A little treasure huntin' (open)

[Cassandra Barlot]

((anyone jump in))

Early morning, just when the sun hit the Purwater Pond in Unda just right so that you could see what it was you were doing.
Like digging around at the bottom of the pond for coins and other such goodies like a one Cassandra Barlot was doing.

She'd come out just before the sun rose, setting out a small blanket at the edge of the pond to hold all of her belongings and whatever precious things she could find - there had to be something at the bottom of the pond.

At least, there was last time. A marble vase, very nice.

As the sun rose higher, she removed her boots and bandanna, letting her hair hang a little in her face. She rolled up the legs of her pants to almost her knees, and removed her prized coat. Honestly, she would have rathered to keep her coat on her but it was heavy enough as it was without drinking in a ton of water.
So off it went, leaving her with her white button-up blouse which was still missing two buttons up top.

She rolled up her sleeves and slowly stepped out into the water. Wading deeper and deeper, she kept a close eye on anything that shined and shimmered in the waters beneath. At the same time, her shepherd dog, Sunny, spotted something inside a grouping of trees.

At the same time Sunny sprinted into the trees to find whatever he'd spotted, Cassandra also caught a glance of something shining by her toes. She glanced around quickly to make sure no one else was nearby before she dove into the clear waters, returning only shortly after with a loud and glorious splash and hands holding a small, golden pot.

She was soaking wet, and thinking she was rich now. She grinned, this was turning out to be a good morning indeed!

[Ingway Desmodius]

((That right, were doing this! XD))
Ingway noticed the dog scurring his way, as if it had spotted something of interest. Crap! It must have got a glimpse of me! Gotta hide quickly. Making a silent leap, Ingway landed on one of the tree branches where he hoped he would be out of sight.

Ever since Ingway's encounter at the the Gletscher Range with Angelus and Cassandra, he thought it might be in his interest to stalk the pirate in an attempt to claim some of her belongings, after all what better place to find treasure than in the hands of another treasure hunter. Ingway had been careful thus far and had avoided being noticed, but he hoped the dog's approach was one of curiosity and not suspicion as his acute senses could very well give Ingway away.

[Cassandra Barlot]

((Kickass!!!))

As Cassandra made her way back to land to drop the pot off on the blanket, Sunny sniffed the ground, trying to find the source of the interesting scent he had picked up on. He came to a rather large tree, sniffing around on the ground yet and not finding what he was looking for.
Rather, he did find a nice sized stick. Immediately grabbing it, he ran back out to Cassandra and shook it in front of her.

To Sunny's dismay, Cassandra frowned at him. "Not now! Go play!" she shooed, grabbing the stick from the dog's mouth and tossing it to the side. He followed it, resting himself beside it and watching lazily as Cassandra then turned and waded back into the water for another dive.

"Ah, Sunny, we might be havin' ourselves a nice meal tonight!" she cheered happily before reaching deep into the pond, thinking she'd found a bunch of coins in the water.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Ingway was tired of stalking and thought it was about time to change tactics.

I need to get close now, so perhaps I'd best turn on the charm and see where I can get, after all, I know how lonely treasure hunting can be, and who doesn't want a human companionship. Hopefully I can get her to take me back to her treasure hold and maybe even get me a little "touch o' the lass" while I'm at it. But first I have to contemplate my approach, do I let her know i was the reason she escaped from the crazy guy in the ice ruins? No, to soon, I'll play aloof and start by budding up to her animal friend. Start small and work my way up.

With this, Ingway descended from the tree and made his way to the dog that had come his direction none to long ago, in an attempt to befriend it. Standing a little ways away, Ingway put his hand out as a friendly gesture and softly called the dog over in hope that it was one of those nice, personable dogs.

[Cassandra Barlot]

As a matter of fact, Sunny really was a friendly beast. He'd tilted his head to the side as Ingway stepped towards him, stuck his tongue out, and then curiosity made him get to his feet to scurry over to smell the man's hand. Upon deciding the man was not dangerous (which was his conclusion most times), he wagged his tail and licked at Ingway's palm.

Cassandra bobbed around in the water yet, collecting bits and pieces of metal that weren't coins sadly, but she at least hoped she could get something for them. Upon turning around to return to her blanket she paused, catching the sight of a young man trying to get up nice and close to her damn treasure!

Err...dog. Dog, she worried more about the dog.

"Oi!!" she called over as she waded carefully back to the water's edge, "just what the hell ye be doin' with me mutt? He's busy doin' dog things."

Whatever "dog things" were.

[Ingway Desmodius]

"Oh, I'm sorry, does this dog belong to you? I was just taking a walk and spotted him playing around and though he may have stayed from some nearby village."

Ingway couldn't help but notice the woman knee deep in water and junk. It was obvious she was trying to find something, but I didn't look like she was having much luck.

I've got to play this carefully. Most treasure hunters are pretty paranoid about people taking their stuff at a moments notice. I'll have to play ignorant for one thing, and be very careful with what I say and do. Time to go to work.

With a curious gaze, Ingway examined the scene in front of him and tried to think of an entrance line, something that would allow him to move closer without suspicion.

"Are you checking for cultural artifacts? I'm an Archeologist and could assist you in bringing up any items or relics you'd find. And don't worry, I follow the code of Archeology strictly. Anything you find is your to do with what you please."

It was non-threatening, made him seem clueless as to what she was actually doing and gave him a reason to close the distance, that is of course only if she accepted his offer.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners. I am Douglas Nightingale, pleasure to meet you, Miss..."

[Cassandra Barlot]

"Barlot," Cassandra replied sharply as she dropped her metal bits on her blanket, "Cassandra Barlot. Mr. Nightingale, ye seem like a fair enough fellow, 'specially if Sunny's friending ye, and if ye be knowin' about all the piles o' junk I be bringin' up the help sir is greatly appreciated..."

And without any hesitation she whipped out the revolver she had tucked tightly in her soaked shirt and pointed it at him.

"...if ye leave all yer weapons on that there blanket first." She flashed him a charming grin. Of course he seemed like an alright guy and all, but you could never be too sure, right?

Hell, she wouldn't trust an eighty year-old woman who could barely walk if one showed up.

[Ingway Desmodius]

This one's quick to fire, so i've got to be really careful. Thankfully all I have visible is my knife. Guess I'll play along and see what I can get out of this set-up.

Removing his sheath with his knife in it from his side, Ingway held it high in the air where it's visible and made his way towards the blanket. Gently placing it on the blanket, he turns to Cassandra.

"That is all I have equipped. The only other things on me are my clothes, and I'm sure I'm allowed to keep them on, yes?" He said with a light chuckle.

Ingway thought a little humor would help to lighten the mood and make this whole thing a bit easier for the both of them. After all, people tend to take the whole robbing thing a little less personally if you forge even a weak relationship with them.

"So, Miss Barlot, what exactly are we searching for?"

[Cassandra Barlot]

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at Ingway.

"Aye, please do," the funny thing was that she tried to sound disgusted, but somehow curiosity made her eyes wander about his body, taking in his shape.

She then quickly shook her head and averted her attention back to the pond, slowly slipping the revolver away. She put her hands on her hips as she responded with, "Mr. Nightingale, we be lookin' fer whatever this pond holds and is willin' to be givin' me fer treasure. So far I've found nothin' but a small pot and bits o' useless metals." She pointed at said objects on the blanket.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Thought she sounded moderitly put off by Ingway's comment, her eyes told a different story.

She says, "no no," but her eyes say, "yes yes."

Her lingering glance had now given Ingway a metaphorical "foot in the door". Now it was just a matter of playing his cards right till he could get all the way in.

"If you are seeking something, Miss Barlot, then you do not hope that where you are will offer it up," Ignway stated as he made his way closer to the pond.

"What you do is simply look, and in due time, you shall claim what it is you seek."

Placing his arm deep into the water, Ingway summoned up a small bag of gold and pulled it up showing it to Cassandra. He hoped that presenting himself as rather astute in finding things would allow him to squeeze every so slightly more into the "doorway."

"I believe this belongs to you, as per our agreement," he said with a charming grin and his arm outstretched with the bag in tow.

[Cassandra Barlot]

Cassandra was almost a second before rolling her eyes at Ingway and what he had to say when she saw that he brought up the small bag of gold. Her eyes widened noticeably at the bag and she was silent for a long moment as she looked from the bag in Ingway's hand to his face and that flashy grin of his.

It most definitely did not take a genius to know that she was very impressed. Slowly a small, cute smile spread across her own lips as she reached out with a more trusting hand to take the bag and she asked, "So...what else can ye do?"

The man was turning out to be quite a bit more helpful than she thought he would be.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Slowly, ever so slowly, his plan was starting to work. Ingway figured it was time to make a gamble and see what something a little more direct would do.

"Why Miss Barlot, the easier question to answer is, "What can't I do," he said with his charming grin becoming coy and a playful wink.

This would be the determining move in his ploy. If she showed any signs, any hints that she was even remotely interested by his comment, then he was in, otherwise he would just look like some smarmy weirdo, but such was the name of the game and the risk/reward system that followed.

[Cassandra Barlot]

Cassandra couldn't help but let out an amused laugh. She really had to hand it to him, he was a real charmer, this guy.

"So," she shook her head again, letting herself get distracted again, "I uh...gotta be findin' the rest o' me treasure here before the families an' religious folks come down here and start growlin' 'cause I be 'taintin' their waters'..."

[Ingway Desmodius]

Looking up at the bright cerulean sky, Ingway was able to discern from the suns position that the religious folks would be making their way towards to pond soon and saw this as an opportunity to further his plan.

"Well, Miss Barlot, from where the sun hangs, we don't have all that much time, might I suggest we depart from here for now and return later? Surely those religious types would not delve deep into their holy pond in search of treasure? No, i suspect that they would rather search for enlightenment in these water. Regardless of that fact, do you have some place near by that we could vanish to until the church-goers have departed from this place?"

[Cassandra Barlot]

"I like the way ye think, Mr. Nightingale - hopefully even the religious folk be carelessly droppin' their belongings in thinkin' it as one-a-them 'offerings' or something of the sort," she laughed thinking of all of the great treasures she'd find later in the day.

Oh, but of course that meant where were they to go at the moment. She waded out of the water and rolled her pants back down, grabbing her coat and throwing her boots back on as she thought of a place. She finally shrugged as she looked at Ingway and answered, "...aye, this be a bit embarrassin', but I only have been stayin' in a small inn at the moment. I'm short of a ship--crashed it in a great sea battle, I did."

And that was an out-right lie, that damn Vincent Loque stole it. But dammit she wasn't going to let anyone know that.