Before anyone took watch, the whole group gathered up the treasures they could find. Isa and Alice found a heavy silvery cape spread out inside the sarcophagus and a pouch made of some sort of reptile skin. Lund found a chest filled with gold coins. Mery unbuckled the sword belt from the mummy. She also pulled a necklace from around the mummy’s neck. Dulrak found a set of bright silver armor behind a screen in one corner. A shelf next to the armor had 2 potion bottles and a jar of some sort of ointment.

They laid everything near the door and sat in a semi-circle around it. Lund had opened the chest and the gold gleamed in the light of Mery’s dancing lights. “First choice?” Mery asked the group. “Besides the gold, I mean. That’s divided, right?”

She pulled the first blade from the scabbard. It tapered from 4 inches near the handle down to about an inch at the tip. The dark metal seemed to drink in the light. Both edges seemed very sharp.

About halfway down the blade Isa saw a drawing etched into the metal. She leaned closer for a look. Mery tilted the blade toward her. “An eagle,” she said, “caught mid-battle, just about to catch her prey. It matches the pommel.” Mery adjusted her grip to show off the end of the dark handle. There sat a stylized bird’s claw with a red gem clutched in its talons.

“This,” Mery said, “is a blade. I could do something with a blade like this.” She stood and held the sword out, at the ready. “It’s light.” She took a practice swing well away from the group. “Feels well balanced.”

Replacing the sword to its scabbard, Mery touched the other hilt. She began to pull the sword free from the scabbard and frowned. “It’s broken.” She held up a sword hilt with no blade.

The hilt was a dull golden color, flat and bar-shaped. Its pommel was carved into an oval shape with 3 arcs in it, as if depicting the sun slowly setting.

Mery turned it over. “I don’t get it.” She held the hilt toward Isa.

As Isa’s fingers grasped the hilt, a bright light flashed for a moment. Mery tumbled backwards and came up with a surprised look on her face. “You almost took off my nose!”

“I saw the flash too, but I don’t understand.” She turned to look at Alice. “Did you see it?”

Alice shook her head. “I wasn’t paying attention. Let me see.”

Isa tilted the hilt up so that if the light flashed again, it would at least go toward the ceiling. Alice took the hilt, but nothing happened. She adjusted her grip a few times. “It’s heavy, but I don’t even see where the blade would go.” She looked at Lund. “Why would someone do that? It is like a training sword without the sword?”

Mery had been staring at the hilt, and now she said, “Isa, careful now take back the blade, won’t you?”

“It’s not a blade,” Isa said, but she took it from Alice and held it upright. A bright, thin sword shone for about 2 seconds before fading. The light had been bright enough that Isa saw the line of the blade behind her eyes.

“Tis a blade,” Mery laughed. “A radiant blade. I’ve heard tales but never seen one.”

“Is it really?” Dulrak sat forward. “My cousin is a grand cleric of Selvank, and they have one of these in the temple. A holy relic. You’ll need to attune to it, Isa or, rather, it to you. And then you will be able to wield it in battle.”

“Babe,” Alice reached over and touched Isa’s cheek. “That’s so awesome. Proud of you.”

Isa felt her cheeks get hot. She looked down at the hilt. “How do I carry it? There’s no blade to—”

Mery pulled the scabbard free of the belt. “Clever bit of engineering here.” She handed the scabbard over, and Isa saw that it had a wide mouth where the hilt slotted in. “Thread it through your belt, and none’s the wiser.”

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Isa looked at Dulrak. “How do I attune?”

“You need to sit with it for a few hours. Study it, mediate on it. It’s powerful magic – religious magic – and well, it needs to know what sort of cleric you are.”

“You mean it might not work if it doesn’t— I don’t know, find me worthy?”

“I can’t say, lass. I’m telling you all I know. But I will say that, if it works for you once, it will work for you always. Assuming that you stay right with your goddess.”

“Huh. Well so far, so good, but She’s a strange one.” Isa turned her attention to Lund. “What do you like of this loot? Anything? Must be something you could at least sell.”

“The armor,” said Lund. “That king, he was a tall guy, maybe not so skinny in life. So it might fit me.” He lifted the breastplate from the dummy and strapped it on. It fit Lund perfectly, as if it had been custom made for him. He moved his shoulders and swung his arms. “It’s light.” He glanced down at the mummy. “Made for a king.”

Mery grinned at him. “I am definitely standing behind you from now on.”

“Tank and spank, for sure,” said Alice. “The old ways are the best.” She was cradling a small jar, and Isa said, “Whatcha got there?”

“It was with the potions,” said Alice. “It’s warm, so I’m holding it. My hands are cold.”

“What’s in it, though?”

Alice shrugged and opened the jar. “It’s some sort of cream. Smells nice.” She brought the jar to her nose. “Rosemary?”

“Is it healing, then?” Mery asked. “Are the potions healing, I hope.”

Dulrak shook his head. “I’m not sure. They were with the armor, so maybe this ointment does something to the armor. Maybe it’s polish.”

Alice held up one of the potions. A red dollop of color hung suspended in clear liquid, and as Alice held it up, the red splotch grew in size until the entire flask was red.

“What did you do?” said Isa. “Is it gonna explode or….”

“I barely shook it. I just held it up to show you guys, and—” As she spoke, the red began to shrink back to its original size. Alice looked at it, looked at the others. “Did you see?”

Mery started laughing. “A shrinking potion? What a lark!” She shook her hand. “Don’t drink that. Alright? Don’t drink it. You’ll be a weak, small thing – only for a few hours, but we don’t need that now, do we?”

Lund glanced at Dulrak. “Small isn’t always bad.”

The dwarf didn’t seem to notice. He said, “Yon halfling soldier, he didn’t need height to hold the sword.”

“Is that one like a smoke bomb?” Isa pointed at the other potion flask which seemed to contain a swirling gray cloud.

Alice shook her head. “If I had to guess – and I guess we do – I’d say it’s a gas form spell. Drink it and it’s like someone cast gaseous form on you.”

“I see what you’re saying,” said Mery. “But this could be anything. Could be a smoke bomb. Not so strange. Why the leap?”

“I’ll get 3rd class spells soon enough, so I’ve been studying them. Gaseous Form is a 3rd class spell. Seemed like a— You know,” Alice stood up, “I really don’t have to explain myself to you. You want the damned potion, take it.” Alice tossed the cloudy flask at Mery, who scrambled and caught it with one hand.

In the silence that followed Dulrak said, “A dwarf can always use another pouch. I’ll take this.” He held up the reptile skin bag. “And this, if there are no objections.” He pointed at the necklace that the mummy had been wearing. “I cast detect magic, and it’s magical, alright. I think I know what it does, but I’ll mediate on it during my watch.”

“Let’s eat and then decide on watches,” said Lund. He pulled a packet from his bag. “I brought some meat and bread. I have salt, too.”

Everyone sat to eat. They followed Lund’s lead and shared provisions, such as they had. Dulrak had a flask of rum. Mery had some dried fruit, and Isa happily took a handful. “They’re like Raisinets,” she said to Alice.

“Like raisins, you mean.” Alice peered into Isa’s hand. “No chocolate.”

“I’m imagining the chocolate, alright?”

Lund was talking with Dulrak. “And so you are on your own for months at a time?”

“Aye,” he took a swig of rum. “It suits me. I don’t particularly care for the underground.” He glanced up. “This? This is nothing. A few feet of rock, at most. Where my clan lives? That’s real underground. Miles under the mountains and valleys. Deep, dank, dark.” He shuddered. “I prefer the wind in my face, thank you.”

Isa felt her eyes drift to the ceiling. He can talk about miles of rock; this is quite enough for me – more than enough. She glanced at the others. Had Dulrak’s words affected anyone else?

“So,” Mery slapped her thighs, “about those watches. Who’s with me first? Alice?”

“Me?” Alice put her hand to her chest.

“Yeah, why not? Girls against the boys.”

“I can take a watch, everyone.” Isa stood up. “I feel fine.”

Dulrak held up his hand. “Mayhap 2nd watch. You need to rest and heal now.”

“He’s right,” said Lund. “You look like hell. A stiff wind would knock you down. Alice, you two bed down. Mery and I will take 1st watch. You and Dulrak can take second.”

Alice nodded, took Isa’s arm, and led her to the area where the armor had been. She grabbed the silvery cape that had lain in the sarcophagus and spread it out on the floor. “Maybe it will keep the bugs away,” she said with a smile.

Isa lay down, and Alice wrapped her arm around her. “Sleep, love. Rest and heal.”

“Is that a spell?” Isa said. She’d meant it as a joke, but her eyelids had become too heavy to hold open, and if Alice answered, Isa missed it because she was already asleep.