Busking for a Mining Adventure [Matthew]

One day whilst busking with her flute, Lenz meets Matthew who is interested in taking her for a little geological spelunking adventure in the mines

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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

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Busking for a Mining Adventure [Matthew]

Postby Lenz on May 21st, 2014, 5:51 am

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It was admirable, listening to his voice and the way the words dripped from his tongue and melted off his lips. She was cast into a stupor as she observed the sound he displayed. He was speaking with meaning, with passion, which didn’t surprise Lenz in the least when it came to the source of it.

He was a libertine for a reason, whether he wished to seek other professionalism at the start or not. Words were indeed simply words and the thought of having no true feelings for either side gave her a respectful chill that weaved its way down her spine.

“A doctor from a libertine is a pretty large jump if I do say so myself, but I’m glad you found something in the end,” she mentioned before continuing following him through the city.

She would come to dislike those who judged others by what they did, the way they looked or simply by what they liked. He did what he had to do to stay alive and that was all she could ask for. Another soul was surviving in a world of hurt and whether he was selling his genitalia to woman or men with the need for it, it was none of her business and frankly, it was none of her concern.

She wouldn’t disagree with the fact that she was interested, however. She had never met a man-whore before, if that was what one really called them. She preferred libertine or prostitute over whore. It just gave her more of a sense for respect when someone called them that. Then again, they were simply words. Such as she was a seamstress, she could very well have been called a drug dealer or a miner or a baker. Instead, she was labelled for what she did.

I suppose that’s just what came to the individual’s minds when they witnessed what was being done with these men and woman. Where they whoring or prostituting? What did those words even mean?

Words were strange; strange indeed. It was philosophical in a way to her. She could recall the meaning of each and everything that left that boy’s mouth and here he was, inviting her on an adventure she hoped to never forget or regret for that matter.

A sound, hollow or was it solid?, interrupted Lenz’s train of thought. The couple had stumbled upon some sort of obstacle and upon further examination it came to her apparent conclusion that they had found a way to get underground, to their destination.

But then Matthew’s fingers dipped into a dark substance. A slimy sucking sound erupted into her ears until she finally deduced that the substance was animal feces.

“What are you doing?” she blurted out, becoming quickly repulsed by his actions. “That could be disease ridden!”

Her unnecessarily wanted questions were quickly answered when her guide explained the timeframe one could figure out for the presence of animals. It hadn’t been a while because the scat was warm? That was intriguing and certainly something the redheaded woman mentally noted down for the future.

You can tell when the animal has been somewhere by the temperature of their droppings. Got it. Although, that definitely didn’t mean she was going to be sticking her hand into any animal poop to tell whether or not she could be in danger.

Suddenly it was her time to shine. She was an amateur when it came to wilderness survival, for she had managed to escape from shackles and enslavement by travelling through the woods until she stumbled across the city of tyrants and cruelty.

“I know a thing or two about wilderness survival,” she mentioned halfheartedly. “I think this would be a decent place to start. The scat doesn’t necessarily mean the animal was travelling back into his home, if this shaft is indeed where it is residing. It’s a toss-up, but I am definitely one for adventure. Judging by the size of the feces, I would estimate that the animal isn’t a very terrifying predator.”

She smirked before sticking her foot into a rung on the rusty ladder. She slid her hands down the sides of the ladder, catching bits and pieces of cobwebs in the process. When she finally met the ground, she clung to the sides of the tunnel, unsure of what to do next.

She waited until Matthew descended into the journey to join her.

oocI apologise greatly for the delay. I was caught up in a heap of school work!
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Busking for a Mining Adventure [Matthew]

Postby Matthew on May 23rd, 2014, 10:48 pm



Glad he found something? His head tilted towards her for a moment, his eyes not attempting to hide the brief flicker of confusion that pulsed through them. Was she? She struck him as a kind soul of sorts if she was able to feel happiness for a near stranger in such a short amount of time. Or was that merely a polite saying? He studied her a moment, trying to find the answer for himself. Such a simple sentence was quite an example of her character, was it not? Or was he thinking too much into it? He bit his lower lip a bit as he considered her, then just as quickly discarded the thought process. There was no use judging someone based on words that he didn't quite understand the meaning of. That would lead to him making an assumption, and an assumption was a fairly useless thing to make. It was not wisdom in any form. It wasn't even an educated guess, which was really only one step above an assumption. He turned his stare away, returning it to the terrain that they were gingerly stepping across.

The Harlot did notice that she called him a libertine quite often. He assumed she didn't mean it in an insulting way. The definition of the word was readily available to him, only taking a few moments to find. He could see how it applied. It was really more accurate than 'harlot', a term that he had taken to using when referring to himself in his own mind.

A surprised blink broke his steady stare at her outburst, his eyes turning to the tip of his finger. He didn't actually take it offensively, merely slowly nodded. "You are right. I doubt it is anything that can set in very quickly unless exposed to an open wound. I will make a note to be careful. Thank you for your concern." His words were not sarcastic, instead oddly genuine. He had taken her sudden commentary in stride, perhaps in a different sort of way than most would have.

He nodded at her analysis when it came to the animal trail that they had stumbled upon. There wasn't any hesitance to her words, so he felt it safe to make an educated guess that she was a trustworthy source of information. Certainly much better than the assumption that he had nearly made earlier.

The Harlot waited until she had gone down the ladder before he soon followed, slowly and patiently. He had started to find ways to work little bits of training into everyday activity, this being one of those times. He had always felt he could be a bit more skilled when it came to acrobatics, though he supposed that flexibility was a more accurate term. He made a point to stretch his foot down as far as he could, waiting until he felt something stretch within his flesh before then searching for the ladder rung with his toe. Sometimes he found the next rung, sometimes he managed to skip over the next rung and move to the second in line. He took a bit of time making his way down the ladder, working out the muscles in his legs before eventually plopping down onto the ground beside of her.

They found themselves at a crossroad of sorts. Multiple tunnels led off into the earth, all identical except for one, that particular one echoing the sound of dripping water somewhere in the distance. Thankfully, the tunnels were actually somewhat well lit. There were a multitude of little holes in the roof of the caverns, dozens of little beams of sunlight penetrating the earth to light their path. That probably wouldn't last if they ended up going any deeper, but for now it would suffice. He turned to Lenz, a polite smile on his face, once again encouraging her to help define their little adventure. "Lead the way. I will follow the example you set."

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Busking for a Mining Adventure [Matthew]

Postby Lenz on June 12th, 2014, 4:24 am

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Near the beginning Lenz was the follower, gingerly following behind the one who guided her through the darkness of the unknown, for he had come to her to ask for her accompaniment in an adventure in the mines. He was the one who asked her if she was willing to investigate with him. She didn’t know a thing about the underground. She knew much about adventure and the little things that were essential to keep in mind when venturing out in the wilderness, but nothing such as heaving yourself through tunnels underneath the soil one usually walked upon.

Matthew had finally touched down, joining her company with his decent smelling breath. Why did it smell good and why was she even trying to smell it? She inhaled harshly before observing the predicament they had gotten themselves into.

There were several tunnels to face and she didn’t have a clue which one to take. Now that her acquaintance had offered or even suggested she lead, she was at a loss of which direction to take. She wasn’t usually one for using the picking game. Which one to pick- I pick you. She just used her gut and listened. She assumed that was what Matthew was doing and after a while decided that following any sound at all would be the most beneficial.

There was a soft dripping sound reverberating through the farthest left tunnel and just hearing that familiar sound ignited some hope and even curiosity in the bottom of her stomach. She turned on her heel to face the man and then waved her hand in a silent gesture to follow. She turned back round and headed through.

She bit her lip as she continued to tip toe through the remnants of what appeared to be a working mine. It was a mine, correct? She had never seen a mine before. Weren’t there objects that if stepped on they would elicit an explosion? She decided to ask just for safety’s sake.

“Hey Matthew?” she whispered as if there were shadow creatures following them through the tight space. She waited for no reply before continuing with her necessary question. “Aren’t there, like, time bombs in here?”

She wondered how stupid she sounded right then, but didn’t dwell on it too long. Instead of repeating the question she decided to elaborate to the best of her ability and that ability not being too well.

“I meant objects that once stepped on explode from under the weight change,” she tried. She couldn’t recall where she had learnt this from, just that she had ears and with those ears she listened to rumours and gossiping lips as they spat terrible things and educational things all the same.

“I don’t know if this place has been vacant for some time, but I definitely don’t want to lose my arms or legs. I don’t think those things just stop working because they get old. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

Was it just a myth or some fictional tale woven from the small community she had grown up with? She had lived in the fields harvesting various crops and ripe vegetation. She didn’t know much outside the farmlands until she was taken soon after her mother’s disappearance.

As she waited for his reply, she took another step forward and braced herself against the wall by using the palm of her hand. She ended up touching something rather sticky and retracted her hand with a soft outburst.

“Gross,” she mumbled before taking yet another tentative step forward. “I don’t even know what that was.”

What could they discuss here? What was there to discuss? She was in front of someone she didn’t even know- a stranger who had only given his name and profession. Just then it hit her- it had just occurred to her that she was in front of someone who could very well be a murderer in disguise. Then again, she thought, wasn’t everyone?

“So, Matthew,” she started, ending the silence she felt was awkwardly lingering in the air like the stagnant smell of foul cow fertilizer. “I realise I don’t know that much about you and I’d like to.”

What was she going to ask him and why? Why did she need to know some things about him- because she was curious or because she craved safety and with a little background knowledge it would make her feel more at ease? Skeptical, Lenz bent forward as if ducking to prevent her hair from being tangled in the mass of spider webs that had formed from seasons upon seasons of human inactivity.

“I-“ what was she going to ask again? “I’d like to know you’re favourite colour?” The questions slipped through her teeth in the form of a question rather than a statement of interest. This embarrassed her, for she hated to appear ignorant or too timid. She was a strong woman and this she liked to prove.

Erasing her blush, she pulled the strands of hair that had escaped into her face and folded them behind her small ears. She touched her lips and felt how chapped they were before continuing on reveling at the thought of oncoming adventure.

It was enthralling, listening to the quaint tranquility of the tunnel. It almost hurt the red head’s ears to listen to the air and only the air, stagnant as it was. It was like travelling through a cave and emerging from that cave into an even larger cavern. This was something she had experienced and could easily relate to given her current situation.

She continued to trek through the vast darkness, with Matthew assumedly trailing behind her. Somehow Lenz began to perceive what appeared to be light. Either her eyes adjusted to the dimness or she had just realised that there were small and thin beams of sunlight pulsating through cracks in the ceiling.

She smiled, relishing in the impact of her realisation. Light- she craved it. It made her feel warm inside, something that everyone fathomed. Who liked feeling cold, empty and alone anyways?

Finally they had arrived at an open expanse of room. There was an abandoned and slowly deteriorating cart positioned to the right of her and large, thick wooden planks were crossed over one another as if to help support the ceiling above them.

She began to wonder what the miners that worked here a long time ago did when they were down here. What was the cart for? What kinds of rocks and minerals did they uncover? Did people die down here for reasons she didn’t know? She shuddered at the last thought, but remained brave.

She let Matthew come up behind her and instead of doing anything else, she stood still and turned to look him in the eye saying, “You’re turn,” in terms of him to lead.

oocLate again, I apologise for that. >.<
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