The two agents continued on their way until they came upon an archway, seemingly the entrance to the next area of the ruins. By this point, Axeo was very tired of walking through these abysmally dismal ruins with nothing to show for it except his blistered and sore feet.
"I still see no reason why we're even here in the first place," said Axeo. "I'd be much happier if we could just get on with our mission and head out of this featureless void."
Still, in spite of Axeo's protests, the two progressed deeper and deeper into the mysterious ruins. Up ahead, they could see a building sticking out of the forest where the ruins seemed to end. They decided to head toward it, as it seemed that if anything was to be found, it would be in that building.
As they meandered closer to their destination, they kept in the back of their minds the peculiar legend that they had heard from the merchant who told them of treasure.
"They say deep in the forest past the edge of the Ruins of Chuckola resides a vast heap of treasure. Trinkets and baubles of immeasurable value simply sit there, forgotten and unclaimed," he had said.
"That sounds great!" exclaimed ShΣlþ. "We should head there right now and get that treasure before somebody else does."
"Be warned," interjected the merchant, "for though the treasure may be unclaimed, it is not unguarded. For they say that a fearsome monster lives by the treasure, and it doesn't take kindly to trespassers, and especially despises those who would seek out his hoard."
"Come on, man," said Axeo, attempting to lure ShΣlþ away from this irksome quest. "We don't need to be here longer than we have to. We have a mission, and we're only here to refuel. The SAP SAP Mobile will be ready soon, and we should really get back and head off to the Lynar System while we still have plenty of time."
"Nonsense, my dear Axeo!" ShΣlþ, of course, was already too intrigued to back off now. "We've only just arrived, and it can't hurt to investigate, at least until the SAP SAP is ready. Plus, we're well ahead of schedule and have lots of free time to do as we choose."
"Since you have some free time," said the merchant, grinning, "how about you check out my merchandise? I'm famous for my cardboard boxes. Only sold here! Good quality, too. Interested in some ancient artifacts that may or may not be authentic? It's like gambling, only better! Also have nice soap. Garlic scented, so you always come out of a shower smelling like fresh... plants of some sort!"
ShΣlþ, of course, won out, and Axeo found himself wandering aimlessly through a desolate wasteland of rocks, strange-looking beans, and empty barrels. All the time, he couldn't shake the feeling that somebody (or something) was following him...
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