Zerine was stretching on the floor of her room. The day prior had been quite the eventful one, but it led to things that were still running through her mind. Kamar and Valnari had come back after the rest of the group had left, excited about how she would live with them after her sixteenth birthday. At the time, Zerine was excited, but now she guessed there would be quite a lot of strings attached. Was she excited? Yes, of course she was. It would be practice before she left to go to the adventurer academy. The only thing making her less excited was wondering what exactly was waiting for her. Knowing her parents and their friends, it probably wouldn’t be anything easy. She just hoped it would be fun.
Her stretching was interrupted as Varino and Kimi came into the room, followed by a woman that Zerine had never met. She had curly dirty blonde hair, with light green eyes, and light brown skin. Her movements reminded Zerine of her mother’s and Sashi’s. That smooth and controlled stride, coupled with the woman's perfect posture, hinted towards a seasoned fighter, that or a dancer who had perfect control over her body, but Zerine was leaning towards the latter.
“Hey, you two, come to watch me fumble about while I get used to moving around again,” Zerine wondered.
Varino chimed, cheering her on, while Kimi clicked, saying they brought company.
“I see you brought someone along.” Zerine got to her feet slowly. “Hi, I’m Zerine. You’ll have to forgive me for my state I wasn’t expecting visitors today,” Zerine said, bowing slightly. She was only wearing her nightclothes, which, with the nights beginning to turn cooler, were cotton-like pants and a short-sleeve shirt.
“Oh, no worries. But let me introduce myself,” the woman said, bowing her head to Zerine. “I am Kelnarin, a Runic Queen and Kimi’s mother.” The way she said Kimi hinted at her finding the name amusing, or maybe she liked it. Zerine couldn’t really tell, as she was currently suppressing her instincts being back home. The impressions were there, but she would not pay attention to them.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’ll just change behind this divider. Excuse me for a moment,” Zerine said, before steeping behind a room divider and quickly changing.
“I was under the impression it would be another day before you were expected to be moving around?” Kelnarin wondered. Her gaze examined the room curiously. One wall had weapon stands holding all manner of wooden weapons. It was a rather surprising selection. It went from great swords of different verites, all the way down to different types of knives.
All for practicing? Hmm, she is dedicated. Then there is that wall. Impressive, she thought. Her gaze had shifted to the wall behind Zerine’s desk. It was covered with papers marked with magical arrays, runes, sigils, and ritual magic markings. She even saw a third of it was related to alchemy.
“That would be correct. But today I can move about the room alright. It means I can have a nice bath without Varino lifting me up in a gust of wind, then dunking me into a ball of levitating water,” Zerine said. She let out an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, I’m over sharing. It’s-” Zerine let out a sigh. “I’m still getting used to being home.”
Kelnarin smiled, watching as Varino and Kimi bounce on the bed. Her smile grew at Zerine’s words.
“I’m not a queen in status, so we can keep this conversation casual. But if you ever meet someone like me in the outer world, consider them equal to a viscountess or countess. Only the ones on the High Council are considered true queens.”
“Oh, thanks for letting me know. I still haven’t gotten to my research on Runic Spiders since being back. But I do plan on it…eventually,” she said. She had come out from behind the divider wearing plain black training robes. At her final word, her gaze went to the stack of books on the desk, then the stack on her bedside table.
“I see you are quite the reader. I have to say I am impressed by your wall of runic magic,” Kelnarin said, waving a hand and a sheet of paper with a complex magic array on it flew to her hand.
Zerine sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the wall fondly. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t like this type of magic at first.”
“Oh? I believe you have a talent for it,” Kelnarin commented, looking up from the magical array. It was impressive for someone without a crest to produce what, in her eyes, was an efficient array incorporating storm elemental magic.
“I was a bit resentful for a while there. It felt like learning runes and magic related topics was useless for me. History made sense to me. It gives context about current conflicts, magic events, and more. Runes and arrays truly seemed foreign to me. It still kinda does at times,” Zerine said with a sad smile. “But all that free time, while everyone learned about magic, allowed me to discover that all of this,” she gestured to the wall, “has a logic to it. Well, for the most part, we all know magic will respond to intention as much as runes,” she said with a bright smile now. “But there’s an artistry to every magical array, clever confluence of runes, and patterns. Sorry, I’m rambling. I don’t if Kimi told you, but I am awkward around…most people,” she said sheepishly.
Kelnarin gave Zerine a warm smile, which was when Zerine noticed Kelnarin’s pointed ears like an elf just poking out from her curls.
“I agree with you on the runic based magic, not the awkward part. From what Kimi told me, you're fine with everyone, but like many of your kind, you over think things. But I wouldn’t give up on this.” She tapped the paper she held in her hands. “You certainly have a talent for it, even if it was a talent forged by hard work. I prefer talents we make ourselves versus those we were naturally good at, don’t you?”
“I wish I felt like I had a natural talent at something,” Zerine grumbled, which made Kelnarin laugh. “But I agree.”
Kimi clicked, saying she agreed with her mother, while Varino asked if she was naturally good at something. Kimi answered before Zerine could. The spider had the same thoughts as Zerine. “You’re good at creating chaos.”
The group all laughed. Varino feigned being hurt, but joined in the laughter.
“Well, I sadly must bring the mood down. Kimi and I will be leaving to go back to our hive. She will need to get used to her new abilities as a queen, and only Runic Spiders can guide her during this time. Although working with Lady Adunita was an incredible opportunity, but we must depart today,” Kelnarin said.
“Will we ever see each other again?” Zerine wondered. They may have spent less than a month together, but Kimi had truly become part of their team, no not just that, but close friends. She found her throat tightening. Zerine didn’t have many friends having one leave like this, well, it sucked.
Kimi clicked and hissed, waving a foreleg, then patted Zerine’s leg. She had said that it would only be a few years. But she wanted to join them on their journey around the world. At that, Varino burst into happy and sad, burbling sobs hugging Kimi. The spirit couldn’t shed tears, but could still cry. Zerine joined their embrace. They stayed like that for a time.
Kelnarin looked on fondly. It was good that Kimi made friends outside of the hive. It would broaden her perspective and expand her opportunities while growing as a queen. They still didn’t exactly know what kind of variant queen Kimi was. All Kelnarin knew for certain was that her daughter had to keep growing because she could feel that Kimi could become something incredible. And with her Karmic and divination abilities, that feeling meant something.
After they separated, Varino whistled, promising to have Zerine write many letters for her.
“Hey, you know how to read and write,” Zerine said. Varino chimed, holding up her tiny hands. “True, your handwriting is tiny and kinda hard to read on the good days. You know what, fine. Kimi, we will write often and when we meet up again, we are gonna have so many stories to share.”
Kimi clicked happily.
“Good, that twill give Kimi a reason to get better at reading and writing. And don’t worry about contacting us. Your mother knows how we can stay in contact without worrying about people intercepting our communications,” Kelnarin said, grinning as her daughter’s eyes turned round, realizing she had quite a lot of work ahead of her. “But before we leave, I have a farewell gift,” Kelnarin added, and two items appeared on the bed next to Zerine. “These are two cloaks. Kimi mentioned how Varino wanted one similar to the one you-”
Varino cheered and leapt over Zerine, picking up a cloak. There was a flash of light and Varino stood wearing a dark grey cloak. The spirit made an impressed whistle. Then happily flipped the hood up, drawing the cloak around her, jumped around on the bed with. Each jump was easily two feet into the air, the cloak flapping behind her.
Kelnarin and Zerine just watch the delighted spirit jump around grins, while Kimi made her laughing sound. Her two large eyes followed the bouncing spirit go up and down.
“Like I was saying. Varino has a cloak of her own now. There are properties with these cloaks that will be unmatched by any others as it was made from my silk. With an application of your willpower it will change color and-“
Varino whistled, somehow even more delighted. Soon, the spirit was happily running around on the bed flapping her cloak that shifted through every color imaginable.
Kelnarin laughed. "I'm glad you love it so much, Varino. Its soul bonded and is far more durable than anything you will find that is light armor. Well, other than you dragon armor Zerine. If it does take damage, it will repair itself,” Kelnarin finished. All three were still watching the spirit, who was now zooming around on a cloud, giggling as the cloak rippled behind her.
“Thank you so much. I truly didn’t expect anything like this, but I’m sad to say we don’t have anything to offer Kimi,” Zerine said, but Kimi hissed and clicked. Zerine blinked. Kimi just said that she didn’t want Zerine or Varino getting hurt while they were separated and that the evolution stone, their company, along with lessons from Zerine’s great grandmother, was more than enough. Kimi was being nice, but Zerine wanted Kimi to have something to look at and remember them over the years. After a moment of thought, she smiled.
“Hang on Kimi,” Zerine said. She moved to her desk and opened her jewelry draw and there it was, her bracelet. She normally had it on her left hand, but left it behind during the trial. It was something she and Gary had made together. Well, Gary basically directed her on how to do everything, but still she made it with her own hands. It looked plain, but was made with a band of dark steel, an obsidian-like metal, in between two silver bans.
“Kimi, it’s a tradition for those that we hold close to give them a bracelet when they part for an uncertain amount of time. This one I made myself. It doesn’t have any enchantments on it, so you can go crazy with it. But I want you to look on upon it and remember me and Varino and know that we will meet again,” Zerine said, grinning as Kimi moved a foreleg forward and she slid it on.
“Allow me,” Kelnarin said, her finger glowing. She worked quickly, drawing symbols on the bracelet. Once she was done, the bracelet changed size, shrinking until it was a perfect fit on Kimi’s left foreleg.
Kimi admired it, then lept into Zerine’s arms.
“Aw hey, I’m glad you like it. Also, you’re heavier than I remember,” Zerine teased. Kimi clicked, saying she would miss them so much. Varino jumped into Zerine’s arms, chiming she would miss Kimi too.
“Alright, it’s time,” Kelnarin said. With one more squeeze, Zerine let Kimi go. The spider skittered to her the door as Kelnarin opened it.
“It was nice meeting you, Kelnarin. Hopefully, next time, you two can stay longer. Kimi, we will miss you and good luck on becoming a Runic queen,” Zerine said.
Kelnarin gave Zerine a warm smile. “You can count on that. Good luck you two and Farwell.”
Kemi waved a foreleg with a bright click, then headed out after Varino said her last farewell.
Zerine sat on the bed heavily. She was tired from all the moving, but it wasn’t just that weighing her down.
“Then there were two,” Zerine said, flopping back and staring at the ceiling. During that last embrace, she felt Kimi was truly going to miss them and was worried about them for some reason.
Gods help us reunite in a few years, she thought.
***
Kelnarin glanced down at her daughter, who scuttled next to her. Several of Kimi’s eyes were admiring the bracelet, while the rest were surveying the surrounding area.
“I’m glad you made such close friends,” Kelnarin said.
Kimi clicked her green glow, dimming.
“Yes, the odds aren’t in Zerine’s favor. This very well could be the last time you see each other and I’m sorry about that. But simply being close to a Fate Breaker will change your path for the better. Just look at what happened. You reached peak E-rank quickly and evolved into a queen and formed great friendships.”
Kimi clicked and hissed.
“I have no doubt that Varino will live on if Zerine were to pass. But I believe, much like her mother, that Zerine will beat the odds.”
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Kimi hissed, wondering why she thought that.
“Well, that bracelet, first off. It’s Dark Steel, which requires one to have learned some rather difficult willpower techniques. I suspect it was a test by her parents and trainers. The fact she made something like that is extremely impressive. The second reason is from the memories you shared. How she fights and thinks isn’t someone that breaks when the world tries to crush her. She will fight all the way.”
Kimi clicked curiously.
“I will gladly add some enchantments on the bracelet. Dark Steel is far more useful to Mystics than mages, as it can channel and adapt to concepts far better than most materials, but I will leave that for future lessons. First, we have to get you to be able to read more than just runes. I won’t be reading their letters to you all the time.”
Kimi sighed, which made Kelnarin smile.
***
“So, practically all my gear was destroyed during that last week of the test,” Zerine said staring at the dragon scale shirt and leather chest piece, which were the only pieces of gear that wasn’t in shreds or so damaged that the repair enchantments stopped working.
They were in one of the large training rooms that was still part of the small compound. It was the day after Kimi had left and was Zerine’s first day of actually feeling good enough to move around outside of her room. After asking about their gear since waking up, it was finally time for Varino and Zerine to go over the items they had stored in their two spatial bracelets.
“Well, at least you have a new cloak that will last just as long as the dragon armor. As for the chest piece, I bet it won’t last the next year,” Raith’s avatar said.
“Thanks Auntie,” Zerine said, rolling her eyes. “I had a scythe and a short sword. What happened to those?” she wondered.
“Probably blown up in the chaos that ensued when Varino and Kimi figured out how to fire the mana cannon,” Raith said, grinning, which turned to chuckle as Zerine sighed.
At that moment, the door opened and Varino flew into the room on a cloud; her cloak rippling behind her. Varino hadn’t taken the cloak off since getting it. Today it was a bright green color. Ava and Sashi followed the spirit, closing the door behind them.
Varino chimed as she lightly landed next to Zerine and flipped her hood back, giving Zerine a huge grin.
“Ready then?” Zerine wondered.
Varino chimed and pointed at the bracelet in Zerine’s left hand.
“Alrighty, we will start with this one. Here were go.”
Zerine reached into the air, and her hand disappeared. She pulled out…flowers. They appeared to be made out of green and purple crystals and were beautiful, sparkling under the light of glowstones.
Varino peeped, both hands reaching up for the flowers. Without saying a word, Zerine handed the bouquet to Varino, who scampered over to Ava, who was standing with Sashi and Raith. She held up the flowers to Ava and chimed. All three women went…
“Awww!”
“How thoughtful and thank you so much, Varino dear,” Ava said, crouching and carefully embracing the spirit.
After the hug, Varino skipped back to Zerine.
“I thought we planned for the flowers to be the last thing,” Zerine whispered to Varino.
Varino whsitled softly.
“Preemptive!? Do we really-”
“Shall we keep going?” Raith’s avatar wondered. Ava was smelling the flowers happily, while Sashi had a growing smile.
“Right, right,” Zerine said.
What followed could best be described as dumping everything out of one bracelet into a huge pile. Well, it wasn’t quite like that. Sometimes Zerine had to pull things out, but she sure dumped all the Metal Head metal that was stored. There was quite a lot more than what she had expected.
Raith whistled, impressed at the mounting pile of Metal Head scrap metal.
“You realize you probably just paid for an entire set of gear yourself with only that material alone?” Sashi commented.
“I truly did not know that. There is still more, by the way. This is split in half,” Zerine said.
“Just how many Metal Heads did you all kill and harvest the metal from?” Raith wondered.
“I have no idea. Varino?”
Varino thought for a moment, then shrugged.
“Lost count apparently,” Zerine pulling out yet more metal Head material.
Varino trilled and whistled.
“Ah, you got the monkeys to help gather the strays we missed while in the cave, smart,” Zerine said, while the others glanced at one another at the completely ludicrous statement.
“Does she know that it’s insane to have an entire group of monkeys help gather materials?” Raith whispered to Ava loud enough for only Sashi to hear.
“I have no idea. When it comes to strange things with them, I just go with the flow. I thought you, of all people, would be used to their quirks,” Ava whispered back.
“Hell no! At first I was like there can’t be more strange things, but there is always something with them. Perfect example is Varino running around with that cloak acting like some sort of stealth specialist. Another, both having befriended a Runic Queen, and let’s not forget the gods damn mana cannon,” Raith hissed back. Sashi silently laughed, while Ava just sighed.
A loud clang made all three glance back to Zerine, who had thrown a piece of Metal Head material on a new pile.
“They really have a lot. Just how many do you think they actually killed?” Raith wondered.
“Easly a hundred ranging from E through D-rank. All that material could make some good gear for beginer adventurers, mages, and other sturdy tools,” Ava said.
“She will be set funding wise for a while. Until she gets her crest, that is,” Sashi said.
“True, but she has no signs of that happening anytime soon,” Ava said, a hint of worry entering her tone.
“After what I saw with that final punch, I think Zerine will make it through her first fate breaking moment,” Ratih said.
“Only time will tell. And all we can do is prepare her the best we can,” Sashi said, her tone soft, but her eyes were distant. She had known many who had died through the years. She hoped Zerine wouldn’t be yet another name on that long list.
“Alright, there is the first half of scrap metal,” Zerine said, standing next to four Wiest high piles of metal.
Varino clapped and whistled, telling her to get on with it.
“Yeah, yeah,” Zerine said, shaking her head and grinning.
Zerine pulled out a box of crossbow bolts, several crates of unknown cargo, and plants that Zerine had harvested for alchemy before finally clearing out everything from the first bracelet. The next bracelet started with quite the surprise to Zerine.
“Gods damnit,” Ava groaned, while Raith laughed and Sashi shock her head when the mana cannon appeared next to Zerine.
Varino jumped on to the cannon with a cheer then laid flatted hugging the cannon. At that sight, Zerine laughed while inspecting it.
“Varino, you realize these types of weapons can only shoot so many times before they break?” Zerine wondered, finding no major signs of damage.
Varino’s burbling lament answered that question.
“Well, how many times did you shoot it?”
Varino rolled on to her back and counted on her fingers. With a sad chime, she held up nine fingers.
“Plus the one I fired. So, it has maybe two or three shots left,” Zerine said thoughtfully.
Varino’s hands fell to her side as she sighed, clearly sadden by the news.
Zerine heard Ava mutter, “Thank the gods.”
Varino perked up and whistled.
“Hell yeah! We should definitely shoot-”
“Nope! Nope! We will discuss what to do about the cannon later...much later,” Ava said.
Varino pouted for a moment, but with one stern looked from Ava, the spirit gave up on their plan to bring it to the dragons so they could play with it till it broke.
Zerine smiled and kept pulling items from the bracelet. There were mostly the weapons that made it through the fight at the ship and yet more harvested Metal Head scrap metal.
A pile of rocks appeared next to Zerine, and suddenly the others were all around her. They had all moved faster than the eye could follow.
“Dear, you said you received rocks from the Starborn and gathered some from the impact site,” Ava said, then pointed at a round large rock next to her feet. “That is not a rock. Scrap off the layer of melted dirt and dust.”
“You think I can do that with a knife?” Zerine said, confused.
Varino slid off her cannon, and knocked her knuckles on the stone and chirped, just as confused as Zerine.
“Trust us. Your knife will be more than enough,” Sashi said before Ava could. Raith just looked on excitedly.
Zerine went to pick up the rock, but found it was heavier than she had to expect.
Wait, is this the one I found? They all look like melted rocks, so maybe, Zerine thought, as she used both hands to scoop it up. She pulled a knife out of her belt. Tensing, expecting to hear the sound of scraping metal on stone, she scrapped the blade along the stone and gasped. First the outer layer fell awya with no sound. Second, the underneath the had an iridescent sheen to it.
“Th-this is,” Zerine said, but her voice failed her as she stared in awe.
“A chunk of Iridesium,” Raith said.
“It's enough to…probably make two small knives or one longs knife,” Ava said, already thinking of what might work for Zerine. They all had their own Iridesium weapons, so the possibilities that could work for Zerine were already becoming a list. She had no thoughts about selling the chunk of metal.
“Or the cores to staffs and wands,” Sashi said.
“Your staffs and wands are different from ours, but yeah, it would make some amazing tools,” Raith said.
“Wait, why are they different?” Zerine wondered, the new information getting through her stunned state.
Sashi smiled. “There is a process every Mystic goes through when crafting their very own staff or wand. They form a soul bond far deeper than soul bound weapons and almost come to life,” she said. This information made Zerine's and Varino’s gaze shift to the float staff next to Sashi.
“We should hold on to this in the family spatial vault till after you get your crest and till you reach at least A-rank,” Ava said.
“She has another Iridesium chunk. It’s smaller, but still those are just the first little treasures,” Raith said.
“Oh yeah, I found geodes in some rocks. Let me pull them out,” Zerine said.
After she finally found the rest of the rocks she and Varino had gathered, they all stood looking down at them all.
“You didn’t realize you have one stone with a catalyst in it?” Sashi wondered.
“Nope, not a clue. Which one?” Zerine wondered, but Sashi had picked a softball size stone and cracked it open, squeezing with her thumb. Zerine blinked in surprise, but reminded herself that Sashi was Iridesium-rank, which meant she was so strong that a touch or light flick could kill her.
Sashi pulled out a crystal sphere that fit in the palm of her hand. It had purple, green, and grey swirls moving within it.
“Space and ground affinity. That superior catalyst is worth quite the sum of manifest coins,” Ava said, impressed.
“Man Zerine, this trial of yours will pay for your first three years at an adventurer academy easily. With money to spar for gear,” Ratih said.
Varino trilled.
“That math includes you, too. So, don’t worry,” Zerine reassured the spirit.
The spirit cheered, then whistled.
“Yeah, there is still more, but we’re almost done,” Zerine said.
She pulled out a crossbow that had flickering green runes that she recognized as Kimi’s. Varino peeped holding her hands out to the crossbow.
“Was this one yours?” Zerine wondered, handing the weapon over.
Varino nodded and trilled, brandishing the weapon over her head. It was comically larger than the spirit, but that didn’t stop Varino happily running over to her cannon with it held over her head.
“You know, I could teach you how to shoot a real bow,” Zerine said.
Varino’s eyes became enormous and round. Then she eagerly chirped, and without a second glance, tossed the crossbow, which landed on the pile of weapons.
“Hooold on there. She needs to get better at her domain magic first. Then we can start looking at weapons,” Ava said.
“I thought a staff would be best,” Sashi commented while Raith nodded agreement.
Varino pointed at Sashi and chimed happily.
“She loves that idea and now wants to do both,” Zerine said, grinning.
“We could make that work since we have time. The family decided that you should wait till you're eighteen before you try for an adventurer academy,” Ava said, thinking.
Zerine sighed. They had mostly assumed that would be the case, but she still couldn’t stop herself from feeling a little disappointed about the family’s decision. But a thought made Zerine’s mood bounce back.
“Gary is going to love designing a tiny long bow,” Zerine said.
Varino bounced, chiming in agreement.
“Varino, you should be at waist height at your age and power,” Sashi remarked, raising an eyebrow.
Varino shock her head, waving her arms, while chiming and whistling.
“That was a rant about not being fun sized,” Zerine helpfully summarized.
“Fun sized?” Sashi repeated, surprised, before chuckling.
“Come on, finish up,” Raith aid.
“Right, there shouldn’t be much more,” Zerine said.
Zerine pulled out a crate. She frowned down at the rectangular box. It was the one she had found in the armory.
“Why the frown?” Raith wondered.
“I found this one in the armory,” Zerine said. At her words, Sashi’s gazed flicked to the box curiously.
“Hmm, Ava, I will add powerful enchantments to the room. Zerine, step back please,” Sashi said.
Zerine moved back before Sashi’s words fully sunk in.
“Oh, that room was protected so you couldn’t see in,” Ava said. Now she, too, was frowning at the box.
“I’m sorry? Can you repeat that part about seeing the armory? Does that mean you watched my trial?” Zerine said, her gaze narrowing, flicking between her mother and Sashi.
“Anyone that reaches my rank has similar abilities. There are plenty of different ways to counter it and it’s common to restrict access to only those you allow to view such locations,” Sashi said as runes were conjured then flew around the room, while smaller sigils, runes, and a magic circle appeared the crate.
“So you could have helped me?” Zerine wondered, a hint of annoyance entering her tone.
“Sadly no. This conversation usually happens when you reach peak A-rank. But S-rank and above have a concept of reaching parity. Its achieved when those of the same rank reach similar numbers or power equilibrium. It acts as a check to ensure that if one S-rank and above acts, they will be countered and don’t simply resolve a conflict by killing everything. It only truly matters when we talk about peak gold and Iridesium-ranks, but S-rank is where the mindset and tactics shift,” Raith explained, while Ava add her own conjured runes to whatever Sashi was creating.
“Huh, so finding a fight at your rank must be annoying,” Zerine said, which got a chuckled from Raith.
“Yeah, that’s why I jumped at the chance to fight that peak gold-rank Metal Head,” Ava said.
“I knew it! I saw purple flashes in that mana storm and thought it had to be you!” Zerine said.
“The purple flashes were actually visible all the way to the port here,” Sashi said, as runes whirled around the box.
“Wow, you really went all out. And I missed it!” Zerine complained. “Also, Sashi, are those shield runes you're making?”
Sashi’s eyebrows shot up, and she turned to look at Zerine with appraising eyes. “How do you know that? These are Mystic runes. Not the ones you know.”
“Oh, Kimi taught me some, and I have been reading a book, the Mystic at the temple of Magic and Knowledge gave me. I’m still in the basics, but Varino, Kimi, and the Starborn did some fancy work back in the cave, which is where I saw something similar to those,” Zerine said.
“Hmm, you can learn some symbols, but once you get further along, you will realize that they are simply a foundation that acts as a medium with many layers built upon it,” Sashi said as she turned back to the crate, but she had a smile on her face. Zerine was very observant, to pick out the runes she could recognize in all the ones flying around. She would have to do some lessons with Zerine.
“Alright, I’ll open it and we will see what was so important to hide it from powerful gazes,” Sashi said. Zerine moved back to stand next to the cannon. Varino stood up and leaned against Zerine to get a better view. Zerine smiling, scooped Varino up and the spirit happily sat on her shoulder.
Sashi lifted a hand, then clenched it. The wood around the crate moved away in a cloud of shards not even making a sound.
Varino burbled, disappointedly.
“What were you expect-ing. Oh,” Ava said, then sighed as Varino gave her a knowing look, while Zerine giggled.
“Look at that,” Ratih said, which made the three looked back at the crate.
“Really? Another box!?” Zerine complained. Sure enough, a suitcase sized box sat where the crate had been. Made from several types of metal, it glinted under the glowstone’s light.
“It’s literally covered in runes,” Ava said, walking around the box curiously. Meanwhile, Sashi looked thoughtfully at the box.
Zerine approached, noting the that runes were a mix of both the ones she knew and those from mystic origins. There were three prominent metals present comprising the box, with a fourth that was easily recognizable by its iridescent sheen. The Iridesium wove throughout the other metals, which ranged from a coppery color, black, and silvery blue metal that Zerine had never seen before. The box had perfectly etched runes, and upon closer inspection, there were no signs of seams or obvious ways to open it.
“This isn’t something I know how open,” Sashi said.
“Same,” Ava remarked.
“I don’t even know where to begin with it. Do you think it’s a puzzle box of some kind? Or something that requires a certain type of magic or person present?” Raith wondered.
Varino ran up a tapped the box and whistled at it. Nothing happened. Varino turned to Zerine and shrugged.
“Well, that was Varino’s idea. I haven’t even seen these metals before, let alone some of these runes,” Zerine said. A bubble of excitement grew at the unknown and the opportunity to have a goal for her research. Possibilities that could be hidden within the box filled her mind. This was going to be fun.