Gabriella's Chronicles #8

After the excitement of foreign lands and tombs, Gabriella found her home and her regular life quiet, bland and somewhat lonely. Each day resembled the next.

 

She continued hacking as a sideline, but no longer took any pleasure from it. She kept thinking of all the things she didn't have time to do in China. Again, she started slowly saving her simoleons for travel.

Her mind thousands of miles away, she became distracted and clumsy. Everything reminded her of her trip : even falling in front of her dresser!

She also remembered a certain good looking man and wondered if he might still be in China... One more reason to cut down her expenses so she could leave sooner rather than later! A few weeks later, she was ready. She boarded the plane with a smile on her lips.

Gabriella's Chronicles #7

After leaving the Dragon's Maw tomb, Gabriella returned to the inn. Other than the sounds of night birds and crickets, Shang Simla was quiet and its sky was lit with stars. It was a beautiful night and Gabby enjoyed the trip back home.

 

Gabby arrived at the inn hot and sweaty, and decided to have ice cream for dinner -- not that anyone was around to judge her choice.

 She went to be once more blissfully exhausted and looking forward to the next day, her last in China.

When she rose in the morning, there were a few more people up and about. She had broke her fast with a fellow explorer. 

When she picked up her bowl for washing, she noticed a handsome man out of the corner of her eye.

This reminded her she hadn't spoken to a friend in a while and was starting to feel lonely despite all her excitement. She called Lady Cook long-distance and hoped she wouldn't wake her up. She didn't! They spent an hour catching up.

 

 

 

 The day went by fast and she decided to get a souvenir before her time was up. She caught a butterfly.

Happy to be home, tired and mind buzzing with great memories, Gabriella dropped off a few pieces of ore for smelting and gems for cutting at her mailbox.

Gabriella's Chronicles #6

Gabriella's next quest involved exploring the Dragon's Maw. The name invoked equal parts of intrigue and fear. Nevertheless, she put aside her concerns and walked up the steep mountain. The path was narrow, but the view of Shang Simla was breathtaking from the top.

Speaking of breathtaking, no one had warned that the Dragon's Maw breathed smoke. Did it breathe fire as well?! Thankfully, it didn't, and Gabby approached the door cautiously.

The door appeared thick and covered in ancient carvings. After further inspection, Gabby found a way to trigger it to open.

 

She walked down some stairs. This being Gabby's second tomb, she noted how much happier she was while exploring and diving into the unknown. She wondered which mysteries she would unravel here...

The first room had some hidden doors and a few piles of ancient coins.

Gabby promised herself to visit the market before returning home so she could learn what she could buy with this special currency.

Next, she entered a large library where she nabbed a relic and found another hidden door, this one behind a bookcase. 

It revealed wide stairs leading down. She descended.

The next room was large enough to hold balls, but only contained a few bag of money (only!) and relics.

The deepest room seemed partially carved out of bedrock. It contained several piles of rubble and sarcophagi. Was it true they sometimes contained mummies or curses? To build up her courage, Gabby cleared the rubble piles first. The, she gingerly opened the first sarcophagus... and it only contained ancient coins! She searched the others with more haste and confidence.

 

When Gabriella entered the last room, she was stunned. This one had fire coming out of the floor. Dragon's Maw indeed!

Then she realized it was actually easy to walk around the fire to get the relics and money bags. Gabby felt she was getting better at this!

By the time she left the Maw, it was nighttime. Gabby admired the stars and constellations while running, and remembered too look down just in time to negotiate her way back down the narrow path.

Gabriella's Chronicles #5

Gabby hopped onto her rented bicycle and rode back to the suburbs, whistling to herself.

She returned the relic to the local who seemed puzzled at her speed.

With this task completed, she raced back to the inn for some well earned grub and rest.

Too hungry to cook, she grabbed some canned soup. Don't even the simplest food taste great when we're really hungry?

Just before going to bed, she shuffled to the dresser to prepare a more practical outfit for the next morning. Fatigue made her clumsy and as she tugged hard on the drawer, she slipped and fell.

Glad no one witness her graceless stumble, she dropped into bed and fell asleep immediately.

As soon as she woke in the morning, well rested, she bolted out of bed to start her day.

She put on the outfit she had prepared the night before and went downstairs for breakfast, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

She debated cooking a sumptuous breakfast, but settled for faster fare since she wanted to start her next quest as soon as possible.

Gabriella's Chronicles #4

Inside the Halls of the Lost Army, Gabriella found more pressure plates and soon gained confidence. The tomb was full of hidden doors, pushable statues, relics, ancient coins, and rubble. One by one, she cleared obstacles and discovered new directions to explore.

Pressure plates with footprints on them: easy as pie!

Pushing statues is hard work, but a great way of disarming a floor fire trap.

Clearing rubble is back-breaking work... but they generally hide treasure or more pressure plates!

Treasure chests make Gabby feel like a kid in a candy store!

Diving wells made Gabby a little nervous. Thankfully, she hadn't forgotten to pack her swimsuit! With a small somersault, she was gone.

 

This one led her through a tunnel to a hidden room containing a star-shaped stone. She grabbed it and swam back through the tunnel.

Gabby was glad to have kept the seemingly useless stone star since it turned out to be a key! Eventually, she found the relic she had been sent to uncover.

She was having the best day ever, a dream come true. However, her fatigue and hunger were starting to poke a hole through the blissful haze. It was time to return the relic and go to the inn.

Gabriella's Chronicles #3

Although the airport shuttle dropped her off at the travelers inn, Gabriella's was too wound up to rest or eat. She searched the inn's cork board for a suitable quest for a green but eager adventurer. One caught her eye: Seeking Adventure? Muttering 'Yes!' under her breath, she quickly scanned the details and hit the ground running. 

As her feet hit the pavement and her heart beat with trepidation, she tried to envision the Halls of the Lost Army.

The Halls were was located at the centre of Shang Simla. Gabby slowed down to admire large lion statues (and to catch her breath) just before going up the steps.

By now her anticipation was mixed with awe and some anxiety: was she ready? had she trained enough?  would there be many traps? She decided not to pause to reflect on her worries and just ran up the steps and entered the Halls.

She was astounded by the ornate carvings and relics surrounding her. A floor pressure plate beckoned for her to begin the adventure. She placed her feet over the plate's and braced herself as it caved in.

Soon after, the floor opened revealing stairs leading deep under the Halls. Without pause, Gabby walked down into the mysteries below.