Seeking Treasure, Hunt for Power

The deep caves of the Farset region were a dangerous venture even for the most experienced of adventures. For an intermediate like Ix it was just about as close to a living nightmare as possible. The jagged rocks, deep pits, inky darkness, and permanent dampness that seemed to permeate every inch of the place made it hard to move and navigate and sent a klutz like her scrambling for her bearings more than once.

Thankfully she had had a master adventurer like Saeldur there to catch her when she fell. Literally.

“Thanks” she muttered as he helped her up from another spill. The ground they were on now was more or less level, some sort of path that was long out of use, but it was full of cracks that were hard to see in the pure black of the dark.

They had, of course, conjured up a source of light present in one small summoned beast that glowed a bright blue from the center of its body and the dull white light that came from the crystal atop Ix’s own summoning staff. Still, it wasn’t much. They’d learned from previous escapades that disrupting the darkness too heavily could have rather dire consequences and they were hoping to avoid any such happenings on this excursion.

The both of them were of the traditionally magical mindset and so didn’t often bring things like flashlights on their trips, nor guns, but as something to their left scurried rather noisily along unseen Ix almost wished they did. Saeldur was less worried, he had far more faith in things done the good old fashioned way than did his apprentice, he figured as much and knew she would come to rely on it more with time.

They continued on steadily after her first little trip, the lights bobbing about them with their steps. They were illuminated only slightly but one standing nearby might have been able to see their basic features, could perhaps see Ix’s clear milky blue eyes and her white blond hair, probably would have seen her mildly tan face but not the small crop of freckles that covered her nose. Her light blue tunic, fit rather snug to her petite body for a change, might have also been visible along with her rust red all-purpose bag but the brown pants and leather boots would be more or less lost as they tried to keep their light off the ground.

Saeldur’s silver hair, down to his hips now and tied low, would be a sparkling shimmer in the dark and his one visible eye, a bright honey gold and oddly catlike in its glow and the size of its dilated pupil would also be visible. His barely tanned skin might appear lighter than is in the dull, blue light and the rest of him would be lost to the world as his garbs were thick and black, draped over an apparently broad body. It would also be apparent that they were at a mildly significant height difference, he 6’7 and she 5’6, a little over a foot dividing them.

They seemed to be an odd pair, the two of them, wandering quietly through the darkness together, eyes locked forward, though they probably should have been above. Both were concentrated on the task at hand, on the thing they were after, on their treasure. Treasure… Such a nice thing.

Ix wondered though what exactly they were after, Saeldur hadn’t explained fully and she really was curious… Whatever it was it had to be magic. She let her thoughts wander and linger on it but didn’t have too much time to stay with it because suddenly, something large and reptilian fell from the ceiling of the cave. Saeldur drew back quickly away from it and toward the wall, dragging Ix with him.

She bit down a startled scream, knowing it was possible that the thing hadn’t seen them, and scooched father into her mentors grasp. The reptile seemed to miss them, its large body heaving as it righted itself, it had crashed on its side, and continued on only to bring forth another multitude of crashes and then finally, silence.

Cautiously they moved on, the reptile had fallen into a deep pit it seemed. Its tail, still twitching, stuck out of the inky darkness. Ahead Saeldur could see their goal, a little shine just beyond the gap here.

“Almost” he said softly, looking to Ix.

“We’re almost there?” she asked, wide eyed and mildly excited. For a woman of twenty two she could at times be a bit childlike.

“Yes… we just have to pass this” he waved forward.

“What are we getting? What kind of treasure?” she asked curiously. She always asked for a briefing before the collection if she didn’t get one before.

“No treasure just yet… It’s a map… of sorts” he gave a gentle laugh at her slightly flustered face.

“A map?”

“Of sorts” he laughed.

“Right… well… let’s get it then!” her voice echoed as she spoke up and he pressed a finger to her lips.

“Shh” he told her softly. “Let’s find a way through that… How about you try a spell?”

Nora was pressing her back hard against the cold rock wall in fear of taking the wrong step and risk waking up in the middle of hell, because most likely that's where those 'bottomless pits' ended. The heavy darkness surrounding her and her young companion didn't help at all. Few stray strands of her golden hair were being tossed around by wind and teased her sharp aquamarine eyes that seemed to shine in contrast with her tanned skin.

"Damn you, woman! I told you to bring a flashlight, or at least a lantern, but no~..." the young man complained, but before he could continue the rant, he felt a cold sharp tip of Nora's rapier pointed right to his neck. It always surprised him how she could pull that off even in the most weirdest poses and positions.

"I don't need to be lectured by a kid," she retorted and took the weapon back after she was sure that the threat reached those little brains of his. "Besides, Aaron, don't fall too much behind or the harpies will get you," she teased the boy who obviously was more affected by the mentioning of harpies than a rapier that was just pointed at him.

Aaron was an oval faced, brown haired and dark eyed young man, but his gentle facial features made him look at least a couple of years younger than he actually was. He was just entering his twenties, and even though Nora was only a couple of years his senior, she treated Aaron as if he was just a teen.

"Sh, Aaron, look up there," she hushed the boy who just barely managed not to argue about the fact the he didn't say a word. He couldn't tell where exactly was Nora pointing at, but he did notice a faint glow up ahead. And not just a glow he could see a pillar of light scanning the sky just beyond that little glow.

"I think we're in trouble..." he whispered.

Ix set to a construction spell, attempting to use nearby rocks and rock fragments to build a bridge. As she worked Saeldur looked about curiously. There were others here, not far from them. At least, he thought so, he was rather sure he could hear them but couldn't ask Ix because she didn't have his hearing. Sometimes he really wished she was a little more than human but, then he realized he wouldn't want to change her if he could.

He heard the voices again and nodded to himself, confirming that they were not the usual ones that liked to invade his thoughts at inopportune times. There were most definitly more people here, who though? He looked to Ix, still setting up her spell, half the rocks were in place, more floating slowly. The light from her staff had grown rather greatly and illuminated the area around her rather well. Wanting to know who, or what, was there with them he called quietly to her.

"Ix?" She didn't look away from her work but the shift in her posture showed that she had heard him. She didn't speak, still very concentrated on this rather draining spell, and waited for him to speak. "I'm sending Bobata to look at something, will you be alright without his light?"

"Yes" she said softly, and he was glad she remembered her volume control. He wasn't sure if the others there were human or something more, something that could hear them like he could hear, but he didn't want to take any risks. Other treasure hunters, mercenaries, thrill seekers, even monks could be quite hostile and pose quite a threat.

"Thank you" he said softly, calling the little creature over to him. It was a bubble like creature, circular and translucent, smooth and warm to the touch. It's skin was blue, it's face small with bright little white eyes. A soft white light came from the center of its body and came out of its tiny mouth in little beams if it opened up. It did, it's little mouth wide in its version of a smile as it nuzzled his forehead.

"There" Saeldur muttered softly, pointing behind him. "Go and see, fly above them, come right back." It rolled against his cheek before floating off, little circles of light tailing it as it zoomed down. It came quickly, but overhead, hopefully out of reach as it reached Aaron and Nora, swirling around their heads, illuminating their area softly.

Indeed, the pillar of light meant the Black crew was lurking around, and if they're really unlucky, they're even looking for the same thing. If they wanted to beat those scum, they had to step on in and fast. Just as that thought crossed Nora's mind and took a step further, she suddenly felt like it became a bit brighter... ? Aaron noticed the sudden change in lightening only after Nora froze.

"The hell? What now?" the boy raised his head and he got a bad feeling about it. Slowly he lowered his head to check on Nora. "Geh... I knew it," he sighed after seeing his Captain as pale as a ghost. "G-GyaA.....~" the sound that was about to come out of Nora's mouth was instantly muffled by Aaron covering it. "Shh, you idiot of a woman!" he scolded her in a whisper. Honestly, and she called herself a grownup.

They stood still for a little while till Nora regained her composure and swore not to look up anymore. Hesitantly, Aaron uncovered her mouth and they both pushed forward. The appearance of such a creature meant there were other people ahead, whats more, they're most likely magic users, therefore they should get there as fast as possible in case they're also just passersby. If not... 'Well, at least that idiotic woman has enough strength and skill with her rapier...' Aaron thought bitterly.

The little creature swirled and did a dip between the other two, passing in front of both their faces quickly before dashing back into the darkness toward its master. It rolled against Saeldur's cheek as it reappeared and then swirled around his head three times. "Armed, possible hostile" he muttered as a bright, green light flashed around them for a moment.

"Asre" Ix said quietly as the rocks, forming a bridge, fused together into a solid form. "All done" she said with a huff, feeling winded.

"Good, there are others behind us..." A crashing sound came from across the pit and Saeldur took a step back. "And before us... we will have to be careful." He tapped her on the shoulder, urging her across. She looked back at him as she crossed, momentarily wary of her own handy work. She was still a little new with the construction spells and hopped it wouldn't collapse.

They crossed quickly though, and without incident. A figure though, dashed through the darkness and toward the light closer in front of them now. Ix gave a little squeak, catching its movement, and moved closer to Saeldur. "If there are people that way, they're probably not friendly, are they?" Ix asked quietly.

Saeldur nodded. There was a quick flash of light and it flew towards them, both ducked away as it struck the ground just behind them, leaving a small smoldering crater. "Definitely not kind."

The couple was just couple of feet away, when the shot landed. Nora covered fer face from stray grains of sand and mud being carried their way after the impact. "I can't believe that they're firing already! Don't tell those were actually canons..." She complained. That became a rhetorical question once a huge pirate airship emerged from behind the clouds, their lights scanning the perimeter far and wide. "Hmph, he never had any modesty, did he?" she grumbled.

"Come on! It's not the time for this, we gonna be toast if we don't hurry up!" Aaron urged, and this was one of those rare times where Nora agreed with him. As they approached, they could finally clearly see another pair, of what they assumed to be civilians, because of their garbs and that the only thing they could call a weapon was some staffs. "Hide, get down!" Aaron called out to them, not wanting to be a witness of making of human pancakes. Caught in the moment, Nora pushed Aaron in front of her while carefully observing the ship's movements. "Take cover, they're about to launch something..." She warned and moved for cover. 'Damn it! If this goes on we'll have nothing left to find...'

Ix's eyes widened as they landed on the ship above. "Sky pirates? Really?! We just got outside!" She groaned, yelping when Saeldur yanked her close. She was startled by the two others that showed up so suddenly, and warned them to get down. Her mentor seemed to be willing to listen as he dragged her down behind a bolder. He looked Ix squarely in the eyes. "Cover" he said shortly, looking at the little shining creature. It disappeared a moment later and a glowing red light shone around him.

Ix nodded, standing to peak over the boulder. The person she'd seen scurrying in the dark was running towards the ship, though it was still high in the sky. She was sure he was one of them and probably after the map... or whatever it was. "Um... um... Distraction, er, I duno... What should I do? Um... Fire?" She held out her staff towards the ship. "Forse!" she shouted, a ball of fire shooting from the crystal, gone from blue to red. "Hit, hit!" she said softly, hopping the fireball would make contact.

Behind her, a large creature was slowly rising from the ground before Saeldur, struggling free from the ground.

Hurry she thought frantically as she looked back at him and it.

The fireball hit, however the impact didn't manage to do any extensive damage. The side of the ship that got hit only inflamed for a minute, but was quickly extinguished by the crew. That thing was just too huge. Seeing that things didn't go very well, Nora told Aaron to stay put with those two. She herself, made a dash towards a little shrine in the rocks. A few shots flew past her, but Nora was more worried about staying on the narrow mountain path than about being hit by a bullet. That might have been her mistake, just as she was just a couple of feet away from the shrine, the woman felt a sharp pain in her left arm, right bellow the shoulder. Nora flew back against the wall, but only for a moment. In that state, her body began to pump adrenaline as if it was a matter of life and death. And in a way, it was.

"Nora! Nora!..." she heard Aaron shout somewhere behind her.

"Shut up and stay put!" she retorted through gritted teeth and continued toward the shrine which looked like a stone box with a roof and a little statue on top. "Damn, how do you open this thing?!"

“Damn it!” Ix shouted as she watched the fire ball hit, only to be extinguished a moment later. “Sal! Hurry up!” she shouted over her shoulder with a groan as she sent up another fireball that missed by quite a bit. “Oh come on!” She flailed helplessly for a moment, ducking as several shots came whizzing past her and popped back up only to see the other woman be shot.
She could hear the other young man shouting… Nora was it? That must be her name. “Teacher! That other woman is hurt!” she said.

Saeldur, still crouched in his place, red light glowing fiercely around him, looked up to meet her glass blue eyes. “I summon thee” he said softly and the ground burst open. From the new made gap flew a large prey bird, morphed into some form of monster. The creature had four eyes all a dull green and oozing a yellow liquid, its body gaunt, thin and sickly. It was large though, very large, perhaps one third the size of the ship, huge compared to all living parties present.

It gave a fearsome, screeching cry as it flew up but did not move to attack. Ix, gazing up at it, shook visibly.

“Come” Saeldur said shortly to all around him, his one visible eye settling on Aaron for a moment. He looked up at the massive creature, pointing at it. He made a sweeping motion and it came closer, swooping down towards them, covering them.
He hopped rather easily over the rocks, despite his long robes, and made another gesture towards them that was familiar to Ix. Follow, or I’ll leave you behind. Of course, the kindly man would never really do that but, he sure was good at bluffing some times.

Ix followed around with him, getting into the shadow of the creature that scared her so much and hopped the young man was following.

It didn’t take long to reach that little shrine, or the injured woman under cover of the large fowl and once they were there, shots being mostly absorbed by the creature’s seemingly regenerative body. Saeldur stood behind the injured party, looking at the shrine’s door more than at her hurt arm.

“Perhaps as spell?” he suggested.

“I really hope this thing doesn’t need a key cause if it does we’re toast! I don’t think your big bad bird can hold up too much longer!” Ix flailed.

Aaron just went with the flow, and, his strong sense of not wanting to die, therefore he followed the girl and jumped for the creature, somehow getting a grip on its weird body. The feeling wasn't the most pleasant one, however it beat the feeling of being shot or worse. Meanwhile Nora was getting extremely upset and impatient. She didn't know whether to be be angry or sad and cry. She only noticed the ooze monster as the older man spoke and a huge drop of goo plopped on her back.

"Nora, Nora, no don't scre...~"

"GyaAaaah!" she panicked and her scream sliced through the darkness once more. She lounged forwards the shrine, almost tripping on it and breaking a small statuette on top of it. Aaron seemed dumbfounded, "You broke it! I can't believe you! Such an idiot!" he would have buried his head his head into the creature, if it wasn't so revoltingly slimy.
Nora was about to say something, but the shrine trembled slightly and a tiny side door opened. Just at that moment, another shiny thing was fired from the ship. It almost looked like a firework, shooting up to the sky. Once it reached a certain altitude, the spark exploded, shedding blinding light on everything bellow. The light continued to shine for almost a minute, before everything plunged back into darkness. By the time their eyes could regain sight, the ship was already gone...

"Captain, I found it there, just as you said," a black dressed youngster spoke once he got inside the ship. The Captain was already waiting, with his tiny black eye glittering from satisfaction. "Good work, now give it to me! Hurry!" the boy gave captain a small wooden jewelery box of fine craftsmanship. Not many places made them in these continents.

"He he he... Finally, the next piece," the man opened the box, only to find it was empty. "What the? There's nothing here! You rat, you must have left something back at the shrine!" the Captain's furiosity saw no bounds, but it was too late to turn back. Whoever wanted to beat them to the shrine, would have already found the missing part.

Saeldur and Ix both winced when the woman screamed, the creature cocking its head at her curiously, paying no mind to its passengers. Saeldur blinked when the door slid open, realizing she must have hit the switch when she fell. He was about to say good job when the flash hit and he closed his eyes tight, Ix doing the same.

"W-where'd they go?"

Saeldur didn't bother pondering that, instead stepping around the shrine to the small door. "Is it?" he shoved an arm in and felt around, hopping to grab onto what they were looking for. He didn't feel it, not the box it should be in at least. He drew back with a frown, his brows furrowed, and looked over at Ix.

"Did they get it?"

"The box... someone else check."

"Might've missed it?" she asked with a laugh. "With my luck I'll break something... One of you check. Maybe they left something useful behind... Who were those jerks anyway?" she wondered with a sigh.

For some reason Nora felt like all eyes fell on her, well at least Aaron was really staring at her. It was quite obvious that he didn't want to be the one to stick his hands into the shrine. The woman sighed and moved towards the opening, her sight still a bit blurry and unclear from the flash, so she felt her way around the shrine and inside it.

"It doesn't seem that... Wait," her fingers felt an uneven surface compared to the rest of the inside walls. She scratched it a bit and realized that there was something oval planted into the surface. She picked at it some more and the thingy got loose enough for Nora to grab it. "Look at this," she spoke taking out something like a copper medal. The woman rubbed it clean and a picture revealed itself: a hand from which a drop fell on a sprout in a dried soil. Nora frowned, the picture looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. While she was pondering like that, Aaron made his way closer to her and peeked over her shoulder.

"Aww man!" he exclaimed in obvious dissatisfaction. "Jut great! Another clue and it leads us to Arsha..." he mumbled. Nora seemed dumbfounded. Memories arose from deep in her mind which she didn't really like.

Ix blinked, waiting anxiously to see if the woman would draw anything out of the shrine. She was rather glad the other was the one looking by the way, since she'd had a few not so wonderful experiences with shoving her hand into dark places. It was one of the first things Saeldur taught her not to do and she usually found herself a much happier woman if she followed his instruction.

She bounced on her heels slightly when the woman seemed to grab at something and walked over behind her, looking over her shoulder in the same way that Aaron did. "A medal?" she asked. "I've never seen that symbol before... Sal come here!" she ordered, though it didn't sound too much like an order and the tall man complied, stepping over to them to look down at the item.

"Have you seen anything like that before?"

He nodded, bringing his hands together so to twist the ring on his ring finger. "I can't remember where." he added.

"Oh? Lovely" she laughed humorlessly and looked at the other two. "You seem to know what it means. What is it?" she asked curiously.

Nora tossed the medal to the older man, "It's a symbol of The Giver." She explained and turned back to where they came from in the first place. "The symbols on the side of the medal indicate that it was most likely made in Arsha... Or Holy City, either way, both of those places are quite horrid," she sighed with a tired expression. She wasn't facing the others mainly for one giant gooey, scarily organic-looking, thingy...

"Well, it's back to the ship for us," Aaron added and approached Nora before stopping and looking back over his shoulder. "Do you need a lift?" he offered without thinking, which made Nora twitch. Not that she minded or anything, but there was something she didn't want anyone to see. It was hard enough to hid it from Aaron, and now she would have to make sure that none of them would spot it. "Agh... yeah, why don't you join us..." she stuttered. "Just make that disappear..." she said referring to the summoned monster.

Saeldur caught the item, looking it over briefly as the woman explained what it was and where it came from. He was vaguely familiar with Holy City, a memory once again from his distant past, but not readily knowledgeable enough to give answer to the thousands of questions he was sure Ix had. She was quite the curious girl after all and a quick glance at her told him that she was, in fact, going practically insane not bringing forth her queries.

As it was she was settled under his left arm now, trying to get a better look at the item in his right hand. He passed it to her and she smiled sheepishly. “Have you ever been there? Holy City I mean… I’ve only heard a few stories about it… none of them were particularly good.”

He wasn’t sure if the question was directed at him or the other two but it didn’t quite matter. Her voice, while making the inquiry, was rather soft and he wasn’t sure the others had heard her. He didn’t give an answer in any case and turned his attention back to the young man who began speaking. He was offering them a ride? How nice of him. When the woman backed up his offer, though not particularly enthusiastic about it, he smiled and looked over at Ix.

“We’d love a ride” the cheerful blond replied, looking up from the medal. “That…?” she looked around behind her, in the direction the woman was pointing, and gave a little laugh. “You don’t like Squakers?” she asked with a bright smile, reaching out to pet it on one of the areas free of gunk.

“I don’t think it would fit anyway…” he told her, his lighthearted but melancholy smile continuing as he turned to face it. “Thank you for your services brave creature. I now release you from my call. An offering to you be sent.” He bowed low at the waist and it bobbed its head at him before disappearing in a flash of gentle green light. “Better?” Saeldur asked, turning to face the other woman with a slight grin, Ix laughing.

“You’re so silly sometimes, Teacher” she told him. “Now, let’s get going! It’s a relief knowing we won’t have to walk it all the way back.”

Nora grimaced, that thing even had a name? But no matter, as long as it's out of sight, everything was fine with her. "Much better," she replied in all seriousness and turned round. It was high time they set out for the ship, however the lingering darkness didn't let them move too quickly. By the time they exited the narrow path, the sun was already peeking over the horizon, finally shedding some light on their path. Cool morning wind felt refreshing, even if a little cold.

Nora's ship was left right outside the caves, hidden by natural flora of the place, but from the looks of it, the only reason to hide it was maybe for the sake of not being noticed... The airship looked as if it was pieced together from various parts of ships from different time periods, making it look rather grotesque. Ranging from the oldest models to a couple of the newer ones, actually, it could make one wonder how could that thing even fly... Nonetheless, Nora's posture seemed to be proud of it.

"Come, come!" she rushed them as she walked to the side of it and touched a masked panel. The ship twitched, as if something just got unhooked, and the oval shaped lid rose, revealing a small set of stairs leading inside.

"Yes, welcome to the flying lump of metal," Aaron added, receiving a menacing look from Nora shortly afterwards. "You may stay behind if you're so dissatisfied with my ship," she spoke with scary sparks in her eyes. Not getting any more resistance from her young travel mate, she jumped into the ship first and ran to one of the doors, quickly fiddling with it and making sure it does not open.

The boy sighed and followed the captain, "So what would be our next destination?" he asked, waiting for the other two to come in before closing the door.