Closed A Glimpse Below

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Jehu explained his reasoning behind not removing the odd projectile that was embedded in his shoulder and despite not knowing much about medicine, Kamilla realised that preventing blood loss should have been obvious to her. They certainly hadn't had time to stop and bandage him up since the attack, so leaving the weapon where it was, certainly was the wiser decision. It occurred to her that the Chaktawe might have better general foresight than she did, an idea she wasn't fond of, but it certainly wasn't thr most pressing matter at that moment.

"There!"

Jehu's voice pulled the mage from her mixture of pointless thoughts and acute awareness of the aches caused by so much running. She'd thought that she was at least a bit tougher, though she had been through a near drowning experience only chimes ago, her lungs still stung from the salt water, something only intensified by the rapid inhale and exhalation of the cool air as she struggled to catch her breath.

Her companion had spotted the distant lights of the settlement and for a moment it seemed they would escape relatively unscathed, with the exception of Jehu's shoulder. Not two steps had been taken in their desired direction when one of the aquatic creatures appeared, blocking their escape. This time the creature did not hesitate as it screeched in what Kamilla assumed to be a call to its kind.

She was out of breath, desperately gasping for air, legs aching and slightly hunched over, while still trying her best to pull some more djed from her inner well to defend herself and Jehu, but her power was unresponsive in her frazzled state and before she could produce even a sliver of res, both the creature and Jehu were charging towards each other. Helpless, Kamilla was forced to watch as the, already injured Chaktawe, successfully deflected the creature's attack before injuring it with a swift stab. If she hadn't been breathing so heavily, she might have sighed in relief as Jehu turned around to grab the chest and encourage her to start moving again.

She was completely exhausted, but hearing the approaching screeches of the other creatures mixing with the pained noises of the injured ones, reminded her that both their lives were at stake. Despite her exhaustion and the burning in her lungs Kamilla began to move again, somewhere between a walk and a run, though the sting in her side was all she could think of.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before the duo had escaped the location of the ruins and were trudging across the dry sand between the sea and the settlement. They weren't exactly safe yet, but they were at least out of the creature's territory. A few more whizzing noises came from behind as several of the odd projectiles landed in the sand just short of them, causing Kamilla to turn about, falling onto the sand the moment her legs were given a tick to rest.

Hunched over on her knees with her hands holding her gasping form up, brown eyes searched the sea for any sign of the attackers, noticing their familiar oddly shaped heads at the edge of the ruins before they turned and left, seemingly unwilling to venture too far from the ocean. "I… think we… are… safe." The words were barely decipherable between her loud gasps for air. They'd made it out alive, with the crate. All things considered, they'd gotten lucky.

Kamilla would remain silent in her position in the sand until she'd caught her breath, legs trembling with aches while the sting in her side continued to… sting.

Words:613

[Jehu]

Jehu

Jehu didn't look back to see the fate of the pursuer he had stabbed. The chatter of the others were still behind them, and the whiz of their strange projectiles whistled past he and Kamilla as they staggered on. It was a race to the beach, a race to see if their endurance would get them there before the sea people caught up.

The searing pain in his shoulder didn't weaken or slow Jehu down, its manageable intensity gave him focus, something to distract from the taxing weariness of trying to run in water and sand, and from the fear for Kamilla's life. He could hear her labored breath, feel her dragging as they fled for their lives. Jehu had already considered the contingency of dropping the crate and picking up the mage to carry her to safety, and even then, would his shoulder hold?

He heard the thunk as one of the things' weapons embedded in the ancient crate. But the shallow water they ran through subsided, and then Jehu felt dry sand beneath the soles of his feet. He saw Kam stumble a bit, the other end of the crate dragged the ground as she fell to her knees. Jehu stopped, dropping his end of the crate and looking back. The moonlight caught the silhouettes of the fish-like people lingering at the outskirts of the ruins, but they drew no closer. He dropped to his butt, arms draping over bent knees as his head lowered. Breathes came in hard pants. Then Jehu looked to Kamilla.

"Are you alright?" He asked with concern. She looked exhausted, her moonlit features distressed. He wondered if in the chaos of their retreat she had been hit and he missed it. A glance back to the sea revealed a glimpse of their pursuers withdrawing into the broken shadows of the ruins. They were safe.

Jehu then looked to his shoulder. He tugged at the weapon gently, hissing in pain. There was not the rush of blood he had dreaded, not seeing the evidence of an major injure blood vessel. So, with a grunt, he pulled it free and dropped it in the sand. A slow ooze of blood ran from the wound. He had no bandage, nor even a shirt to rip up to bind the wound. With an almost apologetic look to Kam for the nudity, he undid his loincloth. It was somewhat damp, but would staunch the bleeding until he could get to his tent. He would go to the Panacea in the morning.

More immediate was his interest in the crate they had risked their lives to bring out of the ruins. As Kam caught her breath, the Chaktawe used the tip of his spear to pry open the box. It was not normal wood, for it was well intact even after an undetermined amount of time buried in the sea. When the lid flipped open, they could see several items inside.
In the dim illumination, their nature was hard to determine. Jehu reached in, his hand finding a long narrow box. Pulling it out, he examined the unmarked container for a moment before opening it. Inside was a stick.

"Its a stick." He declared with some disappointment, picking it up. It's details, and that of the contents of the box, were hard to see. His lantern oil had spilled in the ruins, he wondered if Kam had the energy to conjure up her floating lantern again. "It would be easier to see all of this if we had some more light." As he uttered the word ''light', the tip of the wand suddenly glowed as if it were the wick of a lantern itself. Jehu dropped it immediately, startled by the display of unexpected magic.

A boyish grin graced his face as he picked it up. Holding it aloft, he could better see Kamilla. She was pale, her dark hair damp and sticking to her soft fetures, but she was none less beautiful than usual. Tearing hs gaze from Kam, Jehu looked into the create, holding the light stick up. "There is more in here!" He declared with excitement. Would there be more magical things? Jehu looked again at the glowing stick in his hand. Later, he would have to ask Kam what it was and how it worked.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Still trying to catch her breath, and somewhat succeeding, Kamilla heard Jehu's question, too out of breath to respond for the time being. They'd just survived quite the ordeal, by her own count, it was the fourth time that Syka had tried to claim her life, though the tropical location certainly wasn't short on creative ways to accomplish it's alleged goal. It wasn't until she heard the prying of the wooden crate that Kamilla finally took one last deep breath before turning over and pushing herself up onto her feet

At first,she'd been about to ask the Chaktawe if he was okay, but caught herself as her eyes met with the material fastened tightly around his once wounded shoulder. She wondered where he'd found the makeshift bandage, but a quick glance downward revealed the answer. Eyes bulged in surprise of the the unexpected nudity before her gaze was averted. If she wasn't already cold, exhausted and probably flustered, she might have blushed… then again, nudity was fairly common in Syka.

It was dark. Too dark to see what was inside of the crate properly, her attention focused on the object in Jehu's hands as he kindly pointed out that it was a stick. 'Great. They'd nearly died for a mere stick.' was her first thought, but her mind had quickly been changed as Jehu uttered some words, causing the stick to glow. "It's a wand… I think the word 'light' activated. Unless you did something while picking it up." Of course, most of what she was saying was just a guess, though it seemed straight forward enough.

Now that there was light, Kamilla's attention returned to the contents of the crate, finding an array of items. A pie cozy, a cauldron, a small brazier and two objects she didn't recognise. The first was a basket like device, it's purpose eluded her, though it looked as if it could float, perhaps its use water related. The second seemed to be a simple trap for something small, most likely a rodent. "What an odd assortment of things."

Kamilla was far too exhausted to try and figure out if each of the objects were magical or not, her body and lungs still ached and she just wanted to pass out.

Eyes returned to her Chaktawe companion, glowing wand still in hand, as she did her best to keep her eyes trained on the inky blackness of his. "You know, if it wasn't for you, I'd definitely have died. Thank you." Kamilla wasn't one to show appreciation, but it was certainly due. "I don't know if you want some of the rest of this stuff we risked our lives for, but you should definitely keep that wand." As much as she'd have loved to keep all the items for herself, she was fully aware that without the Chaktawe she may well of come out of the ruins with none, or more likely, not come out at all.

She carefully pulled one of the star shaped projectiles from the crate, noting it's peculiar shape and sharpness. "We should go… I don't want to hang around in case those things come back…" She wanted to ask why he thought they were so close to the settlement, what he thought their intentions were, but it didn't seem the time.

"If you're still feeling okay, I could use some help carrying this crate up to Wally… my cart… on the cobbled road." The golem would make transporting the cumbersome crate much easier and judging by their location, it wouldn't be too far off. "Thank you again…" she added, this time shooting a small smile in the handsome man's direction.

[Jehu]

Jehu

"Huh." Jehu breathed as he stared at the glowing stick in his hand. A wand? Kamilla seemed familiar with the type of object, and suggested the means that it was activated. To Jehu, it was a marvel. They would have to test it out to see if she was right, but not at the moment. They needed illumination to examine the rest of the crate's content.

The collection of things in the box seemed remarkably less impressive than the wand. Household items, many of which could be purchased in Skya. There was a pause as his friend looked over the miscellaneous items. Kamilla voiced her gratitude for saving her, and suggested the wand should be his. Jehu's smile beamed, as if a child had just been told he could keep a hard candy sucker he had found. "Thanks, Kam. I am happy fate put me there, at the right time. I... I followed you into the ruins because I didn't want you to get hurt. I would feel terrible loss if something would happen to you." He confessed. "You keep the rest of the stuff. And if you ever need this..." he waved the wand, "...you know where to find me." His tired smile shone in the magical light.

Kam voiced a concern that they clear the beach, in case the sea people returned. Jehu agreed and helped the seamstress again lift the crate. He gave her the wand to hold, so he could pick up his spear. As they walked to the stone path, Jehu looked to Kam. She was pale, damp and her garments torn. And she was beautiful. Nodding at her repeated gratitude, he continued in silence until they reached her cart, Wally. That thing brought up questions of its own, left for another time. They loaded the box onto the cart, and with a brush of his hand on her shoulder, Jehu bid Kamilla goodnight. He watched her go, until she disappeared into the shadows at the edge of the wand's light.

Wounds: laceration several inches long on back of right shoulder.

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request!

Kamilla

Skills

• Investigation: 4xp
• Logic: 2xp
• Swimming: 1xp
• Socialization: 4xp
• Reimancy: 2xp
• Interrogation: 1xp
• Stealth: 1xp
• Persuasion: 1xp
• Endurance: 2xp
• Tactics: 1xp

Lores

• Lore of the mysterious sunken ruins
• Sunken City: has architecture similar to Riverfall
• Lore of a near death experience
• Jehu: life saver
• Jehu: recognized reimancy scars
• Stealth: minimizing noise
• Lore of the Sunken City fish creatures
• Tactics: block and confuse the enemy

Awards & Retribution
+Magic Pie Cozy
+Tabletop Brazier
+Bala's Cauldron

Notes
This looked like a lot of fun to write! I love reading stories about big city plot events. Not to mention Syka's repeated attempts to murder Kam in fun ways. This had a kind of dungeon crawl feel (complete with traps!) that I really enjoyed. Enjoy your loot, and let me know if you think I missed anything. <3

As a final note, please make sure to end every post where you acquire something with a ledger! Even if no money is changing hands. I shouldn't have to hunt through your CS guessing at what items your character found.

Jehu

Skills

• Cleaning: 1xp
• Observation: 5xp
• Investigation: 4xp
• Medicine: 1xp
• Socialization: 4xp
• Stealth: 2xp
• Intimidation: 1xp
• Tactics: 1xp
• Leadership: 1xp
• Weapon- Spear: 1xp
• Endurance: 1xp

Lores

• Kamilla: a budding obsession
• Lore of the mysterious sunken ruins
• Sunken City: has architecture similar to Riverfall
• Medicine: mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
• Kamilla: a mage
• Kamilla: practices reimancy
• Steath: minimizing noise
• Intimidation: warning spear-thrust
• Lore of the Sunken City fish creatures
• Weapon- Spear: short thrust
• Endurance: pushing through the pain
• Magic Item: how the Wand of Illumination works

Awards & Retribution
+Wand of Illumination

Notes
Nicely done. Jehu's weird obsession with Kam and the inkling that it might be a bit more supernatural than just a crush was very intriguing. Both your characters have a great chemistry that was a lot of fun to read, and I hope to see more! Enjoy the loot. If you feel like I missed anything give me a shout.

Lastly, same as Kam, ledger please!