Plotlogs
Cursed Treasure Island Sr Samantha
On Antilles Island, a group of adventurous treasure hunters faced perilous challenges as they searched for a fabled treasure. Led by Samantha and armed with unique items including a flamethrower carried by the fearlessly styled Harriet, the team navigated treacherous terrain, relying on each other's strengths and tools to survive. From mapping safe paths across a mysterious chamber marked with deadly symbols to braving a corridor haunted by spectral arms, the crew displayed resourcefulness and nerve. Sienna, well-equipped with an industrial UV light, played a crucial role in revealing hidden dangers and guiding the team, while Casey, armed with a first aid kit, had the harrowing experience of tending to Samantha's crushed ankle. Avi, protected by his incense, ensured malevolent spirits stayed at bay.
After facing sobbing ghostly horrors guarding the chest and enduring jabs and jests at their expense, the team reached their goal—a chest—only to find it unguarded. Once in their possession, they retraced their steps, grappling with the same perils, including the re-emergence of the aggressive ghostly arms they encountered before.
But just when they thought the danger had passed, they were targeted by an ominous ghost ship offshore, bombarding the beach with ethereal cannonballs as they sprinted towards safety. Panic ensued, as Samantha hastily conjured an escape path, urging the group to flee the haunted island. Despite their trials and the banter, including a tiff between Samantha and Avi, the team escaped with the treasure, leaving the cursed island and its vengeful spectral pirates behind.
(Cursed Treasure Island(SRSamantha):SRSamantha)
[Sat Jan 13 2024]
At Antilles Island
Antilles Island shelters a thick emerald rainforest that gives way to a jagged, mountainous terrain at its heart. Unspoiled beaches with pristine white sand encircle the lush foliage, initiated by the rise of coral reefs reaching out from the sea into the shallows. The island's climate varies from sunny and hot in the broad daylight to cool and breezy after sundown; tropical rains are frequent yet fleeting.
Though the island is uninhabited by people, it teems with wildlife. Myriad species of birds and small mammals are seen amidst the trees. Wresting between danger and beauty, unusual, venomous snakes and spiders are known to inhabit the island, as are rare, exotic plant species.
It is afternoon, about 27F(-2C) degrees,
As the crew gather down near Saltewater Boulevard they gather together to begin the process of pathing. A few minutes later they pop out of the forest path on the beach of Antilles Island, the waves lightly lapping behind the, golden sands stretching out either side in all directs and the dark rainforest ahead. Next to the group is a set of crates with gear for the trip, rations, water bottles, flares, insect spray and other basic neccessities as well as the special item they'd each requested.
Samantha stretches as they step out of the traveling tunnel and wanders over to the crates, opening one up and pocketing a few protein bars and other supplies before pulling out a handheld camcorder. "Ok, you guys all ready to be famous ghost hunting treasure seeking people?"
Harriet's ensemble seems to be inspired by the iconic Lara Croft, and paired with a bigass flamethrower that she's carrying in more than just a statement piece -- but she does look ready for action, and most definitely like a fire-loving demonborn. And unconventional. She's even got drop leg holsters on, in a rather striking addition. "I am quite ready," she assures Samantha.
"And I think I'm ready as well," Casey says. She had her pistol, athame, of course - and brought the first aid kit, the red cross noted on her hip belt that the kit dangled off of. "We'll get you some good content, too," Casey says to Samantha, grinning.
Sienna takes a moment to enjoy the stunning views of the waves lapping lightly at the golden sands in the distance. "I need to start packing a camera on these trips," she muses under her breath, then moves to catalogue the supplies in the crates before beginning to pull out rations, water bottles, flares and plenty of insect spray. Her flashlight is strapped to her hip, tossing a spare can of bug spray over to Harriet. "You'll need this, Miss Croft. Better coat yourself now before you become a buffet for exotic bugs and come back with some weird disease."
As the gang unpack their supplies their notable gear is:
Samantha: Camera
Harriet: Flamethrower
Casey: First Aid Kit
Sienna: Industrial UV Light
Avi: Incense
"But if she gets a weird disease I can nurse her back to health on a bed with gauzy white curtains." Samantha points out but then takes a can of the insect repellent herself, quickly sprintzing herself down. "You look really hot though." She tells the Tomb-raider-esque Harry. "We'll have to like, save that outfit for later roleplay use."
The offered can of bug spray is caught by Harriet as Sienna tosses it her way. "Thank you." A few quick shakes and the removal of its top -- oo la la -- and the brunette is pressing the pad of a forefinger to set the nozzle off, giving her skin a sheen of repellant. As Samantha comments on her appearance, hazel eyes focus upon her and then she provides her girlfriend with a wink. "Captain, my captain, who lured me into this group by very professional means and not at all through the art of seduction, you look very hot yourself."
"Well, if this keeps up - I might have to break out the smelling salts from this nifty first aid kit," Casey remarks, her tone of voice chipper as she pats that red cross on the belt-hanging kit. "If we end up trapped under the ocean, it was great knowing you all, by the way," Casey remarks.
Looking through the crates, Avi makes sure his water bottle is full, there's a flare and a backup flare hanging from his bag, and his incense, specifically arranged for this trip, is cool and dry in the special waterproof bag it's stored in. "Ghosts are wretched, but I'm ready for the treasure part of things," Avi figures, heading over toward the others and holding his hand out for the bug spray. "I've got next," he calls dibs on it.
"You might be right there," Sienna laughs toward Samantha as she takes a second canister of bug spray, uncapping it quickly before blasting herself down. It's brought over toward Avi next, offering it out to him with a quick smile. "So long as there's no Indiana Style traps because you decided to open some pretty gaudy treasure chest, I'm cool with all the booty in the world," she chirps, smiling over toward Casey now. "Need some?"
Samantha clears her throat. "I don't know whatever you're refering to." She informs Harriet, nodding as the others get situated. "Alright, best get going, I feel like it's probably bad to be here at midnight." She decides, taking a few steps up the beach to wait for the others.
Casey gives Sienna a bit of a grin. "Booty, or bug spray?" Casey asks, although the question was rhetorical, her hand lifting up as she makes 'toss me some' fingers towards Sienna, her eyes drawing down to the can of bug spray.
Making quick work of spraying himself down, Avi shrugs back into his jacket after tossing it back to Sienna. "What do you expect happens at midnight?" he asks Samantha as he falls in.
As the group make their way up off the beach and press into the rainforest the sounds of the waves disappear into the distance behind them, replaced by the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects. It's slow going through the forest, with heavy vines hanging in the way and no clear tracks. Taller individuals particularly struggle as vines have to either be hacked through or wiggled around.
As Sienna tosses a can Avi's way, Harriet tells him, "Maybe they won't like bug spray and decide to leave us alone, just like the mosquitoes." She looks to Casey. "May there not be any giant arachnids this time." A shudder strikes down her spine, and the tremors flow down and out from each limb -- not in a good way at all. Samantha receives a smirk over the verbal response given to the Lara Croft wanna-be, but she does look curiously to the blue haired babe over Casey's questioning of the midnight hour, following along through the rainforest.
Samantha leads the way up to the edge of the forest but then waits to actually go in last. "I gotta be in the rear so I can film everyone." She explains, "That meaning you all have to clear the path for me is just like, totally incidental to this plan." She further clarifies and shrugs at Avi, "I dunno, just seems like when bad haunted stuff would happen." She explains
Sienna tosses the bugspray over to Casey. "The island probably disappears or is consumed by the sea, taking all living souls with it down to a watery death," she speculates idly, treading along with the group into the rainforest with a cautiously appreciative glance of some of the flora they past. "Did anyone think to grab a machete?" she asks, irritably, after nearly tripping over a particularly thick vine snaking across the ground.
Sienna tosses the bugspray over to Casey. "The island probably disappears or is consumed by the sea, taking all living souls with it down to a watery death," she speculates idly, treading along with the group into the rainforest with a cautiously appreciative glance of some of the flora they past. "Did anyone think to grab a machete?" she asks, irritably, after nearly tripping over a particularly thick vine snaking across the ground.
"Let's not even put that energy out there, please, Harry." Casey says. "Spiders can't breathe underwater anyways. Right? Right" Casey says. Casey was electing to follow along after the others clear the trail, using the bug spray as she goes. "Harry's got it, at least," Casey says, noting Sienna's trip over the vine, and she more delicately steps around it. "What if one of these vines is a big snake or something?"
"Did you forget to?" Avi asks Sienna doubtfully, hacking through a vine in the way. "Did you think the forest was going to bow and part ways for your royal highness?" he asks, the words clearly sarcastic, though not particularly mean-spirited. "I really prefer nature from more of a distance," he laments mildly, ducking under a branch.
After trekking through the forest for about fifteen minutes the group finally come to the spot on the map they're looking for, and after a little looking around find the entrance to a cave system with heavy vines hanging in front of it, pushing inside into the darkness beyond.
Listening to the possible outcomes for this island's fate at midnight, Harriet raises both of her naturally arched eyebrows, but she doesn't add any commentary. That is, not until Casey speaks of the bad juju not wanted... and that, unfortunately, only seems to fuel Harriet's passion for it. Mischievous demonborn that she is, the brunette expresses, "Case, imagine if you will, imagine we are in a world where colossal spiders lurk in the shadows." Hazel eyes are gleaming with excitement. "These aren't ordinary spiders-- no, no, they're masters of stealth, waiting patiently in dark corners or under the veil of night, especially midnight. Cannot you envision them silently descending from above or creeping out from behind the vegetation?" Then she tries to scare the woman by reaching over and letting slim fingers crawl across Casey's right shoulder blade. Once the group gets to the caves, she shifts her attention to that, rather than trying to freak out her housemate even further.
"That's what you're here for. To be my savior and hack away all the vines and stuff," Sienna declares to Avi almost immediately, positioning herself slightly behind him to take advantage of the cleared path his hacking creates. "And why would you say that, Casey? What happened to not putting that energy out there?" she teases Casey with a quiet, short laugh. It dies down when they reach the entrance of a cave system, quick to unfasten her flashlight from her hip and switch it on, venturing forward a few steps to try and shine a light into the darkness beyond the curtain of heavy vines.
Samantha is breathing heavily by the time they get to the caves, her camera bobbing and weaving around as she gets footage of the group clambering through the vegetation, focusing in on Harriet's speculations and her creeping hand. "That'll probably sound nicely forboding if I put spooky enough music under it." She claims, "Are big snakes worse than big spiders?" She wonders of Casey.
"*Stop*," Casey says to Harriet with more vehemence than she might otherwise say, batting away the woman's hand after the tickle causes her to shudder. "Good point, good point, Sienna. Good vibes only from this point on," Casey says, likewise a bit out of breath as she snaps her headlight on, flashing it around the walls of the cave. "It's all bad!" Casey finally says to Samantha. "Let's just focus on the treasure, right?"
"Oops," Avi says as he 'accidentally' allows a cut vine to swing back toward Sienna's face when she ever so conveniently positions herself behind him. "Are we there y- oh," Avi starts to complain just as they actually do arrive at the cave's entrance. "Who's going in first?" he asks, pushing at the vines experimentally. "Not it," he declines.
As the crew pick their way slowly down through the tunnels, the light of the entrance dwindles further and further away until it vanishes completely, only the light of their flashlights and flares contuining to provide illumination as they pick their way through the natural twists and turns before one of the tunnels opens up into a large chamber, something that looks decidedly man made with the tunnel continuing on on the other side.
Harriet gives the most innocent of facial expressions Casey's way, like she has no idea why she'd receive such an order. Her lips thin and press together tightly, and she really does her best to not smile over what she's just done -- for herself, really. A content little sigh does manage to escape her mouth, though. As the group enters into the caves, she moves quietly, armed with her ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire.
"Very spacious, but not particularly cozy," Avi observes in realtor mode when they approach the circular chamber. "I don't think this listing is going to sell," Avi condemns it on the spot.
"Well I can't go first, I got the camera." Samantha points out, hanging out near the back of the group and panning the camera over all of them as their pick their way down through the twisting tunnels. When they come to the big open chamber her eyebrows lift a little. "Well that looks cool, how far up does it go?" She wonders, taking a few steps forward to tilt the camera all around and scan the inside of the chamber.
*SNAP*One of the cobblestones under Samantha's foot immediately gives way and as her foot sinks down into the hole there comes a sickening crunch as something inside the hole smashes together crushing her ankle.
Sienna learns quickly after the first vine smacks her in the face, moving out from behind Avi with a venomous glare, trudging along through the cave system. The beam of her flashlight bounces off the dark cave walls, occasionally jerked left or right as something catches her attention. "Harriet, you shou--" Her words die upon her lips when a sudden snap of the cobblestones echoes through the cave. "Oh, shit."
"How about the person with the flamethrower goes fir..." Casey starts to say, but the snap behind her causes her to freeze. "What was..." Casey says, glancing back towards Samantha at that point. "Oh shit, Sam!" Casey says.
Harriet is more than happy to go first, agreeing with Avi's assessment of the space. She's got her weapon ready to engage any ghosts, and listening to what Sienna begins to say, but then the snapping sound has her head shooting to look over a shoulder. Her gaze finds Samantha and then she immediately ships her entire lithe form about. Carefully, she moves towards their camera woman, paying closer attention to where she's stepping. Casey's words are indeed exactly what she is thinking, too. "Sam..."
Samantha shrieks as her foot is crushed and falls backwards, scrambling back to pull her broken ankle out of the hole. "Bad... bad stones... bad...." She claims, clenching her eyes shut tight.
Fortunately Samantha stepped out in front of others for her camera to get a better view, so nobody else has yet stepped into the cavern. The stone where she stepped is now just gone, darkness all that seems below it.
"So as I was saying," Avi says as Samantha gets fairly seriously injured, "This space just has terrible energy." Avi approaches the space where Samantha's foot got caught, careful to remain behind where the invisible danger line appears to be. "Do we continue?" he asks the others, expression more serious now. "And if so, how? Someone mentioned booby-traps - whoever it was, slap your mouth now," he suggests. "You've talked up Hell Cave mode."
It takes Casey a moment to realize that Casey was the one with the first aid kit. Looking towards the ground for anything sus, Casey creeps over to where Samantha was, lowering herself down into a squat near her. "Sam, I uh..." Casey unfurls the kit. "Is there anything in here that can help with that?" Casey says. Painkillers. That seemed a good first step, and Casey offers the bottle to Samantha briefly.
A vast blanket of cobblestones stretches out across the cavern, although to the naked eye none of them seem any different to any others.
Sienna glances back at the vast blanket of cobblestones that stretches out across the cavern, bottom lip tucked between her teeth. "This is definitely some Tomb Raider style shit," she mumbles under her breath, then swings her attention back to Casey and Samantha. "We probably want to splint it too, right? So she can bear weight on it? Is it a weird angle?"
Samantha puts a forearm over her eyes. "I don't wanna look." She admits through gritted teeth, "Splint is probably a good idea though..." She admits. It is totally at a weird angle.
Harriet looks over Samantha with concern, letting Casey tend to her. A frown is formed across her lips as she watches, waiting to see what is said in response to Sienna's suggestion whilst telling Avi, "Do you have any dark spells or something that can sense traps?" clearly knowing nothing about the arcane.
"What about like a stick? To push on some of these stones before we step on it?" Casey says. "Right uh... don't worry, it'll be fine," Casey says, clearly paling a bit at what she was seeing at Samantha's foot. "It'll be *fine*," Casey says, scooting a bit to one side to show Sienna the weird angle. Pulling the splint out of the kit. "Just uh... imagine Christmas or something," Casey says, before she reduces the fracture by putting the foot at a better angle for now.
"Explain to me slowly why sensing traps would be considered a dark spell? Surely that'd be considered a good thing," Avi rationalizes to Harriet. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asks as Casey moves Samantha's ankle around. "Don't make it worse," he warns, going to look for a stick and put her suggestion to the test with regards to the cobbelstones.
Avi would have to head back up to the entrance of the caves to get a solid stick and would be gone for about ten minutes if he did so.
Samantha grits her teeth and whimpers as Casey sets her ankle. "Uhhh this treasure better be awesome..." She whines, brow furrowed in pain.
Avi disappears for about ten minutes.
Harriet was previously only very concerned for Samantha, but now she's got the most pleased smile gracing her soft lips. A giggle emits past them, too, so very inappropriately, and she's aglow -- the sudden upswing of her mood on full display. Soon after, she's clearing her throat and attempting to look somber, but the softest little moan slips out still. "Certainly, Avi," she begins her reply to Avi, adopting a measured, thoughtful tone to address his query. "The classification of a spell, such as one for sensing traps, as 'dark' or otherwise, often hinges not merely on the spell's direct function, but rather on the broader context and implications of its use." She said a whole lot of nothing before he disappears to get a stick.
Sienna leans down to offer Samantha her hand while Casey makes work with setting her ankle. "You're like, really brave with this pain. I'd be a blubbering mess," she tells their Captain with a sympathetic smile, looking toward the center of the chamber again while they wait for Avi's return.
"I mean, seriously, if you wanna trade and be the first aid person, I'd be okay with that?!" Casey says calmly (not). Was she stressed? Mildly. "It'll be okay, Sam," Casey says unconvincingly as she applies the splint. The foot looked like it was more or less in the right position right now. "Painkillers?" Casey offers to her, shaking the bottle. "How long does it take to find a stick?!" Casey complains as Avi was gone a little longer than like 30 seconds. But chewing on her lower lip, Casey calms herself a tad. Somewhat.
Samantha shifts over a little to sit up, legs stretched out in front of her, she nods her head quickly at the offer of painkillers, taking a handful and throwing them back, swallowing water right afterwards. "It'll be uh, it'll be ok once I can get in some ocean water." She claims with another wince.
Harriet squats down next to Samantha as Casey offers up the first aid duty to anyone who will take it, and she looks over at Sienna with raised brows before her attention returns to the injured woman. "Our brave leader," she comments.
About ten minutes later, Avi returns with not one stick, but two. One he hands over to the resident medic, giving Casey a doubtful look. "You holding it together there? You look like you need the first aid kit more than she does. Anyway, here's a walking stick for your patient." The second stick is then, finally, used to poke at the cobblestones, while he resumes his petty argument with Harriet. "Explain to me the inherent darkness behind the 'broader context' of avoiding your girlfriend's other ankle getting smashed."
As Avi pokes a little at the cobblestones they don't seem to react.
"The bad evil cave hurt my ankle." Samantha complains to Harriet with a pout. When Avi sends a stick her way she gives him a thankful smile and then uses it to stand, transferring the camera to her other hand as she takes an experimental hobbling step. "Ok... this works... have you figured out what ones are trapped yet?"
"Nope," Avi confirms almost cheerfully. "Utter waste of time, that."
Casey closes her eyes, and takes a shuddering breath. "Sorry," Casey says. "I'm calm. Together. Totally..." Casey gets the stick, and then helps Samantha up and gives the stick to her. "Well," Casey says. "Maybe it's some kind of magic? Because there certainly are some of these cobblestones that... you know," Casey makes a small gesture to Samantha.
With Samantha back on her feet and outfitted with a stick to hobble along with, Sienna straightens up and moves to join Avi in his investigation of the cobblestones. "They probably need more weight for that to be effective," she points out the obvious. "I don't suppose you have any homunculi summoning spells, or a textbook?"
"Maybe you're not strong enough." Samantha muses to Avi with a dubious look at his biceps as she leans against the tunnel wall.
Harriet begins to ramble as Avi pokes further "You see, the label of 'darkness' often associated with spells stems from their potential misuse beyond these personal, protective intentions. It's the capacity for these spells to be employed in broader, morally ambiguous, or harmful scenarios that imparts them with the -dark- moniker. It's a reminder that magic, much like any tool or skill, holds the potential for both benevolence and malevolence, hinging largely on the intentions and actions of the user." Blah blah blah. "And so... It's this versatility for misuse in criminal pursuits that casts a shadow over the spell, lending it the label of 'dark' magic. Essentially, it's a matter of perspective and intent -- a protective measure for some, but a facilitator of malfeasance for others." After that nonsense, she focuses her full attention on Samantha. "The bad evil cave shall die for this."
"Do it yourself then," Avi thrusts the stick at Sienna, abandoning the effort. "Does that word salad work on people, usually?" he asks Harriet after a long moment.
Harriet gives Avi a very confirming nod of assurance, that yes, it does indeed usually work.
Sienna frowns as Avi just abandons the task to her, staring down at the stick then the cobblestones ahead. "Damn, okay then," she sighs, bending down with that powerful flashlight she picked out to shine them over each of the cobblestones. Digging through her backpack, she tugs out her water canister and some spare length of rope, tying it around the mouth before she tosses it over one of the cobblestones, testing its weight.
"People tend to say stuff like, Oh Dearest Harry how you bless us with your knowledge." Samantha further explains to Avi.
After Harriet's nuanced understanding of magic and morality, or a bunch of bull shit that she just pulled out of her proverbial ass... she nods to Samantha in complete agreement. "They do," she insists to Avi.
As the UV light shines onto the cobblestones, some patterns appear. Some of them have two lines, some a circle, some a square, some five lines and some a triangle.
The cobblestone the bottle lands on cracks slightly but doesn't crumble, it has a triangle on it.
"Figures," Avi replies dryly. "Any luck with those stones?" Avi calls over toward Sienna.
Sienna immediately brightens up. "Yeah, come look at this," she beckons Avi quickly to her side, sharing her discovery with the group. "There's like, symbols on these... Two lines, a cricle, square, five lines, and triangles." She eyes the triangle cobblestone where her water bottle lands and tentatively attempts to place her weight down over it, flinching pre-emptively.
The cobblestone breaks under Sienna's foot, the Swan being prepared and having fast reflexes just quick enough to pull her foot back before it gets smooshed.
"What do they mean?" Avi asks. "Grand Theft Auto cheatcodes aside, these symbols don't exactly mean anything to me," he adds as the triangle-marked cobblestone crumbles. "Note to Sienna, C-C all," Avi says after that attempt to tempt fate. "If a water bottle will break it, so will you, thunder-thighs."
"Well at least if the water bottle cracked it we know it isn't magical or whatever." Samantha points it out, "I'm sure we can figure out the pattern, is there something heavier than a water bottle we can use though?"
Harriet mouths out a silent, "Damn," as Avi says 'thunder-thighs' and then she clears her throat once again.
"How the hell would I know? You're the arcanist. Isn't this your level of expertise?" Sienna bitches back at Avi irritably as she manages to snatch her foot back before meeting the same fate as Samantha. "Triangles are definitely not it," she announces the results, then takes more time to try and study the patterns, searching for ones that might seem to actually lead somewhere like a proper path. "The machete, maybe? What else do you guys have on you?" she checks with Harriet and Casey.
"I dunno, I have my first aid kit and a pistol, an athame and a spellbook..." Casey says to Sienna. "I'm surprised the stick wouldn't work, if you give the stone a solid whack that should be way worse than a water bottle," Casey says. "Maybe it's less the weight, and more the... water stuff?" Casey says. "Have these cans of bug spray, though, if you think that'll work."
"Someone with super muscles could try giving it a go with the stick and really giving it a solid whomp." Samantha suggess.
Harriet checks in her bag. "There's various rolls of bandages, a headlamp, a gun, a hunting knife," she is explaining to Sienna about the contents of her purse. "I should have brought the riding crop," gets uttered out, as if that is an essential accessory. Looking over at Samantha, she asks, "Does anyone else have super muscles?"
"I do blood magic, not dirty cave magic," Avi snipes back at Sienna. Crossing his arms, it's clear he's not volunteering to step up and super muscle anything. "I hate traps," Avi leans his head back, looking up at the cave ceiling. "Just give us the damn treasure," he complains into the abyss.
Sienna chews at her bottom lip. "Well come here and take all your lusty demon vibes out on a cobblestone then," she volunteers Harriet, thrusting the stick over to her. "Try that stone right there?" she shines her UV light on the one patterned with a circle.
The Abyss does not give any treasure.
With those lusty demon vibes and all, Harriet accepts the task, and she takes up the infamous stick, slim digits curling about it as her hand holds on with a relaxed yet firm grip that belies her impressive strength. She takes a moment to assess the stone that Sienna has pointed out, and then she nods as hazel eyes move methodically over the surface, like she's calculating the best point to test. Calm and focused, she steps forward carefully and positions herself to maintain a balanced stance that allows for agility and a quick reaction if need be. The stick is swung forward, trying to see if she can trigger anything as she *THWAPS* it against the stone.
As the supernaturally strong demonborn whacks the stone it crumbles and a split second later a sharp spike briefly drives up through the hole where the stone was before falling back down into darkness. Working methodically it soon becomes aparrant that onle the two lines and square are safe cobblestones to step on.
"Okay, I think we got most of it figured out, by the look of it," Casey says, as she observes Harriet's methodical approach to thwacking the stones. "That's step *one* for this treasure hunt," Casey says, sticking her tongue out at the corner of her lips.
"Good job," Sienna beams at Harriet, shifting her grip on the UV flashlight to help guide the way as she tentatively steps out on the two lined and square-marked cobblestones. "Sam, you doing okay back there?"
Harriet nods in agreement with Casey, and tells Sienna, "Thank you. Last time I flexed my strength I beat Ryan at an arm wrestling contest, and as the loser, he had wear a French maid outfit and dust my house." She nods her head once as if to further punctuate the truth to that statement. She looks back at Samantha.
"Uh huh, all good." Samantha calls out as she hobbles after the others, stepping only on the cobblestones the person in front of her has stepped on and alternating between hobbling a little and then lifting her arm to scan the group with the camera.
As the group make their way to the other side of the trapped chamber without further incidents they continue on through the same kind of natural hewn corridors as before, nothing seeming too untowards until they arrive at the next clearly man-made alteration, the chamber widening a little before shrinking into a narrow passage only wide enough for one person to squeeze through at a time.
Samantha hobbles up in the rear when they come up to the narrow passageway. "Well... I'm definitely not going first this time, I've only got one foot left." She points out.
"Why these ones specifically?" Avi wonders as they pass using the appropriate cobblestones, but seeing as it works, he doesn't press for an explanation, pausing when they reach the narrow passage. "Not it," Avi declines the honor of going first, again.
"Not it," Sienna quickly echoes after Avi, eyeing the narrow passageway ahead anxiously.
Harriet is not the leader here today, but she is still fearless. She watches as Samantha and Avi, and then Sienna opt out. "I can do it, unless Case feels like being adventurous," is offered as she looks to Casey.
"Well." Samantha starts, "Maybe should poke the stick in or do something else to check it for traps before actually walking in." She suggests.
"Sienna has the stick," Avi notes, hanging back resolutely.
"Harriet has the stick," Sienna corrects Avi with a gentle gesture toward Harriet. "Have at it, noble adventureess."
Such a useful stick it is, too, and Harriet declares as she holds it, "I shall name thee Twiglet," because she's just kind of a weirdo sometimes. Since it seems Casey is not inclined to be number one, the brunette nods to Sienna and Samantha, and she ventures forward. The long piece of wood feels against the passage walls, getting smacked against them, as well as the ground below, and she only moves forward if nothing nefarious happens.
Nothing happens when Harriet whacks her stick against any of the floors or walls and so she steps into the corridor.
Harriet steps right into the corridor, feeling confident. That is until she releases a cry that sounds like she's in a heck of a lot of pain. The sound echoes out and she tries to back up out of the corridor, and back to the others.
Harriet stumbles back out of the corridor, she has no visible injuries.
The color drains from the Swann's face when Sienna hears Harriet crying out in pain. She immediately snaps to attention, shining her powerful UV light into the narrow corridor in an attempt to highlight the source of the woman's pain. "Harriet? Fuck! What happened?"
"Harry!?" Samantha calls out in alarm, hobbling quickly towards the demonborn when she calls out in pain.
The UV light reveals a tunnel filled with ghostly spectral arms, each with pointed fingernails and what looks like half-rotted sleeves, they don't seem able to move from the wall and the arms flails and gnash at anything inside the corridor.
"I am not entirely sure," Harriet says, her body shivering like she's freezing cold. "Something attacked me in there--" but as Sienna's lamp reveals the corridor's inhabitants, she's assuring Samantha, "I'm all right."
Samantha hobbles right over to Harriet and lets her eyes skim all over her to check for injuries before giving a little frown. "Well... ok..." She agrees, turning her head to look down the corridor. "I guess our stick isn't gonna help much with that..."
"Sounds like a good time for either the flame thrower or the incense?" Sienna recommends to Harriet and Avi after the discovery of the spectral inhabitants stuck in the walls. She turns her flashlight on the demonborn, scanning her over with it just to see if anything shows up. "You okay?"
The UV light doesn't show anything untoward about Harriet.
Harriet does a once over on herself, studying her front before concluding to Sienna, "I believe so. It is very unpleasant when they attack you, however." As if no one could have ever guessed that. Glancing over at Avi, she then looks to Samantha. "Incense or fire?"
"I can't believe you gave away the stick I personally gifted to you," Avi tells Sienna disdainfully, but then the light shines on the otherworldly spectres and he's frowning. "This isn't right," he claims quietly. "How long have they been stuck down here?" He opens a bag at his side, drawing out a handful of incense sticks. "Flamethrower in the front to push them back, incense at the rear to keep them back?" is his suggestion.
"Avi knows about evil ghost monsters." Samantha says with a little nod.. "Lets do that, Harry up front with flame, Avi in the back with the incense and the rest of us in between." She decides. "Just be careful not to use up all the fuel or incense or whatever, we still gotta come back."
"I thought you just gave it to me because you didn't want to do all the work figuring out the cobblestones," Sienna knits her brows at Avi, only to nod with acceptance at the plan devised. "Sounds good to me." Wasting no time in lining herself up behind Harriet, she shines her flashlight forward to help highlight the spirits trapped within the walls. "Ready when you are, guys."
Giving a nod to Samantha after Avi's suggestion, Harriet ignites her flamethrower and then steps towards the corridor where she'd previously been attacked. A torrent of flames bursts forth, and the demonborn's chest heaves as she aims and unleashes the heat against the spectral apparitions. The fire dances and flickers in a vibrant display of oranges, reds, and yellows. Looking almost alive, the flames twist and writhe as they leap into the air, crackling and roaring in a song that resonates with her innermost being. There's both sheer joy and crazed delight across her features, but -- she's the first one in, so no one can see that. The flamethrower casts an intense light that pierces the surrounding darkness.
As Harriet pyros away the spectral hands shrink back from the fire, but the effect is pretty temporary and the group have to huddle close together to prevent themselves from being attacked as they squeeze their way down the corridor.
Samantha hobbles up to directly behind Harriet, quickly limping after her down the corridor, ducking down a little as if that will help keep her safe from the ghostly hands.
Sienna moves carefully with Samantha and Harriet, closing in the gaps as the ghostly hands are temporarily driven back by the fire. She looks behind, worriedly checking on Avi and Casey.
Taking up the rear, Avi waits for everyone else to line up behind Harriet before falling in, the incense sticks lit and burning with smoke curling up from the tips, forming a delicate barrier that seems to keep the ghostly arms at bay. "Once we're done here, this whole death trap needs to be ritually sanctified," Avi says with equal parts disgust and resolve. "I don't care how much salt it takes. No one deserves to be trapped here like this, guarding someone else's bounty for all eternity. It's fucked."
As the group move through the corridor the ghostly arms are kept at bay by the flames and holy smoke, but as they move further and further into the corridor they start to hear something from the other side of those walls that all the arms push through, sobbing... A large number of people crying just on the other side of the stone... But then they're through and finally break into the final chamber.
As the flames leap out in a vibrant display, Harriet revels in the chaos she creates, and her movements would likely be far more erratic if she had more room, as she kind of looks like she simply wants to catch everything on fire. She glances over her shoulder at Samantha, and those hazel eyes of hers are windows to her soul, displaying her inner demonborn essence. Pupils are dilated, accentuating the intensity of her gaze, and there's a wildness in them through the form of a primal fascination, and within her a soul that is inextricably linked with the inferno. The sobbing only makes her smile.
It's a heartbreaking sound to hear the numerous sobbing cries of the spirits on the other side of the walls, features twisting into a sympathetic grimace. "I would be down to help you once this is all over," Sienna promises to Avi as they slowly progress through the corridor until they finally reach the final chamber.
Samantha's gaze flicks up to meet Harriet's and when she sees that smile the faeborn's eyes widen a little as she looks momentarily slightly ill, hurrying into the final chamber and avoiding looking at Harriet, "Finally..." She pants, turning her camera to take in the whole chamber. "Ok, someone needs to grab the chest." She says, nodding to the chest.
Casey didn't seem to enjoy the ghost corridor as much as most could. While the team handled it, Casey had lingered back, murmuring some excuse for not sallying forth into that particular fray. With her eyes shut against the eternal sighing, "Agreed," Casey says to Avi and Sienna. "This is... monstrous," Casey says.
Finding his way to Harriet's side once they're in the final chamber, Avi fans the incense sticks until they go out, the last of the smoke curling outward around their group before dissipating. "Is there any difference for you?" he asks the older demonborn quietly as an aside as Samantha directs them toward the treasure. "Between them," he motions back toward the wailing ghosts, "And say, Sam screaming in agony, like that?"
The look in Harriet's eyes is not simply fascination, but a reflection of her very nature, and perhaps it is a bit unnerving. Paired with the way she feels over the suffering of the ghosts and the living people accompanying her, she looks rather evil for a few more moments, before she's coming out of it, or at least trying to fight it off, but it really does feel so good... The flames subside, although it takes a lot of willpower for her to stop those, too. Her attention shifts to Avi, and she blinks a few times, faltering momentarily.
Harriet finally produces, "Sam hobbling around like she is right now breaks my heart," in an answer to Avi, not really answering exactly what he asked.
clears her throat. "Right, Sienna use your thunder thighs and pick up the chest." Samantha says, "Lets get out of here."
Sienna sucks her teeth in annoyance at Samantha. "Would you please cut that out?" she requests politely, nose turning up as the rancid stench of decay hits her nose. Rather than just attempt to go right into the cache, she shines the flashlight around paranoidly.
"I see," Avi nods, the response seemingly for Harriet, but also perhaps a touch introspective, as he draws further into himself at that answer. The melancholy doesn't last too long however, in the face of their successful acquisition, or so it'd seem. "Stick figures aren't allowed to talk shit about anyone else's curves," Avi informs Samantha. "Maybe if you had more meat on your bones they wouldn't shatter so easily."
The UV light doesn't seem to reveal anything in this chamber.
"I mean... I'm willing to volunteer to be the person that opens this up. We expecting like an Indiana Jones situation? Open it up, a boulder drops from the ceiling, all that?" Casey says, sucking on her teeth as she glances - not towards the chest, but towards the ceiling and walls, squinting as she looks for any sign of problem.
"I wasn't talking shit!" Samantha claims, "I was complimenting her sexy and powerful legs and the great lifting power they no doubt possess." She argues, leaning her weight on her good foot to wave her stick threateningly at Avi.
"I think we can just take the whole chest, it's pretty small and we can work on getting it open when we're out of this place." Samantha explains.
"Since you're way taller and have better strength than I do, do you want to do the honors?" Sienna motions Casey forward toward the chest, seeming unwilling to prove Samantha right. "I skip arm day pretty regularly."
"You're bad at complimenting women," Avi observes in the face of stick-waving. "But good at finding treasure, so I'll allow it." He wonders then, "Do we have any idea what it is, though? Or roughly how much it's worth on the open market? The chest itself is surely an antique."
Harriet looks over at Avi and now her eyes show some disapproval, but she keeps her sharp tongue inside of her own mouth. She listens to Samantha, and then watches Sienna volunteer Casey. But then Avi is opening his mouth again, so the brunette's lips begin to move. "She is incredible at complimenting women," is all that gets said.
Casey takes a few more moments, sighing heavily. "Alright, alright," Casey says to Sienna. There was another bit of hesitance - but then Casey was starting towards the chest, to try to pick it up, her entire body tensing should she be able to do so.
As Casey's hands clasp onto the side handles of the ancient chest... Nothing happens. She picks it up, it weighs about 30 pounds.
"The chest's contents are classified." Samantha claims and watches Casey closely, giving a little nod when nothing seems to happen. "Just let us know if you start feeling like, kinda tentacle-y?" She requests.
Harriet does a double take over Samantha's last words to Casey.
Sienna edges away from Casey slowly, hoping she doesn't notice at Samantha's suspicious choice of words.
"We're all becoming perfectly aware of your unique tastes," Avi assures Harriet. "No more tentacles," Avi tells Samantha firmly. "Seriously, it's already been a long weekend and it's only Saturday."
Casey pauses, lifting the chest up. "I'm *sorry*?" Casey asks of Samantha, after she picks up the chest. "You only tell me *now* about the potential for tentacle?" Casey says, frowning down at the thing as she stops along after the group. 30 pounds was lifted easily enough. "... alright, if nothing is happening, how about we get the heck out of here?"
Harriet gazes at Avi. She knows exactly what he's saying, but she doesn't touch on it. Hazel eyes narrow and she slips an arm about Samantha's back, resting a free hand on her girlfriend's hip gently.
"I'm joking." Samantha assures Casey, "Probably." She tacks on and nods. "Yeah, lets get out of here." She agrees.
After Casey has the chest the group is able to make their way back out of the chamber, using the flame and incense once more, and then using the same pattern in the large chamber, only stepping on stones where the number of lines are even and not odd to cross safely. After a few minutes they find themselves in the last little bit of the cave heading back towards the exit with their booty safely secured.
Samantha hobbles along the with everyone else, mood lifting once they're back past the creepy corridor and almost back out into the open air. "I was gonna say something mean back, but everything that went through my head was too mean." She tells Avi, "So basically you're lucky I'm nice, and like very secure, like dudes totally are like, Oh Sam please don't steall my girl." She claims.
"I didn't ask for you to be nice, you censoring yourself is a you problem, not a me problem," Avi points out in reply to Samantha. "You get as froggy as you want with me, but don't throw shade at Sienna when she's not done anything to you to deserve it," Avi says somewhat coldly.
Sienna walks alongside Casey through the winding corridors and back out to the initial opening of the cave where their adventures all began. "I'm glad that's all over," she beams in an attempt to draw Avi and Samantha away from the argument building. "How much time do we have? Before midnight? I really don't want to be here any longer than we have to in case more bad things are about to happen."
"Throwing shade by repeating the exact thing you said?" Samantha checks, "That makes sense, you need to spend more time around people who aren't magically compelled to agree with you and every narcissistic desire you have." She claims as she hobbles along.
The group heads back out into the rainforest, the darkness making the trees stretch up as tall shadows all around, as they pick their way back to the beach there seems to be one shadowy tree that's somehow out in the ocean. There comes a sudden bright flash and then a moment later the ground explodes next to them! As they burst out of the treeline it becomes visible, a semi translucent shadow of an ancient ship sitting in the water just off the coast. Eerie lights flicker in the windows as there comes another flash of light and then more explosions of tree and sand as the next volley of cannonballs lances into the beach!
Harriet quietly listens to Avi and Samantha interact. Her left eyebrow arches, but she refrains, giving her girlfriend only a gentle pat upon the rear as they continue on.
Casey likewise stays quiet as she follows along with the group, keeping her distance from the rest and pursing her lips as she glances down towards the chest itself.
"Read a room - just because I can get away with saying something doesn't mean you can," Avi explains, patience thinning. "No girl wants to hear fat jokes from another girl, come on." He turns to Harriet then. "This is your fault, Sam's all sensitive now with you to impress," he says irritably.
Sienna widens her eyes at the sudden flash searing through the dark, ears ringing as the earth is upended around them in the wake of the explosion. She automatically throws herself off to the side, screeching in terror, as she looks forward toward the ghastly sight of an ancient ship just off the coast. "Okay, can we please get the hell out of here before we're murdered by angry ghost pirates?!"
"Fuck!" Samantha calls out, ducking her head as trees and things start exploding all around them. "Quick, path, path!" She calls out, dropping her impromptu crutch and quick-limping down the beach to the drop off point, immediately raising her hands and starting to channel a sea-foam tunnel back off the island.
Harriet was likely going to respond to Avi but the ancient ship cuts her reply short, or rather from it ever beginning. Samantha expresses her sentiments exactly with that expletive, and she's running alongside her girlfriend and away from the cannon balls.
"This is not what I had in mind when I thought, 'shots fired'!" Avi bitches, running toward the slowly-forming tunnel. "Don't try to fucking leave me behind either, Samantha Salte," he warns direly, sticking close as he braces his arms overhead.
After facing sobbing ghostly horrors guarding the chest and enduring jabs and jests at their expense, the team reached their goal—a chest—only to find it unguarded. Once in their possession, they retraced their steps, grappling with the same perils, including the re-emergence of the aggressive ghostly arms they encountered before.
But just when they thought the danger had passed, they were targeted by an ominous ghost ship offshore, bombarding the beach with ethereal cannonballs as they sprinted towards safety. Panic ensued, as Samantha hastily conjured an escape path, urging the group to flee the haunted island. Despite their trials and the banter, including a tiff between Samantha and Avi, the team escaped with the treasure, leaving the cursed island and its vengeful spectral pirates behind.
(Cursed Treasure Island(SRSamantha):SRSamantha)
[Sat Jan 13 2024]
At Antilles Island
Antilles Island shelters a thick emerald rainforest that gives way to a jagged, mountainous terrain at its heart. Unspoiled beaches with pristine white sand encircle the lush foliage, initiated by the rise of coral reefs reaching out from the sea into the shallows. The island's climate varies from sunny and hot in the broad daylight to cool and breezy after sundown; tropical rains are frequent yet fleeting.
Though the island is uninhabited by people, it teems with wildlife. Myriad species of birds and small mammals are seen amidst the trees. Wresting between danger and beauty, unusual, venomous snakes and spiders are known to inhabit the island, as are rare, exotic plant species.
It is afternoon, about 27F(-2C) degrees,
As the crew gather down near Saltewater Boulevard they gather together to begin the process of pathing. A few minutes later they pop out of the forest path on the beach of Antilles Island, the waves lightly lapping behind the, golden sands stretching out either side in all directs and the dark rainforest ahead. Next to the group is a set of crates with gear for the trip, rations, water bottles, flares, insect spray and other basic neccessities as well as the special item they'd each requested.
Samantha stretches as they step out of the traveling tunnel and wanders over to the crates, opening one up and pocketing a few protein bars and other supplies before pulling out a handheld camcorder. "Ok, you guys all ready to be famous ghost hunting treasure seeking people?"
Harriet's ensemble seems to be inspired by the iconic Lara Croft, and paired with a bigass flamethrower that she's carrying in more than just a statement piece -- but she does look ready for action, and most definitely like a fire-loving demonborn. And unconventional. She's even got drop leg holsters on, in a rather striking addition. "I am quite ready," she assures Samantha.
"And I think I'm ready as well," Casey says. She had her pistol, athame, of course - and brought the first aid kit, the red cross noted on her hip belt that the kit dangled off of. "We'll get you some good content, too," Casey says to Samantha, grinning.
Sienna takes a moment to enjoy the stunning views of the waves lapping lightly at the golden sands in the distance. "I need to start packing a camera on these trips," she muses under her breath, then moves to catalogue the supplies in the crates before beginning to pull out rations, water bottles, flares and plenty of insect spray. Her flashlight is strapped to her hip, tossing a spare can of bug spray over to Harriet. "You'll need this, Miss Croft. Better coat yourself now before you become a buffet for exotic bugs and come back with some weird disease."
As the gang unpack their supplies their notable gear is:
Samantha: Camera
Harriet: Flamethrower
Casey: First Aid Kit
Sienna: Industrial UV Light
Avi: Incense
"But if she gets a weird disease I can nurse her back to health on a bed with gauzy white curtains." Samantha points out but then takes a can of the insect repellent herself, quickly sprintzing herself down. "You look really hot though." She tells the Tomb-raider-esque Harry. "We'll have to like, save that outfit for later roleplay use."
The offered can of bug spray is caught by Harriet as Sienna tosses it her way. "Thank you." A few quick shakes and the removal of its top -- oo la la -- and the brunette is pressing the pad of a forefinger to set the nozzle off, giving her skin a sheen of repellant. As Samantha comments on her appearance, hazel eyes focus upon her and then she provides her girlfriend with a wink. "Captain, my captain, who lured me into this group by very professional means and not at all through the art of seduction, you look very hot yourself."
"Well, if this keeps up - I might have to break out the smelling salts from this nifty first aid kit," Casey remarks, her tone of voice chipper as she pats that red cross on the belt-hanging kit. "If we end up trapped under the ocean, it was great knowing you all, by the way," Casey remarks.
Looking through the crates, Avi makes sure his water bottle is full, there's a flare and a backup flare hanging from his bag, and his incense, specifically arranged for this trip, is cool and dry in the special waterproof bag it's stored in. "Ghosts are wretched, but I'm ready for the treasure part of things," Avi figures, heading over toward the others and holding his hand out for the bug spray. "I've got next," he calls dibs on it.
"You might be right there," Sienna laughs toward Samantha as she takes a second canister of bug spray, uncapping it quickly before blasting herself down. It's brought over toward Avi next, offering it out to him with a quick smile. "So long as there's no Indiana Style traps because you decided to open some pretty gaudy treasure chest, I'm cool with all the booty in the world," she chirps, smiling over toward Casey now. "Need some?"
Samantha clears her throat. "I don't know whatever you're refering to." She informs Harriet, nodding as the others get situated. "Alright, best get going, I feel like it's probably bad to be here at midnight." She decides, taking a few steps up the beach to wait for the others.
Casey gives Sienna a bit of a grin. "Booty, or bug spray?" Casey asks, although the question was rhetorical, her hand lifting up as she makes 'toss me some' fingers towards Sienna, her eyes drawing down to the can of bug spray.
Making quick work of spraying himself down, Avi shrugs back into his jacket after tossing it back to Sienna. "What do you expect happens at midnight?" he asks Samantha as he falls in.
As the group make their way up off the beach and press into the rainforest the sounds of the waves disappear into the distance behind them, replaced by the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects. It's slow going through the forest, with heavy vines hanging in the way and no clear tracks. Taller individuals particularly struggle as vines have to either be hacked through or wiggled around.
As Sienna tosses a can Avi's way, Harriet tells him, "Maybe they won't like bug spray and decide to leave us alone, just like the mosquitoes." She looks to Casey. "May there not be any giant arachnids this time." A shudder strikes down her spine, and the tremors flow down and out from each limb -- not in a good way at all. Samantha receives a smirk over the verbal response given to the Lara Croft wanna-be, but she does look curiously to the blue haired babe over Casey's questioning of the midnight hour, following along through the rainforest.
Samantha leads the way up to the edge of the forest but then waits to actually go in last. "I gotta be in the rear so I can film everyone." She explains, "That meaning you all have to clear the path for me is just like, totally incidental to this plan." She further clarifies and shrugs at Avi, "I dunno, just seems like when bad haunted stuff would happen." She explains
Sienna tosses the bugspray over to Casey. "The island probably disappears or is consumed by the sea, taking all living souls with it down to a watery death," she speculates idly, treading along with the group into the rainforest with a cautiously appreciative glance of some of the flora they past. "Did anyone think to grab a machete?" she asks, irritably, after nearly tripping over a particularly thick vine snaking across the ground.
Sienna tosses the bugspray over to Casey. "The island probably disappears or is consumed by the sea, taking all living souls with it down to a watery death," she speculates idly, treading along with the group into the rainforest with a cautiously appreciative glance of some of the flora they past. "Did anyone think to grab a machete?" she asks, irritably, after nearly tripping over a particularly thick vine snaking across the ground.
"Let's not even put that energy out there, please, Harry." Casey says. "Spiders can't breathe underwater anyways. Right? Right" Casey says. Casey was electing to follow along after the others clear the trail, using the bug spray as she goes. "Harry's got it, at least," Casey says, noting Sienna's trip over the vine, and she more delicately steps around it. "What if one of these vines is a big snake or something?"
"Did you forget to?" Avi asks Sienna doubtfully, hacking through a vine in the way. "Did you think the forest was going to bow and part ways for your royal highness?" he asks, the words clearly sarcastic, though not particularly mean-spirited. "I really prefer nature from more of a distance," he laments mildly, ducking under a branch.
After trekking through the forest for about fifteen minutes the group finally come to the spot on the map they're looking for, and after a little looking around find the entrance to a cave system with heavy vines hanging in front of it, pushing inside into the darkness beyond.
Listening to the possible outcomes for this island's fate at midnight, Harriet raises both of her naturally arched eyebrows, but she doesn't add any commentary. That is, not until Casey speaks of the bad juju not wanted... and that, unfortunately, only seems to fuel Harriet's passion for it. Mischievous demonborn that she is, the brunette expresses, "Case, imagine if you will, imagine we are in a world where colossal spiders lurk in the shadows." Hazel eyes are gleaming with excitement. "These aren't ordinary spiders-- no, no, they're masters of stealth, waiting patiently in dark corners or under the veil of night, especially midnight. Cannot you envision them silently descending from above or creeping out from behind the vegetation?" Then she tries to scare the woman by reaching over and letting slim fingers crawl across Casey's right shoulder blade. Once the group gets to the caves, she shifts her attention to that, rather than trying to freak out her housemate even further.
"That's what you're here for. To be my savior and hack away all the vines and stuff," Sienna declares to Avi almost immediately, positioning herself slightly behind him to take advantage of the cleared path his hacking creates. "And why would you say that, Casey? What happened to not putting that energy out there?" she teases Casey with a quiet, short laugh. It dies down when they reach the entrance of a cave system, quick to unfasten her flashlight from her hip and switch it on, venturing forward a few steps to try and shine a light into the darkness beyond the curtain of heavy vines.
Samantha is breathing heavily by the time they get to the caves, her camera bobbing and weaving around as she gets footage of the group clambering through the vegetation, focusing in on Harriet's speculations and her creeping hand. "That'll probably sound nicely forboding if I put spooky enough music under it." She claims, "Are big snakes worse than big spiders?" She wonders of Casey.
"*Stop*," Casey says to Harriet with more vehemence than she might otherwise say, batting away the woman's hand after the tickle causes her to shudder. "Good point, good point, Sienna. Good vibes only from this point on," Casey says, likewise a bit out of breath as she snaps her headlight on, flashing it around the walls of the cave. "It's all bad!" Casey finally says to Samantha. "Let's just focus on the treasure, right?"
"Oops," Avi says as he 'accidentally' allows a cut vine to swing back toward Sienna's face when she ever so conveniently positions herself behind him. "Are we there y- oh," Avi starts to complain just as they actually do arrive at the cave's entrance. "Who's going in first?" he asks, pushing at the vines experimentally. "Not it," he declines.
As the crew pick their way slowly down through the tunnels, the light of the entrance dwindles further and further away until it vanishes completely, only the light of their flashlights and flares contuining to provide illumination as they pick their way through the natural twists and turns before one of the tunnels opens up into a large chamber, something that looks decidedly man made with the tunnel continuing on on the other side.
Harriet gives the most innocent of facial expressions Casey's way, like she has no idea why she'd receive such an order. Her lips thin and press together tightly, and she really does her best to not smile over what she's just done -- for herself, really. A content little sigh does manage to escape her mouth, though. As the group enters into the caves, she moves quietly, armed with her ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire.
"Very spacious, but not particularly cozy," Avi observes in realtor mode when they approach the circular chamber. "I don't think this listing is going to sell," Avi condemns it on the spot.
"Well I can't go first, I got the camera." Samantha points out, hanging out near the back of the group and panning the camera over all of them as their pick their way down through the twisting tunnels. When they come to the big open chamber her eyebrows lift a little. "Well that looks cool, how far up does it go?" She wonders, taking a few steps forward to tilt the camera all around and scan the inside of the chamber.
*SNAP*One of the cobblestones under Samantha's foot immediately gives way and as her foot sinks down into the hole there comes a sickening crunch as something inside the hole smashes together crushing her ankle.
Sienna learns quickly after the first vine smacks her in the face, moving out from behind Avi with a venomous glare, trudging along through the cave system. The beam of her flashlight bounces off the dark cave walls, occasionally jerked left or right as something catches her attention. "Harriet, you shou--" Her words die upon her lips when a sudden snap of the cobblestones echoes through the cave. "Oh, shit."
"How about the person with the flamethrower goes fir..." Casey starts to say, but the snap behind her causes her to freeze. "What was..." Casey says, glancing back towards Samantha at that point. "Oh shit, Sam!" Casey says.
Harriet is more than happy to go first, agreeing with Avi's assessment of the space. She's got her weapon ready to engage any ghosts, and listening to what Sienna begins to say, but then the snapping sound has her head shooting to look over a shoulder. Her gaze finds Samantha and then she immediately ships her entire lithe form about. Carefully, she moves towards their camera woman, paying closer attention to where she's stepping. Casey's words are indeed exactly what she is thinking, too. "Sam..."
Samantha shrieks as her foot is crushed and falls backwards, scrambling back to pull her broken ankle out of the hole. "Bad... bad stones... bad...." She claims, clenching her eyes shut tight.
Fortunately Samantha stepped out in front of others for her camera to get a better view, so nobody else has yet stepped into the cavern. The stone where she stepped is now just gone, darkness all that seems below it.
"So as I was saying," Avi says as Samantha gets fairly seriously injured, "This space just has terrible energy." Avi approaches the space where Samantha's foot got caught, careful to remain behind where the invisible danger line appears to be. "Do we continue?" he asks the others, expression more serious now. "And if so, how? Someone mentioned booby-traps - whoever it was, slap your mouth now," he suggests. "You've talked up Hell Cave mode."
It takes Casey a moment to realize that Casey was the one with the first aid kit. Looking towards the ground for anything sus, Casey creeps over to where Samantha was, lowering herself down into a squat near her. "Sam, I uh..." Casey unfurls the kit. "Is there anything in here that can help with that?" Casey says. Painkillers. That seemed a good first step, and Casey offers the bottle to Samantha briefly.
A vast blanket of cobblestones stretches out across the cavern, although to the naked eye none of them seem any different to any others.
Sienna glances back at the vast blanket of cobblestones that stretches out across the cavern, bottom lip tucked between her teeth. "This is definitely some Tomb Raider style shit," she mumbles under her breath, then swings her attention back to Casey and Samantha. "We probably want to splint it too, right? So she can bear weight on it? Is it a weird angle?"
Samantha puts a forearm over her eyes. "I don't wanna look." She admits through gritted teeth, "Splint is probably a good idea though..." She admits. It is totally at a weird angle.
Harriet looks over Samantha with concern, letting Casey tend to her. A frown is formed across her lips as she watches, waiting to see what is said in response to Sienna's suggestion whilst telling Avi, "Do you have any dark spells or something that can sense traps?" clearly knowing nothing about the arcane.
"What about like a stick? To push on some of these stones before we step on it?" Casey says. "Right uh... don't worry, it'll be fine," Casey says, clearly paling a bit at what she was seeing at Samantha's foot. "It'll be *fine*," Casey says, scooting a bit to one side to show Sienna the weird angle. Pulling the splint out of the kit. "Just uh... imagine Christmas or something," Casey says, before she reduces the fracture by putting the foot at a better angle for now.
"Explain to me slowly why sensing traps would be considered a dark spell? Surely that'd be considered a good thing," Avi rationalizes to Harriet. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asks as Casey moves Samantha's ankle around. "Don't make it worse," he warns, going to look for a stick and put her suggestion to the test with regards to the cobbelstones.
Avi would have to head back up to the entrance of the caves to get a solid stick and would be gone for about ten minutes if he did so.
Samantha grits her teeth and whimpers as Casey sets her ankle. "Uhhh this treasure better be awesome..." She whines, brow furrowed in pain.
Avi disappears for about ten minutes.
Harriet was previously only very concerned for Samantha, but now she's got the most pleased smile gracing her soft lips. A giggle emits past them, too, so very inappropriately, and she's aglow -- the sudden upswing of her mood on full display. Soon after, she's clearing her throat and attempting to look somber, but the softest little moan slips out still. "Certainly, Avi," she begins her reply to Avi, adopting a measured, thoughtful tone to address his query. "The classification of a spell, such as one for sensing traps, as 'dark' or otherwise, often hinges not merely on the spell's direct function, but rather on the broader context and implications of its use." She said a whole lot of nothing before he disappears to get a stick.
Sienna leans down to offer Samantha her hand while Casey makes work with setting her ankle. "You're like, really brave with this pain. I'd be a blubbering mess," she tells their Captain with a sympathetic smile, looking toward the center of the chamber again while they wait for Avi's return.
"I mean, seriously, if you wanna trade and be the first aid person, I'd be okay with that?!" Casey says calmly (not). Was she stressed? Mildly. "It'll be okay, Sam," Casey says unconvincingly as she applies the splint. The foot looked like it was more or less in the right position right now. "Painkillers?" Casey offers to her, shaking the bottle. "How long does it take to find a stick?!" Casey complains as Avi was gone a little longer than like 30 seconds. But chewing on her lower lip, Casey calms herself a tad. Somewhat.
Samantha shifts over a little to sit up, legs stretched out in front of her, she nods her head quickly at the offer of painkillers, taking a handful and throwing them back, swallowing water right afterwards. "It'll be uh, it'll be ok once I can get in some ocean water." She claims with another wince.
Harriet squats down next to Samantha as Casey offers up the first aid duty to anyone who will take it, and she looks over at Sienna with raised brows before her attention returns to the injured woman. "Our brave leader," she comments.
About ten minutes later, Avi returns with not one stick, but two. One he hands over to the resident medic, giving Casey a doubtful look. "You holding it together there? You look like you need the first aid kit more than she does. Anyway, here's a walking stick for your patient." The second stick is then, finally, used to poke at the cobblestones, while he resumes his petty argument with Harriet. "Explain to me the inherent darkness behind the 'broader context' of avoiding your girlfriend's other ankle getting smashed."
As Avi pokes a little at the cobblestones they don't seem to react.
"The bad evil cave hurt my ankle." Samantha complains to Harriet with a pout. When Avi sends a stick her way she gives him a thankful smile and then uses it to stand, transferring the camera to her other hand as she takes an experimental hobbling step. "Ok... this works... have you figured out what ones are trapped yet?"
"Nope," Avi confirms almost cheerfully. "Utter waste of time, that."
Casey closes her eyes, and takes a shuddering breath. "Sorry," Casey says. "I'm calm. Together. Totally..." Casey gets the stick, and then helps Samantha up and gives the stick to her. "Well," Casey says. "Maybe it's some kind of magic? Because there certainly are some of these cobblestones that... you know," Casey makes a small gesture to Samantha.
With Samantha back on her feet and outfitted with a stick to hobble along with, Sienna straightens up and moves to join Avi in his investigation of the cobblestones. "They probably need more weight for that to be effective," she points out the obvious. "I don't suppose you have any homunculi summoning spells, or a textbook?"
"Maybe you're not strong enough." Samantha muses to Avi with a dubious look at his biceps as she leans against the tunnel wall.
Harriet begins to ramble as Avi pokes further "You see, the label of 'darkness' often associated with spells stems from their potential misuse beyond these personal, protective intentions. It's the capacity for these spells to be employed in broader, morally ambiguous, or harmful scenarios that imparts them with the -dark- moniker. It's a reminder that magic, much like any tool or skill, holds the potential for both benevolence and malevolence, hinging largely on the intentions and actions of the user." Blah blah blah. "And so... It's this versatility for misuse in criminal pursuits that casts a shadow over the spell, lending it the label of 'dark' magic. Essentially, it's a matter of perspective and intent -- a protective measure for some, but a facilitator of malfeasance for others." After that nonsense, she focuses her full attention on Samantha. "The bad evil cave shall die for this."
"Do it yourself then," Avi thrusts the stick at Sienna, abandoning the effort. "Does that word salad work on people, usually?" he asks Harriet after a long moment.
Harriet gives Avi a very confirming nod of assurance, that yes, it does indeed usually work.
Sienna frowns as Avi just abandons the task to her, staring down at the stick then the cobblestones ahead. "Damn, okay then," she sighs, bending down with that powerful flashlight she picked out to shine them over each of the cobblestones. Digging through her backpack, she tugs out her water canister and some spare length of rope, tying it around the mouth before she tosses it over one of the cobblestones, testing its weight.
"People tend to say stuff like, Oh Dearest Harry how you bless us with your knowledge." Samantha further explains to Avi.
After Harriet's nuanced understanding of magic and morality, or a bunch of bull shit that she just pulled out of her proverbial ass... she nods to Samantha in complete agreement. "They do," she insists to Avi.
As the UV light shines onto the cobblestones, some patterns appear. Some of them have two lines, some a circle, some a square, some five lines and some a triangle.
The cobblestone the bottle lands on cracks slightly but doesn't crumble, it has a triangle on it.
"Figures," Avi replies dryly. "Any luck with those stones?" Avi calls over toward Sienna.
Sienna immediately brightens up. "Yeah, come look at this," she beckons Avi quickly to her side, sharing her discovery with the group. "There's like, symbols on these... Two lines, a cricle, square, five lines, and triangles." She eyes the triangle cobblestone where her water bottle lands and tentatively attempts to place her weight down over it, flinching pre-emptively.
The cobblestone breaks under Sienna's foot, the Swan being prepared and having fast reflexes just quick enough to pull her foot back before it gets smooshed.
"What do they mean?" Avi asks. "Grand Theft Auto cheatcodes aside, these symbols don't exactly mean anything to me," he adds as the triangle-marked cobblestone crumbles. "Note to Sienna, C-C all," Avi says after that attempt to tempt fate. "If a water bottle will break it, so will you, thunder-thighs."
"Well at least if the water bottle cracked it we know it isn't magical or whatever." Samantha points it out, "I'm sure we can figure out the pattern, is there something heavier than a water bottle we can use though?"
Harriet mouths out a silent, "Damn," as Avi says 'thunder-thighs' and then she clears her throat once again.
"How the hell would I know? You're the arcanist. Isn't this your level of expertise?" Sienna bitches back at Avi irritably as she manages to snatch her foot back before meeting the same fate as Samantha. "Triangles are definitely not it," she announces the results, then takes more time to try and study the patterns, searching for ones that might seem to actually lead somewhere like a proper path. "The machete, maybe? What else do you guys have on you?" she checks with Harriet and Casey.
"I dunno, I have my first aid kit and a pistol, an athame and a spellbook..." Casey says to Sienna. "I'm surprised the stick wouldn't work, if you give the stone a solid whack that should be way worse than a water bottle," Casey says. "Maybe it's less the weight, and more the... water stuff?" Casey says. "Have these cans of bug spray, though, if you think that'll work."
"Someone with super muscles could try giving it a go with the stick and really giving it a solid whomp." Samantha suggess.
Harriet checks in her bag. "There's various rolls of bandages, a headlamp, a gun, a hunting knife," she is explaining to Sienna about the contents of her purse. "I should have brought the riding crop," gets uttered out, as if that is an essential accessory. Looking over at Samantha, she asks, "Does anyone else have super muscles?"
"I do blood magic, not dirty cave magic," Avi snipes back at Sienna. Crossing his arms, it's clear he's not volunteering to step up and super muscle anything. "I hate traps," Avi leans his head back, looking up at the cave ceiling. "Just give us the damn treasure," he complains into the abyss.
Sienna chews at her bottom lip. "Well come here and take all your lusty demon vibes out on a cobblestone then," she volunteers Harriet, thrusting the stick over to her. "Try that stone right there?" she shines her UV light on the one patterned with a circle.
The Abyss does not give any treasure.
With those lusty demon vibes and all, Harriet accepts the task, and she takes up the infamous stick, slim digits curling about it as her hand holds on with a relaxed yet firm grip that belies her impressive strength. She takes a moment to assess the stone that Sienna has pointed out, and then she nods as hazel eyes move methodically over the surface, like she's calculating the best point to test. Calm and focused, she steps forward carefully and positions herself to maintain a balanced stance that allows for agility and a quick reaction if need be. The stick is swung forward, trying to see if she can trigger anything as she *THWAPS* it against the stone.
As the supernaturally strong demonborn whacks the stone it crumbles and a split second later a sharp spike briefly drives up through the hole where the stone was before falling back down into darkness. Working methodically it soon becomes aparrant that onle the two lines and square are safe cobblestones to step on.
"Okay, I think we got most of it figured out, by the look of it," Casey says, as she observes Harriet's methodical approach to thwacking the stones. "That's step *one* for this treasure hunt," Casey says, sticking her tongue out at the corner of her lips.
"Good job," Sienna beams at Harriet, shifting her grip on the UV flashlight to help guide the way as she tentatively steps out on the two lined and square-marked cobblestones. "Sam, you doing okay back there?"
Harriet nods in agreement with Casey, and tells Sienna, "Thank you. Last time I flexed my strength I beat Ryan at an arm wrestling contest, and as the loser, he had wear a French maid outfit and dust my house." She nods her head once as if to further punctuate the truth to that statement. She looks back at Samantha.
"Uh huh, all good." Samantha calls out as she hobbles after the others, stepping only on the cobblestones the person in front of her has stepped on and alternating between hobbling a little and then lifting her arm to scan the group with the camera.
As the group make their way to the other side of the trapped chamber without further incidents they continue on through the same kind of natural hewn corridors as before, nothing seeming too untowards until they arrive at the next clearly man-made alteration, the chamber widening a little before shrinking into a narrow passage only wide enough for one person to squeeze through at a time.
Samantha hobbles up in the rear when they come up to the narrow passageway. "Well... I'm definitely not going first this time, I've only got one foot left." She points out.
"Why these ones specifically?" Avi wonders as they pass using the appropriate cobblestones, but seeing as it works, he doesn't press for an explanation, pausing when they reach the narrow passage. "Not it," Avi declines the honor of going first, again.
"Not it," Sienna quickly echoes after Avi, eyeing the narrow passageway ahead anxiously.
Harriet is not the leader here today, but she is still fearless. She watches as Samantha and Avi, and then Sienna opt out. "I can do it, unless Case feels like being adventurous," is offered as she looks to Casey.
"Well." Samantha starts, "Maybe should poke the stick in or do something else to check it for traps before actually walking in." She suggests.
"Sienna has the stick," Avi notes, hanging back resolutely.
"Harriet has the stick," Sienna corrects Avi with a gentle gesture toward Harriet. "Have at it, noble adventureess."
Such a useful stick it is, too, and Harriet declares as she holds it, "I shall name thee Twiglet," because she's just kind of a weirdo sometimes. Since it seems Casey is not inclined to be number one, the brunette nods to Sienna and Samantha, and she ventures forward. The long piece of wood feels against the passage walls, getting smacked against them, as well as the ground below, and she only moves forward if nothing nefarious happens.
Nothing happens when Harriet whacks her stick against any of the floors or walls and so she steps into the corridor.
Harriet steps right into the corridor, feeling confident. That is until she releases a cry that sounds like she's in a heck of a lot of pain. The sound echoes out and she tries to back up out of the corridor, and back to the others.
Harriet stumbles back out of the corridor, she has no visible injuries.
The color drains from the Swann's face when Sienna hears Harriet crying out in pain. She immediately snaps to attention, shining her powerful UV light into the narrow corridor in an attempt to highlight the source of the woman's pain. "Harriet? Fuck! What happened?"
"Harry!?" Samantha calls out in alarm, hobbling quickly towards the demonborn when she calls out in pain.
The UV light reveals a tunnel filled with ghostly spectral arms, each with pointed fingernails and what looks like half-rotted sleeves, they don't seem able to move from the wall and the arms flails and gnash at anything inside the corridor.
"I am not entirely sure," Harriet says, her body shivering like she's freezing cold. "Something attacked me in there--" but as Sienna's lamp reveals the corridor's inhabitants, she's assuring Samantha, "I'm all right."
Samantha hobbles right over to Harriet and lets her eyes skim all over her to check for injuries before giving a little frown. "Well... ok..." She agrees, turning her head to look down the corridor. "I guess our stick isn't gonna help much with that..."
"Sounds like a good time for either the flame thrower or the incense?" Sienna recommends to Harriet and Avi after the discovery of the spectral inhabitants stuck in the walls. She turns her flashlight on the demonborn, scanning her over with it just to see if anything shows up. "You okay?"
The UV light doesn't show anything untoward about Harriet.
Harriet does a once over on herself, studying her front before concluding to Sienna, "I believe so. It is very unpleasant when they attack you, however." As if no one could have ever guessed that. Glancing over at Avi, she then looks to Samantha. "Incense or fire?"
"I can't believe you gave away the stick I personally gifted to you," Avi tells Sienna disdainfully, but then the light shines on the otherworldly spectres and he's frowning. "This isn't right," he claims quietly. "How long have they been stuck down here?" He opens a bag at his side, drawing out a handful of incense sticks. "Flamethrower in the front to push them back, incense at the rear to keep them back?" is his suggestion.
"Avi knows about evil ghost monsters." Samantha says with a little nod.. "Lets do that, Harry up front with flame, Avi in the back with the incense and the rest of us in between." She decides. "Just be careful not to use up all the fuel or incense or whatever, we still gotta come back."
"I thought you just gave it to me because you didn't want to do all the work figuring out the cobblestones," Sienna knits her brows at Avi, only to nod with acceptance at the plan devised. "Sounds good to me." Wasting no time in lining herself up behind Harriet, she shines her flashlight forward to help highlight the spirits trapped within the walls. "Ready when you are, guys."
Giving a nod to Samantha after Avi's suggestion, Harriet ignites her flamethrower and then steps towards the corridor where she'd previously been attacked. A torrent of flames bursts forth, and the demonborn's chest heaves as she aims and unleashes the heat against the spectral apparitions. The fire dances and flickers in a vibrant display of oranges, reds, and yellows. Looking almost alive, the flames twist and writhe as they leap into the air, crackling and roaring in a song that resonates with her innermost being. There's both sheer joy and crazed delight across her features, but -- she's the first one in, so no one can see that. The flamethrower casts an intense light that pierces the surrounding darkness.
As Harriet pyros away the spectral hands shrink back from the fire, but the effect is pretty temporary and the group have to huddle close together to prevent themselves from being attacked as they squeeze their way down the corridor.
Samantha hobbles up to directly behind Harriet, quickly limping after her down the corridor, ducking down a little as if that will help keep her safe from the ghostly hands.
Sienna moves carefully with Samantha and Harriet, closing in the gaps as the ghostly hands are temporarily driven back by the fire. She looks behind, worriedly checking on Avi and Casey.
Taking up the rear, Avi waits for everyone else to line up behind Harriet before falling in, the incense sticks lit and burning with smoke curling up from the tips, forming a delicate barrier that seems to keep the ghostly arms at bay. "Once we're done here, this whole death trap needs to be ritually sanctified," Avi says with equal parts disgust and resolve. "I don't care how much salt it takes. No one deserves to be trapped here like this, guarding someone else's bounty for all eternity. It's fucked."
As the group move through the corridor the ghostly arms are kept at bay by the flames and holy smoke, but as they move further and further into the corridor they start to hear something from the other side of those walls that all the arms push through, sobbing... A large number of people crying just on the other side of the stone... But then they're through and finally break into the final chamber.
As the flames leap out in a vibrant display, Harriet revels in the chaos she creates, and her movements would likely be far more erratic if she had more room, as she kind of looks like she simply wants to catch everything on fire. She glances over her shoulder at Samantha, and those hazel eyes of hers are windows to her soul, displaying her inner demonborn essence. Pupils are dilated, accentuating the intensity of her gaze, and there's a wildness in them through the form of a primal fascination, and within her a soul that is inextricably linked with the inferno. The sobbing only makes her smile.
It's a heartbreaking sound to hear the numerous sobbing cries of the spirits on the other side of the walls, features twisting into a sympathetic grimace. "I would be down to help you once this is all over," Sienna promises to Avi as they slowly progress through the corridor until they finally reach the final chamber.
Samantha's gaze flicks up to meet Harriet's and when she sees that smile the faeborn's eyes widen a little as she looks momentarily slightly ill, hurrying into the final chamber and avoiding looking at Harriet, "Finally..." She pants, turning her camera to take in the whole chamber. "Ok, someone needs to grab the chest." She says, nodding to the chest.
Casey didn't seem to enjoy the ghost corridor as much as most could. While the team handled it, Casey had lingered back, murmuring some excuse for not sallying forth into that particular fray. With her eyes shut against the eternal sighing, "Agreed," Casey says to Avi and Sienna. "This is... monstrous," Casey says.
Finding his way to Harriet's side once they're in the final chamber, Avi fans the incense sticks until they go out, the last of the smoke curling outward around their group before dissipating. "Is there any difference for you?" he asks the older demonborn quietly as an aside as Samantha directs them toward the treasure. "Between them," he motions back toward the wailing ghosts, "And say, Sam screaming in agony, like that?"
The look in Harriet's eyes is not simply fascination, but a reflection of her very nature, and perhaps it is a bit unnerving. Paired with the way she feels over the suffering of the ghosts and the living people accompanying her, she looks rather evil for a few more moments, before she's coming out of it, or at least trying to fight it off, but it really does feel so good... The flames subside, although it takes a lot of willpower for her to stop those, too. Her attention shifts to Avi, and she blinks a few times, faltering momentarily.
Harriet finally produces, "Sam hobbling around like she is right now breaks my heart," in an answer to Avi, not really answering exactly what he asked.
clears her throat. "Right, Sienna use your thunder thighs and pick up the chest." Samantha says, "Lets get out of here."
Sienna sucks her teeth in annoyance at Samantha. "Would you please cut that out?" she requests politely, nose turning up as the rancid stench of decay hits her nose. Rather than just attempt to go right into the cache, she shines the flashlight around paranoidly.
"I see," Avi nods, the response seemingly for Harriet, but also perhaps a touch introspective, as he draws further into himself at that answer. The melancholy doesn't last too long however, in the face of their successful acquisition, or so it'd seem. "Stick figures aren't allowed to talk shit about anyone else's curves," Avi informs Samantha. "Maybe if you had more meat on your bones they wouldn't shatter so easily."
The UV light doesn't seem to reveal anything in this chamber.
"I mean... I'm willing to volunteer to be the person that opens this up. We expecting like an Indiana Jones situation? Open it up, a boulder drops from the ceiling, all that?" Casey says, sucking on her teeth as she glances - not towards the chest, but towards the ceiling and walls, squinting as she looks for any sign of problem.
"I wasn't talking shit!" Samantha claims, "I was complimenting her sexy and powerful legs and the great lifting power they no doubt possess." She argues, leaning her weight on her good foot to wave her stick threateningly at Avi.
"I think we can just take the whole chest, it's pretty small and we can work on getting it open when we're out of this place." Samantha explains.
"Since you're way taller and have better strength than I do, do you want to do the honors?" Sienna motions Casey forward toward the chest, seeming unwilling to prove Samantha right. "I skip arm day pretty regularly."
"You're bad at complimenting women," Avi observes in the face of stick-waving. "But good at finding treasure, so I'll allow it." He wonders then, "Do we have any idea what it is, though? Or roughly how much it's worth on the open market? The chest itself is surely an antique."
Harriet looks over at Avi and now her eyes show some disapproval, but she keeps her sharp tongue inside of her own mouth. She listens to Samantha, and then watches Sienna volunteer Casey. But then Avi is opening his mouth again, so the brunette's lips begin to move. "She is incredible at complimenting women," is all that gets said.
Casey takes a few more moments, sighing heavily. "Alright, alright," Casey says to Sienna. There was another bit of hesitance - but then Casey was starting towards the chest, to try to pick it up, her entire body tensing should she be able to do so.
As Casey's hands clasp onto the side handles of the ancient chest... Nothing happens. She picks it up, it weighs about 30 pounds.
"The chest's contents are classified." Samantha claims and watches Casey closely, giving a little nod when nothing seems to happen. "Just let us know if you start feeling like, kinda tentacle-y?" She requests.
Harriet does a double take over Samantha's last words to Casey.
Sienna edges away from Casey slowly, hoping she doesn't notice at Samantha's suspicious choice of words.
"We're all becoming perfectly aware of your unique tastes," Avi assures Harriet. "No more tentacles," Avi tells Samantha firmly. "Seriously, it's already been a long weekend and it's only Saturday."
Casey pauses, lifting the chest up. "I'm *sorry*?" Casey asks of Samantha, after she picks up the chest. "You only tell me *now* about the potential for tentacle?" Casey says, frowning down at the thing as she stops along after the group. 30 pounds was lifted easily enough. "... alright, if nothing is happening, how about we get the heck out of here?"
Harriet gazes at Avi. She knows exactly what he's saying, but she doesn't touch on it. Hazel eyes narrow and she slips an arm about Samantha's back, resting a free hand on her girlfriend's hip gently.
"I'm joking." Samantha assures Casey, "Probably." She tacks on and nods. "Yeah, lets get out of here." She agrees.
After Casey has the chest the group is able to make their way back out of the chamber, using the flame and incense once more, and then using the same pattern in the large chamber, only stepping on stones where the number of lines are even and not odd to cross safely. After a few minutes they find themselves in the last little bit of the cave heading back towards the exit with their booty safely secured.
Samantha hobbles along the with everyone else, mood lifting once they're back past the creepy corridor and almost back out into the open air. "I was gonna say something mean back, but everything that went through my head was too mean." She tells Avi, "So basically you're lucky I'm nice, and like very secure, like dudes totally are like, Oh Sam please don't steall my girl." She claims.
"I didn't ask for you to be nice, you censoring yourself is a you problem, not a me problem," Avi points out in reply to Samantha. "You get as froggy as you want with me, but don't throw shade at Sienna when she's not done anything to you to deserve it," Avi says somewhat coldly.
Sienna walks alongside Casey through the winding corridors and back out to the initial opening of the cave where their adventures all began. "I'm glad that's all over," she beams in an attempt to draw Avi and Samantha away from the argument building. "How much time do we have? Before midnight? I really don't want to be here any longer than we have to in case more bad things are about to happen."
"Throwing shade by repeating the exact thing you said?" Samantha checks, "That makes sense, you need to spend more time around people who aren't magically compelled to agree with you and every narcissistic desire you have." She claims as she hobbles along.
The group heads back out into the rainforest, the darkness making the trees stretch up as tall shadows all around, as they pick their way back to the beach there seems to be one shadowy tree that's somehow out in the ocean. There comes a sudden bright flash and then a moment later the ground explodes next to them! As they burst out of the treeline it becomes visible, a semi translucent shadow of an ancient ship sitting in the water just off the coast. Eerie lights flicker in the windows as there comes another flash of light and then more explosions of tree and sand as the next volley of cannonballs lances into the beach!
Harriet quietly listens to Avi and Samantha interact. Her left eyebrow arches, but she refrains, giving her girlfriend only a gentle pat upon the rear as they continue on.
Casey likewise stays quiet as she follows along with the group, keeping her distance from the rest and pursing her lips as she glances down towards the chest itself.
"Read a room - just because I can get away with saying something doesn't mean you can," Avi explains, patience thinning. "No girl wants to hear fat jokes from another girl, come on." He turns to Harriet then. "This is your fault, Sam's all sensitive now with you to impress," he says irritably.
Sienna widens her eyes at the sudden flash searing through the dark, ears ringing as the earth is upended around them in the wake of the explosion. She automatically throws herself off to the side, screeching in terror, as she looks forward toward the ghastly sight of an ancient ship just off the coast. "Okay, can we please get the hell out of here before we're murdered by angry ghost pirates?!"
"Fuck!" Samantha calls out, ducking her head as trees and things start exploding all around them. "Quick, path, path!" She calls out, dropping her impromptu crutch and quick-limping down the beach to the drop off point, immediately raising her hands and starting to channel a sea-foam tunnel back off the island.
Harriet was likely going to respond to Avi but the ancient ship cuts her reply short, or rather from it ever beginning. Samantha expresses her sentiments exactly with that expletive, and she's running alongside her girlfriend and away from the cannon balls.
"This is not what I had in mind when I thought, 'shots fired'!" Avi bitches, running toward the slowly-forming tunnel. "Don't try to fucking leave me behind either, Samantha Salte," he warns direly, sticking close as he braces his arms overhead.