As it turned out, wiping out an entire group of Miners at the behest of a local landlord wasn’t exactly an activity welcomed by the locals. It wasn’t even a week after Ko and Ragnar had entered the mines and dispatched that group of glorified bandits before Ko discovered a post with his picture on it. While it wasn’t an official bounty posting, it was definitely intended to warn people about his presence in Sieghart and mark him as a presence to be disposed of as soon as possible. If Ko were being honest he was even kind of flattered.

At the same time, however, the gall these local villagers had was immeasurable. Those miners had been ambushing and wiping out prospectors for a long time. Any time someone sent in outsiders to try and find untapped resources within the mines, they’d ensure that the ‘intruders’ were guided into out of the way areas and dealt with. Ko had looked into the matter after wiping them out, and the only reason they weren’t essentially bandits was the fact that they were all gainfully employed by the very same mining companies that funded the rest of the operators in the mines.

As a result, Ko had been forced to skirt around the edges of town in an attempt to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Things had gotten pretty ugly when the wife of one of the miners he’d killed assaulted him in an open street. If Nantosuelta hadn’t carried him out of town, it likely would have caused a riot. Ko couldn’t blame the woman, not if he was being fair about it. Yet all the same, he found her reaction irritating. Her husband was dead because he bit off more than he could chew. After all, it wasn’t Ko who had instigated the violence in that cave. The fool and his band of miscreants had, and Ko had slaughtered them without guilt as a result.

“I can feel you sulking up there, Ko. It's not like you to think about things this much.” Despite them being in mid-flight, Nantosuelta’s voice was clearly audible over the wind, and Ko scowled from his perch atop her shoulders. “Oi. I think about things all the time. You make it sound like I’ve got no brain at all.” “Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but since we’re on the subject…” The sly grin Nantosuelta shot back at him made Ko grumble, but it did lighten his heart somewhat. As they’d spent time together, Ko and Nantosuelta had grown closer and closer, and in times like this Nan always seemed to prioritize assuaging Ko’s nerves. Even if she did it by harassing him, he still appreciated it.

It also occurred to Ko that he took Nantosuelta for granted most of the time. She had only agreed to accompany him off of Fatal Peak because he’d put himself at risk to save her from the eruption. Of course, she also explained to him, rather haughtily, that she wouldn’t have been in danger even if he hadn’t returned. Even if she was submerged in molten lava it wouldn’t hurt her more than being submerged in water. Still, she had chosen to accompany him after that, and Ko was often more grateful than he realized to have her with him.

After sitting in silence for a moment, Ko leaned forward on Nantosuelta’s shoulders, rubbing her neck affectionately. She lurched in mid-air, clearly not expecting the sudden contact, so Ko was quick to explain. “I don’t say it often enough, but I’m glad you decided to come with me, Nantosuelta. I really don’t know what I’d do without you around.” As he was speaking Nantosuelta was craning her neck to look at him, but once he’d said that she suddenly turned her head back forward, almost like she was avoiding meeting his eyes. After a few moments passed, Ko heard a heavy sigh. “I guess you can say something pretty good when you want to…” Naturally, Ko couldn’t see that the scales under Nantosuelta’s eyes were a good deal brighter than usual.

Relaxing against Nantosuelta’s back once again, Ko started thinking about his most recent job. If he’d really been honest, he didn’t want to bother with it. Just going into those mines once had caused him a huge hassle; doing it a second time for practically the same reason was just asking for a bad time. Still, he couldn’t deny that the pay this time was immense, and it was more clear. He wasn’t just meant to go in and prospect, he was to clear out a space for the employer to set up shop. That meant Ko was going to be beating or killing miners again, but on purpose this time.

What happened last time was a fluke, but he was certain that if he went in again he would get jumped. If not by a group of organized miners, then by their angry friends. It seemed like the miners were a tight knit community after all. While Ko didn’t mind those odds, he’d prefer to even them if at all possible. As that thought crossed his mind, Ko happened to look down and spotted the light of a campfire. Curious, he patted Nantosuelta on the neck. “Looks like we got some company roughing it out here. Let me get a closer look.” With a growl of acknowledgement, that sounded a bit more like a purr than usual for some reason, Nantosuelta began gliding a bit lower to make spotting the camper easier.

Immediately after the camper came into view, Ko recognized them. He hadn’t realized that Steel was in Sieghart, or that the man had a wyvern of his own, but it was fortuitous as hell that they bumped into each other. “Take us down, Nan. I know this guy.” One short dive later, Ko and Nantosuelta were swooping in on Steel’s camp, landing just far enough away to avoid kicking up dust and wind. Not bothering to dismount, Ko waved at Steel from Nantosuelta’s back. “Yo, fancy meeting you here Steel. Taking a break from punishing the wicked to go camping, eh?” Ko eyed the area, trying to get a feel for what Steel was doing out in Sieghart.

“Oh right, Steel this is Nantosuelta. Nan, this is Steel. He’s an ex-Mark.” Nantosuelta looked at Ko over her shoulder with a nonplussed expression. “You have the weirdest friends, Darling.” Darling? Where did that come from? He’d ask about it later. Looking back at Steel, Ko forded ahead with the thought that popped into his mind. “It's interesting that I’d bump into you out here. I just got a job in town at one of the mines and I was thinking I could use someone to watch my back. Got ambushed last time pretty bad, and now the locals hate my guts. Pays pretty well. You interested?”


1152/2000

Ko couldn't help but raise a brow at Steel unconventional greeting. Seriously, this guy was impossible to get a read on. First he goes full-on honor bound and throws away his weapon during a fight to even the odds. Then he tags along on a wild chase to find the man who hired Ko to kill him, only to leave Ko behind and chase the guy down when he took off running. To make matters worse, when he finally brought Turg back to Ko, he'd clearly spent some times torturing the guy for some reason. It definitely wasn't what Ko would expect from a upstanding man like Steel made himself out to be.

Still, they at least had a tenuous working relationship. They'd cooperated once before, they'd made compromises for each other, and they'd fought together. Well, mostly against each other, but it counted to an extent. Regardless, Ko took the leg of rabbit Steel had offered, biting into it with a nod of thanks. Could have used some seasoning, but the guy was roughing it with barely any supplies. Ko wouldn't begrudge him some old-fashioned campfire cuisine. Eventually Steel asked how much the job paid, and Ko grinned that wild grin that said he knew he'd won. "400,000 jewel. Maybe even a little more if you convince the guy you were worth the extra. Not bad for some basic prospecting work, right?"

As Ko expected, it was well within Steel's expectation for a job. Once he'd agreed to the job and gotten his act together, Ko waited for Steel to get remounted before taking off himself. Ko didn't bother asking if Steel knew where the mines were located; he just took the lead straight off, guiding Steel and his Red Wyvern up into the mountains. Naturally, Ko knew exactly where the mines were; not just because he'd been there previously, but because he had been taking care to avoid them until just this moment.

Naturally, the reason why Ko wanted to avoid the mines became apparent as the site came into view. The mines were crawling with workers, both entering and exiting multiple entrances into the sheer face of the cliff. For Ko there was no telling how many of them might be hostile at this point, although he was hoping that what happened last time would give him enough reputation to turn away the less disgruntled ones. It'd be a shame for the others, though. "This is the place, Steel. Let's touch down right in the middle."

That wasn't an accident either; making a big entrance was sure to leave an impression as well. Nantosuelta swooped down towards the mines at his command, kicking up stone dust and actually making a few of the more cowardly miners run for cover. Nantosuelta finally made her landing a few dozen feet away from the mine entrance, and the miners had moved well and far enough away to make room for Steel too. That was perfect.

Of course, Ko hadn't even dismounted Nantosuelta before he noticed the angry eyes directed his way. He'd been right to anticipate a very cold reception. Hell, from where he was sitting he could see the posters that had him and Ragnar's faces on them. Literal warning signs, though the local authority could stand to be a little less cowardly and call them what they were: unofficial bounties. Still, it made Ko feel a little sad that all it took for that to happen was the meager display of force he and Ragnar had enacted last time.

Having dismounted, Ko turned to Steel. "Alright, listen. My job is just to clear out a good area for my employer to move into in the mines; something that'll give him good returns. I can't do that if these idiots get caught up trying to jump me after I get inside. So, let's divide and conquer. I'll handle the interior, you make sure these fine people give me some room to do my job, okay? Easy 400k for you, right?" Waiting for Steel to give his response, Ko accepted whatever his decision was and turned back to the entrance of the Mines.

Already their arrival had stalled the flow of miners heading inside, which meant as Ko entered he was only passing miners as they exited. The majority of them were already tired from a day's shift in the mines, so while many of them shot him looks that could have killed, none of them made any moves. Hell, most of them practically cowered. The joys of being a local celebrity.

Rather than take an entirely new route, Ko followed the route he had been lead down before by the prospector that had tried to lead him and Ragnar into an ambush. He didn't follow the exact same route, of course, but thankfully mine shafts in the early areas were extremely well organized, so getting lost was rather difficult. Right now, Ko wasn't looking for areas that weren't traveled, he was looking for areas that had been freshly mined.

Eventually he succeeded. A branching tunnel off one of the main lines. He could tell it was fresh thanks to the texture of the stone and lack of leveling in the floor. Turning down the side tunnel, Ko walked a ways before he could hear the echoes of pickaxes. After rounding a bend he found what he was looking for: a vein of ore that was practically untouched, freshly exposed by intrepid miners. "Well well, quite a haul you guys have found."

Ko's voice actually made some of the men start in surprise, turning to face him with picks in hand. When they caught sight of him, even in the dim light, Ko could see a few of them pale. There were only 4 of them. Barely a challenge. "Unfortunately I'm gonna have to ask you boys to move on. Finders keepers and all that." Ko could see it; two of the men wanted to run, immediately, but he was blocking the exit. The other two, however, didn't want to give up their haul.

They charged him, naturally, so Ko responded in kind. His sword left its sheathe in half a second, burying itself in the leading man's chest in the same fluid motion. Before the second man could react, Ko's fist slammed into his cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground. These people weren't fighters, after all. Ko drove his sword into the downed man's back, all the while making eye contact with the remaining two. "Last chance."

Immediately the two men ran, scrambling to get passed Ko. With them gone, Ko took a few moments to take down the location of the ore vein, before making his way back to the surface. He exited the Mines with a look that was half satisfied and half disappointed. It was good to make decent money, but was starting to starve for a real challenge. Ko sauntered up to Steel, all grins again. "Job done! Everything smooth on your end?"

2321/2000