<~> CHAPTER 10

Loot!

One of my friends in college was into geocaching a while back but I never saw the appeal of it until now. This was my first time experiencing anything like this, finding buried treasure. I wasn't even sure I would care about what was inside but the idea of it was so enticing. What would I find? Gold? Magic?

Luna's fingers touched my arm and I jumped slightly, which made her jump too. I opened my eyes and looked up at her, while still catching my breath from dragging the thing on shore.

("Helena, you're so cold. Are you sure you're okay?")

("I'm good, I don't feel cold at all really, maybe a little chilly but not enough to bother me.")

I sat up and got to my feet just as Maxwell and Piper came up to us holding a torch. Maxwell laughed when he looked over me before glancing at the chest and saying something.

Turning to Luna she translated without me needing to ask. ("He um, said you look like a wet... dog. And said it was funny seeing something so scary, excited to find a treasure chest. Just like us.")

I laughed which seemed to lighten the mood, I could tell Luna was relieved I took what Maxwell said as a joke rather than an insult. I don't even know if I would have but I don't think anything could have spoiled my mood at the moment.

I looked down at myself, I was soaking wet and covered in what was likely more of a pound of water absorbed into my fur. I could feel a phantom urge to shake like a dog but I squashed that, unwilling to make a fool out of myself. I decided to see what would happen when I shifted back to my human form like this.

My body shrunk in height and I adjusted to the shift quicker this time but unfortunately, I was still soaking wet. On the bright side, my human form wasn't soaking up the water like a sponge so most of the water flowed off of my body rather than weighing me down. I reached up to my hair and squeezed out what I could from there too.

Maxwell and Piper grabbed the two handles of the chest and started walking it back to our fire. We weren't all that far from our little camp but it was still a short distance and I was now a little beat from the exertion. That was a little unfortunate since this was kinda the start of our day now. Those worries melted away once the chest was lit up by the glow of the fire though. This would probably be worth it.

Now that we were in the light I was able to get a proper look at the chest. It had a large heavy lock on the front of it holding the bolt in place.

("There's a lock, is there a way to pick it or something?") I asked Luna.

She shook her head. ("None of us know how to do that. We had a rogue with us before that might have been able to but he died before we met you.")

My blood ran a little cold at the statement. It wasn't just that she said it in such a causal way but it was a reminder that people died here, people she had known. I had killed and eaten monsters to survive here. It wasn't that I wasn't taking any of this seriously but it put everything that we were doing back into perspective.

I looked back at the treasure chest. But at the same time, in order to survive you need to make the most out of exciting moments. Stay positive, see the good things in life too. So I resolved myself to enjoy this moment anyway. Maybe it was an excuse but I was really excited when Maxwell pulled out a small crowbar from his bag.

Maxwell wedged the crowbar into the space between the bolt and the lock and started applying pressure. I wasn't sure if this was going to work but sure enough, it did, though not in the way I expected. The front metal plate of the chest that held the bolt and lock suddenly pulled forward ripping the rivets and nails right out of the chest. The lock fell to the dirt still locked but the entire bolt had come with it.

He tossed the crowbar next to his pack and gestured at the box with a smile. I didn't need Luna to translate to get his meaning, I found it, I should get to open it. The chest turned out to be a little difficult to open. The locking flap that would have helped to open it had been ripped off and I suspect being submerged like that had created a bit of a vacuum but with a little elbow grease and a loud pop, the lid came up and I got to see what was inside.

It looked like three items. A journal, some kind of outfit, and a pouch that looked like it held coins inside.

I was most curious about the bag so I opened it up and took a look inside.

Gold.

The romance of a treasure chest didn't disappoint. Inside the rough leather pouch was a small collection of gold and silver coins. I pulled one out and looked over it. It was cast with two marks I didn't recognize but there was no mistaking its weight, this was an actual gold coin.

I also looked at one of the silver coins, it was cast with the same markings. I wasn't positive this was actual silver but it looked like it to me. I had seen silver jewelry, and it gleamed like silver but it was harder to tell with this one.

I picked up the book next and flipped through it. It was some kind of handwritten journal but I couldn't read it. There weren't any pictures or drawings inside either so I handed it to Piper who also seemed interested in the journal.

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I lifted the outfit out of the box and looked under it, confirming that there wasn't any more inside. I unfolded the outfit and took a look at it. It was made of some kind of black linen with parts fastened with leather straps here and there. The chest had a light piece of metal fitted onto the front and back and was held in place using belted straps. The thing looked pretty huge but while looking over the clothing I realized that I was pretty huge now.

("Maxwell says that it looks like the dungeon took pity on you and spawned in some clothes,") Luna told me.

I turned to her in confusion. ("The dungeon?")

Her eyes widened a bit in realization. ("Oh, I suppose you said you didn't know much about the dungeon. It's kind of amazing you've survived down here this long without knowing anything like this. Mm, lots of hunters have come to the conclusion that the actual dungeon itself, the place we are standing inside right now, is alive and somewhat sapient. It sometimes does things that would be weird if they weren't intentional. Like create a challenge that rewards you with a weapon right after yours broke, or reward you with clothes when you didn't have any...") Her eyes trailed down my body and I felt my face warm up in response.

Hoping to distract from the embarrassment I held the outfit up to my chest. ("So you think the dungeon created these clothes for me because I'm nearly naked?")

Luna's eyes shifted away from me. ("P-perhaps.")

I turned to Piper and pointed at the handwritten book. ("What about that?") I asked.

Luna looked over at Piper who answered the silent question a moment later. The fox girl turned back to me. ("It's a book meant to help teach our language to... an adult.")

My eyes widened and I took another look at the journal. (...I don't understand. Why would it create things that seem so tailor-made to the situation I'm in?")

She nodded. ("That's what I mean, the items are too perfect to be random. Don't get it twisted though, the dungeon isn't doing it to try and help you. It's doing it to tempt you. No one really knows why the dungeon does what it does but just as often as it drops the perfect item in your lap, it also can create situations tailor-made to kill you. No matter what it wants, it tries hard to make you go a little bit too far, take one too many risks. If you become too greedy, try too hard to get what you want, or try to manipulate the dungeon, it takes advantage of it. It rarely ends well.")

I searched Luna's face, like her words, her face showed no sign of mirth or laughter. She was being completely serious.

("If this place is so dangerous, why take the risk?") I asked.

Luna sighed and took a breath, her throat sounded scratchy and rough. ("Hunters delve dungeons for many reasons. Sometimes they just need the money, like us. Sometimes they're crazy and need an outlet for their rage and violence. And some are just drawn to exploration and adventure against their better judgment. Most hunters are here because we have to be, we're no exceptions to that.")

The conversation seemed strained so I decided to change the subject. I looked down at the chest. ("So, I was the one who found this stuff but you also mentioned a 'split' before. So... how do we do this?")

She seemed just as happy to latch onto the new subject as I was. ("Well, most of the time we split stuff evenly but if any equipment shows up that's especially good for one of the people we usually let them take first dibs on it. That only becomes a problem if the dungeon seems to favor one person too much, in that case usually things can be negotiated, taking the value of items out of that person's gold share or something. Hold on a moment...") Luna turned to her two friends and whatever she said to them caused them to have a conversation of their own. After a few moments, she turned back to me. ("We decided that since this is your first chest and most of the stuff was for you anyway, you can have everything in it including the gold, this time. If we come across another chest with something that you can use soon, we'll negotiate over it. Maxwell didn't say this but you probably have quite a bit of 'credit' because of the bones and umber hound hide anyway. We can discuss that more if it becomes a problem.")

I nodded. ("All of that sounds fair enough.") I looked down at the clothes I was still holding to my chest. ("I'd better try on this outfit then. Uh, you don't think there's any chance of it being, like, cursed or something do you?")

She tilted her head to the sight slightly, cute. ("Hm, no? If it were cursed it would have probably already been forcibly equipped to you, curse items usually work that way. The only thing that wouldn't is something that needs to be activated like a scroll or a potion.")

Riiiiight. Man, hearing all of this stuff made me wish I had played more video games as an adult. I used to play some games with the neighbor kids growing up but I feel like I don't have a lot of context here. All I can really do is draw from movies and a few fantasy novels I read.

("Okay, well, let me go and try to put this on,") I told her.

For whatever reason it felt too awkward putting the new clothes on in front of them. Even though I didn't plan on taking much off first, it still felt too weird. I took the clothes and walked behind one of the rocks. Looking down my face twisted in disgust, a mostly charred goblin was still lying there from earlier. I took a few steps away from it and started pulling off the extra fabric around my waist that I had fashioned into a loin cloth. I still didn't have any underwear so the silk-ish wraps would still have to do for now.

I shimmied into the black pants, they clung to me pretty tightly but as I got them on I realized how well made they were. They were pretty much form fitting but they felt sturdy and didn't restrict my range of motion hardly at all. It was a little weird fiddling with the straps to get my head through the opening in the chest piece but once the straps were loose enough I was able to get the top on as well. While I was adjusting the straps, it occurred to me just how well this fit me. I don't think I had ever owned clothes that fit my body this closely, not that I had ever gone to a tailor before.

Once I reappeared from behind the rock the three of them chatted excitedly about me in their language. I got the impression that it looked good on me though so I couldn't help but smile and feel flattered. Maxwell stepped up to me and began adjusting a few of the straps I had some trouble with and helped make the whole thing fit a lot better. I thanked him and hoped he got the message. He patted my shoulder and said something before stepping away.

Luna giggled. ("He says you look much less like a barbarian that's planning on killing us in our sleep. He uh, has that kind of a sense of humor. He says the gear you're wearing looks like something made for a scout or at least a light fighter.")

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder as well. He flinched a bit at first, probably not expecting that from me but it wasn't long before we were sitting around the fire as a group.

For better or worse, I don't feel all alone anymore.