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Post by Renathan on Dec 6, 2019 21:17:34 GMT -6
A lovely silver vein leads one to a nice turquoise of neat blue.
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Post by Noa on Dec 13, 2019 16:59:12 GMT -6
Aster could understand what it meant by doing what it had done, so that was all that really mattered.
"You don't know, or it's hard to explain?" Aster said. The gargoyle's shrug had been a bit ambiguous as an answer to the question. "Hold up one finger for the first one, and two for the second." He suggested the bit with the fingers in hopes that it might make it a bit easier for the gargoyle to communicate with him, since they were stuck like this. It must have been at least a little frustrating not to actually have a common language to convey more precise meanings. Aster had the luxury of at least being able to speak, even if he had to work with the gargoyle's range of vocabulary when he did it. The poor gargoyle itself had no such recourse, and had to resort to a variety of nonverbal means.
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Post by Noa on Dec 13, 2019 16:59:59 GMT -6
This included drawing pictures, which it had done before.
It seemed like a frustrating way to live, which was why Aster so strongly suspected that it wasn't the way that the gargoyles got on with one another when left to their own devices. He was sure that it was only a matter of being stuck with bumptious humans like himself that the gargoyle was reduced to such things, but they hadn't been together long enough yet to figure out any better means.
Maybe Aster would look into that sign language that had come into prominence recently. Or maybe he'd buy one of those fancy magic items from that Alan, and see if he can't find a way to let the gargoyle speak to people on its own terms. But those things weren't cheap, and a lot of the time, the rarer ones weren't even in stock. He would have to get lucky as far as those things went.
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Post by Noa on Dec 13, 2019 17:00:18 GMT -6
For now, the best he could do was make it easier for the gargoyle to answer his questions. The gargoyle held up two fingers, which meant that it was answering with the second option that Aster had given it. It was telling him that what he had asked was a difficult concept to explain.
Aster sighed. "I guess it would be, wouldn't it?" he said. He had been asking about the gargoyle's lifestyle, after all. A lot of that stuff was complicated. Aster had only to think about the idea of explaining his own lifestyle to someone else who had never been to his home, or even to this place, and he could just about imagine the kind of headache it would give him. Not to mention, of course, the issue of the gargoyle's limited means of communication. If Aster had to live like that all the time, he'd have a headache constantly.
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Post by Noa on Dec 13, 2019 17:02:00 GMT -6
"Alright," he said, "I'll stop annoying you with questions. We have mining to do, and all that."
Which was true, bit there wasn't anything in their immediate vicinity that was screaming to dug up. Which meant that they had to wander a little further afield. The two of them walked in silence for a time, Aster turning his mind to other things in the effort not to plague the gargoyle with too many questions. He supposed he could talk about himself, hut the idea just struck him as awkward.
He spoke plenty when he was with some of his other less intelligent creatures, but it was different when his audience would be able to understand him. Nightshade wasn't about to form an opinion of him based on all the nonsense he had said in their time together at the mansion. And some of the things he had said had been pretty inane.
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Post by Noa on Dec 13, 2019 17:06:36 GMT -6
They didn't pay attention to the words, just the tone, and with them, there was even the healthy importance of getting them used to hearing your voice.
But with a sentient companion, especially one that was beginning to show a healthy grasp of Common in terms of listening comprehension, your words had meaning. Aster glanced at the gargoyle, but fortunately it didn't seem to be paying attention to Aster now that he was being quiet. And they could judge you for what you were saying too, so if you let slip something untoward, then that was your problem now. Even the prospect of talking about himself at length was unappealing, since it had the tendency to make you look selflabserped and full of it. Aster had had the misfortune of knowing a few individuals like that in his lifetime, and he hadn't enjoyed the company of any of them, as far as he could recall.
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Post by Renathan on Dec 13, 2019 17:16:49 GMT -6
A pretty glittering little citrine is hidden nearby, just beneath the surface of the wall but sticking out a tad.
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Post by Noa on Feb 23, 2020 22:11:56 GMT -6
A new year, a new trip down to the mines... Or, well, an overdue one, Aster supposed, if the trip was supposed to mark the actual occasion of the year turning around. It was a month and a half past the point for that to happen. Fortunately, unlike other ventures here that changed with the seasons, the tunnels beneath the mountains stayed mostly the same. And Aster's mining routine had settled in somewhat too, now that he'd been with the gargoyle a while. It had been an adjustment at first, venturing in without Cinna, who had become a familiar presence in the mines on Aster's trips... And venturing in with the gargoyle, whose character had been unknown to him, and whose intelligence posed a great deal of questions. But now, Aster entered a tunnel at random with the gargoyle companionably at his side, not feeling terribly concerned over any of that. 1
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Post by Noa on Feb 23, 2020 22:16:05 GMT -6
"What do you think our odds are today?" he said. "You think they look good?"
The gargoyle, for his part, seemed more comfortable too. Maybe some of that discomfort that Aster had initially felt was on account of the gargoyle's own unease, though that unease turned out mostly to be the anxiety that Aster might not be open to... negotiating, maybe, was the word for it. At the very least, it had come to him with a request in mind, and in its earnest initial entreaties, Aster had sensed something like the fear that he would refuse. And if Aster had, then it really would have left them at a loss as to how to move forward, wouldn't it?
Well, and there was the matter of the language barrier. That one was still present, though not to the same extent that it had been before, now that the gargoyle had spent some time in Aster's household.
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Post by Noa on Feb 23, 2020 22:19:03 GMT -6
The gargoyle gave him a confident nod, even going so far as to grin--- though the attempt resembled nothing so much as a grimace, and it must have seen the reaction on Aster's face, as it rescinded the act in short order. "Well, if you think they're good, then I guess they must be," Aster said, though he himself knew full well that wasn't how it worked. A little optimism never did hurt though. "Alright, let's go find you that crystal, huh?" And in the meantime, if they picked up anything else, that would be good too. Most of the things they found down here were worth something to someone, somewhere. It was just a matter of finding the right buyer, or the right purpose.
Or maybe that jewelry workshop would open up again, though Aster wasn't really banking on that. They'd been closed for some time now, and he was sure he'd gotten rusty in the meantime.
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Post by Noa on Feb 23, 2020 22:22:16 GMT -6
Even if they did reopen, he didn't know if he would be up to doing any of the stuff he had done before anytime soon, since he had no confidence he wouldn't make a botch of it if he did. Maybe start with something easy and soft and cheap, that he wouldn't miss if he worked it too hard and the whole stone went to shards. But that was a question that would be waiting for him if the shop did reopen. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
For now, it was him, the gargoyle, some tools, and a whole bunch of rocks. Aster lighted the torch, though there was still light enough to see by for the moment, and stepped into the gloom of the tunnel. Better to light that thing here, where he could still see what he was doing, than wait for it to be dark enough to need it.
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Post by Noa on Feb 23, 2020 22:25:28 GMT -6
Then he'd struggle to see anything, and it would take longer, not to mention being a hassle. It was a bit of common wisdom that had taken him uncommonly long to figure out, but at least he had gotten there eventually.
It sure didn't take long for things to get dark either. Aster felt the oppressive weight of the walls of the tunnel around him more and more as the comforting touch of daylight receded, until he was left pretty much entirely with the light of the torch. By now, it was something he had grown used to, though it still wasn't his favorite thing to experience. "I bet you feel right at home here, don't you?" he said to the gargoyle. "Wish I could feel at home here too. Though, then again, maybe I don't."
In response to his words, the gargoyle gave him a shrug--- something else he'd picked up from watching people.
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Post by Renathan on Feb 25, 2020 11:00:11 GMT -6
This particular serpentine looks a little difficult to get out of a nearby wall- but still, it looks nice!
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Post by Noa on Mar 7, 2020 9:48:41 GMT -6
Almost immediately, however, the gargoyle's attention was attracted by something else, and it began to tap and dig at one of the rock walls surrounding them. It didn't take the gargoyle long at all--- and with no intervention on Aster's part whatsoever--- to produce a little raw gemstone. At least, Aster supposed it must have been a raw precious stone. In the dark, they all looked like rocks, especially when they were raw. Some stones had a bit of color and luster even then, but there were a whole lot of others that didn't look like anything until you polished them up.
All that made him wonder if any old rock on the street would look like something fine if only you polished it a bit and put it in some nice metal setting. Not that he was given to try it, of course, since that kind of thing took time and effort.
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Post by Noa on Mar 7, 2020 9:51:02 GMT -6
Not to mention the fact that the gemstone workshop was still closed, and there was no news thus far of its reopening any time soon. But Aster had enough to do as it was, and for the most part, he didn't miss it. Which wasn't to say that he wanted it to stay closed forever, but more that he hadn't thought about it with a real degree of seriousness in quite some time.
Though now that the gargoyle was here with him, it occurred to him that maybe this was the kind of thing it would find interesting. It was smart enough to appreciate something like that, certainly, and by its very nature it had to have at least a passing interest in gemstones, right?
"You know, there's a place in the city where they polish this stuff up," Aster said. The gargoyle was handing over its find to Aster now.
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