An unknown amount of time passed before Flaming Boy came back. His usual appearance was now covered in the ash of his hair, while what's left of his hair was black with burnt material. A few of his vials were missing from his chests and arms, and his boots were splattered with mud, but he was otherwise unharmed. He was fuming so hard that it seemed that all of the blood vessels in his head were about to burst.
"What the fuck was that?! You whore-bitches, and you, the laughing scoundrel in the back! How dare you use me as bait! I had to lose them in a river! I could have been injured, or worse, eaten! I COULD HAVE DIED!!!" Charles wailed. The targeted audience did not care, as they were still laughing their ass off about their latest prank on Charles. This only pissed him off further, as he turned to Dannerth. "And why did you have to pour that oil on me! If being bait wasn't enough, I lost almost all of my hair!" He showed them the remains of his hair. Nearly all of it was burnt off, leaving him with the dirtiest, most ragged crew cut they have ever seen. It only made them laugh harder, until they almost couldn't breathe.
Charles scowled, and then his face transformed into a smug grin.
"Well, guess what's the price of your joke? Your monetary rewards!" He cackled like a madman. Adventuring guilds had rules that said that if one of the adventurers were intentionally put in danger, the quest rewards would automatically go the victim.
This crushed their mood. All three of them spent their money like water. Those words that left his mouth sounded like a death sentence to them. They sadly waved goodbye to their next reward, and collectively muttered under their breath in depression and started drawing circles in the grass.
"My beer..."
"My inventions.."
"My lovely forge!" wailed Gadruk. This only made Charle's smile wider, and a cackle escaped unbidden from his lips.
After apologizing to Charles for their "prank", the four went to a local town to rent a sturdy wooden wagon, a dolly, and a team of horses to retrieve the casket found in the clearing, going by the same forest path that they originally used. With a bit of muscle and teamwork (with Charles pretty much doing nothing and the rest lifting it as part of their punishment), they managed to get the casket up on the wagon. The wagon creaked, but held. And the four made their way to the capital of the Kesiah kingdom, Ia'Annerth, to get the artifact inspected.
----------------------------------------
Ia'Annerth had a curious history to it. The capital of Kesiah, it held a large amount of Kesiah's population at its core. Built on the prime location of a valley and next to the mountain face, the capital was part mountain city and part plains city. The size of the population and the city's small amount of land forced many to carve into the mountains for living space. Most citizens lived in dwellings carved into the mountain, connected by a criss-cross of alleys and streets, both large and small, created in a cave that had a ceiling of dozens of feet high. A "small" alley would be the size of a large alleyway; the largest, as wide as an eight-lane highway. All of the mountain dwellings were created out of wood and are carved on the basis of "levels"; the bottom being small, poor shops and slums, apart from the highway, which ran all the way to the top. Each level is conencted with numerous ramps and stairs, to make transport easier. As one went up, level by level, the wealth of the properties grew, until the people reached the nobles and the palace on top. Airflow was established by using subterranean plant life and light was created by glowing moss and crude electrical lightbulbs.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The four went with their rented wagon to a dirty, run-down, two-story residence in the slums, on the third floor of the mountain city of Ia'Annerth. The driver, Dannerth, jumped off the covered wagon, stretched, and led the horses to the stable adjacent to the residence. The other three got off and stretched, too, with Charles knocking on the residence door, a thick door made out of banded metal and wood. They had been tense on the way here, wary of bandits and other lowlife scum. Thankfully, their way was almost clear of people, save for the friendly stable manager who rented them the horse and wagon.
"It's me, Charles! We want you to look at somethign we found, old geezer!"
A sound of padded steps, locks opening, and a bark accompanied it. "Well, why didn't you say so! Come right on in!"
The door opened to let the four see a disaster on the inside. Machinery, ingredients, gears, and other bits and bobs were spread around the wood tables in the residence, each laden to the brim and spread all aroudn the tables' surface, revealed by the fire of the crackling wood fireplace at the back. The open door also let them see the culprit of this mess: a wizened old human in a dirty lab coat, black pants, and slippers. The group could see the glint of madness in his eyes.
The man rubbed his hands in glee. "Now now, where's the artifact you want me to see?"
This man, known as the brilliant (and disorganized) scientist Horst De'Lavone was recognized by many adventurers as the lead researcher of artifacts. From magical to mechanical to even a mix of both, Horst was known to pick artifacts apart, piece by piece, record its structure and properties, and then reassemble it, almost brand-new and in working condition, no matter the complexity. When the team unveiled the casket, still on the wagon, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Ohoho. Ohohohohohohoho! Ohohohohohohohohoohoho!" Ever increasing in intensity and pitch, his eyes shined feverishly as he stumbled towards it. He was old, but he moved surprisingly quick. "This is amazing! This is by far the largest and most complete artifact I have ever seen! So far I've only seen broken bits and small machines, but never something like this!" He grabbed onto Angela's shoulder and shook it madly. "Tell me, tell me quick! Where did you find this artifact?!"
Dannerth had to intervene to save Angela from the madness of the old scientist. "We found it in a clearing in one of Kesiah's forests in this condition. It was being observed by both feral goblins and orcs."
This info shook the madman out of his stupor. "Clearing, you say? And surrounded by both feral orcs and goblins? In this condition?" He waved a hand towards the casket. Gudrak simply nodded.
"And it didn't attack or do anything to you? No lightning, no creaking, nothing at all?" This time, all four of them nodded. He didn't question them on how they got the orcs and goblins out of the way. "This is odd," he muttered. "Very odd. Bring it to the center of the workshop. Upright," he ordered.
They did as he complied ,and set it upright in the center of the room. Again, as punishment, Charles let the other three do all the heavy lifting. When Horst looked at him, he just shrugged and said "They used me as bait." That seemed to explain anough, as Horst chucked a bit and returned to examining the casket before him.
The task was done and the group of four lazed around on a set of couches, drinking a set of hot wine that Horst offered. As usualy, they returned to their usual banter, this time on the artifact that they gave to Horst.
"So... in our haste, we did not even bother to find out anything about it. Was there anything on it? Marks, runes, anything at all?" Charles questioned. The three shook their heads.
Horst sighed. "Well, it makes no difference. I just sweeped up some of the dust and all I could see was a bunch of scratches." Then he threw a bombshell. "You could ask what what's inside it though."
Silence permeated the room, then the four adventurers laughed. "As if," Dannerth said, tears in his eyes. "Really good joke though," Angela commented. Charles smirked, but stayed quiet.
"There's nothing in there, and we know that already" Gadruk quipped. He turned to Horst. "So, got any more jokes to tell?"
Unlike Charles, Dannerth, Angela, and Gadruk, Horst was completely serious. "I'm quite serious about there being something in the casket." He turned to the casket now. "Why don't you come out?"
The groan of the metal doors greeted him as the casket opened its doors an inch. Everyone except Horst froze. Inside was shadow, save for two, flickering circles in the darkness. Eyes with intelligence and curiosity.
"Monster," whispered Angela. None of the otehr adventurers dared to make a move.
Horst only looked at it with glee.