[Mission 5 - Arc and Cre] Treasure island.

[cremuex]

The white sand next to the ocean looked so scenic and romantic- something out of a tourist catalog of a dream destination. A young woman walked along the beach, barefooted as she carried her lace up sandles in one hand and her backpack over her shoulder. A fishing net wrapped around her waist like a skirt but still showing her bikini pants. Her cloak hiding her torso and revealing her legs as they were unbuttoned from around her hips, spun and tied so that the cloak didn't trail into the water as the waves lazily crashed against her legs.

She smiled absently to herself, as though she was off in a day dream as she looked through the softly foaming water for pretty shells to collect. She was surprised that such an island didn't have more people visiting it. She'd walked along the shore for almost two hours and not seen so much as another person or a ship. She could hear the birds inside the inland forest, but no smoke to signify a township or even a house.

Up ahead she could see some rocks, as the flat beach turned to a high sloping cliff, and the sands faded away to dark brown rock pools. The ocean waters flowed unbreaking, telling of a cove on the other side of the rock face. The woman tilted her head curiously and added a skip to her step, flicking up water as she waded through the waves, coming up to her mid calves. She slowed down to a walk as a sound tickled on her ears. She could have sworn that she could hear a noise from up past the cliff. Carefully she snuck towards the corner, not wanting to be spotted by whoever was there- just in case they were less than kindly folk, or that they should suspect her of something. Her curiosity took the best of her and she peeped her head around the corner.

[thearcguardian]

Upon this Isle, Cid had been made aware of a treasure. Lost in time to most, but through a friendly bar goer from a distant Isle. Who shared a drink with the boy, had told him the tale and even gave him the Map so he could take a shot at becoming wealthy. Cid, always looking to make more money for his charitable cause. Agreed upon this quest and quickly got to the shore of the Isle. Looking about it'd take him many hours with a few of his trusted crew mates to find it. But eventually they came across the lost temple of Cher'go'fa.

As his eyes scanned the map he was unaware of the person peaking upon them nearby. Most likely to the surprise of the woman, it was three kids. The one in the center holding the map scrawny and dirty, his blonde hair pushed to the side with one hand. His clothing choice was pretty simple, a white tattered flannel shirt and a pair of brown shorts that are absolutely covered in dust and dirt. A pair of sandals and a very tattered red and gold...captain's jacket? It seemed like it was ripped to fit him, but still worn around the shoulders like most other captains. His eyes scanning the map he said, "this seems like the place. This temple is supposedly full of treasure from some High Priest years and years ago. Once we collect the bounty here, we should be set for a few months. Maybe a year of charity and then a little for ourselves." He'd say with a grin of excitement, the boy seemed quiet happy. While the other two looked on with a slight hint of intimidation about going in this place, "C-captain Cid? Can we stay out here and keep watch?" Cid would glance over at them and sigh before saying, "yea sure. But you guys are helping me carry the treasure back to the ship." They'd salute and say,"aye aye sir." A sense of relief about them on not going into this weird temple.

[cremuex]

The girl stood silently, almost transfixed at the side of the island she'd never seen before- The rocks seemed deliberately placed the further it followed up the cliff, snaking back and forth as it climbed to the summit. She couldn't tell if the small buildings were shrines, houses or stores; they all seemed to follow the same intricate design with serpentine dragons featured along the grooves. They were all made from the same cut gray stone that was worn smooth by the passage of time. Some of the walk ways jutted above other rocks, showing that the ground underneath had shifted and warped since it's original placement presumably thousands of years before. Thick vines twisted their way around the stone, breaking through the hard surface like a vital spirit unwilling to be crushed by the heavy progress of civilization. The wilderness seemed to claim back the island as it crept through all of the buildings, long forgotten by their residents and housing some new families of birds and rodents.

A smile found it's way back to her face as she let out a sigh of relief. The voices were just some children playing and thankfully not a group of burly cut-throat pirates as she had built up the fear in her mind in a split second. She leaned against the cliff face that she was hiding behind and pondered if she should go introduce herself or not. On second look, they all seemed rather small and malnourished, a sharp pang of sadness struck her chest as her motherly need to nurture took over. She didn't want children herself, but she couldn't just leave them without making sure that they were alright.

"Excuse me..." She called out passively, moving away from the cliff wall that she was leaned against and cautiously walked closer to the three children. It was then that she noticed that she wasn't quite sure what to say or how they'd react to her. She pushed through her shyness but stopped at a safe enough distance to not be considered a threat.

"I'm Cremuex, I was asked to have a look at the island since it doesn't appear on any maps, are you children from here?" She asked tentatively, her free hand twirling through one of the holes in her fishing net as she fiddled awkwardly, she did want to offer them some fish, but she didn't know if they would be offended by it.