Friedrich and Marina walked side by side along the path into Eagle’s Crest. The short stone wall marking the edge of the town was covered in moss and the signpost at the edge of the town was discoloured and askew. To call the town dishevelled would have been unfair considering it was notorious for being hit by bandit attacks, but it appeared to be safe for now.

The two travellers had risen at the crack of dawn, both too exhausted to have travelled through the dark of the previous night. While they had wanted to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the orcs, they had kept a brisk pace and were no longer too concerned. The misty morning hadn’t made for the most pleasant of morning strolls, which had certainly left them feeling optimistic, but now that they had finally reached their destination, they couldn’t have been happier.

“A warm bed for the night,” said Marina, stretching her arms upwards. “It makes me want to go to sleep already. How about you, Friedrich?”

“Do you have any money?” Friedrich asked her, knowing in advance what she was going to say.

Marina reached into a pouch on her waist and rummaged through it, but it did not make a single clink. “Hmm, I think I must have run out before we met,” she said with a wide grin, pulling her hand out and giving Friedrich a shrug and a wink. “Can you pay for me just this once and I will pay you back with my share of our treasure later?”

“Fine,” said Friedrich. There were times when she was irritating, but he was also enjoying her company. Travelling on the road alone was quicker, but more tiresome with nobody to talk to.

“Thank you,” said Marina, grabbing his hands and shaking them vigorously. “It’s as though the gods themselves brought us together.”

“Steady on,” said Friedrich, wrenching his hands away from her. “This whole deal is all very one-sided at the moment.”

“I swear I’ll prove myself to you! I’m going to help you become richer than your wildest dreams. That boat you mentioned? We’ll get you an entire fleet! What would you think of that?”

“But I only need one boat.”

“Well, then you can sell the fleet and get richer.”

“That…doesn’t make any sense.”

“You will see, Friedrich,” laughed Marina confidently as she strode ahead of him. “You will see.”

“She’s not right in the head,” Friedrich muttered to himself.

He quickly caught up to Marina and the pair wandered along the road and into the town square, where the market was already in full swing. Carts of fruit and vegetables were being hauled along to the stalls, while vendors sold all manner of goods, from spices to swords. There were even a few caged dogs and wolves being sold to hunters who were looking for a companion to help them out. For a small town, it was positively bustling this morning.

“Where to first?” asked Marina.

“A bank,” said Friedrich, shaking his sack. “I need to make a deposit.”

“Oh,” said Marina, looking disappointed. “I was hoping for something a little more exciting than that. Can we not buy a few potions…or maybe even some magical weapons?”

“We? Didn’t you tell me only a couple of minutes ago that you had no money?”

“I don’t.”

“Ah, so you mean you want me to buy you some new toys, is that it?”

“Think of it as an investment. They’re all resources to further your goals.”

Friedrich chuckled and shook his head. “Not a chance,” he said, walking away and beckoning Marina to follow him. “We’re going to the bank and that’s final. I’m not going to let you bleed me dry of kupons at the first town we come to.”

Friedrich walked around the square with Marina following from a distance—she couldn’t resist stopping and looking at the wares, but she would run to catch up when she got too far behind. Every now and then she would squeal with excitement, but the young man did whatever he could to ignore her, even when she ran up to him and tugged on his sleeve.

Even with the constant distractions, it wasn’t long before Friedrich saw the hanging sign outside the bank; it was carved to show a bag of kupons, not unlike the one that Friedrich was carrying. Compared to the banks he had seen elsewhere, this one was on the quaint side. It looked like a converted townhouse, but that didn’t matter much. If it functioned the same way, his funds would be safe.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He walked up the stone steps and pushed open the door. Inside, there were no patrons to be found, no doubt most of the folks outside had made withdrawals earlier that morning to spend at the market. Marina hurried in the door behind Friedrich and then closed it behind her, panting.

“Why did you go so fast?” she asked before looking around. “Oh, I like this place a lot.”

The stone walls were covered in banners depicting bags of kupons and treasure chests. There were numerous paintings, small and large, showing beautiful scenes from the Mercian countryside, from bays to mountains. The well-polished wooden floors were shining in the daylight and candlelight, partially covered up by exquisite and exotic mats of various reds and purples. The chairs and tables were finely carved and all neatly organised with ledgers sitting in the dead centre and a quill beside them. Only one of the desks was currently occupied, so Friedrich approached him.

“Good morning,” said the banker pleasantly. He was dressed in fine robes of red and gold, with a long brown beard. Marina couldn’t help but think that he looked more like a wizard than he did a banker.

“How may I assist you?” the banker asked Friedrich.

“I would like to make a deposit,” he said, placing his sack of kupons on the table.

“Goodness gracious,” chuckled the man. “You have been productive, haven’t you? And for one so young…you have a portal vault, do you?”

“I do.”

Portal vault? Marina had no idea what the man was talking about, but she stayed quiet. The last thing she wanted was to look stupid.

“Excellent,” said the man. “I will cast the spell for you now.”

The man stood up and held up his hands, waving them around like a lunatic. Suddenly, they started glowing purple and he threw an orb of light at Friedrich, who barely reacted. He took his other hand and threw an orb of light behind him, but it stopped in mid-air and burst open into a circular portal that hung a foot above the ground and was just large enough for Friedrich to squeeze through.

Marina stared in awe. To her, being able to hurl a lightning bolt was impressive, but this? And to see it done so casually without a magical implement? It was truly fascinating. She hoped that her magical prowess would improve to the point where she could cast all manner of wondrous spells.

Friedrich picked the sack up from the desk and walked over to the portal with Marina following. “Wait here,” he said to her, eliciting a scowl.

“Why?” she asked.

“It’s my bank vault and I don’t want you seeing what’s inside it.”

“Fine,” sighed Marina.

“I’ll be quick, don’t worry.”

Friedrich stepped inside the portal and found himself in a small stone room where eight different chests sat, lying open. Rather than keep his treasure in a disorganised pile, Friedrich had separated his vault into eight different chests for eight different purposes, all in ascending value; clear kupons, green kupons, red kupons, blue kupons, purple kupons, orange kupons, yellow kupons and the final chest was for random treasures he hadn’t had time to sell yet. Admittedly, the chest intended for yellow kupons was empty and the chest for orange had only two kupons lying inside, but Friedrich had already made good progress in saving for the boat he wanted.

He opened up his sack, carefully set the fox mask on the floor and stashed the undead goblin king’s crown in his chest to be dealt with later. Afterwards, he added the many colours of kupons to the chest. He did a rough count of how much he had saved up now that he added the goblin’s treasure to his portal vault and estimated it to be somewhere around two and a half thousand kupons, not counting the treasures he had yet to sell. Friedrich’s haul from the castle had almost doubled his holdings. At this rate, he would have his boat within the year.

After stashing enough kupons for supplies and lodgings for the night in a small pouch, Friedrich stepped outside the portal with the fox mask in hand, which the banking wizard closed behind him. Marina had a sour look on her face as though she had just been told off, and the look on the banker’s face said that he had been the one to tell her off. Friedrich was confident in saying that she had been trying to look inside his vault, which was considered terrible etiquette in a Mercian bank.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” asked the banking wizard.

“No, that will be all,” said Friedrich. He thanked the wizard and departed from the bank, with Marina following him, all the while keeping her frown upon her face.

“I don’t like him very much,” she said as she walked down the stairs outside.

“I don’t think he liked you very much either,” replied Friedrich.

“Although I would like him to teach me that spell,” said Marina, examining her palms. “Imagine being able to carry around your own vault stored within a spell.”

“As great as it would be, I don’t have the aptitude for magic.”

Marina gave Friedrich a sly look and he knew what she was about to ask him. “How much do you have in your vault?”

“If I was going to tell you, I would have just let you into the vault.”

“That’s not very fair.”

“Why?”

“We’re travelling companions and best friends, surely we should tell each other things like this?”

“Best friends?” chuckled Friedrich. “We’ve only known each other a couple of days.”

“I just have a feeling,” said Marina, skipping ahead. “Come on, let’s see what we can find in the market for our next adventure.”

“But we don’t even know where we’re going!” Friedrich called after her, his exhaustion with Marina growing ever greater.

“Then you can ask around and find out while I see what can be useful for any situation.”

Friedrich looked at the fox mask in his hands. “This is all your fault,” he said to it before hurriedly tying it to his belt.

Unbeknownst to him, a skulking figure, hooded and cloaked, was lurking in the alleyway nearby. A faint smile crept upon the figure’s face upon seeing the mask.