"I forgot about that knife!" Lyselle smacked herself in the head, exasperated, "That explain's so much. I don't know why I didn't think of it the moment I saw the sword."

The newcomer grinned an easy smile, shrugging, "Well, that probably has to do with the concealment spell. Lucky me, I found some everroot out in the woods and made a batch of truesight paste. Got a few more uses left, if need be."

Lyselle whistled at the sound of the herb, while Deran struggled to process it all. He'd have to throw a few points into Intellect, things were happening ridiculously fast. Even talking to Lyselle felt odd at times, her mind obviously doing more than he could imagine. Or keep up with. "Hold it. Sorry man but I don't really have good experience with strangers here. Especially of the player kind. So can you maybe back up a bit and explain what it is you want? Also, what's so special about the knife and my sword?" Deran looked at the blade, then back at the man, before sheathing it and pushing it around to the back of his hip.

"Send a party invite." Lyselle crossed her arms, giving the man a look up and down, "You don't look like you really belong in a starter town. First the invite, then some explanations."

Lucky Luke has requested to join your party! Y/N

"What does this have to do with him telling us why he's here?" Deran asked while mentally clicking yes, noticing Luke's avatar appearing in the corner of the screen with a health bar.

Luke answered for her, relaxing into his self-assured pose once more, "The game has it set up so parties have no friendly fire, not really anyways. That and a ten-hour ceasefire once the party is disbanded, just so people don't get any funny ideas about luring a party out and wiping them for their gear. Works well enough, I suppose. You guys off in a hurry or you able to sit? I had to pack most of my food up when I was told quite explicitly to get here."

Deran paused again, hating how paranoid he both felt and no doubt seemed, "Wait, who told you to get over here? Is there someone else traveling with you?"

Luke spread his hands out in the air, wiggling his fingers theatrically, "Nothing like that, good friend. My luck told me... kind of. You ever have every bit of luck you've ever had suddenly turn against you? I'm almost certain I'm not welcome back at that inn." He shuddered but grinned at the two of them, "So, sit?" He pulled out what looked like a small cloth stained with grease and who knows what else. Unwrapping it, he revealed sausages and other pieces of food crammed into it.

"You weren't lying about being in a rush. That's more mess than meal." Gorgath cracked, finally breaking the silence, his distrust for men was overcome by his desire to ridicule them. 

Luke shrugged, picking at the pieces carefully, "Anyways. I'm glad I came, looks like you lot are on your way to having a lot of fun. Mind if I tag along? I can be a bit useful at times."

"You really think we would just believe you happened here by luck? When there's a world event going on?" Lyselle scoffed, rolling her eyes and setting her feet wide, staff angled across her body, "Nonlethal damage can go through, you know, and I'm pretty good with this stick."

"I'd speak quickly if I were you," Gorgath nodded, rubbing at a bruise visible from behind his simple shirt. The bard never wore armor, saying it messed with his movements and distracted him from his singing. 

Luke looked up at them from his seat on the ground and smiled, "Oh yeah. You don't know me yet! I'm currently level 8 with a luck score of 25."

"You mean you've put almost every single point you've gotten into luck?" Lyselle was done with the math before I could even begin, making me want to increase my intellect even more. Being able to process information so quickly was a must when every moment was a test. 

"Making me probably the luckiest man this side of the world teeth." Luke shrugged nonchalantly, "It has it's perks, though the downfalls aren't the best either. I've made my choice, however; Luck will be my guiding hand in this world. It's worked better here than in real life, that's for sure. Here, don't believe me. Have this. As I said, I just wanna come along for the ride." He tossed the knife negligently towards Deran, little light reflecting off the dull gray metal. It spun haphazardly, yet pinned to the ground just shy of his foot. 

"Huh. You weren't lying about the luck." Deran bent to pick it out of the ground, staring at the eddies and whorls on the blade. "So, what do you know about this stuff?" He waved the blade towards their newest companion, "The blacksmith in town barely knew anything of the sword and you've already said more. It's called a keypiece?"

-You have acquired-

Luckfang

Base Damage: 1-4 slashing/piercing

Durability: 20/22

Quality: Masterwork

Value: 12 Swans

"Not much more than you know, really. I know it has something to do with the knife and that together they make a key. Probably opens the unopenable door, though who really knows? Rumor has it, at least from what I've gathered, the metal isn't of this world. I named the dagger myself." He looked almost proud of the fact, though pride was nothing new for him.

"Not of this world? What's that even mean?" Deran shook his head, confusion warring with curiosity. It was an odd feeling, to say the least, "If you only recognized it because of that paste, we better hope no one else has any. At least, no one smart enough to make the connection. I'm going to have enough trouble as is without painting a target on my back that everyone can see."

"We need to get back to that tunnel as quickly as possible." Lyselle stared at Luke intently, trying to figure him out. The easy grin could hide anything and they only had one chance at this. "We can't really stop you from coming along I suppose, so the party is the best way to go."

"First, we have the matter of buying the tunnel. Hopefully, this guy has some coin on him." Deran nudged the dead body over with his foot and began looting.

-You have acquired-

Ring of Sustenance

Poisoner's kit

Masterwork Bastardsword

Masterwork Chainmail

5 Swans

25 Feathers

Deran found out that by focusing on an item in the list, he could see more details about it specifically. 

Ring of Sustenance- While worn, the bearer needs no food or water to sustain them. (Charge 97/100)

"Whoa, is that a poisoner's kit? Those things are a fortune, a definite sign he was bankrolled. You're lucky he seemed to be too much of a brute to use it, some of the poisons in those things can kill you quicker than you can think to look for an antidote." After a long pause, Lyselle continued, "Actually, maybe we should have hoped he opened it. He didn't seem the brightest, maybe he would have poisoned himself. Too late now."

Deran stood, slipping on the ring instantly feeling the thirst from the battle slake away. Grinning, he shook the dead man's small purse, "Looks like we don't need to hunt down those bandits after all. How about we go buy that mine?"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Lyselle took the coins and added them to their horde, "Yes, well, we should clear out the bandits anyways. They can cause problems later if they aren't dealt with." She shook her head when he offered the kit, stating, "While I could most likely identify most of the poisons in there, as well as how to use them, I've never been one to use those things. Probably best to just sell it."

Deran looked over all of the equipment and decided to sell it all. None of it really fit with his playstyle, nor was it really an upgrade to what he currently had. More coin was always welcome, however, even with his windfall from the ring. Not needing to eat was great, though he'd have to find out what the charges meant.

Lucky Luke tagged along since as Lyselle already pointed out, they couldn't really stop him. Levels, like always, were exponentially harder to gain. Even though he was only a few levels higher, that was quite the difference, both in time and power. Deran didn't want to mess things up trying to go up against someone not only higher level but also someone who was way luckier.

Plus, it was nice having someone else to talk to. Deran had never really had many friends in real life, spending almost all of his time with his girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend, he reminded himself. Thinking back on the relationship, he was actually better off here. Times with Rebecca had been alright, though she was constantly ridiculing him for things he didn't have control over. Yeah, his job sucked but he couldn't just go out and finish a quest or two to make things better. Could he?

A cough brought him back to his current reality. Looking up to see everyone looking at him expectantly, Deran shrugged and moved back into the town's perimeter. "First things first, let's go pay the brothers. Then we can figure out our next step. Though when we'll have enough to finish paying it off, I have no idea."

"Coin comes quicker at later levels," Luke spoke up, walking a few paces behind, "Adventurers can make plenty of  money as long as they don't die."

"That's good to know. Now, let's just hope we actually get there." Lyselle commented sardonically, rolling her eyes though smiling at Deran, "Come on, let's run. I wanna see what's behind that door as quickly as possible!" The excitement in her voice was contagious, forcing a pep into Deran's step. Soon, they were all running through the streets of the town, causing many an NPC to dive out of the parties path.

The trader looked up at his door crashing in with a surprised glance, "Oh, thank the heavens. Please tell me you have the debt payment." The thud and jingle of the purse dropping onto the table made the anxious look fade instantly. He poured the mountain of silver coins on to the table, counting them hurriedly.

"Excellent. You have saved both my family, as well as my business. I will always be in your debt, young man. Now, the deed will be transferred to a temporary ownership one until the rest of the debt is paid."

"I was wondering," Deran started, gesturing for the man to sit back down, "Would we be able to go into the mine now, we had some development on the door."

Harvey pushed a piece of paper over to him, waving away his concerns, "The mine is yours, as far as I'm concerned. Do what you will with it, pay it off when you can. After all you've done, you have earned my trust at the least."

Deran heaved a sigh of relief, grinning over at his friends and Luke, "Well guys? What exactly are we waiting for?"

Neither Gorgath or Luke had a horse, so Deran was forced to wear his contraption again. Luke let him know just how funny he found the scene, rolling all over the ground holding his sides. Deran growled at him halfheartedly, resigning to Lyselles' wait on his hips. Shifting so the leather wasn't cutting as deeply, he set off in a trot. "Why do I have to do this?"He groused to himself, Lyselle's voice replying in his ear.

"You're the connie. Don't you know that means I get a free ride?" Deran chuckled at the play on words, deciding to keep an eye out for a muddy puddle to splash through. See if she was still smiling after splattered with mud and whatever else he could find in the woods.

The way back to the mine took longer this time, Lyselle insisting they stop every couple hundred feet to pick this or that plant. It seemed like just as he was about to hit his speed going smoothly when she tugged on this or that ear, leading him like a horse to the plant that caught her interest. He didn't complain after she mentioned that a lot of what she picked would be able to be used for healing.

The clearing with the mine was just as they remembered it, though the bodies of the bandits' had been long picked clean by wildlife. "How about we get this done quickly before whatever ate the comes back for seconds." Deran looked around with apprehension, worried that there was something big still lurking. They cut across the clearing and entered the dark hole in the ground, the torches having long since burned down to nothing. Lyselle took out a torch from her bag, striking a flint and steel to spark it to life. They then made their way down until they reached the door at the end. The green metal glimmered in the torchlight, sending reflections all along the black walls.

"Alright, time to see if your hunch was right, Luke." Deran ignored Lyselle's comment as he drew his sword and slid it into the larger slit in the door. The moment the two metals touched, the runes along the blade started to glow in the darkness. "Well, that definitely did something." Drawing the knife from his waistband, he pushed it into the smaller slit next to the sword. The tip of the knife met some resistance, though pushing harder forced it into the hole with a click. Once more, the runes on the blade flared to life before being hidden inside the door. 

Nothing happened.

"Well, I guess your hunch was wrong," Deran sighed, reaching out to grab the sword and knife to pull them both with one motion only to find they were stuck fast. "Damn it. Help me get these things out, will you Gorgath? You're probably the second strongest here."

Gorgath looked at Lyselle and Luke and scoffed, "Sad. A lowly musician has more strength than the pair of you. Even worse than nofang here. Fine." He grabbed the knife while Deran took hold of his sword with both hands. They both pulled as hard as they could, almost falling on their backsides when sudden movement surprised them.

The sword and knife were both still embedded into the door up to their hilts. The movement was the door creaking open for the first time in history since whoever placed it there had sealed it shut.

Lyselle gasped, rushing forward to look inside, "Oh my. Deran, look."

 The light from the torch lit up the small room beyond. It was probably only ten feet on each side, going up the same distance. In the dead center of the room was the strangest tree Deran had ever seen.

The bark looked as smooth as glass, with veins of pulsing energy flashing along it in veins. The light flashed in random colors, sometimes switching so fast you couldn't register what the first color was before the next was shining in the flickering light of the torch. The leaves twinkled silver, blowing in a wind that didn't exist. Deran tried to find any two leaves that even looked remotely similar but noticed they all had a uniqueness.

Nestled in the roots was a large silver egg, the tree growing around it almost in an embrace of sorts. Luke gasped upon seeing it, "Holy shit, it really is my lucky day."

Lyselle ignored him as usual, though this time more because her attention was completely captured by the tree. Almost as if she was in a trance, she walked up to it, placing a hand tenderly on the bark, "It looks young but it's so old... It has this feeling of... something ancient. Not even the starter trees had it."

Luke grabbed Deran and spun him around, "You have any idea what this means? I'm gonna assume no, based on how many noob jokes she's been spouting on the trip."He motioned to the entranced mage before continuing, "This is a dragon egg. An actual dragon egg. I don't think anyone has even seen a fully grown dragon since the world event a few years back. An egg like this is... priceless."

Deran looked at the egg in shock, "Really? Dragon mounts are usually a must for games like this. Super rare pet, here we come!" He rubbed his hands together and grinned. Another unknown reward that was going to pay well.

"Oh, don't be an idiot. Dragon's in this world are fey creatures that are super intelligent. They won't just up and decide to be a mount, even if you find an egg. That's what makes them so rare. The last egg that was found spawned the dragon that started that war. You never know where you sit with the fey."

Lyselle was fully in her trance now, hand pressed flat against the bark. Luke looked at the egg, then the tree, then back at Deran, "Wait. What exactly is she doing? She's not binding to that tree is she?"

"Uh." Deran walked over and passed a hand in front of Lyselle's eyes to no effect, "I'm not certain but I think she may be. Why is that a problem?"

"Shit!' Luke scrambled forward, tripping on a root that wasn't there a moment ago, sprawling forward onto the cave floor, "Stop it somehow! The tree has been twisted by the long presence of the egg! Who knows what effect it can have on her! The fey shifting like the seasons!"

Deran turned to reach out and pull her away from the tree, only to be caught in her gaze. Her eyes were no longer a brilliant green. Instead, they were a dark forest green with wisps of silver moving through the iris. Her face was expressionless, "Move aside. There are more important things to be done."

His mind still in a daze, Deran kept reaching out to grab her, "Hey, Lyselle, are you okay? What's going on? What happened with the tree."

Before skin made contact, their eyes locked together and Deran could feel a pressure on his mind. His limbs started moving in spastic motions, stepping aside to let her past. She walked to the door still standing half open, "None shall bind this place again." She walked out of sight and the sound of screeching metal filled the cave, causing everyone to wince and cover their ears. A long few moments passed before they could move again. Even though he knew it was useless, Deran ran after her stopping when he saw what remained of the sword and knife in the door. They had both been twisted so sharply that the metal had snapped itself off, leaving the keyholes filled and the blades useless and unable to be retrieved. Both hilts lay neglected on the ground. Deran stopped and picked them up, looking up the dark tunnel and trying to see past the darkness. 

-You have acquired-

Broken hilt of Tarth

Broken hilt of Luck

"You won't catch up with her. And even if you do, there's no way you have enough strength to beat her. Your friend is caught up with something fey." Lukes face actually looked terrified, "I don't know what's going to happen. The Fey returning may just mark the end of... everything."

Deran brought up the party screen, his heart stopping when only three names popped up. Gorgath, Luke and his name flashed on the screen, looking infinitely small without Lyselle's alongside.