A little treasure huntin' (open)

[Ingway Desmodius]

A treasure hunter who would abandon their ship, simply because it was damaged? Ingway was sure she was lying, but for what reason? The only plausible reasons were that she had items of great value on board that she needed to keep secret, another being that she simply didn't trust him enough to let him know the whereabout of her vessel, which made sense, and that maybe, just maybe, she didn't have a ship at all, but that was doubtful. Regardless thought, Ingway saw no point in bringing it up, as it could very well hurt his plan in the long run.

"That is no problem, Miss Barlot. I suggest we venture to the inn and wait to a later time to return and claim what these pleasant waters offer up to us. If you are in agreement, then please lead the way."

[Cassandra Barlot]

"Of course I be in agreement with ye - we be makin' money here! An' lots of it!" Cassandra responded loudly, with a grin that only a spoiled-rotten child would have on their birthday. With that, she gathered the last of her belongings and snapped her fingers - Sunny followed obediently as Cassandra quickly led the way through the trees and back out to the main road that lead to the small town located not only fifteen minutes away.

The short walk took them to a small but homey inn on the outskirts of the town. Cassandra threw the blanket down on the floor by the door where Sunny immediately claimed it for his own, curling up on it. She smiled at him and gave him a pat on the head.

"He knows the drill alright - no dogs allowed in the inn," she scratched behind his ears and then beckoned Ingway to follow her into the building and into the small room she was staying in. Of course, the place was empty besides a small table with a small box sitting on it, a chair and a bed. Cassandra took off her coat and threw it over the chair and turned back towards Ingway.

"Ah, like I be sayin', 'tis a little embarrassin' that I have no ship at the moment. In the process of gettin' me a new one - a better one at that. Fer now, this is what I have. I uh....guess ye can go makin' yerself at home? Not really my home, so I could care less what ye do with it," she laughed as she kicked her boots off into the corner.

[Ingway Desmodius]

The emptiness of the room just confirmed Ingway's suspicion that she had probably moved her ships treasure to some safe storage location other then here, and that was rather unfortunate. All that caught Ingway's attention was the small box that laid on the table; aside from that, the room was a minimalists dream room.

"So, Miss Barlot, we can't very well just sit and twiddle out thumbs waiting for our time of departure, what shall we do to pass the time?"

Ingway was still trying to work his charm on Cassandra, but this comment was free of any tone insinuating the act of "questionable activities". All Ingway really wanted at the moment was to not be bored, and anything entertaining would make do at the moment.

[Cassandra Barlot]

"Aye, that we can't," Cassandra played with a strand of her hair from behind her ear as she looked around the room, "and sadly, I'm not havin' a lot of anythin' we could get ourselves up to."

She shrugged. With the lack of crew and ship, it'd been awhile since she'd really been plundering on the seas. In fact, a lot of the stuff she did have had been sold to pay for things like the small room she and Ingway were standing in right at the moment.

The box on the table was still there, though. She smiled at it, though gave Ingway a bit of a raised eyebrow as she thought about whether or not she'd show him what it was that sat inside that box. He really couldn't have tried to steal anything, she had a gun and if he was out for something, he would have probably tried to make off with it already.

And been shot. Because Cassandra was that cool, dammit.

"I s'pose I could show ye a few o' the small trinkets I picked up in a few towns off on some islands in the sea," she said as she grabbed the box from the table, sitting on the bed and opened it. As she did, she gave Ingway a hard look and added, "but, ye know, they're not worth a whole ton or anythin'. I just picked 'em up 'cause they were shiny."

Just making sure. And then she started pulling out golden cups and very large and elaborate pieces of jewellery from the box.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Now something was starting to eat away at Ingway. What she held in front of him was in fact treasure, valuable treasure, regardless of what she said, and the very fact that she had this with her made him confused.

Now this just doesn't make sense. This kind of treasure should be stashed away with the rest of her collection, not sitting unprotected in some inn room, guarded only by a small lock. Now I've got to get to the bottom of this, but to do so, i've gotta stay with her until she has reason to return to her treasure stash. I've got to get her back to that pond in hopes that we find something that she wants to stash away.

Looking out the window to measure the time of day by the suns position, he figured if they left now they would arrive a bit earlier than planned, but Ingway was beginning to become impatient and wanted to move things along as fast as possible. Getting up off the floor, Ingway began to make his way to the door.

"Come, Miss Barlot, I suggest we leave now. The sun signals the meetings end, and it would be wise to arrive as soon as possible, lest other seekers of wealth wander upon the ponds generous embrace."

[Cassandra Barlot]

Cassandra blinked at Ingway as he got to his feet and headed towards the door. Geez, the guy really didn't like sitting around, did he? Cassandra loved lazing about, staring at her shiny trinkets all day.

Meh, maybe he was just jealous he wasn't cool enough to find any of his own. However she shrugged, closing up the box and locking it, and then headed out with Ingway back towards the pond.

"D'ye think it'd be grand te find a golden plate at all? Aye, I know I'd be wantin' te show off how fancy I eat if I could get one-a-them, ha ha," Cassandra blathered on only too much as she, Ingway, and Sunny made their way down the path. At some point Cassandra's random chattering stopped, especially as they neared the pond itself. Her walk slowed almost to a stop itself and she raised an eyebrow.

"Yarr....Mr. Nightingale, methinks I be hearin' something from up ahead there - ye think someone's still at the pond, yet?" as she spoke, she neared a bush off the side of the road, ready to dive in just in case.

[Ingway Desmodius]

Ingway put his hand outwards to his side, and his index finger to his lips, a silent request to stop movement and speech. Placing his palm out, facing Cassandra, Ingway hoped the rambunctious pirate would halt long enough for him to scope out the area.

Darting into the thick brush to the side of the path, Ingway took to the trees to gain a better vantage point of the pond and it's surroundings. The clearing was not bustling with the religious followers, which was a good sign, but present were a priest and what looked to be his assistant. They stood close to one another, whispering secrets that were not meant to be heard by the common ear, but thankfully, Ingway's ears were not common, specifically in his ability to eavesdrop.

"Sir, we have just received word that the relic has arrived, and we would do well to make haste, lest the mercenaries that brought it demand more from the churches pocket," the young assistant whispered in a meek-toned voice.

"Let those barbaric miscreants pan-handle for their precious coin, it is of little difference to us now. With this relic in our possession, we shall be known throughout the lands as the true followers of the Gods, and as such shall be rewarded for our faith, and for delivering the masses into the hands of our saviors. Come Marx, there is work to be done at the Ocean Cathedral.

Bingo! If there was ever a thing that someone would want to store in their safe-house, a holy relic of unparalleled value would be a textbook example.

Returning after having disappearing for but a few minutes, Ingway finds Cassandra and Sunny still waiting on the path close to the brush off to the side.

"Well, Miss Barlot, it appears we have a much bigger fish to catch outside of this pond. The followers of the Ocean Cathedral have come into possession of, what appears to be, a rare relic or artifact, and quite frankly, i would like to gaze upon this item and see what about it is so special; after that i have no interest in what happens to it. On that note, I suspect a reputable pirate like yourself would desire such a glamourous treasure and would like to add it to your collection, no? If so, than follow me, otherwise this is where we part ways."

With that said, Ingway faced down the pathway beyond the pond and began to follow the trail of the Priest and his assistant, his mind racing with what this item could possibly offer up about the Gods.

[Cassandra Barlot]

Cassandra watched as Ingway disappeared in through the brush. Sunny whimpered slightly and she ran her hand softly down the back of his head a few times as they waited for the man to return, and as he did he shared with her the information he had learned.

Now, she raised her eyebrow as she watched Ingway make his way back down the road - she hadn't heard any of the quieted conversation by the pond herself, so how could she know to trust him? Then again, she'd put enough trust in him up until now and he hadn't tried anything funny yet.

This could be it, though. He was lying, he had to be.

....But there was still the prospect of treasure...which could be rumoured. But it could be true...and if it was, she wasn't going to get it if she didn't go!


Well, this was a no-brainer. Cassandra looked down into the eager face of her furry friend and then motioned him to follow her as she took a quick but silent run after Ingway.

"A bigger treasure, ye say? Wonder what it could be..."