Ray

“Oh, don’t look at me like that! I am not going to snatch it from you. I am pretty sure that it’s not even possible to do so.” the Dean said.

Ray looked at him suspiciously, “Why do this? The arrangement doesn’t benefit you at all. And you’re all about benefit.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t benefit me? I get a good disciple like you!” the Dean said.

Ray wasn’t buying that. “What are you hiding?”

“Come on, I am not some evil mastermind! I get to do nice things sometimes too!” the Dean protested, his expression far too exaggerated for Ray to trust.

“No, but you’re a selfish person that only acts in your self-interest.” Ray answered, folding his hands as he stared at the Dean.

“I am doing that! I get to be friends with you, the new genius! A Tier 8 at 15! A remarkable achievement!” the Dean said.

“No, you’re still not speaking the truth.” Ray said, becoming more sure as the conversation progressed.

“Come on! What could I possibly want with you?” The Dean continued protesting.

“I remember you asking about the Scholar.” Ray stated.

“I admit, I am curious about her. And I would welcome any information you can give me.” the Dean said.

“So you admit it.” Ray sat, staring at him with his best ‘not buying what you’re selling’ face.

“I do nothing of the sort! I am finally trying to do something good, and you’re not helping at all!” the Dean said, acting wounded.

Ray still wasn’t buying it. “No, the more you protest, the more I feel like there is something you’re hiding. What is the catch?”

The Dean sighed, reclining in his chair, “I am going to use you to spy on the other side. The rebels are a bit more powerful than I expected. The Xnarthan are coming here to hunt them, but I do not expect them to succeed. I need to plan according to what happens, Ray. And you can be a useful source of information.”

Ray reclined on his chair, thinking. So the Dean did have a hidden agenda. But it wasn’t the most disagreeable of hidden agendas. The Dean was offering an awful lot, too. Ray had to admit, he was tempted. The deal was practically a win-win too. The Dean had predictable goals, and was as neutral as a Human could be in Afrieal right now.

“Well, you have a deal. I will warn you if any major massacres happen.” Ray said.

The Dean seemed surprised, “A wise decision! Come, let me see if I can get some potion recipe for you that might help. Tell me, do you have some specific thing you need help with?”

“Not really. I have my element strengthened thrice now. A new sub-element. And a lot of new stats. Perhaps some combat practice? I am rather lacking in physical combat.” Ray said.

The Dean looked at him with his eyes narrowed. “Yes, though I am unsure about how effective any training would be. Perhaps a shield like the one Corriss had?”

“I thought that wasn’t in the deal.” Ray stated.

“Yes, but you don’t need a wand yet. A shield is much more urgent, yes?” the Dean said as the surroundings changed. The two of them were now in front of a grand door.

Ray did not see the harm. The Dean was right, the Elven song had served him well, and it wasn’t breaking yet. A shield could do wonders for him.

“Ok.” he said, taking a deep breath as the doors opened. The Dean was, as usual, a bit too happy about the proceedings.

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The second Ray stepped in, his senses were once again overwhelmed. The scent of dust, of time, radiated off these artifacts. And they glowed. Purple, white, blue, just about every color Ray had seen, and some he had never seen before traveled the air here.

Ray’s Fae sight told Ray that he was standing in the middle of a massive amount of wealth. The massive, grand room could be filled with mana coins, and it wouldn’t come close to a thousandth of the value of these artifacts.

“As I suspected, you are a genius.” the Dean said. “Tell me, what do you see? I do need to know how our perception works if I am to help you.”

Ray felt alarm at the question, but the Dean was right. And he was maybe a little drunk from all the mana in the air. “A lot of money. A plethora of items so ancient that they reek time.” Ray took a deep breath, “I can practically smell time in here.” Ray felt like cursing, whatever Fae inclination for truth he’d gotten was striking at a very inconvenient time.

The Dean’s face froze with his mouth open, staring at him open-mouthed. “Yes, the artifacts are old. I haven’t heard of anyone else smelling time off them before. Tell me, what else do you see?” the Dean asked.

“A lot of mana. So many colors…” Ray said, drawling.

“Yes, colors, yes.” the Dean said, even Ray’s addled mind could see that the Dean thought that he was overly affected by the mana. Ray was alright with him thinking that. “Here, this should help with the ,ugh, colors.”

The Dean handed Ray a potion, that he gulped it down. The haze cleared, but neither the colors nor the scent went away. Ray’s senses hadn’t been altered at all.

“So, which of these do you want?” the Dean said, as Ray began to look around.

A variety of artifacts stood around. The swords were old and varied, but that was not what interested him. The shields did. A table full of various types of talisman, a few round shields and even more stood there.

“The shields are… over there. “ The Dean said, looking at Ray weirdly as he walked towards them.

The most populous were several bracelets, rings and so on that reeked brown mana. Dwarven artifacts. Ray felt an innate disgust for them, the artifacts smelled of… Earth. The deep depths where the sky did not reach. The smell of boiling magma reached him, making his shake his head in disgust.

“The Dwarven artifacts. The Dwarven magic, the way, is one of the closest to Human magic and is preferred- and you’ve already moved on.” the Dean said, his frustration leaking through.

“Do you mind telling me what you are doing?” the Dean said. Ray nodded as he looked at the table, taking a deep breath as he did so. A necklace with a broken horn on it drew his attention.

“Ah, that is a good one. A very useful Space-type tool. The shield it forms is very hard to break, given that it makes a layer of space between you and your target. I don’t know what species it is from, but clearly they were-” the Dean began his explanation.

“Satyrs.” Ray stated. The horn sounded to him of hooves running, space crumpling as they tried to escape. And the smell of blood. “The horn is that of a Satyr, but the poor guy was probably killed for it to be made.” he said.

“I suppose that is possible.” the Dean said, tilting his head as he looked at the horn with an analytic gaze. “Do you want it?”

The horn was good, but Ray might meet Satyrs in the future. And wearing that would be insulting to them.

“No,” he said as he moved on. The area was having strange effects on him. A vest stood out to him. And so did a necklace. The vest sounded of many hammers pounding on metal, a smell of hot air and dust. The necklace was green and sounded of rustling leaves. The smell of earth right after the rainfall emerged, making Ray take a deep breath.

Ray had no idea of the first one, but the second was clearly of Elven make. But there was something else. The smell of time had intensified as he had stepped here. And that meant there might be a place where it was more intense. Ray followed it, looking for what might be the source.

“I…will just follow you as you look for something in this Treasury you are coming to for the first time but seem to know more than me about.” the Dean said as Ray walked. The smell led him to a more posh area. The artifacts were spaced more here. But the smell was coming from one particular one. A crown. A golden crown of leaves.

“I can’t give you that. The crown doesn’t really have much function as far as I can tell, but it has too much mana for anyone below Tier 18.” the Dean said.

But Ray was smelling something else, a sweet undertone that he hadn’t detected before. A bit sickly sweet, a bit tangy. Ray turned around, heading to some empty space. A bit too empty in the treasury filled with things. Walking towards it, Ray shot out a bunch of violet glitter. The glitter disappeared, telling him he was right. And then a bunch of information appeared in his mind.

“A Fae illusion stone. The main defensive artifact for the Treasury, yes? I would be careful about this one if I were you, the artifact has been telling me things since I stepped in. And if an actual Fae were here, it would help them steal every single thing from this Treasury.

As it is, even someone with a high Mana affinity is enough to get some help from it.” Ray said to a shocked Dean. “Now, how about we make a deal? I will tell you what I know about that crown, and you can give me both the necklace and the vest.”