She and Roland had spent most of the afternoon searching up and down the coast for a specific location. Only just yesterday, Dempsey had learned through her research in the Great Library of Stokbon that hidden somewhere along the coast. The details were vague, but apparently there was a scroll tucked away in a tidal cave beneath a long abandoned monastery or dojo that would contain knowledge that would allow Dempsey to further hone her abilities. After a brief search of the people she knew that were roughly her level, she got in touch with Roland. There had been a good bit of back and forth bargaining, but in the end she simply conceded that she was only interested in books, scrolls, and other written materials. Everything else she was willing to forfeit in exchange for the mans assistance. In her min, it was a perfectly fair arrangement; He'd get his fill of loot and treasure, and she'd be one step closer to her ultimate goal. It was quickly growing dark when the tide had receded enough to allow them entrance tot he hidden trove. Later, she would have to revisit the monastery above, but she was too eager to get her hands on this relic before other players learned of its existence and sought it out for their own. The two had been making meaningless small talk for most of the afternoon that they traveled together, but it seemed neither were willing to share more than the most superficial details. this was a business arrangement to her, and there was no need to make a new best friend here. She broke the moment of silence. "It's probably a good time to head in... As soon as I know it's safe in there, you're free to go whenever. We'll have something like six hours to explore, but I'd understand not wanting to risk be trapped in a cave for half a day waiting on the tide to go back down." with that she lit a torch on the small driftwood fire they'd built while they waited, and nodded her head sideways toward the dark mouth of the cave. "Might be some fish-men in there. Don't know. Be careful though." @Roland Rutledge
Roland was slightly surprised when Dempsey had approached him regarding her find. The two had only journeyed together once, and that was a brief affair in Pormont. Or was it? It was hard to remember for some reason. Regardless she offered a good chance at finding some rare items in a cove that was normally blocked off by water. By simply waiting it would seem they would have the ability to gain access, albeit for a short amount of time. It was enough to send shivers up Roland's spine in anticipation. The best things in this game were often tucked into almost inaccessible corners of the world; he hoped this would be no exception. The walk to the inlet was strained at best, whatever the reason was the two seemed to get along barely. Roland thought this was due to a lack of familiarity, but as time dragged on, he got the feeling that she may just prefer female companionship, as she seemed immune to his charms. Still, they were both professional in manner, focusing on the task at hand as they waited for nightfall. Eventually, Dempsey broke a lull in the conversation announcing it was time to descend. The catgirl lit a torch of driftwood as they headed downwards. Roland nodded at her comment, "It would make sense, I'd doubt anything worth having isn't going to be guarded by something." As if summoned by the comments, a low gurgle could be heard followed by the slapping of flesh on stone, "Speak of the devil..." Roland sighed as he pulled forth his two blades. From deeper in the cavern to fish-folk arrived, each carried a small metal weapon and stared at the intruders with blank milky white eyes. Roland didn't bother giving them a chance to understand the situation as he sprinted forward to the one on the left, brandishing one of his blades and slicing it through the creatures thick neck. The beast tumbled backward as it bled out quickly before falling to the floor. @Dempsey Fabijain
She sighed softly to herself. She was hoping to avoid combat, but then again, she didn't mind the opportunity to show off one of her new tricks. Seeing other players come up with so many interesting new techniques had inspired her, and this one in particular she was quite proud of. She strode forward, advancing unarmed on the cluster of fish men and simply advised Roland "Watch this." as she casually opened and drank a vial of potent poison. She nimbly wove through the small cohort of fish-warriors until she was dead in the center of the group. While dodging a flurry of attacks, she clapped her hands together forming a series of mudra seals. As she completed the final seal, a violent shock wave spread in all directions as her body purged itself of the poison and sent the aerosolized toxin airborne. One of their foes was killed immediately from being flung backwards violently into a wall. The remainder of the group weren't doing much better. The airborne poison was not potent enough to be immediately lethal, but a noxious mist hung in the air, blinding the already off balanced creatures and sending them into fits of gasping and vomiting. All that was left was to put the monstrosities to the sword, and this would all be over. She finished the display by asking in a clearly self-satisfied tone "Little help?" @Roland Rutledge ((Alchemy, yo!))
As the first fish-folk hit the floor, Roland quickly wheeled away from the second's counter attack, easily bisecting the specimen with a slash of his blade. "That's weird usually when monsters are this weak; they come in droves..." Somewhere within the cavern, a loud horn blew, followed by the sounds of flesh slapping against stone once more. Deep from within a cavern, a small parade of fish-folk flooded towards the entrance chattering to each other in a weird and guttural language. The toxicity of the beverage didn't seem to bother Dempsey, however, as she excitedly advised Roland to watch her. Having been trained now in alchemy, Roland could identify that the green substance that Dempsey quickly downed was likely not health tonic. He couldn't help but wince as she swallowed it all despite this rushing forward towards an oncoming group of fish-folk. After a quick display of martial prowess, the majority of the disgusting creatures fell to the floor dead on the spot, while those further away expelled their lunches onto the stone floor. Within moments the cavern was filled with the smell of rotting, half eaten fish guts that threatened to unhinge Roland's lunch. Suppressing his revulsion, Roland dug into his pack, procuring a small bit of medicine which he quickly consumed. It wasn't much, but it helped with the nausea. Free to move again, he swiftly made his way to each of the remaining fish people, easily cutting them down in their stunned state. With the fish-folk defeated Roland was intent on pushing forward into the cave, as he snatched Dempseys discarded torc from earlier, using it to illuminate a tight tunnel that the fish-folk had been crawling out of. The two pushed forward, splashing through the small puddles that formed on the floor of the twisting hallways. After a few moments, the tunnel led to a larger cavern filled with the rudimentary housing, and goods of the fish-folk. It had seemed that the group earlier had been the majority of the population leaving only a few children and elderly behind, all of which cowered in the corner of the cavern. Roland eyed them warily, even the sick and feeble could be a threat when one's guard was down. @Dempsey Fabijain
It was several moments later when they came on the remote and well hidden shrine that Dempsey had read about in her studies. The room was different than the rest of the cavern system. The walls were rough, and bore the signs of being hastily hand carved. They would be directly beneath the derelict dojo that had at one time housed a thriving cadre of martial artists. facing annihilation from an unknown force that had been removed or redacted in all her readings, the martial artists choose to conceal the documents that contained their most closely guarded secrets. A promise to regroup and reestablish the order had never been kept though, as later findings would reveal that the last of their number had died generations ago, and the order fell into obscurity. Her prize was a single stone tablet about the size of a large book. Ignoring the other humble valuables that littered the room, she walked straight toward it and ran her fingers down the surface approvingly. The tablet was covered in dust, but she could seen that it had been carefully etched with writings in characters so small that she would have to transport the thing somewhere safe, clean it off carefully, and probably still have to use a magnifying glass or some such to read properly. After a moment, she simply paused in place. Roland could see her fiddling with some kind of interface element that had only been visible to her. her eyes widened in surprise, and she paused thoughtfully for a moment, then tapped at a space in the air before her. After a moment, she collected herself and turned to roland. "I'm sorry there isn't more here for you to haul off, but it should do for as easy as the trip was. This is all I came here for" she said, indicating toward the dusty tablet before continuing "It's... when I touched it, a thing popped up and told me I could unlock a new, hidden mastery. I lost five hundred from body combat, and the rest I'll be able to redistribute... Small price to pay though, right? Also, I owe you one. I know you were hoping to come away with more than a few baubles. Let me know if you ever need a hand... with anything reasonable." @Roland Rutledge
Dempsey seemed totally uninterested in the small little collection of huts and fish folk, bolting past them as she headed deeper into the cavern. The variety of fishing baskets likely didn't hold much of value, however, so Roland was quick to follow in pace with the woman. They stomped through the cavern for what seemed at least an hour, leaving behind any traces of fish-folk in their wake. After the extended journey, they found themselves at the base of some sort of older wall. "Looks man made" Roland commented as he ran his hand across the slate. It didn't have any marking or indication of tools markings, but it didn't match the color scheme of the rest of the walls. Dempsey didn't seem to hear him as she poked her slender fingers through one of the crevices, activating some sort of switch, which then caused a portion of the wall to collapse inward revealing a path forward, "Guess that, I'm right.." Roland said as he followed the cat girl through. The passage led to a moderately sized room, with a small building in the middle of it. Outside the building was a gravel path leading away from it with six dog statues staring at each either side. The building itself seemed Asian in design, with chinese lettering on the outside. Behind the shrine was a decayed, and broke set of stone stairs that had at one time led upward, but whatever had been house above had collapsed long ago, sending a large boulder to the ground blocking access here. Again the catgirl sprinted ahead, seemingly fully aware of what the shrine was, and what was kept here. She opened the doors with a quick kick, revealing a stone dais with a scroll upon on top of it. She stormed forward touching the ancient parchment and began fiddling with in game menus for a moment. It had seemed that her info had been accurate in leading her here, and she had gained some newly hidden mastery. "Strange I didn't even know hidden mastery are even in the game..." Roland mumbled trying his hand with the scroll. The piece of paper failed to react to him, likely due to him not having pre-requisite skills. "Well, it's not a total loss." Roland said with a shrug, "At the very least I can sell the location of this place to anyone looking for it." With that, the two headed back hoping to beat the sea level from rising again.
