Rock the Casbah III[Job Chain/B]

Spoiler:

Roughly a week had passed since the miner’s death, and Ayero stuck around the town for good measure. She kept in touch with the miners, relaying to them what she had found and cautioning them against going in the mine alone. Although she had destroyed the creature that had killed the miner, she couldn’t be certain that there weren’t other dangerous creatures lurking within the depths of the mine. Still, the mine was explored slowly and cautiously, though most of those who ventured in did not go so far, nervous about meeting the same end as their comrade. Even in exploring the first hundred yards of the cave, the experienced miners could already tell that the amount of valuable metals held within was promising. And so, another request was sent to the Fanalis woman.

Ayero had spent the past week hanging out in the forest near the town, honing her hunting skills. She skinned the beasts she managed to catch and sold their furs to passing traders for a modest amount, but it was enough to keep her stable. On occasion, when she had made a decent catch, she would prepare her own meals instead of eating at the inn. She did it in part to save money, but there was a nagging feeling in her head every time she took a life from the forest—the Cambulac’s lessons still resonated in her, so she tried to use as much of the animal as she could by herself.

The aftershocks came few and far in between now, and had thankfully lessened in intensity. Though the general population avoided the area where the mine had been discovered as they area as still dangerous, a steady stream of miners from larger towns and even city areas began to flow into the surrounding villages and towns for promise of work. The town did not seem to mind, in fact many of the business owners seemed delighted to have more customers than the passing travelers and traders from up the mountain.

When Ayero returned to the town one evening with a pair of rabbits in hand, the inn keeper bustled over to her and informed her that the miners had requested assistance from her again. Worried that someone else was missing or dead, the Fanalis warrior quickly made her way to where the miners in the town had been stationed. Thankfully, as they said, no one had perished in the mine so far. But they had made yet another exciting discovery—a network of ice caves. Predictably, the miners were too cautious to search it themselves, especially considering what had happened the last time one of them ventured too deep into the underground cavern. Ayero agreed to assist them once more, and retired to her room at the inn with intent to head out towards the mountain at dawn yet again.

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Ice caves…can such a thing really happen here? I haven’t heard of them existing anywhere outside of extreme northern areas. Maybe they’re just really far underground…? Ayero contemplated the miner’s latest discovery as she hiked up the mountain, Kabu wrapped around her body and Tomato flying above them, occasionally stopping to hop along the branches above. After several hours of careful travel she made it to where she remembered the mine to be, and to her surprise was met there by several men. From the clothes and protective gear they donned, she supposed that they were the miners.

After a short exchange, Ayero headed into the cave accompanied by several of the men. They explained that they had been careful while exploring the tunnels and had managed to avoid any dangerous creatures, but were too nervous to ascend deeper into the ground than they were comfortable with. They couldn’t afford to abandon this profitable discovery, hence hiring some muscle to ensure that the miners could go about their job without fear of being attacked by strange cave creatures. Ayero left Tomato above ground, knowing that the bird would be at a disadvantage in the confined underground space.

The air was a bit tense as the group walked further into the cave until the miners could go no further. They explained how to get to the area they had discovered earlier to Ayero, and wished the woman luck as they headed back to the entrance.

Clutching her torch, Ayero drew in a deep breath of musty air and almost coughed. Weird. Usually it’s humid and moist this far underground, but they did say that we were nearing the ice caves. With torch in one hand, sword in the other, and Kabu taking the lead, Ayero continued on her way.

Narrow passageways opened up into a larger cavern, and Ayero soon found herself pulling at her thin cloak to stay warm. The reports were true—there really were ice caves. The Fanalis woman slowed her pace in order to take in her surroundings and marvel at the new scenery, never in her life having experienced anything quite like this. Her breath came out in small puffs due to the cold, a strange occurrence for her during the dead of summer.

A trill of a hiss pulled her attention to Kabu, her posture reflecting how alert she was. Instead of being pointed forward as if he had sensed an enemy, the snake had turned his head back towards Ayero. He trilled again, this time a bit weaker and slithered closer to his mistress. Ayero gave him a confused look, sudden understanding crossing her face as she reached an arm out. The eager snake slithered up Ayero’s arm and took his place around her body, under her cloak. Being a cold blooded creature, Kabu was easily susceptible to changes in temperature. Coupled with the fact that his was built for warm climates, Ayero felt a bit guilty for taking the desert snake with her.

But Kabu’s predatory sense wouldn’t be needed to save them from an incoming attack this time around. The ground began to shake rhythmically as heavy footsteps thundered throughout the cavern. Something is coming. Ayero planted her feet firmly on the ground and readied herself as the Old Mine Guardian came around the corner.

This is….not like the other one! Ayero’s eyes narrowed as she sized up her opponent, noting its larger size and outer rock-like skin. Noticing the intruder, the Guardian let out a roar and worked a large rock from the ground with its massive hands. With another yell, the beast chucked the rock at the woman, hoping to crush the red haired invader with his Rock Throw.

I know that trick… Ayero ducked and pushed off on her feet, using Dodge Roll to avoid the large chunk of rock as it crashed to the ground, shattering ice and sending a faint plume of dirt into the air. Covering her mouth and nose with the front of her cloak to avoid the dust, Ayero charged towards the great rock beast and performed a Fierce Jab, aiming to test the limits of its outer rock-like armor. A feeling of satisfaction sparked in her chest as her blade pierced through stone, though not without some resistance.

The beast let out a cry as the woman’s blade struck its chest and attempted to rid himself of the woman by using Handclap Slam. Wary of the creature’s strength, Ayero used Pinwheel Block to negate the damage, her steel blade deflecting both of the large rock hands as she spun in a circle. Time to finish this! The woman prepared to land another strike across the beast’s chest, but before her blade could reach the beast saw what she was up to.

With a great roar, one giant rock hand came down upon the woman. Ayero was able to dodge by the skin of her teeth, but the second impact of the Double Smash struck the Fanalis. Ayero stumbled under the weight of the hand, the damage unfortunately being dealt to her head and neck. While it did hurt and disoriented her for a moment, it also served to make the Fanalis woman angry. ”That’s it, now I’m really going to finish this!” Growling, Ayero performed a Swift Roll behind the stone giant with the intent of attacking it from behind. Springing upwards, the warrior woman slashed at the beast’s legs with her blade.

Strangely, she could see the rock creature’s skin darken as her blade struck. Unbeknownst to her, the beast was hardening its skin and ended up reducing the damage taken, but it was still enough to cause  it to fall. That slash was supposed to remove your legs… Ayero looked on, dissatisfied as the beast fell to the ground, defeated. It’s skin was definitely tougher than the other one, but usually I’m right about these things after the first strike. Ayero frowned and looked at her blade, wondering if the scimitar had lost its edge.

A worried hiss brought her out of her toughts and she turned to see Kabu staring at the side of her face. Reaching up into her hair, Ayero pulled back her hand to see a smear of blood on her fingers. Ah. Well, makes sense. My head really hurts. The Fanalis woman and her snake stuck around for a little while longer, ensuring that the icy caverns were barren before reporting back.

[1500+/1500]
[Stamina: 180/290]

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