The Hunt for the Golden Snake Eye - Private w/aominecchi-

[~Silver_Pedal~]

 

Name:

Nathan Thomas Sinclair

 

Age:

25

 

Height:

5'10

 

Weight:

133

 

Occupation/Background:

Despite being very young for his age, Nathan, is a world renowned archaeologist. He loved his job very much, he got to travel the globe and discover relics/ pieces of art work. The first time he became fascinated with this kind of work was when he was ten years old. He remembers his father would bring him along on some of the less dangerous digging expeditions, he found quite a few old relics on the expeditions as well. However, one day when he was sixteen years old- his father died on one of the more dangerous expeditions, nobody knows how, or why...? Even to this day, it still puzzles him and his mother.

 

Hobbies:

Nathan has many hobbies, all of which involves his line of work. But, he likes solving crossword puzzles and solving puzzles as well as studying different language's. He can speak over 7 different language's fluently.

 

 

 

"Hi, you have reached, Ryan! Please leave your name, message and number~ I'll get back to you!"

 

Beep, beep... Click!

 

"Maybe he is in a zone where it doesn't have cell reception...?" A young man with brown hair groaned loudly as he flopped back on his plush black silk comforter. It had been four days since he last heard from his partner, he also mentioned something about being on the trail of finding a rare relic. And what happens when you are trying to find rare relics? Trouble... Trouble is never far behind; whether its money grubbing pirates, or somebody who is a treasure hunter and has military backing up their research efforts, or...

 

He jumped a few feet off of his comfortable bed, nearly falling off of the bed- his cellphone had started to ring... He felt his cheeks heat up slightly due to being so lost in thought, he reached over next to him in an eager fashion, the young man rolled over on his stomach causing his loose white t-shirt to hike up slightly- revealing nicely tanned to pale skin. His fingers were shaking, making him juggle his touch screen I-phone for a few seconds before he finally got a good grip on the black device.

 

He slid the 'talk' command on his screen before placing it to his ear, not bothering looking at the caller id, "Ryan! Thank god! Are you o-"

 

"Ryan? No, it's Scott..."

 

The young mans once happy demeanor dropped in a matter of seconds, his shoulder's drooped down and his smile was gone. "Oh... Scott... Its just you..."

 

"Well! Excuse me, for being me!" The man on the other side snapped at the young brown haired male.

"...Sorry..." He muttered softly, while running his free fingers along a seam on the comforter, listening to the man complain about something or another...

 

"Why are you calling?" The man asked as he soon got bored with tracing the seam on the blanket.

 

It was silent for a few minutes on the other side of the phone before he heard some rustling, "Why? Jeez, Nathan! Its about that relic!"

 

Nathan blinked his brown eyes for a few minutes, his eyebrows furrowing together in clear confusion. Relic? What relic?

 

"What relic?" He voiced what he was wondering in his head.

 

More rustling was heard on the other side, "The Golden Snake Eye! The one that, Ryan, went to find!"

 

That caused the young man to push himself up on his bed, worry and concern replaced the confusion. "What about it?"

 

He bit his bottom lip, hoping that it wasn't guarded by something dangerous... Like traps, snakes, spiders- he really hoped it wasn't spiders! He was terrified of those eight legged arachnids! Just that thought alone sent unpleasant shivers down his back.

 

"Its cursed! Like really, really cursed!"

 

That caused Nathan to start laughing, he didn't believe in curses! His free hand started to hold his stomach due to him laughing to much. "R-Really? Its cursed, yeah... right... That's a load of bull!"

 

"But its the truth! And if you don't believe me than ask... Him..."

 

His laughter paused and an irritated look crossed over his face... Dear lord... anybody but... Him...

[aominecchi]

Appearance:

 

Name:

Natsuo Yoshihara

 

Age:

25

 

Height:

5'08

 

Weight:

121

 

Occupation/Background:

 

Since a very young age, Natsuo remembers reading his father's history books, enthralled by the tales and mysteries of ancient civilizations. At a later age, he would even visit the university his father would teach History as a professor, and spend countless hours at the library. Books were Natsuo's religion, so, it was only natural for him to study History, just like his Father had and follow in his footsteps. One day, however, there was an archaeology seminar at his university's amphitheater, which he accidentally sat through and was left utterly impressed. Soon, an archaeology masters followed and he could finally see history happen right before his eyes. Now, he is hardly ever home as he is usually in pursue of discovering new civilizations and their history behind them.

 

Hobbies:

Natsuo loves reading and watching documentaries. He also works out but only because it is necessary in order to climb hard to access places. He speaks 3 common languages (English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese) and 3 of which are dead (Latin, Ancient Greek, Egyptian Hieroglyphics).

 

 

 

Cold. Cold, windy and terrifying. The high speed of the winds hitting the snowy rocks sounds like something out of a horror movie. There is no other mountain shielding them; they are at the mercy of nature. "We-

We are almost... there." Natsuo utters almost out of breath at his transmitter while climbing the mountain, only a rope being their hope between life and death. "Remind me again why we are climbing this goddamn mountain?" Another male voice is heard through the same transmission, struggling the same as the others to climb as the metal tools made noise while drilling the rocks. "Duuuh." A woman replied, as if the answer were obvious. "How many times do I have to repeat it? A tribe lives at the top of Huascaran. We are going there to get ourselves a guide." Natsuo answered while rolling his eyes, thankful he was wearing a ski mask and was the leader of this expedition, meaning he was at the top and thus nobody could see his annoyed expression. Like, really. How many times must he say the same thing, over and over again.

He swears his team is useless. "These Peruvian Mountains are hiding something. I know it." He continued,

only to be interrupted by the same male voice again, which was uncontrollably laughing "Oh! Because you read it in a book?! I've also read in a book that Santa Clause exists." The female voice grunted. "Miller,

shut the hell up and start climbing faster. These rocks won't hold much longer. Besides, we've got enough proof, that's why we are here."

 

"Oh. I know. Riiiight." The man sarcastically replied, his laughs causing loud buzzing to be heard through the headphones. "Wait, I know why. Some Ryan got himself lost or whatever while trying to find some non existent relic. The same one we are looking for! So, in fact, we are just looking for a stranger. A stupid one on top of that!" Natsuo shook his head in disappointment at the conversation and remained silent as he kept climbing up the mountain, until a ringing was heard, causing Natsuo to stop all activity. "Oh, yeah.

Just drop everything and answer the phone call while we are hanging literally in the middle of nowhere.

That will end well." Miller sarcastically complained, and was partially right since they could not climb further without their leader taking initiative first. Mei Lynn simply remained silent despite feeling the urge to hit Miller senseless but if they were lucky enough, nature would do the favor for her.

 

"Who's this?" Natsuo answered the call while securing himself onto a small ledge and then sighed as hhe glanced down the other two, who were bickering as usual. There was white noise and could hardly understand what was being said. "Who's this?" Natsuo repeated, cursing the signal reception. On the other hand, they were climbing a 6 kilometers fucking mountain, in Peru, in the middle of nowhere. It would be a miracle to get reception. The only words he hears are snake relic, Ryan and cursed. They are enough for him to catch the meaning. Well, shit. After hanging up, Natsuo yelled at the others. "Bad news. We are going back. Climb down!" The two gasped. "Climb back? Are you nuts?!" Miller protested and was interrupted by Mei Lynn. "We've only climbed 1.7km you idiot. That's not even half the distance we need to make. Come on, I'll take the lead since I am last. Don't be slow."

 

"Seriously..." Natsuo heavily sighed while retracing his steps down, wondering what the hell was happening at Ryan's end. If all this were but a prank, he would seriously kill anyone involved. But above all, Scott would also be tortured. Yes, these sweet thoughts keep Natsuo going as they finally reach their lodge and put up a fire to warm themselves. The reception is still bad but not as bad as higher up in the mountain.

[~Silver_Pedal~]

Nathan, had just finished talking to his other expedition partner, Scott, apparently he talked the young man into considering the fact of calling, Natsuo. A frown was covering his full lips, it seemed like he was having an internal struggle with whether or not to call the other archaeologist. His arms were resting on his legs, his phone was placed on the left side of his thigh. Should I call? Or should I not...? His frown deepened even more, maybe he should have gone with, Ryan, but- then again, he would be lost just like the other man currently was.

 

 

Hell, he wasn't sure if his partner was still alive or not.. Those thoughts terrified him the most. He stood up slowly, pushing up on his thighs- maybe he should let bygones be bygones... Feeling more determined, he snatched up his phone off of his black silk comforter.

 

 

The brown haired male moved briskly towards his nice brown oak bedroom door, he was about to open it- his hand freezing a few inches away from the shining golden handle. Was he really willing to listen to, Scott? What if he was setting him up? Then again, lately the older male has been acting quite strange as of late.... No, I shouldn't think ill of him... Shaking those thoughts aside, he pulled the handle, opening his door and walking out- Nathan, had made up his mind- he was going to call the, Natsuo.

 

But, one thing that bothered him the most was that, Scott, had stated that the relic was cursed... Not that, Nate, was superstitious or anything like that- but the thought did strike him as being odd. Was it cursed? Or was, Scott, trying to scare him? Who knows... Maybe, Natsuo, has the answer?

 

Pushing his pride aside, he lifted up his cellphone as he descended down the stairs-trying to find the correct number- exhaling deeply with heavy footsteps on the white marble steps. He pressed the green call button on his screen. I just hope I'm not interrupting anything... Nathan, thought to himself, raising his phone to his ear- listening to it ring; waiting for somebody to pick up.

[aominecchi]

Faint crackles from the lit fire were filling the silent shelter as the expedition settled down, taking off their heavy climbing equipment. There was a snowstorm outside, causing the electricity to be on and off at times, due to the cables being at the weather's mercy. "So... Who was on the phone?" Mei Lynn inquired as she sat at a stool nearby the fire to warm herself up. Natsuo stood silent for a moment and then reached for his backpack, rummaging through its contents until he found his diary. A brown leather one that was worn off from the many uses, indicating he had traveled a lot. "I am not sure." He uttered, flipping through the pages to find a certain entry."Ryan was in search of a relic and... We haven't heard since. That voice on the phone sounded familiar, they said something about the snake relic and Ryan. Perhaps he is into more trouble than we first thought." He continued, finally stopping at a page and then points at it with a sigh. Mey Lynn leaned towards the desk and started to read the entry, a gasp being released afterwards, to which Miller glanced over in confusion. "What? What does it say?"

 

The thing about nightmares is sooner or later, you wake up. But there's no waking up from this place. It won't help. I don't know what's happened to the rest of the crew. I hope they are safe. They have to be. I don't know what the hell is going on here. I can't get it out of my head.

- Torn page from an unknown man's journal. It dates back to September 4th 1953.

 

[...]

 

A storm that came out of nowhere. Out of a clear sky, and brought down a plane. It was our rescue plane. It's not rational. It's like... It's like the lost city doesn't want us to escape. The buildings, they must be remnants of some lost civilization that they killed those men and I have a feeling they wouldn't hesitate to kill me too. I am now the last one standing. The city is cursed. There are things crawling out from dark places. I built a fire. They don't get close to fire. Tomorrow I will head to the monastery. I know the answers are there, but getting to it won't be easy. Thinking back to when we first set foot in this place, we were a crew of 13 people. Now I am the only left. It must have been because we were greedy. We were in awe upon discovering the golden city. Treasures lying on the ancient streets, waiting for us to pick them up. Every little detail was lavished in gold. In reality, it was nothing but a gilded cage, a trap. We had found the golden snake. That's when all of our troubles started. It is really cursed. I decided to return it. Then maybe, just maybe, we - I will have a chance of surviving.

- Torn page from an unknown man's journal, dating back to September 16th 1953. The last few sentences are written in a hurry and dirtied with blood spots.

 

"Well, shit." Miller exhales in shock after Mei Lynn read out loud the two pages and then glances over Natsuo, who seemed extremely concerned about their expedition and Ryan's as well. If what's written on the journal is true, they will need help after all. Serious help. And they have to warn the others. Natsuo opens his mouth as if to say something, just in time as his phone rings once more. His eyebrows arch in surprise at the caller number. glancing over the others before answering. "What do you want?" Ah, so friendly. It is widely known those do aren't in the best terms.

 

[~Silver_Pedal~]

"What do you want?"- Was all the other man heard coming from the speaker on his phone. Dark eyebrows furrowed together as an irritated look crossed over the pale-tanned face-

 

"Not your award winning personality!" Nathan, snapped back at the other. His bare feet finally touched the marble floor of the bottom floor. A shiver ran down his spine, it was freezing cold! He gritted his teeth as he stood still for a moment, before he started moving away from the stair case and towards his in home library. The man sighed softly, rubbing the corner of his head with his slender index finger and thumb.

 

Play nicely, remember why you called... He thought bitterly, opening his mouth once more. "Listen, as much as it pains me to call you... But-" He took in a deep breath, his feet were pattering along the surface of his floor. His lonely footsteps echoed through out the large home- it was too large for one person to live in, the high ceiling had light fixtures lined up in a straight line- from the entrance hall all the way to the back of the home.

 

The walls were covered in a intricate blue and black swirl design, along the walls- pictures of him and his crew on their many expeditions, as well as pictures of his father and mother. Pictures from his many travels and artifacts lined the walls.

 

Nathan, shook his head- he got sidetracked from speaking for a minute, "I need... Your help... You see, my partner, Ryan, he's been missing for four days... I'm worried that something might have happened to him..." He spoke in a hard tone of voice, he was not happy at all asking for help, he was more than capable in finding him, himself...

 

But- the thought of him stumbling into something dangerous was not setting well in, Nathan's, troubled mind. He paused in his step, remembering what, Scott, had said- "Do, you know anything about a relic called the Golden Snake Eye?" He asked in a curious type of way- now leaning against the wall right next to a large picture of him and his expedition team.

[aominecchi]

Eyebrows furrowed right back at Nathan over his 'compliment'. "Well, I certainly must have gotten my horrible personality from you." Natsuo sneered in the same tone, not withholding his urge to tease further. Anyone with adequate brain cells could tell those two aren't in the best of terms, yet they aren't enemies either. Natsuo's and Nathan's relationship is very complicated, as the two compete in the same area, however, Natsuo recognizes his talent and thus considers Nathan something akin to an antagonist. "Anyway."

He signed while balancing the phone over his shoulder and cheek as he flipped through the written entries on the book and listened to Nathan explain the situation, figuring such a call was bound to happen. "Yeah. We were climbing Huascaran when I got a call from Ryan. The reception was bad but there was something about a snake and stuff... Actually, we had been informed Ryan's crew required assistance, so we marched onto the Peruvian mountains and got the phone call after."

 

Miller, who was listening to their conversation, suddenly grabbed the phone. "It's about that stupid snake isn't it? We don't even know if it exists and someone is already missing. I ain't going there." Mei Lynn heavily sighed in response to her crew's immature comments and snatched the phone away, giving it back to Natsuo. "Shut the fuck up Miller. Someone is missing.

Real or not we've gotta help Ryan. Plus, we found this scripts which pretty much prove it's real!"

 

Well, damn. At the small lodge the crew was temporarily taking shelter, there was chaos. Half were arguing over the golden snake's existence, others over rescuing Ryan. "Thank you." Natsuo mouthed towards the woman as he received back the phone and then proceed to continue his conversation with Nathan. "We found some texts - well,

parts of a diary of shorts which describe a man's last days. They date back to 1953,

that person must have been part of an expedition and ended up being the sole survivor, I assume, since we've only got two parts. I'll fax them over if you'd like." He said and signaled Mei Lynn to take photocopies of the book's pages.

 

Natsuo was an expert in history, so, he could tell why someone like Nathan needed his help. Moreover, curiosity had stricken him, wanting to find out whether the relic of the Golden Snake is a myth or not. One thing is certain however, this expedition will surely be interesting. He and Nathan had been crewmates before, but it was way, way back in the past.

 

"So, yeah. I know a great deal. Are you that desperate about it that you've come to me?" His words were filled with chuckles, despite knowing the answer already. "Don't worry. I'll help you out. I only hope you won't hinder us or stay behind. Where shall we meet? We are currently at the base of Huascaran Mountain in Peru."

[~Silver_Pedal~]

"Ha, real cute..." He rolled his eyes responding to the teasing with a sarcastic tone. But, after hearing the fact that Ryan contacting Natsuo instead of him stung, why would he tell the other male something like this than him?

 

He felt hurt, a heavy sigh escaped from his plush kissable lips- Nathan pushed away from the wall, when he heard another man talking- he furrowed his eyebrows together, but his confusion subsided as he clearly heard the guy getting scolded for snatching the phone away. However, he perked up when Natsuo came back on and said that he was willing to fax the pages over to him, "Yeah, that would be great... It'll give me something to look into while I fly out there..." He said finally entering his library- he opened the heavy door, causing it to creak rather loudly on its hinges.

 

He felt around on the side of the door looking for the light switch. His pointer finger came into contact with the switch, he flicked it up- lighting the once dark room. Wall to wall books and maps were scattered everywhere, loose leaf paper was spread out on a large white marble table.

 

On the other side of the door was a large black granite desk; sitting on top of the surface was a large flat screen computer monitor with a keyboard and mouse attached to it, wires in the back hooked up to a fax/ copy machine that was also placed on the desk top.

 

Pushed in was a soft worn out looking gray suede desk chair, ignoring the comfortable looking seat- he moved towards his copier and turned it on along with his computer. Nathan froze in his movements, his free hand was hovering over his mouse. The grip on his phone tightened. Really? Seriously? He could hear laughter on the other side of the phone, "... You know what... You are the last person that I wanted to contact about this... But, you know more about this stuff than I do..." He muttered the last part so lowly that he hoped the other male didn't hear him.

 

His face getting a little red in irritation, he took a few calming breath's- logging onto his computer and looking for flights heading to Peru. He pulled up the google search engine for flights and airports along with times and the cost of airfare. "Meet me at the Inca Manco Cápac International Airport... I'll be taking the 10:30 a.m flight..."

[aominecchi]

"Ah, yeah. Real cute. Just like you." Natsuo continues to mock Nathan over the phone with a sneer. There was this constant urge to tease the other, that Natsuo had no idea where it came from nor did he ever do anything in his power to suppress this feeling. Yet, he meant nothing vile by these words, it was simply his character, a friendly/rivalry tease.

 

Does Nathan even know that?

 

Well, whatever. Not everything needs explaining.

 

The reason why Ryan had contacted them first about the relic, was unknown. Up until now, Natsuo and his team did not even know they were the first to be informed. Perhap's it was Natsuo's extensive history knowledge that lead to this call, he assumes. Meanwhile Mei Lynn had started scanning the diary's entries and then faxed them to the number she was given.

 

The entries are as followed, showing signs of age, judging by the torn and stained pages:

 

The thing about nightmares is sooner or later, you wake up. But there's no waking up from this place. It won't help. I don't know what's happened to the rest of the crew. I hope they are safe. They have to be. I don't know what the hell is going on here. I can't get it out of my head.

- Torn page from an unknown man's journal. It dates back to September 4th 1953.

 

[...]

 

A storm that came out of nowhere. Out of a clear sky, and brought down a plane. It was our rescue plane. It's not rational. It's like... It's like the lost city doesn't want us to escape. The buildings, they must be remnants of some lost civilization that they killed those men and I have a feeling they wouldn't hesitate to kill me too. I am now the last one standing. The city is cursed. There are things crawling out from dark places. I built a fire. They don't get close to fire. Tomorrow I will head to the monastery. I know the answers are there, but getting to it won't be easy. Thinking back to when we first set foot in this place, we were a crew of 13 people. Now I am the only left. It must have been because we were greedy. We were in awe upon discovering the golden city. Treasures lying on the ancient streets, waiting for us to pick them up. Every little detail was lavished in gold. In reality, it was nothing but a gilded cage, a trap. We had found the golden snake. That's when all of our troubles started. It is really cursed. I decided to return it. Then maybe, just maybe, we - I will have a chance of surviving.

- Torn page from an unknown man's journal, dating back to September 16th 1953. The last few sentences are written in a hurry and dirtied with blood spots.

 

Mei Lynn 'accidentally' slips in Natsuo's new private phone number as well, just for the fun of it and to stir things up.

She clearly remembers him having changed his number due to receiving many pranks but still held to the old, thinking Nathan may call. Why did he not simply let the other of his change of number, is a good question but the answer is his pride. Of course, Natsuo never voiced his thoughts to her but it is what they could perhaps call a woman's intuition. If he ever finds out about this, she is so dead. Still, she can't help but feel tempted to push things closer between those two. Miller on the other hand, has no idea. "I've sent them over." She calls out, to which Natsuo smiles as a thanks and gets back on the phone. "Anyway." His tone turned serious as they were discussing the details of their expedition slash rescue. He couldn't understand much from what Nathan uttered but he figured it shouldn't be important. "Alright. We will wait for you at the airport and then escort you on-site. Don't forget to bring your thermal underwear." Ah, there it goes. Another teasing.

 

He hangs up and then glances at Miller who is walking towards his way, curious to know what the other had discovered.

"There were some more earlier entries dating at the start of the 1950 expedition and even before that. I couldn't decipher much but there are certainly writings about the relic. I suggest we go study the full diary to get a better understanding of what we are going to face."

 

"And where is that diary, if it even is in a good condition?" Mei Lynn steals the question from Natsuo's lips while placing a hand on her hip. "Scotland. Sold off at an auction and is now is now held in a private collection." Miller responds, receiving an awkward chuckle from Natsuo. Things always gotta be this difficult, seeing as there was only one option in order to retrieve the diary. "Oh, so you suggest we actually break in with the possibility to land in jail? I can't wait for the moment someone drops the soap." Ugh, Mei Lynn flinches slightly. This was indeed a serious crime if they get caught but it's not like the first time they have done something illegal, or something that borderline touched legality. So, to hell with it. She's in. "Don't be so dramatic. We simply get in, take some photos and then get out." Miller responds. "Oh... Yeah. Okay. I get it." Natsuo starts laughing hysterically, thinking they were doomed from the start.

"It's simple. Right. If it's that simple why don't you go yourselves?" That question shouldn't have even been asked, as the two of them are already up and plotting their escape.

 

"Seriously..." Natsuo exhales in disappointment and worry, flipping through the documents scattered on his desk before packing them tight and in order, placing them back into his backpack. He had to pick up Nathan off the airport first thing tomorrow and he had to find a way of transportation there and back.