Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo looked at the lockbox with interest, albeit a bit of worry. This thing looked genuine, but then again, he wasn’t entirely sure what was considered valuable and what was not. He could probably get this traded somewhere for money. Hopefully he could trust Tarlim enough to not scam him.

He gave Tarim a nod, putting the box close to his chest. “Thank you.” He said genuinely.

 

[Da Doofus]

Tarlim nodded.
"Tuula'manar." He said, and crawled over the assorted clutter to open the door for Kairo.
"Mutzi tuula'manar, nigil."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo took the signal to leave, walking out the door with box now tucked into between his arm. Once he exited the building, he turned to faced Tarlim on more time.
"Nigil." He said, a grin on his face. He hoped it meant goodbye.

 

[Da Doofus]

Tarlim cocked his head and squinted at Kairo.
"Uhhhh . . . Sa? Tuula nigil." He pointed at Kairo.

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Oh.” Kairo said, embarassed. He realized pretty quickly that he may have made a wrong assumption.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” He specified, walking away.
“Cya!”

 

[Da Doofus]

Tarlim eyed the human with confusion upon his departure, and shut the door once he had left.

Now back on the muddy streets of Drafisl and his rewarded box in hand, Kairo may notice the object was heavier than it should have been.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo walked away gingerly, albeit a tad bit embarrassed by his botched attempt to speak to Tarlim. Although he knew that there’d be a long way to go before he could truly be of help to Rufus, his hope that he could get there was renewed.

He began chalking up ways he could get there as he trudged along the muddy, yet festive streets of Drafisl. He definitely needed to work on combat, get better with using his new crossbow, learn the language and customs of this new world, maybe work a bit on negotiation.

As he walked along, the one thing he seemed to understand the most was that their was a long way to go.

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his head, now wasn’t the time to worry, it was the time to celebrate! Enjoy himself a bit during the festival before Rufus came back, besides, he definitely earned it.

speaking of earning it, the antique chest he carried between his arm seemed too heavy to be empty. And Kairo definitely bore the curiosity of wanting to know what was inside. He grabbed the box and used his now freed up arm to open the thing.

 

[Da Doofus]

It was solidly shut and locked with undoubtedly a lost key. The choices were either breaking it or picking it in order to unveil what was inside.

A pair of Vindav herbalists passed the human carrying baskets of leaves and aromatic herbs glanced at his efforts curiously, but continued on his way.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo disappointment was visible on his face when he realized the box wouldn’t budge, he tried a few different ways to open it, but nothing seemed to work. At one point even resorting to trying to pry it open, before realizing that doing so was probably a terrible idea.

Not only that, but he seemed to be making a fool of himself in front of the festival crowds. He noticed the two Vindav watching him, and it made him immediately feel like a dumbass. He smiled awkwardly and gave them a weak wave, as to insinuate that he wasn’t some crazy person.

 

[Da Doofus]

Across the street, through the dirty library window, Darrek was still socializing with Bom with the two of them enjoying mugs of what could be tea.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo pretty quickly spotted the two enjoying some quality time together. Suddenly, the urge to want to go into the library took a hold of him and he started taking a straight path towards the place. It wasn’t until he was at the door that he realized that it might be a bad idea to budge in. His hand hesitated a few inches from the door, clearly not sure if he should bother them or not.

After standing by the door for a while, he finally decided. To give it a shot, besides he wouldn’t know if his presence really wasn’t welcomed unless he gave it a shot. He reached the door on and twisted it open, entering the establishment.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bom was already facing the door from his desk table and smiled at the entering human.
"Hello again, youngling." He greeted.

Darrek turned his crested head and saw Kairo.
"The mighty hunter returns." He toasted with the wooden cup in hand. "Or technically, the exterminator." He smirked toothily.
"How'd it go?"

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had already been pretty excited about what he’d just done, but seeing these two like this only increased that. He waved at Bom, before saluting playfully at Darrek as he closed the door behind him.

“Ohh pffft it was nothing.” He said, though from how banged up he looked, it was clearly not nothing. “I’ve got a few scrapes here and there, but that thing was doomed as soon as I got in that room.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Darrek smirked even more knowingly at Kairo's confidence, but Bom was entirely confinced of the task's supposed ease.

"What did I say? Naught but pests." He smiled. "And is that a Rithian strongbox you have there?"

Darrek glanced and saw the mentioned item. "Huh. Tarlim pawned some junk on you, eh?"

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Yeah he gave it to me as payment, really counting on the fact that this things worth something.” Kairo said, looking over at Darrek. “You really think this is junk?”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Well I doubt the owner's around to give a return fee." The silver irokai joked before taking a sip of tea.

Bom looked at him. "Darrek, I'm disappointed. There is a history to all things, if you know what to see.

That box is hand-carved Rithian oak. Possibly belonging to an irokai of reputation. You forget the colonists built the foundation of this town as a trade village." He squinted. "If you learned of the past, you'd be prepared for your future." He added, although the comment didn't seem to be directed to Darrek.

"Well I'll be honest, Bom." He shrugged. "I don't think this 'future' exists. All I ever see is the same old present."

"Hmph." The kendian rolled his wrinkled eyes. "Bring it over here, I would like to see it." He said to Kairo as he set out a cup of tea for the human.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo set the box down carefully on the table, accepting Bom’s cup of tea gratefully. The previous conversation still fresh in his head. He would have assumed that the two would have gotten into some kind of heated argument, but those two weren’t the type of people.

What interested him the most was what Darrek said last. What had he meant by it? Whatever it was, Darrek did a pretty good of making it hard to figure out. Either that or maybe some of that wasp venom did make its way in his systems.

He might ask Darrek about that later, but first things first, the important stuff.

He slid the box over slightly to Bom. “Tarlim seemed pretty confident that this was good pay.” Kairo mentioned, before turning to Darrek. “So I’m really hoping you’re wrong.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Bom went to work inspecting the antique with his spectacles atop his snout. He made quiet hums and murmurs as he studied the dust-caked and faded engravings.

"This is a more recent work, but nontheless a hallmark of Rithian woodwork." He commented. "Darrek has yet to understand the worth of non-monetary treasures." He looked to the Irokai.

"Guilty." Said a grinning Darrek. "Can't bargain with sentimental worth."

"Shame that it's the world we live in." The Kendian sighed, attempting to open the box.
"Stuck." He added, being careful not to break it.

"Lemme try, Bom." The younger Archo offered and with a sharp piece of metal from his pocket, began to pick the lock with one of his sharper claws working in coalition with the makeshift lockpick.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo watched curiously as Darrek began picking the lock with his claws. This was definitely something he wasn’t expecting to see. He blinked a few times just to make sure his eyes weren’t failing him. How convenient would it be to just have a lockpick attached to your body, and if that’s the case, would using a lock actually protect anything? The thought of anyone being able to access his home or his stuff with few swipes of their claw made him just a bit uncomfortable. Then again, he was thinking waaaay to much into this.

“That’s....different.” Kairo mumbled, leaning in a bit to watch.

 

[Da Doofus]

Darrek coughed.
"Just . . . A trick I picked up after I started traveling."

"From where exactly?" Bom squinted.

Darrek shrank and coughed again. "You know." He said. "Here and there."

The rusted mechanism snapped open, and Darrek withdrew his claw and metal lockpick.
"Open it up, Kairo." He grinned toothily and eager to change the subject. "Let's see what it's got."

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Okay then.” Kairo said, cracking his knuckles in anticipation before opening the lid. Instead of the abrupt stop he was met with before, the lid opened smoothly to reveal the contents inside.

 

[Da Doofus]

With the sun gleaming from the window behind him, Kairo would first receive a shimmer of reflected light from the box's contents. As the lid continued to rise, the source of the reflections came to be seen by all three within the bookstore.
Coins of gold filled the box, each one big enough to fit Kairo's palm and bore the same symbols. One one side was a building of pillars with a single gem welded in the center to signify a sun or a moon. On the flipped side of every coin was an Irokai warrior posing heroically and holding up a tooth in one hand.

"Wow." Darrek's jaw hung agape. "Those are Rithian gold coins. The fancy ones from the look of it." He pointed to the tiny gems on each coin.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo wasn’t expecting much. Maybe some weird trinket, a few pieces of scrap.

Gold coins, let alone jewel encrusted gold coins, he wasn’t sure if he’d seen this much wealth in his life.

Kairo took a moment to register what he saw in front of him. A commanding surge of excitement welling up inside him. He’d really hit the jackpot. This was probably more then enough for him and Rufus, to get back to camp. And what’s better was that all this was from HIS contributions. He just couldn’t believe it.

He took a coin out of the box, carefully as if holding a baby. “This...this is a gold coin?” He turned to face the two. “Everything in there is gold?”

 

[Da Doofus]

Darrek let out a small laugh.
"Gold worth twice as much as the regular stuff. Those are Provincial Trade Coins. Nobles and rich folks of Rithia use those in shipping and business deals." He laughed breathily, in disbelief at the find.
"You could buy most of this town if it were possible."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo could feel the excitement start to pour out of him as Darrek’s description only served to make things even better.

“oh shit.” Kairo mumbled, before losing all self control. He unexpectedly embraces the two in an uncoordinated hug. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!”

he didn’t even know what he was thanking them for,