I was feeling surprised and pleased at what I had just read in the popup window, with the exception of the title the Sneaky. Being called the Sneaky seemed lame somehow, but I was willing to live with it. Making level ten, it had come faster than I had expected. Looking down at the player sprawled on the ground; I decided I had better loot him and see if I could find some information or knowledge about who he was and who sent him.

Going through his pockets, I realized the man had nothing.  Grimacing I picked him up and hurried back to the Inn.  Dropping him off in the shadows I made my way back towards the park entrance.  Entering through the tangle of underbrush I entered the park.  Smiling at the peaceful beauty of the setting I made my way along the path towards the buildings at the rear.  

Climbing the last hill I see again the three buildings white and ghostly looking in the moonlight.  “Twink what do you think?” I asked her.  I studied the buildings as I waited for her reply.  “Just buildings Poppa, the middle one has a door and the others are open and empty.

“The middle one is the place I must explore as that is where I see the glow of treasure.”  “You do Poppa?  I don’t see any glow there Poppa, are you sure you see something?” “Yes, I do Twink maybe the treasure is something only a half-dragon can use.”  “Maybe Poppa, I just don’t see anything.”  “That is all right Twink I am going to enter the building, and explore I want you to wait for me outside, I won't  be too long.”  “All right Poppa, I will hunt in the park, see you soon.”

With that,I watched the little dragon fly off and disappear in the night.  Making my way down to the entrance I noted something that seemed to be odd to me.  The two doors that led into the building opened outward, and they could be locked from the outside.

Seeing this made me feel a little nervous, what could have been kept in the building that would have to be locked in from the outside?  Entering the building I glanced around feeling very grateful for my Dragon eyes night vision.  Directly ahead in the center of the room was an altar, about 12 feet across and at least 8 feet tall.

I looked around feeling puzzled and then walked around the circumference of the room.  There were no other doors or visible signs of an exit.  The base the altar was lit up with a golden glow, clearly the treasure was located underneath it.  After determining that there was nothing else of interest in the room I began to give the altar my full attention.

Jumping up, I caught the top and pulled myself up, then sitting on the altar I rubbed the top with my hands looking for a hidden depression or anything else that might be of interest.  Feeling nothing I jumped down and did the same for all the sides, again nothing.  Starting to feel frustrated I leaned against the altar and began to push.

I may be stronger than a human, but that damn altar would not budge.  At this point, my frustration level was beginning to peak and I decided that I needed to take a break and calm down.  I began to run through some basic Judo moves starting with some free exercises doing Randori-No- Kata.  Once I began to warm up I switched to Te Waza (Arm-throws) and then to Koshi Waza (hip throws) Katas. 

Feeling better, more relaxed and in control, I once again began to closely examine the altar.  This time, I noted that the shape was a pentagon.  Not knowing if that had a bearing on anything as I know nothing about altars, it still seemed interesting that the sharp prow of the altar faced the door and the only part that was hidden was at the rear.

I stood there looking at the rear of the altar and then I decided to once again try to push on it.  Placing my hands at shoulder height near the edges I began to push inwards.  As I exerted all the power I could I bent my head down and gritting my teeth I began to slowly feel something give.

I continued pushing until my face and arms began to feel flush and my vision was beginning to go red.  At the point, I heard a snap and the hidden doorway swung inwards and upwards. I immediately stepped into the opening to block the door from coming down and locking again if it could.  I might have broken the locking mechanism.

Breathing deeply, I recovered my energy, the bar on the interface had swung down to twenty percent and I felt the decline.  I also took the time to feel in my mouth, as I had bit my tongue when pushing against the door.  The problem was the teeth I had bit my tongue with; they were pointed and slightly longer, feeling more like sharp fangs than human teeth. Only two of them were changed, I felt thankful for that.

Once I recovered I studied the door and realized I would be able to open it from  inside of the tunnel.  I began to slowly walk down the passageway.  Clearly the tunnel had been built years ago and a thick layer of dust and cobwebs covered the floor and walls.

The walls were brick and the floor cobblestones however after descending a hundred steps; it changed to dirt with some sort of glaze on it.  I saw that the tunnel had begun to climb at this point and noted that there was a small hole in the floor. Also, the walls looked damaged, cracked and discolored.

Stepping carefully to the hole I noted the distance, about half a meter across. As I looked at the hole the floor suddenly gave way and I fell into a pit about ten feet deep.  Getting to me feet and shaking off the dust I glanced up.  I felt that I would be able to jump climb out when I decided to leave but that was not yet.

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I could see that the tunnel stretched out before me, behind me  a massive pile of dirt and rubble.  This tunnel seemed years older than the one above it and was going in a different direction.   It appeared much rougher and hewn out of the basic dirt and rock of the mountain that the city was built upon.

Beginning to walk I decided to test the range of my communication with Twink.  “Twink can you hear me?” Hearing a sleepy “yes Poppa” I asked what she was doing.  “Just waiting for you, what are you doing?”  “I am exploring a tunnel looking for the treasure, I am hoping to find it soon.”  Hearing a tired sounding “treasure is good” I told Twink to rest while waiting for me.

Proceeding onward, I soon came to a small door that marked the end of the tunnel.  It was in this room that the golden treasure glow was radiating from.  Grasping the handle I began to pull expecting it to be locked I was surprised that it opened.  I stood and stared into the room, not knowing what to expect but not expecting what I saw.  As the door opened I observed two pillars standing on each side of the room ignite, illuminating the space within.

I slowly stepped into the room, noting that aside from the pillars the only object in the room appeared to be some kind of a mirror.  It measured close to seven feet long and seven feet tall and was covered in faint black glyphs.  I stepped closer and then stopped abruptly as I realized that my reflected image was made from the glyphs on the mirror, spinning rapidly as they began to coalesce into the shape of a dragon.

As I stared the image began to change to that of my human body, and then back to the image of a dragon.  I also noted that the outer edge of the mirror was still covered in a faint markings that seemed to be representative of two swords that were wrapped up in what looked like roses.

As I peered closer at the images I lifted my hand without thinking and touched the surface of the mirror.  Suddenly there was a sound like a huge snap and the mirror cracked, I looked and noticed that all the glyphs were rushing to the point of contact between my hand and the glass. At this point, I said the magic words, “what the fuck” and tried to pull my hand away.  Well, that did not happen.

Soon things went from bad to worse as the glyphs began to transfer from the mirror to my body, they spread up my arms and shoulders and then down my back and stomach.  I could feel the glyphs imprint themselves into my skin.  It felt  like a tattoo covering my whole upper body and the needlework was all being done at once.  Once again I hurt a lot.

Finally it was done; there was nothing left on the mirror and my body felt like it was on fire.  My hand was released from the mirror and fell to the ground along with the rest of me.  I began to rip off my black leather top and bracers.  Finally, freed from the leathers I watched in amazement as the black glyphs from the mirror burnt themselves into my skin.  I noticed through the waves of fiery pain that from the elbows down to my wrists the skin had the wild flowers and vines holding the swords, one on each arm.

Feeling that I was in no shape to continue trying to explore, I put my leathers into my bag.  Making my way out of the room I thought of the fact that the flames had died on the pillars as soon as the glyphs had left the mirror and transferred over to me.  Grunting in pain, I made my way up the passageway, and finally coming to the cave in I gathered all my strength and jumped, catching the lip I managed to pull myself up and over.  Looking at the interface, I could see that my energy was down to 15 percent and my life was hovering in the red danger zone at about 10 percent.

Something had occurred and it had kicked the crap out of me.  I stumbled down the passageway breathing heavily and finally made it to the altar building.  At this point, I could barely stand and stumbling along on willpower alone I made it out the front door.  Suddenly I heard a scared young voice “Poppa” and then heard no more.

I awoke gently, my skin feeling stiff and my muscles sore.  Making up for that was the lovely smell of cinnamon sprinkled on fresh baked bread that was covered with butter with a faint hint of spicy flowers in the background.  Slowly opening my eyes, I saw I was in a nice room painted a light blue.  I was lying on a queen sized bed and gently breathing beside me was Reona the barmaid, and the lovely smell was coming from her. I closed my eyes and opened them again.  Tilting my head I could see that Reona was sleeping on her back with one leg thrown over my leg. 

Gently lifting the blankets, it was apparent that Reona was very comfortable in her own skin as that was what she was wearing. She was also a real redhead, but that is something a gentleman will not talk about.   As I placed the comforter down and tried to rationalize why I was naked in bed with one of the most attractive women I have ever seen her eyes opened and smiling at me she asked "do you like what you see."