"Damn," growled Lawrence, tugging his broadsword free of another limp soldier's body and wiping his forehead with the back of one hand, "how many guards are in here? And when are we going to find something of importance?"
"These mines are undoubtedly well-protected," added Ilchymis, nursing a sword wound on his forearm as he fumbled for a sacres crystal. "I am not surprised to hear that an admiral captains this place; its defenses are expertly fortified, and its interior cryptic enough to keep professional marauders guessing at every turn. But what exactly are we looking for?"
Lawrence wiped the broadsword blade clean on the dead soldier's clothes and sheathed the weapon at his hip. "That admiral that's supposedly here, for starters, so we can kill him. And isn't there a Moon Crystal around here that you want? And eventually a way out. And some god-damned treasure - this isn't a charity event. If I'm going to wander around lost for hours with Valuans sticking swords in my face at every turn, I want some gold for the effort. You know - seeing as how Pyrynn didn't pay off like someone promised."
This last was aimed at Domingo, who did not even look up from scouting the large cavern with his spyglass to say "Bite me."
The treasure hunter was scouring the immense cavern with great interest and, for the most part, ignoring the continuing jibes coming from his surly mercenary companion, for if they were going to get anywhere in the mine they would need Domingo's impeccable sense of direction and attention to detail to progress. With the spyglass he took it all in: the large crates on conveyor belts transporting raw Moon Stones up and mining supplies down; the patterns of the searchlights, peering about for any sign of them; the movements of patrol parties along the walkways above, and the single pathway far below them, leading down and out of sight. He only saw one way - that way.
While Lawrence continued his tireless string of complaints and the Warrior's Heart gem worked furiously to restore Ilchymis's magical energy, Domingo slipped his precious spyglass back into the folds of his jacket and drew out his crossbow with a yellow-moonstone-tipped arrow. Crouching down in the safety of the doorway he squinted one eye shut and took careful aim at the nearest searchlight before letting fly; the electric properties of the Yellow MoonStone shorted out the searchlight upon impact, and glancing about quickly to be sure the patrol parties were out of sight he sprinted onto the exposed walkway and jumped.
At this point Ilchymis and Lawrence had both realized Domingo's strange movements, and when he jumped they rushed to the side of the walkway and gazed fearfully down; the nimble treasure hunter had landed lightly in a crate moving upward on the conveyor belt and was carefully timing his next move. When a downward-moving crate passed within reach he leapt again and started the journey down; just before the crate disappeared into inpenetrable blackness he sprang out and landed steadily on the bottom-most walkway, grinning up at them.
Lawrence looked at Ilchymis disdainfully and said "After you."
Author's Note: That's amusing as hell.
Meowzychan: I don't know if Alfonso will get paired off at all... we'll just see how things develop.
Derek Barona: Actually, I haven't worked with them since that last update way back when. (Hands you Dr. Pepper)
DizzyVV: Crazy? Moi? Surely not! And Alfonso is sort of on both sides, if you follow me.