Author: Firesong, Posted: Fri Apr 2, 2021 6:29 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

There was a sly look from Raile as Vela yelled at him to keep his mouth shut, but the merchant complied. He had that scheming look again as he sat back, waiting for Drake to answer.

Drake thought for a moment, and crossed his arms. “Not much we can do but work on the next job,” he said finally. “We don’t really have a reason to go after the angels…just gotta keep avoiding them.” Vela seemed to approve of that answer, and Raile produced a set of scrolls and papers.

“Good. Here we go,” Raile said as he unfurled the scrolls. “To the Northeast, there’s a ruin said to be the home of a tribe that worshipped…ah, what’s the name….Etanu? Before the big guy was imprisoned, he supposedly roamed the lands. In order to appease him, these people worshipped him. Judging by the fact that they’re all dead, I’m pretty sure Etanu didn’t care. Anyway, there’s supposed to be some fancy relics there. If not, there’s bound to be something worth it all.” He rolled the scrolls back up and passed them over to Vela.

“So, same as last time, then? Get what we can, send it, and meet later?” Drake asked.

“Aye,” Raile replied as he took a sip. “Hop to it…and…for the love of Gods, Vela, please don’t break this tavern.”

Author: Vela, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 7:39 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Being chased down isn’t exactly fun for me Raile. If it’s not them… It’s ex-boyfriends who I looted before I left em.”

She kicked her feet softly, “I know a little about the vault. I had honestly forgotten about it. Yes, I was a disappointment to my father which is why he can go fuck himself.” She got her second cherry tart and sipped on it now. “It was getting drilled into my head it was important I get married and give birth to a son so that they could inherit it. I couldn’t give a fuck about it honestly. The only reason I haven’t raided it is that I don’t know where it is and I really just don’t want to open it for them. Fuck them.”

Putting her hand on her elbow she relaxed and watched Raile. “That’s all I got for questions though. Not a lot I can do with the information. They did find us in Kanuri though so they are most definitely tracking me down. I wouldn’t be shocked if Rhenakos also has been questioned but he wouldn’t sell me out. He likes my ass too much.”

He was a simple man with simple likes.

“What should our next play be?” She looked at Drake. It was unusual for Vela to actually care about what another thought. “Don’t you say a fucking thing!” She pointed at Raile. “Mind ya business and we’ll keep making ya silver.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 7:17 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Raile held up his hand, “Fine, fine…you’re being pretty snippy, Vela-bean.” He ordered a second drink, and kicked back. “Let’s see…I did a basic rundown of who you were when we started working together. Blah, blah, runaway princess…didn’t really care about that. But then people came looking for you, and that’s when I dug a bit deeper.” His second drink came, and he took a long sip.

“Vela, you’re the first born. Probably a disappointment too, since they would have wanted a male heir. But, they made do with what they had. You see, the first born, when it comes to a noble hierarchy, has a lot of special…privileges, and that isn’t always about choice either. The Alsephina family has a vault hidden away in Canelux…no idea where, or what it has in it. Anyway…it had a special seal put on it when you were born, using your blood. The firstborn’s blood can be quite powerful magic. And for whatever reason-”

“They want to open the vault,” Drake finished. “And you don’t know what’s in it?”

“Surprise, surprise…there are things even money can’t buy. No one really knows what’s in it.” Raile shrugged, and looked at Vela. “What about you? Any idea of what it could be? I doubt it, since you didn’t even know why they were after you.” He sighed. “My guess is it’s a weapon. The family isn’t exactly on the best of terms with the world right now…”

Author: Vela, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 6:59 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

She sat at the table kicking her legs thanks to the chair’s height. She had this disinterested look on her face as she looked down at the Cherry Tart she had convinced Drake to let her have. “Only one?” Drake gave her that look. Tavern fights were her go to and it was disappointing her not to fight the blonde bitch in the corner that kept looking her way.

Vela sat up straight as soon as Raile figured out why they were meeting with him. “So you knew?” She blinked a bit. “Of course you knew. You always know. It’s actually scary how much you know sometimes.” She took the cherry out of her drink and ate it throwing the stem before chugging her drink.

“So, that brings me to this next question. What the fuck do they still want with me, Raile? I ran away a long time ago. They obviously know I’m not dead. They know where I am if I stay in a spot for too long. Quite frankly, I’m getting bored of showing them my ass.”

Finally, after a few moments, she slammed her hands on the table and stood up, “If yer blonde skank ass doesn’t stop glaring my direction I’ll fucking gouge your eyes out.” The blonde woman sunk in her seat and finally looked away from her. “Thank. You.” She jumped back up onto the seat and looked at Raile. “Now. Angels. Information.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 6:49 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“It’s not the worst idea,” Drake said as they waited in the local tavern. The place was called “Haven’s Host”, and was a fairly common place for those not of Cameroon. The two had taken a table in the back corner so they could see everyone coming in, and had already ordered their drinks. It had taken Vela a bit of convincing not to over-order on the alcohol, something that Raile was likely to appreciate.

It wasn’t long before the fair haired merchant walked in. He spotted the two fairly easily, and made his way to the table with a smile. “Good job you two! That last haul was quite a great find. I was able to sell a few of those gems for well over market value, and garner a few good favors from a rather feisty noblewoman…” Raile kicked back and ordered a drink. “A job well done indeed.”

“So…before we get to the next job, Raile…” Drake said as he glanced to Vela, and then back to the merchant. “We have a…question.”

Raile perked up, and noticed how flighty Vela was being, and how serious Drake was. “Oh? Well, if this has anything to do about those angel’s, you don’t really have to worry. Even if Vela is royalty, I’d never sell her out.”

Drake just stared at him. “…wait, you know?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked. “I like keeping tabs on my employees.” Raile smirked. “I know quite a lot…information is another commodity, and for the right price, you can learn quite a bit.”

“You’re…terrifying,” Drake replied. Does that mean he knows about me?

“A bit,” Raile responded, though Drake wasn’t sure if he was answering the terrifying statement, or answering the question. The draconian had a feeling it was a little of both.

Author: Vela, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 6:34 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

There was a smirk as she closed her eyes, “Sober me appreciates the compliment.” When he said she had overestimated him she shot up. “I have not! You turn into a fucking dragon Drake! A huge, really sexy, fucking dragon. I was half dead impaled on you and I could tell you were massive and powerful. If I wasn’t half-dead at the time I would have tried to take you to bed with me!” It probably wasn’t helping her case and she gave him a sheepish smile. “Point is, I don’t think you are giving yourself enough credit. You fought off an entire pirate fleet.”

Vela recoiled a bit, “Oh hell no probably not but I still don’t want to look at him or talk to him. I punched him in his face and got sent to segregation as a child. Worth ittttt~” She thought about it a bit and huffed. “I am not keen on Raile knowing everything. He might sell it. Or not. It depends. That man will do anything for silver.”

Snuggling up to Drake she nodded, “Alright, alright we’ll talk to Raile.” She kissed him softly. “But I get the dragon-man to myself~” She pounced him as soon as the words left her lips.

–

The meet-up was in a few days and Vela stood waiting for Raile to show up at their spot. They were in the lovely city of Cameroon to stay away from the last place Vela was in. “Is this a good idea?” She looked up at Drake.

Author: Firesong, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 6:23 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Drake closed his eyes, enjoying her touches as they spoke. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? Sober you isn’t much better,” he said, keeping his eyes closed. He thought for a moment. On one hand, it was a bit of an ego boost that he had been called a ‘sexy dragon-man’, but he wondered just how strong he was. “You might be overestimating what I can do,” he replied. “Besides…I doubt confronting them head on will change anything. Especially when we don’t even know what they’re really after.”

The draconian thought for a moment. “Somehow I doubt it has anything to do with marrying you off at this point. I wonder…” He opened his eyes. “Don’t you have a lot of connections through Raile? Why not just ask him to look into it? I’m sure he can manage something…” For a price…

“We should be meeting him soon, right?” He rolled over, his gaze meeting hers. “Let’s just enjoy the downtime we have, and we’ll see what he can dig up. Meanwhile, we keep up the work. Sound like a plan?”

Author: Vela, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 6:10 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Vela thought about it as she lounged on the bed, “Who knows. Could be anything. Could be rumors. I am a famous treasure hunter.” She blinked up at him and then added a smirk to her face, “Oh… Is that a threat or a promise? I like it either way.” She took her hand and walked a set of fingers up his chest teasing him.

“The blood thing sounds logical. They could be using the old man to track me. It also doesn’t help that when I’m drunk I scream my full name from here to Karith.” Vela held a blank expression on her face. “Drunk me is so bold~”

She rolled and wrapped her arms around his waist, “What should we do? I’ve been on the run from them a long time but now I got this super sexy dragon-man who can protect me~ Maybe I should confront them dead on, fully naked… But what if they try to marry me to that pompous prince dickweed.” She made a face. “He was one of the reasons I ran away too.” She made a disgusted face.

“Nine year old me was soooo smart. She knew what she wanted.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Thu Apr 1, 2021 5:50 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Drake was quiet as Vela spoke about her past and why she was being hunted down by the angels. He wanted to be mad at her for not disclosing any of this beforehand, but he had to temper himself as she went on. It wasn’t exactly something you’d just admit to a stranger, and he knew that, if anything, her speaking about this so openly was a sign that she was starting to trust him. When she finally finished and flopped down next to him on the bed, he let out a heavy sigh.

The fact was, though, that he couldn’t be mad. Here she was opening up to him about something so personal, and yet he was hiding something equally, if not more disturbing about his own past…or lack thereof. He wondered how she would take that? To her, her past was something that was haunting her, coming back to try and take her. To him, his past was a giant mystery that may never be solved.

Not that he was in any hurry. Since he had woken up, he never really felt compelled to try and figure out what was happening. And this issue with Vela seemed far more compelling to deal with at the present.

The draconian laid back and looked over to Vela. They hadn’t been together for very long, but he was finding himself fond of her…connected in a way. He wondered if that was something she felt as well, or if she merely thought of him as a decent treasure hunting partner.

“All right, Vela,” Drake said as he turned his attention back to the ceiling. “The first thing we need to do is figure out how they’re tracking you.” He smirked, looking back to her. “I could give you a thorough investigation,” he said jokingly. “But something tells me it’s not that simple. Maybe it’s in your blood? If you’re royalty, they may have a way of tracking it.”

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:13 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Because Drake for the last three thousand years I’ve been a runaway. I’m the only daughter of the king for an angelic kingdom. They live in the clouds away from others and the poverty of the lower angels always bothered me. When I was nine I told them to fuck off and I ran away. I grew up at a street rat in Vilpamolan with Claude. You remember him, don’t you? He is the one who shot my wing off. We were together for a long time but Claude’s vision got clouded. I hated who he became so I left him and the pirate group we started.”

She looked visibly uncomfortable as she sat down, “I don’t know why they want me now… but a few decades ago they started to hunt me down. My old man finally fucking died probably. Out of everyone, he was the worst. If they are after me… It’s because I’m the only blood he has ever sired. Which is odd because he was always sleeping around. Maybe he got cursed by some angel he fucked… who knows.”

Vela rolled her eyes a bit as she flopped on the back of the bed. “I’m too much of a rebellious little cunt to be a princess. I’ve always thought that and I don’t want to go back but they think they can make me.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:58 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

It didn’t take them too long to get back to the surface. It took even less time for the two to prepare their belongings, especially Vela who now seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. Drake wanted to ask, but kept to himself as they snuck out. As the angels descended, though, Drake gave Vela a questioning look. Now was definitely not the time to ask questions, but she knew that Drake was going to grill her when they got to safety.

Despite the initial reveal of the angels, Drake and Vela never saw another one as they made their way to the tavern. Once they were in a room, Drake dropped the supplies he had, and turned to a sheepish Vela.

“Yeah, I do,” he said as he sat down at the bed. “If we’re going to be working together, it might be a good idea for you to explain why you’re being hunted by a group of angels.” Though, Drake barely had any room to talk. He barely had any memories of what he had been through. Though, for some reason, that didn’t seem to bother him.

“Well?” Drake asked. He didn’t seem mad, but he was definitely serious about the situation.

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:52 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Vela had no problem with Raile seeing her naked. What she wasn’t expecting was Rhenakos oogling her. She stared at him and him her before he whistled so she hurled a gem at him. “Aye, I need to get dressed.” She was dressed almost as fast as he asked where they were going.

“We’ll wait for him. There’s a tavern in between here and the swamp lands. It’s almost always empty so we can stay there for the night.”

They got back to camp and she was watching out the window with caution. “Let’s use caution leaving. We’ll fly if necessary.” She pulled him along with her. She pulled him against a building when she saw four angels descending into the town. “This isn’t good… Let’s go this way.” She pulled him with her. Once they were in the clear she got them to the tavern and she gave the barkeep extra coin to keep his mouth shut she was there.

They got up into the room and she tilted her head, “You must want to know what’s going on…”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:41 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

It was unexpected, but Drake didn’t mind the extra activities upon the golden throne. Once they were finished, Vela made it clear that she was almost in a hurry to leave. As she stretched, he eyed her body, and smirked. “Well, you do seem to be the expert in all of this…if you think it’s time to go, then it’s time to go. I think this should be a decent amount towards paying Raile back.” He stood up, and stretched as well.

He started to gather his clothes, and was a little confused at how some of them ended up so far down the hallway. As he came back, still only half dressed, Vela was tossing her bag of treasures in a portal, still stark naked. Drake blushed, and glanced away out of habit.

There was a sharp whistle from the portal, followed by an ‘oof’ when Vela beamed a rather large gem through the portal. Soon, the portal closed, and Drake crossed his arms.

“All right, now hurry up and get dressed. If we need to leave, we should start heading back now. Do we have a new destination already, or are we waiting for Raile?”

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:31 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Who do I look like? Simone?” She rolled her eyes. “Oh sorry, you’ll meet her eventually. She is good for business Raile says.” After she had gotten as much treasure as she could she dropped the bag and came over to sit on his lap. “Ohh… You would make a mighty fine king.”

She leaned down and kissed him roughly which lead to a whole other slew of actions on top of that throne. Probably the most action that throne had ever seen in its life. She sat straddled on his lap only wearing the treasure they had found. “Gods, I am so glad I got impaled on you,” she snorted a bit and kissed him. She rubbed her nose and his and sighed. “Well… Now instead of exploring, we got a few more hours of daylight… We can go back now and leave in the morning. Or we can try and see what else is left down here… Oh. We should probably open a portal and throw this gold throne at Raile.”

She got up off his lap and stretched a few different ways. “What do you think we should do? Our haul is already really good. I feel like if we spend any more time in this area… We’ll get a nasty surprise.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:19 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

As Vela made her statements about the dead not needing their wealth, she started to go about the altars and take the treasures, donning a variety of them. As she mentioned being a queen, Drake snorted and looked away.

“With the way you act?” He went about his own path, grabbing all of the treasures he could, and even donning some himself as Vela was. By the time he finished, he was weaning a silver crown adorned with rubies and several rings with diamonds and other precious stones embedded in them. Then, he found it…a chair, no, a throne of gold at the end of the hall.

“Hey Vela…” Drake sat in the throne, tilting the crown as he gave her a seductive look. “A beautiful Queen such as yourself needs a King, no?” He pat his leg, egging her to sit on his lap. “The King and Queen of silver,” he said with a sly smile. It seemed as though he was starting to loosen up around Vela, and start acting a little more freely.

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:00 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Vela the great will never die from piddly little mishaps like kicking a lever in a room she has no idea what will spring. That would make me lucky. I’m going to die from being shanked by one of my ex-boyfriends for not going on a date with him.”

Vela was looking around with a sparkle in her eye. A terrifying sparkle of a woman in love with the sight of treasure. “We grab it all. In our line of work tombs and the forgotten nature are our bread and butter. They can’t use it anymore… They are dead. The faster we get all this shit… The faster we can fucking leave.”

She started to shovel treasure into a bag all while also wearing some. A tiara was one of the things she plucked and put on her head. She layered necklaces, rings, bracelets, and anything else she could put on herself. She looked ridiculous. “Look at me, Drake… I’m a queen.” She did a strut.

Author: Firesong, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:45 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

When he heard the swearing, followed by the crashing as she kicked the lever, Drake got a little worried, but as the door opened and Vela revealed herself sheepishly, he sighed a breath of relief. “I can’t go losing you just yet…Raile would kill me if his biggest silver maker went and died…” He walked through the door, and the two continued on deeper into the caverns.

As they descended, it turned less into caves and more into what looked like a temple or a place of worship. Cave rock faded into elegantly carved pathways, with unlit torches leading the way. Ancient words and pictures were painted across the walls, showing directions or other things in a language that Drake didn’t recognize. It was unclear to Drake who they were meant to be worshipping, but the altars that were present had a variety of different offerings. Some of them were the rotted remains of food or other decay natural items, while others seemed to be rare gems and minerals.

“This is quite a find,” Drake said as he looked to Vela. “Do we just start grabbing everything we see? Or is there some kind of code not to disrespect these offerings?” It was probably something he should have asked beforehand.

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:29 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Vela squealed a bit as he took her for his breakfast. He was a lot more confident this time around with her and that pleased her greatly. “You are a pretty good breakfast yourself.” She quickly kissed him towards the end before they got actual breakfast.

She had food in her mouth as she climbed down the rope. “I gotta open the door,” she spoke with her mouth full of food. She quickly chewed and swallowed the food before wiping her mouth. “I’m gonna activate the switch.”

Grabbing the lever she pulled it and gears started to turn. The gears got stuck and there was an angry voice. “Come on you piece of filthy fucking shit.” There was a loud noise as she kicked the lever. “Ow. Ow. Ow.” She jumped around but that kick was enough to get the gears loose and it opened the door.

She sheepishly walked around to where the gate was, “So… I got it open…” She took her torch from him and smirked. “Nothing went wrong… Don’t look at me like that.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:21 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

The rest of the night after the first little accident they had turned into quite a pleasant surprise. As the morning came, and Vela sat up, he smiled up at her, his silver eyes looking over and admiring her naked form. “Well, it’s not like I mind too much having an ass like yours in my face,” Drake quipped back, leaning up and giving her a quick kiss. “Morning. I was thinking of breakfast, and here you are…” He pulled her down and rolled on top of her, pinning her down. It started with a rough kiss, which slowly trailed down her body…

It lasted a lot longer than it should have, and was sadly interrupted when they realized that they needed to get a move on. Breakfast was quick and efficient as the two rushed out of the safe house and back into the ruins. Unlike the day before. It took them no time at all to get back to where they had left off, and once more Vela pushed her way into the smaller side cave.

“Ready then?” Drake asked. “If the wall collapses, I should be able to get you out…” He was a little worried, but she was the expert.

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:05 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

She was wincing from the headbutt. Vela was pleasantly surprised when he secured her hands, “Only if I like you. It takes a lot to even get me interested. You are interesting.” She was going to add more with snark but she knew it would ruin the moment they were having.

They ended up on the bedroll after stripping each other down. The long night led into the cool morning. The fire’s crackling from almost running out of wood made her wake up. He was wrapped around her with her head tucked up under his chin. She let out a yawn and pulled herself out of his arms. “Hey,” she looked down at him with a smirk.

“Who knew my ass going onto your face could lead to some fascinating times.” Now she could be a smart ass with him. "But good morning handsome."

Author: Firesong, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:56 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Since we’re down here, what?” Drake said, breathless. He was being snarky, which Vela smirked at. There had been that tension all throughout the day, but because of the whiskey, Drake seemed a little more okay with it now.

“Shut up,” she said, yanking his head down. Of course, she overdid it, and instead of kissing even semi-romantically, they butted heads, and the two both recoiled from the hit.

“Damn, Vela…you have a hard head,” Drake commented, rubbing his forehead. Still, he leaned down and kissed her, his hands taking hers as they stretched out above her head. “So is this what you do all day and night? Explore ruins, and then sleep with partners? I could probably get used to this…”

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 5:12 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Ah but see… Tell that to all my ex-boyfriends and suddenly I’m a fiend.”

Vela downed the whiskey while she was on his lap, “Getting distracted from the spooky ghosts. What the fuck does it look like?” She winked at him and poured her another shot. “Don’t be so scared of me… You can turn into a big fucking dragon. Which is a total turn on by the way.”

She put the bottle back down and drained her glass, “Guess I should have gotten something more light if I’m going to drink like a fish.” She chuckled and slammed her shot glass down before taking Drake on a ride with her. A ride off of the chair and onto the floor. He was over top of her.

“Well, since we’re down here~”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:49 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

It took a moment for Drake to notice that she was staring at him, but when he finally did she looked away. Once she started stripping, though, he glanced away, instead looked out the window into the darkness. The next few days were going to get more exciting. He wondered what they would find….

“I don’t think you’re that bad of a person,” Drake said. She poured him a glass, and he sipped on it as she sat across from him. “I don’t see what the problem is…”

It was when Vela climbed into his lap, though, that he started to understand why she had trouble keeping partners. He was acutely aware of the fact that she was in nothing but his shirt, and he blushed, looking out the window. “What are you doing, Vela!?” Having such a woman in his lap was, at least to his memory, something he wasn’t used to. It didn’t take long for him to grow a little hotter, and wonder how long it would take her to notice…

Author: Vela, Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:43 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

She looked over his scars and looked away once he noticed her staring. She started to strip her clothes and hung them up before putting on his shirt. “Raile sent me in frilly things. I can’t stand sleeping in frilly things.”

Vela thought about it as she sat down across from him. “That’s always the first day. The first day feels slow compared to the days after it. It is normally lonely but thanks to you… Not so lonely anymore. At least until you decide you’ve had enough of the Vela treatment.”

She took the whiskey and found some glasses pouring them some. “Have a drink.”

The noises outside started to pick up and Vela looked creeped out. “I fucking told you this place is haunted.” She got up and took the shot hard before she plopped in his lap. “I hate ghosts.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:36 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Drake was not expecting a sudden butt slamming into his face, but luckily he was able to hold onto the rope long enough for her to regain her grip. When they finally reached the top, Drake rolled over onto the rock, panting. “My face is fine…it was more of a shock than anything.” He looked over to her. His face turned red, and he immediately looked the other way.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Not at all,” she said as she looked Drake over, and pulled him up. There was the mention of alcohol, and Drake rolled his eyes. At least they weren’t at a bar. Once they got back, Vela shut them in and made sure everything was locked, demanding his shirt.

“F-fine,” Drake said as he took off his shirt, tossing it to her. Across his chest and body were several scars. Most of them looked like they came from edge weapons, but there were a few that seemed as though he were run through with a spear or something similar. There was one, rather large scar in the dead center of his chest.

He sighed, and walked over to one of the tables, sitting down. “We didn’t get much today…but I have high hopes for tomorrow.” Drake wondered if it was always like this. Whatever was behind that door…

Author: Vela, Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:22 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“Um, that’s not how this wor– worrrrkkksss,” she yelled as she slid down the rope with her rump sitting directly onto his face. “Sorry! I lost focus!” She was blushing now as she started to climb up a bit faster. Once they reached the top she looked him over sheepish. “How's your… um… Face? I hear my ass is squishy?”

She looked him over, “You look okay. Let’s head back to our base! I got us alcohol!” Once they got to the base camp she lit the fire again and closed up the windows. They barricaded the doors too just in case.

“Hey. Give me your shirt or I’m getting completely naked to sleep.” She got out the bottle of whiskey and tossed it to him.

Author: Firesong, Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:50 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“That’s a hell of a legend,” Drake commented off hand. He was sure that, at one point, he knew about it and had merely forgotten. As they reached the door, Vela commented that they would need to come back the next day. Drake frowned at this comment, and sighed. “Fine…” He wondered if he could just kick in the door, but figured that Vela had already thought of that option.

On their way back, though, Vela took a small detour, leaving Drake alone. The draconian sighed, leaning against the opposite wall. Just as he had relaxed, a skeleton flew out, and immediately Drake was on alert. With the trained reflexes of a warrior, he slashed the skeleton in a flurry of strikes, and then took a stance to parry the incoming blow. That never came.

Vela was laughing hysterically.

“Not funny,” Drake replied with a dull stare. “Well, I guess we’ll figure it out tomorrow then.” He held out his hand to help Vela up. The two made their way back to the entry point. He sighed as Vela started to climb, and Drake followed suit. It was just as tight as when he had went down, but right above him was Vela, which…

“Could you move a little faster?” Drake asked, practically right beneath her. “This area is really cramped.” He was acutely aware of her butt right above him, and he had a hard time looking anywhere but due to the lack of space. “Just whatever you do, don’t fall…”

Author: Vela, Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:43 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“More like dead gods. Kanuri was the capital of the gods long before their fall and before they became rare. Gods were the first race of the world after all.” She held up her own torch as she checked things out. “They probably don’t have any power. Legend has it they got greedy and the World Tree wiped them out in a single night… all that remained were people like us and from us, the Tree chose the new gods but only a few.”

Vela was following her instinct she felt something, smelled something, and her eyes were focused. “Well, I always follow what feels right. It’s not always right.” She looked back at Drake and smiled at him. “However,” she continued around a corner and held up her torch to a huge door that looked locked. “I think… We need to come back tomorrow morning.”

She set up a string of torches so they could easily find their way back to the door. “Who knows what is behind there and… We do need to get back.” She took his hand and led him back and went through a small crack in a wall she found. “I’ll be right back.” She popped her head out of the crack. “Checking this out for a second.”

From the hole flew a skeleton at Drake and she began to laugh hard as she fell through the crack, “You should have seen the look on her face…. Ahhh I shouldn’t make fun of the dead when in the land of the dead… It sounded funny…” She made a face as she looked up at Drake. “There’s a mechanism inside this room here. It should open the door tomorrow but it doesn’t look good. If I open it there’s a chance the wall might collapse and I won’t be able to get back to you. What a pain.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:36 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

The ruby gold ring was his first find, and Drake had a strange, warm feeling about it. It was strange that he felt the way he did about something so small, but when his memories were so fragile, he wondered if having mementos around might help him. He pocketed it and thanked Vela as they started to go deeper into the cave.

“Cursed by the dead?” he repeated. “Zombies, ghosts, reavers?” The draconian scoffed. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in them, but more that he wondered just how much of a threat they could be. Even though he had only recently remembered that he was a dragon, he knew that the force behind that would be more than enough to take care of anything that came his way.

“Though…this is a tight space,” he mused aloud. Drake sighed. “Well, if we do get caught out here, I can at least get us to safety. I’m not too worried.”

As they descended, they finally met a forked path. Vela took the lead, and chose to move down the left. Drake followed behind, wondering what made her pick this choice. His eyes wandered around the cave at the edge of the illumination that the torch provided, and finally to Vela’s back. For a moment, his eyes flickered down, if only to watch his step. He realized how that must have looked, and glanced away, blushing.

“Do we travel this whole path, and then double back? Or did your intuition tell you this was the only real path?” Drake asked.

Author: Vela, Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:29 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Vela nodded and smirked, “Good. Just keep up that attitude. Normally, I get out of the area but thanks to my wing I can’t… fly fast enough to get away from them.” Vela wasn’t sure if she should be more honest with Drake. “I’ll tell you why at a later date… Only Raile knows. He got it out of me by getting me black out drunk of all things,” she rolled her eyes.

Vela set up torches that they could light on their way through either with fire or magic fire. “These will come in handy later if we want to go on a late-night expedition.” Listening to the animals she nodded, “Yeah, definitely somewhere down here. There are lots of underground plants that are edible here in Onnen.”

The angel got down and inspected the shiny, “Looks like…” She brushed it off and brought it up taking time to blow on it. “Ruby gold ring. Very fancy work. Delicate. Woman’s it looks like.” She held it up to him. “Very cool find. It’s the first of many. Since you found it first you should keep it to hold onto.”

She took his free hand and put it into it. “I have a stash all of my own for my first finds. They are important memories.” She patted his hand and continued on her way.

“Oh… and for what is dangerous down here… These lands are cursed by the dead. We need to be back at the safe house by night to be safe. Set up a bunch of light and avoid the windows."

Author: Firesong, Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:21 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Once they both hit bottom, Drake was aware of their closeness, and moved deeper into the cave. There was a small alcove at the start, which Vela used to conveniently set up a small table, to which she immediately sat on, kicking her legs out. The draconian flushed, glancing to the side.

“Looks sturdy enough,” Drake replied, walking over to a smaller table and setting down his supplies. He didn’t have much; just what Vela had told him to bring. For the most part, it was his physical attributes that would be the most useful here. “So we set up a little base here, and use this as a staging point for the rest of this section. Ultimately, we go back to the camp. Seems to work.” He looked over at her curiously, “Angels? I guess…I don’t see why that’s a problem.” He had a feeling she wouldn’t tell him anything.

He sighed, sorting out the materials. “So let’s get to work, then.” Drake walked out of the alcove, and motioned for Vela to follow.

The first part of the cavern was fairly basic, with a long tunnel that sloped downward. Off in the distance, Drake could hear the sounds of dripping water, and the skittering of small creatures. “There’s a food source of some kind. Probably an opening too,” he commented. “Any chance of danger?” He held the torch high. “Is that…” He saw something glimmering off in the distance. “The first find?”

Author: Vela, Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:08 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“As long as you think you’ll be safe,” Vela smiled a bit and got the rope ready and secure. “Just catch me if I for some reason fall.”

She watched as Drake set up lights on the way down. Once it was lit Vela sealed her wings with magic so she could squeeze down without hurting herself. She slid down the rope and landed next to Drake. “See? Not that bad.” She patted Drake on the shoulder as she lit her own torch.

The temple below lit up and there was etched stone everywhere. “This is amazing right?” She smirked at him. “Even better than tavern brawls! We got a few hours before we need to climb back up and go back to camp so let's at least set up a little space here for when we go exploring tomorrow. How does that sound? A work station would be a good start.”

She put her bag down before she started to make some make-shift tables out of discarded wood and large stone. “What do you think? Think it will hold?” She pushed on it before she vaulted herself up onto it and sat down kicking her legs out at Drake. “And it’s safeeee!”

There was a look on her face though, “Hey… if for some reason a group of angels show up… You don’t know me okay? This is going to be important for our partnership. I don’t exist if they show up asking about me.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 5:50 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Drake looked down the hole and whistled as the sound of the rock hitting bottom echoed back. “A long way down indeed.” He sighed, crossing his arms. “Too tight for my wingspan too. Didn’t think we’d hit this so early.” He was visibly frustrated. It was obvious to Vela that he was used to having unrestricted access to his wings. He shrugged, though, and tossed another rock, closing his eyes to listen.

“It’s far enough that I can drop without an issue. Want me to go ahead while you climb down?” Even without his wings, he was still a dragon, and could take quite a fall. Climbing up, though, was a different story. “I can at least set up some lights as I head down. Maybe dig into the cavern walls and set some climbing holds?” He was half talking out of his ass. He had no idea what to do, and his limited experience in free climbing was usually with the safety net of his wings.

“Just let me know…you’re the expert here.”

Author: Vela, Posted: Wed Dec 9, 2020 6:47 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

“I know you can fly. That wasn’t the point. We can’t always be so serious~ We gotta have fun together too! By the size of that medical bill, we’re going to be together for a long time.” She took his hand so he could pull her up.

Vela had pulled out a scope and was looking around with him since her eyesight wasn’t as good as his. “The library.” She looked up at him. “Is that shocking?” She followed it up with a shrug, “Got the name of the ruins through strip poker though. I’ll have you know I only lost my socks. I’ve played poker with Raile too much to lose to anyone else.”

Vela turned to where Drake was pointing and she checked it out through the scope. “Looks like it. Alright, we got daylight to burn and this place isn’t the best at night. That gives us a few hours to get in and start to light the way and hopefully start finding stuff.” She coiled the rope up and put it around her shoulder before taking his hand and pulling him.

“There’s no guarantee you can fly in here. We’ll have to be careful and rely on each other. You know teamwork.” She got them to the entrance of the caverns and looked down in. “We might need to fly in and see where a good spot is to start. This is almost a straight drop down.” She kicked a large rock down in and listened. There was a faint knock from it hitting the bottom. “A long way down.”

Author: Firesong, Posted: Tue Dec 8, 2020 8:29 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

It was a shock and surprise to have been thrown off the side of the edge, and he was about to spread his wings until Vela caught him, handling him like he was the bride in a wedding. Still, she seemed to have misjudged her magic, and the two of them fell the last bit with the draconian landing solidly on top of her. It took him a moment to reorient himself and stand up, and he groaned.

“You know, I can fly, right? Just…warn me next time and I can save us the pain.” He held out his hand to help Vela up. The two settled on a two story house-like structure with a second story, open balcony as the base, and it wasn’t long before they were standing on the balcony, scanning for the cave system that Vela was talking about.

“Not seeing it yet,” Drake said as he looked with his draconic eyesight. “Where did you even hear about these caves? Are we sure they even exist?” He wasn’t exactly too sure about how Vela got her information. He wondered if her contacts were of the unsavory kind of life. Vela did seem like the kind of woman to get into trouble and have ambushes set out for her.

“Oh, wait…what’s that there?” he said as he pointed off in the distance. “Is that it?”

Author: Vela, Posted: Tue Dec 8, 2020 8:22 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

Raile had managed to get her quite the intricate outfit of yellow, red, and maroon. It had a long skirt like sash, dancer-like pants, and the shirt was off-shoulder. Only one of her arms had a long yellow finger-less glove with one of her fingers ringed into the glove. The only hand had a short glove that looked much the same. The material was made of silk though which caused her to be more careful. “God damn Raile and thinking ahead.” She was getting dressed in her new wears as she tied her long white hair up into a ponytail.

Vela nodded to him as she looked around, “This place is gorgeous. It’s the prettiest ruins I’ve ever been in.”

She tilted her head at Drake and nodded, “Fine since I’m still in trouble for wrecking an entire tavern. Come on dragon boy.” They walked across the first bridge and she was taking a look. “There should be a series of caves here somewhere. We should set up a base camp here in the city though. We can use one of the houses that are still standing.”

Vela helped herself down as she tied some rope to lower herself into town, “Well do you want to go first, or do you trust me? On second thought~” She grabbed him and threw them both over as she activated magic and they were weightless as she held him like a distressed princess as they slid down the rope. “See I’m romantic.” She held him bridal style at the very end. “Oh… The magic is…” It cut short and she fell to the ground with him on top of her.

Author: Firesong, Posted: Tue Dec 8, 2020 7:59 PM, Post Subject: Treasure Hunting, Round One [P/R]

For all intents and purposes, Drake was against the idea. It was Vela who fought tooth and nail for the expedition to happen, despite her condition, and Raile even agreed to it so long as Drake did the majority of the work. And so, they found themselves at the entrance to one of the most impressive structures that the draconian had ever seen in his entire life, which wasn’t much in all fairness.

Still, even Vela had to have been in awe at the ruinous city that they had marked. The skies above were filled with shards of giant chunks of earth, floating above the numerous bridges and structures leading to the grand palace farther along. Glorious waterfalls fell from some of these, creating miniature rainbows dotted across the skies, while other rocks held mini forests, and some even small mountains.

“The endemic life must love this place,” Drake said as he looked farther on. “Since you don't have use of your wings, I’d say take it easy and let me test the weight on a lot of this…” He looked at her for a moment, and turned his attention back to the path ahead. Despite it seeming sturdy, the stone structures had vines and grass growing up between bricks. Some of the stronger plants had caused large cracks and crevices to form, and there were parts of the bridge head that had already crumbled and fell below.

They had camped out a little ways away, and left just before sunrise, which left them both a little awestruck at the scene before them. In the morning light, it was finally easier to see that Drake had changed into a short sleeve tunic and leather vest, his cloak left back in the tent as it might snag on just about anything. There was a backpack strapped to his back with various tools that he thought they might need, as well as a few ‘borrowed’ items from Raile.

“Well…let’s get going then,” Drake said as he started forward. “Just…let me know what needs to be done. Where to first? Some of these smaller structures? Or do we head straight for the palace?”