E
Eve Collins
Guest
The biggest of the maps laid out upon the table before her was also the oldest, and most faded. It was not just her doing though, it was the doing of her father and his father before him and before him it had been an uncle. Every generation of Collinses seemed to breed one of the flock with a rare talent for deciphering tattered maps, and the desire to travel to the places marked, and then unearth treasures that might be lurking. Eve was no different, except she was the first of the Collinses that had this desire that was also a female.
Her sisters Kelly and Jaessa were more geared towards homemaking, though Kelly did have a penchant for fishing similar to Eve's own. Jaessa however preferred to turn the creatures her older sisters fished up into delightful delicacies that tantalized the palate and left one practically salivating for more. They often teased that she had been born with a rolling pin in hand. If that were the case though, Eve had been born with a kit of various lockpicking tools.
Her first real treasure map had come to her by happenstance, some one offering it for little more than a few coins, and she felt like the boy in some nearly forgotten childhood tale ready to plant the beans that grew into the sky. Eve was unfamiliar with many of the lands in truth, other than notations on her collections of maps, and Ter Mur was the least known to her. Setting out alone, atop a trusty old tan palfrey she had been given, she consulted the map again and again until she was certain she was at the right spot.
She had heard the distant sounds of creatures she was not so certain she wanted to get too close a look at, and the occasional nearby hissing of some silver snake or other, but when she stopped along the bank of the river, her heart soared with pleasure. Her very first self-made adventure. A few prods of her shovel into the ground around the area finally rewarded her with a metallic clanking. Jumping away from the noise she simply stared at the patch of upturned earth incredulously. "There IS treasure here!"
Miss Eve Collins hobbled the horse a goodly distance away, close enough to the river that it may drink if it should so desire, and took several deep breaths. A life long dream was about to come true to life and her hands were too shaky just yet should she need them to manipulate the lock of the treasure chest. Preparing the immediate area soon had her calmed slightly, her picks and spellbook ready, her stash of herbs in her pouch, her handy dandy shovel in hand and she began to dig.
With each shovelful of dirt she could see more and more of the chest, a dulled black banded with gold that had likely been beneath the soil a fairly good amount of time. She had begun to kneel at the base of the chest when a rustling sounded from it. This did not sound good. Eve sprang to her feet about the same time the guardians of the chest erupted from the ground. Sliths, water elementals and acid slugs! Oh my!
She barely had time to reach for her spell book before she fled to collect her wits some distance away. Flipping through the pages she found something of use. It was a fifth circle spell, but not too difficult she would not have a chance to succeed. Uttering the words "In Jux Hur Ylem" she sprinted back to the chest and pointed towards a water elemental. Blades of various shapes and sizes formed together to make a slicing, dicing ally, sent into to cut through the water elemental, dealing dastardly damage, until a puff of smoke arose and the blade spirit was no more. Uh oh! The elemental had dispersed her magical summon and was headed her way!
Nearly tripping over her own feet, it was only then that Eve remembered her tambourine. A quick and steady beat chimed out and the elemental lost its will to do her further harm. The next blade spirit fared better than the first, dispatching the now peace-filled water elemental then cutting through the remaining guardians with ease.
Finally, it was just her and the chest. Manipulating the lock was simple due to the practice, and more practice, and even further practice, she had been doing. She was more careful now though, not making the same mistake and rushing herself as she had with the guardians, but carefully stepped away five paces and uttered a few magical words, "Ort Por Ylem". There was an explosion from the trap in the chest and she gave a shudder, glad she had not been reckless and instead proceeded cautiously, certain to remember every step of the process. As she pushed the chest open fully, she could see the sparkle of gems, and the shine of never used armor and weapons. There was a key with a skull on it and a blue scroll of some sort, and at the very bottom of the cache, another map.
Next time she hoped she could bring friends, but that would require making some.
Her sisters Kelly and Jaessa were more geared towards homemaking, though Kelly did have a penchant for fishing similar to Eve's own. Jaessa however preferred to turn the creatures her older sisters fished up into delightful delicacies that tantalized the palate and left one practically salivating for more. They often teased that she had been born with a rolling pin in hand. If that were the case though, Eve had been born with a kit of various lockpicking tools.
Her first real treasure map had come to her by happenstance, some one offering it for little more than a few coins, and she felt like the boy in some nearly forgotten childhood tale ready to plant the beans that grew into the sky. Eve was unfamiliar with many of the lands in truth, other than notations on her collections of maps, and Ter Mur was the least known to her. Setting out alone, atop a trusty old tan palfrey she had been given, she consulted the map again and again until she was certain she was at the right spot.
She had heard the distant sounds of creatures she was not so certain she wanted to get too close a look at, and the occasional nearby hissing of some silver snake or other, but when she stopped along the bank of the river, her heart soared with pleasure. Her very first self-made adventure. A few prods of her shovel into the ground around the area finally rewarded her with a metallic clanking. Jumping away from the noise she simply stared at the patch of upturned earth incredulously. "There IS treasure here!"
Miss Eve Collins hobbled the horse a goodly distance away, close enough to the river that it may drink if it should so desire, and took several deep breaths. A life long dream was about to come true to life and her hands were too shaky just yet should she need them to manipulate the lock of the treasure chest. Preparing the immediate area soon had her calmed slightly, her picks and spellbook ready, her stash of herbs in her pouch, her handy dandy shovel in hand and she began to dig.
With each shovelful of dirt she could see more and more of the chest, a dulled black banded with gold that had likely been beneath the soil a fairly good amount of time. She had begun to kneel at the base of the chest when a rustling sounded from it. This did not sound good. Eve sprang to her feet about the same time the guardians of the chest erupted from the ground. Sliths, water elementals and acid slugs! Oh my!
She barely had time to reach for her spell book before she fled to collect her wits some distance away. Flipping through the pages she found something of use. It was a fifth circle spell, but not too difficult she would not have a chance to succeed. Uttering the words "In Jux Hur Ylem" she sprinted back to the chest and pointed towards a water elemental. Blades of various shapes and sizes formed together to make a slicing, dicing ally, sent into to cut through the water elemental, dealing dastardly damage, until a puff of smoke arose and the blade spirit was no more. Uh oh! The elemental had dispersed her magical summon and was headed her way!
Nearly tripping over her own feet, it was only then that Eve remembered her tambourine. A quick and steady beat chimed out and the elemental lost its will to do her further harm. The next blade spirit fared better than the first, dispatching the now peace-filled water elemental then cutting through the remaining guardians with ease.
Finally, it was just her and the chest. Manipulating the lock was simple due to the practice, and more practice, and even further practice, she had been doing. She was more careful now though, not making the same mistake and rushing herself as she had with the guardians, but carefully stepped away five paces and uttered a few magical words, "Ort Por Ylem". There was an explosion from the trap in the chest and she gave a shudder, glad she had not been reckless and instead proceeded cautiously, certain to remember every step of the process. As she pushed the chest open fully, she could see the sparkle of gems, and the shine of never used armor and weapons. There was a key with a skull on it and a blue scroll of some sort, and at the very bottom of the cache, another map.
Next time she hoped she could bring friends, but that would require making some.
