Dawncliff Mine. If ever there was a name for a place that was exactly half correct, it was Dawncliff. Considering it was named after the guy who founded it, even just that much was somewhat impressive. It had been Ko's second stop after arriving in Sieghart, his first having been to visit the village where his current client had been staying. The job itself seemed plenty simple on the cover: enter the mine, find areas that people hadn't completely emptied out, come back. For the amount of money the man was offering, it seemed a little too easy.

Of course, Ko's concerns were only bolstered when he was informed he would be working alongside someone else. From the description, it didn't sound like the rich man was expecting their foray into the mines to go quickly or quietly. Despite those concerns, Ko was excited. This was the most he'd been offered for a job in his entire life, and his reputation had preceded him as well. Nantosuelta was accustomed to maneuvering in tunnels as well, though he was tempted to ask her to wait outside for fear of cave-ins.

In the end, Ko decided to wait for this stranger before making any decisions. He found a spot outside the main entrance of the mine, taking a seat and letting Nantosuelta rest her head in his lap, giving her a little love and attention. She deserved it after hauling him from one end of Fiore to the other on an empty stomach. He'd need to find something suitable to thank her for all her hard work. "This guy sure is taking his time though. Name sounds Icebergian so he's probably a goddamn giant. What do you think Nan?" Of course, the entire time Ko was idly making conversation with Nantosuelta, he was acutely aware of the miners coming in and out of the mines, shooting angry glances in his direction when they thought he couldn't see them.

327/2000

Ko heard the man's approach well before he came into view, which was saying something considering how quickly Ko caught sight of him. If Ko had been expecting some kind of horrifying barbarian before, the sight of the man's mount dropped his expectations even lower, and he hadn't even seen the thing up close yet. Even Nantosuelta took notice of the racket it was making, and as the two of them got closer she lifted her head out of Ko's lap and hovered behind him defensively.

Naturally, the man and his strange beast were both incredibly intimidating. He had to be at least half a foot taller than Ko was, forcing him to crane his neck to look Ragnar in the face. A part of Ko wanted to throw down right there, but the more intelligent part reminded him they were there to do a job. "Yeah, that's me. You must be Ragnar. I had a feeling this job was gonna be tricky when they said they hired someone else, and looking at you I'm doubly worried now. What kind of trouble are they expecting to think they'd need a giant and a dragon?"

Of course, Ko was purposely speaking louder than necessary, letting his voice carry to the miners that were still congregating around the entrance of the mine. As he thought, a lot of them started pointedly acting as though they were focused on their job, but just as many were shooting irritated looks their way. Ko had no doubt some of the miners inside the mine were going to act out. "If you don't mind, me and Nan will take point. We're used to tight spaces."

Assuming Ragnar acquiesced, Ko turned along with Nantosuelta and passed into the interior of the Dawncliff Mines. There wasn't a lot of work happening near the surface, which wasn't surprising. He figured they'd have to get fairly deep in before they found what they were looking for. "I don't suppose you've got any experience in ore prospecting, do you Ragnar?"

666/2000

It seemed to Ko that Ragnar must have done this particular job a few times in the past. Not only that, but he clearly had to get his hands dirty more than a few times. That seemed odd to Ko, since the guy who requested the job hadn't asked them to rough anyone up. Then again, he also hadn't told them to avoid hurting anybody either, so perhaps that's where that loophole came in. "That so? Can't say I'm horribly surprised, considering how lucrative these mines supposedly are."

Ko's assumption that Ragnar had worked these mines before was given more credence after Ragnar admitted to not knowing anything about prospecting, but knowing someone who did. What Ko wasn't expecting was for said 'someone' to be sitting so close to the entrance of the mine. Again, Ragnar proved himself to be meeting Ko's initial assessment of him as he proceeded to approach the unknown man and hoist him up by the back of his neck like he was a sack of walnuts. Ko actually had to suppress a bout of laughter at the sight.

Leaning down to pick up the man's fallen pickaxe, Ko brandished the thing around a bit, looking at the man with a smug smirk on his face. "How's it going there, friend? Me and the big guy are here to do a little inspection and we could use someone with an eye for ore to help us out." Ko laid the pickaxe across his shoulders and hung his arms over it, his smirk taking on a predatory glint. "We insist."

Turning away from Ragnar and the man dangling from his hand, Ko surveyed the tunnel ahead. Already he could see branching paths leading into the mountain. "If we're gonna find untapped veins, we gotta go to lesser travelled areas. I bet our friend knows exactly where to go to find those, right?" The man was already nodding. This was gonna be a cakewalk.

992/2000

As expected, with two warriors armed to the teeth motivating him, the prospector did exactly as Ko and Ragnar needed. He lead them down mineshaft after mineshaft, eventually bringing them to areas that were clearly not often traveled. Even Ko could tell as much, but at the same time it made him more and more suspicious. This prospector was moving a tad too confidently for these areas to be this untapped. After all, if people weren't mining these areas, that meant easy money, but it was worthless if no one did any work there. So why would the prospector come here so often that he could navigate it without issue?

Ko's suspicions were confirmed when the man suddenly took off sprinting, ducking into a mineshaft Ko wouldn't have seen if he hadn't just watched someone enter it. "Shit! Sneaky little rat!" He and Ragnar took off running after him, yet every time they seemed to close the distance he took another path that gave him a further head start. Finally they broke out of the mine proper and into a natural cavern, filled with miners. "So that was his game. Fine then."

As the man with the gravely voice spoke up, questioning their presence, Ko obliged him. "Well my friend and I were just here for a little old fashioned prospecting. Our buddy over there-" Ko gestured at the man who had lead them on the chase a moment ago. "Is the one that lead us here. And I gotta say, this is some primo real estate you're sitting on. Thanks for keeping it warm for us."

At Ko's silent cue, Nantosuelta sidled up behind him and leaned back on her hind legs, stretching to her full 3 meter height in the open space of the cavern. Even in the dim lighting, several of the miners backed up in surprise at the sight, and Ko couldn't suppress his grin. "Now get the fuck out, or the first thing our employer pulls out of this mine will be your charred remains." Of course, while Ko's threat gave many of the miners pause, the majority just started brandishing their weapons and psyching themselves up for battle. He shouldn't have been surprised. Most of them had probably never even seen a Flamewyrm, let alone know what one is capable of. "Well alright then. Don't say I didn't ask nicely."

1388/2000

Nantosuelta growled in an amused fashion at Ragnar's suggestion that she's leave nothing but ashes behind, responding in her usual distorted yet feminine tone. "I'd be happy to show why flame is superior to frost!" Sure enough, the miners as a whole responded to their threats with violence rather than capitulation. That suited Ko just fine. It'd be easier to sort out that way, and he wouldn't have to worry about them ambushing them afterwards.

The group attacking Ragnar got to him first, giving Ko a moment to see the man in action. He was a real beast in motion, that man. Well with a companion like that Ko couldn't let himself be out done. Drawing his hooked blade in one motion, Ko gestured at the group that was coming towards him. "Go nuts Nan." With a roar that rattled the stone ground, Nantosuelta leaped over Ko's shoulder and barreled into the group of miners with savagery befitting a descendant of dragons.

Of course, Ko didn't stay back. He charged in as well, taking advantage of the confusion Nantosuelta had caused to cut a bloody swathe through the rebelling miners. His blade had torn through several of their number before they even realized he was attacking them at the same time, and those who were closest finally turned their picks against him. Ironically, they were actually rather formidable using their tools as weapons. After all, they spent all day swinging these things at solid rock; a soft target in a layer of metal would be simple to break through.

Or it would be, if it were someone other than Ko and Ragnar. Sparks flew as Ko easily deflected the straightforward blows of the miners, Nantosuelta's flames suddenly bursting out and filling the cavern with light and the screams of dying men. One miner actually managed to get the drop on Ko, landing a blow against the side of his head. Rather than crumple as the man had expected, Ko simply turned to face him in a flash, face split by a manic grin. He lashed out with one hand, grabbing the miner by the face. "Get back in the gutter, trash!" With the man's head still in Ko's grasp, a magic circle appearing behind the man's head. Dark violet light shined from beneath Ko's palm before suddenly detonating, leaving the miner with a smoke stump at the top of his neck.

1789/2000

After beheading the miner that had managed to hit him, it was only a matter of cleaning up the ones that were left over. A dozen miners was hardly much of a challenge for Ko and Nantosuelta after all. Hell, a part of him wondered why he had been sent here with Ragnar in the first place. Clearly the client for this job had expected a great deal more complications than what had cropped up. Looking at Ragnar, having now grown to staggering height, Ko had trouble believing he'd have struggled with the entire group. Hell, Ko was confident he and Nantosuelta could have defeated the entire group of miscreants without much difficulty.

Sure enough, Ragnar and Nantosuelta finished off their final opponents at around the same time, leaving the cavern quiet save for the crackling of Nantosuelta's flames and Ragnar's heavy footsteps. Ko was busy checking his forehead for wounds when Ragnar approached, the young Caelese's expression surprisingly blase considering how many lives they'd just snuffed out. "Yeah, all done. Not much of a challenge, but then they weren't exactly warriors after all." Nantosuelta, hearing Ragnar call her by Ko's nickname, bristled. "Watch your tongue, knave! My name is Nantosuelta, not 'Nan'!"

Ko rolled his eyes. "I call you Nan all the time." Naturally, she immediately rounded on him, butting her head into his chest and nearly knocking him over. "Yes, you do! In defiance of all the times I have ordered you to cease, you metal-encased monkey!" It was a testament to Ko's brass tacks, or perhaps the bond between him and the wyrm, that rather than be cowed Ko merely laughed. "You're right, you're right. I'll make it up to you since the job is done." Ko nodded to Ragnar, motioning towards the exit to the cavern the miners had been inhabiting. "Let's go tell that money-grubber where to find his ores."

2104/2000