Sunday 12:35 - While val is exploring Alana and the old fella, along with his team had done quite a bit of clean up. Outside there was a ever growing mound of dismembered body parts without a discernible owner. By this time she wore a mask to help filter out the rancid smell as she placed her 30th body down on the ground and was heading back in for more. "Uhh miss, can you help bury these poor souls instead of getting more"? She looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, then at the hundreds of bodies lined up at side by side. "I can tell the smell is getting to ya lassy, don't worry we got the rest", he said after pulling down his mask. " If you say so old man, I'm on it", she said with a sigh of relief. With a standard shovel that was given to most workers, she began to dig graves for the dead. The others working alongside her in a grassy field looked in awe at how fast and swiftly she worked. The ground was hard even, causing even some of the most fit soldiers to perspire as they toiled just to create a simple ditch. Alana on the other hand nearly broke three shovels due to how swiftly she tore the ground asunder. She slammed her foot into the shovel and caused the ground to tremble and the iron to creak, as she tossed dirt into an monstrous mound of dirt. "C'mon ya boys, do you wanna let this little girl do everything?: Get a move on", said an officer who was also taking up a shovel as well. Alana gave him a thumbs up and continued to do her work. This had gone on for a half an hour, more or less. Her vibe and natural flow was interrupted by a thunderous roar. Alana rushed toward the cavern after thinking about Val. She completely forget the stench and her previous task as she weaved through the nearly stampeding workers running out. She jumped up using her heroic strength and using the shoulders of others, she leapt from person to the next like stepping stones using acrobatics. Meanwhile there was a woman who was walking down her carriage steps to see Alana charging forth. She had a fan flourished, to hide the smirk she had etched on her face."Ohohoho, what do we have here"? Her servant bowed and said, "I believe that was the little girl you rode alongside with from Falderan. Do you want to see what she's up to"? The woman waved her hand downward, leaving behind a trail of darkness in its wake. The servant was now kneeling before her with his face forced to look at the ground. "Yes, I'd like to see what the pup is up to higgins. Now give me a ride",she said. The woman so lazy, she didn't even take the moment it would take to seat herself upon his outstretched arm. He needed to position her on his shoulder while holding his arm up at a perfect 90 degree angle so she could sit upon him as they headed toward the mine. Alana dashed forth as sounds of earth being shattered filled her ears. She ignored the tremors and ear shattered roars. "Val val val where the hell are ya"? The girl dashed forth to find an empty chamber with cloud of dust shooting out toward her. Alana opened her inventory and slashed out horizontally, using the sheer force of her swing to disperse the cloud sooner. Alana was perched around 10 meters above Valentine and around 20 meters from her as the leviathon stomped its way out of the darkness. Val seemed took shaken up and the mages around her who didn't run, began to create spells. Meanwhile a few guards took up arms only to guard the mages, leaving Val on her own before the monster. Alana took a few steps back as the cyclops lumbered out, tightening its grip on the spiked club it was wielding. A weapon large enough to span the length of 3 men and 2 wide. She took a deep breath, as sweat beaded down her crown and into her eyes. Alana wiped her blurry eyes and darted forth with the sound of cracking earth beneath her feet as her thunderous footsteps echoed throughout the chamber and complemented the cyclop's own. As val sat there before the beast placed both hands around the handle, it took a deep breath and heaved the weapon over its head. Alana shot forth like a bullet, finding herself too far to simply grab val and run. Instead she used one final burst and spun in an arc over her. Her spear met the beasts' knee, with the sound of 5 tons smashing down upon the ground with a blunt thud. Her weapon had splintered,but the force of the strike sent it to one knee, causing it to roar and drop its weapon behind it. As it began to flail she used her strength to springboard herself away as it roared again. Alana backflipped and ended up besides Val and said, "Cmon lets get going girl"! @Kaede Hoshi @Valentine Wylde
Val could hear Alana calling out to him as he scanned the area looking for her. The monster he had previously seen had broken through the rocks that had fully prevented him from escaping into the rest of the cave and had begun its ascent to the upper more common areas of the mine. Its thunderous stomps gave everyone fair warning of its coming. After each boom the ground shook as the beast made its way to the end of the tunnel it was following. Val lay on the ground as he had tripped on his way out of the tunnel he followed back to the beasts lair. The location he had tripped in was a decently large room with multiple levels. Most certainly one of the first rooms that had been mined out and acted as a hub for the rest of the tunnels that stretched out from its location. Finally he caught a glimpse of Alana. She was standing at the top of one of the nearby cliffs that leveled out onto the forest floor at the base of the mountain. From the ground Alana appeared so distant from him but she was no more than ten meters or so above him. That's when he noticed the thundering steps of the beast had come to a halt. He could feel its breathe on its back as he lay on the ground back to the ceiling with his feet almost touching that of the cyclops. In the distant screams left people as they quickly made their way to the exit in fear of their lives. In between screams the sound of people chanting in a foreign language could be heard. The mages that stuck around had begun to cast a spell with the intent to immobilize the beast. The beast reacted to the sound of the foreign language and became angered. Reaching down he picked up a large dislodged rock shaped like a club. The weapon was huge, yet the cyclops picked it up with ease. As he went to bring it down with a swing Alana whizzed past him and with a quick maneuver lodged the spear directly into the Cyclopes knee. Causing the beast to roar in pain as it was brought down to one leg and drop the weapon it had once grasped. Val reacted quickly to the actions of Alana standing as he concentrated he closed his eyes for a second and with a wave his hands a large gust of wind shot forth in between the cyclops, and Val and Alana. This burst of wind would be strong enough to send them both flying back from the beast, but not strong enough for it to be painful or uncontrolled. At least that was the intent, but his training had failed him and the burst was far stronger than he anticipated and sent him flying into the wall with great force. A gasp escaped his body as it was slammed into the rocks. Landing on all fours after the initial impact was over. "Dang." He whispered to himself as he forced himself to a standing position. His back was killing him, but he had to get out before it was to late. The temperature in the air had been gradually getting cold, and he assumed that it was due to the mages and the magic they were casting. Now walking with a limp as he made his way up the ramp that lead to the area that Alana had come from he turned around with all his might he hollered to Alana. "We need to get out of here, and quick." Slowly he edged his way up the ramp. About halfway through the air by this point had become freezing cold. That's when he noticed the mages had basically come to a halt and in unison they all cried out. "ICE BODY PRISON!" Collectively the moisture in the air surrounded the giant beast before clinging to him and instantly freezing. The grey leathery skin of the beast turned into a vibrant blue hue with crystalline like features as it stood there frozen.The panting from the mages could be heard in echoing throughout the cave as a sigh of relief escaped his mouth. "That should be it." Val mumbled to himself as he continued his slow stumble up the ramp. With each step an eerie feeling washed over him. Something just screamed to him that the beast was not done. Reaching the top of the ramp he heard a noise a crack. This single crack revealed the beasts ability to move, and within the following few seconds the small crack turned into a shatter as the ice collapsed around the giant cyclops. It stood there dazed for a second before releasing a hellish roar and staring down everyone in the room. The beast reached for the weapon it once held in its hand, but before it could a voice could be heard coming from the direction of the entrance to the cave. "Finally, something in our investment that will be worth something." The voice came from a woman who was riding on the shoulder of a man walking toward the situation. The mages backed out as the woman approached them and each of them knelt. Whether it was from respect or fear of this woman their face didn't show but she most certainly sounded entitled and pampered. "Higgins, down now. I have an asset to save." With a snap of her fingers the man lowered he and watched her walk off in the direction of the cyclops. Mumbling as she walked, black colored energy began to swirl around the top of her staff. The cyclops gaze which was full of anger and malice turned to fear as it saw the energy surrounding the staff of the woman before him. Lowering its head it cowered before her, and then a sign on its forehead glow bright red as the beast reach up and cried in pain. "Defying your master. I should kill you, but Hubby wouldn't like that very much." With a circular motion with her staff the beast knelt down before her. The sign on its forehead grew even redder as she approached the beast and placed her hand on its shoulder. "Obey me, and I'll make it go away." With that she released the magic from her staff. The beast sat there on its knee awaiting the woman's command. "Time to leave. I can sense nothing else with time in this mine. Higgins, I'm taking my leave and the beast with me. Stay here and make sure these fools don't destroy the mine any further." The woman walked out with the large beast following suit. Val had followed them to the entrance only to watch the woman get on the beast shoulders and walk off into the distance. For the most part the main areas of the mine seemed stable for now thanks to the mages and Val's new companion who turned into some starry cosmic being. Val propped himself against a wall as he sat there playing through the events of what had happened as he gave his injured body a chance to recover somewhat.
_____Kaede's decent to the deepest section of the mine was quick, but her time was already burnt away and only a scarce hope her prediction about the time was off by a few minutes, she still had to clear the rubble away. Reaching the location Kaede moved quickly, hands turning and swiping as she tossed rocks aside quickly to try and reduce the time not recalling the area was already unstable and needed a more delicate approach. _____Any within the mine could feel the tremor, the bottom was being effected and with such the risk it would all fall down on top of those at the bottom was glaringly clear. Most that still followed Kaede made a break for it, the cosmic mage still tried to save those with even the slightest chance of survival. She failed so many before she refused to let such be her legacy even if the odds stacked to far against her. _____That was when she got light into the chamber, cosmic form breaking down as Kaede fell to her knees before quickly crawling to the opening to look for someone reacting to the light, the chance to get cleaner air. Eyes tearing up as she shook her head rapidly and began trying to pull away the rocks to open a path to crawl in. Frame trembling as she started to cry, she failed them... she failed more people again as the Mine groaned again. _____Fist balling up as Kaede's cosmic form returned, left hand moving to remain flat as the lifeless bodies of those she failed to reach in time rose and one by one drifted out the hole as rocks started to fall. Kaede's mind clicking gears as she waved her right hand slowly parts of the earth she could spare to move quickly resealed the spot, doing the same as she moved to exit re-support what was left of the mine. _____The floating bodies would be the first to exit soon after Kaede would drift out, gently waving her hand to set them down along with the other dead before her form flickered out. Her body torn up, blood coating parts of her from pushing herself to reenter the deadly form she still barely could control. She could not heal her wounds caused by it, so she simply fell over breathing heavily and wishing she chose simulated pain as she cough blood up slightly. @Alana | @Valentine Wylde
Sunday 1:10 pm - Tying up the loose ends Alana felt herself being tossed like a rag doll without much realizing it, her body tumbling throughout the air until she landed hard on the ground, rolling about like a ragdoll. Her sense of balance as an acrobatic woman allowed her to see vaguely what she needed to do,but her body didn't react when she needed it to. A bit of hesitation and lack of coordination left her helpless until she smack into a rocky wall rather hard. She groaned, but had no time to complain because a chilly gust shot through the chamber. Alana covered her face, only catching a glimpse of the gust which felt as cold as a freezer, which was the best Akio could have compared to with his limited life experience. The cyclops was frozen, locked in place still bearing its grisly fangs, but the beast wasn't down for the count. It had broken free once more, causing Alana to panic and close her eyes, expecting to be mince meat. However the beast was held in place by a shroud of darkness, which shoved it down to one knee and forced it to submit. Alana tried to hear what the figure standing at the cliff's edge was saying,but she recognized the outfit. " That mage...bitch"? She said under her breath, as her lungs were started to feel like they were burning and her body feeling as heavy as cinder blocks. It was wasn't long before the Falderan mage left the scene, but was closely followed by Kaede bringing more of the dead along with her. Alana rushed to see what was up with her, seeing her battered appearance. " What's up with her", she said outloud. A team of mages with holy powers had gone to prop the woman up and rest her against the wall as they began to chant a soft song. "Oh don't worry young one, we shall take care of the rest", she said with a wink. Alana turned to see the priestess with a glowing finger. It lightly tapped Alana's nose, making her twitch with rosey cheeks. "You were very lucky to not get smooshed by the cyclops, good job little one". Alana shot her a reactionary glare before her brows relaxed and her expression was calm once again. " What happened to Kaede and what about my buddy val"? She grinned and said, "Oh a mother hen huh? Not to worry from what my assistant said, (Val) the boy who you saved from the cyclops is fine. As for girl? She was just exhausted from using her magic too long". Alana let out a sigh of relief and fell on her butt, " finally I ca---wait a second Valentine isn't a girl"! She snickered as she took out a fan and walked off, leaving the dumbfounded Alana to stare at Val from a distance. " Tch, probably a trap". ------ Over the course of the next week Alana finally was able to do the job she had set out to do. After burying the unfortunate workers Kaede had brought back, Alana's strength was put to full use. She had helped set new railway tracks for the mine carts, where need be. This included simple tasks such as moving the raw materials such as planks of wood and bars of steel to designated work zones. Alana often stopped to marvel at how smoothly the mages and workers alike had worked. Almost no one other than herself was left not knowing what to do. " They're like a well oiled machine...but something's off about em...they seem too alive for that". A worked slapped her on the back and said, "Eyy I resent that lil miss herc. We're just well trained", he said while giving her a thumbs up. Alana sighed and continued to work, but hadn't really seen Kaede who she last saw being handled by the big boobed preistess. Akio was interally crying and shaking his fist at his cruel fate, cursing his acrobatic perk. Val on the other hand was right by her side at every step of the journey. Other than laying mine tracks, Alana continued to help clear rubble and remove bodies along the way. It was on her 7th day that she came across a room of sparkling crystals, of all shades and hues. "Ain't it a beaut lil herc? Can you believe it takes over 1000 pounds of the magic ore just to give a simple tool an enchantment"? The captain said heartily as he directed the workers and mages alike as if it were as natural as breathing. Alana learned against the cold rough crystals, and marveled at it all. Her role was a ditch digger, corpse removal, and basically manual labor. But she enjoyed every moment of it, although mostly because it allowed her to practice using her Heroic strength. ---- Exit ---- @Valentine Wylde @Kaede Hoshi
