“We should search this place” Lucas said, eyeing Ted who was on the ground, unconscious from advancing his class.
“What about Ted? We can’t be certain there is no more of those beasts around here” Maggie interjected, her gaze also on Ted.
“I think we have enough people to do both at the same time, and be ready to continue on as soon as Ted is alright” Lucas said.
“Are you certain we can take down the dungeon without you? It got pretty ugly down here, at one moment it seemed we wouldn’t we prevail” Chen injected himself into conversation, his bruises still fresh.
“Absolutely no, we are not repeating this. It was a bad idea” Lucas said, the dread he was feeling lessening every second.
“What? Why not? It turned out you were right” Chen asked, his look incredulous.
“Because I will not stand aside and watch you get hurt again” Lucas responded, his body tensing.
“So, you would like for us to continue our overreliance on you? I thought you wanted partners, not fans” Chen angrily responded, the conversation coming close to going to blows.
“Boys, please, hold your horses. Chen, Lucas just cares about us. And you” Maggie said, turning to Lucas “you should definitely start thinking how the things you say sound like, instead of blurting everything that crossed your mind” she finished her scolding and walked away, approaching Ted who was currently watched over by Margaret.
“Mags is right, Chen. I’m sorry” Lucas said, remorse in his voice strong.
“I’m also sorry for being such an ass. I know you just hated not being able to help” Chen reciprocated Lucas’s apology “so, what you reckon we will find here?” he asked, eager to drop the subject of their conflict.
“If we are lucky, a lot of good gear. But, taking in account we are talking about the General’s personal stash here, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything” Lucas responded, eyeing the ruins all around them. His high Perception was strained, and that revealed to him that almost all of the buildings were undisturbed for a very, very long time, just one building showing some signs of use. Showing the building to the rest, Lucas started explaining his plan, which included moving Ted inside the building and one of them standing guard while the rest search the premises for any sign of the loot they were here to take.
“And what if the building itself is rigged?” Maggie asked, concern clearly written on her lovely face.
“That is why I will go alone at first, to trigger or disarm all of the traps” Lucas said, raising his hand when others tried to dissuade him from going alone “you are still tired from the last battle, while I had effectively did nothing”
Reluctantly, the rest of his party agreed they would be more of the burden, so Lucas got on his feet, letting his passive build up, getting him in front of the building almost instantly. A random thought flashed through his mind, reminding him he isn’t utilizing this skill enough, stubbornly holding itself embedded in his head, no matter how hard he was trying to clam on it, reasoning with himself now wasn’t the time nor the place to think about that.
“Fuck you, you know” Lucas said to his brain as he passed the threshold of the building, thoughts about underutilizing his passive still front and center in his mind. Letting his instincts guide him, Lucas didn’t slow down, he instead raised his pace, gaining more speed. Almost teleporting, he quickly cleared the ground floor, not finding anything interesting and the upper floor, finding a lot of random junk which were clearly left here from the previous residents. Knowing the optimal route, he decided to push his passive to the limit, going into full sprint from the furthest room on the upper floor and almost immediately materializing in front of the cellar door, realizing he covered a floor and a half in less than five seconds.
“Shit, you were right, I definitely should use more of this” Lucas apologized to his brain as he searched the cellar door for any way to open it. Losing patience, Lucas kicked them, his full Strength behind the contact. The door squealed and then dropped down, the bobby trap behind them hissing as the acid dissolved the aging wood. Beyond the door, Lucas could spot shelves and chests, hopefully filled with loot. Running back, he once again let his passive build up, arriving back to his group in a flash, startling them.
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“Whoa, Lucas, you scared us shitless” Maggie yelled as she stopped wrestling with her crossbow, assured she wasn’t about to be attacked.
“Found the vault, I think. I have to say, it looks ordinary” Lucas said, realizing he had expected more.
“You know, people like to hold their treasure in organized way and have an ease of access to all of them, not hold them in unnecessarily complicated and extravagant room” Chen said, his voice trembling from suppressed laughter.
“I guess, but that is so boring. I have to check with Bruce how does the treasury looks back at Camp Hearth and to see are there ways to improve it” Lucas said, only half – jokingly.
“I’m sure he will be thrilled” Chen said sarcastically.
“Anyways, the way is clear. We can move Ted inside while we stuff everything that isn’t nailed to the wall” Lucas said, already moving to pick up Ted and carry him there.
As the sun was setting down, Lucas gently placed Ted in the middle of the ground floor, giving quick instruction about where to find the vault itself.
Chen volunteered to stay with Ted and the rest of the party quickly found themselves in the cellar, rummaging through the shelves and chests. Lucas was amazed seeing how much precious stones and gold he found, but more disappointed to find a very small amount of already crafted items, signaling that the General hadn’t managed to adjust fully to the new realities of post – System Earth.
“The old fart was smart” Maggie said from somewhere behind him, surprising Lucas with that statement. In response he looked at her quizzically prompting her to continue “these aren’t ordinary gems here, but the carefully crafted one, ideal for specialized crafting” she finished.
“So what?” Lucas asked, still not understanding the meaning, Margaret now joining in the conversation, more interested in it than further rummaging through the vault.
“Most of the crafters back at Camp Hearth would get a heart attack seeing this, as it would be riches beyond anybody imagined. And that would be enough to keep them in line, distributing only to the ones you trusted, which in turn would equip your trusted man even further, expanding the gap between his troops and everybody else, making revolts harder” Maggie explained.
“But then why hadn’t he done it?” Lucas asked, still confused.
“Because we still weren’t fully in control” Margaret interjected “many of the crafters opposed us. I mean, you are aware how many of them were in prison by the time you came back”
“So, he essentially hoarded this stuff to pacify the crafters by distributing it later. That right would probably come with removed level cap” Lucas said, thinking he got the gist of it. Nodding from Maggie confirmed his guesses.
“So this essentially means Bruce just got rich, but not us?” Margaret asked mockingly, Lucas already opening his mouth to react before realizing she was joking and giving her the finger, prompting a chuckle from all of them. They continued to search, Lucas growing restless. He wanted to find his rewards from that night, more to put his mind at rest than anything else. And just as he thought to give up, he spotted a familiar rifle on one of the shelves. Approaching it, he remembered seeing something similar on John’s back from way back when. Next to the rifle stood a staff, ornate and elegant, gently touching a bandana. Lucas felt instantly drawn to the bandana, realizing he was standing at the items they won finishing the Scenario dungeon. Except the bandana, he felt drawn to the boots, but his “Sharpsight” quickly revealed they were inferior to what he was wearing. Bandana, however, was a completely different story.
Bandana of the vehement swordsman (Rare)
This bandana holds the memories of its previous wearer, a sword user of immense power who wandered the multiverse untold ages ago, crushing his opponents with just a swing from his sword. Part of the vehement swordsman set
+ 1 Agility, + 1 Strength
Lucas was excited to find another piece of his quest set so quickly after receiving it and he didn’t waste no time in attaching the bandana, feeling the extra stats immediately. Even better was the prompts System sent his way.
New set bonus: Vehement swordsman set
+3 Agility
Bonus ability: Proximity sense
Quest updated: Treasures of the times past
With another piece of the set found, you found yourself one step closer to unlocking the power in the individual pieces
“Bah, you stingy – ass System, no reward for advancing the quest” Lucas complained, his complains falling on deaf ear of the System as was usual. His party members, seeing he found what he set up to do, suggested they go back on the ground floor and wait for Ted to wake up and in the meanwhile to inform Bruce of their findings, to which Lucas quickly agreed. Half an hour later, the food Chen cooked was in Lucas hand and the stone returned to his ring, the message sent, leaving him to wait for Ted to wake up.