• PM To Join • Treasure Hunt

[Kingdom]

This was dangerous Harold had decided, watching from a distance with his younger sister, Suzy. The two of them got low to the ground and scaled the dunes to slip down the other side and dash along the beach towards the docks a good mile from their current location. If they were able to get help, Harold doubted anyone would be able to return in time to save either of the girls, but he had to try.
The eager one, Seira, had been shoved to the ground just in time to avoid a blade that was instead deflected by Vivian’s shield, now faced with taking on one of the men as he waved for the second to take the chest toward the caves. The man who remained had sharp eyes and a light smattering of stubble across his jaw. He was handsome, other than the obvious fact that his nose had been broken at least twice in his lifetime, and for the most part looked well-kept, almost as if he cared for himself, or perhaps had the kind of money that enabled him to live far more lavishly than the average citizen of Rynmere.
“Brave girl,” he smirked at Vivian as he drew the second dagger with practiced hand. “Stupid, but brave.” His voice was deep and influential, suggesting that whoever he was, it was clear Vivian was out of depth.
“Vilhelm,” his comrade called from closer to the caves, “they are just kids, let ‘em be!”

The man held up his hand as if to state that he had heard before stepping forward into the range of Vivian’s strike, if she dared to make one, something he would deflect with the use of his dagger. His next move came from nowhere, explosive and quick, a powerful kick that would meet her shield and possibly send her backwards onto the sand, if not hurt her arm or shoulder, only for him to take up his abandoned dagger and move out of range again.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard,” he hissed, “don’t care, but this is no treasure kids, go on home, no one needs to die today.”

[Seira Shiryu]

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Seira watched as the man she'd aimed for took his dagger off of his back, and threw it at her. The dagger seemed to float in the air, motionless. Then it was rushing towards her, a silver streak of death. That it would kill her was something that Seira didn't doubt for a trill. She couldn't get out of the way in time. It was impossible. So she closed her eyes, and braced for the pain...that never came.

Instead, she felt herself being flung to the ground, knocked aside by a force much greater than her own. She felt the pain of the impact, but it was nothing compared to the pain she had been expecting. Utterly bewildered by this turn of events, Seira opened her eyes to try and make sense of what had just happened. She was desperately grateful to be alive, and if it were at all possible, she wanted to make sure that she stayed that way.

The woman...Vivian was standing over her. The dagger looked as though it was caught in her shield. She had saved her. Seira stared up at the woman in a mix of utter confusion, awe, and gratitude. Vivian had saved her. Why had she saved her? What possible reason could Vivian have for doing so? Seira didn't know. And she wasn't certain that it mattered. The important thing was that she was alive. For now, at least.

"T-t-thank you..." Seira muttered, shock and terror making her voice shake.

Vivian asked her to leave this to a professional. And Seira was more than happy to do just that. She started to tremble as reaction set in, but even so, she continued to stare at the older woman as she tried to figure out why she had saved her. She had nothing to offer the woman in exchange for her life. After a time, she nodded shakily, indicating that she had no intention of trying to fight any further. Seira didn't know why Vivian had chosen to involve herself. It would have been far easier, and safer if she had simply done nothing. But now that she had, Seira was more than willing to try and stay out of her way.

Seira was about to scramble back, seeking safety much the way she'd told the younger kids to do when Vivian turned to face the man that had nearly killed her. Then she froze, holding her breath in an attempt not to be noticed by the man. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Seira glanced away long enough to see that Harold and Suzy were escaping. The bandits either had not seen them, or were content to let them go.

When "Vilhelm" was ordered to "let them be," because they were kids, Seira suspected it was the latter. Vilhelm seemed to agree. Or at least, he acknowledged the other man's order. But then he attacked Vivian, and Seira could only hope that the older woman wasn't hurt too badly. Vilhelm told them that there was no treasure, and that they should go home. Seira liked that idea. Treasure, or not, whatever was in those chests was of no concern to her. Harold and Suzy had fled, so if they had had any claim on the chests, that claim was now gone as far as she was concerned.

But one thing made her hesitate, and she glanced uncertainly at Vivian to see what the older woman would do. Vivian had saved her life. Seira owed her for that. She would be no help against the bandits if Vivian decided to ignore the man's warning. But she could no longer simply abandon the adult and leave her to her fate as she might otherwise have done. So she waited to see what the woman would decide. She hoped that Vivian would agree to leave. But if she continued to fight, Seira would scramble out of the way, and try to find a place to hide. Since she couldn't simply abandon the woman, she would watch, and try to find a way to help if she could.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian didn't react to the mans taunt, but the impact of his leg on her shield hurt far more than she would have expected, an impact that sent shivers down her spine. She had been foolish to try and block it, something she'd have to remember for the fight. Bending down, she picked up her rapier from where the girl had dropped it. "I don't care what's in the box. Not anymore. You attacked a child and now you're stealing from them. So no, I won't leave, not without the two of you either in chains or in a grave." she said, bringing her rapier up into her typical fighting stance.

She did, however, drop her shield hand to undo the buckle for the belt that held her quiver and bow, tossing them towards the girl, a last defense should Vivian fall. Her short bow wasn't a particularly heavy draw, so the girl should be able to use it pretty easily, though Vivian hoped she wouldn't need it. "So, do you want to surrender or fight?" she said, her voice projecting a confidence she didn't wholly feel. This one, he was going to be tough to deal with. He was stronger than her and pretty fast too. Considering his career choice though, she felt pretty certain she was a good sight smarter than him, and she figured that would have to be enough.

[Kingdom]

The man stepped back as of to reassess the situation, dragging the hair from his eyes with a flick of his hand in order to slick it back against his head, heavy with sweat and tough as a result of too much salt water between washes. The young woman was prepared to fight and a small part of Vilhelm had expected her to back down before things got out of hand, but kids these days were always so eager to prove themselves, even if it meant losing a limb on the process. Vilhelm hadn't always been a bandit, in fact he was once considered an upstanding, well respected man where he had traveled from, but circumstances had changed, and he had slipped into a dark place, surrounding himself with some of the most undesirable people he had ever come across. Clearly intimidation would not win out over pigheadedness today.
Vilhelm summoned his comrade with a wave and the chest was set between the two parties. He looked Vivian in the eye before glancing across at her much younger friend. "You're right," he admitted, "it was wrong of me to attack a child, and not much better to steal from one either. Yours," he gestured to the chest, "please accept my apology."
"But boss!" The stuffy man at his back protested.
Vilhelm raised his hand to silence the man. "Our fight isn't against them," he told the man, "we will find plenty more where this came from."
With that Vilhelm and his comrade backed away, putting a safe distance between them and the sword wielding woman. The chest looked old and waterlogged, trimmed in a rusty metal that might possibly polish up okay. On the front of the chest was an old, bronze coloured lock with a single keyhole and any attempt to open the chest would prove fruitless, unless they were able to pick or find something to force the lock, or perhaps even break in through the base of the chest where the wooden planks appeared bowed and frail.

[Seira Shiryu]

Vivian wanted to fight...or at least it sounded to Seira like she did. And why? Because the man had attacked her when she'd stupidly run at him with the sword? It made no sense. Then again...none of this did. How had Harold and Suzy managed to stumble across a real treasure, anyway? Seira desperately wanted to run while she had the chance, but she couldn't. Vivian had saved her life, and she owed the woman for that. She couldn't leave the woman to face these bandits alone...not if she wanted to be able to live with herself. Seira didn't believe in much of anything anymore, but she did believe in paying back what was owed. She also had a strong sense of loyalty. She didn't trust Vivian. But she wouldn't betray her either; especially not now that she had saved her.

Seira watched wide eyed as the older woman tossed a short bow, and a quiver filled with arrows at her. Did Vivian mean for her to use it? Seira turned her attention to the weapon. She had seen a short bow before, of course. Both in a picture in one of her school books, and in real life. It was a popular weapon, after all. Many of the guards she'd seen had them. But Seira had never seen a real one so close before, never mind actually touched one. And she certainly had no clue how to use one. Seira had severe doubts that she'd even be able to figure out how to make it shoot an arrow.

The arrows themselves, though...they might be of more use. Maybe. She might be able to stab someone with one if they got too close...and were blind, or distracted enough not to see her attack. But it was better than nothing, so she gave Vivian a grateful look as she scrambled over to scoop up both the weapon, and the quiver. The weapon itself was beyond her, but by taking it too, at least she would keep it out of the hands of the bandits. Maybe. If they didn't try real hard to take it from her.

Fortunately, as it turned out, it wasn't necessary. The bandit leader actually apologized to Vivian, to Seira's surprise. He, and his partner set the chest down, and backed away. Seira eyed them warily. But when they proved that they weren't a threat any more...for the moment, at least, she couldn't help but be drawn to the chest. She studied it carefully, without approaching it. It looked old, and waterlogged. The metal parts were all rusty. How long had the chest been underwater for it to look like that?

The chest had a bronze lock that looked very sturdy to Seira. Locks required keys to open them...and they didn't have any. Or at least, Seira didn't, and she doubted that Vivian did. The chest belonged to Vivian now, of that, there seemed to be no question. Since it didn't look as though there was going to be a fight, much to Seira's intense relief, Seira thought that maybe she could pay back her debt by trying to help VIvian open the chest. And if they were successful, maybe Seira would get the chance to see what was inside. If she told herself she wasn't curious about what was in the chest, she would be lying. So she looked up at the older woman.

"Maybe we can find a rock so you can break the lock?" she offered softly.

Her voice shook with lingering fear, and the reaction of her near death. But her eyes were determined, and she fought to hide her fear.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian narrowed her eyes as the men apologized and retreated, talking about plenty more where that came from. "Aye, the sea is full of treasures if you know how to find them. Your apology is accepted." she said, moving to a more relaxed stance though she didn't sheathe her rapier or ask for her bow back yet. Glancing down at the chest, Vivian shrugged slightly at Seira's question. "The guard of my rapier will be sufficient to open it, but shouldn't we find your friends first? They are the ones who found it, after all." she said, smiling slightly.

However, despite her words, she didn't move, waiting to make sure Vilhelm and his friend were actually going to leave them be. She believed she could have won the fight, but she felt it would have been close, and a lucky shot from either of the two men could defeat her and leave the children completely and utterly undefended. So the skyrider kept a grip on her need to fight the bandits in favor of actually doing her duty. She did, however, make sure she was between Seira and the two men. "Can you lift it?" she asked Seira, her voice quiet.

[Kingdom]

A simple rock from one of the surrounding rock pools was all it took to destroy the planks on the bottom of the chest and loot the treasure inside. There wasn't a lot to be found, but the girls managed to split the winnings, deciding together on what suited who best. Perhaps the most interesting item was the rusty old key which would more than likely open another chest buried somewhere on the beach… or perhaps in the caves Faction VII were storing things in.

Seira

Knowledge:

Vivian Warrick: A Skyrider
Vivian Warrick: Uses a shortbow
Vivian Warrick: Uses a Rapier
Vivian Warrick: Protected you
Location: Andaris Beach
Location: Andaris Caves
Endurance: Hard to run on dry sand
Vilhelm: Faction VII Leader
Faction VII: Bandits and thieves

Loot: 73 gold, a book full of Mer stories, an old tin whistle, a small silver ring with emerald (worth 45gn).
Injuries: n.a
Fame: n.a

Story: 4/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Vivian

Knowledge:

Seira: A Singer
Seira: Doesn't know how to fight
Location: Andaris Beach
Location: Andaris Caves
Vilhelm: Faction VII Leader
Vilhelm: Intimidating
Intimidation: Use your status
Blades: Rapier, on-guard stance
Faction VII: Bandits and thieves

Loot: 73 gold, a book on navigation, an old rusty key, a dagger with a ruby hilt (worth 30gn).
Injuries: n.a
Fame: +2 defending Seira.

Story: 4/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 4/5

Comment: I'm sorry this thread took so long, I think we all had our spells of inactivity or lacking motivation. Seira you added a lot to the story and I always found I had lots of information to work with. Vivian has a strong moral compass and I found that I enjoyed the hero path she is tempted by, despite her noble upbringing and ‘better than thou’ attitude. My main piece of advice for both of you would be not to fear taking the story in new directions. You both played very passive, reactive roles which can be tricky to work with. Enjoy the rewards and I hope we all get to do another thread together soon and see how far everyone has come.