Searching for treasure. (CLOSED)

[vincent]

"Alright, just uh...don't be followin' behind me too close there, alright, lad?" Vincent said as he started toward the cave that waited only steps away, and he kept glancing back every now and then to check up on what Ingway was doing.

Well, Vincent at least assured himself that if he tried anything, he could fight him. You weren't part of the army for nearly twenty years for nothing, anyway.

As they stepped up to the dark cave, which seemed to appear pitch black not even three steps into it, Vincent looked back again at Ingway and shrugged.

"I believe this be the uh...place you're looking for. But yer not really getting too far into it without a light, ye know..."

[Ingway Desmodius]

Ingway wondered up to the cave's entrance and gave it a quick examination. This would not help him determine if this was indeed the ruins that he was looking for, but it was always good practice and a mild force of habit for him to check these things out before he entered. A grin crept across Ingway face as his back remained turned to Vincent. Turning around with the same sly grin, he looked at Vincent and said, "Well, this is as far as your going partner. Thanks for the assist, but its a damn shame that ye got swindled into this by me, after all, there no trust amongst thieves. Oh, and by the way, the pirate look doesn't suit you, "Captain."" With this, Ingway shot into the pitch-black cave, leaving Vincent alone, and notably, without his promised pouch of gold.

[vincent]

There were no words for what had just happened.

Actually, yes, there were. And Vincent spoke them quite well.

"Yeah, I guess the pirate thing was a little--HEY, JUST YOU WAIT A MINUTE!"

With that, Vincent actually gave chase after Ingway into the dark cave. This chase, however, was shortly lived as Vincent stepped onto a part of the floor right away that appeared to be...hollow? The ground beneath him immediately gave way and the blond-haired man was quickly lost from the scene as he fell through the floor and into a rapid river that flowed beneath the caves.

If he had time to think at the moment, he would probably have been thinking, "Oh crap" at this point.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Ingway could hear the man give chase, but he was quickly removed by the hallowed floor not far from the entrance of the cave. His grin grew a bit. Ruins were child play to Ingway. After having spent the better part of his youth exploring them, traps and the various hazards that lay dormant within them are easily noticed, and thus avoided. Having lost his "partner," Ingway stopped to summon a torch with his glyphs and continued to delve deeper into the proposed ruins.

The cave was most definitely man made, the smooth curves and twisting pathways were all to perfect, to precise in their design to be natural. It seemed like a good start but he needed to be sure it was the right place. Looking around the corridor, he took notice of several traps, but he only needed to activate one for his suspicions to be tested. Approaching a pressure switch he pressed down on it and jumped back awaiting the swinging pendulum blade.

With seveal sharp clunks and a crisp grinding sound from beyond the ceiling, a carved stone column with a razor sharp blade came swinging hastily out of a hallowed spot in the wall several meters ahead, and slammed in the wall lodging itself in place. Approaching the now resting blade, Ingway took note of the metal work on it. After a minute or two of examination, it was clear as day. "Chalybs forged steel! This is the right place!"

Excitement now taking over, Ingway shot through the remainder of the ruins, dodging traps and beasts alike as he strived to reach the final chamber at the very depths of the man made cavern. If this was the right place and the rumors were true then Ingway had something very special waiting for him; a treasure of unprecedented value.

[Ingway Desmodius]

After having surreptitiously made his way through the trap laden ruins, he eventually came upon a large open room, devoid of anything but a large, sealed stone chest and a pile of stones and boulders that rested off in the corner. His heart was aflutter with delight. It had been ages since something this amazing had been within his grasp. Diamonds, gold and other items of monetary wealth were nice to have, but there was something that really got Ingway thriled when he heard about them... Weapons.

It was proposed that many, many decades ago, when the current Kings and Queens may very well have never been born, the Kingdoms of Roccia and Chalybs had formed a secret alliance in case their, at the time, current enemy, Alberisato, should act up. Combining their most skilled mages, alchemists and blacksmiths, it was said that they forged a weapon that could very well have led to Alberisato's destruction should they start causing trouble for either Kingdom. This weapon was the Gauntlets of Gilgamesh, a weapon that was said to be able to convert bio-organic matter into metal that could be shaped and molded to the will of the gauntlets possessor.

Noticing that the top of the chest was far to heavy for him to move by himself, Ingway concentrated on the stone cap, creating a large glyph allowing him to absorbed it. Looking inside the stone casing, he could see a pair of perfectly preserved steel gauntlets. His eyes widened with delight as he reached to pick them up. Gripping them tightly in his hand, he quivered with excitement, and loosing himself in the moment, let out several cheer and hollers of joy.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Upon silencing his boisterous cheers, Ingway could hear a quite noise coming from behind him that got progressively louder and louder with each passing second. Turning around, he could see the pile of stones and rocks the once layed dormant in the corner of the room had now sprung to life. The stones shifted and climbed each other eventually forming a vaguely humanoid shape.

In his moment of joy, Ingway had forgot to maintain his stealth, allowing the stone golem to take note of his presence. Standing around eleven feet tall, the creature had made a specific effort to place itself in front of the door way leading out, preventing Ingway from exiting without substantial skill.

There was no way he could beat the creature, not by himself anyway. It was up to his cunning tactics and speed to get him out of this situation. De-materializing his newly acquired gauntlets, he now dashed forward in hopes his speed would allow him to pass by the bulky creature before it noticed his movement. There was no such luck for Ingway as the golem seemed to feel his movements rather then see them, and simply swatted him away as he got close. The creature was not human and would thus not fall for many of Ingway tricks, and that gave him only one viable option, bringing the whole place down and escaping in the commotion. The ruins had served their purpose, but it was still a shame that he had to resort to such desperate measures and destroy such a fine piece of architecture.

Summoning up a bevy of explosives, Ingway started to throw them at key points within the room that gave it its structural integrity. The blasts echoed throughout the caverns as they tore massive holes in the walls, causing stone slabs that once decorated the walls to come crashing down. Ingway, looking at the golem, could see it move slightly away from the doorway in curiosity due to the resounding vibrations caused by the falling debris. Taking the opportunity for all it was worth, he once again dashed at the golem, this time taking to the air midway and dodging past it allowing him to dart up the now collapsing ruin corridors.

Escaping with but seconds to spare as the entrance crumbled, sealing the cavern off for good, he had once again been able to come out of a deadly situation with the prized catch that he sought. Taking a moment to catch his breath and bathe in his triumph, his interest once again turned to his newly acquired treasure.

Thinking a test run of the gauntlets power was in order, Ingway found a small patch of plant life and placed the gauntlets on them. The Alchemical symbol glowed a blue-ish hue before sputter and dying out. Confused, Ingway examined the gauntlets closer only to notice that the symbol had faded slightly in places over time, rendering it powers useless.

Slightly disheartened by his new discovery, Ingway set of to find a capable alchemist in hopes they could return the gauntlets to their former glory.