Unearthed Legacy

[Nayt]

The woman liked to sleep, but not excessively--and waking up wasn't too too hard. Annoying, perhaps, and she was a little delirious each time--and this time, she didn't feel anything touching her, but that didn't really matter. They hadn't been killed in their sleep; that was all that mattered.

Nonetheless, she was fairly quick to wake up when she wasn't sleeping in a nice, comfortable bed. Or a bed of any sort. So long as there wasn't a spring jamming through it, she was comfortable in a bed, period. Outside like this, she was quick to get her bearings and start on to waking up and getting herself ready for the rest of the day. They had another two days of walking to do, after all; might as well make as much progress as possible!

"I pray we have better luck than last night," Xibtrae replied offhandedly.

She took her pack and made sure everything else was in it. Lacking the blanket made it a little less bulky, at least. Well, some good had to be found in the loss! Once she had the pack on her back, straps over both shoulders, she'd be ready to head out.

[Shin]

It hadn't taken nearly as much time as Ryuku had thought to locate Garv. He had thought the man would be much further then he actually was, luckily he wasn't. He had learned that the man was headed for a ruins, a place of magic before 'The End' from what Ryuku had gathered.

He had built up a reputation in town for surviving a night outside and making it back, and it appeared he did it again. His companion on the other hand interested Ryuku for a purely different reason, she wasn't human. He wasn't exactly sure what she was. Some sort of elf perhaps?

~You know, you could just introduce yourself now.~

I plan to.

~What are you waiting for?~

Shut up.

Dressed in simple brown breeches, a green cotton shirt with a brown jerkin covering and wearing no shoes he stepped out from behind a tree some sixty or say paces behind the two, in the direction they had come from. His hair was brown and disorganized and his eyes shades of blue and green, but his facial structure and slanted eyes were obviously Cizokian it was safe to assume he was somewhere in his early twenties.

He carried only a small backpack and no weapons on his person when he approached. He kept a smile on his face and seemed to bounce with every step on his way towards the two.

"Hello! Garv? Is that you?" He asked, his voice deeper and stronger then one might assume coming from a man of his stature. Though he surely wasn't short, standing a couple inches over six foot and weighing a decent one hundred and eight five pounds, all of it compact but lean muscle.

[Zach Kaiser]

"No kidding." Shadeling attacks every night would be a bit much to bear, especially for a two-way trip.

It was just before the newcomer spoke that Garv sensed someone was there, and he suddenly whirled around quick enough to make him a bit dizzy from his head wound. He stumbled slightly, but recovered enough to focus on the newcomer.

He may not have been terribly tall, but he still dwarfed the treasure hunter, who stood at just over five and a half feet. More than anything about his appearance, though, Garv was startled by his mere presence; they were about a day out of town, so either the man also spent the night outside or was really, really fast.

"...Who wants to know?" he asked suspiciously. One hand was held behind his back, and Xibtrae would be able to see a knife now in it. There were enough people angry with him in the world that he couldn't afford to take chances, especially if they already knew his name.

[Nayt]

One could certainly hope, at least. Xibtrae lifted her left hand, checking again to make sure she had both bracelets around her left wrist still. Just in case . . .

Xibtrae still had on what she was wearing yesterday; she had never changed out of it. The outfit entailed a v-neck button down shirt-- the neck low enough to show some degree of cleavage, emphasized as she wore a bra that gave her a little lift in that general area. That, however, was no big deal, as the shirt was loose fitting, anyways. It was a midnight blue and was modestly "frilly" at every end, giving it this sort of wavy, constantly moving look to it. The same applied to her skirt, which was actually black, and came down to her knees. The dark colors of her outfit were a stark contrast to her skin color, especially in the daytime-- her skin, after all, was a very, very light gray, not quite pure white, but close.

It wasn't long after they started walking that they encountered someone else. Someone . . . unfamiliar. Xibtrae had never heard the voice before, and she certainly didn't recognize the appearance. But then again, there were very few appearances right now that Xibtrae was going to recognize at all.

She stayed next to Garv and said nothing, figuring it might be best if he did the talking here, but the look on her face suggested some serious concern. She could see that Garv had a knife in hand-- so, clearly, this was someone he deemed necessary to be wary of. Xibtrae came to the quick conclusion that she should be wary, too. Perhaps she'd have to make use of the bracelets again so soon? She hoped not, but if she did, she wasn't going to hesitate . . .

[Shin]

Through the trained eyes of a warrior Ryuku could tell his appearence set them off guard, they were supicious of him. Rightfuly so he told himself. He had come to understand that since 'The End' there weren't many people who traveled out of the saftey of a town, and if there was it surely wasn't this far out.

He continued to walked casually toward them pretending not to notice their defensive nature. "Some people in town told me you were headed towards some ruins out this way. I have some buisness there myself and was hoping to tag along, afterall it's a lot safer to travel in groups."

Unless they specifically did something to halt Ryukus walk he would walked within an arms reach of Garv. "Names Ryuku, Ryuku Manzarth Obsedian. But you can call me Ryu for short." If Garv took his hand he'd shake it, then offer it to Xibtrae next.

[Zach Kaiser]

Garv eyed the man nervously as he approached, and Xibtrae would be able to see him spinning the knife behind his back anxiously, before finally sliding back up his sleeve. Not that he was letting his guard down just yet, but it wasn't as though he couldn't just draw again in an instant if he needed it.

"Garv Phibrizzo," he replied warily. "Look, Ryu...I'm not sure how much you know about the situation out here, and I have no idea how the bloody hell you even got this far, but I can't be your guide. It's dangerous at night, and I can only protect myself and her--for your own sake, you should hightail it back to town. If you hurry, you can get back before dark."

It would have been a different story with two blankets, but with one burned up they were down to one, and they'd be hard pressed to fit a child in with the two of them, let alone a man the size of Ryuku. Not to mention he didn't especially like the idea of traveling with a strange man he hardly knew.

Of course, strange women were another matter entirely...

[Nayt]

Garv shook the man's hand-- and nothing happened. Well, that was good. If anything, it meant that nothing was going to happen between them just yet. If he was a threat or anything, he'd just be a threat later-- or something. If anything, Xibtrae figured that someone would want to take Garv down over her. Garv looked like a seasoned adventurer. More often than not, that was the kind of look that could be threatening to some. A seasoned adventurer could be crafty and the like, something to be worried about. Xibtrae, on the other hand, just looked out of place.

Here she was dressed nicely, with skin like porcelain, carrying herself with elegance. Not quite the elegance that denoted prissiness or the like, but the type of elegance that entailed balance on even the shakiest of terrains, a perpetual look of natural beauty, and most of all politeness. She should have been some sort of upper class lady in a big city-- not the haughty kind, but the entrepreneur kind. An entrepreneur without her own wants or needs in mind. That's what she looked like-- not an adventurer, not anyone that should have been out traveling this sort of road, under these sorts of circumstances. She may not have looked human, elf, shade, lumen, or any of those sorts, but she still had the appearance of frail and gentle royalty. She wasn't a threat by anymeans.

"Xibtrae," she replied as she shook Ryuku's hand, but that was all.

She would have outright agreed with Garv, but she didn't really know the situation out here that well, either. They didn't have anymore blankets available, though. The only thing she could think of saying was that they didn't have the supplies to bring a third person along with them, but Garv had already done that by the time Xibtrae thought of it.

[Shin]

"Well, honestley I know nothing of the situation. Which is why I want to go to these ruins." Ryuku explained, taking a few steps past the two and placing both hands on his hips. "I find the current state of the world....disturbing." He turned around to face them then.

"I am capable of paying if money is an issue, and I am more then capable of taking care of myself." He flashed a devious smile before dropping his small pack to the ground. "Now, for payment... I dont have gold. But..." He let his sentence hand as he pulled a fairly large ruby from his pack, it wasn't monsterous but surely large enough to catch Garv's eye.

"Im not sure it's worth, but will this do?" Before Garv could answer he would loft the golfball size ruby to him and check it's legitimacy himself.

[Zach Kaiser]

It was only sheer reflex that allowed him to catch the ruby, as he was too dumbfounded to consciously try. This was...unusual. Things like this didn't just happen to him; strangers did not come up and give him precious gems of any kind for relatively simple jobs. He claimed he could protect himself, so he was only really using Garv as a guide.

So incredibly lucky was this that he was actually more suspicious because of it. What kind of moron would seriously offer a ruby just for someone to be his guide? But in the deep reaches of his mind, he received an answer: The kind of moron who has plenty more, enough that parting with one his no big deal. And while he disliked taking advantage of women, men were another matter entirely.

Before he let his greed get ahead of him, he did indeed examine the jewel, and while he was no expert, he'd learned a few things about telling fakes; after all, may people figured why pay an adventurer money if you could pay them colored glass. Against all logic, though, it seemed real.

"...Okay. So long as you understand I'm not responsible for protecting you, you have a deal." He held out the ruby, assuming Ryuku would want it back until the job is done. The bloke would probably be shredded by shades the first night, but if he left his jewels behind it was no skin off his back.

[Nayt]

Precious gems . . .

She remembered a select few from her time-- of another time, of another world, far too lost for her to even remember the name of it half of the time! Yet still, there were such things back then. Bright, beautiful gems, gems that comprised jewelry in rare cases; they were, for the most part, ornamental. A lot of the time, warriors placed them into their weapons. In some cases, particular stones reacted to certain abilities-- things that human beings knew here as magic. Placing such stones within a Caster's blade could do wonders for their preference of element! Yet it wasn't like Casters or collectors or those who simply sought to carve something beautiful for their home would be hard pressed to find such stones.

Xibtrae remembered as a little girl, walking with her grandfather through a small canyon with a narrow pass through. It was brief, but Xibtrae recalled running her little hand across the rock wall, happily skipping along next to her beloved grandfather. Dirt was displaced, and a faint azure caught her eye. It glinted in the sun. She looked back, curious, and saw blue where her hand once lay.

On their world, a world with colors much more varied than this one, this . . . dystopia, those were common. Rocks like that, oddly shaped, always requiring a carving, always covered in dust in dirt, but always found in formations much like this planet's own. Yet this world hadn't the same formations. One could not simply scratch away the sedentary dirt and unveil the red or blue or green or purple stone beneath, or any imaginable color, it seemed. But what Xibtrae knew, there were such opportunities.

"This is . . . valuable?" Xibtrae asked with a furrowed brow.

She couldn't understand why Garv would accept this man like that for the payment of a simple rock. But then again, to Xibtrae, it wasn't expensive at all. Pretty, but still just a rock . . .

[Shin]

Ryuku waved off the gem, he didn't really have a need for it. Matter of fact it hadn't even been his to begin with, so in reality he was losing nothing of importance. "Keep it. I trust you." It was probably the most foolish words he could say to someone like Garv, someone so easily bought off. But then again it wasn't like he actualy meant them.

"Then we have a deal." He stated mater-o-factly.

Running a hand through his thick brown hair he turned his blue-green orbs over to Xibtrae. He still hadn't deduced what kind of creature she was, though it was possible in the time he was dormant that new races came to be ... and some races were possibly extinct.

"To some more then others." He said with a casual shrug.

"Shall we be on our way then? Daylight is burning."

[Zach Kaiser]

"Very valuable," he replied at the same time Ryuku did to Xibtrae's question. To Garv, money (and by extension, things worth a lot of money) weren't just luxuries--they were survival itself. Sure, he dreamed of swimming in riches, kicking back in a huge mansion in the city surrounded by girls vying for his adoration, but the reality of it was that the gem would probably go towards buying food, drink, and other necessary supplies.

At the comment that he didn't need to return the gem, it was gone almost instantly. It seemed utterly foolish, but it wasn't as though he could renege on the deal anyway--he was heading to the ruins anyway, and so long as Ryuku kept from getting killed he could follow him whether he wanted him to or not.

"Right, let's get moving. Ahh...I need a drink," he muttered, feeling a headache coming on.

((OOC: If you guys have more to say, we can continue, otherwise I can skip ahead a bit if you want.))

[Nayt]

That was so weird, seeing one of those rocks with some high value. Ryuku and Xibtrae were almost on the same page, but not almost at the same exact time. He didn't know why she saw no value in the thing, and it was unlikely that he ever would. She certainly had no intentions of talking about her home, a world much unlike this one.

Perhaps Garv had something of a drinking problem? Xibtrae didn't know for sure. She didn't really like his preference in drinks. It reminded her a lot of something from back where she came from, though. However, that sort of thing would've made Garv see fairies. Fairies of all colors, shapes, and sizes. It was a horrible tasting drink, too, and few people ever consumed it on any regular basis. But there could have been more-- she didn't know, really. She didn't partake in those kinds of circles of people, the kinds that enjoyed that sort of thing. The taste was horrible, and that, incidentally, was all that was important to her.

Nonetheless, she said nothing, simply nodded quietly and continued on by Garv's side.

Offtopic: I don't see any problems with a time lapse.

[Shin]

Ryu didn't have anything more to add, he was anxious to get to the ruins. There he hoped that he could shed some light on the worlds current situation. Everyone he asked had been able to tell him about the demons and night, and an approximate time of when everything went to hell, but no one knew why or how.

There were speculations of course, but Ryuku was only interested in hard evidence. While he certainly didn't expect everything to fall into place right away these ruins were a good place to start.

(Yea, go ahead and skip ahead.)

[Zach Kaiser]

The day passed quietly; Garv was a bit less talkative with Ryuku around, not yet sure whether he could trust him. This was for the best, perhaps, as shortly after they started Val would badger Xibtrae about what happened the previous night and just what was going on, now that she seemed to be able to talk to her clearly.

Soon it was nearing sunset once more, and they were now not too far from where Garv first found Xibtrae. More importantly, they needed to stop and set up camp for the night. They ate, and Garv set up their blanket...and kept an eye on Ryuku. Shortly into the night, they'd know whether he was a rich fool or more skilled than he appeared. No matter how good a fighter he was (if he was one), he fight hordes of shades all night--if he didn't have some means to escape them undetected, he'd be torn apart.

And while he was not overly concerned with that prospect, the last thing Garv wanted was for a scuffle to happen and expose Xibtrae and him to the shades.