Part I: The Excavation
Jillian squinted, her hyur eyes growing weary after a hard day's work. The middle-aged woman couldn't wait to get home and bathe. Her long brown hair and bronze skin seemed even darker than usual due to the surrounding filth in the sandy underground cavern.
This particular excavation assignment was a big one though and she knew that the hard work would pay off. The gil she would make from this assignment alone was nearly double that of the normal rate. Whatever the boss wanted was definitely important to him this time around. So important, in fact, that he was coming in person to check on the progress. In her thirteen years of excavating projects, she had only seen him show up three other times. His name was Cartius Mavanix, and he was perhaps the most intimidating man she had ever come across. Thus, Jillian wasn't exactly enthused at his soon-to-be arrival.
The excavation crew, seven hyur in total with Jillian as the only woman, rushed into finishing the cleanup effort. Jillian and two others started to put the tools away. Three others continued using large brushes to finish dusting off the massive stone door in which the team had carefully dug around. The door was about as tall as two average-sized roegadyn and as wide as about ten if they were standing side-by-side. No amount of strength seemed capable of opening the gate and plowing straight through the stone wall would likely cause a deadly cave-in. Digging further around or under the massive gate would have similar results, possibly damaging or destroying whatever was housed within.
No, there was only one way through the gate. Two slots, one on each side of the stone door and not much larger in diameter than a coin, clearly were meant for the keys needed to open the secretive chamber. But where or exactly what those keys were was anyone's guess. Hence why the big man himself was coming.
The seventh hyur was a gruff looking highlander and any outsider would know right away that he was the overseer. He shouted out an order to one of the crew members to put away the two buckets of chemicals sitting up against the eastern wall. The chemicals were often used with the brushes to do as little damage as possible to the sometimes ancient objects that were discovered in the ground. Only a few minor trinkets were found during this excavation though, aside from the massive gate in which was the real objective from the start.
An eighth crew member, this one a male lalafell, could be seen scurrying down the dark tunnel. Various torches and lanterns had been hung along the walls to help with the lighting, making it relatively easy to see long distances in the otherwise black abyss. The lalafell finally reached the rest of the crew near the gate, taking a moment to catch his breath before speaking. "He's coming!"
Though Cartius's arrival was expected, the crew still felt like they were caught off-guard. Quickly, they finished up whatever it was they were doing and stepped off to the side. Only the overseer was left standing near the gate, taking a deep breath and looking down the opposite tunnel in anticipation for the boss's arrival.
Jillian brushed some dirt off her face and watched quietly with a mix of dread and anticipation as the two figures approached from the other end of the well lit sandy tunnel.
The first figure was an average sized male hyur wearing a beautiful white satin robe, the attached hood obscuring his face. The second figure was a miqo'te wearing tight black leather from head to toe. Her face was hidden by a golden mask, her white ponytail the only visible part of her head. Jillian instantly recognized her as Vertigo, the personal bodyguard and informant of Cartius. Whispers often depicted her as the family's personal assassin as well, though there was of course no evidence to support that outlandish theory. Regardless, everyone knew that Vertigo's loyalty to the Mavanix family was second to nobody.
As the two approached the overseer, the male hyur removed his hood much to the shock of the entire excavation crew. It certainly wasn't Cartius, but rather someone much younger. His pale blond hair looked almost angelic from Jillian's view. His olive complexion and boyish face almost made her blush. But even more impressive was the amount of confidence beaming in the youth's eyes. His very gaze seemed to demand respect. At the same time, his boyish face seemed capable of charming even the most bearish individuals. Even though Jillian was probably old enough to be his mother, she couldn't help but be somewhat attracted to the young man. She quickly shook the emotion away, knowing that anyone related to or involved with the Mavanix family was generally not someone to get involved with for one's own sake.
Jillian squinted, her hyur eyes growing weary after a hard day's work. The middle-aged woman couldn't wait to get home and bathe. Her long brown hair and bronze skin seemed even darker than usual due to the surrounding filth in the sandy underground cavern.
This particular excavation assignment was a big one though and she knew that the hard work would pay off. The gil she would make from this assignment alone was nearly double that of the normal rate. Whatever the boss wanted was definitely important to him this time around. So important, in fact, that he was coming in person to check on the progress. In her thirteen years of excavating projects, she had only seen him show up three other times. His name was Cartius Mavanix, and he was perhaps the most intimidating man she had ever come across. Thus, Jillian wasn't exactly enthused at his soon-to-be arrival.
The excavation crew, seven hyur in total with Jillian as the only woman, rushed into finishing the cleanup effort. Jillian and two others started to put the tools away. Three others continued using large brushes to finish dusting off the massive stone door in which the team had carefully dug around. The door was about as tall as two average-sized roegadyn and as wide as about ten if they were standing side-by-side. No amount of strength seemed capable of opening the gate and plowing straight through the stone wall would likely cause a deadly cave-in. Digging further around or under the massive gate would have similar results, possibly damaging or destroying whatever was housed within.
No, there was only one way through the gate. Two slots, one on each side of the stone door and not much larger in diameter than a coin, clearly were meant for the keys needed to open the secretive chamber. But where or exactly what those keys were was anyone's guess. Hence why the big man himself was coming.
The seventh hyur was a gruff looking highlander and any outsider would know right away that he was the overseer. He shouted out an order to one of the crew members to put away the two buckets of chemicals sitting up against the eastern wall. The chemicals were often used with the brushes to do as little damage as possible to the sometimes ancient objects that were discovered in the ground. Only a few minor trinkets were found during this excavation though, aside from the massive gate in which was the real objective from the start.
An eighth crew member, this one a male lalafell, could be seen scurrying down the dark tunnel. Various torches and lanterns had been hung along the walls to help with the lighting, making it relatively easy to see long distances in the otherwise black abyss. The lalafell finally reached the rest of the crew near the gate, taking a moment to catch his breath before speaking. "He's coming!"
Though Cartius's arrival was expected, the crew still felt like they were caught off-guard. Quickly, they finished up whatever it was they were doing and stepped off to the side. Only the overseer was left standing near the gate, taking a deep breath and looking down the opposite tunnel in anticipation for the boss's arrival.
Jillian brushed some dirt off her face and watched quietly with a mix of dread and anticipation as the two figures approached from the other end of the well lit sandy tunnel.
The first figure was an average sized male hyur wearing a beautiful white satin robe, the attached hood obscuring his face. The second figure was a miqo'te wearing tight black leather from head to toe. Her face was hidden by a golden mask, her white ponytail the only visible part of her head. Jillian instantly recognized her as Vertigo, the personal bodyguard and informant of Cartius. Whispers often depicted her as the family's personal assassin as well, though there was of course no evidence to support that outlandish theory. Regardless, everyone knew that Vertigo's loyalty to the Mavanix family was second to nobody.
As the two approached the overseer, the male hyur removed his hood much to the shock of the entire excavation crew. It certainly wasn't Cartius, but rather someone much younger. His pale blond hair looked almost angelic from Jillian's view. His olive complexion and boyish face almost made her blush. But even more impressive was the amount of confidence beaming in the youth's eyes. His very gaze seemed to demand respect. At the same time, his boyish face seemed capable of charming even the most bearish individuals. Even though Jillian was probably old enough to be his mother, she couldn't help but be somewhat attracted to the young man. She quickly shook the emotion away, knowing that anyone related to or involved with the Mavanix family was generally not someone to get involved with for one's own sake.
