“Most of this is just mundane junk” She said using her finger like a touch screen pad, a habit she picked up from me whenever I examined my notifications after battle. Technically you didn’t need to do that, all you needed to do was think it and the interface would shift down, but old habits die hard and are apparently infectious.
“But there are four or five things in this pile of junk that are kind of useful…” She flew up and dived directly into the pile in a move I was sure was nearly impossible for a corporeal being to do without breaking nearly every bone in their body.
She emerged a few seconds later with six items and handed them over to me. “What about those?” I asked nodding towards the daggers in the bucket.
“Oh, those. Yeah don’t mess with those, those are part of the altar.” She explained as she extricated herself from the jumble and walked over to the bucket that was almost as tall as she was. She looked at them for a long moment and then turned to me. “They were her, rewards, for sacrificing children on that blasted thing.” Ailsa pointed towards the altar. “Anyone under 12, who hadn’t been, violated.” She spat the term, and I knew exactly what she meant.
I nodded and turned my attention to the six items in hand. One was the ritual dagger the necromancer had used, description now available to me thanks to Ailsa’s spell.
“You have found “Ritual Dagger of Innocent Blood.” When using this dagger to meet the requirements of a sacrifice it will double the reward if the sacrifice is “innocent.” Rarity: Rare. Durability: 10/10. Quality: Masterworked-Magical. Please see item details for further information.”
“She used this double the number of daggers she got with each life take,” I explained and tossed it in the same bucket with the black daggers. The daggers in the bucket would never be used again for their intended purpose. I picked up the next item, a small blue quartz set into a fine silver locket.
“You have found “Locket of Radiant Water.” This locket gives the wearer a +2 concentration bonus when casting water spells, and +1 to all effects of water spells cast by the wearer. Rarity: Uncommon. Durability: 8/10. Quality: Good-Magical Please see item description to again review these details. ”
“Where did you find this one?” I asked Ma’vone. He thought about it as I held it out for him to examine.
“Oh, I found it over there.” He pointed at a small alcove next to the incense table. It wasn’t very large, maybe the size of a human torso, and was set in the stone at about hip level. “It looked like some kind of shrine to the river goddess the townspeople worship. Though, in her marshlands aspect that the goblins reaver.”
“Would you mind if I keep it? I have a book on water magic back in town, and I'd like to start practicing and expanding my knowledge base soon. This will help with that.”
“I don’t see any problem with that. As far as I'm concerned this is all you and your companions, as fair payment for assisting us and our allies the elves in a dark time. I’m sure my father would agree with me.” Ma’vone said. “Though, I'd appreciate it if you didn’t go showing it off to the militia? They may start asking questions about why they didn’t get a cut of the loot. Not that there is much here, to begin with” he said cautiously.
“Actually.” Ailsa interrupted. “You remember that Blood Kracken you guys saw earlier?”
“Blood Kraken?! Here?” Ma’vone’s eyes went nearly wild, looking around as if a big tentacle was going to shoot out of nowhere and drag him away to certain doom.
“Hold your horse's lordling” she soothed. “It was a baby. When the necromancer died, it got board, opened a portal and left. It's not like this was a natural place of dark magic after all. We can keep it away forever when we dismantle that altar.” She pointed at the stone slab a few feet away.
“Well, behind the Blood Krakens pool, was a massive treasury. Nearly six chests of gold. Ser Barristan and Tol’geth are guarding the men as they cart it all upstairs.”
“That will be a huge help in rebuilding and caring for the families who lost everything in the fighting.” A tension I had not noticed before, seemed to release from Ma’vone’s shoulders.
“Well before we get to looking through what's there after your father's men get done with the place, let's finish looking here, shall we?” I asked as I reached for the third item Ailsa had mentioned. It was a grey and black counterpart to the robe that the Necromancer had been wearing. When we looted her corpse, the robe was in complete tatters, the skinsuit was gone, the only thing of any use we had found on her was the dagger.
“It was in the same alcove as the gem. It looks like they were planning on turning this entire cave system and ruin into a proper temple to their god. There are stone chisel marks that outline areas for more alcoves that the goblin workers you set aflame before getting down here, must have been tasked with carving out.” Ailsa explained as I picked up the black and grey robe and read the prompt.
“You have found “Magic Robe of True Casting.” When a magic-user wears this robe, it decreases the chance of magical feedback from ritual magic to 0%. Reduces the chance of magical feedback from failed castings for any other form of magic by 50% from the current level of risk. Grants the wearer a +1 Armor Bonus for each type of magic that the wearer has reached Journeyman Rank in. Rarity: Uncommon. Durability: 48/50. Quality: Good-Magical. Please see item description to again review these details.”
“If you will excuse me,” I said, as I stood and pulled the robe over my head. I was never a fan of running around without a shirt on, and to be honest it felt kind of awkward having the kid stare at me without one. I sat back down and grabbed the second to last item. It was a ring with small inset amber gems, cut and shaped with care by a craftsmen, that ringed the metal band completely. The gems looked remarkably familiar.
“You have found “Ring of Spell Storage, Unsynced.” The wearer is granted access to 10 additional spell storage slots. Spell effects of this ring can be synced to mimic the spell storage effects of one other item. Once this is done, it can not be undone. To maintain sync effects, the ring and the synced items must remain within 100 ft of each other or the ring will temporarily lose the synced effects. Rarity: Rare. Durability 50/50. Quality: Good-Magical. Please see item description to again review these details.”
I put it on immediately and got a prompt asking if I wanted to sync the ring to my staff that I had laid across my lap. I mentally selected yes, and the ring set fire to itself, in mimicry of my staff. “Oh yeah! Look at that!” I said admiring the ring.
“Yes, it is wonderful,” Ailsa said rolling her eyes. “There’s one more item dude, take a look.”
I reached down and picked up the small book that was the last item of note.
“You have found “Magic Book of Dark Magic, Unfinished.” This book will grant you knowledge of Dark Magic and will allow you to live the experiences of the author up until the point the author had finished writing. As the book is unfinished, there might be some negative side effects. Rarity: Rare. Quality: Good-Magical Item Durability: 37/100. Please see item description to again review these details.”
I stared at the book, not knowing who the author had been. I knew that not all Dark Magic was evil, indeed on Ethria there had been quite a few Dark Magi who had done good works, and left lasting legacies of hope, the curing of illnesses both magical and non-magical, science, and understanding. I read about a few of them and been told about more of them by Ailsa when I had been studying back before the goblin raids.
But if this book's author is who I believe it to be, I should burn it. I thought as I ran my hand over the leather front cover, contemplating its future. On the other hand, understanding someone so evil as this necromancer, and how someone can turn that way, might help me avoid the same mistakes she made.
“You, uh, you cut a menacing figure, Master Rayid,” Ma’vone said as he stood. “I, uh. I will send soldiers in to retrieve the rest of these things. Perhaps they can be sold for a few extra silvers to help the town recover. Perhaps you
should, uh, take a moment to recover, from the last few days cares.” He looked meaningfully at Ailsa, who smiled wickedly and nodded. I put the book in my satchel, as my gaze moved between the two of them.
“What?” I asked as Ma’vone stood up, and began walking away. “No really, what's wrong?”
“Look at yourself meathead.” Ailsa chided, and she held up a magically conjured mirror. My face was drenched in blood, I had a nasty scar that ran from my ear down under my chin. It disappeared under new robes I had on, but I knew it would continue and follow the path from earlier. I stood, and the mirror expanded.
I wore a black robe with grey trim, my face was covered in blood, my hair matted with different kinds of viscera, most of it mine, some of it others. My staff and the index finger on my left hand both glowed with fire. I sported a deep black beard that was finally growing in thick. The boy was right, I did cut a menacing figure.
A bucket or something filled with water was emptied over my head. “AH!” I screamed nearly as high pitched as a soprano trying for high C. “AH!” I screamed again flicking my now heavy robed arms. The frigid ice bone-cold water washed over me again, and Ailsa giggled madly from overhead. She floated wisely just out of reach.
“You’ve needed a cold shower ever since you and Lisander started getting it on in front of everyone.” She teased her voice sing-song. “All that gore and sweat, and mud, you’ve gotten all over yourself, just gave me the excuse!” She shouted triumphantly and began darting around the room giggling in glee. I tried to throw, first a pillow, then an incense stick, and then other random assorted items at the madly cackling fairy who dodged it all with the ease of a trained dancer.
“Not cool! Not coo-ggaergha!” Another bucket of water drenched me. And this time I started laughing. “Alright! Alright, can you help me out, for real this time? Do you have a shower spell? Or something?”
“Thought you’d never ask!” Ailsa giggled. “Give me a few minutes to get it ready over here. Meanwhile your soaked to the bone self can go figure out how to break that!” she pointed meaningfully at the altar.
As she cast spells to hold up curtains, summoned rain clouds and made soap appear out of almost nowhere, I walked up to the steps and examined the altar. There were runes on the thing, carved into the stone, in intricate looping script. As I looked closer it seemed that there was actually an older nature to the thing. One that had been defaced by time and the machinations of the necromancer and her minions. The looping script, if one squinted sideways, where actually vines, the deep cut sigils, and runes that lay plainly on the surface, where overlaying large carved leaves, dancing deer, and other depictions of nature.
Around behind the altar when I kneeled down, I found what I was guessing had been an intricately carved head and antlers of a buck. The deer head had also been defaced to look more like a dead deer's skull than a living creature.
When I went to stand up, I put my hand on the altar and got the following prompt.
“You have found “Corrupted Altar of the Forest Gods of Dow’del.” Current deific affiliation of the altar: Tesh, Child God of Darkness. Do you wish to attempt to claim this alter? Alternatively, you can attempt to restore the altar to its original deities. Claim the altar? Yes / No”
I selected, yes.
“Unable to claim altar. You do not have the requisite deific affiliation, of clerical appointment to claim this altar on Ethria. Do you wish to attempt to restore the altar to its original patrons? Yes / No”
Can’t have too many gods happy with you right? I selected yes again.
“Unable to restore Corrupted Altar of the Forest Gods of Dow’del, to the Dow’del forest god, the Great Stag. You do not have the requisite deific affiliation, required skills, and/or the target of the restoration is unavailable to be selected. Alternatively you can deconstruct the altar. Deconstruct the Corrupted Altar of the Forest Gods of Dow’del? Yes / No”
Still curious, and getting somewhat frustrated, I selected yes for the third time. The altar crumbled, the runes and sigils placed there by the servants of Tesh fell away, restoring the surface of the altar. It was beautiful, filled with scenes of nature and nature's bounty, with such craftsmanship it almost looked like the deer were moving, the leaping fish would fall back into the water at any second, and the trees and leaves would grow anew every year.
Then, after that bright moment of glorious restoration, the altar crumpled again, into a pile of old stones and marble. A golden globe, glistening with raw energy, appeared above the ruble and hung in the air. It was carved of gold and crackled with raw mana. I reached my hand out, and once it was directly under the thing, it fell into my hand. It wasn't heavy, but it had real heft to it.
“You have found Mana Core! A Mana Core is an item of extreme age, from the time before the Age of Reconstruction, when the ancient civilizations of power and grace walked Ethria and conversed with the Gods themselves as near equals. The uses of a Mana Core are nearly endless, as is the mana and energy that it can generate. Be wary however! Ancient tales are told across all of Ethria of friends betraying one another, of brother turning on sister, of mothers strangling their children as they slept, of nations savagely warring with one another until both are emptied of people, and all that was left were the bones of the dead and the laughter of vindictive gods! All for the mere whisper of a Mana Core. Item Rarity: Limited, Neigh-Unique. Item Durability: 100,000,000/ 100,000,000.”
“Holy Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Ailsa looked over at me as she put the finishing touches on my shower, and shot directly at me.
“Put that thing away! Now! Never tell another soul you have it! You must keep it a secret! Keep it out of the wrong hands, or even good hands! Do you know what people will do if they know you have one of those things?!” She hovered directly in front of my face, wings buzzing wildly with anxiety.
“Yeah,” I said slightly stunned both at what I had in my hand just then, what I had read, and her vehement reaction. I put the thing in my satchel with the acidic cowl and closed it tightly.
“Oh, I should tell Co’le’thel’ka about this. No, he can’t be trusted. I will have to tell the Goddess herself!” She buzzed her wings as she talked to herself, then returned her gaze to mine with an intensity I had rarely seen in her. “Don’t lose it, don’t even let it touch sunlight if you can help it.”
“Keep it secret, keep it safe?” I asked stupidly and she nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact with me.
“Never let another soul know you have it until you are ready to actually use it. Do you understand? The fae courts, the last time they went to war with one another, which never happens, and the reason we were locked away, was over one of those damned things. Probably THAT damned thing. Never, ever, even under the type of torture you just endured, never tell a single soul about it. Do you understand?!” She yelled at me.
“Yes, I do. Will you please calm down? It's not the end of the world.”
“But it could be” she whispered. “Fine, okay. We have to deal with this reality as it is, not as we wish it to be.” She flicked her wings and made a snapping noise that I hadn’t heard before and didn’t really know how to interpret. “Now, go take your shower, you need it desperately.”
---
A few minutes later she was calm, and I was in the shower. “So what are some of the uses of these things? The ‘item’ you don’t want me showing anyone else?” I asked, as Ailsa sat on the curtin bar above me and watched for people coming.
She sighed. “A lot of things. You can do practically anything. Even kill a God and ascend if you really wanted. Though, some might say that's a poor use of such a thing. The last one that was used, was used to raise the glass islands out of the sea, just a few years after the Pervolins finally fell. It was rumored that it was looted off the last Pervolin queen's dead corpse.”
I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off as Ailsa politely turned her back. I donned my robe, the ring, and my satchel again, the book, core, and map giving rea
l weight to the bag as it rested on my shoulder.
“Are you sure you know the gravity of this situation?” Ailsa asked, wings fluttering in a tissy.
“Yeah, I do. You need to take a deep breath. I understand the significance, okay?”
“The significance of what?” A deep, loud voice asked. It was Tol’geth, returning from helping remove the bodies, his arm still immersed in the purple healing liquid mana that was Ailsa’s spell.
I looked at Ailsa and found real fear in her eyes. She doesn’t want me even telling Tol’geth. “Uh, how important the destruction of this altar was,” I said, covering. “She is worried I’m taking the possibility of repercussions and reprisals too lightly.”
“She is right to worry,” Tol’geth said nodding sagely. “This god Tesh, does not sound like a civil soul.”
“Well, actually the altar was corrupted by Tesh.” I spent the next few minutes explaining everything I had just learned about the altar and the ancient ruins. “So, I was thinking this was probably the settlements chapel altar,” I said wrapping it all up.
“We should leave this place. We searched all of the rooms, and recovered much gold and foodstuffs that will be useful for Laketown, but very little in the way of useful tools for our trip south.” Tol’geth said. He turned to leave, and I followed close behind, Ailsa sitting squarely on my shoulder over the satchel.
---
The former treasure room was a disappointment. I stood there, watching my friends search every nook and cranny of the tiny room. It can barely be called a room, it's more like a glorified walk-in closet. Tol’geth can’t even really fit in there. I thought to myself as I watched, Tol’geth standing behind me facing the blood pool where the baby Kraken had once called home.
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