Reality Loop 1 (4/4 Players: FULL)

"Y-yeah... No, it was a ghost, I swear! It was wearing this really old-type suit thing, and was holding a pickaxe over its shoulder! Then- Then it went through the wall! Didn't break it, didn't leave a mark on it or anything! Nothing! hehehhahah! Nothing!" The man's condition rapidly degraded to despairing and hysterical, looking about with that same wild look in his eyes.

"No, no, no, the mine is fine, fine, perfectly safe, except for ghosts! Hehahah!"

"I somehow doubt that," Lance grumbled. "Ghosts, seriously. No offense, but you're starting to look like you have a rather weak grasp on your sanity. I'll be back after I've seen your so-called 'ghost', if it even exists." Saying this, Lance wandered off, consulting a map so he could actually find the gold mine. After what seemed like a long time, but was really only about 20-30 minutes, Lance found the mine. He took a look in side, but saw nothing for several minutes. Not bothering to find out if it was safe or not, he started walking inside. "Hah, he saw a ghost in here? There's nothing but boarded up passageways and a track for a boarded up mine cart. What does he think he's playing at?"

Suddenly, something caught his eye, and he whirled around to look.

Tsutae watched the scene silently, then said to Lynwen, "They want us back for dinner in about an hour, so maybe we should go." She sincerely hoped that Lynwen would agree. "I don't want to be anywhere near that guy. He makes me uncomfortable."

Lynwen decided that the situation wasn't as simple as staying with her new friend and required some rather complex thought. She knew that she couldn't stay here; she was definitely not comfortable around this trembling, haunted man who spoke consistently of phantasms. "I-I'm heading to the mine. To... To take photographs! If it's really that interesting, I ought to be there, d-don't you think?" she commented to Tsutae, hoping that perhaps she would understand and want to come along. The worst case scenario at this point was being left alone; she would honestly rather risk hanging out with the brutish stranger than ending up left by herself on an unfamiliar island, despite her dislike of being in groups. Besides that, she didn't even remember the way back to the hotel. This way was definitely for the best.

Gulping and straightening her hat once more, Lynwen made her way to the mine at a slow hiking pace, regretting that she hadn't dressed lighter. The camera bounced against her chest as she moved slowly, hoping for the support of her friend.

It took her quite a while to arrive, but as she moved in quietly, she found nothing. The darkness was very unsettling, and she could have sworn their were strange noises coming from inside. The biggest problem, however, was that she couldn't find the man who had entered earlier. She didn't want to go in so far that she got lost in the dark, so she didn't move in any further than the entrance. After a short period of time, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, still somewhat quietly, after the man who had gone in. "Excuse me? Are you alright in there? Answer if you can hear me!" she shouted, listening to the echo and waiting for a response.

Suddenly, something caught his eye, and he whirled around to look.

It was one of the people from earlier. The camerawoman, Lynwen. "Oh, it's you," Lance said, wandering back towards the entrance, holding a flashlight. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" He turned back towards the inside of the mine, pointing the flashlight all around. "Bah, nothing," he muttered, starting to wander back inside.

"Okay!" Said Tsutae unhappily, standing with Lynwen and following her at a distance. Her instincts were conflicted: One part of her wanted to turn and walk straight back to civilization, whereas the other part refused to walk the considerable distance through the woods in the setting sun alone.

Her fear of being alone in the woods won by a landslide; just looking at the space she would have to traverse made Tsutae shiver. She didn't like being in close proximity to the one who had intimidated her before, but his presence was reassuring: He really had that much presence. "I'm sure it's nothing," said Tsutae, trying to coax him into leaving-- coaxing being something she was fairly good at. "Come on, Mr. Murray. We'll have plenty of time to come down here later."

Cederick watched his companions leave with a slight shake of his head and a sigh. "Well, I suppose it's all right..." Now noticably more alone than before, he was left only with the individual that started the unsightly episode. There really did appear to be something wrong with him. Well, I suppose it'll be up to me to clean up this mess. Someone's got to do it.

He cautiously offered a hand to the individual. "Hey, c'mon. They're going to check it out so there's nothing to worry about, okay? C'mon, let's head back to the inn, I'm fairly sure I remember where it is. We'll just relax until they get back, alright?" What a pain in the ass though. To make such a big deal out of such a little thing. It's not like ghosts were real, right? The guy was more like a frightened child than anything else. He just saw one little thing after all, to make such a big deal out of it was...

"So, what do you say?"

Hm... what to do? Should I follow him? I did say I was coming to take pictures, and it will seem odd if I just stand out here the whole time, Lynwen thought to herself, taking cautious steps into the mine after the man. As she realized he was moving too fast for her to keep up with, she sped her pace, trying hard not to be left behind. "You can come too if you like, Tsutae! I'm going to take some photographs for my publishers," she called back, moving quickly but not watching the way in front of herself.

"Yeah, all right, I'll come on..." the man muttered, finally seeming to cool down a bit but still panting in heavy breaths and drenched in sweat. "The-the inn, right, that's the ticket. But, m-man... I'm not going back to that place for a while. A long, looong time, let me tell ya... I wouldn't be caught near it, dead, living, or otherwise!" he ranted on, grabbing Cederick's hand so tightly it almost pulled him to the ground. Jerking himself up, the man brushed the dirt off of himself as though he were having fits, chuckling periodically in the same distant tone. He gave Cederick a strange glance, raising an eyebrow at him finally minutes after they began walking. "Say, whatt're ya givin' me that look for? What's with that face, buddy? Is there some reason you're volunteering to take a guy like me back to his bed? You some kinda robber, thief?" The man roared with laughter at his own jest, slapping Cederick on the back as they continued to walk. "Hehaha! A joke, you know. But, you know... a guy could take it the wrong way," he said, taking a colder tone as he glanced off in another direction. "You have any reason to be back at the hotel at this time? You'd have time to check out that mine with your friends and make it to the dinner with moments to spare... Got a hot date waiting...?" he muttered, glancing at Cederick out of the corner of his eye, which appeared to have taken on its rather crazed look. This time, however, it seemed to be focused on Cederick with arch of the man's eyebrows anchoring it.

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The darkness of the cave was the only thing that greeted Lance and his companions, as it appeared the cave wasn't even well lit. A pallid glow was visible part way in, however, ensuring that there were at least some torches. No people, or ghosts for that matter, inside. The only noise was the occasional wailing of a gust in the hollow cave, though a lot of imagination would have been necessary to make it into a ghoulish moan.

"Why am I taking you back?" He broke eye contact with the guy for a second and then looked up at the sky. Because in your state, you don't look like you could go much of anywhere and leaving you alone could be dangerous for your health. "Well, I suppose it's because I really didn't have anything else to do, y'know?" Cederick chuckled nervously. "And I guess I'd rather avoid the mine because, well... I kind of had a bad experience with ghosts when I was a kid." Honesty? Now that's a refreshing change of pace. He smiled and shook his head. "There was this legend in my neighborhood, about this old woman who died because her family let her leave the house when she was deathly ill. Something like she insisted on it. Well, she wandered around town all night in the freezing cold and died. It was right by this old bend in the road next to an abandoned farm, and I used to live near it to boot. I always felt kind of creeped out when I was there, but after I heard the story, I started to see her." The Banshee. He shivered unconciously, caught himself, and then smiled back at his companion. "Scary stuff, huh?" Not that ghosts are real, of course.

Do you really believe that?

"So I guess I'd just rather stay away from that kind of stuff, y'know?" He shrugged it off. "Anyway, sorry to bog you down with some weird story like that. My name's Cederick, Cederick Via." He chuckled. "Or Ced or Ricky or Ricky or however else you'd like to say it. I've heard 'em all." And this guy... So what is with this guy? "Your name was... Moritake? Right? At least he's calmed down a bit. But what's with that look?