The Treasure of the Rose

Captain Risa Lowill, of the Red Rose, was infamous for her many daring heists. She stole treasures from all around the world and was rumored to have stored them just along the east coast of the States. When the government attempted to arrest her, she sailed her ships into the rocky cliff sides, leaving many to theorize it was a hint at where her treasures were hidden.

Despite the constant presence of the ruined ship, the exact location of the treasure cave has never been found. Each year it remained hidden from the thousands who searched the coast line for it, more and more myths spread. Some claimed it was hidden beneath the water line - stemming from the legends that Lowill had the favor of mermaids. Others stated it could only be opened during a specific alignment of the two moons. The longer the cave went undiscovered, the larger the treasure within became. Wild myths of people allegedly finding it spiked, but no evidence of this being true ever appeared. Most famous of these adventurers was Mora Tavett, whose fantastical tales of discovery still lead many beliefs about the treasure trove.

We walked forward into a circular room, wide enough to hold the three of us only. Each side was coated in ice. Beneath us, the see-through ground revealed sharp icicles threatening beneath us. Small cuts were spread throughout the walls. And amongst them were the most glorious of treasures! Jeweled daggers, extravagant jewels, the Dalamor chalice! Gold, paintings, and larger weapons leaned against the walls - shoved against each side.

I'd just gone to examine a necklace bearing the royal insignia when Dale exclaimed behind me. I turned to see Kale stabbing his own twin through the chest! As one albino brother fell, the other looked at me with nothing but greed in his handsome icy gaze. He lunged at me!

Without a spare moment to mourn, my mind whirled with intent. I grasped an indent on the wall with my left hand and a loose spear with my right. Camio's will must have been with me, as it hadn't frozen to the floor. I lifted it up and used all my strength to stab it into the ice floor. With a resounding crack, it shattered - sending Kale and his deceased brothers corpse to the sharp doom below. I could not watch, only weep in determined silence until I gathered enough strength to climb the walls to the doorway.

I took one last look at the treasure room of the legendary Ice Queen, then walked away.

— Mora Tavett, The Tomb of the Queen of Ice

Although Mora Tavett's erotic fiction had no connection to the truth and muddled up many facts about the Rose's treasure, it's vast popularity changed the myth forever. Many belived the treasure gone, or mixed up the true location with the mistaken location mentioned in the book. Over the years, as more and more false stories spread, the search for the true treasure faded away. Even without Tavett's false location, many historians believe the treasure was never located along the coast. Instead, Lowill had been focused entirely on a message instead of a taunt. Whatever the truth is, the treasure of the Red Rose remains hidden to this day.

Item type

Unique Artifact

Entry for WorldEmber 2018

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