Ok! So- I've been thinking about this a lot and wanted to see what the rest of lioden thinks! I noticed that a lot of craftables require gems of all kinds! And finding them in explore is always a treat- and of course, a rarity as well.

So I've been wondering! What if there was a place you could get gems! I figured that maybe a pangolin could run it for either 60 sb or a special item- A bronze termite, Silver termite, or gold termite! Basically the way you could find them is by digging in termite mounds! I think there is already an explore encounter for it that just raises or lowers karma. You could get one of the termites, or maybe 50-100 sb!

So- the way the mines would work is like so- Every 4 hours you can pay sb to the pangolin to have him hunt for gems- you can either find gems, or slag. Slag being similar to a pet rock- meaning it has no use.

The pangolin will always find three things, usually only finding one Gem and two slag clumps. However! If you give the Pangolin a bronze termite, he'll search extra hard and is guaranteed to bring back 3 gems! Maybe 5 if you're extra lucky! If you give him a silver termite, he’ll look for specific gems (always comes back with three). And if you give him a gold termite- he’ll find 5 specific gems for you! You can choose a mixture of gems or a group of the same gem!

I think you should still be able to find gems in explore along with this! I recall when I was a kid that webkinz had a similar mini-game!

When it comes to shops I imagine they could be in a few event shops and the Oasis for 1 GB!

Some dialogue mock ups:

For the pangolin:

" Hey you, lion! Can I steal you for a second? I got a little problem you see- I'm pretty awful at hunting for termites and beetles. And all that digging works up an appetite ya see. I've heard that you lions use beetles as currency! So tell ya what? I may be shit at finding bugs- but I got an eye for gems! Would you be interested? It'd only run you 60 beetles! Oh! unless you have one of those bronze termites! Those guys are delectable! I'd work extra hard if you gave me one of those! So what do you say? Want me to find some gems? "

Outcomes:
(When you get three gems)
" You're in luck bud! Found three purty gems for your fuzzy butt! Hope you like em!"
(When you get two gems and one slag)
" Not a ton down there today- but I did find these! Hope you like em!"
(When you get two slags and one gem)
" Pretty empty in the mines today! Sorry pal- But I did find this! Hope you like it!"
(When given a bronze termite)
" Looked in every crack and nook I could find! Here you go bud! Enjoy!"
(When given bronze termite and the pangolin finds 2 extra gems)
" It's loaded down there!! I took all I could carry! Enjoy!"
(When given a silver termite)
“ Got those gems you wanted! Thanks for the snack! “
(When given a gold termite)
“ Phew! Am I tired! But here you go! Fresh batch of gems just for you! Enjoy!”

Item discs:

All termites: " A wriggling termite that shines in the light! It'd make a hardy meal for a certain friend"
Slag: " A weird clump of stone that serves no real purpose. "- Goes for 2 sb in Monkey business