Rep approached Zalan with the Homeseeker in hand. The golden cube with black corners, about the size of a brick. There was an extrusion in the center of the top of the cube, looking like an obvious button to push to activate it. On every other side of the cube was a rounded cut, about the size of a wedding ring, making the Homeseeker look as though it was intended to be a keychain to Zalan.

“I got it. Can we talk before we use it?” Rep asked Zalan, slightly nervous.

“Not yet, I need to look for Artifacts for Gorb. Last request, then I can leave,” Zalan said, also a touch nervous at the prospect of traveling home.

“I see. Do you need any assistance?” Rep asked.

“Yeah, I have no idea what I’m looking at,” Zalan picked up a rhombus-shaped piece of gold and inspected it. “Like, is this an Artifact?”

“Not that I know of,” Rep shrugged.

“Hmm,” Zalan threw it over his shoulder and Rep flinched as it landed.

“Maybe we should not throw the things that we are unfamiliar with?” he suggested anxiously.

Zalan nodded in agreement.

They made their way across the room, Zalan and Rep lining their pockets with gold as they went from pile to pile in search of anything interesting. They passed by Yelsa who was inspecting a goblet with mild interest.

“I remember seeing a green-looking ring when we walked in, but I have no idea where it is,” Zalan said, brushing aside gold coins.

“That may be a Ring of Range. A very powerful Artifact for extending one’s Elemental Power’s distance. But I suspect it was lost in the battle. Whether buried under ice or just out of place in a way that would take us far too long to locate,” Rep said.

“What’s the hurry? We could find him some really cool Artifacts,” Zalan suggested.

“It is important for us not to delay Fran’s burial,” Rep said solemnly.

“Right,” Zalan immediately agreed.

Zalan dug through some more gold, feeling strange that he was casting aside literal fortunes to look for Artifacts in between. Any one of these small piles of gold would be enough to last someone an entire lifetime and he was throwing it all away, save for the few handfuls he had in his pockets for Gorb’s sake.

“What about that?” Zalan pointed to something interesting-looking in the next pile, not wanting to touch it this time. It was a curved silver stick. About as long as a sword, but way too curved to be a regular melee weapon. Rep looked over at it and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yelsa,” Rep mentioned. “I think that’s a Brightburst Bow.”

“What? Where?” Yelsa’s head snapped toward him eagerly. She rushed over to the gold pile and held up the silver stick. “Can it be? I thought they were just legends!”

“What’s special about the bow?” Zalan asked. It was missing a bowstring.

Yelsa held it out in front of her and pulled at the air where the string should be tied. Miraculously, a string of light appeared, being pulled by her finger. When she pulled the string back, a tiny arrow made of light appeared. She fired it and the arrow traveled forward a few feet, then disappeared.

“It is! Incredible!” Yelsa looked astounded at the Brightburst Bow. The bowstring faded away into nothing a moment later.

“Wow, so infinite arrows?” Zalan said, impressed. “But it doesn’t seem the arrows go very far.”

“No! Well, yes. The bow relies upon the light that is being cast upon it for its strength. Here, watch. Rep, can you cast a flame for me?” Yelsa asked.

Rep nodded and emitted a large, bright flame from his palm. Yelsa stood in the glow of the light and pulled at a bowstring that appeared once again, a much larger arrow than before shining into place. When she let it loose, it went all the way across the chamber, lodging into the wall for a second before disappearing.

“Wow,” Zalan said, even more impressed.

“Amazing,” Rep agreed.

“And there is very little darkness when daylight comes down on Aetheria. This is a very good find,” Yelsa said, smiling at Zalan in thanks.

“Let’s get something for Gorb now,” Zalan suggested, continuing to look through piles.

After a few minutes of searching, they found a Satiator. Yelsa and Rep seemed to think it was a good enough treasure for Gorb, but Zalan thought they should give him something else as well. For a few minutes more, they continued their search. Gorb was waiting patiently, without complaint.

“What’s that one?” Zalan asked.

“A Wind Wand. Allows you to cast a small amount of wind,” Rep explained.

“Oh, so this might be pretty worthless for Gorb,” Zalan decided.

“You could take it for yourself in case it gets warm back home,” Yelsa suggested.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“I won’t need it,” Zalan shook his head, thinking of the overhead fan he used to stare at in his apartment. He thought of how wind would be of little help to him and Gorb. But then he wondered how powerful the wind was. Maybe Gorb could use it when he was depleted of his energy.

“On second thought, let me try it out and check if it’s worth his while,” Zalan said, whipping the wand in the air.

“Wait, Zalan!” Rep said, holding his hands up weakly.

The chamber was filled with a light breeze, gently wafting over the companions and various piles of gold. Zalan felt the cool air and shrugged.

“I guess I can let Gorb decide if he wants this.” Zalan flinched as something felt odd in the wand. It was disintegrating in his hand, dropping as dust on the gilded floor. He stared at the remains of the Artifact in embarrassment.

“Great job,” Yelsa said sarcastically.

“I was trying to tell you,” Rep said apologetically.

Zalan sighed to himself and continued searching for more Artifacts. After a few more piles of gold, they found another item of interest.

“This metal glove looks pretty cool,” Zalan kicked it over lightly.

“That is a Bone Gauntlet,” Rep said, nodding at it with interest. “If you wear the gauntlet, then you can break someone’s bones as soon as you strike them with it. But, while you wear it your body is very vulnerable. Everything not covered in the gauntlet can be broken by something as simple as a direct punch.”

“Hmmm,” Zalan thought it over. “Sounds like it’s worth it for him to decide if he likes it. Let’s get him one more thing, then we can all go home.” Zalan picked up the gauntlet, making sure not to hold it in a way that it might accidentally slip on.

He and Rep went to one pile while Yelsa searched the one next to it.

“Oh, that thing looks interesting,” Zalan said, pointing to something cast on the floor by one of the dragon’s wind attacks. It was a black, cloud-shaped object with primary colors spinning around the edges of the cloud. As soon as he knelt down to pick it up, Rep froze up and stared with wide eyes.

“Zalan… Zalan, be careful,” Rep said, holding his hands up very slowly and shaking slightly. “That is a Storm Caller.”

“So it’s an Artifact?” Zalan said, standing and raising it to get a better look, causing Rep to recoil.

“Be careful!” Rep snapped. Zalan turned and assessed his friend’s nervous stance.

“What does a Storm Caller do?” Zalan asked seriously.

“This Artifact summons an Elemental to your location,” Rep said.

“Oh, cool, so you can get a new power with this?” Zalan asked.

Then, it suddenly hit him why that would be a bad thing. They barely survived a Storm Elemental when they went to seek it out in the middle of a desert. He couldn’t imagine the devastation an Elemental creature would cause in a small, enclosed space like the treasure chamber.

“No, that is the worst part of this Artifact. You cannot even ask the Elemental for a new power. It visits when called, then returns to its home,” Rep said.

“So, this is just if you want to go through two natural disasters, back-to-back?” Zalan said, suddenly feeling very sweaty in the hand holding the Storm Caller.

“Indeed,” Rep said.

“Okay… How do I make sure I don’t use it? What activates this thing?” Zalan asked, looking at it with his eyes only. The rest of his body was rigid with fear.

“I have no idea,” Rep admitted, his voice on edge.

“Oh…” Zalan replied, his hand outstretched.

“I suggest you gently return it to the floor where it was sitting before you picked it up,” Rep offered.

“Right,” Zalan said. He didn’t move. Rep’s fear had made him statuesque as well. Yelsa made her way over, looking between the two of them in amusement.

“What game are we playing?” she asked.

“This is a Storm Caller,” Zalan said, trying to point with his lips and eyebrows.

“Oh!” Yelsa took a slight step back. “Do not activate that.”

“I think I’m doing pretty well at leaving it turned off so far. But I would also like to put it down now, but Rep said he doesn’t know how this thing is activated,” Zalan said.

“I see,” Yelsa said. She stepped away further to try something.

She drew her Brightburst Bow and looked up toward the hole in the ceiling. She weighed something in her head, bobbing it from side to side for a few seconds, then nodded to herself. Rep and Zalan watched her with their eyes alone, sweat rolling off of Zalan’s face. She stepped into a spot where the fading sunlight shone brightest through the opening in the ceiling.

“Here we are,” Yelsa said, plucking the Storm Caller from Zalan’s hand. She pulled on the Brightburst Bow, and both an arrow appeared as well as a string tying the Storm Caller to the arrow of light.

“What are you—wait!” Rep threw out his arms as Yelsa quickly pointed the arrow to the hole in the ceiling and fired, shooting the arrow and Storm Caller toward the outside. The arrow disappeared long before exiting the chamber and the Storm Caller continued with all the same momentum. The three of them watched it sail outside the ceiling and out of sight. Rep and Zalan looked back down to Yelsa.

“What was that!?” Rep asked, stunned.

“Better that the Elemental arrives way out there than in here,” Yelsa shrugged.

“What if you activated it?” Rep said.

“Then it’s out there and not here!” Yelsa said.

“But what if—”

“I think now’s the time to go home before something starts happening while we’re still arguing about it,” Zalan suggested.

Rep and Yelsa looked at one another and both scoffed in a quick truce, dropping the subject.

They briskly made their way back to Gorb who looked more calm, though tears were still making themselves known in his eyes. He scrutinized the three of them, then threw a weak burst of air at Zalan’s waist. His pockets jingled.

“What was that for?” Zalan asked.

“I wanted to hear how full your pockets were,” Gorb said. “It sounds as though you gathered a good amount. What did you find for me?”

“I got you some gold, assuming you did not go to gather any yourself,” Rep said, placing a gold-lined pouch at Gorb’s feet. Gorb nodded in appreciation.

“And we got you a Satiator and Bone Gauntlet,” Zalan placed the Artifacts at Gorb’s side.

“Was there anything else of interest?” Gorb asked, curious.

“We found a Storm Caller,” Zalan admitted.

“I hope you did not touch it,” Gorb said.

“Yelsa fired it outside,” Rep answered, giving her a glance.

“She did?” Gorb said, first looking stunned, then not being able to help himself and smiling at Yelsa. “What good decision making. I think I would have done the same. What inspired you to do that?”

“I can think on my feet occasionally,” Yelsa said, a bit self-conscious.

“I suppose so,” Gorb smiled warmly at her, then clapped his hands together. “Well, then. Are we done here?”

“That depends on him,” Rep said.

All eyes turned to Zalan.