Fin woke late in the morning and found the pile of gold he woke with was less than what he had fallen asleep with. He glared at Void, who was resting innocently on Brando's chest. In response to Fin's accusations, the silver ball of thievery explained that it was only taking its rightful share. He was about to share his displeasure with the sprite but caught his reflection in the mirror. Some of the hair he had grown on his face was missing in perfectly round patches. He beckoned Void to his hand, and after instructing it to turn gold, he dragged it over his face. It was the smoothest shave he had ever gotten, and Void didn't seem to mind, so he inferred the creature had at least one useful quality.

Soon, Brando was awake, and when they were both ready, they set out on their daily routine. They checked in with the armor smith, dropped off the gold, and went to the mine. The days came and went, each day bringing new surprises. Void showed itself useful, burrowing into the stone and allowing Fin to reach in and pluck out whatever it left behind. However, not all surprises were welcome.

The gathered dwarves waiting for the 'Fin the Gold Scry' had steadily increased, but the amount of gold collected at the end of the day had decreased. Fin directed the dwarves to work together to tunnel further into the rock in various places as the easily accessible veins had all but depleted. This worked in Fin's favor as the team wouldn't need redirecting the next day. There was the problem of purchasing support beams, which Fin would sometimes need to split the cost with the miners who happily installed them in growing mine shafts.

Finally, Fin and Brando's concerns about having such a large following and drawing the wrong attention were realized. One morning, when they were about to enter the mine, they were intercepted by an official surrounded by uniformly dressed guards.

"Good morning, Fin the Gold Scry and Brando the Collector," a dwarf said with a grim look. "The boss would like to have a word with you. Will you follow me?"

Brando took the situation stoically and directed the official to "Lead the way."

They were led around the mine entrance to the left, through a passageway, and up a winding stairway surrounded by weapons pointing menacingly upward. The armed and armored dwarves escorted them to a top-floor office, where a female dwarf sat behind a desk waiting for them.

"I am Marriam Dunkle, the owner of this mine and establishment," she said, pointing at two small chairs in front of the desk. "Please, have a seat."

Fin sat while Brando looked dubiously at the tiny chair. He gingerly lowered himself into a seated position below knee level with an irritated look.

Marriam continued without ceremony, "In the past weeks, the mine has seen a significant increase in production. So much so that I began looking into what was causing the spike in income. Do you know what I discovered? I found you two. I did some digging, so to speak; it turns out that while you were leading the greatest expedition this mine has seen in forty years, you have yet to take even an ounce of gold out of the mines yourself. However, I have it on good authority that you have collected a significant portion of the claimed gold. Hence, the honorific, Brando the Collector. Do one of you care to explain this anomaly?"

The question hung in the air for several palpable heartbeats before Brando spoke, "Are you implying that we have some kind of undetectable pocket we can put gold in that makes us able to sneak past your security without paying your exorbitant fees?"

"I am implying that I could have you arrested at a word," Marriam stated coldly. "However, I am willing to overlook certain unscrupulous deeds if you are willing to solve the riddle of how one of you can find the gold and how the other is making it disappear."

Fin considered the offer before unstowing the oath stone. He didn't know how or if it worked, but it made him feel more comfortable with what he was about to do, if only in a superstitious way. He placed it on the counter, causing the guards to visibly tense.

"What is this?" Marriam asked, looking at the rock.

"Hold it in your hand and swear that whatever I tell you, you will not repeat it to anyone else," Fin said with a serious edge to his voice. "Also, that you will, in fact, absolve us of any potential unscrupulous deeds. After you make the promise, I will tell you and no one else."

"And say that you won't kick us out of the mine," Brando added. "There's a lot of people depending on us down there."

Marriam picked up the oath stone quizzically. "A rock?"

"Yes," Fin stated. "It's an oath stone. I'm certain you will keep any promises you make while holding it."

"I promise not to call you crazy," Marriam said, holding the rock to her forehead. With the next breath, she proclaimed, "You are absolutely insane."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"You didn't call him crazy, though," Brando chimed in with a point of his finger.

Marriam called both of them crazy, which caused Fin to frown. He stood up to reach for the rock, but he was stopped with two spears to his throat.

Marriam waved for the guards to stand down.

"You can wait outside," she said, placing the rock into Fin's waiting hand. "I have sent my guards away and agree to your terms. If you tell me, I will take your secrets to my grave and not stop you from entering my mine. Why would I? You've made me a lot of money."

Without hesitation, Fin confessed everything, "I have a secret pocket where I can carry things around completely undetected, and I can see gold through walls."

Marriam called for the guards. When they rushed in, Fin spoke rapidly to keep from getting skewered. "I swear, I'm not lying," he said, holding his hands up. "Test me, I'll show you."

Marriam held up a hand and addressed her guards, "Go get Genris, have him open the vault. Bring twelve chests, empty half of them, and fill them with rocks. Make sure Genris keeps everything organized."

The guard bowed and left the room. Marriam instructed the other guards to help. When they had left, she leveled her gaze on Fin. "You will find that I do not have the patience for misdirection or glib remarks," she warned, reclaiming her seat. "If you are unable to substantiate your claim, I will have you arrested, and we can repeat this conversation a year from today."

Fin barely registered the threat, as something else had caught his attention. A massive, double-sided war hammer was hanging on the wall of Marriam's office. On one side, the hammer was square and flared out at the end; on the other, it had a round spike. The handle was as long as most swords were long and wrapped with old, cracked leather. The weapon looked too gaudy and unwieldy to interest him; the colorless glow from the hammer caught his attention. Fin stood up from his squat chair and walked absent-mindedly toward the hammer. It hung propped up on the wall with a hook.

Marriam watched as Fin brushed his fingers over the simple design work etched into the side of the hammer. "That is a forgery of the Gladrohm Hammer," She said, approaching, taking it off the wall, and giving it several one-handed swings. "My grandfather bought it from a merchant who swore to its authenticity. Only after my grandfather bought it did he learn that the actual Gladrohm Hammer was made from a combination of metals too heavy to allow such a one-handed swing from his granddaughter. I keep it to remind me not to make the same mistake as he did. The hammer was as expensive as it was fake."

"May I?" Fin said, holding out his hand.

Marriam placed the hammer in Fin's hand and gave it several test swings.

"It's lighter than it looks," he marveled.

"Yes, and it would break in half with a breath," Marriam said with dismissal.

Fin wasn't so sure. The magic glow of the hammer indicated that if it wasn't an authentic piece, there was at least something special about it. He searched his stats to find some inkling of what the magic did. His eyes fell to his Strength stat, and his brows lifted ever so slightly. He hung it up on the hook and grasped it again, retaking its full weight. His strength went from negative nine to eleven each time he picked it up. Whatever the Gladrohm Hammer was, this was probably it.

* Treasure Quest Complete: Identify treasures with resourceful means. +1 Active Ability

* Active Ability: Identify

Fin had already been looking at his status when the notification appeared. He immediately activated the Identify ability on the hammer and found he was, in fact, holding the Gladrohm Hammer. It gave a stat boost of twenty to strength. He did not know how he felt about Marriam yet, so he didn't voice his discovery out loud. Instead, he hung up the hammer and gave it a compliment.

"It looks good," Fin said, returning to his chair. "The grip needs to be replaced."

"I'll take that into consideration next time I use the decoration in battle," Marriam remarked.

The conversation dwindled into silence as the three sat and waited for the chests to arrive. When guards started carrying small, unassuming boxes through the door, Fin nearly sighed in relief. He stood and faced the wall until the guards had set the boxes down. Even without the ability to see the contents, he could tell which ones looked lighter, and he wanted to eliminate any doubts about his abilities.

"Instead of watching the chests for hints of their contents, you turn your back," Marriam said, noticing what Fin was doing. "I am intrigued but not convinced. Go ahead and point to the boxes with gold in them."

Fin turned to inspect the neat row of chests. They were uniformly spread out, so every other box contained neatly stacked gold coins. He couldn't see the contents of the other chests except for one. Inside the second to the last box lay a gold bit as big as the tip of his little finger.

"Every other box has gold starting from the second," Fin said after another brief glance. "Shall I open them?"

Marriam rushed to the first box and snapped the lid open. She then moved down the line of chests, opening every other one. A look of pure shock crossed her face for the briefest moment before she regained composure.

"Can you really see through boxes, or is there some trick that I'm missing?" She asked skeptically.

"What would you be willing to wager that this box also contains gold?" Fin lifted a foot and set it on the second to the last box.

"Impossible," Marriam stated. "You heard me give the order; only half were to contain gold."

"Would you bet the hammer there is no gold in this box?" Fin asked, trying to contain his excitement.

Instead of taking the bet, Marriam pulled the box out from under Fin's foot, unlatched the lid, and dumped the contents on the floor. Grey rocks spilled out over the carpet, and Marriam cocked an eyebrow.

"What were you saying?" She asked, arms folded in front of her petite frame.

Fin plucked a single rock off the floor and held it up in the air, "I'm asking you to wager the hammer that there's gold in this rock."

"If there's gold in that rock," she said, pausing for consideration. "You can keep the hammer, but in return, I need something from you. You have to help me purchase some property that will reimburse my family for the price of it."