A Quiet Adventure [FINISHED]

[Harpsdesire]

Avington was so cool, lush and green. It was a soothing place, full of birdsong and velvet-soft moss and little, secret springs. Not too far from home, either, but far enough, and different enough, to be an adventure.

An adventure was just what Dania was looking for. Not a dangerous one, nothing too flashy, but a quiet sort of adventure. A change of pace and a departure from the ordinary. Her usual life was a constant, stifling routine, a dull existence under the perpetual gloom of the cursed Torquehelm sky.

Most of the young woman's time was spent working in a bookstore or caring for her increasingly fragile and unrepentantly overprotective mother. Her limited free time was taken up by reading, writing, daydreaming and the occasional lonely stroll along the dusty streets of her small hometown. Each day was much like another-- but today was different.

Today-- Today was all her own.

The young female was in high spirits (at least by Torquehelm standards) as she took a seat on a smooth, moss-covered rock by the edge of a deep and silent pool. Some strange creature called in the distance as she peered into the crystalline water at her feet.

The water was still and so clear that she could see the glimmer of little fish in it's depths. It seemed like the kind of place where absolutely anything could happen.

[Lucca]

A Duck strode quickly and purposefully through the stillness of the forest, completely unaware of the quiet beauty around him. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and he would stop to raise his bill into the air occasionally, as if sniffing for something. Shaking his head, he adjusted his spectacles and moved on, muttering to himself in a heavy Highlands brogue as he went.

Some of the servants, and even his own, dear, aging mother, would frown upon all his adventures. Wasn't he getting too old for this, they'd ask, or didn't he already have enough money? To which the answers were, invariably in Graeme's mind, no and hills no. Just because he was the most independently wealthy Card in the Highlands and owner of a very prosperous trading company didn't mean there wasn't still always room for just a little more gold in the vault.

All it took was a hint of treasure, be it in gold, rare resources, or valuable assets of any type, and the Duck was there. So of course when rumors of an old Avington legend of questionable authenticity reached his ears, he set off immediately, leaving the care of his estate in the capable paws of his maid, Mrs. White, and his other servants. He would hear no arguments against the venture. So no one had ever found the treasure before. So the story was a bit far fetched and involved Rabbits and Unicorns and Cats. So what? Thinking with that sort of close-mindedness was exactly what kept everyone else from having the experiences he'd had in his life! He was confident that, no matter how well hidden, Graeme McDuck could sniff out the treasure! Quite literally, if there was gold involved.

The Duck stopped again to sniff at the air, and, once again, that elusive, golden scent was nowhere to be smelled. He knew he was in the right area, but these blasted trees were all starting to look the same! He muttered, cursing Avington for its maze-like qualities, and walked in a new direction...stopping when the glimmer of...water?...caught his eye. Hello...this looked promising. The legend spoke of a pool, after all, crystal clear and supposedly blessed by the Unicorn.

He approached, webbed feet effortlessly moving over the moss-covered rocks, toward the small pool, not even aware of the other Card that was also at the water's edge.

((ooc: hope you don't mind! ^^))

[Harpsdesire]

The duck's mutterings as he approached were masked by the hush and rustle of leaves as small creatures moved about, so Dania was first alerted to his presence by the quiet slap of flat feet against rocks. She looked up, startled to see another Card, more startled that the wanderer appeared to be a Highland gentleman.

"Oh, hello." She said, bashfully. She moved to stand up, careful not to slip into what was probably frigid water. "I-uh... I'm just passing through... and stopped to rest here." The rat was suddenly nervous-- before the stranger appeared, she hadn't even given a thought to whose land this was, or that she might be an unwanted guest. He wasn't here to run her off as a trespasser, was he?

She fidgeted a little, unsure. If he tried to chase her off there would be no question of outrunning him with her leg bound up on her back. She had no offensive or defensive magic, and the duck's suit and rank were covered by the jacket he wore. He might be a powerful high-raking heart here to punish her for straying where she had no business to be, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Nervous though she was, with many horrible scenarios playing out in her mind, it seemed like the best course of action was to wait and see what, if anything, he wanted from her. Dania smiled in a strained sort of way and hoped he wasn't an angry landowner or someone else dangerous. At least he didn't look particularly angry, which was a good sign.

[Lucca]

Graeme stopped on a rock, leaning on his cane over the water, squinting furiously into the pool. It was clear enough, and looked cold and clean, with lots of little fish and a few water weeds. If he could find the source of this water, he could perhaps further examine...

The voice startled him, and he glanced up in surprise, gold-orange eyes giving the other Card the once-over. Not a native, but a visiting Torque...but perhaps she knew something? Maybe she came here often enough to have seen something, or at least heard some of the rumors. "Oh, I apologize, Lass, I didn't see you there before," he said in Common, though with a heavy accent. He shifted his grip of his cane to one hand, bringing the other up to doff his hat to the girl...which proved to be an unfortunate motion, as his cane resettled on a patch of slippery moss, and before Graeme could complete the intended salute he found himself falling forward into the pool.

His quick reflexes saved him at the last minute from an embarrassing and watery fate as he flapped his wings to regain balance and grabbed onto a nearby tree limb, several feet over the pool...but his hat, sadly, fell off his head and into the water, causing all the little fish to dart away. "Ach, no! My hat!" he cried in despair, looking down at the top hat sadly as it quickly soaked up water. Ohhh, and that was one of his favorites, too, all elegantly black with the golden-colored ribbon wrapped around and real gold filigree inlaid into the brim!

[Harpsdesire]

Well, he didn't sound at all angry. In fact, it seemed that he hadn't even noticed her until she spoke. This made her think two things: first, that she would have been better off keeping her mouth shut and hoping he went away rather than entering into a social interaction, and secondly that he was either dreadfully nearsighted or shockingly unobservant, since her brilliant purple fur did nothing to help her blend in with the Avington landscape. (His glasses supported the former conclusion, his very high-class accent, the latter.)

"No need to apologize." Dania said. The sentiment was genuine, for she had long ceased to be offended by peoples' constant tendency to overlook her, but her voice was a little strained. Exchanging social niceties with the higher ranks was not one of her strong suits, and using the charm of her suit always struck her as a sort of dishonesty.

Dania let out a little squeak of shock and dismay as her classy visitor nearly took a tumble into the nearby water. She felt herself relax as he avoided a soggy and potentially dangerous spill. "Are you alright, sir?" She asked, watching his rather fancy head wear begin to sink.

Luckily, with all the trees in the region, a longish stick was near at hand. Using this tool, Dania neatly fished out the top hat, smiling a bit hesitantly as she handed it back to its owner. He was probably going to say she should better have let it sink, as it was already ruined, but it was the thought that counted, right? Hopefully he would think so. The rat had no concept of the durability or water resistant qualities of top hats, but she was well acquainted with the petulant qualities of the upper class when inconvenienced.

"I hope it isn't past saving," there was a note of worry in her voice. "It is a very nice hat." Was the duck going to blame her for startling him, and thus causing the slip and the loss of what was most likely a very expensive hat? She cringed inwardly at the thought.

[Lucca]

Graeme had a bit of a dilemma ahead of him...he was a Duck, and thus well suited for water, but if he wanted to avoid ruining his expensive suit, he would either have to switch to a lower form (most inconvenient and he'd have to then grab the hat in his bill, as neither wings nor webbed feet were very good for lifting things, especially heavy waterlogged things) or else strip down to just his feathers--in front of a lady no less! (Even though many Bipeds ran around with no adornments or garments whatsoever, Graeme had a strong sense of modesty while in this form.) He fluttered down to the rocks again, prepared to switch forms as the lesser of the two evils, when his decision was waived by the quick thinking of the Torquehelm.

"Oh, thank you, Lass," he said earnestly, feeling a bit foolish that he hadn't thought to just fish it out of the water with his cane or something equally as handy. Even with all his adventuring experience, there were still situations where the simplest solution just didn't occur to him. He eyed the sopping hat a bit sadly, and tried to wring it out a bit. "It's one of my favorites, it is. And it sure cost a pretty penny. It'll never be quite the same, but after it dries it will at least be wearable again," he said, looking a bit mournful despite the hopeful words. With a sigh, he slipped off the pack over his shoulders and carefully placed the hat within it, wishing he'd thought to bring a spare, as he felt very strange without the comfortable weight on his head.

Though prone to fits of temper, Graeme was actually not upset with the Rat in this case, judging the unfortunate experience to have been his own bloody fault. He zipped the pack back up and then turned to the Torque again, a smile back on his bill, though not as bright as before. "Ah, but I'm afraid that little mishap has prevented me from greeting you properly. My name is Graeme McDuck, businessman and treasure seeker. I don't suppose you've heard any rumors of treasure lately, have you?" He wasn't going to ask directly if she'd heard the same rumor he had about this spot, not yet, at least.

[Harpsdesire]

"My pleasure." Dania smiled a bit more genuinely. The duck seemed personable, not as quick to anger as she had feared. Still, she wasn't sure what to say as he lamented the damage to his hat (it apparently was, as she had feared, valuable). "Ah. Such a shame." She said, nodding sympathetically as he placed the sodden item in his pack.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dania." She returned his greeting, albeit a bit more casually, then considered his question. A treasure hunter, hmm? Certainly an interesting occupation, especially when compared to her own unimpressive job at the bookstores. "Lately, no, but I have read many stories about hidden treasure. Mainly in the Midori-- Pirate treasure, you know. Some say a Torquehelm Queen's grave lies at the heart of the realm, her fabulous golden chains and bindings hidden beneath the earth. That was a story my father told when I was small." She recounted the tales off-handedly, for she had no idea how seriously Graeme took any hint of treasure. "There's probably treasure somewhere in Avington too, hidden in a hollow tree or something." It was a charming, storybook sort of thought, all those shiny gems quietly sleeping amid the soft greens and browns of the realm, never to be found.

[Lucca]

Graeme nodded absently at her words of commiserating; a polite sentiment that meant little else from most Cards. He was used to most being polite to him, even those who hadn't heard of him (and most Cards he ran into had, even on adventures like this). He supposed it was his commanding presence, or else his intimidating temper. Though he hoped for the former.

His eyes were strangely intent as he listened to her stories...and one in particular intrigued him. Golden bindings...now that sounded like quite the treasure, even if grave robbing was a little morbid compared to his usual fare. "Well that sounds fascinating, Dania. Could you perhaps remember where you read about this legend?" But of course, that was for another adventure. For now, he was in Avington, chasing after another treasure. He'd been to Midori many times. Some adventures he got his treasure, other times he didn't find a thing, but that was the way of it, and just added a little more excitement to the journey.

"Actually..." Graeme paused. Should he tell the Rat about why he was here? She seemed trustworthy enough, and not the type to double cross him and take the treasure for herself...assuming that it existed. "There's a reason I'm here," he went on, sitting casually on the rock but his gold-orange eyes sharp. "There's said to be a treasure of great worth buried right near this very spot. No one has ever been able to find it, and many say it's an impossible myth, but I've dug up plenty of mysteries thought to be the mere fantasy of a madman." He looked again at the pool, curiously, wondering if it was hiding any clues. Maybe he would need to go swimming after all, but he wouldn't mind that. The water looked rather pleasant.

[Harpsdesire]

Dania was surprised, and even a little flattered that Graeme took such interest in her stories. It was too bad she didn't have terribly more to tell him about the Queen's grave. "Ah, that's one I haven't actually read... My father told it to me at bedtime when I was very young." And, she thought, when he was a very different man, "It's was of my favorites, so when I was younger I tried a few times to find it in books of stories about the realm, but I can't seem to locate the story itself or find out when it came from. My father can't remember where he learned it-- he told me he may have heard it from his grandmother when he was a child himself." Dania grew thoughtful, trying to remember the details of a story she hadn't heard, or even thought about, in years. "And there's that phrase 'the heart of the realm'-- I've never heard it used to describe a literal place. Usually it's said in a poetic sense: like the 'spirit' or the 'essence' of Torquehelm. It's probably just a story, anyway."

Dania grew excited as Graeme spoke of a treasure hidden nearby. She clasped her front paws together in delight. "How interesting! To think that I happened to sit down on the very location of a mythical treasure!" This was exactly the sort of adventure Dania had been craving. Searching for buried treasure-- it was like something straight out of a novel. She was thrilled, for this was shaping up to be considerably more fun and excitement that she was accustomed to. "Do you... that is... Would you let me help you look for it?" She looked at the Duck hopefully.

[Lucca]

A thoughtful frown twisted Graeme's bill as Dania went on to explain where she'd heard the story. So it was more of a family legend? Perhaps this fabled Queen was actually one of the Rat's ancestors, way back down the line...well, assuming she actually existed, that is. It was very perplexing, a mystery to be sure....but he always loved a good mystery, especially if it had the chance to end up with finding more wonderful gold. There was one of Dania's queries, though, that he thought he could answer.

"That's true, but there are also times where the heart of a place simply means the very center. I'd suspect that it might have that meaning, in the context of the story, though of course I could be wrong." He pulled at his beard thoughtfully. "Then again, the center of Midori is probably deep underwater. You'd need some sort of Corvistowne underwater breathing device to even have a chance at finding this tomb." How very exciting! Graeme rubbed his hands together with glee, and it was with some amount of sadness that he knew he had to put this fascinating mystery on the back burner for now, to focus on the Realm he was actually in and a treasure he'd actually read about himself.

He rubbed at the back of his neck a bit with the hand that wasn't holding his cane. "Well...perhaps. I'm not actually positive on the exact location. But! I know we're very close!" He grinned at her, setting his cane and pack down under a tree as he prepared for what may have to be done. "I'd love the help, if you don't mind potentially getting a little wet. I have a feeling there should at least be a clue here." He turned to eye the small pool, and then...the Duck closed his eyes, focusing for a moment (it had been a while since he'd had to do this) and shifting down to his Animal form. It wasn't as awkward as he thought it might be, mainly because Dania also only had that form.

"Come along, Lass," he said, excitement making his accent even stronger, and, spreading his wings, shuffled on webbed feet over the rocks toward the pool.