notgoingtorun

"Three," Neal repeated, eyebrows raising up. "Well, that's three more than I've seen, assuming movies don't count, so looks like you and Bill are going to be the experts on that subject."

He looked at the map again, then folded it back up and placed it in his pocket. "I haven't been out there to check it out, so I'm hoping the maps are mostly correct and we don't wind up wandering the desert for too long." He paused, then raised a hand. "Can that be the first rule? No extensive desert wandering? I don't want someone to find my bleached-out skeleton years and years from now. 'Here lies Victor, he got lost in the desert.' That sort of business."

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"I generally prefer mummies to bleached-out skeletons, but I think it's rather a good plans for us to become neither, yes," Bill said with a chuckle. "Sticking together is a good plan, as is following the map. I've been out there, I think I can get us back there again without too much trouble."

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He nods in agreement. "Definitely sticking together and sticking to the map. And maybe a lead, or something, in case it's hard to see clearly where the rest are going. You know, avoid confusion."

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Richard refastened the flap of his pack and hitched it back onto his shoulders. "Good ideas," he agreed. Of course in his experience even the best laid plans went askew and all the planning and caution in the world never seemed to stop it, but he was an optimist! Who was to say this time wouldn't be different, and it would actually work?

Always looking on the bright side, Richard Cypher.

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"Agreed," Neal said with a nod. Cheerful nature aside, he knew that this was a serious matter. Even if the papers had been lying about the ghosts and the disappearances, this was still the island and the mine could have natural dangers of its own, taking aside the supernatural.

"So, is there anything else last minute we should get? Anything else the experts recommend?" He looked towards Bill and Richard, knowing they had the most experience with treks like this. "Or should we set out on our adventure?"

He just liked calling things adventures. It made it sound more authentic.

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"I reckon we've got everything we need, yeah, Richard?" Bill replied, glancing over at the other man. "I say let's get on with it, see what's out there for us to find."

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Dave slowly grins at the growing enthusiasm. They're really doing this. He's really going to get in on a real adventure, and damn it, they'll be fine. At least, being as prepared as they can be, they should be... Right? Right.

"Yeah, let's do this!"

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Richard grinned brightly at Dave's enthusiasm, glad to see that he wasn't alone in being optimistic and eager.

"Sounds good to me. Bill, you want to take point or bring up the back?" Since they were, as Richard understood, the most experienced of the group, it made sense that one of them should lead and the other should watch the rear.

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Neal shouldered his pack and fell into line, waiting for Richard and Bill to take their places. A little voice in the back of his head -- one he most often identified as Peter -- told him that this was an awful idea, that he was just going to get himself in trouble, and what was he going to do with gold he couldn't spend, anyhow?

As he occasionally did in real life, he ignored that voice and plastered a broad grin on his face.

"Alright! Let's head out and find us some gold. Or ghosts. Or ghosts protecting the gold. Right."

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"Why don't I take point, since I've been there," Bill suggested, heading to the front of the group. "Everyone ready? All right, let's get this show on the road." And with that he set off, leading them in the direction of where he knew the mine to be, and making sure they all stayed with him.

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He grins, strapping his belt a little tighter now that they're going to be on their way. What Victor just said, though, has him tilting his head.

"If we find the gold, what do we do with it?" It's not an objection. It'd be totally awesome if they do find gold and take it back with them. but, with an emphasis on trade and community service over currency, he's not sure what the gold will do beyond being bragging points.

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"Melt it down and build a monument?" Richard joked with a hint of a smile. "It wouldn't be good for much else, I don't suppose." That was assuming it even stuck around once the desert changed back to the island. This was his first experience with the island behaving this way, but from what he understood, the guns and such would only be in everyone's possession for as long as they were in this setting.

[ooc: somehow I lost this tag, so sorry guys, I feel like a dumbass. >.<]

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"It can be a monument of the four of us," Neal said with a laugh. "Commemorating our brave expedition of... well, whenever this is." He'd always wanted a statue in his likeness. He had an idea once of sculpting a statue of himself and sneaking it into a high-profile collection somewhere, but had clearly never gone through with it.

It was still a good idea, though.

"Birthday presents for people who already have everything? Something like that, maybe."

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"A monument to us, now there's an idea," Bill joked with a grin, thinking of the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the Ministry's atrium. "Either that or enough gold jewelry to adorn the women of this place for years to come."

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"And some of the boys," Dave adds, thinking about what it'd be like to present some future boyfriend with a trinket made of gold he helped procure. If they're into that kinda thing.

"Actually, I think I like that more than a monument. Birds will just poop on it anyhow, unless we like... enshrine it. We could just save our shares and get it made into stuff for the right person in the future."

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Richard had to laugh at Dave's apt and colorful comment; birds would poop on any statuary or monument, that was certainly true.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen Kahlan wear jewelry," he remarked thoughtfully. "I'm not even sure what she'd like. But I like the idea."

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These were all actually astoundingly good ideas, Neal thought. Sure, he didn't actually have anyone special on the island who he would want to gift with gold and jewels, but he could imagine it. Besides, in a place that ran itself mostly on the barter system, having fancy gold things would make for excellent trades.

"You gentlemen are all brilliant," Neal said cheerfully. "I knew I assembled the right group of people for the job." Also, hopefully they all wouldn't get themselves killed. That was the real important point of this whole operation.

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It definitely had appeal, the possibility of gifting jewelry to Annie, perhaps for their one-year coming up in a couple of months. Plus, there were birthday and Christmas gifts to consider for his other female friends.

"Of course you did," Bill joked, glancing back at the others with a grin.

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Glad that they seem to agree on the idea of saving the gold to make into jewelry for gifts or maybe trade instead of some flashy monument, Dave slides his thumbs into his belt and nods off to the assumed general direction of their destination.

"So let's do what brilliant gentlemen do and head in to a potential haunted mine."

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That might have been the first time in Richard Cypher's life anyone had ever referred to him as a brilliant gentleman. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

"It doesn't really have the 'haunted' look to me," he noted, resting the palm of his hand on the pommel of the Sword of Truth. Of course, he supposed that could all be a matter of perspective, right?

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"I don't know, I mean, I've seen enough scary movies that take place in completely normal looking places to not really discount something all because it's not all... broken down and covered in spider-webs."

Although, he was pretty sure that this mine probably had enough spider-webs and broken floorboards and creaky windows to scare the crap out of pretty much anyone who was even the least bit superstitious.

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"Right, gents," Bill said with a grin and a tilt of his head in the direction of the entrance. He didn't have enough of adventure - his kind of adventure, at least - on the island, and he was chuffed by this opportunity. "Let's see what we can see. Everyone, stick together, yeah?"

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"Sticking," he confirms as he follows Bill's lead, sticking behind him and Victor since Richard is bringing up the rear. Dave can feel his pulse pick up in a mix of fear and excitement as they step in and out of the security of direct sunlight.

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Without the direct light, the 'it could be haunted' factor clicked up several notches. Still, he didn't feel too uneasy, and what little was there was pretty well covered up by the excitement.

"This really is just like old times," he remarked brightly.

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Neal shook his head and turned around briefly to look at Richard. "You must have had far more interesting old times than I could even imagine, Richard," he said. "You'll have to tell me about them some time." It almost made Neal wish that he could be living as himself on the island, so he could sit around and swap real stories with these guys, instead of being someone who had only known the joy of a cubicle but had watched a few too many adventure movies in his life.

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"I wouldn't mind swapping stories with you sometime, mate, if you call this like old times," Bill chimed in, glancing back. "Sounds like some pretty interesting stuff."

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Dave's feeling a little inadequate for this job as he ducks his head from a loop-sided beam. "Damn. You guys get good stories. I get lawn furniture nailed to a roof and zombies at a high school football game. You really don't have anything, Victor?"

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"Well to be fair my old times were a lot less dusty than this," Richard admitted with a sheepish chuckle. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything, since he'd only just gotten used to not having to regale fellow travelers with stories of his grand adventures as the Seeker in every tavern and inn he passed through. Or, well, listening to Zedd tell them, mostly.

Zedd was most definitely a better storyteller.

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