Relic Hunters! (closed)

[DrStein]

Jesse wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed. Of all the places in the world to go, jungles weren't his favorite but they were still better than anywhere really cold. He had grown up in the slums of New York and had seen some pretty bitter winters, but that didn't mean he liked the cold any. Jungles on the other hand had nice, sunny weather most of the time, but the humidity was the problem. He chopped down another vine with his machete as he moved along the river. If the map was correct, it wasn't much further to the old pyramid and the treasure he had been trekking through the wilderness for four days to find. He raked a hand back through his blond hair and trudged on.

He stopped a few minutes later when he looked ahead and spotted a motorboat tied to the root of a tree that was halfway into the river. Someone had gotten here ahead of him! He reflexively drew his beloved Lee-Enfield rifle and loaded a bullet into the chamber. He moved closer, trying to watch his peripheral vision and spotted a series of footprints leading further down river and into the jungle. They were rather small for a man, though... He went over to the boat to get a closer look and that's when his nose caught a whiff of that familiar, spicy, floral scent that could only have come from one person. "How the hell does she keep showing up ahead of me?" Jesse blurted out in exasperation. "Fuckin' gypsy magic." A slight Irish accent crept into his voice and he cleared his throat as if to suppress it.

If she was here, he would have to move quickly to catch up. Fortunately, she had left him a nice trail. Of the two of them, she was the smartest but he was the better survivalist. He could track a bird through a thunderstorm so following her route would be easy. He returned his rifle to the holster across his back and set off in pursuit of his lovely colleague. He spent several minutes following the footprints deeper into the jungle when he came to a point where they abruptly stopped. She had turned... backed up a little... and took a wide stance before moving into...

Jesse whirled around just in time to hear the leaves of the underbrush rustle and feel the blade of a knife pressed to his throat while his hands froze in mid-air to show he was unarmed. The knife was held by a dainty, dusky hand which led to a familiar and very pretty face who seemed very surprised to see him. "Are you trying to give me an erection?" Jesse asked in an ironic tone. "It's working, but next time you could just kiss me."

 

[haremfaery]

This is an OOC post that I like to put early in a thread to jot things down so I won't forget, like Char names, NPC names, places, etc.

Adriana 'Drina' Zemfira Solario of Southern Italian Romany stock. Her family traces its Italian roots to the late 1400s and the painter Antonio Solario known as 'Lo Zingaro,' The Gypsy.

Her love of history and historical relics has made her a life-long student. She studied in various universities throughout Europe and is currently working for the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy. She has shown herself to be adept at languages both living and dead and frequently is called in to do freelance work for other museums and collectors. Not your typical academician, she loves working in the field.

Along with her school studies, she learned pickpocketing and other 'street skills' from her uncles.

 

[haremfaery]

Drina sneered, "Only Jesse ((insert last name here, because I've forgotten it already)) would consider a knife at the throat foreplay." She pressed the blade closer. "I should have known it was you sniffing after me like some dog. You might as well just turn around and go home. I got here first."

It seemed lately Drina could not go anywhere without coming up against Jesse. He generally worked for private collectors while she was finding the archaeological discoveries for the National Museum in Naples, or some other museum. These treasures were meant for all of humanity, not some private individual to hide it away and brag about it.

She relaxed the knife a little. Her long thick black hair was tied up in a tight knot on the back of her head as much to keep it out of her way as to keep her cooler in the heat. Although she had been born and raised in southern Italy and was used to it, although at home they would siesta during the worse of it.
She liked to dress stylishly, but she refused to bob her hair as so many 'modern' women were doing. She was rather vain about her hair.

 

[DrStein]

Jesse stepped back with a smirk. "Yeah, and only Jesse Moore would be able to keep up with you, and you know it. Speaking of, I missed you too, doll. It's been, what? A year?" He turned and looked out into the jungle in the direction they were both headed. In doing so, Drina would be able to notice something. Jesse never went on an adventure without his Lee-Enfield. That gun was his pride and joy. But there was something new about it. The name "Adriana" had been carved into the stock. Hand-carved in fact with extreme care.

"Well, let's not bullshit each other. We're both here for that moon goddess idol thing. How the hell was that pronounced again? Eh, nevermind. And you know damn well that I'm not going to turn back any sooner than you are."

He turned back to face Drina with that same cocky smirk. "So what do you say we work out one of our little truces? That's always fun. We work together until we're back in civilization. Whoever can get the idol off of the other and to their boss first wins fair and square. That's the American way. Deal?" He offered his hand to her with her brows lifted in anticipation.

 

[haremfaery]

Drina snorted. "I have not missed you in the least." She worked hard to speak with a nondescript and unidentifiable European accent although she could speak any number of languages and accents.

She eyed his rifle. Was that Jesse's idea of a joke? Was it a compliment or did he wish he could kill her with it?

"Language, Jesse." She chided. "The Goddess is Ix Chel. And I was here first. The idol is mine to hand over to the Museum of Belize. This is their cultural treasure and should stay in their country." Her dark eyes looked into his pleading.

"We have not spoken since that incident of the Parcelsus scrolls. The ones that supposedly held the formula for turning lead into gold. I believe the American Way is called 'cheating.' I still haven't forgiven you for taking them." She stood with her fists on her hips and looked at his hand. "I was here first. The idol is mine!"

((I'm thinking maybe she already has the idol in her backpack and is acting like she hasn't gone into the temple yet, unless you had another idea.))

 

[DrStein]

((I can roll with that. She'll need an explanation for why she's on course to the pyramid. If she's coming back from it, Jesse would be able to spot the trail.))

Jesse's smirk never left and he rolled his eyes at her outrage, his hand dropping to his side. "Sweetheart, a man has to make a living. Besides, you know I don't believe in all that alchemy bushwa. If the ancient civilizations could actually summon powerful magic like that, we would know about it by now."

He turned on his heel and started moving in the direction of the pyramid when he realized something and stopped dead in his tracks. Drina said something, but he didn't make out what. "Shh!" She wasn't happy about being shushed, so he just repeated it louder. "Don't you hear that?"

Jesse didn't move, but his eyes looked skyward. Even through the dense canopy he could tell that the sun was shining bright. The air pressure hadn't dropped. "The birds are quiet," he whispered. "Like before a storm, but there's no storm coming."

He turned to face Drina again, his ears listening intently as he stepped back to her. He dropped his voice down to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned close to her and said, "Someone is tailing us. I don't know who, but someone is out there." He slowly reached for his rifle and drew it out, turning the safety off. "If you don't have a gun, take the revolver at my hip. Now." It was a Smith and Wesson, fully loaded and holstered at his hip.

 

[haremfaery]

((No problem, we can go back to Drina being on her way to the pyramid for the idol but backtracked when she heard someone following her, ie, Jesse.))

"I make a living and I don't sell antiquities to hoodlums." She knew one of his clients had Mafia connections. The Mob was all over Naples.

Drina hurried to catch up to him. One way or another, he was not getting that idol even if she had to steal it from him.

She listened intently but heard nothing, not even a twig snap. Jesse had a sixth sense about this sort of thing. She did not doubt him. "I have my Browning." She pulled the gun from the holster at the small of her back under her field vest. She thought the Smith & Wesson too bulky.

She stood happy to have Jesse with her. She had to admit, she trusted him with her life--just not any possessions. She scarcely breathed and looked into the foliage wondering who could be following them.

 

[DrStein]

Jesse had an eagle eye. His father had served in the Great War, given an honorable discharge after injuring his back, but had been a distinguished sniper and taught his son everything he knew about guns. But whoever was following them was every bit as good at stealth as he was at marksmanship.

Several minutes of silence passed. Jesse and Drina went back to back and slowly rotated as Jesse scanned the foliage through the sights of his rifle. After a long wait, the sounds of the jungle returned. Whoever was following them had backed off. A thought crossed the young relic hunter's mind that gave him a chill.

"Do you remember that incident on the Yucatan in '23?" he asked softly. "We found that ceremonial knife, but someone stole it from our hotel before we could fight over who got to keep it? That's happened to me twice since. Both time with Meso-American artifacts. Like this one." He looked over his shoulder at Drina, wondering if she was thinking the same thing as him.

 

[haremfaery]

"Just recently an artifact was stolen from the museum in Mexico City. Someone is putting together quite a collection..." Drina said relaxing a little when the normal jungle sounds returned.

"You don't think the stories are true?" Drina shook her head. "They can't be true, but clearly someone thinks it's true. Enough to want to gather together all of these things. We have to stop them. All of these relics belong in a museum so the people can learn about their heritage."

"Jesse, I think we need to call a truce until we discover what is going on here." She turned toward the temple and wondered if whoever it was had beaten them to the idol.

 

[DrStein]

Jesse scoffed and holstered his rifle. "You know how much stock I put in superstition, doll. Either way, it looks to me like someone is letting us do all the dirty work and then taking the relics once there's no more danger to them. Kind of reminds me of this borscht-eating bohunk I grew up with, actually." He turned to Drina with a tilt of his head. "Long story."

He looked off in the direction of the pyramid and sighed. "You're right though. As always." He took her hand and kissed it. "Truce."

Without letting go of her hand he started off in the direction of the pyramid. "You got here first. Do you think they were following you or me?"

 

[haremfaery]

"Perhaps you can tell me the story over drinks when this is over." Drina said not sounding at all interested. That was their way. Jesse flirted shamelessy and she acted disinterested right up until the clothes started coming off.

She lengthened her stride to keep up with him. "I did not hear nor sense anything until your big feet came smashing along the path behind me giving me ample time to ambush you." She smirked. "You are getting careless, bello."

"I am thinking we will not have any trouble getting in." She said as they came to the temple. "But getting out with the idol...that is another matter." So many of these ancient sites had their own booby traps, and now they had persons unknown following them to steal it away.

 

[DrStein]

At her remark of his carelessness, Jesse just smirked. "What can I say? I catch a whiff of your scent and I get weak at the knees thinking of our last night together."

They came to a clearing in the jungle. A large stone pavilion, actually. Weeds and shrubs and flowers had started growing in the cracks between the stones and the ground was no longer even, but the pyramid stood tall and impressive all the same, marred only by the vines creeping up the sides. As if to make the scene more picturesque, a quetzal bird flew off the peak of the pyramid and fluttered directly over their heads into the jungle. Even Jesse had to admit that he was always impressed by these ruins. Despite centuries of neglect they endured better than anyone could have expected. There was a majesty to it.

He shook his head to clear it and walked out ahead of Adriana. He was expecting booby traps and his usual method was to get by through wits and reflexes alone. Drina on the other hand tended to take a more intellectual approach. "Any clues what we can expect in there, doll? You know how much I love it when you talk shop."

 

[haremfaery]

Drina ignored Jesse's continued attempts at flirting.

"Since it was a temple meant for worshipers, I don't think we'll run into anything until we reach the inner sanctum where the priests alone were permitted. The idol itself would have many protections to discourage anyone from looting their most prized artifacts."

She looked over the ruins hunting for any inscriptions. She made a face. "No clues out here except to identify that this is indeed Ix Chel's temple. So...Let us go inside. But take care before entering the priests' area. I expect there will be something, a puzzle or some such to be solved to only let those of a high even level in. Who know how the statue is protected, but poisoned darts would not surprise me. These Meso-Americans love their poisoned darts."

 

[DrStein]

Jesse took out a torch and a Zippo from his pack as they climbed to the top of the pyramid. "They certainly made you work to get to Sunday services, didn't they? Then again, I remember my parents making me go to church as a boy and having to sit in those pews. I guess all religions find it funny to make their worshippers uncomfortable some way?"

He lit the torch and immediately used it to burn away a massive curtain of cobwebs out of the entryway. He have a look to Drina and stepped in experimentally ahead of her. He had the same aspect as earlier when they discovered they were being tailed. His senses were focused and his movements slow and controlled. The walls were covered in elaborate reliefs and paintings, though the latter hadn't fared as well over the years.

Rather than burning out more cobwebs, Jesse just took out his machete and parted or hacked them out of the way. He hated spiders. Hated everything about them. Consequently he was more focused on making sure none of the nasty little things still in the webs actually went near him than trying to decode anything from the artwork. Besides, that was what Drina was good at. "What do you make of the art?"

 

[haremfaery]

"It instills awe and humility for Divinity." Drina and Jesse had both been raised Catholic, another thing they had in common.

"Burn this away for me, so I can see this better." She stood back for him to clear the wall for her. "This is the goddess in her old form, a more destructive form--rainstorms, floods. See the jaguar claws. The bones on her skirt. The snake she's holding. This isn't the Maiden Goddess of fertility and weaving."

She moved to the back of the room where an opening led to a corridor. "They must keep the goddess back here." There were more reliefs and another inscription. "Here, see? The goddess despises the Sun, her grandfather, and sleeps here by day. Metaphorically speaking, I'm sure. Guarded by her minions, so none disturb her."

Drina straightened from her crouch. "Her minions? If they kept jaguars here, they would have escaped or died. But...how do you feel about snakes? Unless they are speaking figuratively and her minions are just the traps set to guard the idol. We must proceed carefully."

((And I have no idea what sort of traps there might be...a pit with snakes? Darts shooting out of walls? Rainbows were considered ill omens, so some sort of crystal that casts a rainbow might indicate a trap, or point to the idol.))

 

[DrStein]

"There are two kinds of snakes. The first kind have no venom and aren't very big, they just leave a nasty bite mark." He had learned that the hard way in French Polynesia during his first job. "The second kind, on the other hand, the kind we're likely to find... Well, they're not spiders."

At that his face blanched and his eyes widened. "I can'na tell if this is ironic or not, but I just felt something on my lower back. Whatever it is, get it the fuck offa me." Once again, his accent had returned, meaning he was legitimately nervous. He turned his back to Drina and there was indeed a large tarantula on his back slowly climbing up toward his pack.

((We'll get to the traps momentarily))

 

[haremfaery]

"I know there are poisonous snakes in Central America." She said with an air of haughtiness. "I am not stupid. I have a snakebite kit in my pack, but if I know anything about how these things work, it will not be one snake we run into."

Drina rarely saw Jesse when he was not in full command of himself. She didn't even point out his language, she could see how unnerved he was. "You're in luck, it's just a tarantula." Granted it was a large one, but the bites weren't poisonous, just painful and prone to infection, especially in the jungle.

She pulled out her journal from her front vest pocket and used it to brush the tarantula away. "You're fine. I shooed it away."

 

[DrStein]

Jesse turned back to look at her with a brow lifted. "Just a tarantula?!" She brushed it off and he quickly stepped away from it with a shiver. His accent still kept creeping. "As spiders go, any size is too big." He cleared his throat and resumed his usual North American dialect. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

As they moved deeper into the temple toward the chamber where Drina believed the idol would be, Jesse tried to make sense of their mysterious tracker and form an escape plan. "If they were following me..." he thought aloud, "then they probably didn't know about your boat until I found it. And they probably want to get the hell out of here, so they'd be more likely to take your boat up the river... There's a trading post about 8 miles down river, opposite the direction I came. Is that where you came from?" He had been close to the river for most of the journey. That she would be able to hide the noise of a motor from him was unlikely. "We can make a break for your boat and try to go down the river and outrun them."

 

[haremfaery]

Drina was glad Jesse could pull himself together. Everyone had irrational fears. Hers had more to do with heights. Her uncles would sit her on top of the cupboard in her grandmother's kitchen until she would scream to be let down. They thought it was funny. Bugs, however, did not phase her at all. Which was a good thing in her line of work.

"It's a shame we don't know how many of them there are. They could have left a few men at the boat for a quick getaway." Drina nodded. "Yes, I thought the trading post was a good place to take a break and get more supplies and talk to the locals."

She stopped when they got to the end of the short corridor and inspected the opening. "We're getting close. Hold the torch there. Do you see anything?"

 

[DrStein]

Jesse moved in closer to Drina and at the last second saw something that triggered an old memory.

It was three years ago. Their job in the Yucatan. They had reached the ruins of the old Mayan settlement and were trying to find where the knife had been stashed. Drina pointed to a wall covered in paintings. Jesse couldn't tell what was so special about it. She explained to him that rainbows were an ill omen in Meso-America. That painting was a warning. After a moment of search, sure enough they found a section of wall that slid away into a hidden chamber and there was the knife on a pedestal.

Jesse's hand shot out and grabbed Drina by the arm, pulling her back sharply and forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck to keep from losing her balance. Her scent filled his nose again and he enjoyed the feeling of her body against his for the first time in a year, but his eyes stayed focused on a spot ahead of them. A crystal embedded in the ceiling must have led to the outside wall because it was projecting a small circle of rainbow light onto the floor. In fact, it was dead center on a single tile.

Jesse looked to Drina and then to the tile. He inspected the tiles around them for any seems or trap doors. He crouched low to the ground, backed up and pushed Drina behind him. It wasn't often he showed it, but in moments like this he always put her safety ahead of his own.

He stretched his arm with the torch out carefully and used the burning end of it to touch the rainbow lighted tile. A windy, percussive sound filled the corridor and Jesse started back. Needlessly it turned out. He was well out of the way of a volley of darts. "Once again," he said to Drina as he stood up. "You were right. Like you always are."

 

[haremfaery]

Drina's arms went around Jesse as if they belonged there. She had a busy life, one not suited to marriage, or even having a steady lover. It had been a long time since she had been in any man's arms. But now was not the time for those thoughts.

She looked through the opening again. She did not see any other clues that might show another trap. "I think it is safe to enter now..." She looked at him for confirmation and put her hand on his arm.

 

[DrStein]

Jesse couldn't spot any other traps so he gave a nod. He stopped at the opening to the next chamber and looked at the darts in the wall. He grabbed several of them and tucked them behind his belt in back of him. "Just a thought," he explained.

He held the torch up in the chamber and there it was. About 15 feet in a pedestal with a silver and gold idol of a woman wearing an elaborate headdress and nothing else. She hugged her knees to her chest, concealing her nudity, and had her head inclined skyward. He smiled at Drina. They had made it ahead of their pursuers!

They approached carefully and inspected the pedestal. "What do you think? Trapped?"

 

[haremfaery]

"I am sure of it." She looked around and stepped carefully inspecting the reliefs and looking for inscriptions.

"Of course, whoever wants this idol is willing to let us do the dangerous work. What will they do if we fail? Wait for someone else to come looking for the idol?"

She looked the reliefs and then at the ceiling for any sign of a rainbow. She followed the goddess's gaze but it held no revelation for her.

"Possibly the trap will be triggered when the idol is removed...a typical device, but effective. But--Wait. Look at these stones. A trap door? You have to stand here to get the idol. She walked around so she was facing the same way at the goddess and looked at the ceiling again.

 

[DrStein]

"Well we have a pretty good track record so far. We're probably worth betting money on." Jesse watched as Drina tried to figure out the mechanism for safely removing the idol. Every muscle in his body prepared to spring into action if anything went wrong.

"Watch yourself, doll," he muttered under his breath. He waited impatiently for her to finish. "Once you get that thing, we make a mad dash for your boat."

 

[haremfaery]

Drina was frustrated. "There has to be some way to trigger this, or to turn off the trap. The priests could not put their lives in jeopardy every time they came near to their goddess. You see the dark stains? That is blood. They had to be able to get close enough to give her their offerings."

She walked carefully around the pedestal again. "Here!" They was a small relief of the goddess in her Maiden form, sitting on a crescent moon on the side of the pedestal. The moon was inlaid silver. "I think if I slide this--something will happen. Stand back."

Drina said a little prayer under her breath then slide the silver crescent. There was the sound of gears and the front of the pedestal pushed out over the trap door making steps that led right up to the idol.

"Practically a red carpet." She straightened up and grinned at Jesse.