Deep in the Underground - Quest #2 - Done

Maybe this wasn't the best time to bring a fidgety, nervous wreck of a halfbreed into the mines, but that was alright, she would be able to figure it out. Considering it had taken every bit of thirty minutes to get the lead on him though, just so she could keep track of him, didn't bode well. She straightened up her spine a little and nodded, however, she would get this done with this halfbreed and everything would go just fine. Nothing would go wrong, they'd find the item (she hoped) and then they would get back out and be fine. Jack nodded again and double checked all of her gear, the wagon held her light on the outside and her tools on the inside, along with a couple of bags for any stones she might find along the way. Also inside was a bag of insects she figured the halfbreed would enjoy during their trip, and she hoped things would go well between them the whole time they were there. Well, he was nervous, but that was fine she figured with a nod and a smile, he would eventually get over it, but he flinched hard if there was a great amount of noise or she tried to touch him, which made the lead necessary but evil for him to go with. Jack gave a little sigh and deflated a bit, it wasn't too late to go pick up Goran or Grim, she figured with a little frown on her face, but no, she had chosen Vary and that was who she was going to go with. Still though, she had an odd, nagging suspicion at the back of her mind that told her something was going to happen, but she just didn't know what that was going to be yet.

1
Jack: 1/20
Vary 1/5; 2 1/5

Vary was a little uncertain about things. He knew of the woman, of course, he had been told about her by the wise gargoyle and the other halfbreed, but seeing her was a different story. She was so tall, though he wasn't too small at the same time, and he just didn't know what to do about her. According to them she used a long stick to walk, but that wasn't happening now, and she didn't seem to have a bad leg, so it was a little odd and he wondered if he had been lied to about it. A little more cunning than some, less cunning than others, he nevertheless wanted to know all he could about her before making a decision on whether or not to trust her. For now he didn't have a choice but to follow her, and ate a few of the insects out of the palm of her hand with wary eyes staring straight into hers as he ate. He didn't know what to do, but he thought he needed to get out of there as well, though the darkness felt like home almost at the same time. There was something natural about it, and as he clicked his ears swiveled as he realized he was hearing things deeper underground because of the noises he made. That was interesting and something he didn't know he could do until now, so maybe it wasn't too bad what was going on. He eyed the woman after he finished eating and then sniffed around, smelling interesting things in the darkness of the mines, the only light the one on the wagon the woman was pulling behind her. It was the scent of stones, and he knew it, but how he knew it he really didn't understand. It just didn't work out for him.

3
Jack: 3/20
Vary 3/5; 2 3/5

A howl came from within the mines, making Vary chitter faster and louder, hiding behind the wagon as he did so. He barely peered out from around the wagon and the woman looked a little concernedly down into the mines. Well that wasn't good. She had to admit, the mines seemed a little more eerie right now, but she could handle it, she was just worried about Vary handling it. If push came to shove she could put him in the wagon and then go along by herself, but she didn't think that would be too good for her to do at the moment would it? She frowned a little and pulled on the lead a bit, soft as she could, and the strange little band of people and things went further into the mines a little ways, trying to find something to dig for, trying to find a Sarane nest. She'd never seen a nest before in the mines, just the hatchlings who had wandered off from their mothers, poor things. One was a mother now in her own right, even a grandmother, at least if she remembered correctly. Jack just didn't know what to do about things at the moment, and she shrugged her shoulders as she tried to go further into the mines without terrifying poor Vary beyond all comprehension. He had faded into the shadows again and was sticking to her heels so much she was afraid she was going to step on him. For some reason she gave him a little bit of comfort, though he didn't know why that was at the moment. She wasn't too familiar, just a little bit, and she was odd at that. It wasn't everyone who would want to train the animals she trained, and as he slunk along at her heels, he wondered if there was something wrong with her.

4
Jack: 4/20
Vary 4/5; 2 4/5

She hoped to find a few pure crystals so she could make another node during the next year sometime, but she didn't think she would manage to find a grand seven of them in that amount of time, she barely had time to mine as it was! This somewhat made up for it though, the gentleman who put up the ad said she could keep anything she came across, which meant more crystals for her if she could find them, she supposed. Ah well, it would all work out in the end, even if she just made another greater elemental node at that point. She chuckled, how was it that node creation had become so mundane? She smiled a little and shook her head as she dug, she really didn't know, but it was amusing to her no matter what. Jack glanced over at Vary who was still moving rocks with his front paws, using them a lot like his Felusine heritage did when it came to things like this. Unfortunately he was a rather horizontal creature, he couldn't stand up on his hind legs very good, and only then when he had his front paws propped on something. It would all work out though, he would be able to find something eventually. His short, nubby claws started working at the wall, working less efficiently than either Goran or Grim did of course, but still nice enough to get a few things done. Jack reached down and lightly touched his head, making him chitter anxiously and drop the rock he was holding. He froze a little bit and stared at her with big eyes, and she pulled her hands up and showed them to him, backing off and starting to shovel again. It would take awhile for him to trust her she knew, but it still hurt.

6
Jack: 6/20
Vary: 1 1/5; 3 1/5

Jack simply hoped there was a purpose to this digging, she really hoped to train Vary up a little bit after awhile, and having him stop and pick up on stones or crystals as they went wasn't a bad thing she figured. Still, if they didn't find anything after awhile, she could have them continue down into the mines to try and find that nest. As she dug, she wondered what was back there that had Vary almost in a frenzy at this point. She sighed a little, probably nothing good, but that was the beauty of it, she never knew what was coming until it came along. She chuckled a little and shook her head, whatever happened, at least she would be a little productive, at least she would have gotten Vary some experience out in the world, as nervous and jittery as he was. Vary dug a few more times and then sniffed in the hole he had dug before sitting back on his haunches and licking dirt from his front paws. Opposable thumbs only went so far, she supposed, and she sighed a little and patted him on the head before putting up her shovel. Vary twitched when she touched him and drew away from her for a moment, but that was fine, she could figure it out later she supposed. Oh well, he would get used to her eventually she thought, and she hoped that things would go well no matter what. If only she had another animal who could handle her in the mines with her, but she had decided on Vary and that was that. As time went on he would get more and more used to her, she knew that much, and she hoped that things would work out in the end with them, and if they didn't...

7
Jack: 7/20
Vary: 1 2/5; 3 2/5

Vary stood still, though his limbs shook with every fiber of his being as he heard the scuttling. He thought he saw something in the distance, tiny and black, but there was no way of being sure it seemed. He clicked a little in fright and then hid behind the woman, his favorite thing to do at the moment he felt. It meant he was safe, if only because whatever it was would get her before it got to him. If she knew he was using her as a shield, she might be a little upset, but that wasn't what was going on at this point it seemed. Jack reached down and lightly touched his head, and that seemed to snap him out of it as he jumped up in surprise and clicked as menacingly as he could at her, which wasn't very much. She simply smiled and chuckled and then moved on down into the tunnels a little further. She wanted to finish this quest, she just didn't know what they would do with everything she was supposed to get from finishing it. She'd heard there were quite a few prizes, not to mention point toward the shop that was open in the middle of the city now. Some of the items were pretty interesting she felt, though she shook her head a little as she walked along, wagon and Vary bumping along behind her. She came to a fork in the tunnel and frowned, eying the map again. There was nothing in there about this, maybe the nest was a little ways away now, but there was no real way for her to be sure, she figured. She just had to keep moving and hope that Vary was learning something, she couldn't really go wrong with that, right?

9
Jack: 9/20
Vary: 1 4/5; 3 4/5

The nest was down one of the corridors a little ways, and Jack peered around to make sure nothing was there. She smiled a little when she found the coast was clear and snuck forward, leaving Vary behind, tied to the wagon. Glancing through the nest, she picked up a few things that looked expensive or interesting and then slipped them into the wagon before heading out again, leaving behind the Sarane nest with a few eggs in it. Her heart hurt, she wished she could have taken some of the eggs, but that wouldn't have done much for her, she already had her Black Hen and Black Drake from the mines anyway, though she was sure someone would offer to buy them from her if she went for it. Smiling a little, she shook her head, when she went for an addiction, she really went for it didn't she?

10
Jack: 10/20
Vary: 1 5/5; 3 5/5 +1