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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 13, 2017 19:39:56 GMT -8
The star sighed again, clearly disappointed. It wasn't often that she got visitors, after all. In fact, Kelly was only the second human she'd ever seen. Still, the prospect of getting out was an interesting one. What would it be like to walk around?
"Oh, alright...but promise to come back to me, ok? My other friend, the one who told me stories and everything...he promised to come back every time, but one day he never did. It was hard, and I had to try not to cry or else the tears would pile up. You'll come back, won't you?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 22:57:24 GMT -8
"I want to come back, yes. To prove it, I'll leave your ruby here." Kelly said as she placed the stone in front of the mask.
"I just need to get some tools from my ship and I can begin blasting away rock."
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 8:04:13 GMT -8
The star looked startled, blinking in surprise. Had she heard correctly? She didn't really know what blasting meant, but it sounded kind of hazardous.
"Blasting? What do you mean by blasting? That doesn't sound very safe...Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Still, she didn't protest, and gazed longingly at the ruby as Kelly retreated down the tunnel.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 8:11:31 GMT -8
"Removing rock and stone so I can get to you at my normal size. You'll most likely hear them from down the way so you'll know I haven't left you. I'll be back soon."
Kelly turned around and began to head back down the tunnel, hoping to get to the pinpoint of light in the distance that was her dropped torch in time to grow back to normal. She had some explosives on her ship (just in case) and didn't want to leave behind a creature that cried diamonds.
(I assume nothing stops her from heading back through the cave and to her ship?)
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 8:17:20 GMT -8
"Normal size? Huh? You mean you get bigger than this?"
Kelly would find it rather tricky to get back without the help of the glowing crystal, but managed to get to the torch with only a few bumps and bruises. A few minutes later, she would feel the effects of the potion wearing off, and she soon found herself back at her ordinary (but still rather short) size. After that, it was a trivial matter to get back to her ship. Nothing had changed since she'd gone down, with the exception of a rather large parrot sitting on the figurehead. It squawked at her, judging her from its perch.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 8:29:21 GMT -8
Enjoying the parrot's company, she dug up some trail mix and attempted to feed the parrot before rummaging through her ship's cargo to find sticks of dynamite. She had always preferred traps, so of course the best traps were explosive in nature. Taking as much as she could, she headed back to the cave and set up the bomb. She made sure to set the explosives in such a way they'd explode outwards but wouldn't cause a cave in, then removed the three chests to keep them safe. After lighting the fuses, Kelly headed back to her ship to collect more sticks while the explosions occurred behind her. She would continue to place and detonate explosives as she went farther down the hole, trying to make as much room as she could to get through to the mask.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 9:47:27 GMT -8
The parrot squawked, eating the nuts. It flew off, and Kelly set to work. The explosions shook the earth, but Kelly was skilled enough to not cause a collapse. As she went further down the hole and blasted her way through, she would begin to hear cries of alarm from deeper within the tunnel.
"Hey! What are you doing? That doesn't sound very safe at all! Please don't make the roof cave in, or nobody will ever come to see me again. Are you sure this is a good idea?"
As sketchy as the plan was, it seemed to be working ok. Nothing major collapsed, and nobody had been hurt. Within a few hours, Kelly had blasted away enough that she could walk all the way down the tunnel (albeit slightly hunched over) all the way to the star. The stone face smiled, relieved.
"Wow...you did it! And you came back! Do you have any stories?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 9:50:22 GMT -8
"I met a parrot on the way here. He was adorable and I wish I had one of my own." Kelly said as she looked around where the stone face was buried. She attempted to see where she could chisel to loosen the rock or if there was some way of removing the face's hidden body safely.
"My next plan is to somehow get you out of there. Blowing it up wouldn't be the best idea, although since you fell from the sky I wonder if you'd be able to survive it or not. Do you know how tall you are?"
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 9:58:09 GMT -8
The star's eyes widened with delight as Kelly described her experience with the parrot. It wasn't often that she heard stories about the outside, so she enjoyed anything that she was told.
"How tall am I? I don't know...it's been an awfully long time since I've seen my legs. I don't think I'm very tall, though...maybe as tall as you, or a little more? I'm not sure, I can't remember. I haven't seen much of anything, really. It's awfully dark in this cave without any lights."
Upon closer inspection, the star's face seemed to be made out of a different material than the surrounding stone. It looked to be made of marble or something similar, while the cave was some manner of hard granite. All of a sudden, the star's face lit up.
"Oh, oh! I just remembered something! My other friend, he gave me a name! Do you want to hear it?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 9:59:09 GMT -8
"I would be honored to hear your name." Kelly said as she pulled out a chisel and hammer and began to chip away stone from around the face.
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 10:05:13 GMT -8
"He called me...I think he called me Lyla. It's a nice name! I liked it. Nobody ever called me anything before that. Nobody called me anything after that, either. I've actually never seen anybody besides you and him. It's awfully lonely down here."
As Kelly worked, she would find it fairly easy to distinguish where to chisel. However, the hard granite wasn't easy to work with, and Lyla let out a cry of pain whenever she was accidentally scratched or chipped.
"Ouch! Go easy, I'm fragile. Hey, do you have any other stories to tell? Where are you from? How did you find me? What's milk? You still haven't told me that, you know."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 10:11:46 GMT -8
Kelly flinched and pulled back when Lyla let out a cry. Contrary to belief, she sincerely wanted to help the stone monster, not just because she cried tears of wealth. She went back to work, trying to be careful where she chiseled as she spoke.
"Stories, huh? Well...I'm Kelly. I'm, uh....I'm a bandit, really. Gotta steal to survive. Not much for me to tell. Only child, parents died to a dragon raid when I was 12, been on my own since then. I found you at the back of my cave where I keep my money. I'm surprised I didn't see it until now. Same for your ruby, those were new."
Kelly wiped her brow as she got into a more comfortable position to continue chiseling.
"As for milk, well...we have these creatures called cows. Big, fat, black and white animals that eat grass and don't do much. They produce this white stuff called milk. We drink it and it helps kids grow better."
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 10:24:01 GMT -8
"Aww...I'm sorry to hear about your parents. What's a dragon?"
Lyla sniffled, and another diamond fell to the ground. Kelly's chiseling seemed to be getting somewhere, as she unearthed more of the marble head. Lyla seemed to be fairly well-sculpted, and looked as though she would be at home in one of Gauldin's finest art galleries.
"Milk sounds gross. And I don't think this ruby is mine after all. You can have it back."
She sighed, staring down at the ruby.
"I used to have one in here just like it, on the wall. My friend came down here and said he'd hold on to it, to keep it safe. He'd bring it with him every time he visited, but when he vanished it never came back. I don't think this one is the same one. It looks different."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 10:25:54 GMT -8
Kelly frowned as it dawned on her what might've happened to her friend but continued to make progress.
"What is the ruby for, anyway? You cry diamonds, could you not make your own?"
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 10:31:07 GMT -8
Lyla glanced down at the two diamonds on the ground beneath her, then back up at Kelly.
"Diamonds? Is that what you call them? They're just tears, to me. They pile up, so whenever my friend told me a sad story he'd always gather them up and take them away. It was awfully nice of him. And my tears don't glow like that ruby. It got boring sitting in the dark, and that was the only thing I had to look at."
Kelly's work was going quickly now that she'd gotten into a rhythm, and it wouldn't be long before Lyla would be able to turn her head and look around more easily.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 10:42:15 GMT -8
"I'm starting to understand why your friend told you those sad stories...see, diamonds are valuable to humans. Not sure why myself, they're just shiny rocks, but hey- people top gold for them so I ain't complaining. I'm thinking if I get some onions for you you'd be making a fortune."
Kelly continued to chisel but after a slight pause spoke up again.
"Onions are smelly vegetables known to make people cry."
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 10:48:28 GMT -8
Lyla hesitated, staring at Kelly with blank marble eyes.
"Y-you mean he made me cry on purpose? H-he wouldn't do that, would he? He was my friend. He just told me stories of what happened on the surface. He can't have been making me cry on purpose! He wasn't! He was my friend, he gave me a name and everything! You're wrong, you're wrong..."
She shook her head, biting her lip. There was a series of soft clinks as three more uncut diamonds fell to the ground.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 10:49:47 GMT -8
"Here's hoping I'm wrong then. By the way, can you move your limbs now?"
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Post by Strangers and Travelers on Apr 14, 2017 10:58:25 GMT -8
Kelly had unearthed most of Lyla's upper torso, which seemed to be as well-sculpted as her face. With some wiggling, Lyla managed to pull her right arm free from the granite.
"I hope so...he wouldn't do something like that, would he? Who would be that mean to make someone cry on purpose? And wow, it's been so long since I've seen my arm! I forgot what it was like to move it!"
Reaching out, she stroked Kelly's face, giggling with delight. Her fingers were cold and hard, but very smooth.
"Wow...I've never touched somebody with my hand before. Let me see if I can get my other arm free..."
The left arm had been outstretched strangely, and had been difficult for Kelly to extract without some minor chips. When Lyla wiggled it free, it cracked. She gasped in pain, and Kelly would see a thin fracture running all the way down from Lyla's shoulder to her wrist.
"Ouch...that hurts. I hope it doesn't break."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2017 11:11:01 GMT -8
Kelly moved back a bit to give Lyla space before leaning in close to see the fracture.
"Hm...I know a guy who can fix that, assume you're actually made of stone. What even are you anyway?"
She continued to chisel the rest of the stone woman out, hoping to finally free her and escort her back to Kelly's ship.
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