[Coalinga Mine]Little Ghost (Levi)

[Radovan]

Fall 24, 513 AV

Radovan swiped his muscular forearm across his sweaty forehead, and grunted a bit. The sledge hammer was getting heavy in his work callused hands, as it was almost the very end of his shift. He was deep down in the belly of the mine, far back in a new tunnel that had recently been wormed into the rock, following a vein of crumbly shale that often yielded colorful agate. Rad had been happy to tackle the new digging site, hoping to run across a good find of gemstones. It was always exciting to explore some new feature of the mines, and the natural tunnels and caverns that ran all throughout the area.You never did know what you might find just around the next curve of rock. Picking up the hammer, he hefted it over his shoulder and gave it swing, hitting the rock with a hard thwack. Unexpectedly, the head of the huge tool didn’t meet with as much resistance as he had thought it would. Instead it kept going and suddenly a gaping hole appeared in the wall in front of him. It was almost pitch black on the other side of the gaping fissure, which was about a foot in diameter. But Rad leaned forward, letting the hammer drop to his side again, and the small oil fuled lamp atop his helmet shone a pool of golden light through the gap and into the space beyond. It seemed odd, but he could almost swear he felt a breath of fresh air. But that was ridiculous. The air this far into the mine was still and stale. He was further surprised that when he peered into the inky blackness, it was not quite as inky as he would have guessed. In fact, though it was faint, he could just make out the outline of some jagged rocks beyond the hole. That shouldn’t be, he thought to himself. There shouldn’t be any light, unless…

That thought was cut short by a blast of cold wind – yes, wind! It blew so hard it ruffled his hair, and his lips and cheeks were chilled. His eyes widened in alarm, but before he could react, a bone chilling shriek filled his ears. It was at first a spine tingling wail – of rage it seemed – but then he could make out words. No fair! No fair! He didn’t stick around to listen for more.

Turning, he ran from the end of the tunnel, meeting the shocked faces of his co-workers as he went. They too had heard the screams and felt the wind, and all of them began to run, to high tail it out of the deep tunnel. They ran, lugging their tools along with them, for although they were Akalak and trained to fight, there seemed little doubt that – whatever it was behind them – it would not yield to lakan or fist or dagger or hammer or pick axe. As they went, the wailing followed, echoing in their ears, but only until they reached the larger shaft that the new tunnel branched off of. Here, as they kept moving, the sound died out, and as they met more of their fellow miners, and some supervisors, they explained what it was that had them running, to be met with looks of disdain and skepticism. More than a few brave souls guffawed loudly and made their way back into the tunnel quite boldly, only to emerge a few minutes later convinced – there was something back there.

A few minutes later saw Radovan, selected as having been the one who apparently unleashed or unearthed this angry force, or being, or…essence… making his way up top and running – fast – to High Spirits, the battered sea front store where perhaps someone might be found who could come to the mine, and do a little investigating into this bothersome, and loud, phenomenon.

[Levi Remilian]

Levi Remilian 24th of Fall, 513 AV The High Spirits shop was practically avoid of any of the usual ethereal inhabitants that dwelled in the building, a big difference from the large crowd of ghosts that Levi and Naya saw on their first day at the shop. At the moment, only the owner of the shop, Nessela, and her new apprentice spiritist were inside; that apprentice was Levi, his ghostly sister exploring outside the shop, checking every interesting thing her eyes laid upon. The master spiritist and Levi were sitting at the table at the center of the shop, in the middle of a small lesson. "Levi, can youbring out the soulmist you made when you first came here?" Nessela said to her apprentice. Levi, wearing his usual white cloak though his sword was laid aside on the table, nodded and took out from his belt pouch a small glass jar filled with an off-white and glowing substance: soulmist. Placing the jar in the middle table and quickly opening it, he looked at Nessela waiting for her to continue. The master spiritist took the jar and examined the contents of the jar. "Looks like it will last for probably a couple more weeks," she set the jar back down on the table, "but that is not the main point. Did you learn already from your mother, how to use the Lie?" Levi once again nodded, "Yes, I was taught how to use the Lie and have used it one or two times, but..." the young spiritist stopped and a wave of uncertainty swept over his face before his typical calmness returned, "I do not feel it is such a good method to use." "And why is that?" Nessela asked, her light eyes gazing seriously at Levi, "Is it perhaps, you feel it is like lying to the ghost?" "Ah... I... er..." Caught off guard by Nessela's accurate guess, Levi stumbled in his words for a moment before regaining his composure. "Yes. About the Lie, is it really right to fool a ghost with it, even if it is to help them?" Smiling with a knowing look, Nessela pushed the jar of soulmist back to Levi. "That is a matter of opinion, but some souls are in such a state that the only way to save them is to give a white lie to ease them into letting go. For our goal as spiritists," Nessela stood up and began walking to the curtain at the shop's back, "is to make ghosts pass on to the next life, and such idealistic thoughts, simply cannot work all the time in the real world." As Nessela went back to her personal quarters behind the curtain, Levi remained sitting at the table, reminiscing about what Nessela said. He had never thought of himself as an idealist, but taking into account what Nessala told him, it could be his principles of working with ghosts was too unrealistic. He was dealing with beings that had spent probably more years in their current dreary state than he was alive after all. But still, fooling a ghost into making them pass on, the idea still seemed harsh to Levi. Meanwhile, Naya was happily floating outside the shop, slowly drifting about the street in front of High Spirits. In all honesty the little ghost girl did not like being confined in shop the size of High Spirits; especially after being stuck on a boat for an unbearable amount of time. She had nothing against Nessela who Naya saw as a kind and gentle woman, but she wished the master spiritist would work on getting the place fixed up or maybe move location to a bigger building. Humming a sweet tune, Naya looked down the street and saw what seemed to be a large green Akalak running quite quickly. Putting her right hand over her eyes to block the sun's glare, Naya giggled at the sight of a big Akalak huffing and puffing as he ran toward... the shop?! The ghost girl blinked back until she was in the shop again right in front of Levi, her form looking as if it was stuck in the table. "Levi! There's a green Akalak running to the shop; I never saw one so rushed before, hehehe~" To Naya's unexperienced mind she had always thought of Akalak as serious, tough looking and relaxed individuals. Until now that is. "Coming to the shop? Are you sure?" Levi said, looking unconcerned and nonchalant to hide his jolt of surprise from Naya's entrance. "Yes! Come out and see!" Naya once again blinked out of the shop and with a sigh Levi stood up, placed his sword at his waist under his cloak, pulled his hood on, and walked slowly out of High Spirits next to Naya who was pointing excitedly to said Akalak. And indeed there was a green Akalak running towards the shop. Drawing his arms and hands underneath his cloak, Levi looked on with a calm and even-tempered gaze as he waited for the Akalak to arrive.

[Radovan]

As Radovan ran, he felt not a twinge of…fear…pricking at his skin. It was more a sensation of dread – some vague uneasiness – and a touch of profound sadness. He’d never encountered anything like this before – what the other miners had quickly labeled a ghost, or spirit. But of course he’d heard many tales of such – some which he could believe, others which he held as merely stories crafted to frighten children, and some adults too! He himself wasn’t exactly scared of ghosts. He’d not really given much thought to them. But…whatever it was back there that he had unearthed – or set free – he was sure of one thing. It was real. It had an energy and an essence that he could feel – in his bones, as it were. And as he ran, he wondered if some part of this… being…was now somehow accompanying him, or – horrible to think – lodged within him! The dread was certainly of his own making – a reaction to what he’d felt. But that sadness - he felt it as if it was his own, though he knew it was not. He could only imagine that its origins lay with the…whatever it was back there. And that possibility disturbed him greatly.

So he kept up a good pace and in time came to the waterfront lane where the shop he sought was located. As he entered the street at a dead run, he spied the figure standing outside the High Spirits. A short (to him) person in a white hood and cloak, just standing there, as if waiting for…him? Rad slowed and came to a puffing, gasping halt, exclaiming, “Is Nessela around? I’ve been sent by the shift captain, from the mine. There – there’s been an… incident. He thought she could help. Or…” Rad looked more closely at the cloaked one, who he now saw was a young man.

“Or, perhaps you could help, if you know anything about…ghosts.”