It was a cold, stormy night. The whistling wind echoed throughout the damp, mountainous cavern as Declan and Serylis navigated their way through the naturally occuring labyrinth. A few days ago, during their stay at a nearby tavern, they overheard a rumor about a long-lost treasure buried deep beath the mountains. Nobody knew what was burried within these walls - whether it was an ancient, powerful weapon, an Eidolon trinket or buried treasure well worth over thousands of Gil in value. All they know is that many adventurers before them have tried - and failed - to unearth this mystery prize that's just waiting to be unearthed by the right person.

Despite the usual warnings, as one would expect from undergoing these expeditions, Declan and Serylis set out to find the treasure to satiate their curiosity - and of course, to fill their purses with much-needed money. The Burmecian and his draconic companion stocked up on many much-needed supplies, before venturing deep into the cave. With his trusty sword in one hand and a brightly-torch in the other, Declan took point while Serylis followed behind, making a rough map of the cavernous complex while they explored it's musty depths.

Three days in, and the two were starting to grow a little frustrated. The party was running low on supplies, and Serylis was quickly losing her patience. The cavern was far too big to explore on their own, and according to the map, they were way too many dead-ends, tunnels and junctions to explore. As they hit another dead-end, Declan made the suggestion that they should just give up for now and wait until Tristan returns from Alexandria before trying again. With a defeated sigh, Serylis agreed and they began to make the long, perilous journey back to the exit.

Just as they turned, the sound of feral growls and steel being unsheathed rang out in the tunnel, alerting both heroes to the source. Unbeknownst to them, a group of bandits had followed them inside the cavern, having carefully kept their distance until they found their way to the treasure room. Until now, at least.

Two of the bandits stepped out from the shadows as they approached the Burmecian and his companion. The wolf snarled as he brandished a rusty-looking dagger, while the rat produced a sharp, jagged looking sword, ready to engage the two warriors. With a fierce grunt, Declan produced his own sword, Force Edge, as he held it and the torch at the ready, arcs of lightning already bathed the blade as he gave the hilt a firm squeeze. Serylis grinned widely, and unslung her hefty battle-axe from her back, the light from Declan's torched gleamed across it's surface as she held it high in a striking position.

Even though they didn't uncover any mystery treasures today, this sure as hell made things a lot more interesting, Serylis thought to herself as both parties prepared to engage with one another. Declan felt a little unease himself, however, and his facial expression showed it - the Burmecian didn't expect to meet with any resistance on their expedition, nor did he want any trouble whatsoever. Nevertheless, there's no other choice in the matter, so now the only way out is to plough through.

With the lightning on his blade glowing brightly, Declan charged forward as he clashed with his assailants, with Serylis following behind. The sounds of steel clashing rang out everywhere as the two heroes fought their way through the bandits, facing their foes back-to-back as they cut their way though wave after wave of bandits. The story of the cave's treasure was now completely absent from their minds as their focus shifted onto survival, an instinct that helped Serylis satiate her bloodlust as her axe clove into any bandit unfortunate enough to get in her way.

Perhaps this expedition wasn't going to be so boring after all...

Characters are (c) me,
Artwork is (c) Iggi