Treasure Hunter (tag Luned)

[Tande]

He had already found quite enough things to burden him, at least weight wise. Relics, gold and trinkets, and important things were a rarity these days considering how often the rogues had sifted through what was left, but Persi wasn't looking for those kinds of things. He always had his eye on books - books were what kept him enjoying his long lasting life, whether it be a personal journal discarded or a book of history that he himself had lived through. To be completely honest, he had some selfishness left in him and actually delightfully enjoyed reading about himself in some form or function, even if it wasn't clearly him in the book. Any trace of the Cyrus Circle was a jump of the heart for him, almost like someone noticed his actions (good or bad).

The man had decided to break right into what seemed to be a wine cellar, hoping that maybe it had stairs that led up to the first floor of this abandoned mansion of a home. Kicking down the weak boards that covered the cellar stairs was still a chore for him, and loud enough to be of worry as the night was beginning to fall on the desolate city. Gods forbid he attract what little undead was left in the city - he had been lucky enough to not come across any wraiths or undead, but he knew full well from the moaning and shifting noises that they were present.

His heart beat heavier when he heard shuffling of footsteps. With every punishing kick to the rotting wood he was getting somewhere, but not somewhere fast enough. Sucking in a breath he gave one last kick into the wood, sinking his leg into the splintered material with a surprised yelp. Luckily it was enough to give him anchor as he tore his leg free and tear apart a hole large enough for him to fit through (given enough space for Vivibelle, whom sat on his back promptly), sliding down to the darkness that was musky stairs and cobwebs.

The first thing he did was find a proper light - a candle stick or two that were easily lit with the snap and friction of his fingers. Given enough light, the mage found a table to prop up against the hole he created, grunting as he dragged it up two or three stairs.

Proper enough, and he was at least at the ready of anything too odd popped through. Shifting his attention to the numerous wine bottles that lined the basement, he decided to at least grab a few and pop them through his hat to back home after checking the vintages. Hopefully they weren't already vinegar, but seeing a bottle or two that reminded him of certain events of that year made him grin, and thus made the trip to Eluriand worthwhile.

Finding the stairs that led up to the first floor of the building, he made his way, almost shrieking in surprise when one of the stairs gave out from underneath him. Swearing to himself that he wasn't that heavy, he tugged his foot out of the rotten wood and stumbled upstairs to find the door was not locked. What luck.

What he found made him yelp again in horror, failing to move quick enough to find the rotten body of something human falling on him that had been resting on the door. He pushed it off of him and watched it crumble down the stairs, adjusting his monocle and wiping the spider webs out of his curls as if he had someone important to see these days in the broken down city.

He'd make way towards the building's library, having to peek through washrooms, a kitchen, living spaces, and a dining room before he found something that made him drop his jaw in awe - the untouched library of what he hoped was a mage. It certainly was full enough of books to make it seem like it was either a history buff or a mage, and either way Persi would be pleased. Running his hand along the spines of the collection's shoulder high shelf. He paused midway, picking a random leather bound book and tugging it free of the dust that caked it, wiping it off and looking through it.

Mind at the collection at hand, Persi would delightfully devour what was found here without worry of any intruders. If the locks in the front and back of the house bested him then he was certain no one else could, let alone the shuffling undead. So he simply found a spot, wiped the dust off the seat, and made himself comfortable, kicking up a leg to rest on a nearby coffee table.

[Ags]

Ags' purpose on Althanas was manyfold: to discover and immerse herself in her human heritage, to avoid the clutches of her overbearing mother, and simply to escape the ennui which seemed to have settled stiflingly over her little niche within the Hearth. Another thing which fueled her sauntering journey happened to be a rumor: an artifact from her world had come to Althanas by the hands of her father, had since been lost, and it happened to own a reputation of precisely the type of shiny thing she coveted most.

The fey had heard a lead which placed it in Eluriand so here she was, navigating the ruins of the ancient city in search of one minuscule piece of very particular crystal under miles of worthless rubble. Such may have seemed daunting to another but she made a vacation of it, allowing for plenty of tea breaks and naps as she explored the diminished neighborhoods. With her knack for creating portals, all she needed was a doorway, and she had access to all the amenities which transformed a place reeking of death and danger into a four star adventure resort.

Persi's own exploits did not go unnoticed. The few volunteers which comprised the meager city watch, stragglers who'd returned perhaps a little too early to rebuild their once grand home, didn't take kindly to those they deemed "scavengers". A city of renown such as Eluriand held many treasures and secrets which they took upon themselves to protect. In one of her portal-borne strolls about the ruined streets, Agnie overheard some of the sentries come together to investigate recent signs of activity, and she decided to check it out for herself.

What with the crashing and the shrieking, Persi had much to learn about stealth. As he honed in on some treasures of his own discovery, the fairy zoned in on him in turn.

"You really should use some discretion," a musical voice popped up from behind the man, seemingly out of nowhere. He turned to see a girl standing at the threshold behind him. Short, voluptuous, and impeccably dressed for such a dingy locale, Ags' inhumanly gold hair shone radiantly in the dusty library. She clasped her hands coyly behind her back, a grin on her rosy lips as she took a couple steps forward. Her heels clicked on the wooden floors, beyond hope of polishing back to their once perfect sheen, and the saturated crimson of her sassy little dress seemed absurd in contrast with the broken plaster walls. "Unless you are indeed an acquaintance of our elven friends outside, you may wish to consider what kind of cover story to use. Here to investigate the whereabouts of a long lost aunt? Checking in on a friend's estate? Or perhaps…" her slow steps carried her closer until she stood next to him, and as she got a better look at him, something crystalline at his neck caught her eye. It glinted in her mismatched hues and she leaned into him, her interest in his trinket unmistakable. "What's that?"

[Tande]

The people outside were the last of Persi's worries, hardly registering on the mage's mind as threats. In his own mind, he was capable enough to talk his way out of any trouble, including robbing from the dead. His silver tongue had gotten him out of troubles in the past, some of which were certainly more than threats against his long, long life. The blood magician had only last this long because of his tongue (and yes, that goes more than one way). So instead, he put his effort into glazing over pages, chuckling at points that led him into disbelief. History certainly had been written by the victors, whether right or wrong.

Though the fey's voice would alarm him, his smooth smile didn't seem to show it. Once absorbed in the book opened on his lap, he lazily looked up, having to turn his body and neck to look, one green eye distorted behind the monocle that perched upon the bridge of his nose. Still relaxed in his chair with an elbow on the arm rest, his ears perked up to the woman's figure, looking from toe to tip of nose with poorly feinted disinterest. Closing the tome with both hands with such force that it released a cloud of dust from the pages, sending the mage into a fit of sneezes.

He'd try to recover from this as quick as they started, holding up a solitary index finger as if to say 'one moment'. Once finished, he reached to re-aligning his monocle and then to grab the brim of his hat to prop it up as he shoved the book into it. The mass of what was the book seemed to just up and disappear as soon as it was placed in the hat, and Persi promptly tugged the foppish thing around his head securely before wiping at his rather bulbous nose.

"It's rather rude to interrupt someone's time alone, isn't it? What if I was doing something less appropriate? Why would you ever assume I hadn't known the previous resident of this lovely humble home?" His voice, swiftly spoken in a rushed tone, though his smile never dissipated. "Thooooooooough..."

He stood up from the dusty chair and brushed himself off, his curls freckled with dust. He hadn't liked being looked down upon, both figuratively and literally. Turning to the woman, the blood mage gave her a perturbed stare before plucking the jewelry from around his neck. "This is just a little thing that I found on my long worn adventures, what is it to a lovely lady such as yourself, one without the merits or manners to introduce her fine self before calling on a stranger? I could be a murderer for all you know, you should be more careful~!"