Relic Hunter Elixir Of Desire

Nigel sensed a different mood at the Trinity College office. There was tension in the air...something he was not accustomed to, yet familiar. He wondered what schemes his supervisor, the beautiful Sydney Fox, was putting together. It had been a rather quiet month, and he was fully expecting her to drag him along somewhere. Maybe the Caribbean this time? He took a breath and entered. "Morning, Claudia". The blonde office assistant didn't reply, or even notice that Nigel had greeted her. Her gaze was fixed on the monitor. "Morning, Claudia!"

She nearly jumped. She seemed breathless and blushed. She hastily rearranged some papers and nearly knocked over her mug. "Oh, hi, Nigel." Nigel stood behind her and looked at the screen. "What are you so distracted over?" he asked. Claudia tried to hide the screen, but Nigel pried her hands away. "Quicksand? Why are you reading about quicksand?"

"Oh, you know," Claudia stammered, "I was just looking at stuff that, you know, you and Sydney might come across. It's really dangerous! It sucks you down!"

"Really?" Nigel cocked his eyebrow. "We've never encountered quicksand. And quicksand does not suck you down! Where are you getting this from anyway?" Claudia quickly closed the browser, but Nigel was sure he saw a photo of a topless woman in quicksand. What was Claudia up to? Was she really looking up...no, best not to ask. "Where's Sydney?"

"Oh," Claudia sighed in relief, sensing that Nigel was finally getting off her back. "She received a package this morning. She's been in the office since."

"Thank you." Nigel walked over to Sydney's office. Funny, he thought. Considering everything they've experienced so far, it was odd that the relic-hunting duo hadn't come across quicksand. There was that chamber of filling sand in Nepal, and that one mud pit, but not quicksand. A thought came into mind. What would it be like to be trapped in quicksand with Sydney? He shook his head. Come on Nigel, get your head out of the gutter.

He opened the door – perhaps at an inopportune moment. Sydney was seated at her desk and appeared to be buttoning her blouse. Nigel swore he caught a flash of a bare breast, but she quickly covered up. Her skin was shiny from a thin layer of sweat and she seemed to be breathing heavily. "Oh, Nigel. What...what are you doing here?"

"Um..."Nigel tried to avert his gaze from her cleavage. "You asked me to come in...and...you received a package of some sort?"

"Oh..." Sydney's eyes glanced at the small wooden box on her desk. "It's...nothing. Look, I've received another request. I've booked a flight for us. We're going to Thailand."

"Thailand? What on earth are looking for?"

"I'll explain on the flight. I've got a few things to handle before we go. Could you, you know, start packing perhaps?" Nigel gulped, nodded and left Sydney alone in her office. Sydney sighed. That was close. Her bra had dropped behind the table and her blouse was dark enough to conceal her nipples, so hopefully Nigel hadn't caught on. Beneath the desk, she was naked from the waist down. Her fingers were still stroking her crotch. She had barely heard Nigel entering the office. She quickly got dressed and tidied her appearance. She took another look at the powdery substance inside the box before closing it. Was she going to expect more of this in Thailand?

* * *

Sydney was acting strangely. Nigel couldn't quite figure out why, or even how. She was determined, as always, but she seemed lost at the same time. He couldn't tell if it was just her being focused and going through things in her mind, but he could definitely say she was distracted. Though she was known to wear revealing clothing in the field, she hadn't even put on a bra, and she didn't seem pay attention to the glances. It might not have been such a bad idea when they arrived in Thailand. The humid weather made Nigel wish he had brought something more appropriate than his sweaters, while Sydney was comfortable with her tank top and khaki pants.

The site was located an hour from the nearest city, hidden amongst a small local village. Sydney said nothing about her contact, but if Nigel was feeling uncomfortable with Sydney's unusual openness, he was stunned by their new acquaintance. Helena Jensen was blonde, athletic, not unlike Sydney in build and with the same kind of determination. Nigel's eyes were immediately drawn to her chest. Her white blouse was unbuttoned to show her ample cleavage. Nigel, with all his politeness, tried his best not to stare. Not that Helena seemed to mind; her eyes were solely on Sydney.

"As beautiful as I imagined you would be," said Helena. She gave Nigel a token glance. "I wasn't aware that you were travelling...together."

"Uh, no," Nigel stammered, trying to tear his gaze away from her firm breasts. "You see, I'm just her...her...uh..."

"...assistant," Sydney finished. She stood with her hands on her hips and her chest pushed outward. She was well aware of the fact that Helena was sizing her up, and Sydney did the same. They both knew that Helena probably had the edge in her physical prowess, but Sydney was willing to play along.

"I hope you found my package to be...exciting..." said Helena.

"Quite," Sydney replied. "What's this all about?"

"Mmm...I could tell you, but I like a bit of...foreplay. Take a look around. What do you notice?"

Sydney's eyes scanned the village. There were a few dozen people in sight, and the community probably had a couple hundred people. The thatched huts and farms weren't anything special. Was there something Helena wanted her to see?

"It's boring."

Sydney turned to her assistant. Did Nigel really just say that? Nigel shrugged. "What? It is. There's more excitement in trying to explain archaeology to Claudia."

"That's exactly it," Helena said. "You could say this place is rather...limp."

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow," Sydney replied.

Helena smiled. "You'll hardly believe this. For thousands of years, this village used to be a thriving hub for the region. Not just in produce, but in population. You see, the people were known for...being very reproductive. Some say it was something in the water. It may have been just a local myth or an urban legend. But, in the last century, the local populace has shrunk to a fraction of its peak size. No diseases, no migration. It's like everyone stopped being interested in having families."

"You mean..." Nigel interrupted. "That the people have...lost their mojo?" His choice of words earned a shake of the head from Sydney.

"That's right. Just look at how the people are interacting with each other. It's lifeless. There's no drive. Soon the people will age and there won't be anyone left to continue the village traditions. The village elders themselves have identified this threat and have sought our assistance."

"Right," said Sydney. "So, how exactly are we meant to encourage the population to reproduce? I'm not exactly a marriage counsellor."

Helena licked her lips. "You are something of a relic hunter, if my sources are correct. You see, there was a secret to the village's ancient prosperity. Legends speak of an elixir made by the wise men of the village which, when consumed, would lead to uncontrollable desire. The line of wise men has long since died out, which coincided with the decline of the community. Our efforts in excavating the ruins of the nearby temples have brought little, but have unearthed enough to make me believe that there is something to be found. We uncovered broken vials containing dried powders. The powders had aphrodisiac properties, but you could say that they were well past their use-by date. I sent one of the better samples to you."

Sydney gulped. If that had been an old sample, she wondered what a fresh dose would feel like. "Well, I don't imagine they would've had the best in refrigeration technology. I doubt any of the samples will be of use to us. Where exactly would we find a fresh sample?"

"Ah, we don't need a fresh sample," Helena replied. "What we're looking for is something even more useful. My sources indicate that one of the last wise men, knowing that his time would end, tried to preserve his secret knowledge. He set up his lab in the nearby ruins, which is where we found the vials. The real treasure, I believe, is the recipe."

Sydney nodded. "What are we waiting for then? I'm a little...excited about this. Come on Nigel. Nigel?"

Nigel suddenly shook and snapped out of his trance. He hadn't been listening to a single thing. What had he been paying attention to? Helena smiled at him and glanced down at her chest. She knew.

* * *

The ruins were what Nigel expected them to look like: large stone pillars, intricate decorations, and partially consumed by the jungle. The humidity and the insects were a constant annoyance, as was the fact that both the women had left him out of their conversation. But if the sight of the two lovely, scantily-clad women was a distraction, the two thugs that were escorting them were an outright nuisance. Once they stopped for a rest, he shuffled over to Sydney. "What's with those men?" he whispered. Helena overheard. "They're my guards. I don't quite trust the local population, and their poverty has made them loot these ruins. I'm just making sure that the locals stay away until we find the elixir."

"A temple like this would house many treasures," said Sydney. "We should try to preserve as much as we can."

They reached a crumbling structure. The entrance was blockaded by dense roots and boulders, but Helena pointed out a few holes in the wall. "It's a tight fit. I don't think my men will find it comfortable inside. Perhaps Nigel should wait out here as well."

Sydney nodded to Nigel. "You heard her, Nigel."

"Sydney, I must protest," Nigel replied. He pulled her over. "We just met this woman, and she hasn't shown anything to prove that we can trust her. She's got her own...thugs!"

"Nigel, I know what I'm doing. Besides, I know how to take of myself. How about you make some friends?"

"Wait, you can't just leave me here with...them!"

Sydney patted him on the shoulder. "Find some common ground. I'm sure you'll find them to be quite amicable." Leaving the panicking Nigel, she followed Helena into the ruin.

Helena's instructions made sense. The gaps in the ruins they had to crawl through were very small, testing even Sydney's agility, though she found some of the obstacles a squeeze for her well-endowed figure. Despite the challenge, Sydney found herself mesmerised by Helena's confidence. Helena told her about the history of the ruined temple, about how legends told of its ancient use as a ritual ground for a forgotten fertilisation ceremony, intended both for the growth of their crops and their children. To Sydney, Helena's description sounded like a tribal orgy.

They finally got out of the narrow passages and found themselves in a chamber. The broken stone roof revealed a beam of light that, had this been a Hollywood film, would have pointed to the elixir's location, but instead it shone onto an otherwise plain slab.

"This looks important," Sydney commented. "It would seem that there was a bigger entrance. It's out of the way enough to be someone's private workspace."

"It's certainly...private," Helena mused. Her eyes glanced at Sydney's sweaty body. Her tank top was plastered against her skin, revealing the faint outline of her nipples. Part of her top had torn off during the crawl, revealing enough underboob to tantalise Helena, who had also lost a few buttons on her blouse. "I must say, Sydney, you're everything they say you are."

Sydney followed Helena's gaze and blushed, but made no attempt to cover up. "That depends on who you ask."

For a moment, the two women stared dreamily at each other, only to be interrupted by a nearby explosion that shook the ruins. "Damn, that must be Robert!" Helena cursed, referring to her hired muscle. "I told him not to use explosives!"

"The blast shook the place up pretty badly," said Sydney. "We should get out before we get flattened by a falling rock and see what's happening outside."

Before Sydney made a move, she realised...she couldn't. Looking down, she saw her boots had sunken into the sandy floor, and only the top of her boots were showing. "Wait," she said, holding onto Helena's shoulder. "Don't move."

"What is this?" Helena asked, looking down at her buried feet.

"I think it's quicksand. There must be a source of water below us and it's come up through the sand because of the explosion. We have to be careful. If we disturb the sand, we'll get pulled down." Even without moving, the sand was creeping towards their knees. "Okay, I've got a pla-"

Sydney was cut off by another explosion. The chamber trembled. The sand rippled and the women slipped down to their thighs...and kept on sinking. "Oh god," cried Helena. "What are going to do?"

Sydney remembered hearing from somewhere that one shouldn't struggle in quicksand, but she didn't have time for the slow and steady escape, not with the walls and roof threatening to collapse on them. Looking around, she noted that they were in the middle of some kind of pit with raised stone ledge. At some point in history it might have been a pool, but now it was a deadly trap. Unfortunately, the smooth ledge was too far and there was nothing to grab onto nearby. The quicksand was approaching their hips and time was running out.

"Sydney, watch out!"

A fragment of the roof broke off. Sydney would have instinctively dodged, but the quicksand held her in place. Tumbling towards her, the stone collided with another ledge on the way down, breaking apart and landing harmlessly onto the ledge beside Sydney. The impact caused the quicksand pit to ripple and the women sunk to their waists.

"Helena, I have an idea!" Sydney yelled. She took off her ripped tank top. "Give me your shirt."

"What?" Helena protested, but the feeling of the quicksand rising over her hips told her to comply. She quickly took off her blouse and handed it to Sydney, who tied the two garments together to form a rope. With delicate precision, she tossed one end and snagged it onto the broken stone, sinking to her ribs while doing so. "Got it!"

Helena watched nervously. "What about me?" Sydney turned to see Helena up to her breasts. Holding onto the fragile lifeline, Sydney reached out towards Helena, who was now down to her shoulders. Feeling the quicksand grope her own breasts, Sydney gritted her teeth and strained to get hold of Helena. Just as her neck disappeared, Sydney grabbed hold of her and hauled her towards the safety of the ledge. Helena eagerly reached wrapped her arms around Sydney while Sydney used her other arm to pull them both to the edge and held herself steady. Now out of imminent danger, Sydney noticed how close their bodies were pressed together. Helena was hanging on for dear life. Their bare breasts were pressed tightly together, lubricated by the gritty moisture. Sydney moaned softly from the close contact. Shaking her head clear, Sydney first helped Helena out of the pit before pulling herself free. They sat on the ledge, topless and covered in sand, and looked at each other.

"So much for that," Sydney gasped. "Well, hopefully your men are as well-mannered as Nigel. Otherwise, we've got some explaining to do."

"And I think this explains something," Helena replied, looking up. The falling stone had smashed against part of the wall, which had now partially collapsed, revealing another chamber on the other side. "The stonework on this side is different. It looks like the wall might have been built to seal whatever's on the other side. We would never have found it if it hadn't been knocked down."

Picking themselves up, and ignoring their immodest state, they continued to explore. The hole in the wall led through another passage, ending in a smaller chamber. Here, they found the walls to be intricately carved with details depicting people and plants, resembling the agricultural scene that would have been prevalent at the time. More interesting, however, were clay jars. Some were broken, but two were intact. If there was any doubt over the contents, it was removed when they inhaled the chamber air and felt a familiar sense of arousal.

"Jackpot," Sydney declared. "This must be the elixir. It looks like the room was sealed when the community began to disappear, to preserve the elixir for future generations."

"What about the recipe?" Helena asked. The chamber and the jars contained nothing resembling a recipe. It made sense that the ancient forerunners would not have access to paper or parchment, or even if they had a written language. As Helena remembered, they passed their traditions down orally. "Still, we've got these samples. We could analyse them and reverse-engineer the formula."

"Let's grab the jars and go," Sydney advised. "I'm feeling a little light-headed in here, if you know what I mean."

As they left the secret stash, another explosion rocked the ruins, this time coming from the large chamber. They hurried out to see the opposite wall blown open, revealing a way out. Through the gap, Helena's lead guard, Robert, stepped through with his fellow guard. Eager to hand off the heavy jar, Helena skirted around the quicksand pit and passed it over to Robert. Sydney followed behind and handed hers to the second guard. Both women covered up while he fetched something from his pack, presumably a spare shirt. Robert glanced at the two relic hunters, clad only in their dirty pants and boots.

"What were those explosions about?" Sydney asked, sternly. "And where's Nigel?"

Robert laughed. "That English bumpkin? He's an interesting fellow. He's got a fascination with weapons and explosives, and we had some with us, so we let him blow the entrance to the ruin. We figured it was more exciting than waiting for you to finish crawling around. Plus, we thought you'd thank us for the convenience." Robert pointed at the new opening, admiring his handiwork, much to Helena's disapproval. "Your friend's gone back to fetch more explosives. He's an excitable chap, isn't he, Miguel?"

The second guard looked up and smiled, but said nothing. Helena reached out for the shirt he was retrieving, but stopped. Miguel held out not a shirt, but a pistol. Pointing it at the two women, he ushered them back to the ruined chamber. With their hands raised, the women gave the two guards a full-frontal view. Robert nodded with approval.

"What's going on, Robert?" Helena demanded. "You're working for me!"

"I was," he replied. "But I figured I could make more money from this...elixir. Think about it: a formula that makes people want to have sex. We could sell this for millions."

"But it's for the villagers!" Helena protested.

"That's what I thought you would say. But helping a few farmers won't make us rich. I thought we'd take the formula ourselves and sell it. But first, I want to see if this thing really works."

He ordered the women to strip off their remaining clothing. Sydney had been in many perilous situations before and scanned carefully for any leverage, but the guards knew what they were doing. Rather than be up close and personal, they stood well back, preventing Sydney from lashing out and disarming them. She had no option but to comply, removing her boots, trousers and underwear, and stood naked alongside Helena.

"Now, walk backwards until I say stop."

They obeyed, stepping backwards slowly through the rubble. Through the stress of the situation, they hadn't noticed where Robert was directing them until he told them to stop. They felt the soft sand beneath their feet move, and then it struck them: they were standing in the quicksand pit. As soon as they were both in the pit, they began sinking.

"Is this how you intend to get rid of us?" Sydney glared at the rogue guards.