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<blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 2819738" data-attributes="member: 93">&quot;Aaaaahhh!&quot;&nbsp; Artimis roared in pain.Orla ran to the edge of the ledge.&nbsp; &quot;Are you alright, Artimis?&quot;Artimis thrashed about in the waist-high water for a few moments.&quot;Yes, I'm alright.&nbsp; A little bruised and banged up, but I'll survive,&quot; he answered.&nbsp; &quot;Why didn't somebody check the pool for depth?&quot;&quot;You're the expert on water,&quot; Orla responded.Artimis was standing in a pool of water roughly fifty feet from one side to the other.&nbsp; He had stopped thrashing at the water in frustration, but the water was not becoming still.&nbsp; The surface roiled as something moved beneath the surface and all around him.&quot;Artimis,&quot; Nigel said.&nbsp; &quot;Something's not quite right down there.&quot;&quot;You don't say!&quot; Artimis replied.&nbsp; &quot;The water is only three feet deep!&nbsp; I think…&quot;&quot;Wait a minute…He looked all about him as multiple things started to break the surface of the water.&quot;Get me out of here!&quot;He leapt for the rope he had the forethought to throw down before diving into the pool.&nbsp; Behind him, a score or more glittering, skeletal forms rose up from the murky water, and began to advance on him.&nbsp; Nigel and Sandor grabbed the rope and hauled Artimis up from the pool below, just past the grasping skeletal hands of his pursuers.Artimis rolled onto the ledge, breathing hard.&nbsp; He had several severe-looking bruises from his ill-advised dive, but none of the skeletons had managed to draw blood.&quot;Does anyone have a healing potion or something like that?&quot; he asked.&quot;I do,&quot; Orla replied tentatively.&nbsp; &quot;These things cost money, you know,&quot; she added.&quot;Money?&quot; Artimis responded.&quot;Money, yeah,&quot; Orla replied.&nbsp; &quot;You know, makes the world go 'round, you use it to pay for things?&nbsp; Did you hit your head?&quot;&quot;Oh, I see,&quot; Artimis replied.&nbsp; &quot;That sort of thing isn't terribly important where I come from.&quot;&quot;You don't have money where you come from?&quot; Orla asked, skeptically.&nbsp; Artimis shook his head.&nbsp; &quot;No.&nbsp; Where I come from, if I want gold or silver, I just go out and take what I need.&nbsp; Where I come from, that sort of thing can be found anywhere I care to look.&nbsp; We don't value it highly.&nbsp; If it's money you need, look at this,&quot; he said, pulling a rolled up coil of vellum from his pack.&nbsp; &quot;Plenty of it there, I'd expect.&quot;Orla took the proffered scroll, and unrolled it.&nbsp; Nigel and Sandor moved closer, looking over her shoulder.&nbsp; It was a map of some kind, but the strangest one Nigel had ever seen.&nbsp; After a moment he realized it was a map of the western Mediterranean Sea, from about the coast of Crete in the east to the straits of Gibraltar in the west, but the map included almost no detail about areas on land, instead substituting cryptic notes about the lands surrounding the sea.&nbsp; The coasts, on the other hand, were nearly perfectly drawn, and numerous underwater hazards were noted with unerring accuracy.&nbsp; An &quot;x&quot; was clearly noted in the sea south of the French-Italian border, not far from a trio of islands, two large and one small.&quot;I got this from a sailor here,&quot; Artimis said, pointing out an area on the map.&quot;That would be France,&quot; Orla said.&quot;Right.&nbsp; Whatever.&quot;&nbsp; Artimis seemed not to even recognize the name.&nbsp; &quot;My people do not care greatly for gold, but if a ship crashes that has some more important meaning, we do take note.&quot;&quot;And this,&quot; Nigel pointing the &quot;x&quot; marked on the map, &quot;is such a ship?&quot;&quot;Yes.&nbsp; It was a ship belonging to an important man.&nbsp; He ruled all of this, once,&quot; He gestured vaguely at the land north of the Mediterranean.&nbsp; &quot;I forget his name.&nbsp; He was traveling along here.&quot;He traced a line from the trio of islands towards the French coast.&quot;He made the journey safely, but he had a second ship that was carrying the bulk of his treasures, and that was caught in a storm here,&quot; he pointed to the &quot;x.&quot;&quot;It did not make it to port.&quot;&quot;What are these islands, here?&quot; Sandor pointed to the trio of islands.&nbsp; Orla looked at the map for a moment, thinking furiously.&nbsp; Artimis shrugged, either not knowing or caring.&nbsp; Nigel stared off, a far-away look in his eyes.&quot;That southern one is&nbsp; Sardinia, I think,&quot; she said, thinking back to her lessons before she dedicated herself to fencing.&nbsp; &quot;The northern one would be…&nbsp; Corsica, I think?&nbsp; &quot;I have no idea what that smaller one is though,&quot; she said, pointing to the much smaller island, between the northern end of Corsica and the Italian coast.&quot;Elba,&quot; Nigel stated flatly.&nbsp; &quot;The small one is Elba.&quot;&quot;That's where the ship came from, isn't it, Artimis?&quot;&quot;Yes, that's right,&quot; he replied.&quot;Wait,&quot; Orla said, her head spinning.&nbsp; &quot;Wait.&nbsp; I know that name.&nbsp; Elba.&nbsp; Are you trying to tell me that this wreck…&quot;&quot;Napoleon.&quot; Nigel stated again.&quot;The man who ruled all that land was Napoleon, and you're saying that that 'x' marks a vessel full of his treasure?&quot;&quot;That was his name!&quot; Artimis exclaimed.&nbsp; &quot;He was important, right?&quot;&quot;You could say that,&quot; Nigel replied.&nbsp; &quot;I think you'd best take good care of that map, if you think it's legitimate.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kid Charlemagne, post: 2819738, member: 93"] "Aaaaahhh!" Artimis roared in pain. Orla ran to the edge of the ledge. "Are you alright, Artimis?" Artimis thrashed about in the waist-high water for a few moments. "Yes, I'm alright. A little bruised and banged up, but I'll survive," he answered. "Why didn't somebody check the pool for depth?" "You're the expert on water," Orla responded. Artimis was standing in a pool of water roughly fifty feet from one side to the other. He had stopped thrashing at the water in frustration, but the water was not becoming still. The surface roiled as something moved beneath the surface and all around him. "Artimis," Nigel said. "Something's not quite right down there." "You don't say!" Artimis replied. "The water is only three feet deep! I think…" "Wait a minute… He looked all about him as multiple things started to break the surface of the water. "Get me out of here!" He leapt for the rope he had the forethought to throw down before diving into the pool. Behind him, a score or more glittering, skeletal forms rose up from the murky water, and began to advance on him. Nigel and Sandor grabbed the rope and hauled Artimis up from the pool below, just past the grasping skeletal hands of his pursuers. Artimis rolled onto the ledge, breathing hard. He had several severe-looking bruises from his ill-advised dive, but none of the skeletons had managed to draw blood. "Does anyone have a healing potion or something like that?" he asked. "I do," Orla replied tentatively. "These things cost money, you know," she added. "Money?" Artimis responded. "Money, yeah," Orla replied. "You know, makes the world go 'round, you use it to pay for things? Did you hit your head?" "Oh, I see," Artimis replied. "That sort of thing isn't terribly important where I come from." "You don't have money where you come from?" Orla asked, skeptically. Artimis shook his head. "No. Where I come from, if I want gold or silver, I just go out and take what I need. Where I come from, that sort of thing can be found anywhere I care to look. We don't value it highly. If it's money you need, look at this," he said, pulling a rolled up coil of vellum from his pack. "Plenty of it there, I'd expect." Orla took the proffered scroll, and unrolled it. Nigel and Sandor moved closer, looking over her shoulder. It was a map of some kind, but the strangest one Nigel had ever seen. After a moment he realized it was a map of the western Mediterranean Sea, from about the coast of Crete in the east to the straits of Gibraltar in the west, but the map included almost no detail about areas on land, instead substituting cryptic notes about the lands surrounding the sea. The coasts, on the other hand, were nearly perfectly drawn, and numerous underwater hazards were noted with unerring accuracy. An "x" was clearly noted in the sea south of the French-Italian border, not far from a trio of islands, two large and one small. "I got this from a sailor here," Artimis said, pointing out an area on the map. "That would be France," Orla said. "Right. Whatever." Artimis seemed not to even recognize the name. "My people do not care greatly for gold, but if a ship crashes that has some more important meaning, we do take note." "And this," Nigel pointing the "x" marked on the map, "is such a ship?" "Yes. It was a ship belonging to an important man. He ruled all of this, once," He gestured vaguely at the land north of the Mediterranean. "I forget his name. He was traveling along here." He traced a line from the trio of islands towards the French coast. "He made the journey safely, but he had a second ship that was carrying the bulk of his treasures, and that was caught in a storm here," he pointed to the "x." "It did not make it to port." "What are these islands, here?" Sandor pointed to the trio of islands. Orla looked at the map for a moment, thinking furiously. Artimis shrugged, either not knowing or caring. Nigel stared off, a far-away look in his eyes. "That southern one is Sardinia, I think," she said, thinking back to her lessons before she dedicated herself to fencing. "The northern one would be… Corsica, I think? "I have no idea what that smaller one is though," she said, pointing to the much smaller island, between the northern end of Corsica and the Italian coast. "Elba," Nigel stated flatly. "The small one is Elba." "That's where the ship came from, isn't it, Artimis?" "Yes, that's right," he replied. "Wait," Orla said, her head spinning. "Wait. I know that name. Elba. Are you trying to tell me that this wreck…" "Napoleon." Nigel stated again. "The man who ruled all that land was Napoleon, and you're saying that that 'x' marks a vessel full of his treasure?" "That was his name!" Artimis exclaimed. "He was important, right?" "You could say that," Nigel replied. "I think you'd best take good care of that map, if you think it's legitimate." [/QUOTE]

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