Ishtar smiled as she surveyed the sand beach. This has to be the best beach I have every seen. And I have the beach all to myself. This is perfect.

Finally after arriving on the island, Ishtar was able to find the beach she had seen on the way in. She had wondered if she was going to ever had the time or navigation skills to get to it, but her she was.

She looked around for a moment as she tried to find a spot that would be unlikely to be disturbed. After finding a spot in the open she put down the backpack that held her towel and her underwear. She then began to disrobe, taking off her shirt and skirt.

After putting the clothes in her backpack, she stood up. Revealing a mostly pink floral pattern bikini halter with ruffled trim. This eye catching top also had splotches of white, yellow, and blue flower designs as well. To complete the outfit, she wore a black bottom that had trim in the same floral pattern.

Light footfalls upon the pliable sand of the beach would stir the being from hibernation. The beach was indeed very lovely, the shoreline seemingly stretching out forever, the sand felt like velvet due to the volcanic ash content that would be washed up from the depths of the ocean. The large volcano had been dormant for as long as anyone could remember, but it is indeed the very reason why this island is even there to begin with. So long had it been since it erupted, that the top layer of magma finally hardened, the fertile soil now overgrown with vegetation. Most merely think of it as purely a mountain now.

The sun was setting along the horizon, making quite a breathtaking view as the water mirrored the image of the orb, they sky taking on a reddish hue. The light would play upon Ishtar’s blue tresses and make them appear an almost purplish color and make her pale skin tone look bronze. It would have been a perfect photo opportunity. Perhaps because she was so intrigued by the sunset and the view, she wasn’t glancing down around her feet, but something was stirring there. Something very shiny rose up through the particles and immediately caught the light of the setting sun, causing a shockingly bright reflection that Ishtar might have spied from the corner of her eye.

If she looked down at her feet, she would notice a turquoise colored gem stone, no bigger than a nickel, nestled softly within the sand. It was translucent, brilliant, and beautiful. A few feet away to her left, another sparkle could be seen off in the distance, and another tiny sparkle would be seen a few feet to the left of the second one. Were they all pretty little crystals like the one lying right by her toes? The sound of the waves crashing upon the beach would drown out the seismic rumble from deep within the earth. The vibration of the ground would be so insignificant that Ishtar might not have been able to detect it while standing on the beach.

As Ishtar admired the sunset, something caught her eye. She looked down and saw there was a beautiful turquoise colored stone between her feet in the sand. It reflected the sun brilliantly making it stand out.

Oh how beautiful. She had leaned over to pick up the gemstone. As she did notice that she could see a sparkleof another gemstone a few feat, and another sparkle beyond that. She didn't know what to make of it. How did these stones get here, they are in a line on the beach. Did some pirated bury some treasure out here on the beach along time ago? Did somebody come buy with some stolen gems? Am I standing on buried treasure? Does this trail of gems lead to treasure instead?

The gem would continue to twinkle and gleam as she held it in her hand from all of the facets catching the rays of the sun. The turquoise stone was nearly flawless, polished smooth, and in it the girl could see her reflection. Off in the distance, the other items continued to shimmer and gleam as they rested in the sand. Things beneath the surface were in machination, something was surfing, but not the waves of the ocean.

As students roamed the beach and saw pieces of driftwood washing up on shore, of course rumors would spread. “The timbers are from a shipwreck,” would echo throughout the halls of Shokushu. “I heard that it was some cargo ship that got caught in a bad storm, it hit some rocks and crashed into pieces,” another story went. And the stories got more abstract and bizarre as story became tall tale, tall tale became legend and rumors of a sunken pirate ship of untold treasures met its demise just off the shores of the island. The rag tag crew drowned with the sinking ship and their ghosts come to the beach at night, seeking their lost haul. This was perpetuated by the moans heard coming from the beach at night as in reality much more sinister and real things were occurring. The sounds were attributed to the howling of the ghost, crying because they cannot find their gold.

Were the legends true? Did Ishtar luck into stumbling upon a long forgotten and buried treasure? Maybe there was only one way for her to find out and that would be to follow the trail of gemstones. As she pondered her next course, waves kept battering the beach sending sea foam into the air. The salt of the ocean was so prevalent that when you licked your lips you could taste it. There was a chattering of the sea fowl that were soaring above, or just running through the ebbing waves, trying to catch whatever little critter might be washed up onto the beach, quickly darting away when the next few ripples of water came in.

A few more little trembles from beneath and the birds would become silent, the ones on the beach would take flight and join the ones in the air, and then they would retreat from the area, taking off and finally landing quite some distance down the beach.

Ishtar couldn't believe her luck. The pretty little stone wasn't a product of her imagination. Wow. So the legends are true. There really was a pirate ship that went down here. And at least some of the treasure must have washed up here.

She began to follow the trail, picking up the pretty gems as she went. As she did so, she must disturbed the sea fowl. Because the fowl began flying off as she moved through the sand picking up the gems. My hand gestures must be driving them off. She still couldn't feel the tremors beneath, still hidden from less sensitive senses by the waves coming in.

Quitely she continued her course picking up gems as she moved futher down the beach.