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[I_Like_Pi]

"I'll go try and get everyone. You, uh, stay here and make sure nothing happens? Anyway, I'll be back."

On Ashlyn's way back to the ship she ran into not only Gawen and Angelica but also Lavinia and Claude.

"Hey you guys, I think Amberly might've found the location of one of the treasures in the church. I'm going to go get Ethan and the rest of the crew since it mentioned a 'trial of strength' or something like that. You should probably head on over just in case something stupid happens."

With her brief explanation of the situation and even briefer instructions given, Ashlyn resumed heading back to the ship. On the deck she found Alian and Maria chatting but she decided to let them be until Ethan was ready to go. She knocked on the captain's door.

"Oi captain! I think we found one of the three treasures!"

[Caellath]

"And that's work calling. Possibly fun too, depending on what this 'trial of strength' is all about."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

"Ah, she spooks easily does she? Well, don't worry about it- everyone starts somewhere in this business."
"Wish I could give you some advice how to keep her calm, but the only horse I've ever dealt with was a spiteful, ornerary thing- don't think he was even capable of fear, just anger. Practically had to fight him just to get the plow hooked up, and that was on a good day. Always seemed to hate my sisters less than... well, everyone else for some reason though, never figured out why."
"Not that it matters much these days, anyway. Just out of curiosity, how long have you two been doing mercenary work?"

[Haspen]

"Mmmmm??" The captain stretched in his hammock and looked at Ashlyn.

"What were you saying?"

[Aliemma]

   "That bad, huh? They tend to be choosy, so it makes sense he tolerated only them...We had one like that back at the ranch, my mother was the only one able to get him calmed down; though once we had someone insist on riding him... I think we had to give a refund to that poor man."

   "I think it's just all the battles getting to her recently; she was never as bad in my old jobs, though she didn't have thunder flying at her as often."

Maria gave her horse a couple of pats while she was talking; her horse got pretty skittish these days. She was never the calmest horse, but Maria had been able to keep her under control pretty well before. I mean, if she was able to fight, that was already a lot of control, but still.

   "Anyway, it's been what now... A couple years, technically? I only made it all the way out here in the past year; I was still at the ranch before that, just takin' jobs as a casual thing."

   "And what about you? With your knowledge despite bein' self taught, you have to have done this for a while."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

"Well... I think it was around 3 years ago or so, when I left home. Came from a little farming village in Zeekonrik. Wasn't much of interest back home, just fields and mountains, though it was right off of one of the main paths inland so it got a bit of traffic every now and again from travellers stopping for supplies or lodging.
"Lucky thing it did too, I'd have never gotten access to any tomes if it wasn't for the general store...old man Carrington would let me take a few of the worn ones in exchange for a few oddjobs..."
"Anyway, our farm wasn't even worth the land it was build on- soil was so desolate it was a miracle we could grow what little we managed. Been that way for ever since it came into our family, and for 3 whole generations. 3 generations of barely bringing in enough from the fields to feed ourselves, let alone sell for profit. 3 generations of growing up with nothing but dust and dirt, of being nothing but dust and dirt. Yet somehow, we managed to survive till now... I still don't know how, maybe the men of my family are that damn stubborn. Gods know they were certainly too damn stupid to give up on a lost cost." He crossed his arms, leaning against the railing and looking to the skies.
      "I...hated that damn farm. I hated that life. Hated how my sisters and I grew up with practically nothing, hated how the other kids looked at us with either pity or those arrogant little sneers. Hated how my father, and his father, and his father had all stayed on that gods forsaken land out of pride. I was the eldest child, the only son... and once my father had worked himself into bedrest like the fool he was, I'd effectively become the man of the house. I was responsible for feeding everyone... and I was expected to do that by repeating the same madness as my forefathers..."
"To hell with that. I had trained every night for a good 7 years up till then... taught myself magic even if we were poor as dirt. Scoured old man Carrington's inventory and worked to get every last book on the stuff he'd part with. I had the power to end that madness, and I intended to do just that. Left home not long after Father fell ill. Made my way to the nearest settlement of note, and kept going till I hit the coast, taking jobs and sending the gold home. And I won't stop until I've earned enough to move them all to somewhere better, and burn that pathetic shack and all it's fields to the ground."

[Aliemma]

Maria didn't quite know what to think about the mage's situation: he was obviously passionate about making sure his family had a better life than those before him; less passionate, more angry at life, but she couldn't blame him. Yet, she also thought she understood what his family thought about it; making something from nothing... That's what so many strive for. She leaned on the railing with one elbow, her horse nudging her other arm occasionally. She felt bad for him, but he just said that he didn't want the pity of others. It took her several moments to come up with a response.

"Well... Well... I'm sorry, but, I mean..."

"That's a noble cause, in a way. And you've gotten far; I don't wanna pester you about your family, but I'm sure after 3 years, you've made progress on that goal, right? Sure, this life doesn't pay that well; my own parents aren't getting any younger, so I try to send them a little to pay the ranch hands. So... I don't know how much longer we'll both be stuck being mercenaries, but I wanna help you out. You've been helping me out a lot, I oughta repay the favour somehow."

Maria toyed with her coin purse, before stroking her horse a little. This was a lot to process... He had sacrificed so much for this. To get his family a new life. She may not believe in her mother's diety, but her mother did teach her pride in work.

And even if you don't want me to send your fam'ly money, I could try to cover the cost of your tomes a little so you could send that money; lances ain't as expensive... I think."

"You've worked hard enough for this; I don't mean to take all the weight off - I don't think I could do it - but you're a good friend to me now, so... I gotta make it up."

"And at the same time... Your sisters are probably missing you. I know my parents are, and probably some of the longer-working hands. And you're the one takin' care of them, so not seeing them in so long is probably really worrying them."

Maria sighed; this must be hard for him. She didn't know why he trusted her enough to share this, but she figured she had a duty now, to be a good person. You can't just her this and stand aside... right?

[I_Like_Pi]

"I said I think we found one of the treasures, captain. Amberly found some altar in an old church and it mentioned a 'trial of strength'. So I came back to get you and the rest of the crew since about half of them are already there."

[Haspen]

"Already? Huh. Let's go then, and hope the rest is as easy as this one." Ethan left his hammock, stretched again and then paced after Ashlyn.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

"Maria, I..."
"Thank you... but please, you don't have to. It's my responsibility, not yours. It wouldn't be right for me to take the coin you rightfully earned for yourself."
"It's true though, it's been too long since I saw any of them. Letters are enough to keep in touch, check on how they're doing, but... not the same. But they understand why I'm out here. Things were a bit rough at the start, there were a lot of debts to be paid... but I was right to do what I did. In three years doing this, I've earned several times more than we ever could at that barren farm, and done what Father spent his whole life up to the day he died failing at; Our family owes practically no one anymore, and for once in our lives everyone has enough to eat. Having to be away from them all is a price I'm willing to pay for the stability we have now. I will see my sisters again soon enough once I am done, and who knows, if all this talk of saving the world is legitimate, that may well happen even sooner."

He straightened up at the sight of Boss and one of the Crew members walking out of the cabin. Dismissing the bird construct overhead with a snap of fingers he turned back to Maria.
"But I do thank you for even offering," he continued "It's a gesture not many in this world would make. What you said earlier though about repaying- don't worry about it. All I'm doing is paying a favor forward, giving advice a fledgling mercenary, as someone did for me in the beginning. If you truly wish to repay that, all I ask is that you do the same someday. Looks like free time is about to come a close though..."

[Chevaleresse]

Gawen poked her head into the temple.
"Amberly. You've found something? Ashlyn mentioned something about a trial of strength being involved."

[Sirus]

Amberly had just begun considering whether she should explore the stairs by herself. Luckily, Gawen showing up brought her out of that dangerous line of thought.

: "Yes, indeed. I pressed a hidden button on this altar, then it seemed to react to the presence of the orb and revealed this hidden staircase. I haven't gone down yet, in case this "trial to strength" involves something like...well, heavy lifting or something. I'm afraid my muscles would be inadequate for such tasks."

[Chevaleresse]

"Perhaps it would be good to wait for the rest of the crew? I'd be eager to explore such a thing, but a trial of strength may refer to combat; it wouldn't be typical to refer to such in a modern day, but who knows how old this is?. . . I don't suppose you could hazard a guess?"

[Sirus]

: "An exact age is impossible to determine, of course, but unless my education has failed me it dates from before the Reckoning. Waiting for the rest of the crew sounds like a good idea indeed!"

[Chevaleresse]

"What do you think of them, anyway? I fear I've made the worst kind of impression with them, what with the whispering, and it's been difficult to judge them from my perspective.

I suppose it'd be worth asking the same thing about myself."