Franco was still sitting two hours after the fight. His back leaning against the white stone corner of the building. The plaza to his left, the chasm to his right. All five of them were healed as well as they could be and he wanted to be on their way. But here he sat waiting as Sarah and Frazier both slept a few feet in front of him. Their heads resting on their travel packs.
Franco took another bite of some dried meat before washing it down with some water. He had been slowly eating the last half an hour after helping to check over the last of their wounds and then searching the plaza for loot.
Maph stood twenty feet away in-between the path they had taken to get here and the plaza. The flat of his sword rested on his right shoulder as he slowly walked around on guard. The place was much darker now that they only had a few glow orbs out around them, the rest having run out.
Oaken was sitting on the plaza side, his back to the same building as Franco. The Kimber had spent the most time studying the sealed doors to the building but never stepped on the steps leading up to those doors. After a few more minutes Oaken coughed and put away the spell he was reading and then stood up.
“It’s past time Maph.” Oaken said as he looked at Franco.
Franco nodded in agreement wanting to have been out of this place an hour ago. Maph sighed and walked over to the sleeping woman. He tapped Frazier on her arm and gave Sarah a kick to her side to wake them up. Both were sitting up quickly, eyes wide for a second or two before they remembered where they were.
“We need to get going soon. We have been here too too long as is.” Oaken said.
“How long were we asleep?” Frazier asked as she started to pack her travel bag.
“Over an hour.” Franco said as he smiled at her
“What, why did you let us sleep that long?” Sarah said as she looked around in the dark space they found themselves.
Oaken trilled “I’ll give you one guess.”
Sarah and Frazier both gave Maph flat looks.
“You both were the most injured and needed sleep.” Maph said with only a hint of worry in his voice.
“Well Captain, you have some deciding to do before we can can get out of here.” Oaken said as he pointed to the weapons laid out next to Franco.
A spear, six feet in total length. Its shaft, a deep smooth red. The blade was a classic leaf shape that was at least 16” long. The metal was unknown to any of them but had that magical glimmer that meant that it was enchanted. A spear that had no speck of rust or damage on it after thousands of years.
Alongside the spear were the three short swords from Frazier’s Giant, then the long single edge blade from the third Giant. Among all the other skeletons they found six daggers that had withstood the test of time as well as a hatchet and twenty four bone clubs that had been worked into real weapons and enchanted, strongly by what Oaken’s detect magic spell could tell.
Then next to the pile of weapons was a large pile of armor. Mostly from the Giants again but lots of helmets or pieces of chainmail that should not have been intact after all these years. It was all more than they could carry even in three or four trips. The problem with ancient artifacts in Dungeons or carried by undead is that their owners often put curses or hostile magic on the items.
Historically about half the time, touching or dealing with them was a gamble until they could get checked or de-cursed so they had to be very careful when collecting them. Frazier looked at their loot pile and smiled.
“All good problems so far. I'll carry the short sword I already touched, and Sarah the spear. We take all the swords, daggers and two bone clubs as examples, the rest we leave in place. Unless anyone has room to carry a helmet or other examples of the armor.”
Frazier reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out another little bag that was tightly sealed. Franco noticed that the pouch didn't change after the bag was pulled out of it. How could it have fit in that pouch anyway he wondered.
“Franco do you know what a treasure blanket is?” she asked as she unsealed the little bag and pulled out a small square of white cloth which she then unfolded into a thin five by five foot blanket.
“No” he said as he watched her lay out the blanket and after putting on thick gloves she also pulled out of her Secondary Pocket put the blue hilted long blade in the blanket right near one edge before she rolled the blade once in the blanket so that it was now fully covered.
“It’s a pretty common item from out west, from where I come from for adventurers. It’s enchanted so that it suppresses magic greatly. Now the suppressing magic will only last half a day at most and things left in it will damage over time. Cheap or damaged things could be destroyed in as little as a few hours but real artifacts will be ok for a few days. But it’s the suppression we want. It makes transporting cursed items much safer. Well, items that aren’t set to go off at the first touch.”
She packed each of the swords, daggers and two clubs into the blanket and made sure the now almost four foot tall bundle tied off to itself so nothing but blanket was exposed. Franco handed her the large ruck that he had brought and with some effort they made it fit in the ruck with only a foot of the blanket bundle sticking out of the ruck.
“You know this will be a real pain to get through those tunnels.” Franco said as he strapped the ruck onto his back.
“Yes I do” she smiled at him and patted him on the arm as she made sure the new sword she carried was secure as it was too long for her old scabbard but she added some string to secure it, but also to be able to still draw it if needed.
With that it looked like everyone was packed with Maph and himself carrying the most loot. As Maph had taken two helmets and a few examples of the mail. Sarah with her red spear in hand that was taller than her stood ready to go.
They checked one last time around them and then each other. They all looked like they had been in a fight but seemed happy. He cast a new light orb spell before they stepped off with a long walk ahead of them. Carrying the spear Sarah realized she would not be able to play the rogue but she kept a few feet ahead of them watching out for any ambushes.
“So did anyone else level when they napped.” Sarah said with glee. Not loudly but also not trying to sneak back.
They knew now that no animals or living monsters were in the area besides the bats or small rodents. The undead would not let such things live near them. A quiet chorus of congratulations came from the group.
“So it was my Level 6, so an Enhancement and I had three amazing choices. [Owl Eye], that’s great vision in the dark, [Pain Tolerance] and [Lesser Vitality].”
Franco knew without knowing how, that those were amazing choices especially [Lesser Vitality] and so did the rest of the group.
Oaken from behind him muttered loud enough to be heard “Some have all the luck”.
“Well I took the obvious one but [Owl Eye] really tempted me especially if we are going to be in this dark pit working for the next while.” Sarah said as she pointed around them with the spear.
They continued down the ruble pathway, rushing water to their right now and hundreds of feet below them in the chasm. They moved loosely in formation unlike how they came this way but after a while Maph spoke from the back.
“I reached level 7 while you all saved me” some shame in his voice.
“I’ll go back there and hit you for being stupid.” Frazier said. “You did a hell of a lot holding back that first wave. Without you or Franco we would have died in seconds”
“She’s right.” Franco said as he continued to follow closely to Sarah providing her light to travel by.
They were quiet for a few more minutes before Oaken asked “So.”
Franco smiled.
“It was a Skill level and I also got some good choices but chose [Crowd Control]. This skill felt like it took half a year to learn unlike my first but I am confident in a similar fight like that last one I will hold for much longer and with less damage taken against all those skeletons.
“I’ve never heard of that Skill, Maph, that's incredible.” Sarah said excitedly.
“That fight really was something wasn’t it.”
They were getting closer to their entrance point so Frazier spoke up.
“Well not to make anyone jealous but I gained two levels.” Frazier said with pride in her voice.
Sarah stopped walking and turned to look at their Captain and even Franco looked at her, seeing that smile on her face like the one he had found her wearing after the fight.
“Keep going,” Frazier said, waving for them to get moving so they did.
“So I got my Body Improvement at 5. I do feel different and better. You were not overselling it”.
That got smiles out of the group making them think about the time they had hit level 5 besides Franco. He wondered what he had done or been through to get his.
“Well my level 6 Enhancement choices were also very good but I went with [Battle Focus], it improved four attributes” she said very satisfied.
Maph whistled in joy. “That’s a superior level Enhancement and at level 6, amazing. You are amazing.”
Frazier softly laughed at the words. Franco could only guess at what [Battle Focus] would actually do during a fight but their team had drastically improved so far and both he and Oaken hadn’t slept yet. They reached their entrance back into the tunnels and only took a short break. When they entered the tunnels Sarah and then Frazier took the lead with Oaken as rear guard. Franco and Maph had to carry, push through and at times drag behind them their bags of loot. Luckily the weight reducing enhancements on the bags really worked but Franco quickly got very tired of the stupid bag.
They were most of the way back through their tunnel when they ran into the Southern Shore Patrol heading down their tunnel, apparently on a rescue mission to find them since they had been gone so long.
Southern Shore Patrol backed up until the tunnel was wide enough for everyone to be in the same area and Franco could feel the tension as he entered the space. He saw the eyes of the other team as they watched him put his bag down on the ground so he could stretch and take a sip of a stamina potion. The large bundle wrapped object sticking out of the bag made it impossible to miss but the real issue was the spear Sarah carried.
“Just tell me what happened and where you found that Captain, that’s an order.” Doran said, eyeing the spear.
Frazier had passed Sarah and stood firm in front of the other team Captain. “Like I said Captain Doran we are heading straight to Master Helmric right now and after we talk with him I am sure he is going to share what needs to be known to all the Captains. No one but Sarah is touching that spear because we all know how likely it’s cursed but in a fight she picked it up in confusion. So please join us as we return. I understand how frustrated you must be for having to wait for us”
“What’s in their bags?” one of the other members of Shore Patrol asked, pointing to Franco’s and Maph’s bags.
“Other things you currently do not need to know.” Frazier said with that big smile on her face as she crossed her arms in front of her.
“You all look like shit shit. Must have been a hell of a fight” the old [Scout] said to them with a smile on his face. Franco saw his team just smile at the friendly [Scout]. Knowing looks shared between them.
“So Captain Doran are we following you out or what?” Frazier finally asked as the other team had stood there silent for a minute while the tension retched up second by second. Southern Shore Patrol was a silver rank team, two ranks higher than them.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
As adventurer ranks went it was Tin, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond in the continent spanning Adventurer's Guild. It was proper to at least pay respect to if not outright listen to a higher rank team but only Gold and Diamond rank teams or individuals had to be listened to per the Guild Rules.
Then Captain Doran sighed and rolled his eyes “Fine you all think you’re tough after one fight. Won’t even give us, your partners of the last few days some heads up information before the Gold rush tomorrow. A chance like you had of going down that tunnel and not us this morning.”
That actually seemed to land with Frazier who shrugged uncomfortably. “I’ll make sure you are with us when we go again.” She said,
Doran’s team just laughed and the tension was gone. “Fat chance you’re going again. Real fighting to do with real loot? That’s screams Gold Ranks only, fucking rookies lets go and see what scraps we can get.”
Doran turned and followed his team back the way they came. Frazier waited only a few seconds before she followed after. Franco lifted the annoying, awkward hateful bag and trudged after her.
“Is he right?” He asked the men behind him.
“Usually he would be, a copper team like ours hitting it big like this is the stuff of stories. The rush will only get more intense and honestly that rubble path screams danger, real danger to me especially with an undead army of who knows how long lurking down here. That’s the stuff of Gold and Diamond ranked adventures.” Oaken said from the rear.
That all made sense to Franco. He waited a few minutes before he asked “Then why usually, because of your Father?”
Oaken chuckled behind him as they moved through the tunnel.
“Yes that but also I know how to get into that Temple Temple that is sealed up.”
Maph choked behind him. It sounded like he had choked on his own spit. A very un elf thing to do Franco thought.
“Are you serious?” Maph finally asked.
“That’s what I did when your girlfriend slept. I found us another way deeper in and I think safer. Well at least at first” and then the little Kimber man trilled in true excitement.
They reached the main hallway an hour later and found Master Helmric there waiting for them. A look of anger on his face but something else. A way his bill twitched. Maybe excitement. He was there as well as what looked like everyone that had been working the Dungeon that day. All the Gold Ranks and a lot of Silvers. As soon as they got close he held up both his right hands and looked over each one of them. When he was satisfied that they were alright for now he spoke.
“Do not say anything until I tell you to and cover that spear you damn fool fool of a girl” he said flatly with a clear simmering frustration in his voice as he pointed at Sarah.
“Were you with them for any of it?” Helmric asked Doran. The man shook his head. He then looked at Frazier and then made an exaggerated look around them. No one missed his intent.
“Danger to the camp Captain”.
Frazier looked only slightly nervous. “Yes, a guard here or where we went down is needed, always”.
The crowd around them grew louder as they talked about what the danger could be and the treasure they carried. Sarah was looking around confused for something she could use to cover the spear with when a gold ranker threw her a blanket.
“It’s a cheap wool one. I don’t care if you cut it.”
The man laughed at her as she held the blanket in one hand and the spear in the other, worried about what to do. She wrapped the spear as best she could without cutting it but still managed to. The blade was that sharp. While Sarah had struggled with covering the spear, Master Helmric had organized a watch on the passage. A good size Silver rank team and two Bronze watched the tunnel and began to plan a defense of it.
Mater Helmric trilled and then pointed. “Captain Doran you can follow us, Stone Eaters and Gold rank Captains with me to my office. Everyone but guards out of the Dungeon. We are are done for the day, what’s left of it.”
They followed the Expedition leader out as he led the exodus of the Dungeon. Franco had to stop and let the sunlight of the partly cloudy late afternoon hit him when he had stepped out of the mountain. It had felt like days not hours since he had seen the light. The sun was far lower in the western sky. They had been gone maybe twelve hours.
He got pushed from behind by Oaken as Master Helmric had not stopped to admire the sun like most of the Stone Eaters. So he picked up his pace to catch up to the fast walking Kimber who’s tail was swaying back and forth. The rest of the camp was turning out to see the impromptu parade and asking what was going on and as adventurers were apt to do the people around them gossiped loudly.
People talking about treasure and danger. A big fight, monsters, and treasure. Always the treasure, the spear was mythical or legendary, no it was a useless ornament. Franco and his team said nothing as they walked. They hurried into Helmric’s building as most of the camp was outside the door now. Helmric waved their team over to a table while he went about giving orders to several of the expedition staff who hurried out the front door on different tasks. One of them quickly yelled for the crowd to get back to work. Franco put his ruck down on top of a table but then sat at the table next to it. The Gold rank Captains and Captain Doran sat at a different table. Franco figured it would be some time before they would see their items. He wasn’t afraid of being stolen from now that they were here, just that the Guild got its cut and then the Expedition, which his former self had signed up to.
Maph saw what he had done and dropped his bag off on the table next to Franco’s ruck and moved to sit with him. Frazier sighed and carefully unhooked her scabbard and placed the sword she had carried out of the dungeon alongside the other goods. She then had to point it out to Sara who followed suit but didn’t know why she was leaving the spear there. Frazier grabbed a kettle of hot coffee from the fire and poured them all cups as the five of them sat and waited. It took several minutes and Innosaa the [Healer] entered the building before Master Helmric was satisfied and chased out his lower level staff. The last one to be let into the room was Mistress Bluescale who was carrying a large bag with her. The old Dwarf woman’s eyes immediately went to the table with the loot they had brought in and then to sit with the Gold captains. They had been left to sit alone at their table until Helmric pulled up a stool in front of them, in between the loot table and theirs and trilled as he looked them over.
“Alright before we get started let me say the obvious for the rookies here, what is said in here here is private and gossiping like you want will not be tolerated. You will not talk of what is said in here unless I tell you it is good to talk about, is that understood.” His black and white eyes locked on to each of theirs in turn until he got a nod or a yes Master Helmric out of them.
“Now, Innosaa will you please check on our young adventurers while their Captain tells me what the hell happened”.
So Frazier did, sitting there sipping her coffee and talking. Going into as much detail as she could remember from when they had left the Southern Shore Patrol to when they had met up with them again. No one asked any questions which seemed to surprise her and their team. Especially during the fight as she explained multiple times to the watching audience she wasn’t sure exactly what happened to this or that teammate.
Innosaa checked each one of them besides Frazier while Frazier talked, making each Stone Eaters member strip off their armor and leave it off. In fact she took each one down to their underwear and only allowed them to put on their clothes after she had finished checking them over.
“And then we met up with Doarn’s team and headed back, uh yeah, that’s all I, I know that Franco could,” Frazier was saying until Master Helmric waved her off.
“Good enough enough for now. You will need to write all that up tomorrow. A proper adventuring tale if ever there was one.” He trilled in amusement.
“Verdict, Innosaa.” Helmric asked.
“Sarah’s hand will need to be reset soon, but besides that they need food and rest, oh and baths” she said. The last part got a laugh from the onlookers.
Helmric just nodded in satisfaction. “Captain Doran, will you go ask the mess to bring meals for everyone here and an extra potion for our heroes here.” Helmric said.
As Doran was leaving Helmric waved impatiently at the Gold Captains. “Ask.”
And then the questioning began in earnest and Franco was surprised at what they asked. Where some of them started their questioning and what details they wanted. Their group ate and answered questions while Frazier also got inspected by Innosaa. She really didn’t like being out of her armor but Innosaa made a point that all their gear would be washed before they could put it on again. They were an hour into the questioning when Captain Lacy of the Key Breakers, a Gold Rank team, asked the question that Franco had been waiting for.
“So, this huge sealed building that the chasm started or stopped against, that has a plaza with marble that after a fight is undamaged and has a company of equipped undead sleeping in front of. Any ideas what it is” she asked, her black hair long and loose, half covering her intense grey eyes.
Frazier answered, shaking her head. “Sadly no, we didn’t want to trip some ancient trap so we didn’t study it much.”
Franco turned his head to Oaken and took a sip of water from a cup, a smile coming to his face. He had learned he was not a coffee man this last hour.
“I know what it is,.” Oaken said into the brief silence.
Frazier and Sarah turned to him and then shot Maph and Franco a reproachful look. Franco smiled as Master Helmric trilled. Clear pride in his voice.
“My son indeed.”
Oaken had the room's attention and he settled himself before he spoke.
“It’s the Temple of Jade.”
Helmric jumped off his stool and trilled in excitement and slapped his tail against the floor before he started to pace the room.
“Oh my boy! You are as smart as your mother. Of course.” Helmric said as his three hands came together as he squeezed them in thought.
“Yes yes it must be that it makes too much sense.” Helmric muttered to himself as he paced. Captain Lacy coughed.
“Please explain,” she said. Oaken coughed to clear his throat, sat up straighter on his stool and took on a lecturing tone. Franco realized it was a trained tone. He wondered if Oaken had gone to some academy or school for rhetoric.
“Well where to start, yes at the beginning as they say. Jade was the first Goddess of this world for us, the Kimber. Although she is no longer worshiped by most Kimber. She was the Goddess of the mountain home, of the smith and the mine and of salvation.”
Oaken was stopped by a wave of a Gold captain. This one an elf. Lolateerum captain of Aspens Hollow.
“Get to the point. We do not need these details.” Lolateerum said.
“Well well, roughly 3000 years after the birth of the world or 8000 years in the past we have the first known mention of what would become Desanigh city.”
Lolateerum snapped his fingers at Oaken and said in a jokingly anger. “Do not toy with me, welp”.
Oaken smiled but continued. “You must all come to understand that the Goddess Jade or at least her Temple in Desanigh and the city of Desanigh have a long complicated history with each other from the city's beginning to its end. Gemport was a colony in that era, for a a vast and expanding Kimber Empire from the south and there is a now famous report from that Empire about a new and successful mining city being established east of Gemport and that it had found a treasure trove of a mountain with vast amounts of rare minerals. The official of this Empire that the report had been sent to asked for more details. The following report months later included that quality Jade had just been found also.” Oaken took a sip of his coffee as his tale started to capture the room.
“This Imperial official then responds saying this is perfect because he knows just the right Jade Priest to send to establish a temple and keep an eye on and the interest of the Emperor in mind over this new city. So you see the first city of Desanigh was built built on top of a mountain and the Temple of Jade was there from the beginning. It grew as the city did. When no more space was left above Desanigh turned their old mines into the city itself and kept digging. When the city first rebelled, the Jade priests opposed it. When it was reconquered the priests saved the people from vengeance. The Temple of Jade’s history is as long as Desanigh but what you need to know is that at the height of the Five Evils when that forsaken empire of my people fed millions of slaves into its hellish mines and millions more to their allies the Blood Court, the priest of Jade from their temple opposed them and had sense Desanigh adopted slavery. For the Jade priests had continued to add to their Temple for it was said that for every level of the mines of Desanigh the Temple of Jade was there first. It became a place of sanctuary for escaped slaves in the deepest mines at the time. At the peak of their wickedness the city of Desanigh had enough of the Temples open opposition. They hated the Jade Priests in the heart of their own Empire. So they sealed all but one entrance into the temple, the first one at the top of the mountain. Soon, as the story goes, that was not enough so they then prevented anyone from entering the temple. For three years this went by and the priests starved until one day the Last Master of The Temple walked out onto the front steps of the temple and denounced the city and its people. It’s said he prophesied the destruction of the city and how it would come, when the doors of the temple would reopen and more but at the end he reentered the Temple and sealed the doors behind him. The story or history says the city tried to enter but when they couldn’t they set a guard and left them to die. Desanigh was destroyed 11 years later.”
Oaken took a longer sip from his drink as the room watched him. Captain Lacy looked around at the silent room and shrugged.
“So it might be this Jade Temple of myth, can we get in and can we loot it if we do” she asked.
Both good questions Franco thought. Master Helmric looked at his son for a few moments and as if they had had a conversation Oaken coughed looking embarrassed he answered after a second.
“I think my team can can get us in”
“Why is that?” Captain Doran asked from where he was sitting. The only question he had asked all meeting.
Oaken got up from the stool he had been sitting on and went to his gear that Innosaa had made him take off. From one of the pockets of his adventurer belt he pulled something out. He cradled it in his third hand until he went back to the teams table and placed the item down. The entire room stood to see. It was jade, a perfectly cut jade coin maybe 3” across and an inch thick. Franco leaned over to see the fine detailing in the deep green coin. White lines running through the beautiful piece.
“I found this at the steps of the Temple. I think the undead had been trying to use them to open it. There were pieces of what must have been a hundred of these jade tokens lying around. This one was one of three intact ones I found. It says in older Kimber, carved right there.” Oaken pointed with his third hand at the jade token.
His voice was soft in wonder as he spoke. “Speak the truth of Desanigh and the Temple will know its friends. So I did. I held it in my hand and said Desanigh was evil and a shame on the Kimber, and and then it flashed and my name appeared on it. Oaken Finstrider, Friend to Jade.”
Master Helmric’s eyes were aglow with emotion as he walked over to stand next to his son. He was an inch or so taller and had the weight of years on him, his fur lighter in color and missing where old wounds and scars that stopped their growth. He stood to the right of Oaken so his left arm reached out and went in between his son's two right arms and the two Kimber embraced in a halfhung.
“My boy, my boy. A true Kimber, a Friend of Jade. A thing of myths made real. I’m proud my boy, good good.” Helmric said the words quietly to his son but the room was still, full of emotion at the moment. Helmric stepped back after the quick embrace and his third hand moved to wipe a few tears from his eyes.
“The Stone Eaters will be there when we open the temple or or try to” you could see Master Helmric composing himself as he spoke after that emotional moment and trying to be the experienced Expedition leader he was.
“and as to the Temple of Jade, if it is even that building we will be following the ‘historically significant’ rule.”
That drew a few groans and even a small boo from the Gold rank Captains but they didn't seem truly upset.
Franco looked around his team and it seemed most knew what that meant. “And that means” he asked the group.
Frazier answered him. “We still take all the artifacts and gold we find but leave the building itself and most of the other items alone. So no stripping the walls or floors, leaving most art and furniture alone as well.”
That seemed reasonable to him.
“Good good, the Temple of Jade is only one of many treasures we will find. Yes, many things to do. Let's get started, Mistress Bluescale please start the inspection of the items they brought out and Captains ask your questions. Tomorrow the dungeon will stay closed. Only guards in for now. Innosaa, let the rest know. And tomorrow the first caravan of new adventurers and two new merchants will set off from Gemport, so Frazier and Gold rank captains let us meet after breakfast tomorrow to decide how we will crack this clam open before we must share it with more.”
