[koegami]

You decide to approach the old mine only to be stopped by a scruffy looking sima. Definitely not and older sima but definitely not a spring chicken either, the sima blocks the entrance with their tail and sets the pickaxe down at their paws. "sorry, but i can't let you in." they say, voice rough and tired. You ask why and ask if they've been a resident of the town. The sima sighs before shaking their head. "sorry kid but the mine is too dangerous. not since the curse showed up." they muse. "back when i was a kit i apprenticed with a group of miners back when this town was booming, those miners and myself picked quite a few gems and made a fortune. when my mentor was satisfied we packed up and left..... never felt more guilty about helping out back then. so i came back and guard the mine." the continued. "figured i could at least protect the people by staying here and keeping watch...." they finished, moving their tail from the entrance. "you can enter but don't stay in there after dark." they say, going back to keeping watch at the mine entrance.

this sima seems regretful...
why on earth did they come back?

uncommon crystal growths
uncommon fur {cheek, neck, legs}
uncommon eye shape
uncommon warrior jewel
common hair
common single jewel color
common short horns
nr expression
nr wrinkles
nr accessory - pickaxe {there is a pickaxe-less ref in there}
--
orange jewel color - power of fire

OWNED BY CLEMENTINE CLOUD - HELIODOR

[Chamrosh]

Username: Chamrosh
user ID: 697363
name: Tristan
gender: Male
prompt: When he was younger, Tristan decided to leave the village to go to a high ranking university and pursue a high flying job in the city. University was okay, because he naturally made friends with his classmates, so he did at least know some people, but he quickly burned out and grew miserable once he graduated, as he didn't know anyone, didn't have any friends, and had absolutely no social circle at all.
He's not great at knowing how to make friends anyway, in the best of times, but working in a high pressure environment with little time away from work meant that he had barely enough time to just look after himself, let alone make or maintain friends.
He did manage to make himself a small fortune, so it wasn't an entirely negative experience, but he realised how miserable he was after a few years, and decided to move back home. He has enough money that he doesn't need to worry about his work hours, but coming back to his childhood village has meant he can meet up with everyone who was important to him as a kid, make new friends, and reconnect with family he'd barely seen in several years.

[Cherryfreeze]

Username: Cherryfreeze
user ID: 530242
name: Arthur
gender: Male
prompt:
Arthur had followed his mentor out of the village he called home, to search for other mining opportunities that popped up, as he enjoyed the burn in his muscles that came with a day deep in the mines, and the profits didnt hurt nothing either. Once he reached young-adulthood, he was on his own, as his mentor finally retired from their line of work. Arthur knew that work was sparse, but he took what he could, where he could, and was settled down in a prominent mining town when he recieved a letter from his ma, telling tale of a horrid curse that began to plague their poor village.
That it seemed to stir something after he and the crew he worked under had taken all the resources and left. She detailed how many were growing crystals along their bodies, and how everyones starting to bicker about what caused it. Arthur could only stare at the paper, before guilt sunk in, and he left his current job, hurrying home to see for himself what was going on, and maybe keep others out of the old mines if his ma's words were really true.
Arthur came back, because he knew deep in his heart, that he most likely had a part to play in the curse affecting his childhood home, and hopes by guarding the mines, that he can either find a way to stop the curse, or just keep others from falling into the same, or worse, fate.

[Clementine Cloud]

Username: Clementine Cloud
user ID: 476020
name: Heliodor
gender: Male
prompt:

He came back for his son.

Heliodor was a miner by trade,
always looking for the rarest most valuable gemstone that would change his family's life. But as the town's mines had been over worked, stripped of all value, he had to branch out and look elsewhere. He knew if he just stayed persistent he would find it! Some great gemstone, just like in the good old days! He just had to try one more location, one more mine, one more day, one more rock. That's what he said. Every time he'd finally come back from the mines empty handed, that's what he said. He'd leave for weeks or months on end always searching, but never finding. Months turned to years, his son grew up and he wasn't there to see it. "It's for the family" Heliodor had told himself, "If I just get something good I can get them all out of that cursed place!" but even with all those years of searching he missed the real jewel right in front of him. The day had started like any other, except for maybe the rain turning the dirt to mud. Heliodor trudged through the mine with his pickaxe ready to try again. Maybe today was the day! He trudged deep into the mine, through the dirt and the muck, finally to where he was mining. Once more he got at it, swinging his pick and liberating chunks of rock from the wall. *Clink, Clink, Clink, Clink *Clunk* Suddenly something felt different. Heliodor paused and carefully carved out one last piece of rock and he saw it. Blue. It was a type of beryl. It wouldn't be worth much, it wasn't what he was searching for, but all the sudden it made him freeze in place. That color, that blue, he'd seen it before. His son. His little son's jewel was that exact shade of blue. But his son wasn't so little anymore was he? It had been so long... Heliodor finally realized he had been searching in the wrong place. The real gem was his family, more valuable than all the diamonds in the world. And he'd already wasted so much time. Heliodor raced and raced back home, so much he must have missed, he vowed he wouldn't miss any more. Curse or no curse, his family is what mattered more than anything.

[koegami]

Username: Clementine Cloud
user ID: 476020
name: Heliodor
gender: Male
prompt:

He came back for his son.

Heliodor was a miner by trade,
always looking for the rarest most valuable gemstone that would change his family's life. But as the town's mines had been over worked, stripped of all value, he had to branch out and look elsewhere. He knew if he just stayed persistent he would find it! Some great gemstone, just like in the good old days! He just had to try one more location, one more mine, one more day, one more rock. That's what he said. Every time he'd finally come back from the mines empty handed, that's what he said. He'd leave for weeks or months on end always searching, but never finding. Months turned to years, his son grew up and he wasn't there to see it. "It's for the family" Heliodor had told himself, "If I just get something good I can get them all out of that cursed place!" but even with all those years of searching he missed the real jewel right in front of him. The day had started like any other, except for maybe the rain turning the dirt to mud. Heliodor trudged through the mine with his pickaxe ready to try again. Maybe today was the day! He trudged deep into the mine, through the dirt and the muck, finally to where he was mining. Once more he got at it, swinging his pick and liberating chunks of rock from the wall. *Clink, Clink, Clink, Clink *Clunk* Suddenly something felt different. Heliodor paused and carefully carved out one last piece of rock and he saw it. Blue. It was a type of beryl. It wouldn't be worth much, it wasn't what he was searching for, but all the sudden it made him freeze in place. That color, that blue, he'd seen it before. His son. His little son's jewel was that exact shade of blue. But his son wasn't so little anymore was he? It had been so long... Heliodor finally realized he had been searching in the wrong place. The real gem was his family, more valuable than all the diamonds in the world. And he'd already wasted so much time. Heliodor raced and raced back home, so much he must have missed, he vowed he wouldn't miss any more. Curse or no curse, his family is what mattered more than anything.

winner!
this is beautiful and i really like that the real gem was his family!

awarding x1 corrupted file to Cherryfreeze!