A Totally Reputable Salvage Run [Private]

[AnimeEyeshime]

"Aeleon commanded the Legions, or what was left of them. Rose Eurus--was killed, or thought to have been, quite early on. Rose Zephyr perished alongside her Empress...Sovreen, Reeni. Therefore, only Eurus and Zephyr would be reborn," Elti said slowly, as if she were recalling from something--her own memory or somehow that of one of the other Ti'ama's...it wasn't quite clear. "A law had been passed. The daughter that was to rule was strictly forbidden from Contracting--an effort to keep the Empire subjugated. Eurus and Zephyr broke Serenity's Law. There is a very long telling to their tale." She shrugged. "It is not surprising that Olwynn might choose to recall one, or both of them. Likely both; in a case such as theirs, you are more likely to recall both souls, or neither."

Eli, having pored over some of the accounts of the time in an effort to locate Eurus, had no doubt the full tale was quite involved indeed. "Eurus wasn't part of Reeni's Praetorate though..."

"She died before she could be," Elti said frankly. "No doubt that is why you had difficulty in locating her name." She gestured to the hall. "And part of why there is no place for her here."

[Lord of the Deep]

Sorcha listened somewhat interested in the discussion, she didn't really know much about the empire so alot of it didn't mean much to her. Rather more curious in the room they had just opened Sorcha ducked her head inside and took a look around.

[elfgurl1234]

Contractor dealings always seemed to be rather convoluted. Then again, if this was all just a big 'game' to the Ti'ama who played them, it was no wonder that things become so messed up all of the time. Especially if the rest of them were anything like Shimy... Ugh. "Sounds like it was a fun time," the cheetah Hyte remarked wryly. Though he did feel a touch bad for others who had gotten themselves into the 'game' without Ti'ama who were quite as nice as Eltimion. Had they known the full extent of what they were agreeing to? If they did, well, then perhaps he didn't feel quite as sorry for them.

[AnimeEyeshime]

[They knew. The choice is not valid unless it is informed. My species has that much honor, at least,] Elti told Seth mentally, answering his unasked questions. She glanced to Sorcha, and gestured ahead. "Let us continue, then."

Dacj squished after the others towards the newly opened door, but Eli hung back, glancing over the objects contained within. The comb in particular recalled a faint, foggy sort of familiarity--he'd seen this patterning of flowers on it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where for the life of him. He reached forth with his magesense delicately, but none of these objects were magical in and of themselves. He reached forward for the comb, and quickly tucked it away, almost before he could change his mind, and hurried after the others.

The door led into a rough stone passageway, continuing to head downwards at a slow incline, almost primitive in comparison to the museum-like hallway they left behind. It was scarcely wide enough for one person to pass through at a time, and the going was somewhat slow as everyone squeezed through. After a time, the passage opened onto an enormous cavern. The size of the open space dwarfed what it held; beside huge stalactites and stalagmites littered around the outside of an inner circle, which led an orderly path, lined by carved columns that held up nothing, elevated above pools of water that appeared to be lightly steaming. Further on, at the end of the path, lay a small Greecian style temple, with several levels of steps, visibility disappearing past the colonnade into darkness. The path to the temple, however, was lit by the freestanding columns, which glowed with faint magical energy just as the lights in the 'museum' hall had.

"Hot springs, yes," the kraken said, in a determined sort of hiss. Forget fixing plumbing--hot springs!

[Lord of the Deep]

Sorcha admired the large cavern as they entered, not quite as impressive as some of the buildings she'd seen, the ziggurats of Magway where grander with their massive scale but at least this way they didn't have to hike up thousands of steps, And Sorcha could totally appreciate buildings that where convenient to enter and plunder. Sorcha grinned at Dacj's hiss some one evidently had certain things on her mind, not that she blamed Dacj in the least they where all filthy "I knew the public palace baths were hot springs didn't know they where down here as well~"

[AnimeEyeshime]

"Yeah, so, you all can go loot things, I'm going to go soak--" Dacj said, actually rubbing her hands together in what appeared to be a visible plotting gesture.

"Hey now, that's hardly fair," Eli protested. "Besides, if they're next to a shrine, they're probably intended for ritual purification--"

"And I say my body could use some purifying," Dacj said, pragmatic.

Elti chuckled. "They are not magic. It should be safe enough." At a dark look from Eli, she hastily amended, "But such things could wait until after looking through the shrine...?"

[Lord of the Deep]

Sorcha chuckled a bit at Dacj's 'plotting' "Dacj we're all going to soak, though no one goes off alone, a dead planet like this is a prime horror movie setting and going off on our own is just asking for it, especially bathing that hits multiple trigger points." Sorcha though out her statement appeared to be completely serious about using horror movie cliches to set safety rules as though it didn't even occur to her to think that using them was odd.

[elfgurl1234]

Navigating the narrow hallway hadn't been especially fun, but the sight of the cavern at the end of it was rather impressive. He listened with faint amusement to Dacj's exclamation of 'hot springs", as well as to ensuing back and forth amongst the group. Despite the fact taht Sorcha was basing her premise off horror movies, he did rather agree that it was probably unwise to wander off too far on her own. "Staying dusty a few minutes longer won't really make that much of a difference, right?" he said with a small smile. "And if we wait until after the work is done we'll be sure to stay clean longer." Besides, this was her and Sorcha's venture that they were being dragged along on, so she really shouldn't be objecting to the matter.

[AnimeEyeshime]

Dacj sighed gustily, assuming a mournful expression as she slunk down the lit path looking the very picture of disappointed as she muttered darkly under her breath. Eli rolled his eyes--really, she was worse than Missy sometimes, and that was saying something.

The shrine inside followed the pattern of a Greecian temple still, with a large open room and somewhere far back a set of double doors. "That's where they'd keep the cult image for Olwynn, so it'll all be back there," Eli said, more interested in the friezes placed on the walls than really looting the treasury.

[Lord of the Deep]

Sorcha gave Dacj a hug and said to her smiling "Oh just wait a little bit longer and we can have all sorts of fun playing in the water~" she said with cheerful lasciviousness.
Sorcha examined the temple as she move forward to open the doors, it was very interesting but she rather echoed Dacj's desire to get to the baths herself, she could review the video footage of the temple latter with all four of their views.

[elfgurl1234]

Seth smirked ever so slightly at Sorcha's remark, but shook his head and said nothing as they continued on. The place truly was quite a sight. He wondered vaguely to himself if all of the planets in the old Empire had underground magically lit shrines such as this.

[AnimeEyeshime]

Dacj looked surprised at the hug, and her eyes widened at the teasing. She hadn't even thought about it like that--wait, Sorcha hadn't seen her undressed...and with her earlier insistence on not leaving people on their own, she was definitely going to ensure they bathed together... She replied by laughing nervously, hanging back as Sorcha went to open the doors.

There was indeed a "cult image" within, a marble ouroborus frieze dominating the back wall of the shrine. There were various levels of stone shelving to each side from a central aisle, and these displays held the true treasury: votive images, offerings, all of them fashioned with precious metals or studded with gems. "Jackpot," the kraken murmured, unable to resist.

"Huge magic readings in here," Eli said, scanning the room carefully. "Probably not everything's magic, but it'll take awhile to sort out properly."

[Lord of the Deep]

The sight of glittering treasures brought Sorcha's attention of the thought of bathes and back fully to the temple. Sorcha looked around at the shinnies delightedly being careful not to touch them in her investigation, she wouldn't put it past a Ti'ama to have a magical form of ritual sacrifice in their temples touch some innocent looking jar and Whoomp your eaten in a single bite.

[elfgurl1234]

Seth examined the items in the room from a safe distance, admiring the treasures stored within. He didn't think anything would necessarily 'eat' you if you touched it, but he likewise didn't want to find out first hand what sort of spells some of these items had on them. "A while sounds like an understatement," the cheetah Hyte remarked, still looking over the treasures. "I don't imagine they'd have made it very easy to take anything from here."

[AnimeEyeshime]

"It depends," Eli replied, with a shrug. "To get down here, you'd have had to get through all of Olwynn's Contractors, likely a few Blossoms, and an Amaranth or two. The actual treasury might well be unguarded. They might've trusted to Olwynn to protect this place."

"And now Olwynn's most of the galaxy away, chilling on rural Phanes in a nice shiny trinket," Dacj finished with a wry grin. "Sucks for Olwynn!"

Eli looked somewhat pained at her nonchalant dismissal, but he didn't seem to be able to muster up a defense for a Ti'ama he'd never met, and, in all likelihood, had probably been something of a jerk, comparative to his own.

"Olwynn isn't too bad. Bit pompous. Very old fashioned," Eltimion said absently as she too peeked at the various treasures. "It's the fact she's Nevreso's first Contract that's the issue. I do hope there's a way to keep her from being entirely consumed."