by Pirateaba
“It’s fused to my skin, Ceria. I can feel it. I could take off the rest of my armor but this—this isn’t so easy to undo.”
She had indeed taken off the rest of her plate armor. It lay scattered around her, badly deformed, parts melted together such that Yvlon had had to take off the entire section at once. But the metal on her arms remained. Ceria caught her breath as she saw how badly the metal had melted. It was twisted, warped, and clung to Yvlon’s arms like—
“We can cut it off. Even if we have to heal some of it afterwards—”
“Some will come off. But the rest—it feels deep, Ceria.”
Yvlon shook her head. Her arms moved as she—slowly—flexed them. Ceria saw breaks along the elbows and wrist sections, enough for Yvlon to move her arms. But the metal was clearly anchored to Yvlon’s flesh.
“We’ll get it off. We just need to get back to the city.”
Yvlon nodded slowly. She smiled, only a trace of bitterness in her eyes.
“I always wondered how Dullahans lived. I guess I’ll learn a bit of what it’s like.”
“I—”
There was nothing to say. Ceria bent down and clasped Yvlon’s shoulder. After a moment, she felt a cold, hard hand grasp hers.
“You saved us all. You slew a being made of pure flame with a sword. You’d be a hero among adventurers just for that.”
“Father would be proud.”
The Human woman laughed. Ceria forced her lips to move, smiled. Then she looked around.
“Pisces and Ksmvr?”
“Over there. Pisces looks worst off—I’d have woken you, but I thought it was better if you rested.”
Ceria nodded and brushed at her sooty hair. She staggered a bit—she felt empty.
“How long was I out?”
“I was only up for the last twenty minutes. Before that? It must be hours, at least. I can’t sense any heat from above.”
“True.”
Ceria nodded, and then walked over to Pisces and Ksmvr. The two were lying not far from each other. And of the two, Pisces was clearly worse-off. The mage had vomit staining his lips and he had gotten some of it on himself. He was pale and shivering, and Ceria knew he had to be suffering. She pulled out a bottle from her belt. It was still intact. The thick glass had protected the mana potion.
Carefully, Ceria poured the maroon liquid over Pisces, ignoring his reactions. It didn’t matter too much if he drank it; right now his body was a void of mana, and he would absorb it from the concentrated liquid to recover.
Sure enough, Pisces sat up, gasping. The noise woke up Ksmvr as well. The two sat up; Ksmvr dribbled a bit of green from his mouth, but wiped it away. Ceria wasn’t sure if that was blood or something worse. No one was in good shape at the moment.
“Pisecs, are you okay?”
“I—”
The mage’s face was pale. He dry-heaved a bit, and then wiped at his mouth. He regarded the stains on his robe and shuddered before looking up at Ceria.
“Mana potion?”
She nodded. Ksmvr staggered upright and saluted Ceria weakly.
“Captain.”
“Take it easy, Ksmvr.”
“I will do so. Is comrade Pisces alright?”
“I think so, but he was insane. You know that, right, Pisces? You reanimated what, over thirty skeletons in a ten minute period? You’re lucky you didn’t start bleeding in the brain or damage yourself worse.”
“I am a better [Necromancer] than I am a [Mage] by far.”
That was all Pisces said, which meant he pretty much agreed with Ceria’s statement. He looked around the pit full of bone fragments and closed his eyes.
“…Did we manage to save anything?”
“I found part of a spell book. Besides that, I don’t know. Yvlon’s not in a good way.”
The other two adventurers followed Ceria over to Yvlon. She looked up and nodded at them. Pisces stared at her arms openly, while Ksmvr looked at them and around the room.
“What should we do now, Captain Ceria? Should we begin collecting valuable items? I still have the pack you gave me.”
“I—”
Ceria just shook her head. She could barely stand, and she saw Pisces was swaying on his feet.
“Ten minutes. Let’s just…”
She sat down wearily, and then had to lie down. Pisces collapsed back onto the ground; Ksmvr stayed on his feet and began to wander the pit, picking up burnt objects. Yvlon went back to staring at her arms.
It took a while for Ceria to feel strong enough to get back up. When she did, she just felt like lying down again. But they had to move.
“Okay. Pisces, you’re our only ticket out of this pit. Can you make another staircase?”
The [Mage] looked up tiredly at the small gap high overhead.
“I can try.”
It was a mark of his exhaustion that he didn’t brag, and Ceria knew it. She helped him up.
“Do it slowly. Piece by piece. You don’t have to complete it in one go.”
He nodded. Ceria turned to Ksmvr.
“While Pisces is working, let’s get some of the stuff that fell into the pit gathered up. Most of it looks burned, but they’re all highly magical artifacts. Put anything you can find over here, okay Ksmvr?”
The Antinium had already accumulated a few burnt objects. He gently edged them closer to Yvlon, but the other woman was standing up. She moved her arms stiffly, and then nodded.
“I’ll help too.”
“You don’t have to, Yvlon—”
“I can do it. I need to move.”
She began moving around the edge of the pit. Ceria hesitated, and then got to work as well. The first thing she did was pick up the spellbook. The magic words glimmered as she put them in her pack. Then she began hunting for anything that had survived the flames.
“Burnt sword here. Looks cracked. But it’s still magical; I can feel it.”
“Are such objects repairable, Captain?”
“I have no idea. And I don’t even know what these things do, so handle them carefully, alright?”
“I will do so.”
Ceria placed the sword on the ground next to a pack. She stared at it blankly until she remembered it was the adventurer’s pack she’d found. What could be inside there?
Whatever it was, it would have to wait until later. Some adventurers trapped their belongings in case they were stolen, and Ceria wanted to risk nothing. She looked at Pisces, and saw he was beginning to build the bridge out of the burnt bones again.
This time, the construction process was painfully slow. Ceria could see Pisces grimacing as bones slowly flew into the air. He could only manage about eight at a time. But he was getting the job done, and he looked determined not to quit.
It was a different side of him than Ceria had seen, and once again it reminded her of the past. She paused as she sorted through a few bones next to Pisces.
“That was some final guardian, wasn’t it?”
Pisces nodded, not taking his eyes off his work.
“It was a formidable enemy. I regret that neither you nor I had the forethought to check for traps at the last moment.”
She nodded, biting her lip.
“Although if the mage was any good, he would have set the summoning spell to activate if we checked the magic, just like the door.”
“True.”
Silence. Ceria tossed a long bone up and watched it float upwards.
“Did it remind you of anything? The fire construct, I mean.”
“Are you referring to the Golems of Wistram? That is a natural comparison, but unfair. This…creature was clearly meant to be summoned for short periods rather than act as a permanent servant. True, it was far less intelligent than Cognita. It was simply a guardian, meant to kill.”
“It was good enough at that. I just wonder…how’d it catch you? You’re better than that, or you should be.”
The young man stopped in his work. He lowered his hands and stared at Ceria. H
is eyes were cold.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. Don’t get offended, Pisces.”
“I find that a difficult proposition given your last statement.”
“I’m just remembering how you used to be. And if you’ll remember, you were better than this, once.”
“I’m sure I have no recollection of such martial prowess.”
“Don’t be a prat. I’m not trying to—”
Ceria broke off. She turned her head.
“Ah, Ksmvr? Do you need something?”
The Antinium nodded. He was standing a few feet away from the two adventurers, making no effort to conceal his eavesdropping. He stared fixedly at Ceria and Pisces.
“I would like to stay and observe the act of chastisement so I may learn to do it myself in a command situation.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a—”
“No, no. Let the Antinium stay.”
Pisces folded his arms, looking angry. He snapped at Ceria.
“By all means, Springwalker. Say your piece.”
She took a breath. This wasn’t the time for it. But she couldn’t stop now. Calmly, she spoke, looking Pisces in the eye.
“In the battle against that fire thing, I saw you using [Flash Step], but you got caught, Pisces. When we were students together you could have danced around that construct for days without letting it get near you.”
“And?”
Ceria spread her hands.
“And that’s all. I’m just making an observation.”
“I see.”
“Don’t get offended. I’m not lecturing you, or complaining. Your quick thinking saved us, and you more than pulled your weight. We would have been dead without your help, and without your skeletons we wouldn’t have even found the tunnel. I’m just worried about what you’ve lost.”
The [Mage] considered this. He lost some of the hostility in his stance and uncrossed his arms.
“I see. Well, I am relieved to know you hold some part of me in high esteem. But I’m afraid I have no answer for you. I have simply…lost my touch as it were.”
“That’s all?”
“What do you want me to say, Springwalker? I have grown lax, it’s true. I don’t exactly duel other mages in the corridors anymore, and have little need for fencing.”
“Maybe not as a [Necromancer]. But Pisces the adventurer would be even more of an asset if he had his old skills back. I’m not saying you have to—I’m just saying that I admired that part of you.”
“I see.”
Ceria and Pisces stared at each other for a bit longer. Ksmvr stared at both of them, looking disappointed.
“Will there be no exchange of blows? No physical confrontation.”
“No.”
“I do not believe that will be necessary.”
“I see. Well then, I shall go back to work.”
After a few seconds, so did Ceria and Pisces. And after a few more minutes, they had a small pile of what might be called loot by an optimist, and a stairway made of bones.
This one was thinner, Ceria noticed as she gazed upwards. It was no less sturdy, but Pisces had clearly taxed himself creating it. The mage sat on the ground next to Yvlon as the two rested for a moment. They were exhausted. So were Ceria and Ksmvr, but they were in far better shape by comparison.
“We’ll go up, Ksmvr and I. I think the fire thing’s dead—if it’s not we’ll come running down. But we’ll haul up all this…stuff. You two just rest.”
They nodded, and Ceria seized the sword, her pack, and Pisces’ pack before climbing the stairs. Her legs felt wobbly, but she was determined not to slip or fall.
At last, Ceria reached the top. She pulled herself up over the ledge of burnt and melted stone, relieved it was no longer hot to the touch. She stood up and looked around.
“Oh…”
Everything was black and melted. The walls, the ceiling—everything had warped, and the white-hot flames had left sooty reminders where it had burned. It almost felt like Ceria was still back in the pit.
But then she looked in the treasure room, what had been the treasure room, and felt her heat break. It was completely ruined. There was nothing left of the vision she had seen first entering. Nothing at all.
The bookshelf had been turned to ash. The weapons had melted, at least, that was what Ceria could guess. The entire room was almost one solid color, that of charcoal black. Of a certainty, there were no magical weapons left, no books full of spells. Where the gold had been there was only a misshapen dark mass, and there was no staff.
It had been burnt away. Ceria felt her eyes sting as she gazed at the place where it had been, but she couldn’t even find the emotion to weep right now. She had wounded friends down below—there was no time for self-recriminations.
“Even so. What a waste.”
Ceria stared at the pile of burnt wood that had been the desk. Ksmvr walked into the room and poked around the destroyed bits. He paused as he kicked at a sooty mass and looked at Ceria.
“There is gold underneath the ash, Captain Ceria.”
“Gold?”
“And gemstones. It has melted into the gold.”
Ksmvr pointed as Ceria practically dashed over. She saw a huge, melted mass of what first appeared to be scorched rock. But underneath the layer of blackness was a familiar dull gleam.
“Dead gods. It is gold!”
The treasure she had seen in the back of the room had been consumed by the fire as well. But unlike the other materials in the room, gold was still gold no matter what shape it took. Ceria tried to prize the gold free, and found that it had become one solid mass that had stuck to the floor.
“We’ll have to dig it up. But this—”
“I assume this is a good thing.”
“Very good.”
Ceria’s heart beat faster. The gold coins she and the others had so carefully used to buy their supplies—how many coins would this lump of fused metal make? She couldn’t imagine, especially because she knew the gold coins traded across the world weren’t pure gold. This probably was.
“Let’s get Pisces and Yvlon. They have to see this.”
As they went to leave the room, Ceria found something else as her foot landed in a pile of ash. She saw a flash of brown and snatched up a small bag, drawstrings tightly fastened. Ksmvr peered at it as Ceria lifted it up.
“What the…?”
“It is a bag, Captain.”
Ceria eyed Ksmvr. He ducked his head and shut up. She stared at the small satchel and remembered it, vaguely. It had been on the desk next to the staff…
“It’s not even burnt.”
“It is clearly magical. Should we open it and see what it contains?”
It had to be a bag of holding. It probably held…Ceria’s mind spun at the implications. But her internal warning bells all went off at the thought of opening it.
“No. It might be trapped. We’ll take it with us, but no one opens it or even drops it, okay?”
“I understand. Let us find the others and convey this good news.”
“Sure.”
Ksmvr and Ceria made three trips up and down the ivory staircase, twice to haul up the burnt remains of the treasure, and then to help Yvlon and Pisces make their way up. And after the two had gotten over their initial dismay and relief at the treasure obtained, they made a proper survey of what they’d found.
“This sword is clearly magical. I wouldn’t risk using it in combat, but perhaps it could be repaired?”
Pisces murmured to the others as he lifted up the broken sword. The pommel had cracked while the actual blade looked only scorched, but that could well have been part of the spell matrices, and no one dared to separate it.
“A cracked shield. Not good. Can we still use it?”
Yvlon showed the buckler to Ceria. She nodded as she stared at the small bag and the adventurers’ pack, the only two wholly unburned objects.
“It’s magical too. We
have to try.”
“We have quite a bit of gold as well.”
Ksmvr had helped lever up the metal and gems and then saw the pieces into manageable chunks. Now he was attempting to cram as many pieces into their packs. Ceria eyed one bulging rucksack. She doubted she could carry the extremely dense gold, tired as she was. Yvlon and Pisces?
It was a hard thing to say out loud, but in one respect, their adventure wasn’t over yet. Ceria didn’t beat about the bush as Ksmvr awkwardly tied the weapons—sword, buckler, dagger, and another sword, of which only the blade remained—into a bundle to be carried.
“We’ve got to get back to a city, everyone. I know we’re tired, but we’ve got practically no rations and we’re sitting ducks out here. Yvlon’s injured and her armor’s gone—”
“As is my sword.”
“—Pisces is out of mana, I’m nearly tapped, and Ksmvr is going to have to carry most of the treasure.”
Ksmvr looked up.
“I am? Hm.”
“I hate to say it, but you’re the strongest of us and no one else can bear the load. Do you think you can handle it?”
She didn’t want to suggest burying the treasure. It was a risky move if people got wind of their haul and decided to backtrack to find anything they’d left behind. But Ceria didn’t want to overburden the Antinium either. To her surprise, Ksmvr shook his head.
“It is no problem. I can drag all that we have collected if need be. I would have simply organized the distribution of weight differently if I had known I was going to be the sole carrier.”
“Oh.”
Pisces, still looking quite gray and weary, sat up slowly, groaning with what seemed to be genuine distress for once.
“I can summon—one or two undead aides. They can help lift—”
“No.”
Yvlon interrupted Pisces. She shook her head and lifted one of the packs, stumbling slightly at the weight.
“No undead. We can carry it ourselves.”
She looked at Ceria, and the half-Elf nodded.
“You heard her. We’ll get back ourselves.”
“Where to? We’re far from all the cities.”
“But we’re nearest to…ah, Remendia I think. Once we hit the main road we can catch a ride.”
“If we don’t hit bandits.”
“Dead gods. Don’t speak like that, Pisces. Let’s just get—”
