As Durdrin, Vielyn, Rylzt, Caelnel, and Brudaer left me in the armory, I turned towards the stack of rucksacks. I focused on the bag and tried to detect magic again. The bag began to glow with a magical aura. I drew my House De’Endar dagger, and as expected, the blade spoke to me, describing the pack in great detail.
The Magnificent Mulepack
"The Magnificent Mulepack is constructed of finely tanned leather, with straps featuring brass hardware and buckles. It has two side pouches, each of which appears large enough to hold about a liter of material. In fact, each is like a bag of holding and can actually hold material of up to 1 cubic meter in volume or 125 kilograms in weight. The large central portion of the pack can contain up to 10 cubic meters or 1000 kilograms of material. Even when fully loaded, the backpack always weighs only 5 kilograms. While such storage is useful enough, the pack has an even greater power in addition. When the wearer reaches into it for a specific item, that item is always on top. Thus, no digging around and fumbling is ever necessary to find what a Mulepack contains."
“Impressive…” I muttered to myself as I threw one of the straps over my shoulder and kept the bag in front of me to make filling it easier.
I looked around the large vault I was in, impressed by all the treasures and equipment, most of it magical in nature, that my father had amassed.
I was standing in the storage section, and as I looked on the shelves and racks, there were all sorts of storage options from portable holes to mundane chests and bags of holding and everything in between. I recognized all these items and did not need my blade to tell me what they did.
The portable hole was a circular handkerchief that could be folded to store in a pocket. It could be stretched to a six-foot diameter and was an extradimensional doorway to a non-dimensional space ten feet deep. I grabbed one and tucked it into my hat, so it was pinched in place by the crown of the hat.
I stepped to the side to see the various-sized bags of holding. They ranged from full-sized satchels to small belt pouches. On the side of my belt on the left, I affixed a small belt pouch of holding, capable of holding fifteen pounds. I affixed a larger belt one on my right hip near my House De’Endar dagger.
We were taught at a young age not to combine extradimensional/nondimensional spaces because bad, bad things would happen. If you were to try to put one into the other, it would cause a rift to open that would twist apart and destroy anything in a ten-foot radius around the incident.
I had seen this effect weaponized one time, as a teaching tool. Caelnel showed me an arrow where the head was replaced by a metal cage that held open a small bag of holding. There was a small shear pin that would break on impact and would cause a rolled-up portable hole to be shoved into the bag of holding as the cage crumpled.
We watched as it exploded on impact and then created a semi-spherical indentation in the solid stone wall it had impacted. It was a very expensive weapon, though, as the portable holes were worth nearly twenty thousand gold and the bags of holding nearly three thousand. To find someone to craft it and have it made properly would be another few thousand, which would equate to quite a pile spent on a single shot. They were not used in warfare but were used in this way to demonstrate why you don’t combine them.
When I was satisfied that I’d have enough storage, I walked over to a section of the back wall that had high-quality expedition gear and slowly expanded my detect magic to a slightly bigger area, scanning items as I looked at them. Everything was neatly sorted by function.
I started at the shelter section, where I spotted some finely crafted tents that looked big enough for about four people to sleep in, smaller pup tents big enough for only two, and some rather plush-looking bedrolls, tightly rolled and bound by fine leather straps. I shoved two of the bedrolls into my pack. I figured if I was going to be sleeping on hard stone, I’d make it as comfortable as possible.
As I inspected the shelters, I noticed a few stacks of gold coins glowing with a magical aura. I picked one up and inspected it. The gold coins had the image of a grinning dark elf wearing an eyepatch and a wide-brimmed hat with a huge feather sticking out of it. On the other side was the image of a cabin with smoke drifting out of the chimney. I held my dagger over the coin, and it gave the detailed description of the item:
Caer Null (Will be renamed once claimed)
"You conjure a sturdy cottage or lodge made of material that is common in the area where the spell is cast - stone, timber, or (at worst) sod. The floor is level, clean, and dry. In all respects, the lodging resembles a normal cottage, with a sturdy door, two shuttered windows, and a small fireplace.
The dwelling provides considerable security - it is as strong as a normal stone building, regardless of its actual material composition. The dwelling resists flames and fire as if it were stone. It is impervious to normal missiles (but not the sort cast by siege machinery or giants).
The door, shutters, and even chimney are secure against intrusion, the former two being arcane locked and the latter secured by an iron grate at the top and a narrow flue. In addition, these three areas are protected by an alarm spell. Finally, an unseen servant is conjured to provide service to you for the duration of the shelter.
The secure shelter contains crude furnishings - eight bunks, a long trestle table, four benches, and a writing desk. A small pedestal above the fireplace holds the coin, and once the coin is removed from the pedestal, the building vanishes, and its occupants are moved safely outside the door."
These were right up my alley. I held the dagger over the other coins and focused on them, discovering they were all identical. I stuck one in my pocket and another two in my backpack, in the main compartment.
I grabbed one of the two-man tents and dropped it into the bag, then added two of the four-man tents as well.
Next to the shelter shelves were the cordage shelves. I grabbed two hundred-foot lengths of finely made silk rope, the label indicating that it was designed for climbing. A few fifty-foot sections of cheaper jute rope went into the bag, followed by some twine. I grabbed a couple of small spools of barbed wire and shoved them into the main compartment of the bag too. As I was about to move on to the cooking equipment, I spotted a couple of dark-colored intricate rods with buttons on them. They too glowed with a magical aura, and once again I held out my dagger.
Rod of Ropes
"Crafted from dark ebony wood with a lustrous black shine, this 16-inch baton has three subtle indentations. Each indentation acts as a button, activated with a move action. No two functions can be used simultaneously.
Pressing the first button causes 10 feet of rope to extrude per second, up to a total of 300 feet. Pressing the button again stops or retracts the rope at the same rate, with knots automatically untying within 30 feet of the rod.
The second button reveals a leather wrist loop and three grappling hooks. When pressed again, the rod launches a third of its length, trailing a 300-foot rope, which stops unreeling upon striking something or with a quick jerk. The rope retracts at 10 feet per second, pulling up to 1,000 pounds. Within 30 feet, the grappling hook can deal damage and cause a bull rush effect.
The third button sprouts three grappling hooks from each end. Pressing it again launches both ends, trailing 600 feet of rope in total. The middle section expands for sliding along the rope, holding up to 1,000 pounds without sagging. Squeezing releases the slide, allowing descent down an angled rope.
Pushing any button again deactivates the rod."
I grabbed one and tied it tight to the outside of my pack using thick leather straps. I already had a few ideas for how it would be useful, especially in the underground caverns we called home.
Next up was cooking equipment.
There were stoves, dishes, and cutlery of all sorts on the shelves. I picked up an adamantine mug, plate, bowl, and knife/fork/spoon set and dropped them into my pack.
The stoves were a different matter. There were larger “field stoves” that folded out large enough to put two fair-sized pots on and feed an entire Shadow Team, about ten people. There were also small sets that consisted of a small single burner stove and a small fuel tank that nestled into a bowl-sized pot with a cup-sized lid.
They seemed perfect for a single person, so I grabbed two of them and one of the larger stoves before grabbing two pots and shoving all of them into the main compartment of the magical backpack. I grabbed another personal-sized set and dropped it into the bag of holding on my right hip.
They were simple to operate. The fuel tanks were filled with stove oil, and then you’d give the built-in pump a few pumps to pressurize the tank. Open the valve on the stove and then ignite it with a spark or flame.
Small gold flasks sat next to the large stoves and glowed with the same magical aura as the other magical items. Once again, I held up the dagger, and once again, it read the description.
Flask of Infinite Oil
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"This small gold flask actually holds enough stove oil to fill the field stove once or the personal stove six times. Twice per day the flask will refill itself, if emptied."
I dropped one flask into my pack and one into my pocket, and then picked up one of the striker rods. It was a metal rod about a half-inch thick and six inches long that had a hole bored in one end for a lanyard and a metal striker.
The metal rod was a mix of softer metals, and the striker was hardened steel with clean crisp corners. When the rod was struck by the hard metal striker, it would create a shower of sparks hot enough to ignite the stove fuel or a tinder bundle. I tried it out with the included striker, and after a couple of attempts, I was able to throw a shower of sparks more or less where I wanted them. I dropped two in my bag.
Beside the golden flasks were small bags of what appeared to be spongy marbles. They too glowed with a magical aura, so I held my House De’Endar dagger over the bag to find out what they were.
Bead of Nourishment
"These small, transparent, gelatinous marbles have a sweet taste and dissolve on your tongue to provide enough nourishment for one day. They fill your belly and make you feel as though you’ve eaten a full meal."
I picked up one of the small bags and untied the string before looking into it. I picked one of the small orbs from the bag and inspected it closely before tossing it in my mouth. Sure enough, it tasted sweet and dissolved on my tongue. I felt full, as though I had just eaten a full breakfast, and could feel my energy levels rising. I tied the bag shut again and placed it in the bag of holding on my right hip before grabbing two more and dropping them into the main compartment of the backpack.
On the shelf below the Beads of Nourishment were what appeared to be mithril flasks, and they too showed the magical aura. My dagger again gave the description of the flask.
Flask of Infinite Water
"This small mithril flask holds one gallon of water. Twice per day the flask will refill itself, if emptied."
One went into my pocket and two went into my backpack. Water was important, and fresh, drinkable water was hard to find when you were traveling through the caves and caverns of the deep dark.
Brudaer was the SERE teacher. SERE stood for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. It was a mandatory class for all Barra D’aron, and I had spent a year training with him. I could hear his voice now telling me, “Don’t forget, two is one, one is none,” which is why I grabbed at least two of pretty much everything. If one broke, I’d have a spare. He also taught me to carry the five C’s of survival on me at all times. They were Cutting Tool, Combustion Device, Cover, Container, and Cordage. I had all of those in my pack and most on my belt as well.
Satisfied that I could survive comfortably anywhere we went, I moved from the expedition gear section to the weapons and armor section. If I had forgotten anything, and I was pretty sure I probably did, I’d get it on my next trip through.
Rylzt had been my hand-to-hand combat instructor, and after a year of training with the standard issue sword and light armor, I was given the option to choose my own weapons and armor to train with for the rest of my combat training. I chose the kukri that had been given to me by Vielyn and my House De’Endar dagger, the two weapons I was most familiar with.
As I looked at the weapon racks, I looked on in awe at all the different swords and other weapons. I moved along the weapon racks, slowly moving my dagger over the swords until I came to a crate.
Nightfall
"A finely crafted glassteel kukri. This magical weapon possesses the ability to ooze Drow sleep poison on command and allow the weapon to be used as a non-lethal weapon with light strikes. The owner can call the weapon to his hand at will."
I looked at the crate curiously before flipping the lid open. Inside the crate were fifteen or so kukris in their sheaths. They all glowed slightly, but the one in the center glowed fiercely with magical energy. “You must be Nightfall…” I said quietly as I picked it up. I held my dagger over the blade to confirm my suspicions, and it repeated the description.
Sheathing my House De’Endar dagger, I drew Nightfall from its sheath. “Well, hello beautiful...” I said as I gazed at the blade. It was very similar in shape to my own kukri, but the blade materials were very different. The metal of my blade, Deathsbite, was jet-black adamantine, but this blade's metal was almost as clear as glass with a silvery haze along the wickedly sharpened edge.
I shoved it back into its sheath and tucked it under my arm as I reached down and unfastened my House De’Endar dagger from my belt. After a moment of thinking about it, I moved it to the front of my belt on the left side. I put Nightfall in its place on my hip before looking down at the rest of the kukris in the box. I reached down and drew my dagger once more to see why the others were glowing.
Returning Kukri
"This starmetal blade can be summoned to the owner’s hand with just a thought."
Thinking outside the box, for Drow at least, I thought it might be a good idea to greet my new subordinates with a gift.
“Father, can I bring a gift for my team?” I asked into my communicator as I thought about Durdrin.
“What did you have in mind?” he replied.
“There’s a crate of kukris here. I took one called Nightfall for myself, but there are…” I paused for a moment and counted the remaining blades. “There’re fourteen returning starmetal kukris here gathering dust. I think it would make a good gesture and be a sensible gift as well, a sidearm they can summon to their hand,” I said to Durdrin. I waited for what seemed to be a long while.
He seemed to be taking his time with his response, but he finally did respond. “It’s unorthodox, but I agree with you. It will be a good gesture and it is a sensible gift. If you can manage to get them to the barracks, then you can give your men the blades,” he said as though this should be a minor challenge for me.
“Thank you, Father, I’ll manage. See you soon,” I said cheerfully.
“You’ll need to bring ten. I’ll see you when you get here,” Durdrin replied before going back to whatever he was doing.
I picked up the kukris and began to shove them into the top of the bag until there were ten of the magical blades in my pack. I smiled as I flipped the lid shut on the crate, leaving the remainder of the kukris behind. Looking over the rest of the weapons, I figured I had enough and didn’t really see anything else that suited me.
After loading the blades into my pack, I took a quick wander around to gather anything else I thought I might need, from a magical mask that protected against poisonous gases to traps, to notebooks and plenty of ink and quills. Durdrin had told me to help myself, and I made sure to take at least one or two of anything that seemed useful.
The second-to-last stop was armor, and that was where I ran into my first real issue. “All of this armor is built for adults,” I said to no one in particular.
“Perhaps I can help you with that,” came a voice from behind me.
Spinning on my heels, I turned to see a short dark elf standing behind a cage in what appeared to be a small workshop. “Who are you?” I asked, mildly surprised to find anyone in here with me.
“I am the Armorer,” the short, stocky dark elf replied casually.
I looked at the Armorer and nodded. “I liked the light armor I trained with, but Durdrin said there is better than the standard light armor here. It’s all too big for me, though,” I said, and the Armorer nodded his head.
“I think I have something that you will like. Wait there,” he said before disappearing somewhere behind the counter. He re-emerged from the back room about a minute later carrying an ebony box ornately engraved with a spider and webs motif. He set the box on the counter and then opened the cage before sliding it through to me and then closing the gate once again.
I opened the two intricate spring-loaded clasps holding the box shut and then lifted the lid, revealing the finest set of light armor I had ever seen. The top completely covered the torso, arms, and outer thighs, and the high collar protected most of the neck. I lifted it out of the box and then noticed the pants that were laying below them. They protected the entire lower body down to the ankles but were articulated at the joints. Even though it was made of two layers of tough leather sandwiching a layer of chainmail, it was still soft and supple, and the armor wouldn’t hinder my movement.
There was one problem, though. This suit of armor looked like it would fit Rylzt. “How long do you suppose it will take me to grow into this?” I asked.
The Armorer shook his head and brought a hand up to his face. “Put it on,” he said flatly.
With a shrug of my shoulders, I undid the buckles on the pants and then slid them on over my own pants. It wasn’t hard to do; the pants were huge on me. I looked to the Armorer, who pointed to the top. I took a deep breath to steady myself as I began to think this may have been some sort of joke, but I begrudgingly complied. I spread my feet just beyond the width of my shoulders to hold the pants up while I undid the clasps on the side of the armor and slid it on.
To my surprise, as soon as I closed the clasps, the armor began to shrink until it fit me perfectly.
I drew Deathsbite and Nightfall and went through a quick warmup that would let me gauge my range of movement. I was happy to find that I could move just as easily as when I wasn’t wearing the armor. I looked up to the Armorer with a wide smile. “Thank you!” I said enthusiastically as I put my cloak and hat back on.
“You need gauntlets and a helmet,” the Armorer said flatly. “Does Durdrin or Vielyn wear a helmet?” I asked sincerely. I had never seen either of them wear a helmet, but I had only ever seen either of them fight in training.
The Armorer shook his head. “Neither wear a helmet. Vielyn wears gauntlets, though, and I’d suggest that you do too, since you’ll be fighting up close and personal with those short blades of yours,” he replied.
“Got anything in mind?” I asked as I nodded my head.
The Armorer smirked and vanished into the back again. He came back after a few more minutes carrying a pair of fine leather gauntlets, the pattern similar to my armor and the construction much the same. He slid them through the opening of the gate, and I slid them on my hands immediately. Like the armor, the gauntlets shrank to a perfect fit.
“With those, your opponent will have a much harder time disarming you,” the Armorer said as I looked at my hands and wiggled my fingers while moving my wrists.
“Thank you again,” I said, and the Armorer simply smiled and nodded.
With a wave goodbye, I picked up my pack that had been leaning against the counter and moved to the currency counter, where another Drow, a female this time, was sitting behind the cage. She was pretty and didn’t look much older than me.
“Hello, Masdrin,” she said as I approached, and I stopped in my tracks as I looked at her.
I didn’t recognize her, but I immediately noticed her bright green eyes, and they were quickly burned into my memory. “Have we met?” I asked curiously.
“No, we’ve never met,” she said as she smiled at me.
“How do you know me?” I asked as I walked over and leaned on the counter.
“Everyone here knows the Handsome Rogue. You’re Durdrin’s son,” she said, her cheeks starting to show a hint of red as she used the literal translation of my name to compliment me.
With a crooked grin, I looked at her. “So what’s your name?” I asked as I rested my head on my fist and grinned at her.
“I’m Zeera, the Barra D’aron accountant,” she said as she smiled at me.
She was a beautiful Drow girl, about seventeen years old. Her gorgeous green eyes sparkled in the dancing lights that moved about the room, and her smile was bright and disarming. She seemed a little young to be working in such a high-security place, but I’d later find out she was absolutely brilliant with numbers.
“Hello, Zeera, pleased to meet you,” I said as I set my backpack on the counter.
“How can I help you today?” she asked while smiling her perfect white smile at me.
“I need two hundred and twenty-five pounds of platinum coins, twenty-five pounds of gold coins, ten more pounds of platinum pieces and five more of gold. Then I need two hundred and fifty pounds of assorted jewels,” I said casually.
Zeera raised an eyebrow and looked at me curiously. “Durdrin, you catch all that?” she asked. Durdrin’s response came to both of us: “Yes, I heard all that. Give him whatever he wants,” he said, and I smiled wide. She tilted her head and smirked at me. “Okay, boss, not a problem,” Zeera said before disappearing into the back, out of sight.
“You did grab more than just money and kukris, I hope,” I heard Durdrin say as I waited for Zeera to return from the vault.
“Yes, Father. I have multiples of the five C’s that Brudaer taught me about in SERE class, shelter and cooking for my entire team as well. The armorer set me up with some nice armor, and you already know about my new weapon,” I said confidently.
“Very good. So what is all the currency for?” Durdrin asked.
“Some doors are easier to open with gold rather than muscle,” I responded.
I heard Durdrin laugh. “You’re definitely my son,” he replied.
I chuckled at his response and then continued to wait for Zeera to return.
It took her a few minutes to weigh up everything I had ordered, but when she finished, she reappeared from the back pushing a hand cart that was loaded down with over five hundred pounds of platinum, gold, and gemstones. She opened the cage and pushed the cart through before backing up a step and slamming the cage shut. “You’ll have to pack it yourself, I’m afraid. When I’m on duty, I’m not allowed out of the cage,” she said with a sigh as she continued to smile at me.
“Oh, don’t worry about that! I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself,” I said as I winked at her. I was still wearing my wide crooked grin as I knelt down to inspect the bags of coins and jewels.
She had bagged them exactly as I had ordered them, so I picked up the ten-pound bag of platinum coins and poured them into the bag of holding on my front left hip and then did the same with the five-pound bag of gold.
The bigger bags had zippers holding them shut, so I knocked over the first one, the one with the platinum coins, on its side. I positioned my pack below it, opened the left side pouch, propped it up under the bag of coins, and then opened the zipper just enough for the coins to pour out and into their new home in my pack.
I did the same thing with the twenty-five-pound bag of gold before I closed the pouch up securely and then flipped the pack around and opened the right-hand pouch. I filled that pouch with the jewels before securing it too.
I lifted my pack and smirked. Even with everything I put in it, the thing only weighed five kilograms. I put both arms through the straps and lifted the pack onto my back before concealing it with my cloak, giving me a slight hunchback look.
I stood up and looked at Zeera. “How do I look?” I asked as I stood up straight with my hands on my hips and my chest puffed out proudly.
“Handsome…” she said as she twirled a lock of her long dark black hair around her delicate finger and grinned at me. A more experienced man would have seen how she was acting and realized that she was attracted to him. I, however, did not pick up on it. I did like it when she called me handsome, though.
“Thank you,” I said politely as I turned for the opening in the wall that led to the armory proper.
She waved at me as I left, and I couldn’t help but take a quick glance over my shoulder as I was going.