Joe pulled his gaze from the nest and looked around the room again. “Think there are any traps? Can a dragon even build a trap?” Bixby had no answer, but he cautiously began to edge around the room, sniffing and stopping here and there to get a better whiff of whatever he was smelling. Joe followed suit but crept around the opposite way, looking at the floor and walls and being careful about stepping on the bones, which were his largest problem. Everywhere he stepped, the bones cracked under his feet, and he upset several piles that sent skulls and other bits skittering down the drifts. After his third slide, Bixby let out a few barks in exasperation. “Oh, right. Good idea. Sorry.” Joe cast Pass Without Trace and suddenly he was walking on top of the bones without a sound or a slip. He was about to Blink to the other side of the room and cast it on Bixby, but he noticed that the overly large dog was already skating along the tops of the bones and debris. He had cast the spell himself. Joe shook his head. The dude is better at this than I am. I really need to step up my game. After that the two of them easily traversed the room and found no hidden traps or monsters.
From the back of the room, Joe approached the nest and once he was right at the edge, he realized that along with the various gold and trinkets, there was a large egg in the center, partially buried in gold coins and right next to that was a familiar looking treasure box. This one had a golden gemstone in its center that pulsed with a soft glow. Joe reached over the lip of the nest and grabbed a handful of coins and picked them up. He paused and waited. After a minute and nothing had happened, he added the coins to his inventory. He waited again while scanning the room. Still nothing happened. Bixby let out some woofs and yips. “Damn right I’m being paranoid.”
Bixby gave a sigh and jumped into the nest. “Dude! What the hell?” Joe protested. Bixby woofed again and Joe shot him a dirty look. “Fine. OK. You’re probably right. Why would a dragon need a guard? Who in their right mind would try to take a dragon’s treasure in the first place?” Joe clambered into the nest. “Oh, yeah. Us.” Joe paused to stand up, “Smartass.” Bixby sniffed everything and Joe took the wagging tail to be a good sign. He then used his Identify ability on the nest.
Crimson Dragon Treasure Hoard
Well, shit, that told me nothing that I didn’t already know. He knelt down next to the treasure box and as he reached for it, he watched the gold gem on the top change to a pearlescent pinkish color. He backed away slightly, “Bix? This gem just changed colors. Any thoughts? If it changes again, I’m gonna assume that it’s a countdown timer before this all explodes.”
Bixby came to the box and sniffed it. He barked and looked at Joe. “Really? It’s nothing? Dude! It has to be something! It changed freaking colors when I reached for it!” Bixby made another noise. “Sissy? You’re calling me a sissy? What are you an eight-year-old?” Bixby snorted. “Oh, right. Technically you are eight, but you know what I mean!” Joe said exasperated. With a deep sigh, Joe added, “Ok, fine. I’ll do it.” He reached for the lock, then stopped. “But if I melt or get turned into a pile of goo, I want it on the record that this was your idea.” Bixby rolled his eyes.
Joe grabbed the lock and unlocked it. He opened the lid and immediately got an inventory notice. He let out his breath, “Ok. So maybe you were right. Don’t look so smug.” Joe narrowed his eyes at Bixby who was continuing to explore the nest. “Hmmph,” Joe opened his inventory screen to see what he had collected.
Swords of Tyrannus Mhurghal
These twin Celestial blades once belonged to the Arcane Umbral Warden, Tyrannus Mhurghal a millennia ago. This set of blades are Soulbound weapons. The Soulbound Swords of Tyrannus Mhurghal give the wielder a +10% chance to hit their target as well as ignoring 10% of the target’s protections be it armor, natural resistances or magical shielding. This percentage scales with the wielder and gains 5% for every ten of the wielder’s levels. This percentage maxes out at 80%. If the wielder manages to kill any creature or being twice its level or higher but no more than one rank higher in Class Grade, the wielder has a 2% chance to instantly kill the target and absorb its soul into the swords. This percentage chance increases by 2% for every 25 of the wielder’s Levels. All Soulbound items can be summoned from and dismissed to the Ethereal plane at will.
Wisplight
This small globe contains a charmed Will O’ Wisp. The owner of the Wisplight can control the Will O’ Wisp to conjure a light of variable intensity. At its brightest, it can shine light up to a 20-foot radius and dim light for a further 20 feet. The Wisplight is incorporeal and can move through solid objects. The Will O’ Wisp is slightly sentient and can sometimes sense the needs of its wielder, but be warned, it can also be a bit mischievous.
Legendary Ability Tome: Dual Wielding
You are now a master at fighting with two weapons. This ability raises your Dual Wield Skill to Tier 5. If you do not have this skill learned, it will impart the skill and raise it to Tier 5.
“Holy…” Joe let his words trail off as he pulled the twin swords from his inventory. They felt nearly weightless in his hands. The blades were straight and only a couple of inches across, but they were pitch black. Both emitted a very slight smoke, which made Joe think of broken pieces of shadow drifting from the blades. The blades were about thirty inches long and they were both set into seven-inch-long handles. There was a small guard at the top of the handle, and it had a rounded pommel at the bottom. The guard, grip and pommel were made from what looked and felt like dark black wood. He stood and swung them around awkwardly. He received a couple of notifications.
Achievement Unlocked! Celestial Plunderer! You have opened your first Celestial level world chest. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain, +3 Perception, and +3 Luck. Exp earned, 8,000 (Banked). Gold earned 8,000.
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Would you like to Soulbind the Swords of Tyrannus Mhurghal? Y/N?
Out loud, Joe said with a smile, “Why yes, I would. And thank you very much.” He chose Yes and the world seemed to shift. His mind was racing with imagery. A man in black, smoking clothing swinging black swords in battle against untold hordes of monsters. The blades biting deep and murmuring their pleasure. Similar scenes flew by in a pastiche of combat and bloodshed until he came back to his senses, laying on his side in the nest. Bixby was making whining noises and nudging him and licking his face. “Well, fuck me running. That was an acid trip and a half.” Joe waved off Bixby’s licks and sat up. “It’s alright, man. I’m OK. I just became Soulbound to the Swords.” Bixby let off some woofs and Joe looked amazed at him, “You felt that? Really? Wow.” Joe sat up and swept his hair back from his face. Sitting with his back against the inner rim of the nest, he took some steadying breaths. He pulled out the ability tome and opened it. With the spell tomes, he had a flood of knowledge, and each one had helped build on his sense of how Mana flowed through him, this time, there was certainly knowledge, but instead of Mana, he felt energy flood through his limbs. The combination was a new sensation, but the outcome was more than he expected. He rose to his feet and picked up the swords. Swinging them this time, he moved with confidence, knowing every second where the blades were and where he wanted them to go. “Smooth.” No other skill came close to the feeling of confidence and surety than he did with this new dual wield skill.
He stood holding the swords and used his Identify on them again and was shocked to see their name had changed.
Fangs of Joseph Sherman
These twin Celestial blades are Soulbound to Joseph Sherman. They give you a +10% chance to hit their target as well as ignoring 10% of the target’s protections be it armor, natural resistances or magical shielding. This percentage scales with you and gains 5% for every ten of your levels. This percentage maxes out at 80%. If you manage to kill any creature or being twice your level or higher but no more than one rank higher in Class Grade, you then have a 2% chance to instantly kill the target and absorb its soul into the swords. This percentage chance increases by 2% for every 25 of your Levels. All Soulbound items can be summoned from and dismissed to the Ethereal Plane at will.
Joe let out an appreciative whistle. My very own magic swords. Pretty awesome. Joe was also surprised at what other knowledge came with the swords and skill. He knew instinctively how to dismiss the swords to a space similar, but separate, to his inventory and then resummon them to his hands. Freaky. That may take some getting used to. At a brief woof from Bixby, he stopped experimenting and switched his focus to the rest of the nest. “Sorry, bud. Got a little entranced by the swords.”
Joe surveyed the nest and the huge amount of loot it held. His eye was drawn to the large egg in the center though. It was the same reddish black as the dragon had been, and while it was egg shaped, the texture resembled muscle more than anything else. It was tough and membranous and felt very solid. He was afraid to handle it over much, not wanting to damage it and was a bit astounded to find that he could store it in his inventory. “Whoa. Doesn’t that break the rule of no living things in the inventory?” Bixby, who had stepped out of the nest was sniffing around the edges, gave a few barks, “True, we don’t know all the rules. Well, hell, any of the rules really.” Joe placed a hand on the pile of hoarded items and decided to just start storing everything and he could sort through it later. As he activated his inventory, he received a notice.
Would you like to claim the Hoard of the Crimson Dragon? Y/N?
He chose Yes once again, and the hoard disappeared, dropping him almost a foot to the bottom of the nest. He staggered a bit as he found his balance. “Whoops. Probably should have stepped outside the nest for that.”
Achievement Unlocked! Majestic Hoarder! You have looted a dragon’s hoard! Kingdoms fight for the kind of prize you have gained! Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain, +3 Perception, +3 Intelligence, + 3 Willpower and +2 Luck. Exp earned, 30,000 (Banked). Gold earned 150,000!!!
“Damn, Bix! We now have half a million gold! That has to be pretty good, right?” Bixby looked over at Joe and shrugged, then went back to his explorations. Joe glanced around at the room, “Anything we missed, or can we leave now?” Bixby trotted back over and gave a woof and headed to the open wall and blinked back to ground level. “I’ll take that as a no.”
Joe followed Bixby but stopped and surveyed their surroundings. “It’s getting pretty late, dude. I don’t think I want to try heading down those stairs in the dark.” Bixby sniffed the wind and nodded then went into the ground floor level and began sniffing about. Joe followed him in and took stock of the area. After some internal debate, he began moving large stone blocks to cover the doorway, which decreased the nearly howling wind and provided some semblance of safety. He marveled at how easy it was to lift the massive stones that were easily as big as a washing machine. He then made a small ring of stones and filled it with firewood that he had stored away. Soon they had a fire going and Joe grilled up some venison. He made a nice sleeping area with some stored hides and covered he and Bixby with his cloak. As they lay there, Joe idly petting Bixby, He began singing Gharak’s song, Bixby let out a whimper, “Yeah, I miss him too.”
The next day they made their way down the mountain. Joe was back in his hide and leather clothing. The armor, while nice enough to wear, was terrible to sleep in and was a pain in the ass to take on and off. He opted for taking the chance that since they had killed all of the rock lurkers on the way up, that they would go unmolested on the way down, and he was correct. At a third of the way down the mountain, they were sitting at one of the cut-out rest-stops when Joe’s attention was drawn by a faraway plume of smoke. “Bix!” Shouted excitedly, “I see smoke!” Bixby took in the view and woofed. “Can’t tell. But smoke has to mean people, right? Let’s go see.” Joe was also happy to note that the smoke was to the West of them, the direction he intended to go anyway. He was certain that the ocean would be just beyond the next mountain range. He took the time to orient himself on where the smoke was so that he could find it once at ground level. The rest of the trip down the mountain went swiftly with their excitement.