Hi Ho, a Spelunking We Go

JP with Voah, Alexis, Tarmen and Gonyaul:

Alexis returned to the camp with Tarmen and showed him their assortment of equipment, minus what Islana and Boyce had selected for their outing.
It had been chosen with excavation, dealing with obstacles and recording in mind.

Looking around, Tarmen was impressed by their setup. Excavation would be needed in a worst case scenario, so having tools for such was useful. Since they were bringing torches he had added chalk to his supplies, something to mark their passage, plus his map book. He hadn’t needed much else in the past.
“So then how far are you thinkin’ of goin’? Just a quick peek or set up for a deeper tour later on?”

“Well, as you said, we don’t know what we’re going to find down there. So rather save then sorry? Be prepared for a bit more than just peeking?”

Alexis suggested.

Tarmen shrugged back.
“Fine by me. I always like to get my fill of a place before leavin’, never know if it will be there when you come back, eh?”
He sighed after a moment, remembering what the clansmen had told him.
“Almost forgot. The clansmen won’t return to the mine until that hole is plugged, so might as well make the most of it.”
It soured the thrill of going down there, knowing that he would just have to board it up just to shut up the miners. Such a waste.

“Shame. Kinda stupid, too. Place is not going away just because it’s plugged.“

She agreed, putting together her own supplies.

Voah was not long in arriving to the camp behind Alexis and Tarmen. She was accompanied by Gonyaul, and the two of them seemed to be enjoying a conversation as they neared.

The young man was carrying a waterskin and small pack; inside were her journal, the sacred salts and the shackles. It was obviously not his, he must have offered to carry them for her in true Gonyaul fashion. He decided it best to let her carry the censer and sword though. He was not keen on handling a weapon if not necessary.

Voah made sure to removed any loose outer robes and was wearing tight fitting breeches with a leather belt. She was actively wrapping her hands and wrists with cloth when they arrived.

Gonyaul bowed to Alexis and the large man with her.

“Good morning. Bring special delivery.” He joked in reference to dropping off Voah for whatever they were about to go do.

“Hello again. So… who is ready for adventure, nnn?” her Mizaran was showing with the colloquial question ‘nnn’.

Alexis cocked an eyebrow at their joined arrival, keeping her thoughts to herself.

“And swiftly so, too. Thank you, Gonyaul. Haven’t seen you all morning.”

Gonyaul smiled and nodded. “Had important meeting.” He glanced at Voah. He was awful at hiding information. The subtle blush alone, out of the several clues, would have given him away on where he had been; he was just too easy to read.

With the Arbiter finally arriving, Tarmen was anxious to get started. While small talk was nice, he didn’t have time for it.
“Is Barrel Boy an add on? Not lookin’ for a surprise head count down there and we need to get goin’ if we want to make good time on this.”
He gave the two women a look to figure it out before getting his pack and heading towards the mine.

Alexis looked at Gonyaul contemplatively. He would be pretty much running around alone with all of them engaged in their respective missions, wouldn’t he?

“Don’t know. Do you want to come with, Gonyaul? Climbing’s not a problem for you, that’s for sure. Can’t say how dangerous it’s gonna be, though.”

Gonyaul perked up at that. Barrel boy was him. He got that reference from last nights singing. He looked to Alexis, she was in charge of this operation in his mind.

“I’d like to come.” He had the look of a puppy that wanted to tag along. He didn’t even hesitate, even though she just said it may be dangerous.

The mercenary chuckled.

“Alright then, let’s get you two geared up. We better make haste, as you can see Tarmen’s eager to go.”

So Gonyaul would be coming too? He was bold enough to stand up to an Arbiter, smart enough to disarm her chain weapon in combat, and she certainly knew he had strength as well as quick reflexes. It hadn’t occurred to her to ask. But she would have to steel her emotions so she didn’t lose herself. They were indeed going toward potential dangers in the dark of a mine.

“Lead the way, gatana.” it was the term for older sister or a woman of higher experience.

After Alexis had made sure they had everything they needed, including rope, climbing gear, torches, some water and provisions as well as some emergency medical supplies, they went to meet up with Tarmen at the mine entrance.

Alexis herself had added her own notebook, remembering it had served them well on Sentinel Island.

Gonyaul helped assist in any way he could to speed up their preparation. In addition, he went off to the side alone for a second to prepare his outfit. He removed the thick linen wraps around his forearms. He then folded the long dress portion of the outfit, much like a complex origami fold and held it fast while taking the wraps and binding them up the leg. When complete he came back around to join the others. He was still wearing his Arisha Ikeburer but he transformed the dress portion into what looked like pants in the way it formed to his legs.

As they were now standing in front of the mine entrance he grinned and exclaimed, “This great. I no have to dig and crawl at same time.” He was referring to the tunneling he did in the farm. To the others, it was more, What on earth was he talking about?

Another adventure was afoot. He of course still didn’t know why they were doing this.