Treasure Hunted

Treasure Hunted

Treasure Hunted

The GPS had been useless as soon as she entered the thick forest. Ruby had a hunch that might happen, and brought along a good old-fashioned map. It might have been less exact, but Ruby was no amateur. She had researched the route she needed to take to reach the ruins, committed it to memory and traced its path on the map - just in case technology failed her.

Luckily, whatever made her GPS stop working didn't apply to boats. The motor on her small craft chugged along just fine. The river leading through the forest was windy, and she had to pay attention, but it didn't mean she didn't still have time for a few last-minute preparations. Next to the wheel, Ruby had laid out her notes that she had collected.

After her client told her about the job, she went around to locals to ask them what they knew about the ruins: stories, facts, legends, anything. She looked for similarities from her sources, taking note of anything that differed from what her client said. The adventurer was relieved to see his information corroborated by locals.

There were different traps rumored to be in the ruins. Unfortunately, Ruby wasn't able to get a map of the ruins, or even a good idea of where the traps would be and how to identify them. It didn't bother her too much, as Ruby had made a nice little life for herself out of doing the difficult, insane, and impossible. In fact, she enjoyed living on the edge. Not that she ever told any of her clients that - if they knew this was anything other than a job for her, they might not agree to her fees.

Ruby checked the stopwatch she had dangling from the windshield of her motorboat. She had been going for just under half an hour. If the map was right, she should have roughly five minutes before she would pass the first marker - and where her real journey would begin.

The red-haired adventurer looked over her notes she'd compiled. There were only vague descriptions of the various traps, but it was better than nothing. Ruby didn't plan to rely on them too much, and she knew to expect anything. She was prepared as best as she could, and her hand brushed over the backpack she had brought with her. Rope, scissors, flashlights, duct tape, a first aid kit. Anything that either common sense or experience suggested would be important to bring along, she had.

Her client had been vague with the landmark she was looking for, telling her she'd 'know it when she sees it.' He had said it was a sign of some kind. On the shore of the river there was a sturdy stone pillar with a skull on top. Real? No, Ruby judged it to be much too big to be real. There was an inscription on the top of the pillar. Ruby couldn't translate it, but she had a hunch it was something to ward off adventurers like her. She wasn't the type that heeded warnings from signs. She brought her ship ashore a few hundred meters past the sign and covered it with a mottled tarp.

She gathered her things, checked her gun and took a deep breath. She trudged along the muddy beach, her eyes always searching for some sign of life. She didn't expect to see anything, but being careful was how she survived all her dangerous adventures.

The path back to the marker seemed so much further as she walked through the heavy terrain along the banks of the river. Finally, she came face to face with the large skull. It was clearly fake, but it was imposing enough to scare off many people. Ruby wouldn't be one of them.

The red-haired adventurer took a deep breath and walked up the barely visible path. As the forest got deeper, the light from the sun struggled to filter through the trees. It wasn't long before she pulled out her flashlight. It might not have been discreet if anyone was watching, but neither was the boat she had taken and it wouldn't do to fall into some trap set on the path. Sacrifices had to be made in the name of safety sometimes.

Her cautiousness paid off a few minutes later as her flashlight glinted off a thin wire that she surely wouldn't have noticed in the low light. She traced where the wire went to, but lost it in the shrubs. Ruby liked to try and understand the traps she encountered in ruins, but knew that she couldn't figure out all of them. Carefully, she stepped over the wire. There was a thrill of fear that she felt rush through her body: this was definitely a dangerous mission, and those were the ones she loved the most.

There was a faint smile on the adventurer's face as she continued her trek to the ruins. Her eyes were peeled for anything out of the ordinary which was no small task on the overgrown path. Her heart skipped a beat and Ruby held her breath as she felt her foot sink into the ground an extra inch than she had been expecting - there was a mechanical click underneath her foot that could have spelled doom.

Whatever the trap was, it was thankfully slow-developing. Once Ruby recognized what was happening, she threw herself forward just in time as the ground opened up behind her. Trapdoors opened loudly and the dirt and fallen leaves on the path fell into the chasm. A little shaken, Ruby stood tentatively and stood at the edge of the chasm. The doors were huge - once opened, they revealed a chasm that was a good 15 feet across. Ruby figured this trap would work best against a group of people trying to find their ways to the ruins. A solo adventurer like herself could move fast enough to avoid it, but a traveling party of 10 or more would almost certainly lose members to this trap.

Ruby turned her flashlight to shine into the chasm. It was faint, but she did see the small beam from her flashlight on the floor of the pit. She moved her light around, but the floor seemed clear of anything besides fallen dirt and leaves.

As suddenly as it opened, the doors began to close again. Ruby nodded grimly to herself. The traps would almost certainly become more dangerous. Determined nonetheless to retrieve the treasure from the ruins, she set off down the walking trail again.

There were a few traps that were almost comically obvious. A snare, another trapdoor... none of them were subtle enough to escape Ruby's careful eye. Just as she was starting to wonder if the trail would ever end, she saw something bright in the distance, a clearing. It seemed like there was a structure there. She allowed herself a grin, it had to be the bulk of the ruins.

Everything went wrong suddenly. Something grabbed her ankle and then her world was turned upside down - literally. She let out an unprofessional yelp as she was swept off her feet. The back of her head thudded against the packed dirt of the trail as she was swung upside down, dangling by her ankle.

"Ow..." she groaned softly. She closed her eyes as she felt herself swing back and forth like a pendulum from her ankle. Ruby fought the urge to scream for help. No one would hear her, and if someone did hear her in this forest, Ruby doubted she wanted their help. She knew she was on her own.

"Fuck," she muttered to herself. She could feel the blood rushing to her head the longer she stayed upside down. And with her head dully throbbing from hitting the dirt, her predicament was getting uncomfortable quickly. She wanted a second to catch her breath and compose her thoughts, but the longer she stayed like this, the worse it would be for her. Ruby tried to reach for her belt, scrabbling to get her knife from its sheath. It was tough doing this upside down, but she managed and got a grip on it.

The imperiled adventuress glanced up at the rope that held her by the ankle. This was going to be tough, she realized. Ruby took a deep breath to steel herself, and then clenched her abs, trying to do a situp as she was held by her ankle. As the rope swayed, it did her no favors. Ruby grit her teeth and tried again. Once she thought she was close enough, she slashed wildly above her foot at the rope. It cut, but didn't completely go through the rope.

"Dammit," she muttered. But she was in luck. After a few seconds, the remaining fibers of the rope unwound and gave up, unable to support the damsel's entire weight. For a brief second, Ruby felt herself in freefall, and she tried to turn her body. She felt the breath driven out of her as she hit the ground. "Unff..." she groaned.

Ruby closed her eyes in thanks, laying down for just a second to catch her breath. Slowly, she brought herself up to her knees. "I've... gotta be more careful," she reminded herself. Ruby brushed the dirt off her legs and arms and smoothed her hair away from her face as she brought herself to her feet.

"Ok, I'm fine, I'm ready," she reassured herself and resheathed her knife. Ruby took a deep breath and headed towards the clearing, although this time with a renewed suspicion of her surroundings.

The rest of the trail was thankfully free from traps. She didn't have a problem with that. Ruby was still a bit shaken from the trap that caught her. Finally, she was at the entrance to the ruins. The structure was impressively tall - it towered at least 100 feet above the ground, and Ruby was certain that it had been taller when it was built. There was an obvious entrance, but the experienced adventurer wasn't going to be fooled.

The 'main' entrance would be booby-trapped, Ruby was certain. She scanned the base of the structure for a sign of a 'secret' entrance. There was a suspicious patch on the ground about 20 meters to the left of the entrance. The dirt was a little darker, in a patch with sides that were just a little too straight. Ruby smiled to herself, proud for having found the secret entrance.

She strode over to the patch and stepped on it with one foot. Much quicker than the earlier trapdoor, the false patch of dirt slid to the side and two doors slid open - the perfect distance for a person to slide down. Ruby peered down and smiled, seeing an almost immediate slant - it was a chute. Ruby took off her backpack and held it in front of her, sitting down on the edge with her feet dangling into the slide. She counted to three to ready herself, and then kicked off.

The chute was dark, that much was obvious. Ruby couldn't see any detail on the wall above her as she slid past. The stone was smooth on her legs as she slid down at what felt like high speeds. The chute twisted a few times, giving Ruby the sense of being on a terrifying amusement park ride. A natural thrill-seeker, she wanted to laugh in glee, but felt that would somehow be wrong. She slid in silence on her back, still hoping that there wouldn't be some horrific trap at the end of the chute.

She hazarded a look down and saw a dim circle of light growing rapidly. She breathed a sigh of relief - it wasn't a pit of fire or some other hazard like that. Just as she was reaching the bottom of the slide, she felt herself go over something sharp followed by a ripping sound. Ruby didn't have time to think of what it was before she was spat out of the chute and into a frigid basin of water.

"Oh shi-" she sputtered as her legs and torso plunged into the water just before she was completely submerged. The water nearly took her breath away and it took nearly all her willpower to not inhale sharply. Instinctively, she spread her arms and kicked, trying to get back to the surface and swim to land.

The basin wasn't that wide, and she was able to grab onto the stone edge and hold herself steady. She tossed her soggy backpack up and then hauled herself up, feeling her wet clothing fighting her. "Maybe a fire pit would be nice right about now," she muttered wryly as she shivered in the dark and cold.

Doggedly, she forced herself to stand up and get moving to try and stay warm. Ruby wrung out her hair the best she could. She felt like her back was bare - she reached behind her and found her red crop top was ripped down the middle. She sighed in annoyance. The adventurer carefully pulled the garment off, being careful to not rip it completely, and wrung it out. Ruby squeezed out the fabric on her bra the best she could as well. As adventurous as Ruby was, the woman was not about to strip down in these ruins. She did her best to dry off her boots and shorts but she resigned herself to having a very damp trek the rest of the way.

The red-haired woman studied the walls - she was lucky that her flashlight still worked. There were a few inscriptions that she didn't recognize, but she walked carefully, hoping for some sign of how to get to the secret treasure. Ruby set markers down as she took turns so she could backtrack, if needed. It was slow going, and traps were harder to detect.

It wasn't long before she found herself in trouble again. She had been proud of herself for avoiding another trapdoor that she missed a tripwire just barely above the ground. A loud rumble echoed in the empty halls. "Uh oh." The noise got closer and louder, and Ruby took off at a run. That was none-too-soon as she saw sand falling around her as she ran, falling faster and heavier. Ruby squinted her eyes and ran faster, taking a turn the first chance she got.

The sand didn't follow her around the turn, and Ruby immediately stopped to catch her breath and regain her bearings. Her chest heaved with both exertion and fear. She took deeper breaths to try and calm herself down.

Ruby stared down the hall. There was a faint light at the end of the path she turned on to. "Maybe..." she muttered to herself. She had been exploring the ruins for what felt like over an hour. They couldn't go on forever, and the treasure had to be somewhere, right?

Slowly, she approached the light. It was strange. The closer she got, she heard voices around her. She stopped and looked around, trying to see where they came from. But the voices surrounded her. Above, below, left, right, or ahead - the voices were coming from everywhere. They only got louder with every step she took. Ruby tried to make out what they were saying but didn't know the language.

The words flowed over her all the same. There was a certain rhythm to them. And after all the silence in her trek through the ruins, the voices were a welcome change. They were encouraging her, after all. Ruby felt emboldened, taking confident steps toward the light. She knew she was heading in the right direction. She felt herself smile. Wet, terrified, it didn't matter. She was going to finish the job.

Ruby stepped into the room with a smile. This wasn't the treasure room, of course. It had a stone column that held a plain metal chalice. There was a stone doorway on the opposite side of the entrance. The chalice was filled to the brim with a liquid. It seemed clear enough, and she leaned in to sniff it - it could've been water for all she could tell.

Drink it.

Ruby grabbed the chalice and brought it up to her lips. Just as she was about to drink, a thought wormed its way through her subconscious. What was she doing? Drinking some mysterious liquid in an abandoned ruin? She shook her head to clear the thought and instinctively threw the chalice on the ground, the liquid splashing on the stones.

Ruby took a breath, her head suddenly clearer. The voices stopped suddenly. She had never encountered a challenge like that - it had to be a trap, of course. Ruby looked back at the hall and took a step towards it.

Drink it.The voices boomed again. She wasn't sure why she could understand it now.

"No." Ruby steeled her voice, looking around in defiance for the source of the voice.

Drink it. Drink it. DRINK IT.The voices demanded. Repeating. Echoing. Booming.

Ruby closed her eyes and put her hands to her ears, reflexively curling up defensively. "No!" She shouted.

The voices didn't care.Drink it. Drink it.

"How?" She screamed.

The voices stopped. Tentatively, she stood back up and opened her eyes. She could hear her thoughts again. She looked at the column. The chalice stood there, full. "How?" She whimpered.

Drink.The voice said. It was more soothing this time. More feminine. More calm.

Ruby nodded and dusted herself off. She could listen to this voice. With shaking hands, she picked the chalice up.

Good. Drink.

Ruby nodded. It had to be safe. This voice wouldn't lie to her. This voice wouldn't hurt her. She sipped. It tasted like water, but a little bit sweeter. She wasn't sure how much she should drink of it. She paused and took the chalice away from her mouth.

Drink.

She nodded. Ruby raised the cup back up with both hands and drank the rest of the liquid. There was nothing from the voice.

Ruby spoke, a little anxious. "Well, do I get to move on?" She gestured to the stone doorway on the opposite side of the column.

Nothing happened. There was no response. Ruby put the chalice down and stepped towards the doorway. Her fingers traced the outline of the door, hoping to pry it open. No luck. She slammed her palm against the door. She stumbled backwards as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. "Oh..." she muttered. Her head swam. She reached desperately for the column to help hold herself upright. "No, no, no," she pleaded with herself. She couldn't go down like this.

It wasn't poison, that she was sure of. She just felt tired, a tiredness she'd never felt before. She wanted to curl up on the ground and sleep. The treasure could wait. Her vision blurred and she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her knees buckled and she gave in, sinking to the ground. The stone felt soft beneath her as she lay down. The room felt like it was spinning, and just before Ruby sank into unconsciousness, she realized it was.

---

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Ruby woke up just fine. She cracked her eyes open; after the low light of the forest and passageways of the ruins, the artificial light in the room was painfully bright. She winced. She tried to raise her hand to shield her eyes but felt something hold her arms down. She tried to crane her head to get a better look, but wasn't able to see much more. Her hopes weren't high when she tried to move her legs either - and her attempts were met with a similar resistance. Her best guess was that she was tied down to a hospital-type bed.

"Damn," she muttered. "Hello?" Her voice bounced off the empty walls. She looked from side to side, and recognized that the room she was in was not particularly large. It was spacious compared to the narrow passageways of the ruins, but being tied down as she was, Ruby couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic.

Ruby strained against the straps holding her down to the bed. They didn't give much, but at least they didn't seem to be metal. Maybe she could figure out some way out of them. Ruby twisted her wrists to try and figure out what angle would be the best for her to escape. She tried to use her strength to push down on the bed to create a bigger gap for her to slide her hands through.

That idea seemed to pay off. The light sheen of sweat from her growing desperation helped her as well, and she felt her wrists and hands slide free of the straps. Finally, she got herself into a sitting position and was able to undo the straps around her ankles by hand.

Hurriedly, she got off the bed and stood, a little shakily. She looked around the small room. It was empty, save for the bed. There was no sign of any of her belongings that she had brought into the ruins. No windows. Plain white walls. A simple door.

Ruby approached the door and reached for the handle tentatively. She turned the doorknob and gasped in surprise as the door opened silently. She fully expected to be trapped in the room. The adventurer peered down the hall, but there was no sign of life. The hall was dimly lit, looking like an odd combination between hotel and hospital.

She opened her mouth to call out but thought against it. No sense drawing attention to herself just yet. She closed the door to her room quietly and headed off down the hall. Cautiously, she looked around the corner. Still nothing. She stayed close to the wall and turned left.