Down in the Mines [CG:Nala]

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

“Oh a hunting we will go, a hunting we will go…” The catchy tune played over and over in the joy-filled player’s head as he waltzed lazily around the outskirts of the ruined capital city of London. He had been outside, walking about almost aimlessly, for a few hours in the warming sun and had been singing old children songs to himself as he did so. He scanned and eyed the edges of the forest for clues of what he was searching for but with every passing minute, Saber remained empty handed. Unlike others who may have taken it as a bad sign, he didn’t mind it one bit. The pickaxe he carried over his left shoulder wasn’t extremely heavy and the sun wasn’t burning him alive like it would have in the summer. The air was cool and the flowery scents of the area lifted his tired spirit, helping him deal with the stressful situation.

Saber paused in his stride and stood upright as he listened to the tall trees shake and their leaves rustle. He lifted his head towards the sky and shut his eyes, taking in the relaxing breeze that wrapped its calming hand around his body. It was like a blanket that Mother Nature was rubbing him down with after he had worked a long, twelve hour shift at some job site. The feeling was amazing and Saber couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Indeed, he had been walking for several hours now around the outskirts, hunting and searching for something. Yet there was not a hint of sorrow on his mind. Mother Nature would provide him what he needed, even if it was a programmed one. All he had to do was enjoy the sunlight and keep searching because that was all he could do. There were no random acts of the Gods that would help him, and there was no real map he could use to find where he was going. Saber was a wandering soul, searching for an unknown destination.

“Heigh ho, the dairy-o…” The man opened his eyes and watched as a small group of six birds spread their wings and took off into the sky. They flapped their wide-spread limbs and darted up into the sky’s hold, flying off towards the clouds.

“A hunting we will go…” A smile crossed Saber’s face as he turned to his left. He continued to walk and began to follow where the birds had flown. The player didn’t pay attention to much when he walked like this, but there wasn’t really much of a path to follow for him. He hadn’t been to the zone he was at very many times before so it was barely lit up, forcing him to search around several dark areas. That wasn’t much of a problem to do but it was the sheer size of the map that bothered him. He had read online when he initially started that Elder Tale was created under the guise of something called the Half-Gaia Project, or something similar. Aside from what it was called, Saber could remember reading that the in-game world was almost as big as the original world. If that was true, then Saber would have a lot of ground to cover.

Still, searching and walking around aimlessly had its quirks. After leaving London’s front gate, he had walked a lot of places and had seen a lot of cool things. There were a few small rivers just outside the city’s edge filled with fish and several small animals lived around them. Saber hadn’t attacked any of them due to his level already being high enough, but it was nice to simply watch it all. He hadn’t expected it, but the world of Elder Tale was almost like a world that had been abandoned all of a sudden by humanity. It gave a lot of insight to what could happen if Humans suddenly left the planet for a few years and then decided to come back. The circle of life would have carried on, the cities would have started to slowly turn back to dust, and the world would have moved on without a second thought. It was a little funny how such things worked. As Saber entered a tiny semi-forest, the player considered if this was really what the planet would look like after Humanity moved on or died. Would everything really revert so quickly back to “normal”? Or would it take much longer? Saber wouldn’t be able to pinpoint anything down to the letter, as he didn’t know how long the Human world had been decaying for, but it did seem as if it had been a while. The roads outside of the city had all, mostly, reverted back to their dirt paths. Nature had returned in a lot of places, including the huge area Saber as in, and humanity’s trace was completely wiped out. Where Saber walked, passed a small open area with a bunch of trees and some barren land, was nature. Every step through the bushes, every touch to the tree trunks, and every breath of clean air, was nature. There was no pollution here, no sudden death due to cars roaming about, and no acid rain burning away at the ground. The world was in a state of recovery from that harsh period of humanity, and it was doing so with grace.

“Wait a minute…” Mid-stride, Saber stopped and looked to his left. There, in the middle of an open area, there was a huge, tight cluster of eight or nine trees all within a few feet of each other. It was strange to see such a thing, as the rest of the area around them was empty. Saber was immediately intrigued and turned swiftly, adjusting his random course to hone in on the space. Upon entering the little area, Saber immediately felt a little off. The ground felt hollow, empty, and weak; below his feet and every step he took felt as if it was rippling, cracking. It was a strange change, as the ground he had just been walking on was solid.
“Oh. Would you look at that...” He peered through the trees and looked straight down, finding a massive black hole there in the middle of the cluster. The player wiggled his nose in curiosity like a dog would and stared into the dark pit, attempting to see if there was anything inside of it. Adjusting the pickaxe he held over his shoulder, the player decided to check out the mysterious hole. It was time for another adventure it seemed and he was always up for one of those, there was no question about that.

Making his way around to the opposite side, Saber found himself standing in front of two very small statues. He couldn’t make out the carvings, but they were there for some reason. They were most likely being used as markers to show where the entrance was for anyone passing by so Saber took that as a bit of a good sign. Someone, or multiple people, had been through here and had traveled inside the pit. How far they went and what happened to them, Saber didn’t know but he was about to find out. The player nodded to himself and twirled the pickaxe on his shoulder, holding it easily on its center of balance with his left arm. As he began to step down the sloped, rocky floor into the shadows, he noticed some objects to his left that were pushed up against the wall. He walked over to inspect it all more closely and noticed a small pile of wood towards the end of the foreign objects. Beside the wood was a bin and there was a group of four packages right beside that. Curious, the player first sniffed at the liquid, regretting it immediately as the smell of oil burned the inside of his nose. He snapped away from the bin and gagged hard, barely able to keep from getting sick all over himself. After only smelling that horrid thing, he knew what the rest of the items were; torch materials. The player grabbed one of the unlit pieces of wood from the small circular plate to the far right, dipped it into some oil in the center, and then sparked a flame on it with one of the matches from the package closest to the top of the pile on his left. As the fire sparked and ignited, filling the entrance with light and some warmth, Saber turned around and scanned his surroundings.

In the dark, he hadn’t seen much but now that he had some light, the player was pleasantly surprised to see what filled his vision. The previous users of the hole had left behind a lot of tools just inside the entrance that looked to be used for excavating; which gave him a clue that he may have been in the right place. There were some pickaxes, carrying packs, ore and coal bins that were all empty, helmets, unlit candles, and some water jugs. Whoever had come here sure was ready for a decent size mission, but as Saber got a closer look he learned that they must not have prepared enough or had simply found the cave no worth their time. Dust and cobwebs collected around the tops of the pickaxes, the candles felt a little strange, and the water was turned to moldy sludge. Whoever had come here before had left a tale behind for the curious Adventurer. They were also kind enough to leave him with some extra tools that he could put to use, making up for his lack of such things. The player could make use of the candles and snagged an additional pickaxe just in case if his broke. He deposited the two heavy axes into his inventory and decided to only carry the torch in his right hand, one of the ore bins in his left, and stuffed the candles into one of his pockets for easy access to them later. When he was ready to begin, he descended into the depths of the dark cave. His small excursion was going well for the most part it seemed.

During the beginning stages of his descent, Saber only came across blank rock walls and dust on the floor. There were some signs of people picking at the walls, but there wasn’t a lot really to speak of aside from where a few veins had been excavated already. Even when Saber had walked deep enough for the light from the entrance to be hardly visible, there was no sign of anything. Not a single ore vein or coal collection that he could pick at was in sight. It was all barren, taken by the previous miners that traveled through by the looks of it all. Maybe that was why they had left their equipment. They had dug out what they needed and left, or the mine may have been empty in the areas they were comfortable with reaching. It sucked knowing that the place could have been a complete waste of time, but Saber kept walking down the path. He had come this far, so the only option he had was to keep on going.

“A hunting we will go! A hunting we will go! Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go!” Saber sang out loudly, bellowing his voice so it filled the empty space. Yet, he didn’t do it for the laughs. As much as it brought a smile to his face, the adventurer used his singing as a sort of echo-location system. His words traveled, bouncing off the walls and plunging further into the cave at a faster rate than he could. He listened close, taking in the number of echoes he heard come back to him as he walked. Then, once it became silent, the man picked up a rock and threw it will all of his might down into the cave. It tapped and rolled, but next collided with a stopping forced aside from gravity, which pulled it to a halt far in the distance. Saber sighed and kept going, praying he wasn’t wasting his time.

After another few moments of walking, before he could even finish a long prayer he had, something shimmered to Saber’s right. He glanced over immediately and saw something running along the wall. It wasn’t rock, but it wasn’t ore. An eyebrow raised on the player’s face and he moved up close, trying to discern what it was that he saw. The close inspection lasted several minutes as Saber scanned the shiny object which stretched from the floor to the ceiling. It looked like a vein of sorts, and it was black like coal, but Salvestro had only told him about coal that was in large collections in the wall. He had heard nothing about what he was currently looking at. Saber was hesitant to do anything to it, but there was really only one way to truly find out what he was seeing. So, instead of striding along and leaving it be, the player took his pickaxes and used one to make a hole in the wall so he could nestle his torch in it. Then, he lit a few candles and stuck them around the floor and in the wall, illuminating his work area. He set the bin and his extra pick off to the side for later use and then turned towards the small outcropping. The man took off his scarf and removed his top shirt so he was only wearing the tight fitted t-shirt underneath, allowing himself to get comfortable. Then, with a swing of his axe, the player got to work.

: Post Title :
-Children Songs and Pickaxes-

: Word Count :
2,294

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber

: Notes :
Oh a hunting we will go~

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

"Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pale of water!" Though it probably wasn't the best song to sing while she was heading up to the river for a bucket of water considering someone falls and cracks their skull open, Nala went along with the tune that fix the song thus far. If the ending ended up ending the same way as the song ended though, at least she would only end up taking fall damage at the worst. Skipping along, she fetched the water and stuck the filled bucket in her inventory just in case of accidental tripping on the way. Humming the rest of Jack and Jill's song to herself, she started to get confused when the tune suddenly change to another. Getting caught up in her frolicking, she didn't notice that she had managed to slip past another person while roaming around, in fact, she didn't see them at all, only hearing their song faintly enough that it influenced her own.

Curious, Nala turned around to backtrack her way to where the source of the sound had came from, something about going hunting. While she couldn't remember all the words, the tune that came with the short, infectious sentence was now caught up in her own head as well. She needed to find the one singing it and get the rest of the words or this song wouldn't leave her alone any time soon. She kept getting glimpses of someone ahead of her, but couldn't make it out enough to tell who they were. At the very least, she wanted to know if she'd run into the person before she went up to them. If she did know them, she wouldn't have as much trouble going up to them compared to if she did, new people were harder to approach for her. As s result, the Fox Tail kept her distance for the time, simply following the glimpses as the person seemed to wander about aimlessly. After awhile, she started to think of it as a sort of game. She was the super sneaky ninja, and she had to find out the identity of her target without getting caught. It was a one sided game, but it made it all the funner simply because her opponent not knowing to look out for her was the whole point.

For awhile, she followed after the possible stranger without interaction, only noting the small details she could see of him, mainly just his back along with the pic he held; cautious with her game still, she made sure she was keeping a safe distance. It wasn't until he suddenly stopped that Nala actually had to hurry and find a place to hide herself. Though as he moved on swiftly, she ran out of places to hide and just squinted at the figure. Something had piqued their interest... something in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by ominous trees. 'Please don't go in. Please don't go in. Please don't go in.' And there he went. Groaning inwardly, Nala couldn't help the curiosity that pushed her forward to follow after the person. It wasn't just about a song anymore, she really wanted to know if she knew them or not, and now why they were out and about carrying a pic ax around randomly. Following in their wake, the ground seemed to destabilize right from under her feet as she went, just another thing to chop up to the ominous feeling the place gave off as a whole. It wasn't often that normal things surprised her, and the shifting terrain was no exception while Nala plowed onward.

Wandering to the side, she gave pause at the statues, having lost track of her target for the moment -not the best ninja thing to do but eh. Distracted by the stone golems, she ran a hand over the bottom of one, trying to take a guess at how old them might be. It ended up being a derpy question though. She knew how old they were, they were as old as the new server of course. It was just so confusing at times to decide what exactly had happened to them, for now, she went off the fact that they were inside the new game server, actually living in it. Shaking her head, Nala put herself back on track, hurrying into t he hole, fairly certain that the equally curious adventurer she was following had taken this route. It didn't take long to answer her question, their position given away by an illuminating light that was starting to fade as her target moved along. Well, her mother warned her about jumping off cliffs with the other kids, but she never warned about plunging into deep dark caves after them.

Nala stuck to the very edge of the shadows, trailing one hand along the rough walls while she followed the light alone. It was hard not to trip when she couldn't see her feet or anything in front of her, but she crouched down enough that her slow steps kept to themselves. She tried her best to keep them matched to the pace of whoever was in front of her like in the movies, but she couldn't really tell if she was doing a good job or not since they were her footsteps, hopefully the continued singing would help. It was incredibly difficult not to burst into song as well, she knew it would help her remember the rest, but if she started singing, he would clearly hear the other voice lapping over his own in the echoing cave, she couldn't have that.

Thankfully the torture of wanting to join in ended along with the bouncing light her target was carrying. It came to a halt, but she got a little closer into the light so she could make out the figure before her. By the looks of it, they were male, but not familiar enough to her that she could know who they were looking at their back; something about them was familiar though. Not just because of their back, but their voice had been too, there was just something about it she was sure she'd heard it before somewhere. But where?

Jumping slightly, Nala fled back to her shadows when she saw the inspector finish examining the walls. She didn't want to be in plain sight when he turned back around. Hiding out, she held off coming back out until he had set up his little light camp. It wasn't until he started to strip in front of her that she suddenly felt like a total creeper. Covering a hand over her mouth, she managed to keep herself from making any sort of noise as she hid back behind a rock just big enough to hide her and her fluffy tail from view. Sure, maybe some were called 'strip mines' but that totally wasn't what it meant! It wasn't obvious to see in the dark, but she was as red as s cherry now, taking deep breaths as she tried not to freak out and yell at him for undressing in front of a lady; he didn't know after all. Hearing a loud clash in the echoing cave though, she slowly peered back around to find out that whoever it was hadn't stripped all the way down, they even happened to have another shirt underneath the one she glimpsed them taking off earlier. A very fitting shirt, but as a woman, she really couldn't complain about that as she cocked an eyebrow.

Seeing she was safe from nudity in a mine though, she let a relieved sigh escape... much to her disappointment. Flinching, Nala ducked back behind her hiding rock, hoping beyond anything that the stranger hadn't heard the soft noise.

---

Word Count: 1300

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Metal smashed against rock as Saber brought his heavy pickaxe down onto the cluster of what he believed was some kind ore, causing the rocks to break and fall apart to expose the material beneath. With each heavy swing that Saber made and after each massive strike to the hard ground, more dust blasted into the air and more of the black vein beneath became exposed. Saber breathed heavily, tightening his core as he used his brute strength to dig deeper into the hard stone that was in his path towards his goal. Every swing took all of his breath away and after only twenty of those powerful digging attempts, his body felt as if it was on fire. After testing his limits on the first day, Saber had learned that he would still suffer from some form of fatigue if he kept up any kind of physical labor without a break. The feeling occurred when he ran, when he pulled and held the string of his bow, and it was even worse when he did his physical exercise every morning. Unlike he originally expected his body ached just as much as it did in the real world after too much physical activity. What was even worse was that after too much of the physical workouts, Saber actually had the potential to fall into a state of paralysis. It had only happened once, but the system had done it in order to force him to stop so it could catch up. After that happened and he was forced to lie on the ground for almost five minutes, he never pushed himself too far again.

Now, as his body burned and flared with stress just like the flames which danced around his torch, Saber was forced to take a step back from the rocks. He breathed heavily but did so in a controlled manner as to keep him calm. The hunter shut his eyes, relaxed, and let his lungs feed his muscles with the oxygen they so dearly begged for. He filled the pair of organs full every time he inhaled, taking deep and long breathes to do so. When he exhaled, Saber relaxed his shoulders and let the pickaxe in his fingers become heavy, using it to loosen his arms up a little, giving them a good stretch in turn. As he continued to breathe and relax, his body began to collect itself gradually over time. When he was ready to get back to mining and the burning he felt had subsided, the player lifted and curled the heavy axe in his arms a few times in order to bring his arms back to life. Once the pickaxe felt light again, he clutched its wooden handle firmly with both hands. Looking down at the cluster of stones at his feet, Saber nodded and returned to swinging away.

The tip of the axe cracked through the outer shell of the rocky encasement, shattering stone and exposing the beautiful material beneath it. With its armor taken away, Saber continued to slam the axe into the black stone, easily shattering it into large chunks as he began to swing with more care. He didn’t want the ore to be to broken down so it couldn’t be used, but he also didn’t want it too big so he couldn’t carry a lot of it. Each basket he pocketed would need to be filled to the brim with material. Only then with it be a worth wile trip. If there was even the slightest space for an additional chunk, Saber would stuff two into it. The preciousness of each ore was far above its actual market value to any blacksmith. A single piece of coal, which may run for almost a single gold piece at its cheapest, was worth three times its weight in a large forge because of how much was required to burn in order to get the required heat. If a blacksmith owned a smaller forge, than their need for the material would be much less, and they would be attempting to haggle for a cheaper price just for kicks. Saber had watched his Master in those interactions and made one single note; bulk. Buying in bulk could save money at the right price, as it would seem like a good deal to a novice tradesman. For someone who was more experienced in business, bulk could potentially strike a partnership between sell and buyer, making it a good thing to ask for by any Blacksmith with any right mind. However, not every shopkeeper was willing to sell materials in bulk and those were the men who were in it for the money, not the service.

Yet, Saber had decided that mining his own ore would be the best way for him. It would take time to mine what he needed, but it save him money in the long run, allowing him to save up for more expensive tools or purchase more rare materials than things like coal or iron. If he could do that, then Saber would be in good shape for a beginning Blacksmith. He was a novice in his trade still, but as a Hunter he had his own ideas and imaginations. Saber worked with wood as a bowman, but in reality there were many bows which weren’t made of wood, but of metal. If he could create something like that, then he could most definitely make a huge profit if he opened his own store. Such a recipe would spread like wildfire and Saber would be able to make a huge buck off it. All he needed to do was mine the vein in front of him to start. After that, he would need to read. It would be a while, but soon; Saber would be able to look Salvestro in the eye and shake his hand from an equivalent level. Not in height, but in ability. That old man was a true Master Blacksmith, but Saber was an Adventurer, a thinker, and a younger man with a wide imagination. He had the drive to succeed, and the will to reach his goals. With a smile on his face, the player could only imagine the look on his Master’s face when he returns to that shop.

After another twenty swings, Saber took another step back from the vein and set down his pickaxe. He knelt down beside the rubble and used his bare hands to fish through the mixed pile of stone and ore, plucking out the black rocks while tossing aside the useless brown. After initially touching the black stones, rubbing their edges, and giving them a decent wiff, Saber discovered that the vein he was swinging away at was indeed coal. With a closer look at the broken open piece of the outcropping, Saber also learned that there seemed to be a lot of it hidden beneath a fairly decent sized layer of stone. If he wanted his fuel, he was going to have to work for it. The player only grinned and continued to gather his broken up ore into the bin he had brought. There was only one that he had right now, but when it was full, he would make his way up for a second bin as well as some fresh air.

In between lifting rocks, an exhale to Saber’s right filled his ears. The player immediately stopped. At first, he thought it was himself, but he had been holding his breath for a short moment. That meant only one other thing; either someone was directly to his right, or someone had died in the mine and didn’t pass on yet. The player begged for it to be just another person and not the ghost, but as he looked towards his right he expected a ghastly face to be standing right there. A feeling of relief washed over him when he didn’t see any strange ghosts, but that left only one other option; someone was following him. The player hissed at the thought and grabbed his pickaxe, lifting it up with only his right hand. The Assassin class came in handy in such a situation as it allowed him to wield any weapon of his choosing in the game. As he stepped out of the light and into the shadows, Saber squeezed the pickaxe tight and scanned the small walkway. Several large rocks blocked his vision, making it easy for someone to head beneath them. Saber considered using stealth, but if someone was looking at him then his skill would be useless. It seemed like politics was his only choice.

“You have five seconds to step out, or I’m coming to find you. And you don’t want that, trust me.” Saber swirled the pick axe in his right hand and then swung it at the rock to his right, digging the tip of the pick into the top of the large boulder. Upon impact, the top of the stone cracked up and shattered into pieces.

“One…”

: Post Title :
-Breaking Though-

: Word Count :
1,503

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, Unknown

: Notes :
Ghosts are not welcome here!

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

Oh goodness no…

Pressing further against the rock she was cowering behind, Nala remained stationary. Only for a moment were things suddenly quiet. She figured that the person had at least thought he heard something and was taking the moment to try discerning if he was right or not. Praying that this was true and he would resume his rock bashing, her hopes were crushed. “You have five seconds to step out, or I’m coming to find you. And you don’t want that, trust me.” Keeping a whimper from escaping, she shook her head quickly, even though no one was around to see her refusal. The stranger didn’t sound all too happy about her following him in so deep, and an angry person was a scary one.

When he started to count, she curled in tight on herself, hugging her bushy fox tail closely so it wouldn’t give her away by chance. A chill went up Nala’s spine when she heard the loud noise she could at least recognize now as the thundering sound of the man’s pick against stone, the accompanying crumble of rocks soon following. It was louder than before though, ears lain back, she peeked around as far as she dared until she could just barely see the rock he had just reduced to a pile of rubble. Fleeing back behind her temporary safe spot, she suddenly didn’t feel all that safe anymore. If he could do that to any rock here, her hiding spot was in jeopardy.

Already running out of time, Nala kept where she was, freaking out until the stranger should actually reach the number five. That would be when she couldn’t take it anymore and jump up from behind the rock, holding a hand high in the air in surrender and her eyes squeezed shut. “I-I’m so sorry!! I’m here!” Whatever his threat was, she hoped that he wouldn’t go through with it because of her being a little late to respond to it, punishment was not something high on her list of things she wanted to receive. Swallowing thickly, she carefully opened one eye just enough to peek at the one she was surrendering too.

Both eyes opened as when she saw just who the man was that she had been following after. Of course! That’s why he seemed familiar to her, she DID know him. The infamous rabbit killing ninja that likes to lurk in the shadows, “S-Saber!?” Of all people. They really had to start having more normal meetings, he almost gave her a heart attack!

---

Word Count: 426

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The cautious eyes of the player continued to scan the area around him as he attempted to pin the location of the quiet intruder he suspected to be nearby. Saber had just given them an ultimatum; surrender and show themselves or he was going to go to them and bury his pickaxe into their heads as a consequence. However due to the dark veil which lay over the chilly cave in front of Saber, aside from the faint glimmer of sunlight coming in at the distant end of the angled pathway out of the place, he could barely see twenty feet in front of himself before it all became a cloud. If the intruder was beyond that short distance, then he wouldn’t have been able to see them until he walked forward and closed in. Indeed, it was a difficult situation to be in but he would have to remain calm. Saber had turned from the hunter into the prey and there was a chance that he was falling into a trap, but he would have to spring it. Although, if the player wasn’t extremely strong, then maybe they would realize their mistake and leave without any problems after seeing the dangling level above Saber’s head. He would hope that they would make the right choice; it would be easier on both of them. The man didn’t have energy, or time, to waste on a foolish player killer.

“Two!” Continuing his countdown, or count-up, Saber shouted the next number in line a second after the first. Upon doing so, he swiftly glanced around the area he could see to look for any signs of surrender. With no sign of anyone coming out of their hiding place, Saber hissed and began to walk forward. It was such a futile attempt to hide in this place. In the cave there were only two paths the person could take; they could run towards the entrance and try to outrun Saber, or they could try to go through him and potentially reach a dead end. Both choices would be far too risky for someone without any ranged skills. If they chose to run, Saber would take his time and jog after them, switch to his bow and arrows while his moved, and would have begun to shoot at them long before they reached the exit. After his weapon switch, the outcome would be certain.

“Three!” One step after another, Saber started to make his way into the dark area his candles and torch could not reach. He resisted using his own skills to make himself invisible and he also didn’t let Silent Move activate either. In this instance, Saber wanted the other person to know where he was. He wanted them to be able to peek out and see his figure gradually making its towards them with the large pickaxe in his hand. If he had gone invisible and moved into the shadows, he could have got the jump on someone if they were there, but it most likely would have incited a defensive reaction. That could escalate very quickly and go from bad to worse for both players. However, if the other person was smart and had their eyes on Saber then his skills wouldn’t work in the first place. If someone watched the Assassin after they activated their skills, it was easy to follow them and know where they were.

“Four!” The end of the rocky outcroppings was coming close and having seen no one so far, Saber began to squeeze the wooden shaft of his pickaxe. It seemed as though the person wasn’t going to give themselves up. If they chose that route, then so be it. He would gladly remove them from his presence, if only for a while as he could guess that the player would return a few minutes later after respawning at the Cathedral. Well, if they respawned at the Cathedral and didn’t die in reality, then they would be back. It happened all the time when people were killed by other players near the city gates. The loser would die, become angry, and sprint from the Cathedral right back out the gates without any new equipment to try and fight the still armed opponent they lost to. Of course, the loser would lose again and lose even more items than before. The idiocy of some people made Saber wonder sometimes.

“Five!” The final count came and Saber raised the axe into both hands. He had come halfway out already and it seemed he was going to be going the entire length. Due to the person not giving themselves up within his given time frame, then he had no choice but to enforce discipline. If they didn’t run now, they were going to be sorry later.

A heavy sigh followed the thought. Saber didn’t exactly want to kill anyone, but his safety was a priority and he had a mine to protect. He was also a man of his word. He had told the player that he would be coming out if they didn’t, so he had to respect the other player’s decision. The only thing Saber could ask was that they came to terms with any of their regrets and mistakes, including this mistake, and didn’t come back to haunt him later. Though, his wish came true in another way. Before Saber could take another step, he saw a hand pop up from his front left. It was a small one, and barely visible, but the voice which followed and exposed the person’s position helped Saber relax. It had taken them a little longer but at least the player gave in. Saber relaxed after that and lowered his weapon slowly, holding it lazily in his right hand as he waited for them to come out. From the sound of their voice, it seemed his tracker was a female. That gave him even more of a reason to be happy as he doubted he would have been able to swing at a woman, even if she was trying to kill him.

Yet, part of him felt the need to swing anyways as he realized who it was. Due to him being closer to the light, the woman discovered his identity first and shouted his name. After a closer look, Saber discovered that the person he was about to swing his axe at was the woman who had fed him a few nights before. Her name was Nala, and she was one of the Fox Tail race members. He hadn’t known her for long, never added her to his friend’s list, and didn’t exactly hang around for very long during their initial meeting. He had been starving then and was running out of food supplies, forcing him to stay just long enough to eat a bowl of soup Nala had coincidentally brought along. He repaid her with from fruit, but also planned to treat her again when he had the time. If he wasn’t currently hacking away in the mines and had seen her in the streets, he would have taken her to one of the nearest places to eat. However, he could only hope she didn’t bring it up herself. He was a busy man even though he had promises to keep.

“Sneaking up on people isn’t always a smart thing to do, Nala.” The player spoke loudly as he attempted to teach the woman something, and hopefully the tension from just a few moments ago would help enforce that. He didn’t go into details though and turned around, making his way back towards where he was mining. With the intruder identified, there was no reason for him to remain violent. The man simply returned to gathering the pieces of coal off the floor that he had mined out.

: Post Title :
-The Final Count-Up-

: Word Count :
1,302

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, Nala

: Notes :
Sneaking is for losers! ...wait a minute

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

Turning her gaze to the ground, Nala puffed out her cheeks as she scuffed the heel of her foot against the floor lightly. Everyone was always telling her what to be careful of, what not to do, what was a bad idea. Even Saber was making a habit out of getting onto her about her actions; she didn’t need another person looking over her all the time like her brothers. Granted, he had a good reason to, but still, she wished people would let her get into some trouble and learn just how bad things might be able to get the hard way. Heaving a short sigh at what was likely an impossible thing, she back up to the retreating man.

Keeping her ears flat against her head, the Fox Tail trailed after him. He had ended up winning the ninja game –whether he knew it or not- so there was no longer a need for her to hide anymore. At least she could freely ask some of the questions that were going around in her head now. “It… It worked you know.” What? That wasn’t a question! Warming at her own mistake, Nala suddenly wished there were an Okami for her to hide behind again; that fierce little fox could face anything on, even the male species. All that was around though were rocks, so instead she went over to the pile of rubble Saber had made earlier with a display of strength, picking them up and laying them in patterns on the cave floor.

“U-Um, what I mean is the swords. I was better without them…” Even if it wasn’t a question, that had been something she meant to tell him before. He had happened upon her, or her upon him, and made witness to a rather ungraceful dance by her. That had been why she came out to practice, but in a way she did feel bad for exposing him to her fail dance that still seemed to work just because of her skill dragging her along.

Folding her legs under her, Nala tried to get comfortable as she sat instead of squatted by the pile of rubble. Her little design was starting to take the form of… something. Tilting her head to the side, she tried to figure out what as she went on, rambling a little because of nerves, “I didn’t think it would matter, but I felt so much lighter without them equipped. Also, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you I just heard your tune in the woods and wondered what it was. I still can’t place what it was, but I tried following after you like a ninja after, turning it into a game. What was that song you were singing by the- OH!” the exclaim at the end cut off her sentence and echoed back at her a couples times. With the design finally finished, she now knew what her subconscious was trying to tell her.

Leaving the sentence incomplete, Nala held a hand up and pressed gently, opening her menu up. Sliding through it quickly, she smiled when getting to the item, tapping on it to have it materialize back in her hand. Still sitting on the ground, keeping her distance, she held her hands out to Saber, the small engraved bowl sitting as an offering in her cupped hands. “Thank you for the fruits, I kept the bowl with me just in case of a surprise meeting like this~! Slowly but surely, she was learning to always be prepared for the random encounters with people she tended to have while romping about.

---

Word Count: 604

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The pile of coal Saber had been able to mine out in such a short time was a very reassuring number for his novice eyes, and he couldn’t help but smile a little as his gradually blackening hands tossed chunks of the fire material into his first bin. As he looked at the coal collection in front of him, which was all still in the wall, he concluded that he could get away with potentially three or four more bins of the raw material from just what he saw on the surface. If Saber was lucky, then there would be plenty more of the material behind everything on the outside. He wasn’t a miner in reality so he didn’t know much about ore veins. Saber had never spent to long underground at all to be more precise, except when he was camping with his father. Even then the closest he had ever got to some sort of special ore was when they came across a cave bug which illuminated the walls or those strange, luminescent gems that were embedded into the walls and gave off their faint blue glows to light up the dark. Actually being able to extract the stuff from the wall was actually kind of exciting, especially when he knew it was going to help him later with his crafting. Salvestro had always gone out to retrieve the materials for the forge on his own so Saber didn’t have a chance to learn where the mines were or what to actually look for when he found one. Now that he was out on his own with no Salvestro to give him hints or tips, Saber could feel as if he was beginning to grasp onto this world. Though, he couldn’t say he was entirely alone as Nala had decided to follow him down into the pit for some strange reason.

With one last toss, Saber put the last chunk of coal that he had broken off into his bin and used his boot to kick the unneeded rocks to the side and out of his way. If he stepped on one of them, fell and potentially hurt himself, then he doubted he was going to be mining for a while if something bad happened. Yet that would have only happened in the real world, potentially. Here in Elder Tale, Saber assumed that he would probably only lose some of his health and nothing really else. That wouldn’t be as bad as scraping his arm, injuring his ankle, or breaking an arm like he would in reality should he hit the ground to hard, that was for sure. However, Saber wasn’t so worried about breaking any bones as he was about scaring himself. If he were to fall, the player would probably be shaken up a little and his brain might think that something worse had happened to him. He was always fairly good about his balance, and it was embarrassing to say, but being on his back was probably the thing he hated the most. He hated the feeling and it made him feel weak, exposed, and in a position of defeat. It made him chuckle at the thought, and it was a little graphic, but he felt sorry for any woman he fell in love with. There would be no lying down for this man when they were in bed unless he was restrained.

Saber laughed a little to himself and reached over for his pickaxe, snagging the tool by its wooden shaft. He glanced to his right, then to his left, and it wasn’t until he looked to his right again that he saw where Nala was. The fox tail had followed him down to where he had been working and it seemed she had also begun to speak. Saber felt a bit rude, but he hadn’t realized she was talking to him until he looked at her again. He didn’t say anything about it, but after listening to something about swords and being better, he was able to put together the overall gist of what she was talking about; it seemed as if she had listened to his advice and tried practicing without using her swords. It was a simple solution to a problem which seemed more difficult than it should have been. Many of the skills in the game required the player to work with the system and change their bodies to match it; however, others were only supplemented by the system and turned from average movements into very, very powerful attacks. It was a simple algorithm and it was most likely why players were able to play so freely. It was also how Saber was still a fairly strong marksman. Without being able to bring his skill over into the game, the man doubted he would be anywhere near as strong as he was now.

The player politely listened to the woman even though she kind of invaded on his zone, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that her thinking alignment was completely off or skewed in some way. The reason he thought this was because of the sudden change in topics. Saber initially expected to be able to respond to Nala and give her more input on her dancing skills and how to improve them further, but then she suddenly jumped over into an apology. It was… entertaining. The player tiled his pickaxe and placed the head of it upside down on the ground so it would stand on its own. With it there, he used it as a support beam and leaned against it as he listened. It seemed she was concerned about the tune he was singing. The old children’s song was one that he had learned when he was very little, and listened to it almost every time he went out hunting with his father. The old man loved that song and had good reason; it was because of that song that he meet Saber’s mother. The woman was singing it one day in the market. For Saber, he was thankful for that but he wondered if she regretted doing so.

Yet, once again, before Saber could really explain the song and its meaning; Nala changed the subject to something completely different and didn’t give him a chance. The man raised an eyebrow and stared at her, the left corner of his lips perking up as he smirked a little. He watched the fox tailed air head open her menu, navigate it, and then summon a familiar object. It didn’t mean much to him to see it again, but the thoughtfulness of the woman who was sitting down in front of him was quite nice to be honest. Most people would have just taken his dish and he would never see it again, ever. Yet to see the bowl again like this, as well as how much Nala was talking without a break, Saber wondered how long she had fret over it. She didn’t exactly seem nervous or forceful, but it was something else. Maybe she was just trying to be nice to him or something. That would be new.

“Thank you.” Saber reached out and carefully retrieved the bowl from Nala’s hands. After a quick glance, he also realized that the bowl was much cleaner after being in her care than it had been in his. The man wiggled his nose a bit and munched on his tongue, mulling over a thought. It didn’t take him long to decide before he tossed the bowl very lightly back towards Nala.
“Keep it. You’ll take better care of the thing than I will.” That was a fact he was a bit wary to exclaim, but it was one he didn’t exactly care too much about to fix. He was a man who worked, hunted, and fixed things. Cleaning dishes and doing housework was something he tended to do last or sometimes not at all because of how badly he pushed it off. However, in this instance, he didn’t mind it. Sure, his future home would be a mess, but it would at least be livable and if someone came by who took better care of it than he did, there was no doubt in his mind that he would just give them the keys and go back to wandering around. He preferred to do that over settling in because of how much fun it was.

“By the way…” Saber turned away from Nala and picked up his pickaxe. He flexed his arms a little to get them used to the heavy tool once more and then twirled the head of it around so the pointed end was facing forward. As he prepared to return to his manual labor, he stretched his shoulders and rumbled softly.
“...the tune I was singing is a children’s hunting song. It’s called A Hunting We Will Go.” After he spoke, the man took in a deep breath and raised his axe. Clutching the shaft, he brought it down onto the exposed coal vein with a heavy bang, cracking the surface. The next swing broke the rocks apart, starting the next round of swings that he would do.

: Post Title :
-A Strange Brain-

: Word Count :
1,533

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, Nala

: Notes :
She can really talk... can't she?

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

It was kind of funny, seeing him stop to prop himself up on his tool. While Nala was aware of her ramblings, it was kind of like a snowball effect. She wasn't able to stop until she reached the ground where she rolled to a stop in a big pile of mess, and as she peered at Saber's smirk when he took the bowl from her, she was left to quickly quiet down. Sometimes she wished she could just disappear after doing something so embarrassing and having someone laugh at her, even if it wasn't out loud. Despite the little drop in her mood, she covered it up with a small smile, nodding to his thank you- she almost didn't notice the flying object when it was tossed her way again. Squeaking lightly at the sudden return, she fumbled with it until the carved item was secure in her hold, looking up at him more questioning. "But..." It was such a beautiful object, she couldn't possibly take it, just like that. She didn't even have anything to let him have in return. Obviously she wasn't very good with presents, it kind of made her birthday difficult for her family, but that was one of her quirks.

As much as she wanted to insist he take it back, she mulled it over at his insistence instead. Taking pause, Nala started to run her hands over the carvings, tracing the design while thinking. She did want the item to be taken care of, it looked nice on her table, and gave her the perfect place to set the various fruits brought home, yet her main problem was that it was given to her for nothing in return. While staring down into the bowl, she looked up when Saber started to go on, turning his back to her to take up his pick. With her attention snagged for the moment, Nala watched the display Saber put on in the firelight. It was all too easy to see the way his muscles moved under the tight fitting undershirt. For a brief moment, she was reminded of the day that her brothers took her to a bar for her twenty-first birthday when this guy-

Nope. So much nope. Shaking her head fiercely, Nala kept that day locked away, she hadn't been in her right mind and she was not about to go back over that particular fuzzed memory any time soon. Blushing a bright red, the Fox Tail kept her eyes cast to the bowl she held in her lap. She still wanted to refuse, but didn't have the time after Saber shared the name of the song he had been singing. The excitement of finally putting her mind at ease about now recalling what it was called and the rest of the words that made it up was dulled by her more recent thoughts. Nala was still happy to know it now, but she was at a loss now. There was no reason for her to stay, yet she kept still, listening to each swing the man made at the wall. Going back out alone wasn't very appealing to her, even if Saber wouldn't mind her taking one of the candles to light her way back. The darkness she had hidden in was no longer her friend to play with in sneaking up on the mysterious stranger, it was a creature that wanted to surround her and steal her away when there was no one else around.

Fidgeting where she sat, Nala played around with the bowl a little more, letting the sound of Saber's mining drown out her thoughts for a bit before she would speak between hits. "I... can't take this for free. Please have it back...?"

---

Word count: 625

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

In Saber’s mind, time skirted by as if it was nothing more than a piece of candy in a starving child’s mouth, and it was making him feel strange. It was like a liquid being drunk up by the soil, and Saber didn’t dare try to stop it because of how quickly it vanished, slipping through his fingers without any trace left behind. His body burned with soreness and felt as if it may collapse right out from underneath him but the issue not his fatigue, but it was that he had finished swinging so quickly that he never even realized he had exceeded the twenty swings he had fixed himself to until it was too late. As he listened to the woman fidget a little behind him and kept himself aware of her presence, Saber’s mind had grown distracted from his mining and he lost count. By the time he had realized it, his arms were on fire and he had said the numbers between fifteen and twenty five or six times over. It was strange how such a simple thing could help him increase his work efficiency. Initially, Saber had doubted how bringing another person along for this job would affect him positively, but it seemed that his negative emotions were the only things bad about the current situation to say the least.

As he slammed his pickaxe into the ground once more, he decided it was good to take a short break rather than keep blasting away at the crumbling stone wall. Just as he set the head of his axe down, he heard the soft feminine voice from the person sitting behind him speak up. The man heaved air and stood up tall as he listened to Nala attempt to reject his gift. Well, he wouldn’t consider it a gift but it was something he had given her out of kindness. There was no reason for him to keep the bowl he had tossed her and he didn’t exactly intend to do anything of the sort because of its lack of use for him. Whether she wanted the bowl or not, she was stuck with it and Saber was going to refuse it at every instance she tried to give it back. Even if she asked him every time they met, he would just throw it back at her without saying a word. He didn’t want to seem like a creep, but if he had to then Saber would follow her home and stick it on her doorstep if she had a house. Though, that would probably make her just throw the bowl away. It was something he didn’t want and something he had feelings for, but it was also something he didn’t want Nala to just give away so easily. It was a nice object and one that he could have used if he thought about it, but he had his reasons. Ones that he intended to keep to himself for the time being.

Yet, as he mulled over the thoughts he had about the bowl, Saber grinned. The woman was so focused on the bowl that she probably wouldn’t step off the topic until something else happened and pulled her from it. With a quick glance back over his shoulder, the player attempted to get a look at the woman behind him without turning his head to far. He looked over her sitting body in an attempt to find something different about her, something that he could use against her. Not as a physical weapon to hurt her, but as a psychological one that would change her state of mind. If she was focused on the bowl and her mind was swirling around the thought of the debt she may have been in, then Saber only had to simply adjust those thoughts very subtly. It wouldn’t be an easy feat to accomplish because of the complexity of the human brain, but that was conversation. For him, he was used to such things. After transferring to College in England, Saber had attended several parties of all different kinds. Campus parties mostly were of low class and composed of simple alcohol and frat parties for the most part, but they weren’t exactly appealing to a person who didn’t drink alcohol. Yet, he also attended higher class balls and gatherings at which he had to dress up in a suit of sorts and fancy clothing styles to fit in. Other times he went to some places which were just gatherings of five or six people, mainly consisting of classmates or friends. The one thing he had to remember, no matter where he went with people, was just to have good conversation with them. That was key in holding ones ground at such gatherings; keeping the flow going and staying with it. If a person didn’t know of a topic or couldn’t respond acutely, then they would flop and slowly be pushed out of the circle. Such a thing occurred more often when he was at fancier gatherings, but it was a very prevalent thing that occurred even in meetings he had with a handful of people. It was difficult to deal with multiple speakers, all of which had different tastes, but in this situation with one person, it was even more difficult to know what to say and how to say it..

In a group of five or six, Saber didn’t have to interact much to get a needed result. He simply had to fuel the conversation and keep the vehicle straight. The others would assist with acceleration and deceleration. Yet, it was difficult only because of the sudden turns the vehicle could take. With multiple people, there was a higher chance that the conversation could abruptly change and he would be forced to adapt. It happened a lot with more simple minded people because of the lack of an attention span, but it made things entertaining. Whether Nala was simple or not, Saber didn’t know. However, that could play to his advantage. That was all life was; advantages and disadvantages. Saber had a deck and it wasn’t exactly stacked. By his word, he would have said it was lackluster in what it contained, but he made due with every card he drew and the brain which ticked inside of his mind was slowly become a devious one. It felt good.

“I thought about the moment I saw you dance.” Rather than acknowledge the fact that Nala had said something, Saber acted almost as if he had never heard it. Instead he chose to navigate the pathways the woman had opened up to him and used his words to bore his own hole into the wall. Nala was frozen on the fact that she held a bowl in her hands which was gifted to her, so Saber had to play by his own rules. Seeing as it was his turn to speak, it was his turn to lead. He felt like having Nala dance with him… and that could be arranged.

“At some point, I would like to see it. I didn’t dance very much in reality so it always amazes me when I see someone move so elegantly.” A smirk crossed the man’s face as he snagged his pick, tempted to begin swinging again. Yet, he stopped himself. Something tugged on the back of his mind and immediately, the player became bothered by it. He ground his teeth together; latching his jaw shut, and stared at the rocks in front of him, curiously staring at the black coals which collected around his feet. There was something off about the vein in front of him, but he couldn’t pin what it was.

: Post Title :
-A Open Invitation-

: Word Count :
1,285

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :

Saber, Nala

: Notes :
Totes not distracting or anything.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

For a good long second, Nala just looked up and blinked at Saber, looking utterly confused. Slowly, she brought the bowl back down to rest on the floor, letting it lie there while she shifted in position. She had just been... totally ignored. Smoothing the cloth armor she wore as armor, she picked the bowl back up once that was done, putting it back into her inventory before she stood back up. The utter ignore he just pulled on her was impressive, and rude- oh so rude. She wasn't exactly happy with being ignored, but she would go along with it if that was what he wanted, a smile over her lips despite her feelings. "Bowls make you think of my dance?" Still rude. If he was going to think of her dance, she wished he would at least connect it to something nice, or even cheesy, she liked cheesy things.

Even if she was upset with him ignoring her so thoroughly, Nala couldn't help the blush that crept across her features in the candle light when he commented on her dancing being elegant- even if he had merely generalized it to all dancers. As much as she tried to frown at him, she just couldn't do it, ending up with a more natural smile. Folding her hands neatly in front of her, the Fox Tail inched her way closer to the wall, "O-Oh... if you want, I'll dance for you a-at some point..." Notably not now, and not with him, but at the vague some point he mentioned.

---

Word Count: 260

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

A tinge of regret filled Saber’s mind as he listened to the woman behind him speak. He regretted attempting to change the subject, as it hurt the woman more than he initially though it would. It seemed that not everyone Saber would encounter went exactly to script, but that was what made everyone human. At least now that Nala had pushed back against him and called him out on his mistake, even though she hadn’t blatantly said he had made one, Saber was sure that she wasn’t just some non-player character or some random person trying to pry into his shell. If she had simply adjust to the conversation, Saber probably would have thought of her as one of those other liars he encountered in his real life. Those vultures at the parties he went to who agreed with everything someone said simply to make them smile. It made Saber sick to think about such people. Nala made him hurt a little, as he had probably done the same to her, but he still was happy she had reacted the way she did.

Even so, Saber would have to make up for his mistake at some point. It wouldn’t be now though, as he had other problems. The player moved his pickaxe to the side and remained quiet as he knelt down. With haste, the player snagged all of the coal that he could which lay on the floor. His eyes darted from one rock to the next, snagging the black stones without caring to brush off the excess and useless stones attached. Unlike his first batch, which he had taken care to pluck and cleaned off so every rock was a pure black, he didn’t have the luxury with this one. The man locked his jaw shut and moved as quickly as possible, collecting every bit of useable stone that he could. The vein before him looked different, it looked off, and as he had picked at it; it felt hollow. Such a feeling was never good and Saber needed to remain vigilant. He would have kept swinging away, but the threat of a lingering collapse was something he didn’t want to deal with. Saber personally didn’t want to deal with anything today. He just wanted to mine ore and get fuel for his forge! Was it that hard to actually do that?!

From what was happening ever since he entered the mine, it seemed like the world didn’t want him to do any such thing. With Nala’s appearance, he lost time because he had to go out and find her. Even though his pace had increased because of her being around and talking, it seemed that he had become more distracted. Now it seemed like the cave itself wanted to stop him. He couldn’t help but wonder who was pulling the strings of this planet, and he also began to wonder if others had come across the same problems as he had. Almost every day, Saber came across one problem after another and it was a never ending chain of annoyances, failures, and injuries. He had asked for a mine and got a mine so he was thankful, but he had also got Nala and his current inconvenience with it. What else could go wrong? The entrance caving it?

A heavy sigh escaped Saber’s lips as he tossed the last coal into his bin, effectively filling it. The man pushed the bin out of the way, placing it off to the side of where his torch was placed, and pulled over his second bin. He put the second bin a little further from the vein just in case his suspicions were correct and grabbed his pickaxe. As he lifted the heavy object, Saber stepped away from the coal vein and looked over towards Nala. She was a safe distance from the actually wall, but Saber still feared for her. If something were to happen, he didn’t want the woman anywhere near him or the vein. If possible, he wanted her out of the mine completely. Yet he had hurt her already so asking for that would probably only get her to hate him rather than just be angry at him. At least she was smiling a little. Saber had heard her say that she would dance for him, and he would enjoy it. Maybe he could have her teach him, even though he knew a bit himself.

“I would like that, Nala.” Saber smiled at the woman and lifted his axe as he spoke. Rather than just start swinging, he looked towards the vein and wiggled his nose.
“Come over here and away from the vein, please. I don’t want you to get hit by any flying rocks.” Not saying the truth would hopefully save Saber from scaring Nala too much, but hopefully she would move because of the light threat. Fear wasn’t something Saber wanted to deal with at the moment. He had to focus more on swinging and being careful so soothing a frightened lady was not on the checklist.

: Post Title :
-Preparations-

: Word Count :
845

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :

Saber, Nala

: Notes :
Uh-oh, Spaghetti-ohs.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

Tilting her head to the side, Nala watched the man turn his back to her and start loading up the rocks that he had been mining away at. She wanted to help him with his work, but had the feeling that he would see her as being more in the way than anything. The last thing she wanted was to get in someone’s way, even if all she was trying to do was help. Saber also seemed to be in some sort of hurry… it didn’t help her anxiety to help him, yet she managed to stay out of work none the less. Curiosity prodded at the Fox Tail as she ended up wondering how often the man went down into random mines to hunt for such materials. Since it probably had something to do with one of his skills, it was likely quite often. To be going after whatever it was he mined, she guessed him to be a blacksmith or artisan.

Paying more attention to her thoughts than what he was doing, she had started to watch Saber’s movements in a passive manner. She saw him shuffling around with his rocks and bins, but didn’t actually register it until she noticed him look her way. Flinching slightly, she looked off to the side, not meeting the gaze at first, but looking at him for a short second when he said that he’d like to have her dance for him… which sort of sounded a bit more like she was an entertainer than she wanted it to. Even if she technically was, that hadn’t been how she saw it up until that moment. Hesitating, she returned his smile, so she had apparently just entered the entertainment business.

It quickly fell to a small frown though when Saber beckoned her over. Looking between where he had been mining and where he stood, she gave pause. Rocks had only had the chance of going flying when he was mining them, now that he seemed to be done, she didn’t really see why she should keep away. Not feeling up to getting too close to the man, she held her ground. “But… you’re all finished with your mining right? So there aren’t any rocks to go flying.” Using logic clearly wasn’t the best thing for every situation. Maybe if she understood more about mining and the dangers in it, she would have been keener on ignoring her bashful personality toward the male race and went to Saber’s side.

---

Word Count: 416

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

As he listened to the woman to his left, Saber discovered that he would be forced to deal with another unwanted stress today. Unlike he had wished, Nala didn’t seem to wish to comply with his request and remained standing directly across from the coal vein. The man wiggled his nose beneath his scarf, glanced down at the black collection of rocks in front of him and scratched his head as he thought quietly to himself. If he was careful, than he guessed that it would be okay, or well, safe enough where neither of them would get hurt if he continued. Still, he was extremely curious. Even though Saber didn’t exactly feel comfortable putting a woman in harm’s way, it was her choice to ignore his warning. It was partially his fault for not revealing what he knew, but that was to avoid a panic from her; which would have been worse. That could very well come back to bite him later if what he was about to do went south, literally, so he would have to be prepared. The Adventurer which dwelled within his mind was seething with joy as Saber twirled the pickaxe in his hand. The rocks at his feet begged for him to continue, so he would. Without question, without fear, and without hesitation; Saber lifted his axe above his head.

“Cover your eyes then.” Saber said aloud, not wishing to argue with Nala’s choice. His mind was set on discovering what was wrong with the vein, and he had no qualms with the woman’s defiance, nor did he have plans to restrict her personal freedoms. The hunter had other worries and had other things to do than try to explain a situation. If she wanted to remain still, so be it. Let her learn the way he did as a child; first hand.

The two hands on the wooden handle of the pickaxe turned white with strain as Saber clutched onto his mining tool tightly, ready to begin laboring away once more. He locked his teeth together, shutting his jaw tight, and tensed up his stomach and shoulders in order to prepare himself for the coming shock. As he collected his strength, Saber breathed in deeply, filling his lungs and muscles with fuel that he planned to burn in one shot. Then, with all of his might, Saber arced the head of the axe forward and slammed it into the black rocks on the floor. Several cracked and fell apart, shattering to pieces from the powerful impact. The miner lifted his tool up over his shoulder right after the collision and swiftly brought it back down onto the stones, smashing into the black floor again. The second swing caused even more of the shady material to break apart, but there was a much louder crack than before which caused the weary player to become more alert. Saber narrowed his eyes and twisted his pickaxe in the ground as he felt resistance. The sudden twist caused several coals to pop and fall away. That sound wasn’t good. That sound was never good. Nothing that loud was good, but Saber continued anyways.

“If you’re going through hell…keep going!” A grunt escaped Saber’s lips as he slammed the axe head into the coals once more. A second massive crack shattered into the echoing walls of the mine, only making Saber want to swing even harder. The adventurer snarled and raised his axe again, clutching onto it tightly again. A fourth slam into the floor caused Saber to freeze. His axe pierced through the black coals, shattering the final layer apart and exposed his fatal mistake. Just beneath the thin layer of the black stones was something strange; a hole, most likely created by his mining just now. Said hole crumbled as Saber pulled his pickaxe free and after a few seconds; another loud crack entered Saber’s ears. This time though, he not only heard the crack; but he felt it.

The popping sensation made Saber’s feet shake and the man immediately looked down to try to find out the reason; he regretted the action. Beneath him, the floor had a massive line through it which ran directly under his right foot and beyond a few inches. Curious, Saber looked up at the hole again. It was dark inside, and Saber was unable to see what was on the other side of it. Yet even with the threat of the floor giving out, Saber lifted up his axe and gave one more swing to the vein, hitting right beside the hole itself. He wanted to know what was there, he had to. He had come this far so as the rocks around the three inch space fell apart, opening it to a decently sized gap, Saber’s instinct was to step forward and lean towards the black entrance. However at the same time, the ground popped loudly again. Saber froze at the noise. Fearfully, the man looked to his feet again to see that the single large split was now dozens; all connected to each other as if someone had punched the ground and broken it apart. The miner’s eyes opened wide and he tightened up his chest, releasing a surprised, pained grunt which sounded almost as if he had been shot.

“Oh shit.” Was all Saber could say before the ground he stood on top of sank a few inches, a few rocks disappearing into the hollow space below. Another grunt escaped the player’s lips as he turned pale, and then the ground gave out completely. He took a step backwards in an attempt to get away but it happened far too quickly for him to react any further. The vein in the floor, part of the wall, and much of the floor around where Saber had been standing collapsed and dropped down into the darkness that was below. In an attempt to save him from joining the falling rocks and most likely getting pummeled to death, Saber swung his axe hastily to his left and dug the end of his pick into the floor there. It held tight upon impact and Saber was able to swing out of the path of the tumbling chunks of stone which fell from the wall. However, when he swung back, the pickaxe slipped slightly, moving towards the edge of the hole. He grit his teeth and snarled, but he had someone else to worry about than himself.
“Nala! Get away from the ho-!” Before he could finish his warning, the rocks the pickaxe was dug into broke free, causing the hold the tool had to slip. The man’s eyes opened wide again and he felt his body become light, his stomach rising into his throat. Saber reached up in attempt to grip the edge, but he was short a few inches. He cursed and felt his body start to fall.
“neep.”

: Post Title :
-Feet First-

: Word Count :
1150

: Skills Used :
N/A Stupidity

: Tagged :
Saber, Nala

: Notes :
Curiosity killed the cat.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Nala]

Tilting her head to the side, Nala failed to do as Saber asked once again. She just didn't understand why he was warning her against things, nothing had gone flying too far since he started so she was assuming he would mine just as he had been. That was a mistake. "Gyah!" jumping to the side, the Fox Tail dodged a rock that tried to assault her face, getting out of the way just before the thing hit her. Well, at least now she knew why he had asked her to move out of the way and cover her eyes before. While the rocks weren't as big as the man broke them up, she figured they would still hurt as much as anything else that flew out and whacked people.

The fact that she didn't get hit and was able to dodge the rock though gave Nala more confidence than it probably should have. Smiling to herself she crouched down slightly and prepared for the next onslaught of rock, jumping out of the way of the following wave as well. To her it was another game now. The goal was to stay close to Saber, no reward, and the penalty of all the ows if hit. The loud sounds worried her greatly, but she trusted the miner's judgement to keep going and pushed it off as something not to get too worried about. Again, another mistake on both their parts this time it seemed. She didn't even bother to look to the floor at all, preoccupied with the rocks and waiting for them to come at her; it required most of her attention since she had bad balance to begin with. Only at the unnatural movement toward the ground did Nala finally take notice of the situation.

The ground- the rock solid ground- was more spiderweb than solid now and caved in slightly with Saber in the middle. It was one of those moments where you just knew everything had gone downhill fast and her face showed this clearly. Stuck in a momentary trance, all she could do was watch in shock as the events played out in front of her, Saber supposedly falling to his demise. She was too late to stop him from falling into the hole, but when Nala snapped out of it directly after, yelping and running to the edge just in time to see him save himself with the pickaxe. Feeling as if she would cry with relief, she opened her mouth to tell him to hold on, but his warning cut her short, the slip of the pick cutting the warning short as well. "NO!"

Shouting helplessly at the player, Nala tried to grab at him, squirming perilously over the edge, but she wasn't close at all, missing the grab by a long shot. He had just fell. Just like that, right through the floor. Her hand slipped on one of the rocks, threatening to send her in afterward, but she hurriedly scooted back away from the hole, actually listening to the warning this time. Standing up, tears pricked at her eyes as she started to pace near the gaping darkness in the floor. Saber had just been swallowed whole! How in the world was she suppose to act in this situation!? He could be dead or alive, in a dangerous spot, what if he landed on a monster, broke a leg?? Could things break in the game...? Probably not but she didn't want to test it. She didn't know him very well, but Nala cared about what happened to anyone in trouble, and right now that was the elf.

Shaking her head to herself, she couldn't just leave him there. Hurrying over to some of the rocks Saber had been mining, Nala stuffed as many as she could in her pockets and bag, mostly doing it to stall for time as she prepared for what she had in mind, but also because she didn't know if they would be there if he came back for them, she didn't want him to have done all that work just for someone to come along and steal all of it. Taking a deep breath, she made her way over to the hole that had just eaten Saber. For a long moment she just stared into the hole.

And then she jumped in.

---

Word Count: 726