Tomb of the Storm Queen [IC]

[Celestial]

Everything was set. Skye leaned against the bedpost as she stared at her luggage. Three large, brown bags were neatly stacked together while a black and grey backpack rested on top. Two of the large check-ins contained the things she’d need for the trip. The contents ranged from translated texts with the original academia book sources to equipment, which would help with archiving and recording. She did sneak a few containers and stuff to preserve any artifacts found, but the probability of her using them was pretty low. Nevertheless, her father always told her that preemptive action saved the fool. Something along those lines anyhow. The third bag contained her clothes. She packed only what was necessary. The trip was to take a good three months, which was how much the funding would last them anyhow. Lastly, her backpack contained her more practical tools. She had everything ranging from her logbook to dusters to sweep away dirt without ruining anything. It was paramount she didn’t ruin anything due to clumsiness. That would totally piss off the Professor Ethan. There was some simple first aid gear in the side pocket for just in case.

She extended her leg as she felt her muscles stretch. She hummed in pleasure as she got to her feet. She walked over to her wardrobe as she slid on a plain white shirt. It was already well into the morning as the crew had only arrived in Bangkok last night. The city never seemed to sleep. Emerging out from the airport, cars still roamed along the freeway. On there way to the hotel, she observed in horror as cars zigzagged amongst each and seemed to defy every single traffic law she had learned to abide by. She was afraid of a crash, for the cars drove like madmen, and only sighed in relief when they were able to get out of the car and into the hotel reception area.

Smiling to herself, she pushed the discomforting thoughts away. She was experiencing another culture, and she wasn’t about to take it for granted by frowning upon the habits of the natives. She’d just have to get use to it she supposed.

Walking towards the door, she checked to make sure her phone and other essentials were in her pockets as she stepped outside of her room and into the hallway. The hotel they stayed at was pretty nice. The floor was lined with easy-on-the-eyes brown carpet while the walls were neutral beige. There were round lamplights, which aligned along the hallway giving off an ample amount of light. Everything was so beautifully oriental that she couldn’t believe how little it cost for their stay. It was due to the exchange rate of currency, of course, but all of the same, she was still rather surprised at the extravagance for so little of a price.

As she continued down the hall to where her close friend and colleague, Mali, stayed, she thought back on how she ended up where she was today. Prior to entering college, her father and mother, both taken from her at a young age, left her a very handsome sum of pounds, which would make even the Dukes and Duchesses of the United Kingdom jaws drop. Since then, she had lived alone save for the butler whom stayed behind as her father’s last parting wish and a friend whom was a trusted family acquaintance - in fact - he, on extremely short notice, joined the crew list of her current trip. His name was Richard Hawthorne. The man had been with her father on many of his archeological outings. She remembered him telling her stories of the very sticky situations the two would get in, and how he was the one who had to bail her father out. She would have given whatever sum her parents left behind to see them again; she wished to see the adventures and hear the tales her father told her as a child before she went to sleep again.

Having strong family ties to the institutions of Oxford and Cambridge, Skye wanted nothing to do with the life her parents had created for her and decided to make her own path. She took up multiple jobs to pay for her education at University College London while she dived into her anthropology and archeology studies - essentially following in her father’s footsteps. It was here she met Mali. Initially she never got along with the Asian girl, but after a time, their relationship grew to where it was today.

Soon enough, her passion finally paid off as she worked alongside Professor Ethan. She attended to the translations, chronicling, and archiving. It was all very banal work, but it led her to an opportunity she could never have dreamed of. The Professor offered to take her with him on a to pursue the lost tomb of Lady Trieu, an ancient goddess of Vietnam. Having worked with the professor on multiple translations in the past, she quickly agreed. It wasn’t that she couldn’t fund it through her own means, but she wanted recognition, to be recognized by someone for her ability. This is what the trip meant to her. Where she was today was because of her own merit and will and not because of her father.

Finally coming upon a brown, oak wooden door, she rapped her knuckles upon its surface twice. She placed one hand in the pocket of her tans pants and snuggled her feet within her sandals as she zeroed in on the peephole. She smiled in case Mali was looking. “It’s Skye,” she said loud enough to be heard through the thick material. “You in there Mali?”

[Zhaliora]

Mali puffed. She had been scurrying about inside of her dorm room for what felt like ages. She had packed, unpacked, and then packed again for a few hours. She had never been this excited about a trip in her entire life. Not only would she return to the land of her parents, but she was going on an historical expedition. Or, she hoped at least that it would become historical.

She had been to Thailand quite a few times with her parents, visiting their parents and relatives. Due to their frequent visits every year, their family was not too well off on money, but they were no-where near poor. They had enough, and Mali was happy about that, as were her parents. She had a few relatives in Bangkok and she would love to visit them if time arose for her to do so. She did suspect however, that she would not have that much time over for such things if they really did find what they were looking for.

After packing for what felt like the hundred time, Mali was finally satisfied with what she had. She had one suitcase full of her clothes, shoes in plastic bags and various other such articles. She had one bag full of historical reference books and various other texts that she thought she might need to this expedition. And then finally, another suitcase of various tools. It contained, hammers, dusters, brushes, a small 'water gun', small picks and other useful things, all wrapped up in cloth to keep them safe from damage. She also had a smaller rucksack in which she had a notebook, a pen, first aid and also where she would store her water and energy bars. She would also place any books she might need for that day's of expeditions and travels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had not been able to sleep at all on the flight over. Mali was used to be able to sleep on the plane, but she had not been able to this time. She had been too excited about this trip. At first, she had been a bit excited about it, but then she had learned that her good friend Skye would join in on it, and then it became very exciting. She would possibly had declined the trip if it had been someone else than her. Mali was not the most social person, and thus did not have a lot of friends. Even she and Skye had started out on the wrong foot, but as time went by, they had become friends. For some reason, the lecturers and teachers had like to put her and Skye in the same group, or even just them in one. It had been quite awkward for Mali since she had not been too fond of the girl. But after many 'forced' collaborations, they had become quite good friends.

Once they had arrived at their hotel, Mali had brushed her teeth before throwing off her own clothes and had went straight to bed. She noise of the streets did not bother her at all, she was used to it. Bangkok was like her second home so often she was here. She had been so tired she had even forgot to lock her door as a matter of fact.

~~~~~~

Mali was dreaming, dreaming about what they might find on this expedition. The tomb of Lady Trieu, the legendary Vietnamese heroine. She had heard all about the stories from her parents already, and that had spurred her on even more. She dreamt that she was walking into a massive tomb together with Skye, on the lookout for any traps that might be lurking. She had always been a adventure geek, and had read a few books and played a few games. So in her dreams, it was obvious that there was going to be traps everywhere, as well as puzzles and riddles.

Finally, the pair entered the main chamber and they saw their prize. They rushed towards it and opened a large chest, full of ancient texts. They cheered and hugged each other before they started to work on the translations...............

~~~~~~~

Mali was fast asleep when Skye knocked on her door, a light snore could be hear through the door.

[Celestial]

Skye pursed her lips as she put her ear next to the door and knock again. "Mali?" As she stood there, she heard the light snore coming from the other side. She sighed. "For the love god, Mali! It's nearly noon!"

There wasn't too much time left before the crew would depart from the hotel. Firstly, they were going to take a van out to the outskirts of Eastern Thailand. Back during the time of the lady, the Vietnamese territory had resided within present day Thailand's borders. It wasn't surprising that border markings had changed, but what didn't change was the burial sites and crumbling architecture. It was pretty hard to move those she thought to herself as she laughed. After slaving over readings from both UK and asian scholars, the Mali, the professor, and herself both concluded that something belonging to Lady Trieu's legacy still existed! She hoped it had something to do with the lady's tomb - better yet - the tomb itself. She didn't want to get her hopes up however. First they'd have to actually find something. This excursion could very well be a wild goose chase, which would yield nothing of value. But, if they could find one, helpful clue ...

She checked her watch. If the fool could wake up, they could still make it to the market place. Skye had heard so many wonderful things about the dishes in this country. Of course, she'd stay away from the spicy ones unless she felt particularly adventurous. Odd food wasn't too new of an experience to her since her father was quite prolific in his international travels. He had always managed to bring something back for her, which she couldn't even understand how he got it pass British customs. All the same though, the spice killed her. The sweet stuff she could handle, but not the spice.

She knocked on the door more forcefully this time. "You'll have time to sleep on the ride," she said as she stepped back and leaned against the wall opposite the door. She rose an eyebrow expectantly as she waited with her arms crossed. "Unbelievable ... maybe the jet lack's got to her?"

[Zhaliora]

Mali tossed around in her sleep, disturbed by Skye's voice and knocking. Her dream continued. She and Skye had just finished translating the texts and they found out that the tomb was just one of many. Suddenly, a bunch of mummies walked out of the sarcophagi and walked towards the pair. Skye and her started running towards the exit just as a massive gate crashed down, trapping them inside. They ran towards a scaffolding and started climbing upwards until they ran out. Suddenly though, Mali fell down through a trapdoor........

Mali could feel a pain in her body and she looked around. Gone was the mummies, the tomb and Skye. She was in her room on the hotel again, awake. Mali could hear a strong knock on her door and Skye's voice. She got up from the floor and stumbled towards the door and opened it. "Skye *yawn*...come on in.." Mali stood buck naked in front of Skye, obviously not a morning person.

Soon, Mali started blushing heavily and rushed back into the room and peaked her head out from behind the door. "You can come in soon. Wait until you hear the sound of the shower. I need to take one before we leave," she said and walked back into the room and picked up some clean underwear and a black t-shirt and a pair of black jogging-jeans and walked into the bathroom. She placed the clothes on the hangers and walked into the shower and began showering. She took a quick and warm shower, not wanting to hold up Skye even more than what she already was.

After her shower, she dried off and got dressed quickly and placed her phone, keys and wallet into her pockets and walked up to Skye. "Do we have some time before we have to leave for the dig? If so, do you want to do something together while we wait?"

[Celestial]

Skye looked up as she saw Mali appear, yawning unsurprisingly. Her playful smirk quickly turned into a jaw-dropping expression of surprise. Her eyes lingered on Mali's naked body before she looked away rather quickly. Seeing the sleepiness in the woman's eyes, Skye wondered if Mali was even aware of her ... current appearance. "Um ... Mali?" She gestured without looking. "Perhaps I woke you up a little too early?"

When she heard a rush of padded footsteps, Skye looked up to see Mali's blushing face. She grinned ruefully as she walked up to the door. "Hurry then. Already wasted about fifteen minutes to get you up and moving." She knew Mali hadn't been a morning person, but Skye never expected something like this. The image still burned in her mind as she watched her friend disappear from door. Hearing the ruffling of clothes and quick steps, Skye entered the room as she heard the shower turn on. She looked around as she settled in a chair. A chuckled as she rubbed her forehead. "What a morning ..."

As more time passed, Skye looked up to see Mali adequately dressed. She smirked. "Major improvement in the decency department, love." Stealing a quick glance at her watch, Skye got to her feet as she placed her right hand on her hip. "Little less than I would have hoped for. Did you stay up all night then? I was hoping to go look around the city before we left. Sightseeing never hurts, right?" She walked towards the door as she checked her phone. Nothing from the professor, which meant they didn't need to be here. Hopefully he wouldn't call one of his famed last minute meetings. "You up for a little exploring then? We'll need to be back in over an hour. Plenty of time if we stay close though."

[Zhaliora]

"Sorry Skye," Mali said with an embarrassed expression. "I am not a morning person." Mali paused and asked her question before she opened her mouth again. "I did not stay up all night, but I packed my things quite a few times, and it was quite tiring since I had a lot of things. That, combined with not able to get any sleep on the plane knocked me out cold....sorry.." Mali looked quite sorry as she talked and bowed her head slightly.

Skye did not look too upset though so Mali raised her head and looked Skye in the eyes just before she turned towards the door and took out her phone. Mali did the same and looked at it, nothing, nothing at all. She put the phone away just as Skye spoke up. "Hmm? Sure, I am all up for it. I have been here quite a few times, so if you want a guide, feel free to ask." Mali walked up next to Skye and motioned for her to exit the room and after she did, Mali locked the room.

"So, where do you want to go? Or what do you want to do with our free time?"

[Celestial]

Skye feigned anger as she frowned. She loved to tease her friends here and there and Mali was no exception. After she heard the click of the door locking, she broke out into a grin as she grabbed Mali’s hand. “I only tease Mali. No need to be so serious.” She let go as she looked at the time again. “Lets wander too far. You never know when the professor will want to leave. Though our departure is scheduled for two in the afternoon, I’ll bet it’ll be sooner. Honestly. The professor and his deadlines.”

She shook her head as the two began to walk down the hallway. They passed a few other hotel patrons. A pair of parents, she guessed tourists from the States, were dressed in casual khaki shorts and loose button-ups. Wide rimmed hats sat on their heads as their eyes were shielded behind sun glasses. The little boy, couldn’t be more than twelve she figured, was dressed in similar fashion. The one difference was the ‘Wild Thornberrys’ backpack he had on. It was bulging, so you could tell the little one packed for a great day of exploring.

She stifled a laugh through her smile as she smiled at the group. “Afternoon.”

“Good afternoon,” replied the man. His wrinkled face curved up as he revealed his lightly stained teeth. “You two visitors as well?”

Skye nodded as she knelt down and examined their child. “Well, look at you! An explorer if I've ever seen one! What are you hunting for today?”

The boy beamed. “We’re riding the elephants! The elephants in … Daddy, where are the elephants?”

“In the vast plains of the safari, boss,” replied the dad as he looked at Skye. “Finally convinced him that the animals aren’t that bad. Still scared of heights and all. He’s got to get over it some day.”

Nodding, she tugged lightly on the youth’s hat as she stood up. “Lucky. I wish I could go ride on the elephants as well. Ah, I’ve got it. You’ll just have to have fun for the both of us, ‘kay?”

Skye waved goodbye to the family as the boy promised that he would. It was fun to see couples and their children spending so much time together. When she was younger, she remembered her father would show her the things he brought back from his trip, stare into the sky with his telescope - which she still possessed, and the nights spent on storytelling of civilizations long gone. She grimaced to herself as they came to the front of the hotel. The staff all greeted the two with great courtesy, which astounded her. Certainly, England had their share of phenomenal customer-oriented bellmen and hotel staff, but the oriental had something unique. It was hard to put in words, so she just rested on the word ‘cute’.

Upon exiting to the outside, a strong odor of gas traveled through her sense of smell as she coughed back a gag. The heat of the afternoon sun wasn’t helping either as its beams of light showered upon her shoulders. The outside courtyard, relatively void of activity save the maids, were walled off from the traffic beyond the ceramic walls. Through the gatehouse, the rush of traffic was constant. The honking of cars, the motors of motorcyclists, and even pedestrians filled the air. It was a complete turn around from the quiet tranquility that Skye had the pleasure of experiencing within the confines of her room.

Walking through the courtyards and out the gate, she smirked at Mali as she stayed well away from the curbside. There were a pair of men looking at her, but she didn’t pay them any mind. She had gotten use to flirtatious individuals - though these men didn't seem the decent type - back at the uni. “It’s quite busy isn’t it?” she commented sarcastically as she gestured to the traffic which was stuck. Nothing seemed to move save for driver’s hands pounding against their horn. She looked ahead as a cohort of pitched stalls came into view. She saw the exchange of Baht and objects and grinned victoriously. “Lunch then? I bet we can find something tasty before we leave? Can’t picture the jungle to have such things … can you?”

Leading the way to a stall, Skye looked at everything that was being sold. The product before her ranged from pirated DVDs and ‘authentic’ clothes to noodles and hanging ducks, which were recently roasted within an oven of spite. A lady began to talk to her as she watched the woman make some sort of salad-like thing. She stared at the fruit beside the mashing pot, and guessed it was papaya … something similar anyways.

She smiled apologetically as she looked at Skye. “I can only understand bits and pieces.” She tried to think of the necessary words but couldn’t. She had only studied symbols of the Vietnamese language and Japanese within her university years. “Can you understand her, Mali?”

[Zhaliora]

Mali let out a single, quick blush when Skye grabbed her hand but shook it off. She had blushed mostly out of surprise. Mali had always liked women, and Skye was pretty. Who would not blush if a pretty woman suddenly held your hand? "Sure.." Mali said somewhat shyly when Skye let go of her hand and she rubbed the top of the hand with her other hand. "I want to show you the land of my parents. It is quite nice and pretty if you go to the right places." She followed after Skye as she took the lead despite not having been here before. Mali sighed. Skye had always liked to lead and to make things happen the way she wanted them to be. Well, there was nothing to be done about it now, Mali would have to take the lead if Skye got lost or walked into a bad neighbourhood instead.

She almost bumped into the back of Skye when she stopped and started talking to a few tourists. Mali had been lost in her own thoughts and never thought that Skye would stop like that. "Sky--" she began, but Skye ignored her and knelt down to the eye-level of the child. Mali's fingers kept 'drumming' on her left arm as she impatiently waited for Skye to finish her little conversation with the child. She had never been a fan of kids herself and she guessed that the only children that she would like would be her own, if she ever got any.

Mali stood and waited for Skye to finish, and she finally did. "Come on," Mali said and started walking ahead of Skye, but she waited for Skye to catch back up again after a few steps and once again, Skye took the lead. Mali was a tad annoyed about the stop. They were already short on time, and stopping for such a useless thing... She did not complain though since Skye had to wait for her to get out of bed and take a shower. It would not be fair to complain loudly at least. As they came to the entrance, the staff greeted them as per normal. It seemed to astound Skye that they were so polite, to Mali, it was normal. With so many hotels and places to stay in Bangkok, they had to provide perfect service to compete with the others after all. Mali held back a chuckle as Skye almost gagged from the smell. She was obviously not used to it. Even if there were a lot of traffic in London, it was not even half as bad as here. At least though, it was not India. Mali never wanted to go there again...

As the pair walked along the road, she could -feel- at least one pair of eyes trained on the two women. She noticed Skye's smirk and shook her head slightly in a warning manner. It was not a good idea to let oneself be picked up on the streets. If you did, there was a good chance that you'd either be drugged and sold, raped or robbed, or all of it. The men mostly stared at Skye though, Mali looked native due to her parents being Thai. It was much easier to fool a young
foreign woman than a native. Mali gave the men a 'killer stare' before she turned her face back to the road ahead of the pair.

"Busy? This is normal Skye. The traffic has always been bad here," she responded to Skye's sarcastic comment. She saw Skye's face turn into a 'victory sign' as they had navigated to the market. She had not gotten lost after all. "Dinner would be preferable, and I think that we should take our chance and get some food now before the expedition starts." Mali had always used old words. Dinner instead of lunch, and supper instead of dinner for example. It had confused quite a few in her life so far, so she had to explain it often.

She followed Skye up to the stall and smirked a bit. She knew that Skye did not know Thai and found it interesting as she tried to understand the lady. "Yes, I can understand her..." Mali walked up in front of Skye and ordered two servings of duck with noodles and some salad and fruits. And then came the fun stuff, the haggling. Mali started to argue with the stall-keeper about the price until she got a small discount. She paid for the food and took it to a nearby table and set it down before sitting down in a chair. She was quite hungry and started to eat the food directly after Skye sat down.

[Celestial]

Skye had began to pick at what Mali had ordered as she tucked in. The duck was oily. She could feel the grease after taking a small bite from the meat - which was surrounded by a layer of glistening fat. skying away from it, she picked at the salad dish Mali had ordered for her. Now that hit the spot. It was sweet, bitter, and spicy. There were peanuts in the plate as well, which threw her into a immediate consternation. It was such a peculiar combination of ingredients, yet, though a foreign taste, was quite appetizing.

“You still use dinner for lunch, hmm?” inquired Skye between mouthfuls. “Remember when we first met? Perhaps the American custom rubbed off on me a tad much. Certainly welcomed back British etiquette for dining however. Daft, the lot of them.” She pushed her finished plate aside as she picked at the noodles. “Oh but I’m complaining again aren’t I?” She tried the noodles as her eyes lit up. “Mali, this is delicious! I wonder how the Thai remain so thin when they have this daily.”

If her phone wasn’t set to vibrate, Skye would have never knew her personal device was ringing. The atmosphere of the market place was something else altogether. The merchants yelled above their buyers while the road wasn’t far off. The horns were the loudest and most obvious things in fact. She could deal with the natives, for it was the same - to a degree - within London, but the traffic annoyed her. It was a wonder how these people could deal with it. Of course, as her classes had taught her, human’s could adapt to anything be it environmental shifts, starvation, strife, anything. It must have taken a decent amount of time then she thought to herself.

She grabbed her phone as she wasn’t surprised to see who was calling. She touched the answer icon on the screen. “Yes, professor?”

“We’re leaving a little earlier then scheduled,” came the hurried voice of Professor Ethan. “Bring your bags to the courtyard a— Voices? Are you with someone Skye? Good god sounds like hundreds.”

She rolled her eyes as she motioned to Mali to hurry up and eat. “Came out for a bit to eat, professor.”

“Truly? Sorry to cut it short, but we’ve got to get a move on darlin’. Pay for it and hurry on back would you?”

“Got it professor. We’ll be back in a few.”

She hung up the phone and smirked. “Told you we’d be leaving early. Perhaps I shouldn’t have stopped to talk to the kid.” She took in another mouthful of noodles and savored it. As she swallowed, she put her phone away and stood up. She was fully satiated. “Whenever you’re ready Mali. Seems like Ethan is just riveting with energy. Can’t say I wouldn’t be as well. We’re heading to the site today. If what we find there is true … Lets just see what we find first. Ready then?”

[Zhaliora]

Mali started off with the duck. Although it was covered in fat, the insides were nice and tender. True, the oil had entered into the duck a little bit, but once you got past that, it was pretty nice. But even so, Mali ate from the greasy outsides as well. She figured that the fat would help them build up a little storage for the eventuality of not being able to eat for a while. She also ate some of her salad from time to time. She quite liked the food made by the smaller shops, they always had something interesting to offer. And it looked like Skye liked the salad, but not the duck.

"Yes, I still use that, and it is the proper English way to say it. The English people don't even know their own language," Mali said and shrugged before she continued. "Yes....I remember. Not the fondest moment of my life. Guess I really made a bad first impression on you when I tripped in the dining hall...spilling my food everywhere..." Mali shivered. "As for British and American etiquette, I would not know," she said just as she finished her duck and salad, and just like Skye, took a bite at the noodles. Mali had always been a quick eater. Perhaps she had too much energy? Wanting to get the food out of the way so that she can do other things. She raised an eyebrow when Skye cried out. "It might be good, and oily, but there is not much nutrients otherwise in there."

Mali was just about to tell Skye to eat the duck since she might need the fat for the coming journey when she got a call. She sighed as she heard from who it was, the professor, that meant that they were leaving soon. Mali did not need Skye to tell her to hurry up since it WAS the professor and quickly finished her noodles as Skye talked to him. As Skye hung up and talked to her, Mali just tilted her head and sighed. "I was expecting that, and I guess we both delayed our journey somewhat, so we are both at fault." She stood up and walked up next to Skye. "I am ready. Even though I had appreciated to be able to eat in peace, or take a longer trip, I can't wait until we get to the site. I've been excited about this since I first was invited to join."

The pair semi-quickly walked back towards the hotel, not wanting to run due to the food they had just eaten. As they came to the courtyard, the professor stood there and drummed on his arm and told them to hurry up. Mali nodded and smiled at him before returning to her room and quickly repacked her backpack to have what she really needed on this trip before she left, and locked her room. She then made her way to the courtyard, not wanting to keep Skye waiting, if she had been quicker than her, nor the professor.