It had all started with a rumor. Instead of Raile, though, this time the dynamic duo of Drake and Vela had found their own source, and with it, a rare treat. If they completed this little raid on their own, they could keep 100% of the profits, since Raile was not involved. That was motivation enough, and so they researched more into their rumor.

On an island off the coast of Abed lay a tomb, one said to be the place of rest for a legendary knight. Cassius was his name, and in his days he had wandered the world rescuing dragons and slaying damsels in distress. Well, something like that, at least. The details of who he was, or what he did were really of no consequence. No, it was what he had that interested Drake and vela the most. There was supposedly a small fortune laid to rest in his tomb, as well as his legendary sword, shield, and armor. The set alone could be worth billions of silver if handed over to the right person.

And so, after they had done their proper research, they lifted off with the airship, and set sail to the island.

To both of their surprise, the trip was uneventful. However, they quickly realized that there was nowhere to land on the island, and so the duo set down a few miles out of the island, and took a small raft the rest of the way.

For tropical islands, it wasn’t a bad place. The heat was a little on the rough side, but Drake and Vela had come prepared. Drake stripped off his shirt, packing it into his bag, and he was wearing shorts. He made sure his weapon was strapped to his belt, and nodded that he was ready.

“The tomb was that way,” Drake said, pointing. They had scouted out its location earlier when they did an aerial overview. “Shouldn’t take too long. Maybe half a day. We can set up camp outside of it, and from there determine if we want to head in today, or wait till tomorrow.” He wiped his brow. Even a dragon could get uncomfortably sweaty.

Vela had fun riding in the raft with Drake even joking about rocking it. Once they had landed they started to change. Vela never really being shy changed into a pair of shorts and a swim top before pulling back her long hair. “Even in the bare minimum, this heat sucks~ Remind me not to choose this for our honeymoon destination.” She adjusted her backpack now as they set off to see the tomb.

“There better be a nice basin of water around it too… I could use a swim.” She would have chosen the ocean if the tomb wasn’t so far in. She took out a vial and started to lather herself in it. “Here, it’s peppermint oil it will keep the insects away. I don’t feel like being sweaty and itchy…”

The hike there was filled with mostly small talk about what they would find or silence. Holding onto Drake’s hand most of the way that was really all Vela needed. “There she is…” It was a tall pyramid-like structure with tall mossy statues. “It looks, even more, intimidating at this level. Well… Let’s set up camp.” She looked up at the pink sky. “It’s going to be night soon enough I guess…” It had taken half a day which was the worst they had theorized since they had to reroute a few times thanks to sinking earth.

She got the tent set up and rolled out the extra-large bedroll they had bought after their first night together. “There we go.” She pulled out a few lanterns and set them up along the camp. Throwing out all of their utensils next to the fire pit she built she looked through her bag. “What else do we needdd~”

All in all, it was a good setup. Vela had gotten quite good at predicting what they needed for the expedition. So when she asked if they needed anything else, Drake waved his hand. They probably had everything they needed, or would need in the future.

“I think we’re okay,” he said as he pulled out a piece of paper. He had been drawing a rather crude map, but it was effective enough to tell where they had come from. He started to draw the camp that they had set up, and smiled. “I think I saw a lake over there. We can use that for a water source. We can boil water from there, and rinse off. Though, I don’t see a source so we need to be careful not to bathe in it…” He drew a marker for that as well.

“But for now…I say we go ahead and take a quick peek.” The dragon smirked. He pulled Vela over and gave her a quick kiss before taking her hand and leading her towards the entrance. The tomb itself was large, with a great sword engraved over the massive stone doorway to the tomb. At first glance, there seemed to be no way to open the door.

“Well…any ideas?”

“Oh sureee, wave me offff~” Vela sighed a bit and started to giggle after a few seconds as she played with him. “Ooh, a lake~ Yeah, we can bathe each other with clothes and buckets~” She giggled.

A shocked noise left her lips as Drake pulled her in for a kiss. A smirk formed across her lips and she returned it. “I love quick peeks! It teases me on the adventure and makes me want it more!” When she saw that there was no entrance she put her hand to her chin and thought. She noticed a blue gemstone in what she assumed to be the door. Looking up at the angle she held up her hand and trailed it across the sky.

“This is a moon door. We’re going to have to explore at night.” She looked at Drake and then the trees. “We might have to trim those so we can get in… It’s going to be a tiresome night I feel. I guess we should take a nap, eat, and go in… After we clear those trees.”

“A moon door, huh?” Drake said with a curious look. He had heard of them before, but never seen one in real life. “Learning something new every day.” As Vela mentioned having to trim back the trees, he nodded. “Got it. How about you go ahead and get us some food? I’m sure there’s something worth hunting here. I’ll take care of this…” He drew his blade.

Vela nodded in agreement, and the two went about their separate tasks. It didn’t take Drake too long to clear a path for the moonlight, and when he finished, he walked back to the camp. Vela was already roasting some fish over the open fire, and waved Drake over. He sat next to her, smirking.

“I can’t wait…smells delicious.” Drake stretched. “We’ve got some food, and a few good hours until nightfall.” He looked to the clear sky. “It wouldn’t be half bad…living like this. Just you and me…living on this island, away from people. Sure, it’s a little hot but…it’s nice. No people…”

Vela clapped her hands, “Sure! I have just the thing!” It didn’t take long to get her fishing rod from her box and set up a line. She was very patient as she waited to catch the goods. Once she had them cooking she grinned, “I used some of the herbs and spices we picked up in Abed.” She pointed to the canisters near them. “Makes for delicious food~”

Vela tilted her head at his wish and smirked. “Me and you? King and Queen of the Jungle? Sounds like a nice little fantasy~ We could explore the whole island and when we finally got bored sailed to one of the other island chains. What a time…” She moved next to him and leaned against him. “Are you should you could handle it only being me for the rest of your life?” She chuckled.

Once they were fed she flopped onto the bedroll and starfished on it, “I’ll move when I have the password~”

Drake laughed alongside Vela as she remarked about her being the only one. “I can handle that. No one else for me, Vela…the real question is, can someone as adventurous as you be satisfied by me alone?” He wondered that. “For now, though…I’m happy as I can be. And I can’t imagine anything different.”

When they finished, Vela flopped onto the bedroll, demanding a password as she took up the entire space. Drake rolled his eyes, and walked over, merely picking her up and cradling her. “You’re too tiny to be demanding anything, Vela…” he said with a smirk. He sat down on the bedroll, and merely held her for a moment.

“So uh…I’m not tired yet.” Drake smirked. “And I bet you aren’t either…”

“I’m tiny but a hurricane!” She flailed her arms a bit. “See! Look how fierce I am.” She blew a puff of air at him. “Okay, so I’m not that intimidating when I’m not drunk.” There was a smirk on her face as she used her full force to knock him down and sit on his stomach, “Not really. I’m excited. Raile calls you a bitch and slut tamer~ So tame me.”

She woke up a few hours later when the moon was starting to come out. She went to stretch and realized her dragon-man had himself wrapped around her. She snuggled up to him and kissed his nose. “Yeah, I think I can be satisfied just by you~”

After a few minutes, they finally had to get up and get dressed. She lit a few lanterns and gave one to him. “We should light torches in there too. Make sure we put them up. It will help with supplies and whatnot. Keep it lit so we can study any glyphs we find.”

Once the moon was high enough the door opened. “We have to get out before the moon sets so that gives us quite a bit of time to look around inside.”

As the moonlight hit the magic stone, the doors scraped open, slowly revealing a dark corridor that sloped downwards. Deeper in, Drake could see the start of a stone, spiral staircase that descended deep into the island. As the two stepped forward, a magical blue flame sprang to life on either side of the corridor, illuminating the path forward.

“Welcoming us with open arms, I see,” Drake said as he took the lead, producing a small flame in the palm of his hand. The spiral staircase took them several levels down, and put them in a large, open room. There were four giant stone slabs in the center of the room, and a doorway in the back that seemed to be closed off.

“I take it this isn’t the guy,” Drake muttered as he held up his hand to cast more light into the room. As the room lit up, Drake and Vela could see the walls. There were murals across each of them. To the left, a mighty knight fighting against four dragons. To the right, there was a knight kneeling at the base of a great tree. Behind them, the wall showed a knight standing in front of a grand, golden city with his weapon raised high. And forward…towards where Drake assumed the tomb was…

“Broken. At least, part of it. It looks as though someone…broke it,” the dragon said, frowning. “It doesn’t look as though they were trying to break in…more like, they were trying to destroy this mural…” Drake sighed. “I wonder what it was…”