“What be the problem this time?” Krazzik asked in exasperation as he fixed Bragden with an annoyed look.
“I done figured out what the mana core be, and there not be a single power within all the realms that wouldn’t truss us up like pigs for the slaughter to get their grubby hands on it!” The surly dwarf cried, throwing up his hands as he began pacing back and forth. ““The amount o’ potential in this here room alone would cause the entire armies o’ the Crag to march their way here and slaughter every one o’ us, and that be takin into account that the king be our likeliest o’ allies within the realms!”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me,” Glade sighed with a look of utter exhaustion. “But just to be clear, we are not in immediate danger now, correct?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Krazzik snorted. “Bragden here might just fall over either from his heart failing or his brain exploding. Seriously, my friend, this is yer third proclamation in the last two days that we’re all going to die. That’s a little much, even for you.”
“That’s because no one be listening to what I’m sayin!” Bragden stomped up to his chief and poked him in the chest. “Once word gets out, we will have armies on our slagging doorstep Kraz! Armies!!”
“What did you learn about the core?” Kedryn asked, attempting to change the direction of the conversation. While it had been entertaining the first few times, dwarven politics had begun to lose their entertainment value.
“It be a mnemonosian core,” Bragden snapped.
There was a moment’s pause as everyone else in the room stared at the dwarf uncomprehendingly.
“And a Mem…an…ogian core be a problem because…?” Krazzik drawled out.
“Mnemonosian ye goblin brained idiot!” Bragden snarled, looking for all the world like he was about to take a swing.
“Peace Bragden,” Glade said in a calm voice. “It’s clear we don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
After a tense moment where Bragden just flared his nostrils, he spun on his heel and stomped toward the desk. After unceremoniously brushing the skeletal remains from the chair, he sat down with a loud grunt.
“Mnemonosian are legendary titans found on the Astral Plane,” he explained in short, terse sentences. “It be said they are the Adjudicators own record keepers as they have a memory even better than Krazzik’s wife when she be pointin out his many faults.”
“She’s not the only one,” Krazzik said with a roll of his eyes.
“According to legend,” Bragden continued, ignoring the interruption, “they never forget anything. Not even the smallest detail, and we just happen to have one o’ their slagging cores bound to our slagging settlement!!” Bragden growled, his nostrils flaring as he glared at all of them.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kedryn asked. “I mean, it must give some pretty powerful bonuses.”
“Powerful bonuses?” Bragden scoffed. “That not even begin to scratch the surface o’ the slagging problem. Cores be talked about in the abstract. We all know they exist, but only the lucky, the rich, or the powerful can keep hold o’ them. And we have two o’ the bloody things attached to a thrice damned tri-pointed settlement core!”
“Don’t forget about the lesser core we got from the spider queen,” Kedryn added helpfully.
“Gah!” Bragden threw up his hands before sinking lower into his seat.
Glade shot Kedryn a glare that was clearly meant to say ‘not helping,’ which Kedryn didn’t think was fair. It was always important to have the facts when discussing weighty matters.
“That still doesn’t answer my original question,” Kedryn chimed in, trying again to nudge Bragden in the right direction. “What does the core do?”
Bragden grumbled before he finally flicked his fingers, causing a detailed holographic map of the hall, the entrance to the catacombs, and a handful of the surrounding structures to appear in front of them.
“This be a complete rendition o’ Storms’s Rest in its current state. As ye can see, it goes out only as far as the area o’ detection permits. And this,” he said, bringing up another map that hovered above the first, “be a perfect map o’ Storms’ Rest when it was in its prime.”
The two maps shrunk and expanded accordingly until they were synced, which made the first map extremely small. The second map was massive, covering hundreds of square miles in every direction. The keep alone was larger than they had originally thought, sitting on a rise overlooking a sprawling forest valley nestled in the mountains. Tall, thick walls of stone surrounded the keep, which contained beautifully intricate towers and structures that numbered in the dozens, if not hundreds. Everything from a small palace to stables to barracks lay on open display, and that was only the main keep. The village surrounding the walls was even larger.
Beyond the keep, Kedryn spied several locations of interest. He quickly found the mana well from earlier that day. There were even notations of several mines, outposts, and other areas of interest. They even had a complete map of the catacombs beneath their feet!
“This… is incredible!” Kedryn said in awe. “This could save months, if not years of exploration!”
“Aye, and this be the least o’ the cores powers,” Bragden said.
“I sure hope so,” Krazzik mumbled a little too loudly.
Bragden shot the dwarven chief such a withering glare Kedryn was surprised that Krazzik didn’t burst into open flame right then and there.
“Let’s see if this helps ye grasp how important this here core be,” Bragden growled. “The core done memorized the entirety o’ Storms’ Rest when it was at its best. Did ye notice when Glade repaired the hall that not only the walls and ceiling were fixed, but the very rugs, tables, chairs, and windows were restored?”
They all nodded.
“That was because o’ the Mnemosyn core. It took a memory snapshot o’ everythin in that room that wasn’t organic in nature and recreated it. The same thing happened when we restored this here vault. Every paper, book, coin, or gem was restored and cleaned to perfection, which also includeg any o’ the enchantments.”
“That was the settlement core at work,” Krazzik said dismissively. “Not yer me-mo-nozh… Bah! Whatever it be called, it wasn’t the core!”
“I think I get it,” Kedryn said, his excitement growing as he worked out what Bragden was trying to explain. “The settlement core provides the means to recreate something, but the mnemonosian core provides the blueprints. Otherwise, the settlement would only be able to build what you directed it to build.”
“The royal has proven yet again that he has the bigger brain out you lot,” Bragden grumbled. “But this goes beyond just rebuilding structures. Here, let me show you.”
Bragden grabbed a couple of shards from his pouch before closing his eyes. The shards crumbled and the settlement core pulsed.
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Everything in the room reset to the way they had found it. The papers were once again neatly stacked on the desk, the gold they had found vanished, and the secret panel was once again closed, all its contents having disappeared.
It took only a matter of moments to find the items were back in their original places, except the skeleton and the wand. Those stayed in place. When they opened the secret panel back up, they found the spell book, scrolls, and everything else in its place. Except, instead of four archery skill scrolls, there were now three.
“That was a neat trick,” Krazzik said after a few moments of looking around. “But it still not be anything grand, just means it can clean up the area right nice. Sounds like somethin me mum would appreciate more’n some army.”
“How many scrolls did ye use?” Bragden asked, ignoring Krazzik.
“Two archery skill scrolls,” Glade answered.
“That means that if’n we were just cleanin up, there would only be two scrolls left. Instead, there be three. I didn’t have enough mana to recreate the last skill scroll, but I can once I regenerate another 80 points.”
Krazzik’s head snapped up, his eyes widening. “Yer not sayin…”
“Aye,” Bragden sighed, slumping in his chair. “The mnemonosian core allows the settlement to restore or recreate anythin it remembers down to the smallest detail, so long as it not be organic in nature, the materials needed be readily available, and ye can pay the mana cost.”
“So, if we take the gold coins outside of the settlement’s area of detection, it can recreate the money?” Kedryn asked with a massive grin. Visions of gold raining from the heavens and filling his pockets danced in his mind’s eye.
“Did ye not hear what I just said?” Bragden snapped. “The core don’t make things out o’ thin air. It needs the materials to recreate it. Ye’d have to have raw gold available to make it possible. The scroll was cheap to make because the raw materials apparently be easily accessible within the our current area o’ affect.”
“But it still made the scroll to the same specifications as before,” Glade stated, examining said scroll in his hands. “Which means we can use this ability to get everyone into the trainee ranks for archery, spear, and field medicine so long as we have the mana.”
“Aye, now yer seein a smidge o’ potential this here core gives us when combined with the settlement core,” Bragden said.
“But why didn’t it put the slagging skeleton back together, or move the wand back to its original spot?” Krazzik interjected.
“Because it don’t work on organic material,” Bragden replied. “That and whoever this poor sod was likely wasn’t part o’ the original scan.”
“But wood and paper are organic,” Kedryn frowned. “The core restored the desks and papers to mint condition.”
“Stop pokin holes in me explanations,” Bragden glared at him. “The core recognized those as somethin it can work with. End o’ story.”
Kedryn didn’t think that was the end of the story at all. How could someone maximize the core’s potential when they didn’t understand its boundaries? He would need to experiment with it later. Could they recreate food? What about enchantments? Even better, could they make more mana shards using this process?
“Does this mean we can have the core rescan the settlement so we can make extra food and clothing for our people?” Glade asked, apparently thinking along the same lines as Kedryn.
“The core doesn’t recognize food,” Bragden said with a shake of his head. “Besides, we don’t want to reset the mnemonosian core memory just yet. If’n we do, we will lose everything it recorded,” he pointed to the map again, zooming in on the keep. “Which means we will lose the ability to completely rebuild Storms’ Rest as it once was, along with everything that it had in it. See this building here?” he asked, pointing to a large structure close to the gates.
“This here be the armory. Do ye really want to lose out on whatever weapons they had in there? What about this here smithy? Or the alchemy lab?” Bragden asked before zooming in on a large building in the middle of the compound. It was easily three or four stories tall with a dome on the roof and multiple subterranean levels. “And this here be the settlement’s training hall and archives. I’ll be dead and buried before I let any o’ you mess with the chance to restore that!”
Everyone paused, realizing the magnitude and scope of the mnemonosian core’s power.
“Why can’t we see the core and its abilities on the settlement interface?” Glade finally asked.
“Me guess is that it be a protective measure. I don’t think the last Master o’ Storms fully trusted this secret with his own council,” Bragden said carefully. “And I don’t think we should share it either.”
“Agreed,” Glade said. “Just us four then. We still have some searching to do. Kedryn, how about you and Krazzik look through the armoire and for any other secret compartments? I’ll help Bragden with identifying the other items.”
It took only a few minutes of searching, but they found a few blankets, several changes of clothes that were miraculously his size, a couple of cloaks, and a pair of leather boots that were also his size. But it was the last section they opened that brought a smile to his face. It was where the weapons were kept.
Several shelves were empty, but there was a bow, a quiver of arrows, and what looked like leather armor.
You have found an Elvin Bow of Extended Flight. Extends maximum range for any arrow fired using this bow by an additional 20 yards.
Durability: 125/125
Grade: Well Made
Rarity: Unique
Weight: 2.3 lbs
Value: Unknown
You have found a quiver of Elvin Arrows, +1 (x24). Increased accuracy by 5% and damage by +1.
Durability: 25/25
Attack: 9-12 damage
Rarity: Uncommon
Weight: .3 lbs
Value: Unknown
You have found an Elvin Leather Cuirass of Movement. Increases base movement through any terrain by 15%.
Durability: 125/125
Defense: +3
Rarity: Unique
Weight: 2.3 lbs
Value: Unknown
Kedryn looked down at his elaborate red and white robes and back up to the armor and weapons, wondering how well they would fit. It wasn’t that he minded the robes, but he was a bit tired of walking around with bare legs, especially when he tried to run. Besides, there were a pair of pants and boots that matched the cuirass perfectly.
“I think that was probably the best find yet!” Glade chuckled as Kedryn changed out of his robes.
“You’re not wrong,” Kedryn replied with a satisfied smile. The clothes fit like a dream! He never knew how much he would miss a good pair of pants!
“Bah! Just some elvish hand me downs. Not even a good pair o’ socks,” Krazzik said as he pulled out a small wooden box from the bottom of the armoire. “Now let’s see what we have here…”
Kedryn looked over Krazziks shoulder as his friend lifted the lid. Several vials of red and pale blue liquid were piled carefully inside. He didn’t waste any time identifying them.
“Oho!” Krazzik called out. “Would ye look at these! Health and mana potions!”
“Let me see ‘em,” Bragden said, walking over to inspect the potions. After a brief look the surly dwarf gave a low whistle. “Someone with real talent made these. Ye don’t even have to use yer processing technique to make ‘em work. Those be worth at least a few silver a vial.”
They carefully set the box next to the pile of treasure they had found and continued looking. They found nothing else of significant value, nor did they find any other secret compartments. While Bragden wasn’t able to identify the potion or mana stones, the mana gems were a pleasant surprise. They now had a combination of earth, light, shadow, and water mana gems.
Unfortunately, no one in their party could use the spell book. At least, not until either Glade or Kedryn opened their air channels.
All in all, it was a great haul. Not quite the mountains of gold they had envisioned, but no one other than Bragden was complaining either.
They all collectively chose to leave most of the treasure in the vault seeing as the room was their most secure location. With plans to sneak back to get some much-needed sleep on the bed, Kedryn and others left.
In a flash of light, they returned to the hall and were greeted by one more surprise.
“Riya!” Kedryn called excitedly. “You’re back! Did you pass?”
Riya set down the ice drake she was eating and marched toward the group with a determined look.
“I passed my judgements,” she said without preamble. “Afterwards, I was given a quest by the Adjudicator of Honor.”
A notification suddenly appeared, one that both he and Glade received at the same time.
You have been offered a quest: Bring her Home II. Da’Riya Ab’Loshere has been separated from her people. As heir to the Loshere House, she must find her way home with all haste to avert an unknown disaster. Will you assist Glade in returning his charge to her people within the next 60 days?
Reward: Increased regard from Da’Riya Ab’Loshere and House Loshere; 8,000 XP; Unknown.
Do you accept?
Yes/No
“My people are in grave danger,” Riya said after Kedryn and Glade read through the quest. “Will you come with me to save them?”