Gold Hoarders

The Ten Wizard Saints.

A group of the strongest Wizards in all of Fiore, appointed by the Magic Council to bring security and prosperity to the land. Throughout time, various Wizards, Aces and even Guildmasters had taken on the honoured title, but none were ever as strong as the Original Ten. The Wizard Saints were created for them, one millenia ago, to recognise their strength and contribution to law-abiding society. The Originals were rumoured to be far stronger than any Saint who had risen since, with some hypothesising that one of the Originals could beat all Ten of the current Saints at once.

Throughout their long and prosperous careers, the Originals collected a vast trove of treasures and artifacts that they hid away from society for reasons unknown. The location was lost upon their deaths, and although many had searched, Wizards and Saints alike, none had ever located it. The very idea of a trove of Saintly weapons turned more into a myth as time went on, until even the youngest child didn’t believe in its existence.

Until, of course, somebody claimed to find it.

A renowned treasure hunter by the name of Harper Goldenshine and his band of Hunters, the Gem Brothers, had claimed to find a way to traverse the uncharted Ancient Ruins and had located the trove. His achievements were legendary, but so too was his misuse of power -so much so, in fact, that the Magic Council had sent out a request, one such as they had not issued in many years. Their desperation was such that they had not only contacted those Guilds that they recognised as Legal, but also those that they didn’t associate with - the Dark Guilds.

The job was so widespread that even those Wizards without a guild were being contracted in to help. The Council in Era had called for the trove to be rescued from the Hunter and delivered safely to the museum that the Council presided over - but not without reward of course. They were so desperate for help, in fact, that they had offered a reward beyond mere jewels - one item from the trove itself.

And so, Garlim had taken the job. He had travelled to Era personally and the Council had sent him on his way, on the long trek to the Ancient Ruins. Days later he had arrived, but he wasn’t ready to begin just yet. The Council had told him that another was to join him, a wizard known as Torian Pace. From there, the pair would first have to find Harper or one of his Gemstone Hunters, because only they knew the way to the trove. The other wizard had apparently already been sent towards the ruins, so he was to meet him there.

His journey was long and arduous, but he travelled with good speed - he traversed the land regularly and knew of several shortcuts through some of the most dangerous regions of Fiore. So quickly did he travel that he arrived without any sign of the other wizard in sight. The ruins were decrepit, but their shape was still discernible. Several tunnels led into the labyrinth of caves beneath where the trove was waiting - as well as the Treasure Hunters within.

Garlim was leaning against one of the old archways outside of the ruins in the noon sun, a cigarette burning in his mouth. A pair of dark sunglasses covered his eyes, and his signature jacket was laid over one of the nearby fallen stones. Sweat beaded his forehead, but he showed no signs of discomfort - he was used to the heat.

In the distance, the Lightning Wizard saw a figure traversing the ruins. He headed towards a tunnel before collapsing onto the ground - this had to be the other Wizard that the Council had sent. Garlim pushed himself from the wall, grabbing his jacket and slinging it over his shoulder before beginning to walk over towards the figure.

As he approached, he saw that the man was reading some sort of parchment. Assuming that it was something to do with the job, he drew closer. ”Torian Pace?” he said, looking down at the man. Only after he spoke did he realise that perhaps the man was one of the treasure hunters - but it was too late to take it back now.

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When the seated man spun his head around quickly in alarm, Garlim felt his muscles tighten. He subconsciously reached for the magic within him, letting it rest just below the surface of his skin, ready to be summoned at a mere moment's notice.

But, alas, there was to be no fight. The man rose to his feet in a manner that was in no way confrontational, although he did keep a hand upon the sword at his hip - a precaution, no doubt. Garlim too didn’t let his guard drop entirely, but did his best to hide his tense feelings.

”Garlim - Garlim Yuki,” he said, nodding in greeting. The man didn’t seem to want to shake hands or anything, so he didn’t bother extending his own - perhaps that would be too risky in an environment where they were engaging with an unknown enemy.

When Torian held up the job pamphlet, Garlim let out a sigh of relief. He doubted one of the treasure hunters would have a job advertisement about stopping themselves - so he must have found the right person. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a similar piece of parchment, waving it slightly in the strong sunlight.

”It certainly looks that way,” he said, a grin forming on his own face. He re-deposited the parchment within his jacket pocket and slung it over his shoulder, taking a few steps closer to entryway near to them, gazing inside with squinted eyes. ”So, did they go in this way?” Garlim asked, half-turning to look at his new-found partner. He didn’t want to end up going in the wrong way, only to find that they were surrounded - or at least, not until he could trust this man a bit more.

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The member 'Terith' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Garlim watched patiently as his companion began to look around the entrance to the tunnel. He took his time examining the minor details before him, taking note of the ancient writing above the doorway and even the vines that littered the floor. The Lightning Wizard watched with growing amusement - he had never been one for due care himself. Maybe it came from the lightning that bubbled away within him, but he had always been quick to act in situations, and to ask any questions later - if there was anybody left to ask, of course.

After what seemed like an age, Torian entered. Garlim waited a few seconds before following just in case there actually was some kind of deadly booby trap, but it seemed unlikely. Before he passed through the doorway he gave one last glance backwards, as if saying goodbye to the bright world outside.

His eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness of the tunnel, but after a few moments he could see enough to make our their surroundings. The stone in here was of the same material to the ruins outside - as he would have expected. Several doorways were carved into the stone around them, leaving them with a tough decision to make. The smell of damp quickly assaulted his nose, causing him to gag slightly - if there was one thing he hated, it was moistness.

”It’s freezing in here,” he muttered objectionably, putting his jacket back on with a shiver. He continued to look around for several seconds, but found himself unable to make the decision himself. ”So, any ideas?” he asked, walking nonchalantly to the middle of the room. He peered into the decrepit fountain with interest, as if looking for some kind of clue that would reveal where they had to go.

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Garlim gave a slight start as the other man addressed him as Mr. Yuki. A grin crept unwillingly onto his face as he tried to remember the last time anybody had offered him any sort of honorific title, and found himself coming up short - the most usual title applied to him was simply ‘bastard’.

He took a few steps forwards towards Torian, his eyes scanning the floor around him and taking note of the rope. His eyebrow rose slightly as he looked into the doorway that it had apparently leaked out of, his mind whirring with possibilities. Could it really be this easy to find the treasure hunters? When the other man yanked on the rope several times to no avail, Garlim felt his temporarily bright attitude deflate.

And then, out of the darkness, a third voice joined their party. It was clearly a man, and he sounded like a dangerous one at that. His voice was full of threat, and Garlim didn’t think this would be the kind of guy to mess around with. For the moment, though, he stood his ground in the middle of the room. He was certainly curious of his partner - and even more curious as to what his magic would be, if indeed he had any.

The scene escalated quickly, and before Garlim had a chance to leap to Torian’s aid he had vanished, leaving behind the remnants of magic in his wake. So the sword was his magic? It was a strange one to be sure, but it certainly seemed powerful enough. Barely a moment later he re-appeared on the stairs that they had walked down, seemingly unaffected by the potential threat to his life.

The Lightning Wizard couldn’t help himself - he raised both of his hands and clapped slowly for his partner. That was a seriously cool piece of magic. As he did so, however, he heard their aggressor talking behind him. He spun on the spot quickly, just in time to see the man beginning to remove a walkie-talkie from his mouth. With a growl of anger, he shot his hand forwards and released a small burst of lightning that collided with the device, knocking it from the man’s hand in a flaming ball of destruction.

But he was too late.

A whole crew of men started to pour into the room, splitting themselves out between the two wizards. Several more with guns moved to the foot of the stairs to intercept Torian, whilst the sword-wielding bandits moved Garlim’s way. They circled him before he had a chance to back up against a wall, and he chastised himself silently. A small grin came onto his face as he heard Torian’s words floating down from the staircase, and he gazed up at him.

”Well, this just makes our job easier. Just make sure to keep one of them alive,” he said with a devilish grin, clenching his fists in preparation for the fight to come. For a few seconds nobody moved, giving Garlim a chance to get his bearings on the situation. ”Six against one? That doesn’t seem fair to me,” he said, a flash of lightning crossing his eyes. ”You should have brought some backup.”

A concentrated look took its home upon Garlim’s face as he let out a roar, his arms shooting outwards with his fingers splayed. Lightning leapt from his core to the tips of his fingers, but when it reached them it didn’t stop. A huge light filled the area as the lightning continued outwards from his body, spreading in a massive circle with him at the epicentre. It crackled with violent intensity, and for a second the dark room was lit as brightly as the noon sun - but only for a second. The lightning disappeared, leaving six singed bandits in its wake - singed, but still standing. Just.

”Well, I guess we’ll just have to up the tempo a bit,” he said, shaking his arms out. On the second shake another burst of electricity leapt along them, moving to his hands and remaining there as a coating around his knuckles. Without further warning he leapt forwards towards the bandit straight ahead of him, his hands moving quickly to punch at him any way he could.

His first three punches landed without reply, but then the treasure hunter seemed to remember the sword in his hand. It swept down in a huge arc, but Garlim was quick on his feet. He sidestepped from it and sent another flurry of blows at the man’s side, sending him sprawling backwards onto the dusty, dirty ground. He spun on the spot just in time to duck below a blow aimed at decapitating the wizard, kicking out at the treasure hunter’s legs from his low vantage point. He fell to the ground, leaving him easy prey to a quick kick to the head, apparently knocking the man unconscious.

But then, the treasure hunters grew clever. All four of the remaining sword-wielding bandits approached him with swords pointed directly at him, leaving him nowhere to escape to. He considered releasing another blast of lightning, but he could feel in his gut that his magic wasn’t up to another blast of such intensity - not just yet, at least. His mind began calculating escape routes from the situation he had found himself in, but it went blank. The four were growing closer, and he was surrounded - there was no way out.

The treasure hunters raised their swords as one, and then delivered the swift killing blow downwards. But, at the last second, a huge blast of lightning erupted from Garlim’s position. The treasure hunters didn’t hesitate though, continuing their strikes - and their sword hit the ground. The Lightning Wizard was gone, seemingly disappeared within the bolt of lightning that had blasted his position. They looked dumbfounded at each other, but none could seem to locate the Wizard.

”Not looking for me, I hope?” came a voice from high up. All four of the treasure hunters looked upwards to see Garlim sitting atop the old fountain, his jacket slung over his shoulder. He let it fall slowly, landing in the bowl of the fountain, before standing up. His eyes moved slowly over to Torian, but his eyes hadn’t adjusted enough to see that far in the dark - lightning certainly had its downsides in dark environments like this.

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