Story One: Duranthis and the treasure

"Hey!" The man's muffled voice came through the door of a room in the Selbina Inn. He knocked twice and spoke again. "Hey, hume, get up! You were supposed to be out an hour ago." Damalza sat up and stretched lazily. The man knocked harder and spoke more impatiently, "If you're not out in five minutes I'm coming in there and dragging you out."

Damalza threw the covers off her and stumbled into the bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water, stared into her blue eyes and splashed it again. Now she was truly awake she was a bit more frantic with her daily routine. She quickly scraped back her hair and clipped it back in a cute pony tail with a silver hairpin. Her fringe drooped over her eyes and some of the hair hadn't managed to be caught by the hairpin and fell to her ears but she was too rushed to care and knew she was pretty enough to get away with it. She stepped out and grabbed her doublet from off the chair next to her bed and slid it over her. At the same time she slipped her knee high boots on with unskilled multitasking that resulted in her collapsing on the bed and rolling around in panic. Just as she slipped her arm through the sleeve the man burst in. She got up and grinned roguishly at him.

"Morning!" she said sweetly, grabbing her gloves and brushing past him, down the stairs and out the front door, calling "Thank you for the stay." after her.

Duranthis wiped the blood from his mouth and winced painfully as he felt his stomach for the knife wound. A little tarutaru dressed in far eastern wear patted him consolingly and Duran's wyvern snuggled up against him affectionately. "We need a white mage Eyedea." He said to his taru friend huskily. The tarutaru nodded in agreement and pointed to Selbina.

"Let's just get out of these dunes first. I don't think we could handle another goblin attack." Eyedea said with a straight accent, unlike the tarutaru who came from Windurst. An elvaan man ran through the trees up to them panting.

"Thank you for waiting." He said with not a hint of sarcasm though you knew it was there. He too had bruises as black as his hair all over his face.

"Sorry Shinbu." Duran replied. The elvaan placed his knuckles by his sides and lifted Duran's arm over his shoulder to support him as the party of three shuffled across the dunes to Selbina. By the time they got there Duran had found the strength to walk but he and Shinbu still both looked pretty beaten up. Once they entered the port town Duran noticed a Hume girl sitting by the path knitting with two large knitting needles and thick blue wool. He couldn't help but laugh at the peculiar sight. The girl was rather scruffy but he still found himself attracted to her. She was probably from Windurst by the state of her. He usually couldn't stand windurstian girls but in this case he could make an exception.

Damalza looked up to see a man staring down on her. He was quite ugly with bulging strong features, scraped back hair and a tattoo across his face, but she smiled anyway as they made eye contact, just to be polite. She then continued with her knitting. She had spent the last of her money on this wool and if she couldn't make something valuable she'd be in trouble. She sure as hell couldn't wangle her way into getting yet another free stay at the inn. The guy staggered over to her and stood above her watching her knit.

"Hi." He said huskily. She looked up to see his wounds, gross! She put her knitting needles down and stood up.

"Hi! That's disgusting, clean yourself up." She said confidently to his surprise. She then put her hands out towards him and started chanting, light streams circled delicately around her hands as she mastered the curing spell and threw the light into his stomach where it gently healed his wounds.

"Thanks!" Duran said and bowed courteously to the hume.

"No problem!" she said cheerfully.

"Hey, we could really use a white mage out there. Want to party?"

Damalza was supposed to be partying with people… That's the whole reason she left Windurst; to gain experience in battles and become a great mage. However she couldn't do it on an empty stomach.

"Will there be rewards?" she asked.

"Yea, we're on our way to a secret beach in search of the treasure supposedly buried there by goblins. I'm sure there'll be plenty to share."

"WOW!" she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him off down the path to the inn, he just followed her, quite dumb-folded. Once they got to the inn she pulled him inside.

"Damalza, get out. You already owe us enough money, I'm not allowed to serve you anymore." said Gillian, the hume cook, washing the plates of yesterday's stew. He didn't even have to look up to know it was her.

"O please… I'm starved! And this time I really can pay you back, honestly! This guy knows where treasure is buried so I can pay you back in…" she looked at Duranthis, "what, a few days?" before he could answer she was babbling on again. "All I want is a few rolls of bread and some sardines, is that so much to ask? O, thanks Gilli you're the greatest!" She said grabbing the food off the counter, "So I'll see you later!" she said, grabbing Duranthis with her free hand and dragging him out the inn.

"HEY!" Gillian called after her angrily. She turned around and went back in.

"O, I almost forgot! How rude of me!" She walked into the next room, which happened to be a weapon shop, and snatched up a shield and hammer from the wall. "It wouldn't be fair if I didn't fight with them, pay for these later? Why thank you, alright Buiiiii!" She stepped outside and looked at the very confused, very shocked Duranthis.

"Hi I'm Damalza!" she said holding out her hand.

"Duranthis." He said taking it and gripping it lightly.

"Can't believe I got away with that… They need better security." She said giggling as they walked back to the others.

"Ok guys, got us a mage. This is Damalza." Duran said once they reached the others.

"Eyedea." The taru said bowing, his hair scraped back in a sophisticated plait and a bandana wrapped round his head. His katanas at his belt were small, but looked like swords in the hands of the small creature.

"I am Shinbu." The elvaan said placing a large hand out to shake with Damalza. She rejected it however and instead summoned another cure spell to heal the bruises on his face.

"Pleased to meet y'all!" she said placing her hand by her head in an army-like salute. "So where's this beach?"