(OOC: It seems like things are becoming defused, but I did want to mention for posterity....With no dice rolls or stats as was determined before we started, Player vs Player interactions might be...difficult. It's probably best to just avoid it as much as possible.)
Vi'lea keeps observing quietly and manages to take a decent look at the first person. He appears to be a human-sized ratman. That's... what was the name of their race again? Rosen? Rozen? Something like that... Ratmen were a very rare – and extremely unpopular – sight in Garroth (or at least in the area where Vi'lea and her sister had lived), so she knew little about them. A few moments later the person the ratman was talking to also entered her field of vision. She couldn't take a very good look at him, but his rabbit ears gave her an idea about his race. That's a... bunnymorph? Was that the name of their race? It was another rare sight where she had lived, but not as rare as the ratman. Seeing that both guys are focused on each other, and not wanting to get involved, Vi'lea remains quiet and keeps observing the duo and listening to them as they talk.
"I'm here waiting for a job from a mysterious party. I'd assume the same one gave you your letter. Until they turn up, well, there's a few things you could do..."
"Aw, really? Like what?" Nicholas's ability to just switch gears would seem more impressive if not for the fact, that he barely even remembered how the conversation began. But he wasn't so much focused on that, as where it was heading. He kept the hand behind his head moving slow as he raised the free one to switch places. Sliding it into the back pocket, he let the other free arm join the one resting behind his head. "I like being helpful to people. So what do I need to do?"
"Well, someone should keep watch up the top, and down here. Our elven friend seems to have tge last one covered, so would you like to help me keep an eye on our surrounds?" Thritch starts to head back up out of the shade.
"..geez..we've already been ignoring the elf for a little while now....I guess, she's used to it. Yeah. Let's go." Nicholas opts to simply follow along.
Seeing the two unknown males head out again Vi'lea just shrugs and remains where she is. Well, I guess I will just keep waiting here... Let's see how long it will be before we get any sort of sign from our unknown letter sender. The elf goes back to waiting for something – anything – to happen.
As Thritch and Nicholas head out from under the outcropping, a burst dust and wind engulphs the three of you forcing you all to shield your eyes. The wind begins to clear and you hear an unknown female voice speak out at you. "Well then, It would appear as if everyone has arrived." The dust clears and you all behind the speaker. A few paces away from the entrance of the outcropping you see a woman in robes and a hooded cloak obscuring most of her features. You can tell that it's a woman who is probably human, but little else can be determined. Her hood obscures the vast majority of her face outside of her mouth and chin and her robes cover the rest of her body. A pair of thin, pale hands grasp an small and ornate wooden chest between them. A faint smile crosses her lips. "I am pleased to see everyone has accepted my invitation."
"Soo....you just wanna admit that we're going to help you and then you're going to try taking over the world or something? Or should I just act like this isn't obviously a trap? Cause...like...it's not really my problem if you do anyway...so.."
"I can assure you that I have no intentions of taking over the world. Nor would I be able to even If such a thing was of interest to me." (Auraicide, Auraicide, Auraicide, don't you know that all the cool kids subvert tropes nowadays not fall into them.)
"It's nothing particularly extravagant. It's a simple job. There's an object inside what's left of these ruins that I'm particularly interested in. It's a piece of wood, no doubt petrified after so long. That's really all the information that I have. I cannot really give much more information than that about what it looks like. I do not know how large it is nor its shape. However, it is located within a vault somewhere inside these ruins. I'm willing to offer each of you 200 silver pieces for retrieving it for me...along with whatever else you may find." She gives a little sigh "...Although I doubt that you will find much. It is very likely that everything outside of the vault has been picked clean by looters after so long of being abandoned." (You silly kids and your dreams of grandeur. You're 10000 Lightyears away from fighting anything world ending...or Brock for that matter.)
"So...if a vault is completely sealed up and nobody has got into it before to see what's inside, how can this thingy be in it if nobody knows what's in it? How do you even open something like that? You can't just force it open. I got these little arms." Nicholas displayed his slender forearms to show that fact.
So that is the mysterious letter sender, huh. Vi'lea thinks as she tries to examine the woman. Unfortunately, due to how she's dressed, there isn't much to see, so the elf just keeps watching and observing for the moment. “Alright,” the dark elf begins after listening to the conversation for a bit “what can you tell us for this piece of wood? Clearly it's not regular wood, or else I doubt it would be in the vault in the first place. So what's so special – or dangerous – about it? How should we handle it?” She pauses briefly as she thinks what else to ask about. “Next, what can you tell us about the ruins? You obviously know at least something about them – I doubt you heard about the vault from some bard's tale. Any particular dangers we should worry about, be they creatures, traps, or something else? And what can you tell us about the vault itself? What kind of defenses does it have?” She pauses again. “You claim to have been watching me since I left home. Anything in particular you enjoyed seeing? And do you always spy on random people you don't even know?”
She stays quiet for several seconds as she contemplates her reponse. "It is...difficult for me to answer many questions. The vault has a ward on it which triggers if an introduer knows too much about the contents of the vault. If the ward is triggered, then things will become unfortunate for all of us.I don't know how much information I can provide before you are at risk of triggering that ward. Even my identity could set it off. Hence all of the mystery." She tugs gently on the end of her hood. "In that sense, your ignorance is our greatest shield. If that ward wasn't there, then I could just waltz right in and take what I want, now couldn't i?" She sets the box down on front of her and takes a few steps back. "getting into the vault itself is easy. You just need the key which I have in my possession. As far as other dangers...That i'm not too sure of. There have been many people who have gone through the ruins and it's mostly empty from what I hear and I have never been inside the vault itself. So I cannot discern what dangers might be inside there." (OOC: Man...All of your questions and well reasoned and sensible to be asking in these circumstances. However, i'm so used to going "Here's a quest. Here's what you're getting paid. Go have fun" without all of the intrusive questioning that makes me have to think of reasons not to just explain the entirety of the plot here and now.)
“That's an awfully... convenient... ward...” Vi'lea notes. I don't like this. Something feels off... but I can't think of a good way to question her further without running into the 'I can't tell you because of the ward' excuse. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way. She adds in her mind before continuing. “But okay, I won't ask any more questions about the vault – at least not now.” The dark elf finishes speaking and waits to hear if the two men have anything to say to, or ask of, the mysterious woman. (OOC: Well, you came up with a good excuse here, one I have not encountered before.)
"So...are you just waiting outside or coming too if you can't go in? Can you at least say about how deep this place goes for? Will we be able to get through it in a day or do we need to sleep in the ruins? 'cause, if we have to, I'm super good at keeping people warm."
