Marcus groaned as he heard the voice.

“Please let it not be a repeat of the labyrinth. No more trials. I am done with them”, muttered Marcus.

Marcus and Kyrie turned to the source of the voice. It looked like a holographic projection of an Umaru. The Umaru projection was slightly golden in color and over ten feet tall. It was looking at them, down from the throne. Even if it was a projection, Marcus swore he could see a glint in the Umaru’s eyes.

The projection said, “I was hoping that one of my descendants would come looking for the treasure, but I am sadly mistaken. You are not my descendants.”

“Who are you?” asked Kyrie.

Marcus was glad that it was Kyrie who asked the question. He would have started insulting the projection. He wondered why. He needed a break.

The projection said, “I am Seymour Grush, the great grandson of Eliynar Grush and the one who hid Eliynar’s original treasure far away from Tulom island.”

Seymour gave a short bow as he said this. Marcus said, “You are clearly admitting you took the treasure from Tulom island. May I ask why that is?”

“Are you asking as to why I took the treasure from the island and hid it here or are you asking as to why I am telling you all this?” asked Seymour.

“It would be good if you could answer both questions.”

Seymour looked at Marcus for a moment. Then he smiled and said, “Tulom island was not a safe place for hiding the treasure. It was easily accessible and there were many people in my time who were interested in my family’s treasure. I took it out of Tulom island and brought it here. It has stayed here for quite a long time it seems. No one has yet taken it. And as to your second question, I am telling you all this because you are the first people I have met after I have set up this elaborate puzzle to get the treasure. I mean, no one has even tried.”

Marcus felt like telling him that Grush village was isolated and hardly any adventurers went there, but he decided against it.

Kyrie asked, “Why did you decide to move the treasure here? Could you not have used it for yourself if you knew where it was on Tulom island?”

“Ah! That is a sad tale. The treasure of Eliynar Grush, that is”, said Seymour, “Eliynar got the treasure by destroying the pirate’s ship but there was a problem. The treasure was cursed. It could not be used by anyone who steals it. Eliynar discovered this as soon as he found the treasure. So, he hid it on Tulom island. Killing the pirates and getting their treasure is considered as an act of stealing by the treasure itself. So, if the treasure does not find you worthy, you cannot use it.”

Marcus asked, “Are you saying that the treasure is sentient?”

Seymour shook his head, “Not the treasure no, but the chest in which it is contained possesses a certain level of sentience. It would not open for someone who has stolen it. It would only open for those who have obtained it legally.”

Marcus said, “So, if we solve your puzzles and obtain the chest, will it open for us?”

Seymour shrugged, “I don’t know. It would not open for it even after I took the chest by solving that blasted sand puzzle. So, I created two more puzzles. The mimic puzzle which you solved and this final puzzle. I am hoping it would appease the treasure chest and it would open for you if you managed to solve my current puzzle.”

Kyrie asked, “And what is the current puzzle?”

Seymour clapped his hand and treasure appeared in the room. Piles of gold coins, precious gems, jewelry and other valuable items filled up various parts of the room. Marcus gaped at the sudden appearance of so much wealth. He could see that Kyrie was doing the same.

Seymour said, “Don’t drool on what has appeared. It is all an illusion. Well, all except one chest. It is the real treasure chest amongst this pile of illusion.”

Marcus walked up to a pile, picked up a coin and tossed it back.

“Seems real to me”, said Marcus.

Seymour said, “Try putting it in your pocket.”

Marcus did that. However, somehow the coin slipped away from his pocket and went back to the pile, to its original position.

“Smart trick”, muttered Marcus.

Kyrie said, “How do we find the correct treasure chest from all this? There are many identical looking treasure chests in the room now.”

“Please don’t tell me the wrong treasure chests are mimics. I am really fucking done with them for the time being”, said Marcus.

Seymour laughed, “No, they are not. But pick the wrong chest, everything here will shuffle and you will start again.”

“Start what again?” Kyrie asked, “You have not yet told us as to what we are supposed to do.”

Seymour grinned and said, “Well, it is after all a treasure hunt. So, you solve the clues and find the treasure.”

“What does that mean?”

Marcus had a sense of foreboding that this was going to be time consuming and irritating for him somehow.

Seymour said, “Sit on the throne and your hunt begins. Good luck.”

Seymour disappeared.

“Hey”, shouted Kyrie, “That does not explain anything.”

“Well, that was fucking rude of him”, said Marcus.

“What do we do?”

“Let’s sit on the throne as suggested.”

“Yes, but who?”

“Do you wish to do the honors?”

“No.”

“Then I shall do the honors.”

Marcus climbed up a few steps and sat on the throne. Words appeared before him.

One who is worthy can wield my power.

Marcus frowned and Kyrie said, “What is it?”

Marcus repeated the words to Kyrie.

“What does that mean?” asked Kyrie.

“Maybe it means that we need to find an object in this pile of treasure. That object’s power can only be wielded by one who is worthy. That would be my guess”, answered Marcus.

“Really?”

“Do you have any other ideas?”

“No.”

“Then let’s search for something that can be wielded.”

“That could be anything you know.”

Marcus sighed and did not reply. A thought of a hammer suddenly entered his head.

“What do you know about Mjolnir?” he asked Kyrie.

“What?” Kyrie had been looking at piles of treasure carefully and had been sifting through them slowly. She had not picked anything up though. She looked up with a slightly dazed expression when Marcus asked the question.

“I suddenly remembered something. On Earth, there is a myth of a Norse God who carries a hammer called Mjolnir. Only those who are worthy can wield it. This sounds similar to that.”

“Why would an Umaru treasure hunt take cues from Earthen mythology?” asked Kyrie.

Marcus suddenly deflated at that question.

“You are right”, he said.

Kyrie continued searching among the piles but Marcus opened Globalnet. He searched for the Umaru equivalent of Mjolnir and his search soon yielded results.

He found out about Dellanza, a spear which the Umaru believed only the worthy could wield its powers. There was a picture of the spear and Marcus called Kyrie to show it.

The spear was roughly about six feet tall from the description and was thick enough to fit an Umaru’s palm. It had a greenish handle with brown wrap and the point was made up of a bluish metal.

Marcus and Kyrie started looking for the spear. Marcus was sure that the actual spear would not be here but the illusory treasure surrounding him would have the illusory spear.

They searched for quite some time before Kyrie found it. She held the spear aloft in her hand and gasped.

Kyrie said, “I know this is illusory but I can somehow feel power coursing through my body. Also, some writing has appeared.”

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“What does it say?” asked Marcus.

“The throne of lies lies empty.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

Kyrie dropped the spear and pointed at the throne, “Do we sit on the throne again?”

“That is not the throne of lies”, said Marcus with a thoughtful expression on his face, “It was already there when we arrived in this chamber. If it is a throne of lies, then it would make sense if it was an illusory throne.”

“So, we search for a throne in these piles.”

“It would seem so.”

They searched for a throne in the piles but all they found was more treasure only. There was nothing that could even resemble or even relate to a throne.

Marcus was about to give up. He felt cramped after bending down so much. He stretched bending backwards. He almost fell when he saw it. There was a throne attached to one of the pillars. It was near the top of the pillar close to the ceiling of the chamber. Marcus called Kyrie and pointed at the throne.

“It looks just like the throne here”, said Kyrie.

“How do we get up there though?” asked Marcus.

They looked around for a ladder or something else which would get them up there but found nothing. Marcus looked at Kyrie carefully.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” asked Kyrie.

“Can you turn into a ball of water or something? Then I think I can toss you up there?”

“My water form does not work like that! I have to be in water to be like the water. It does not work on land.”

“Pity we cannot flood the chamber.”

Kyrie looked like she had an idea. Marcus heard her cast [Sacrificial Mana] and then cast [Summon Water Elemental]. A small water elemental, slightly taller than Kyrie appeared. It looked like a humanoid waterfall with a conal head, the body which looked vaguely like a minotaur according to Marcus and no legs. Instead, there was a flat flow of continuous water at the bottom. Its hands looked normal till Marcus noticed that there were no fingers.

Kyrie said to the elemental, “Could you please put me on the throne there?” She pointed to the throne on the pillar.

The water elemental picked her up, elongated itself and placed Kyrie on the throne.

Kyrie said, “Some more writing has appeared. It says, ‘What goes up must come down’.”

Marcus groaned, “Do we have to get the fucking throne down.”

“It seems like that.”

Kyrie asked the water elemental to bring the throne down. The elemental grasped the throne, with fingers Marcus could not fathom, and started to push it down. The throne came down smoothly. However, once it was down on the ground, the elemental released the throne and it popped back right up like a spring. Kyrie screamed as the throne flung her upwards and she landed safely in the water elemental’s arms. She had been sitting on the throne till now.

Marcus said, “Let’s bring the throne down and see what appears. Tell your water elemental to let go after we have read the next clue.”

The water elemental brought the throne down again. Marcus sat on it this time. Kyrie did not want to do it. Words appeared in front of his eyes.

The riches lie beneath the ruler.

Marcus stood up and Kyrie asked the elemental to let the throne go.

“The riches lie beneath the ruler”, said Marcus, “Does this mean we have to check under the throne? The actual throne that is there in the center.”

“Could be”, said Kyrie, “But don’t you think that is too obvious?”

“What else could it be?”

“A portrait of a ruler?”

“You sure?”

“It is just a guess.”

“Let’s check the throne first. Then we will look for the portrait.”

They walked up to the throne. They tried to find a way to lift it up. They examined it from all sides. Marcus even looked up at the ceiling to ensure that it held no clue. They could not find any way to lift it to check what lay underneath it. They also took the help of the water elemental, but it was not successful.

“Well”, said Marcus finally, “Let’s find a fucking portrait of a fucking ruler.”

They found five. There were five portraits in the room. All were of Umarus. And Marcus had no idea who amongst them was a ruler. There were no names on the portrait. If there had been names, then Marcus would have searched for them on the Globalnet and found the correct portrait.

Kyrie said, “What if we look under all the portraits?”

They tried. They lifted the first portrait to look at the back and words appeared on it, You are wrong.

Then the whole treasure pile shifted and spun. Everything changed position. They had to start everything again. The clues were the same. However, with the change in position for everything, it took them some time to get to the ruler's clue.

Marcus said, “Should we lift another portrait?”

“If we are wrong, then we will have to do everything again”, said Kyrie, “Also, it seems that the portraits seem to have changed.”

“How could you tell?”

“I am good with faces. These are not the same faces as before.”

“That means the puzzle does not care about who the Umaru ruler is; only the fact that the Umaru needs to be a ruler.”

“It also means that the treasure is underneath the right portrait. It has to be a clue. No treasure chest can fit in such a narrow non-existent space.”

“You are forgetting magic.”

“Oh! Yes.”

Marcus started to search for Umaru rulers. Because of the vague clue, there were hundreds of Umaru rulers he found. He started going through their pictures. He shared the screen and Kyrie joined him.

Some time later Kyrie pointed, “That one. Lord Reshul Solitune. He is the fourth portrait from the left.”

Marcus looked at the portrait Kyrie was talking about. The picture matched. They got up and went up to Lord Reshul’s portrait. They lifted it up.

On the back it was written, The real treasure was the friends you made along the way.

“Again!” exclaimed Marcus, “What the-”

The world shifted again and Marcus found himself on a beach. Kyrie was lying down beside him and there was a chest in front of them. The holographic image of Seymour Grush was back and it was smiling at them.

“Congratulations adventurers”, said Seymour, “You have solved my puzzle. The treasure is yours. Now just hope that the treasure finds you worthy.”

The holographic projection of Seymour disappeared. Marcus groaned and got in a sitting position. Kyrie did the same. She started to walk towards the water and took a dip in it. The water elemental had disappeared. It would have been automatically unsummoned when they teleported.

“Where are we?” asked Marcus. He got no answer as Kyrie was in the water. She came back after some time.

Kyrie said, “It seems that we have somehow teleported back to Tulom island. The water feels familiar. I swam around the island and also up to Grush village.”

“Welp”, said Marcus, “Easier for us. Now to see about the treasure chest.”

They walked up to the treasure chest. It looked like a plain wooden chest, rectangular in shape and a curved top. There was no lock but a small window where it was written ‘Closed’.

Marcus said, “Should we just open it?”

Kyrie shrugged, “Why not?”

“What if we are not worthy?”

“Then the chest won’t open.”

“Oh! Yes. Makes sene.”

Marcus took a deep breath and tried to open the chest. The chest opened easily. Both Kyrie and Marcus looked into the open chest. They were both holding their breaths. What they found disappointed both of them.

“Where is the fucking treasure?” asked Marcus.

For in the treasure chest, there were no gold coins or valuable gems or any other pieces of treasure. A lone spear lay at the bottom of the chest. It looked old and decrepit, influenced by the passage of time. However, Marcus recognized the spear.

“Isn’t that-”

Marcus and Kyrie both looked at each other. They understood what Seymour meant now. Only the worthy could get the treasure of the Grush family. Dellanza lay at the bottom of the chest.

***

Reginald Grush grunted as he finished his drink. The alcohol was not hitting him tonight. Two tankards in, he was not feeling the buzz. He wondered why.

He paid the innkeeper and left the inn. The inn and bar was combined in one and there was not much crowd tonight. He walked slowly back to his house. He was in no hurry to get back home. Nobody was waiting for him there. His children had already left him to go to different towns and villages and his wife had passed away quite some time back. He was alone and peaceful.

As he made his way back to the house, Reginald thought about the adventurers. Gorking adventurers. Grush village did not require them but he did wish that sometimes adventurers did come to the village. He remembered the two gorking adventurers he had sent on a treasure hunt some time back. There had been no adventurers after that.

He snorted as he reached his house. Treasure hunt. He had no need for treasure. He was quite rich and his expenses in the village were minimal. Even if those gorking adventurers find the treasure, what would he do with it? Mostly share it between his five children. He would give the promised amount to the gorking adventurers though, if he could remember what he promised those adventurers.

He sat on the rocking chair and thought about what to do tomorrow. Maybe he should go visit one of his children. He had not seen them for a year now. They never visit. They did not like Grush village but Reginald always went to visit them.

He hummed a tune his mother used to sing to him as he thought about who to visit. He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He frowned. He wondered who it could be.

Reginald stood up and walked to the door. He opened it to find the two adventurers he had sent on the treasure quest. He suddenly remembered their names, Marcus and Kyrie.

“About gorking time”, Reginald said as he led them in. They were empty handed. That means that they would have not found the treasure. They had gone to the Gunin mountain ranges. Maybe what they found there was another clue.

However, the adventurer Marcus pulled something out of thin air and placed it on the floor. Reginald then remembered about the inventory they all had. Of course they would put the treasure in the inventory and not carry it around.

For it was a treasure chest that Marcus had pulled out of his inventory.

“Well you gorking found it”, said Reginald, “When you left for the gorking treasure hunt, I had some hopes for you. But you have performed beyond my gorking expectations of adventurers. And you found the gorking treasure too. Now that is a surprise. I thought you would have found another gorking clue. But it seems that my gorking ancestors did not want anyone to go on much of a chase it seems. So, open it. How much is the gorking treasure worth?”

Marcus and Kyrie looked at each other. Reginald did not like the look on their faces. Were they hiding something?

Kyrie said softly, “You should see this for yourself.”

Marcus opened the chest and Reginald walked up to it. He looked inside and gasped. He looked at the adventurers and then at the spear inside the chest.

Reginald gulped and said, “Well, this is some treasure.”

“Are you okay with this?” asked Marcus with uncertainty.

“Boy”, said Reginald taking a deep breath, “You have no idea what you have found. You have no idea what this spear means to my people. You have found treasure beyond my gorking expectations. You shall be rewarded accordingly.”

“We never decided on the rewards”, said Kyrie.

Reginald blinked at that. He said, “Gorking idiotic. Here. 1,000 points of experience to each of you and 100,000 units each for finding the treasure. Is that okay?”

Both the gorking adventurers gaped at him. Reginald smiled. He could see that they were happy with the rewards.

“Well”, said Reginald, “There you go. Your gorking treasure hunt quest is complete. What are you gorking doing over here?”

“I am curious”, said Marcus. He received a short poke from Kyrie and remedied himself, “We are curious, sir. As to what you are going to do with this spear? Dellanza that is.”

Reginald considered that to be a very gorking valid question. What would he do with the spear? He was sure he was not worthy enough to wield it. And considering how all Umarus were non-adventurers, none of them would be able to wield it. He would have to give the spear to a gorking adventurer. And considering how the adventurers hardly visited Grush village, he could not keep it here. Or could he?

Reginald smiled as a plan started to form in his mind.

Reginald said, “I have a gorking idea. However, your task here is done.”

Reginald told Marcus and Kyrie what he was going to do and they nodded. They said their goodbyes and took their leave. Reginald rubbed his hands together. Time to find the one worthy for Dellanza.