A Quiet Adventure [FINISHED]

[Harpsdesire]

Dania's mind was focused inward, and neither Graeme's annoyance nor his kindness really registered in her awareness. She was busy trying to figure out if anything had really, unmistakably changed... and decided she couldn't be sure. She was torn between hope and disappointment, skepticism and belief. Had anything happened? Was she different now? Did something, somewhere, somehow hurt less?

It certainly didn't seem that the unicorn's blessing in any way counteracted the curse of her realm; she was not in the least bit free. Her tail was tied as tightly as ever, and her relief at her continued bondage surprised her. Shouldn't she have been sad that she remained in pain? Maybe... it just wasn't in her nature to be free. A terrible thing, some would say, but that was as it should be.

Dania's ears drooped a little. How terribly ashamed her father would be if he ever found out she had done such a thing, drinking magical water with not a thought for the future of Torquehelm. What if it had freed her? He had always said that binding was the only hope to redeem the land, and every Torque who went about free condemned future generations to misery. Was she such a dreadfully selfish card, a disgrace to her family, just because she wanted to stop the hurt inside? Because she would, just once, take a wild chance for her own happiness? She was sure if she asked him, her father would say yes.

Yet... even if she didn't know it, there was a change at work within her. Dania had done something for herself, throwing caution to the wind for perhaps the first time in her young life, letting faith and a real desire for a better life overcome fear and apathy.

Something had happened, for sure, and the very fact she questioned her father's words, even a little, was the sign of it. Maybe she was growing up; Maybe it was something in the water.

When the Duck spoke to her, Dania nodded uncertainly and gestured toward the tunnel up to the surface with one paw, not trusting herself to speak through the lump in her throat. There was no further reason to stay, for with her mind in turmoil she was suddenly blind to the wondrous mystery and beauty of cavern and its paintings.

She stepped into the water without hesitation this time, almost welcoming the chill of the steam against her legs. If she found herself trembling as she walked along with the heavy bag over her shoulder, it was probably just the cold water seeping through her thin fur.

[Lucca]

Unaware as he was of her inner battle, Graeme merely smiled, slightly confused at Dania's silence, and led the way back out of the cave, heavy sack of gold slung over one shoulder and lantern carried in the other hand. It was a lot slower than going down had been, since climbing up narrow tunnels with a heavy load wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. At one point, when the path was especially slippery, the Duck was forced to hold the lantern in his bill so that he could use at least one of his hands for support on the rocks.

The Duck was very mindful of the Rat behind him, and made sure to look back every so often to see her progress, and slow down if he somehow managed to be leaving her too far behind. After all, he'd been spelunking before, and in caves a lot more difficult than this one. Then again, it also helped that he had wings, though he had needed to resort of ropes and harnesses in several of the more narrow caves, where flying was impossible or dangerous.

Dania, on the other hand, had made no secret of the fact that this was her first time doing anything like this. If she wanted a good adventure at home, Graeme mused, he knew of a cave in Torquehelm that was actually quite fun to explore...he hadn't ended up finding anything there, much to his disappointment, but then, that region tended to always leave one unsatisfied.

As he emerged into the fresh air, tossing the sack on the ground in front of him, Graeme paused to take a break. He was no Club, and carrying that much gold without a cart (and why hadn't he thought to bring one?) was definitely hard work!

[Harpsdesire]

It wasn't easy to climb back out of the cave, but the work was somehow almost soothing as the ache of tiring muscles replaced the sharper sting of shame. Dania was grateful that Graeme matched his pace to hers, and did her best not to make him wait too often. As she walked, she imagined the blessed water working it's magical way through her body, healing and purifying as it went. She was a bit ashamed, yes, but also secretly proud of herself. The thought that she did something really brave glowed softly and secretly inside of Dania's consciousness. By the time they reached the surface and the filtered Avington sunlight touched her face, Dania was in a better frame of mind.

She dropped her sack beside Graeme's, carefully not to spill it, and plopped down on a patch of vibrant green moss to rest her legs. "What an adventure." She was tired, but deeply satisfied by the day's adventure, and her body had the almost-pleasant ache of healthy exercise. Neither the satisfaction nor the ache were feelings Dania was much used to, as her daily life was mostly composed of sedentary frustration.

She smiled at Graeme, and the rare genuine grin was almost dazzling in its intensity. The sparkle in her eyes was light the dance of lantern light on an underground stream. "Thanks for letting me come along. That was easily the most interesting place I've ever been. Beautiful, too."

She stretched her legs and rested on the soft, cool moss. It had surely been an eventful day so far! Now there was the matter of carrying the gold back to... wherever Graeme was going. Hm. The highlands was a rather long way off. Hopefully he had a carriage or something, or it was going to be a long, long walk with the heavy bag over her shoulder. Unless her bag was going back to Torquehelm with her? It was tempting thought.

She had almost forgotten about the value of her burden, since it's weight was a more immediate concern as they climbed up from the cave below. She glanced at the sacks with renewed interest. There was probably over a third of the total gold in her smaller bag, and it's value was... almost unimaginable to the young rat.

[Lucca]

After a moment, Graeme sat down next to Dania on the moss, wings folded and legs stretched out. He returned her smile with a satisfied one of his own. "Thanks for yer help, lass," he told her earnestly. "Ye kin have as much of th'gold as ye can carry to th'next town. After a wee rest Ah'll be goin' there meself to call a carriage home." Although part of him was a little sad to give away so much of the treasure...the part of him that stubbornly believed in fair business practices would let him do no less for his partner in this adventure.

Besides, he fully expected Dania to only take about a third of the gold, which still left the Duck himself with a nice, sizable chunk of it. The thought of going home and counting it all out made something in him feel warm. Imagine how nice it would look in his vault, with all his other riches! Graeme closed his eyes, letting the wide smile spread over his bill.

Yes, it had definitely been a good day, and the outcome was the best he could have hoped for.

((I think maybe after one more post from you, we can call this finished? Unless you have a desire to continue it or have more adventures. Either way 's fine with me.))

[Harpsdesire]

Dania stared at Graeme in shock and stammered her thanks. "Th-that's so generous, sir." She was flustered and formal in her surprise and wonder. She had expected a nominal share, and would probably have been quite happy with it once the strange greedy feelings that came from looking at so much money wore off. None of her assumptions about the Duck had been right, and this was one time where she was thrilled to be so wrong. He was as gentlemanly, kind and generous as any card she might hope to meet, and it was through his influence that she was having probably the single most interesting and rewarding day of her life so far. And the richest!

As much as she could carry? That was an enormous amount of gold! The rat's family was by no means destitute, but remained comfortably in the middle class along with other cards of similar rank. She had never had to go to bed hungry as a child, nor suffered a cold winter without a home-- she was fortunate, all things considered. Dania was still dazzled by the number of coins, and their likely value to collectors. She had rarely seen currency so old outside of a museum, and it was in relatively unblemished condition from years in the cave out of circulation.

She could probably carry half the treasure if she really pushed herself, although she might struggle over the uneven leaf-littered forest floor. But... that wasn't want she wanted, or who she wanted to be. Graeme had found the place, known of the treasure. The value of the adventure to Dania was largely in the experience, the discovery, and the blessed water that could even now be doing mysterious things inside her.

She thanked Graeme again, more sincere than eloquent, for the gold and for the adventure; it had been more than she even hoped for when she set out this morning for a walk in the Avington woods.

Dania stood and walked to the bags of gold, opening them both. She scooped a few good paws-ful from the smaller bag to the larger, remarking with good cheer, "This much gold will be awfully hard to explain to my parents, as it is." Her share of the treasure was now a little under a third, but she felt incredibly rich as she shouldered the lightened bag. She laughed softly, imagining the uproar her sudden wealth would surely cause at home.

Oh, the things she could buy with all this gold-- first on the list was a real Esterberry college education, with a semester abroad in one of the more exotic reams, spring break in Midori and all the lovely fascinating, leather bound Esterberry books a studio apartment could hold. No... she had to be practical. First on the list was a safe-deposit box at the First Bank of Torquehelm to safely hide the gold. Then books.

"If you ever want to find more stories about treasure, you're welcome to stop by Paige's. I work there most days now that I'm out of school, and my dad always stocks adventure novels and the old myths." Dania withdrew a business card from her pouch for him, so he could find the little store in Torquehelm. She rather hoped he would... Another adventure would be just the thing to liven up her banal existence.

If there was more treasure involved, well, that would be just a bonus.

((I'd be happy to close now, keep going, or just start some new thread with these or other characters ))