes and could pull over an empty wheelbarrow without issue, but being busy... yeah. He needed a clue. Footprints or something. What of these big old holes would a dragon likely attempt to surface if they needed to. Faerie stories typically depict a dragon high up in the mountains, gazing down at their territory from a vantage point; however those dragons weren't underground. Perhaps one of the holes that's higher up the mountain then. With his luck holding, the jackaroo would be distracted for five minutes if that, and the fox could move up the slope without him just briefly. He doesn't smell anything different; but what would a dragon smell like anyhow. Giant lizard who ate meat. Probably. Nothing he could smell on the air rihgt now, but hadn't gone up into a tunnel yet. The slope isn't friendly to one wheeled objects though, he'd be dragging those rocks to the forefront of the cave no matter what he tried. But higher up on a built up tiered enterance... he could smell... something. Just a little something. 11
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Post by Kristofor on May 7, 2021 5:32:50 GMT -6
If a miner left a sandwich behind, Kristofor would feel a laughing stock of himself. The tiered entrance groans a bit as he climbs up onto it, abeit clumsily at first, as his paws aren't acclimatized to this type of structure, and Kristofor finds himself a number of feet off the ground. Looking up, the great jutting cliff towers above him. Continuing on northwards to split off and become a trench ravine on the surface. He can see more holes, dug out through time. The city really picks this place over for materials, don't it. To him, a potential burrow dweller, having a larger living space mattered more then a large escape space. So something smaller would work more likely, if the beasts weren't strong enough to bash through solid rock. Nothing here was strong enough to do that. Right? With the vantage point set, he climbs back down and goes back to the wheelbarrow. Picking up the handles and wheeling it off to the right of the biggest main passage. Follow his nose, and follow his instinct. The jackaroo's consistent chewing sounds, the steady but quiet beats of a second heart against his back from the bag, it wasn't a very interesting trek, noisewise. 12
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Post by Kristofor on May 8, 2021 2:44:28 GMT -6
'This must be how the farmers got so odd looking', he considered as he moved the wheelbarrow now much slower up the grade, because it felt like his muscles were on fire from the shoulders down. 'Hauling these metal and wood inventions around.' Dropping it wasn't an option, so he increased his walking stride, till the wheel bumped over the board of the topmost rail, finding stable and flat ground. The legs of the wheelbarrow almost rattle the structure with how fast the fox releases the handles and lets it drop. Sirius jumps, just a little bit, giving the fox a through glare until he sees the fox practically sinking to a sitting position, his arms literally dropped beside him with eyes screwed up. Pain. The fox was in pain. A vague memory of someone faceless, hauling heavy items through his prison structure, doing a similar thing when in pain. Just drop an item and sit there. He couldn't help the small chirp of concern that bubbled up from his stomach. Yeah, definitely the jackaroo's stomach being concerned. He didn't even like this fox... but he did feed him, and free him from prison of concrete and sandbox and loneliness... 13
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Post by Kristofor on May 8, 2021 2:54:14 GMT -6
Each pulse of his heart sent fresh waves of pain through his body as the fox sat there, contemplating which of the forest gods he'd offended recently to be reduced to this. Not a spiritual fox by any stretch of the imagination (spiritual ability of a toaster, remember), but some families did pray to the great and ancient forest spirits for protection and good harvest or good health and fertility, depending on who you ask. He'd definitely heard Rabbit mutter a prayer once or twice over his dishes once he was doing feasts for the forest community. Squinting his eyes open, Kristofor examined his palms, because now he smelled blood. It wasn't pretty; Essentially blistering so badly it broke on the pads in more then a few places, seeping. Moving a muscle felt like a humanean task. but he forced himself, gripping his calves and pulling painfully, to sit in a lotus position, resting his bloody hands over his knees, and focus inwards. Breathe in...hold...breathe out. Ohmmm.... Sirius didn't realize he was gripping the edge of the wheelbarrow until the fox started making strange sounds, all twisted up like he did every morning. Unlike fluffy or feathery? friend, Sirius rose with the sun. 14
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