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It was a miserable day.  The sky cast overhead like a thin army blanket, grey and wispy, and insulating only in that it seemed to keep the cold on the ground where it could sink into the adventurer's bones and set up camp like an invading force.  Shikai and Ira arrived at the entrance to the mine in their own time, under their own power, and found a rather non-descript hole in the mountain, wood-framed and barred off, waiting for them alongside two common enough looking men in laborer's clothes.   The first of the two sat by the entrance, bare-faced, hands laced across a rotund stomach, and his feet kicked up on a stool, a well-worn hat pulled low over his eyes.  The second man was just as broad, but more shoulders than stomach, and wearing a stubble that could be seen peeking out from the dirty band of fabric wrapped over his nose and mouth.  Above the mask, his eyes were sharp beneath a greasy fringe of bangs, golden-brown and focused on the adventurers from the moment they came into view, at which point he picked up a clod of dirt and threw it his sleeping companion.  It hit him square in the chest, and he woke with a shout, nearly tipping off his chair as the dirt clod exploded against his heavy green shirt. "Hey, the new cleaners are here!" shouted the first, his voice muffled as he hitched his pants and wandered just a few steps closer to the mine, but not that close. His companion ignored him and shot an irritated glare as he cleaned his shirt in a blur of fingertips and curse words.  In the gap, the first stepped up and called out to the new arrivals, "You here to clean the mines out?  You mind, uh, wearing these on yer heads when you go in?"  He thrust two metal circles forward, each inset with a repeating series of Valiras - green, brown, white, and transparent, all the way around like a crown.  A leather loop connected one side to the other, like a chin strap.  It was an interesting contraption, and the man grinned as he held it out, like it was a source of pride for him. "You fellas got any questions before you head in there an' save the world?" he asked in an echoing voice, scraped hollow by the fabric blocking his boisterous tone.   His companion, still nameless, chuckled low.

Dauner felt rather amused by the sudden reaction from Kiki. "Man, must you really act cute so much. It's gonna get harder for me to concentrate if I keep getting this distracted" Dauner said as he bent to help her with the vase. It was then that he made eye contact with Kiki. For as long as she'd stare into his eyes, he'd stare right back, as if the embers of time had frozen them in that spot where only the two existed. Ignoring everything else as he smiled confidently at her. Hands touching each other, making a scene straight out of a romcom. In the end, it didn't matter what they looked like. After all, Dauner was a charmer, a lady killer if you would, and s far as that aspect of him was concerned, cute ladies were his area of expertise. His domain. "No need to worry about it. Being clumsy is also a part of being cute" he added with a wink. "Shall we continue?" he suggested as he rose to his feet with the vase. Just as he was about to put it back in place, he noticed an inscription. "What's this?" he wondered. "Forward? No. Up. 4 times upward, 6 times to the right". He then turned to Kiki grinning. "I think I found our next clue"

There is little in the way of articles about the mines and surrounding areas-- they appear, for all intents and purposes, to be successful mines which provide crystals that are then carted offsite and processed into Valiras.  The mines are owned by a company called VALCORP which enjoys sole ownership of all the crystal mines in Hasturia.  Of particular note in Shikai's research, buried among permit requests and 'feel good' articles about Valiras' contribution to the economy, are two articles: One, dated around the time of the maddening mists, made mention of a tunnel collapse that claimed six lives when it fell in on the miners.  The collapse was blamed on unstable ground.  No further investigation was mentioned.  There was note that VALCORP hadn't decided to excavate the tunnel or not or if there would be an attempt made to recover the bodies. The second, fairly recently, addresses the pace at which crystal production is proceeding in Hasturia and VALCORP's continued quest to expand. The doctors' notes and autopsy reports are of little help- they all confirm the rumors, which primarily describe neurological injuries, but fail to find a cause.  All of the recovered adventurers also had a grab bag of other injuries, including head trauma, slashes, contusions, crushed and broken bones, internal injuries, and puncture wounds which are alternately described as: puncture wounds, bites, stings, or stabs.  There's no single opinion on the cause. @danzilla3

Riha inclined her head in response to Malediction's semi-bow and listened to the drow talk, letting her attention drift over the cling of darkness and the collection of alien features he bore casually.   "You are the host of this gathering, aren't you?" He was saying, prompting Riha to lift her light purple eyes and underscore them with a polite, hospitable smile, one that spread into a light laugh as Malediction went on. "I'm afraid someone misled you," she began, letting the laugh fade as she leaned forward, setting her forearms delicately on the table as she glanced around for the server.  Her eye caught one quickly and she gestured for a drink, then signaled three, before cutting off Ruby's answer with the flare of her fingertips.  It would have been exceedingly rude in any other circumstance, but she had an inkling it was entirely allowable here. "There's no need," she said toward the cat girl, then turned back to Malediction.  "I did ask some friends, to ask some friends, to ask some friends to a get together.. "  She shrugged lightly, looking over the assembled crowd, before continuing, "You know how it goes, but I'm as new to the city as you are - maybe more so - and was hoping for much the same education out of this soiree-- I mean, right now I've even failed to eat correctly."  She laughed in remembrance of her first attempt at finger eating. "I'll tell you what I do know, though - Mageside is full of mages, and mages aren't going to buy 'personal assistant' any more than I do.  You need a better story or at least a more convincing performance," commented Riha.  " At least it seems to be a polite enough city, in that I don't see anyone rushing over here with a pitchfork yet. Are you settling in the area?" she wondered.   @Purple Eagle @Houndy Poochykins

After the first kill, Okina returned to the party with her blade extended outward to allow the remainder of the blood to drip from her sword. Reaching her horse it would shift from the smell of the blood on her body, its head bobbed up and down with a worrisome motion. Reaching into the side of her saddle bags she pulled a cloth out, using it to run down the blade from hilt to tip removing the red. Sheathing her sword, Okina pulled herself to remount her steed to continue the ride with Paris and the others. Time after time they came upon a lonesome guard in the woods, and time after time Okina disposed of them with ease. Each time their blood would splatter over her like paint on a canvas, leaving nothing to the imagination of what was done to them.  Finally they came upon the rag tag community, their houses not even in league with what she had seen in the capital. The smell of wood, mud and thatch reached her nose with ease, the undertone to the blood that speckled her face. Turning her head slightly to listen to what Paris said, Okina didn’t dare avert her eyes from those who were moving up against them as they rode deeper into the village.  “Understood.” Pulling the reins to her steed to reel back a bit to allow Paris to be the point of the party, showing he was the leader of the four who dared take on such a group of villagers. The horn was blown by one of the villagers, the other weaker of the village scattered disappearing into their homes. Drawing her gaze of those who were picking up their weapons of choice to meet the group, Okina could only imagine what her painted visage looked like to them.  One word was yelled from the lips of Paris, something only he knew anything about. Okina shifted in the saddle of her horse allowing more ease pulling a blade from its sheath, even though with her sheer brute strength she could easily take any of the villagers with her bare hands alone. Taking the initiative Okina slid from her horse moments after shifting her weight in the saddle, deeming it better to show the villagers that they would have to go through her first before touching the prince. With her feet touching the earth, she felt  more secure in fighting on lady gaia.  Dropping the reins to her horse; feeling it take a step back but never leaving its place with the others, Okina moved to take a more defensive place just right before Paris. Left hand moving to rest just at the base of the hilt of her katana popping it slightly to allow a quicker draw, her right hand twitched with the anticipation to draw more blood from the lowly villagers.    @King