Thread 24 - Mining but Very Little Crafting (part 2)

Logan Faust!pR.BaFF/uk 5 Jan 2016 7:08:56 PM No.41206276>>41208909


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>>41206178
>>41206261
Transformed, huh...?

>That started to get the cogs whirring in Logan's head, wondering just what that would look like. Would she just turn into some biggish cat or something? Either way, given that it sounded worse than her current form it was probably best he didn't rip into her any more than necessary.

Guy still looks like he'll be out for a while. Look at him, he's not even twitching.

>At tempted as Logan was to poke the guy with a stick, it was probably better not to. Better not to wake the guy while they were going over everything they knew.

Yeah Elias filled me in on some of it, the basics. Found a diary, the place got torched... sorry about that, by the way. I kinda caught the view from the hillside over there, but I didn't know it was you guys.

>With a brief point in the general direction of the mine, he did his best to hide the varied emotions threatening to burst through. It was easy to pass himself off as an asshole, but when he was trying to be serious it was much more difficult.

The good news is that Tai and I found out what really went on and a clue as to who's orchestrating all this... the bad news is that we sort of had to become the bad guys to find that out. He pretended to be an operative while I was his bodyguard, and credit to him he actually managed to pull it off. Problem is, right now he's stuck with a guy called Bellamy, or the 'Jack of Diamonds', still having to pretend he's something he's not.

And right now I have no idea where he is... all he managed to give me was a shipping manifest of captured cargo all sent from this town. Still, I've managed to figure out what it all meant, but... I don't know if you want to hear it.

>Naturally, she would want to, but he was still feeling hesitant about the whole affair...

Logan Faust!pR.BaFF/uk 8 Jan 2016 11:46:46 PM No.41210693>>41211829>>41212183


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>>41208909
>A deep sigh. Oh, how he wished he didn't have to be the one to tell her this, not after his own involvement in the affair, but if it came from anyone else it probably wouldn't seem true, not at first.

Gaius, you and the others... you were never meant to survive that job. It was stacked against you from the start. This shipping manifest shows a lot of crystal having gone missing from a lot of shipments over the last year, which got the law enforcement curious.

Turns out there's a big organisation behind all this, and they needed to get the heat off their backs. They'd blamed bandits the whole time, but people were starting to wonder why those bandits hadn't been taken care of, or what the people hiding in plain sight were doing to solve the problem.

So they hired you guys. Boulder was the trap, one of their own that would ensure things went wrong for you. That way, we would get called in to deal with you, and the whole thing would end up being treated as a bandit attack, stopped by some valiant mercenaries.

>He said it all so calmly that it didn't seem like he was himself. After all trouble he had even talking to Leo about it before, it almost seemed like he'd moved past it all, like he didn't even care-
===WHAM!===
>-until he gripped his hand into a fist and punched the nearby tree so hard that his knuckles started bleeding.

They played us like a damned fiddle! A group of friends are dead, and the one's that aren't are slaving away in the fucking pits up north, even a fucking mother and child...!

>Logan's fist never left that tree, letting the blood gently trickle through the bark in a pattern of brown and red, illuminated by the orange glow of the evening sun, casting a long, dark shadow over their fates.

Leopon-dji 9 Jan 2016 9:17:15 PM No.41212183>>41212239>>41214386

>>41210693
>>41211829
>They weren't even meant to survive...?

>The normally stoic feline's eyes widened as the man went on. They were supposed to die, right then like they almost all did, to get the heat off the shipping company's back. It made too much sense; the reward was ludicrous for a small-time group like them. She felt her heartbeat hasten. She bit her lip and flexed her claws to keep from lashing out.

>Logan was far too pissed for that sort of emotional responsibility. Maybe it helped that Leo had already spent that anger, and more, earlier in the day.

>Her hasty heart nearly stopped at his last bit of news.

Mother and...?

>She turned, distraught, from Logan to Elias. That was what he was hiding from her, why he didn't want to read it aloud. She sneered at the cloaked man.

What else are you hiding from me?

>There was a hint of unsteadiness in her voice. She stepped closer, ears folded, and jabbed a clawed finger at Elias' chest.

What else did you decide was more important for him to know than me?!
>She gestured back at the half-armored mercenary.

Logan Faust (Baff no trip) 11 Jan 2016 10:12:23 AM No.41214386>>41218276


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>>41212183
>>41212239
>All this shouting... all this rage. The pain flying about the atmosphere was so thick it almost felt like wading through a swamp, each step a heavy movement with the waters beneath you threatening to pull you in, never to let go again. Logan's free hand moved up to gently clutch at lightly formed scar across his neck, thankfully covered by the red scarf he wore. Flashes returned to him, a vision of the cloth as flowing blood as he toppled to the ground in desperation.

>Stood nigh on perfectly still, his fist still clenched and buried into the bark before him, his tears made no sounds as they fell onto the grass.

I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!

>And with that, his knees completely caved in as Logan toppled, collapsing with his arms draped by his sides, kneeling in front of the bloodied tree with his face in his hands.

If I'd just... If I'd looked... if I'd even hesitated for a moment-

They'd have found someone else to kill'em instead, and perhaps they wouldn't have been so merciful about it.

>A cold, cruel voice cackled out from the other side of the wood - lazy in tone, but still as calm and collected as he ever was, even in his restraints.

You can be damned sure if that were my part of the job, there wouldn't have been a soul to tell a tale. Shame they didn't pay me for that service, I guess. Would've saved a whole lot of heartache, from the sound's of all this sorry excuse for an investigation.

You... you motherfucker!

>Perhaps even before Leo, catlike reflexes included, could pounce on the opportunity to claw the fuck out of the man, Logan had rounded the corner at a speed far too quick for a man clad in plate and a sword that was more like a lump of crystal. Gripping at Boulder by the neck, Logan pinned him to the tree even though the ropes were already doing that for him.

WHO IS IT!? WHAT DOES JACK OF DIAMONDS MEAN!? WHO ORDERED FOR THEM TO DIE!? TELL ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT, OR I SWEAR TO THE JUDICATOR HERSELF THAT I'LL-

Kill me? Keh heh heh heh... well, ain't that rich.

>The low, rumbling tone of Boulder's voice seemed to echo through the air, even clearer than Logan's pained shouting, as though he had a charisma to him that made him impossible to ignore, however much you wanted to.

You'd think after apologising so much for killing someone, you'd realise maybe it ain't the answer to everything. Sure, kid, you can snap my neck if you want, or make it bleed nice and slow like the kittycat wants, but your answers'll die along with my last breath.

So!? We've got plenty of leads! You're just a dangerous loose end who'd kill us as soon as look at us! You burned a whole fucking house down, for flame's sake!

I do what I'm paid to do, nothin' more, nothin' less. Ain't that what mercs like you an' I are all about?

You... you're.. you're not a part of them? Just a fucking hired blade in all this!?

I ain't got a personal stake in the matter, no, which is why I'm quite ready to trade with ya since you've got a pretty nice bargaining chip. So, how's about this - I tell you what I know, you let me go, and we don't breathe a word to anyone about this little coincidental meeting of ours.

What makes you think we won't just finish you when you're done? Elias might not be that sort, and you might even convince me not to do it, but Leo? I don't think it matters what you say.

Just like the location of the mine her little friends are stationed at doesn't matter then, I guess.

You son of a bitch...!

Logan & Boulder!pR.BaFF/uk 16 Jan 2016 5:40:35 PM No.41222297>>41225810


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>>41218276
Can I take that as a statement of consent to our little arrangement?

>There's a slight slicing sound in the air as a bright blue blade comes into vision, Logan having unsheathed it awfully quickly for its size, let alone to hold it with a single hand rather close to Boulder's neck. He'd never intended to draw blood, and it seemed their captive knew it given the cold grin on his face.

Stop fucking around and start talking.

All business then, huh? Good, that's good, that's what mercenaries should be. Keep that up and you might just be able to get on that Kingston prick's nerves a little.

Kingston?

That'd be the man you're lookin' for. Rufus Kingston, the slimy asscrack at the end of this looong snake trail you're followin'. 'Course, knowin' his name ain't gonna get you anywhere - plenty of people know who he is, it's findin' the son of a bitch that'll cause you trouble.

And why should we care about Rufus? You can say names all day long if you want, but without any reason to give a shit, I'm gonna get bored, and when I get bored I'm slowly gonna get tired, which might cause me to lean a little bit too close to that neck you're so graciously leaving open for me.

>To prove a point, he held the blade closer, even resting the end of it up against the bark of the tree so it'd chop his head off like a guillotine if he tried anything stupid.

Now where was that ruthlessness of yours back when you got here? I seem to remember you being the one makin' dick jokes outside the Mornin' Glory.

>Had he been watching them since then...? Well, that was disturbing, but none of it made any difference now that he was the one caught here and bound.

I've been saving it all for this moment. I'd consider it a courtesy that you're even alive right now, so please, continue and I might actually think about not removing your head from your body.

Psht, alright, sure, why not. It'll be fun to see how you guys manage.

>Taking a moment to clear his throat, it seemed Boulder was preparing for a slightly longer explanation than his last few irritating statements.

The people you're lookin' for call themselves The Casino. They used to be a decent group of underground thug-types til they started rallyin' around a cause about four years back and blew up into a full-on large scale organisation. Don't know how they did it, 'cause they hired me after the fact, and I didn't particular give a damn til' the money started flowin' my way.

Well, what you don't know you can just skip - I don't really give a shit about your personal circumstances right now.

Well, ain't you all riled up. Kitty put her claws in you again?
>The blade then pressed against flesh.
We're not here for idle chit-chat.

Heh. Well, alright then. The Casino's run by a heirarchy of members who name themselves after certain bettin' games, cards, that sorta thing.

... The Jack of Diamonds.

That's right. Now, I don't know much about how it works out, but the basics I'm sure even you can guess. The higher the card, the more important the guy, and the suits tell a tale too. Diamonds is for the outside sources, the places they get goods and materials from, like this mine and a bunch o' other things.

Hearts are for the guys who maintain supply lines, deliveries, keep things runnin', and the higher ones inspect what's going on and make sure they're alright on the publicity front, too.

Clubs are their violent-types, the military sort. They've got the kinda manpower that can hold off in a fight when they need to, actin' as security or debt collectin' - Clubs are basically where all the old Casino thugs ended up once the take-over happened.

Finally, ya got the Spades. They're a secretive bunch, the spy side o' things, information gatherin' and admin types. They're the ones who tend to issue orders to the others, an' keep the chain of command nice an' right.

Then you've got a few rogues in the bunch, 'specialists' and the like, whether from the inside or out. They give them names outside of the usual, in order to keep their operations even more hidden - guys like Blackjack and that Roulette girl, and a couple of others. That's where I fell in, 'course I was just a hired thug, so they decided to call me 'Boulder' for my little jobs. No relation to any of them whatsoever, but that suited me just fine.

Finally, at the top of it all, you got the four Aces. They head up the four main divisions, but the Ace of Spades sit on the highest chair of 'em all, even issuing commands to those specialists. Now, the reason you should 'give a shit' about that slimy shit Rufus is, he's the Ace of Hearts, the public face and the guy both of you probably hate the most.

To make everything look nice and dandy to the outside world, he's the one that sent out the order to have your little group of friends killed. Mr. Spades had me tag along to make sure everythin' went accordin' to plan.

'Course, then you went an' escaped, Ms Furball. That made old Rufus reeaal pissed.

Logan & Boulder (Baff no trip) 20 Jan 2016 8:03:12 AM No.41227139>>41227152



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>>41225810
>At Leo's question, Boulder actually seemed to falter for a moment, a skeptical look in his eye before returning to his natural grin, looking down at the ground and slowly shaking his head.

Wow. Didn't ever think I'd meet someone so naive. I wonder if you can work it out for yourself?

>Chuckling a little, Boulder looked Leo directly in the eyes, try to see if she'd realise that it was all a lot simpler than she was probably making it for herself.

Your little group were all supposed to either die or get captured. You're not dead or captured, are you? I'm just here to tie up a loose end that happens to have claws. Lucky for you, of course, I happened to underestimate how difficult it was gonna be.

At the cost of your own life, no less.

Hey, now, I've been doing some pretty good talking for the last few minutes or so. You know who ordered the kittycat dead and you know why, so why don't you hold up your end of the arrangement?

>The large blade never moved from Boulder's neck, with Logan thinking about how next to proceed. Whoever had given this order, this man was just as guilty for following through, but then again if it wasn't him, it would've been someone else. Maybe there wouldn't have been any survivors if things were different, and it was hard for him to tell which would be less painful.

You mentioned Kingston being hard to find - why? You've met him at least once, so you know where he is.

Wrong, I knew where he was. Damn snake likes to hide himself wherever he goes, swapping from safehouse to safehouse without lettin' anybody know. Hell, he's even running operations under the name 'Python' just to try to throw people off the scent of Casino, but honestly that term suits him better than 'Ace of Hearts'. Guy specialises in slowly spinnin' the noose around a problem before chokin' the life out of it, without having to do anythin' himself. That said, if I were you I wouldn't be rushin' so quick to beat the snot out of him. Even a snake's got fangs.

Awfully co-operative of you to mention.

I try my best.

>If it weren't for putting all his effort into restraint, Logan would've chopped through that shit-eating grin right then and there, but as it stood there was one more question that needed answering. If finding the Ace of Hearts was going to prove difficult, there was something else that needed attending to first.

Lastly... which mine were the others sent to?

Aah, plannin' to mount a rescue, huh? Well, good luck to that. Rough scum like yourself probably ain't ever set foot inside Empyrean, but I'll bet you know Everforge Mine even this far outside the walls.

Everforge...!? Why, you...!

>Everforge Mine was one of twelve total Crystal Mines around Empyrean, but it was known best as the first among all of them. Because it was so old, Crystal was getting a little bit hard to come by and the foreman was said to be utterly ruthless because of it, trying to get as much profit out of it as possible. Everforge often took on the most prisoners for the sake of near-free labour, but for those clapped in irons and sent down there it was like a death sentence. One meal a day, 18-hour work days and they slept on a bedroll in the mines themselves so that the mine owners didn't have to pay to install accommodation.

>Average life expectancy for those who weren't physically capable was six months, and that didn't include those to managed to take their own life beforehand.

How long's it been already... a week? I'll bet they're already startin' to feel what it's like to be half-starved, while they watch the general workforce eat lunch and relax. It's almost like one giant torture device.[/b]