<~> CHAPTER 24

After a good half-hour or so of lying on the floor, Luna roused me from the spot on the floor I had slumped over. ("Are you feeling a bit better now?") she asked with a cute smile. I yawned and sat up. The others were still looking over the small pile of things that had fallen out of the chest.

Loot!

I had been so tired from that whole encounter that I hadn't even cared to see what we had gotten yet but now that I've caught my breath I felt more inclined to see if any of that was actually worth it. I shifted back to my human form and followed Luna over to where the others had separated the stuff into a few piles.

There was a sword in a fine looking leather sheathe, an oversized kite shield, another pouch that had a pile of coins inside, a... metal thing, and a dark folded cloth of some kind. Piper and Maxwell looked absolutely ecstatic at the find. Assuming all of it was useful to us, there would be something for each of us plus the bag of gold. It appears that the mysterious dungeon is interested in us right now. I'm not sure the thought was reassuring after everything Luna has told me.

("Maxwell has been waiting for you to catch your breath before we talked about splitting anything other than the gold,") Luna told me. ("He's been itching to look at the sword though,") she said with an amused swish of her tail.

I nodded and gestured for Maxwell to look. He took the non-verbal cue with enthusiasm and reached out to pick up the sword. The place where the hilt met the sheath had been bound in leather so it took a bit of work for him to start untying the knots. His enthusiasm was probably making him take longer to untie it though which kind of made me laugh. Despite being a grown man, he reminded me of a kid on Christmas morning.

The sword was pretty long and it struck me as odd that we had found such a long sword inside of that small box, let alone the big kite shield. With a frown, I turned to Luna. ("Hey, this stuff did come out of the chest on the ceiling, right? How did all of that fit in there? The shield and sword look bigger than the chest was deep.")

She tilted her head at the question. ("Dungeon chests are larger on the inside, didn't you see them fall out of it?")

I stared at her blankly. The way she said that was so matter of fact. Like I was the one that was weird for asking. I turned back to look at the sword again just as Maxwell had finally triumphed over the leather cord that had been holding the sword shut. He slid the blade out of its sheath and a reflective blue sheen illuminated our faces. The blade looked like a work of art, fine patterns of ivy were etched in the blade of the sword nearly from base to point. My first thought was that it was a ceremonial sword but with a bit of testing, the blade proved to be razor-sharp.

("A magic blade,") Luna informed me. ("It looks like it was crafted by a master and reinforced with magic. We haven't found many chests since we've been exploring the dungeon but this one puts everything we've found to shame... easily.")

Maxwell sheathed the sword with a satisfying click before looking up at us and saying something. I turned to Luna who translated before I could ask. ("He's asking if there are any objections to him taking the sword.")

His eyes were focused on me, maybe expecting me to be the only one who would challenge his claim on the magic sword. I shook my head, I didn't know how to use a sword anyway and I don't know its value past how pretty it looked. ("That's fine with me,") I told Luna.

She signed something at him and he smiled widely and stood up to swap out his old sword on his belt with the new one. My eyes turned back to the other items but Maxwell tapped me on the shoulder and drew my attention back to him. He was holding his old sword out to me, trying to get me to take it. I took his old sword a bit confused and looked at Luna, hoping to get some clarification on what he was asking.

("He wants you to take his old sword, the new one more than replaces it and that sword might make you a bit more able to handle the slimes. Especially with the next item we're about to look at.") Luna gestured to the large kite shield.

I turned to her. ("Wouldn't it make the most sense for one of them to take that too? I don't even know how to use a sword and shield.")

She smiled and shook her head. ("That kite shield is huge, it looks more like a tower shield on any of us. Maxwell uses tower shields but that shield is the wrong shape for his fighting style and it's not light enough for Piper to use effectively. I'm pretty sure the dungeon put that shield in the chest with you in mind.")

I picked up the shield and turned it over. It was made of polished metal and riveted wood about twice as long as it was wide. The outside was painted in navy and white and the inside part of the shield was treated with something that had stained the wood a dark color. The thought crossed me that it was lighter than I expected but I realized that I was just stronger than I realized now. The inside had large oversized handles in a few places and it had a long adjustable strap that looked like it was made for carrying the shield on my back. The shield was almost as tall as I was, I could still use it like this but it seemed to be sized for my wolf form rather than my human one.

Stepping away, I shifted into my wolf form and found that the handles fit my hand perfectly, giving credence to the idea that it was purposefully given to me. In my wolf form it was proportionally a little over half my height, looking like a better match to how an actual shield should look sized to my huge body. I picked up the sword from the ground but it was way too small to fit in my hands like this. If I wanted to use Maxwell's old sword I would only be able to do it in my human form, which I was far less enthusiastic about. I rested the big shield on the ground and looked back over at the group.

("How do you like it?") Luna asked.

I shrugged. ("I never thought I had needed a shield but since the dungeon decided to give me one I suppose I'll take it. None of you can use it effectively so I might as well give it a try. Maybe it'll help with the slimes if nothing else.")

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She nodded. ("Let me help you with that then.") She walked over and motioned for me to lower down. I followed her pointing and kneeled down kind of awkwardly, I wasn't used to sitting like this with my backward bending legs. She stepped forward and started adjusting the large looped strap that was hanging from the shield. ("This is a guige, it'll make it easier to carry on your back and shoulder when you don't need it.")

I felt a bit embarrassed by how she leaned over and touched me to adjust the strap over my shoulder. I probably shouldn't be, she wasn't doing anything inappropriate, but the proximity of her smaller body against mine made me blush. I was lucky that it didn't show on my shadowy wolf face.

("Good. Is that comfortable?") she asked with a big smile.

I stood up and moved the shield around. It hung on my back a little loosely but it wasn't uncomfortable in the spot it rested. I reached back and was able to rotate the whole thing over my shoulder and into position to block. The motion didn't feel that natural but I would probably get used to it quickly. ("Yeah, it feels good. Thanks.")

Piper said something that made the other two laugh. I could take the hint that she was getting impatient and wanted to look at the next item. When I shifted forms I found that the shield was still hanging from my body without any trouble but it didn't hang in as good of a spot. I pulled at the overly large guige and was able to loop the strap in a loose slipknot that kept it in place for now but it would come undone if I pulled it apart. Happy with that I pulled the shield to the side and sat next to the others to see Piper examining the strange metal... thing.

I leaned over to Luna. ("What's that thing that's got Piper all excited?") I asked.

("Oh... uh, it's a magic focus. One specifically for healing I think. If she holds it while channeling her healing magic it should make her healing stronger.")

I leaned in and tried to take a closer look at it. It doesn't really look like anything to me, kind of like a dark metal cylinder with weird engravings on it. I just shrugged and leaned back.

("Any objections then?") Luna asked.

I gave her a strange look. ("Why would I object to the healer getting the healing focus?")

She laughed and nodded to Piper who immediately went to tuck it into one of the pouches on her belt.

The last thing on the floor was a cloth that looked like dark red satin. The cloth gave me a weird itchy feeling but I didn't know why. Luna gingerly picked it up and unraveled it. It was a long cloth about six feet long and less than half a foot thick. My eyes widened with Luna's trailing fingers made the cloth subtly change color, leaving bright red streaks along it.

("What is it?") I asked.

("It looks like a sash. I can feel magic radiating off of it but I can't tell what the effect is. Give me a moment.") Luna turned to Piper who nodded and stood up.

("What's happening?") I asked, confused by the sudden shift in atmosphere.

("This item seems powerful. I'm not worried about it being cursed, it probably would have activated by now if it was, but it may have unexpected effects. I'm going to try it on so be ready if something happens.")

I nodded and shifted back to my wolf form. A curious thought drifted to why my new shield didn't shift with the rest of my clothes but I shrugged it away. I needed to make sure that Luna was okay if something went wrong.

She took a deep breath in her raspy voice and tied the sash around her waist with practiced hands. She tied it in a decorative side knot that let the ends hang in a pleasing way. This must not have been the first sash she's worn. That itchy feeling spread and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I felt something coat Luna's form. The fox woman's eyes widened and they started to glow a faint fiery orange. The air suddenly sharply turned warmer as if a campfire suddenly ignited right next to us. Luna held out her hand palm up as a small fireball swirled to life in her hand, gently spinning and crackling with power. She closed her fist but the small embers floating in the air around her still hung there.

("I can feel the sash improving my fire magic! What used to take concentration feels like it comes naturally to me, like I'm breathing the fire!") Her voice sounded so excited and she quickly turned to Piper, likely repeating herself to the two of them.

All of the items we received felt tailor-made to our needs, the dungeon was being nice, which only made me suspicious after all I've heard from Luna on how dungeons usually operate. If the dungeon is giving all of us this stuff... should we be worried?

The prickly feeling that I was feeling on Luna began to fade as I acclimated to it. It didn't go away entirely but it wasn't bothering me as much anymore. It felt like a warm cloak was covering her now, perhaps I was feeling the magic of the sash itself blend with her own. There are so many unknowns about how my abilities work, how everything is supposed to feel, and where they even came from. I had hoped to find some answers from my new friends but even when I learn more about myself, a new strange thing in this world catches me off guard.

Luna excitedly turned to me. ("Helena! Maxwell and I want to test our new stuff, let's go find some slimes!")

I just hope this isn't an elaborate trap from our seemingly helpful dungeon.