It’s been about a week since our little “intervention” in the conference room. You’d think things would’ve settled down by now, but life never seems to work like that, does it?
Rheka’s been recovering. I’m always surprised how fast she bounces back. Tough little brat. Her energy was back up to normal within a couple of days. If anything, I think she might’ve been more frustrated about being forced to rest than the injuries themselves. Always the same with that kid.
Zilra, on the other hand... Well, let’s just say she’s not exactly built the same. She’s still in and out, taking longer to recover from the wounds she got at the temple. I visited once or twice - mainly because Tavrin dragged me there - and every time, Zilra made some snarky remark about how she’s “missing out on all the fun” while she’s bedridden. It’s like she’s genuinely pissed that she’s not able to get into more trouble. Can’t say I understand the sentiment, but to each their own, I suppose.
Meanwhile, the whole family drama thing... I’d like to say it’s blown over, but that’d be a straight-up lie. That little shouting match in the conference room was still ringing in my ears. Urs has been, let’s say, extra watchful. It’s like he’s waiting for one of us to break something or charge into another hellhole. Not that we would. Well, not immediately, at least.
Who am I kidding here?
Vrintas is still around, though I have not the faintest clue of what he's been up to. He's been subtle with his presence. Almost like he’s trying not to get caught at something. I went over everything he'd said in my head and well... I get it, in a way. He’s pushing for independence, trying to light that spark in us to learn and explore. That's what he'd always been doing. But... I don't know. Some of our more recent adventures had gotten me thinking again. There’s a line between nudging someone toward their potential and, you know, letting them almost get squashed by a stone golem.
It all felt more... safe when he was still around to be with us on our learning adventures.
Speaking of which, training’s been steady, though it felt a bit off without Rheka there. With her laid up, Themion’s had me running through exercises solo. Maybe he was just relieved to not have a kid constantly trying to skip theory for flashy spells, but for me? It was kind of... dull.
I missed the chaos she brought, as much as I’d never admit it.
Weird how things change.
Not like there wasn't some chaos around. Thanks to our newest... companion. Kyris had thrown himself right into our training, as if it was the most fun he’d had in centuries. Our tutors didn't mind a single bit. Tavrin was still getting used to it, but Kyris didn't really give him a choice - dragging him into drills and mock fights whenever the chance presented itself. Well, Kyris did all the fighting, Tavrin just tried to rein him in. At least the boy had a reason to be around now. It felt like he'd just been tagging along without contributing much so far. Especially, during the last encounter we had.
It's a miracle they haven't collapsed the whole palace with an earthquake yet.
Themion seemed to approve, though. He’s got that soft smile on his face whenever Kyris and Tavrin made any kind of progress, like watching a couple of kids figuring out how to ride a bike.
And then there was Damarion. Gruff as always, keeping his training as brutal as ever. Still treating me like a soldier prepping for war. Honestly, I’m half-convinced that’s what he’s doing. Every time I think I’ve got the hang of his drills, he throws a curveball to keep me on my toes. It’s exhausting, but hey, maybe that's the point. Learn to stay sharp. Or just learn to suffer in silence.
I could tell he was warming up to the duo, especially since Kyris kept things... unpredictable. I think that suited Damarion just fine. Forced everyone to adapt, to stay sharp. Or, in his words, “to fight like your life depends on it.”
And, yeah, it usually did.
Training was... different with Kyris around. There was less formality and way more banter. One moment he'd be offering advice on how to “punch a rock without breaking your fingers,” and the next he'd be shifting into some giant rock-beast to chase us around like we’re mice. Good fun. For him, at least. Tavrin’s usually left scrambling to keep up, and I can’t say I blame him.
Still, there was something almost refreshing about Kyris' approach. Made everything feel a little less like a regimented, “stand up straight and don’t mess up” kind of ordeal. A bit of chaos, sure, but... the... right kind of chaos. Like tossing a stone into a still pond, forcing the water to move again.
Maybe that was just what we needed.
As for everything else... well, the King’s request was still replaying in my head like a broken record. That little private chat we had. “Unique perspective.” Erderus said. Hard to tell if that’s supposed to be a compliment or a polite way of saying “You’re trouble, but useful.” Either way, I’ve got my assignment - digging up whatever I can at the brain temple.
Supposedly a temple of knowledge.
Who could've guessed?
I doubt it'll be as glamorous as it sounds. Probably a bunch of monks spouting philosophy and old scrolls crammed in dusty corners.
***
There were a couple things we had to do before we headed to the temple though. First off was the Scourger's Guild. I still couldn't entirely wrap my head around that name. Everything in there just screamed Adventurer, so why not just go with that? I hadn't heard anyone calling themselves a Scourger either.
Scourger. So grotesque.
We entered through the guild's massive bronze doors before a booming voice shook me out of my thoughts. A familiar voice. With a familiar golden mane. The Guildmaster had spotted us before we could even properly step inside.
"Dragon's dicks! 'Thought you guys were dead'n gone!" Tyrius stomped over, causing the whole guild's floor to shake slightly.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
I squinted my eyes from the sudden shade he threw by just standing in front of us. "We're alive. Barely."
The Guildmaster went on a laughing fit for no reason. "Half of ya' anyway! What happened to the rest?"
"Still recovering. We got held up but now we're here. We'd like to collect our... bounty, I guess?"
Tyrius put his massive hand to his chin, grinning. "Bounty, huh? For the golems I assume?"
Motherf-
"What? You knew!?" I shouted.
"'Course not! 'Course not!" He held his hands down in front of me. As if I was a threat to this monster of a human. "Got the reports and all, but they couldn't find ya, so here I was thinkin' y'all got crushed under some big boulder!"
The reports. From all those people that weren't there to bloody help us I bet.
Then he began to laugh again. "Even put bets on y'all's heads. Got me a whole mountain of Talons now it looks like, so thanks for that!"
"Happy to be of service!" Kyris shouted with more enthusiasm than necessary. "We await a generous reward!"
"And now would be great." I added.
"Sure you do. Y'all waste no time I see." Tyrius said. Then he pulled out a small brown pouch from his pockets, handing it to Tavrin. "Should be 'nuff for you all in there."
Where... where did he pull that from? Does this man just carry around sacks of cash? And how does he know how much to give us? Oh whatever, it sounded heavy enough.
"Alright, now that you kids are in business, there's a-"
"Not interested, thanks." I said while I turned around to leave.
Tyrius didn't seem to mind though, judging by the laughing fit he went on after. "We'll see you next time, dragon!"
As if.
I heard the gigantic bronze doors shut behind us as we stepped back into daylight.
How the hell do those even move?
Kyris hopped onto my back. He was surprisingly light, even at his size. "That's a bummer, I was curious to see what he had in stock for us."
"Trust me you don't want to know. That place we found you in was supposed to be beginner-friendly, according to him."
"Was for me?" Kyris said, stretching himself on me.
"Great that you think so. Sadly not all of us can turn into giant rock monsters." I scoffed.
Then he hopped off. "Sadly." He repeated.
"Where are we headed next?" Tavrin asked, grabbing Kyris by the back of his neck as if he was a cat.
"Middle quarter. Marketplace."
***
The market was even busier than usual. If that was even possible. Squeezing through the packed main street was a colossal task. I really wanted to avoid getting stepped on. It seemed as though our little golem encounter had given me some form of stomping PTSD. I'll add that to the list of the other hundred traumas I had at this point.
Despite the asphyxiating mass of people I knew exactly where to go. Less people meant we were going in the right direction. It was time to head back into the shady district. This place felt more like home than any other home we'd had so far. I know that number's like two, but still.
The corner-stall we were headed to was hidded behind some abandoned, tattered tent. An old, torn white banner hung from the side of its roof. Depicted on said banner was a black sickle. Or... at least that's what it was supposed to look like. The stall was empty, with only a thin silhouette hammering away at something in the back. You could count the hair he'd left on his head with two hands. Most of those seemed to have migrated to the back of his neck.
We had found our man.
"Salutations Sichel, my dear friend!" I shouted through the stall, interrupting his interval of hammering.
The blacksmith froze mid-swing, dropping his hammer. “Enk's balls.” he mumbled, turning to face us with a sour look that matched the grime on his face. “Didn’t think I’d see you kids back so soon.”
He sighed. “Got better things to do than humor little schemes, you know.”
“And yet, here we are!” I said cheerfully, ignoring the side-eye Kyris shot me. “How’s our little... side project going?”
Sichel gave a weary groan, running a hand over his sparse hair. “Complicated, as always. Coins don’t chip themselves, you know? You ask me to make you Talons look right, then look wrong, then look right again.” He shook his head. “I don't like taking all the heat for this. Only so many times I can bend these metals without some lord or other getting suspicious.”
“Well, we brought you something that might help with the... bending.” I said, tapping Tavrin on the shoulder. “The Talons?”
Tavrin reached into his pocket and pulled out our freshly acquired currency. He handed it over, and Sichel took it without so much as a smile. He poured a few into his hand, holding up a couple to the sunlight like they were some religious artifact.
And yeah, they almost were, in a way. Gipuzki Silver Talons, polished and engraved with the royal crest of Juskarria - a double-headed wyvern with outstretched wings. These were the middlemen of the currency world. Below them were Gipuzki Copper Talons, the grubby little coins meant for daily trades and peasantry business. Then above them, the ever-rare Gipuzki Gold Talons, which you probably wouldn’t even get to see unless you were nobility, or just very lucky.
And if you've been paying attention you might've noticed a naming trend here. These were Gipuzki Talons for a reason. Every region in the Kingdom of Juskarria minted its own coins. One way or another. The values of the talons are not set in stone, they are determined by the purity of the metal that makes up the talon. In short, the more silver in a silver talon the more valuable the talon. The purity of talons are constantly changing; going up and down. The rise and decline of the worth of these talons depends on the particular region a talon was minted from. In Gipuzk, and the region around it, a Gold Talon was worth about 35 Silver Talons, and a Silver worth two dozen Copper. Right now.
Can you see how this system's a bit... inconvenient?
Every coin was made with a unique mix of metals, including Finster- and Klarsteel. Impossible to counterfeit unless you had a... creative blacksmith. Like Sichel here.
Debasement, as they call it, was an art. A risky art, sure, but one that came with the right rewards if you played your hand carefully. In essence, it was about making money out of money - a clever, albeit obviously illegal, way to stretch the value of a coin.
The trick was simple, really. You shave off just a bit of metal from the edges of each Talon, not enough to notice but enough to melt down and recast into more Talons. It’s a slow process and requires some finesse, especially since every Talon has its own design, weight, and metal mix. A Silver Talon, for instance, isn’t just pure silver - it’s an alloy, mixed with lesser metals to give it just the right weight and feel. And they make it that way to prevent exactly what we’re doing.
So what’s the point, you ask? Well, once you've chipped away enough from the original Talons, you can melt down those shavings, add a bit of your own cheap filler metal - fake Finster or Klar for example - and create more Talons to pass off as real. Essentially, you’re turning a single Silver Talon into two or three, depending on how sneaky you’re willing to get.
Of course, it’s not foolproof. Get caught passing off fake Talons, and you’re as good as finished - if not worse. And then there's the risk of overdoing it; make the coins too light, and someone will notice. Make them too heavy, and you might as well be yelling that you’ve been tampering with the money.
It’s a delicate balance, but if Sichel can pull it off, we’ll have more Silver Talons than we know what to do with. And maybe even enough to trade up to a few Gold Talons one day. Now that’s a dream worth chasing.
Sichel nodded begrudgingly, pocketing the coins. “This’ll get me through for a bit, but listen - if you want more after this, it’ll take time. More time than this. And Talons. Don’t think you can just waltz in here like you own the place because of your little threats.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” I gave him a nod, trying to look as sincere as I could. “We’re all about fair profit, right?”
“Right.” Sichel grunted, clearly not buying my act. “Now clear out. You’re bad for business. And don't come back so soon."
“We’ll be out of your hair.” I said, motioning for Tavrin to grab Kyris and make our exit.
We ducked back into the crowded street, Tavrin grumbling under his breath. “Think he’ll actually get the work done?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Or he’ll pocket the Talons and skip town. Who knows? But if he’s got any sense, he’ll stay put. Otherwise... we’ll make sure he finds his sense.”
Kyris perked up, climbing onto Tavrin’s shoulder again. “So, what now? Temple time?”
“Yes, we’re done here.” I nodded, flicking my tail as we headed back toward the less crowded roads.
“Temple time.”