(And thus continues the adventures of Saragus the T'marian. Time-line wise, this adventure is after Saragus's first contact with human females and the world of Shokushu in Lost and Found but before his first contact with the ADD in Sinner's Redemption. Any student who wishes to join is more than welcome. Saragus is the gentle sort, but make no mistake, he considers human females toys to amuse and please him, akin to pets rather than people. To paraphrase Twain, Saragus is not a rational being, he is a rationalizing being).

- - - - -

It had been some time since Saragon had returned to his home world of T'mar. In fact, ever since he had discovered the world of Shokushu and its population of nubile young human females, he had found one excuse after another to remain in the Zorn empire. Nothing was officially said in the Kingdom of T'mar, but it was an open secret: another T'marian had fallen victim to the secret, shameful vice of ravishing human female sex slaves.

Saragus had been to the world of Shokushu a few times now, and had finally had his brain genetically engineered so that he could speak and converse in the more common human languages. He had taken a string of single females, but now he decided he wanted something more exotic. Perhaps two or more to play with, and watch play with each other. Just the thought of the possibilities was enough to make his mind swim. But picking off one female on the beach was one thing. Picking up a bevy of females was another matter altogether.

To that end, he had placed a map in a rather obscure ancient language in the school's library. The map promised a treasure of a unique and arcane nature that could only be recovered on a moonless night in a secluded cove. The instructions were such that the treasure hunter would want to recruit allies, but only allies who could be trusted.

Now Saragus only had to wait, until some fish took his bait.

Saira had had her own... history on the island, having met now two of the monsters, one more humanlike than the last - but still a beast, through and through. She was careful but still daring, wanting to maybe have a chance to fight back. So when she found a treasure map written in an obscure dialect of... of... It was on the tip of her tongue, but something related to the older middle eastern languages, yet pointing to something on this island, she was a bit skeptical, but secretly hopeful.

The girl had heard of magic being real on this isle, and was willing to believe given the circumstances. But it managed to explain things in the right way to allay some of those suspicions, and suggested the right time - and tonight would be that night, she knew. Saira had also discovered something about the opening ritual requiring a few people to work together on it... or something. She needed to study it more once they got there. But... she needed a team.

The Egyptian, sadly, didn't know who, though. So she sat in the library, map unfurled on the table, waiting for some good idea on that to come. While she did this, she wore some of her familiar hiking gear - the boots, the khakis, the overcoat - but had changed to a white button-up blouse this time. She felt... relaxed, for now.

" A 1102.98....A 1102.98....where the hell are the A's?"

Yaeko looked up from the scrap of paper in her hand, scanning the ends of the rows for the section she needed. Moving somewhat quietly through the mostly empty library, she came across a small study area, including a table with a few chairs at it. As she passed through in search of her business book, she noticed the Egyptian girl sitting there, and curiously looked over her shoulder as she walked by. Intrigued when she saw the map, she didn't pay attention to where she was going, running smack into a bookshelf. She fell to her rump with a curse, tugging down the hem of her dark blue dress, from where it had risen past her knees in the tumble. Blowing her hair from her eyes, she rubbed the side of her head, glancing over her shoulder at the Egyptian girl sheepishly.

For her part, Saira jumped in her seat when the other girl crashed into the bookshelf, and immediately leaned over to see what was the matter, concern on her face and worry in her voice.

"Eee, are you alright?!"

The Egyptian's coat swayed and actually caught slightly on the chair when she got out of it, but at the very least she wasn't also pulled down onto the floor as well. Kneeling on one knee, Saira looked at Yaeko closely, gazing into the other girl's face.

"That was a pretty bad fall, do you need help up?"

"Ow ow ow....I'm fine, just bumped my head. And yeah, I'd appreciate a hand up.

Yaeko rubbed her head gently, her hazel eyes squinched up from the mild pain. She met Saira's gaze, a blush rising from the embarrassment of her fall.

"Ehh...sorry for disturbing you. I was just walking by, and saw your map, and got curious, and...erm...kind of forgot to watch where I was walking."

Yaeko stuck out one hand for help, the other under herself to push u[ from the ground.

Saira nodded, and went about helping Yaeko up with a soft smile, once the two were both standing, she turned over to the map and gestured slightly.

"Oh, you were curious? Well, apparently it's some kind of treasure map... And it's written well enough that I'm almost willing to believe it's real. But it seems I'd need some help to investigate it..."

Yaeko moved to look at the map curiously, absently rubbing her bum where she landed on it. The words made no sense to her, but she was definitely intrigued by the idea of treasure. Grinning, she turned to Saira, gesturing to the map.

"So you think it's real? What kind of help do you need? Is it by water? I'm a good swimmer, if that would help."

Yaeko sounded a little too excited perhaps. Maybe it was boredom that made her so interested, or maybe she just really liked the thought of getting into an adventure. She blushed slightly as she realized she was nattering on, sketching an informal bow toward the other girl.

"Ack! But I'm forgetting to introduce myself. Yaeko Maita, pleased to make your acquaintance. And thank you for helping me up!"

Saragus took note of the lunar calendar. The new moon was coming soon. It woud soon be time to see if his treasure map brought any new precious jewels to the secluded cove he picked.

Saira smiled back at Yaeko, deciding to return the bow.

"Ah, and I'm Saira Nejem. Good to meet you! Anyway... yeah, it's on a cove on the south side of the island... And... er, well, I think it's somehow magical or... I dunno. I've seen some stuff that is making me almost believe that it could be true, though - so there's something about it only being accessible during the new moon which is... later, tonight. But we can head over there now, while it's still daylight, then camp out for a bit! That should be safer and maybe lets you enjoy the water, hm?"

Saira's smile widened, as she began to feel like this Yaeko girl might be able to help her after all! Now if she could just remember that last part of unlocking the treasure... Hm. She'd just bring the map with her! They'd have time to study, right?

Yaeko grinned widely, nodding along, until magic was mentioned. She stopped and looked curious, but decided not to question it.

"That makes sense...maybe we can find out more near where its supposed to be. Uhm....meet you at the campus convenience store, for snacks? I need to run change clothes."

She tugged at the hem of her knee length blue dress, shrugging at Saira.

"Not exactly the best wear for adventuring."

Saira nodded at the comment about the snack shop.

"Sounds about right! Provisions would be a good idea anyway. I'll see you then!"

We can only assume the two went on their way. For Saira's part, she spent the rest of the time double-checking the map and the text, trying to figure out what was going on there. A... a switch. Or was it a seal? Lock? Something... something needed the action of two people, though it was painfully vague as to how, describing that there was some clue on site, within the shadows of stone or whatever the thing said.

Eventually though, Saira turned up at the snack shop at the time they agreed on, still in her same 'adventure gear', and in fact now armed with a backpack and a number of tools, including what would pass for hiking/climbing gear on the island. So she waited...

Yaeko hurried off to gather supplies, not really caring about the treasure so much as a chance to have an "adventure" with a possible new friend. She skidded into her new room, hurriedly digging in her half unpacked suitcase, pulling out her one piece swimsuit, shedding her dress and underwear in a flash and tugging the formfitting garment on. Satisfied with this water ready under layer, she pulled on a pair of baggy drawstring pants, tightly cinching them at her waist. She dithered for a moment, then donned a dark green t-shirt that fit her rather snuggly as well. Humming she put on socks and a pair of high top sneakers, completing her wardrobe change over. Snagging a flashlight and an empty backpack, she dashed back out of her room, locking the door on her way.

She arrived at the convenience store a little before Saira, grinning like a fool as she stocked up on snacks, chuckling as she snagged a few chocolate bars and a bag of marshmallows. Having prepared more for a camping trip than an expedition into unknown ruins, she moved to wait outside, only to spot Saira.

"Hey! Just in time! Do you need anything from the store before we head out?"

Saira smiled at the girl, noting now she was... much better equipped now - though maybe for the beach/coast/water part of the adventure. Of course, a slight shift of her legs at the non-typical underwear was the only sign that Saira was also ready for swimming, too - her bikini underneath her clothes.

"Ah... Actually, I bought all that I needed already! I have a few ready sandwiches, a lot of water, and a jar of peanuts! That should do fine. Anyway... just follow me to the cove, it's not very far..."

And off they went! The hike was fairly level terrain, in fact, even when they got out of the campus, it was only rolling hills to contend with. It took about... about 3 or so hours of travel - including a snack break - to make it there, though, enough time for afternoon to start creeping to sunset's hour. The cove itself was nestled within a little alcove of rock, rounded off by the seawater and prone to include a lot of stepping stones. Saira made her way down quick, and it was then that she called her down.

"Hey, come on! I'll be right here if you need help, okay?"

While Yaeko traversed the rocks, Saira looked into the cove, pulling out her flashlight. What waited for them there?...

Of course, her ears remained ready for any call for help of Yaeko's.

Yaeko grinned and nodded as Saira listed her provisions. Hefting her backpack, she playfully saluted as the darker girl led the way.

"Yes sir!"

During the hike, she waxed between chatty and silent, usually quieting whenever her attention was snagged by a particularly pretty bird, or a strange looking tree. Normally she got along quite well, except for when her mind wandered, which is when her feet decided to find every root and rock they could to trip over.

By the time they took a break, she was dirty, sweaty but still grinning, happily tearing into a chocolate bar and a sandwich, tossing another of the bars to Saira. Washing down the quick meal with water, she seemed to be just as energetic as when they began, almost skipping along as they got nearer the cove.

At the stepping stones, she watched Saira go first, then hopped after her, waving her arms for balance, but managing to keep up without any major mishaps so far.

"So...how far in do we have to go?"

From an underwater cave, Saragus remotely watched as he saw the two prizes his puzzle had lured toward the cove. Saragus turned off the remote monitr and turned his attention to the strange object in his tentacle, marveling at its egnimatic runes.

"Who knows, they may consider you a prize worth possessing," Saragus told the object. "It's certain anyway that T'marian science can't unravel your secrets. And it may be that the human touch is what is required here. And speaking of the human touch..." Saragus took note that sundown was coming soon. Putting the object in a transparent case which only his biometrics would open, Saragus dove into the water, a glass bubble in tow. A glass bubble that was just the right size to transport two unsuspecting young women.