Franco woke up on a thick pile of coarse blankets. He had not fallen asleep here but as he sat up he saw he was in the front room of the Armory but had been placed in the far left corner along with his teammates. All three of them slept next to him in their own blankets. One of the lesser Temple golems stood sword and shield in hand with its back to them watching over them. While Franco could see at least four more golems in this room. Two by the doors leading deeper into the armory and two more by the main door. Zif must have activated more of his golems for so many to be here and Franco realized he must have been asleep for awhile if they were here. He pushed off the blankets and unwittingly took in a deep smell of them. They smelled strongly of something but his mind couldn't place it for a second till he realized that it was a strange mix of human and cattle smell. They must have been from the minotaurs but whatever demon had made them all those years ago really went to the effort for them to smell like some strange cattle, and then Franco wondered why he knew what cattle smelled like.
What was his past? A rancher’s son from Abigail? It would need to be a rich rancher from what he could glean of his past. Franco stood and found himself only in his underwear. His back felt very stiff and it pulled when he moved. Hurting but bearable. Especially with how bad it had been. He was sure it was one massive jumble of scars he would have to get work on multiple times so the scar tissue didn't seize up his back.
He could see his adventurer’s belt with his saber and wands next to him but also his pack that he had left on the floor above. He looked through it and the dirty pair of clothes that had been in it were gone as well as what he had been wearing for the fight here in the Armory. He didn't let that stop him and put his adventurer's belt on over the underwear and cinched it down tight and sat his saber so it felt comfortable before he quietly left his team sleeping to find Zif and find out what was going on. Franco found him standing outside the Armory in the plaza-like space in front of its great door. He was standing watch over a few lesser golems along with a dozen minotaurs and about two dozen goblins as they moved debris cleaning the place. Most of the minotaurs and goblins looked to have left but there was a group of them by the stairwell laying down with a few people moving through them. The wounded from the battle that had not, or could not be healed easily Franco realized. As he walked closer he saw that Finn sat on a small box next to Zif sipping from a canteen. Zif turned his upper body as Franco got close and upon seeing it was him he turned his full body and bowed.
“Friend Franco it is good to see you up and moving, if surprising so soon.” Zif said with a small bow.
“It's good to see you Zif and Finn. I just woke up and I feel much better than I did before but it seems someone has taken my clothes. How are you two.” Franco said as he adjusted his adventurers belt over his underwear. He felt the cold of the room through his bare feet.
“I have asked the Minotaurs to clean them for you and they should be drying over there in their camp. I expected you to sleep longer.” Zif replied.
Finn stood and handed over the canteen in his third hand, indicating for Franco to take it which he did before Finn hugged him with his other two arms being gentle with how he touched Franco’s back.
“Its good to see you moving boy. What a day we had yesterday. Drink drink that up. It's some of Brother Zifs tea.” Finn said as he pulled away but patted Franco’s shoulder with one of his large hands. Franco took a sip and it was still slightly warm. The old magical tea had an odd taste but its effects were amazing.
“I’m sorry about Gull.” Franco said looking down as he took another sip of the tea. Finn just patted his shoulder again.
“If you live to our age and you still put on that belt, you know how you will die. We all do and he died doing something important.” Finn said before he looked away, his eyes wet.
“His body and Sarah's are together and prepared to be taken up when we leave.”
Franco felt his heart seize up for a moment as he thought of her. Clearing his throat he thanked them for taking care of that. Feeling uncomfortable and anxious, Franco wanted to be on the move. Too long underground he thought.
“How long was I asleep” he asked
“A little more than nine hours,.” Zif replied.
“How much more of that tea do you have Finn?” Franco asked.
“Enough for one more pot I think”
“Then let's get my clothes, heat up that pot and get the rest up and moving.” Franco said as he started to walk towards where Zif had said his clothes were.
Franco poured the last of the tea into a canteen Maph was holding out to him. Maph nodded thanks to him before he turned where he was sitting to face Zif who stood before them in the front room of the Grand Armory. It had taken over an hour to get everyone to this point but they all felt the need to be on the move back to the surface. Franco had assumed they would want to be out of here as fast as he did. They had not talked much but it was obvious everyone had changed from their experiences yesterday. Zif bowed to their sitting group before he spoke.
“Honored friends of the Temple, I am most grateful for all that you have done and sacrificed to reclaim these floors and to secure the Grand Armory.” He paused for a moment as if hesitant his metallic voice betraying just a hint of unease.
“I have been changed by my experiences yesterday as I am sure you have. More than just a level. The prophecy of my Abbot has been fulfilled and the Temple of the Jade Goddess must change as I have been directed.” Zif said.
Franco looked around the group and saw surprise and interest on everyone's face but Finn who had apparently heard this news before.
“Only three of my brothers who joined us survived yesterday and I was able to save two more Cores but the Jade temple must now be open and enter this changed world with little protection left. I have spoken at length about this issue and my new mission with Honored Senior Finn. So in a week's time from when you leave the temple I will hopefully meet with your expedition leader.” Zif stopped talking as Oaken cursed.
“My father, how long have we been down here Zif! He might have have broken down the gates by now.” Oaken said and then trilled in distress.
“Do not fret my young Kimber, the Temple Minds have let your father know your status by the messages they left on the Barrier spell. Once they convinced your father to stop trying to break that is. They have been keeping him apprised as to the status of you and your team. They told me he tried to break in again when they told him you were fighting a Demon led force of Minotaurs, but do not mind those old gossips, they have grown strange over the millennium and now he eagerly awaits your return as do I. Because I will seek to make a deal with the Adventurers Guild as well as The Rout and the Obsidian Way goblins so I can employ adventuring teams, Silver and higher, to reclaim the temple and hopefully to make a common area in it so that those above and below can trade in peace as suggested by Honored Senior Finn. Creating that in the Temple will help it to survive this new future.”
Oaken coughed to get Zif’s attention. “Brother Zif what changed besides you level to prompt this’
Ziff hesitated for nearly a minute before he spoke. “My Goddess’s intent for this temple and me were made clear now that it has been reopened, so I will seek to achieve her will.”
Franco looked to Maph who seemed as surprised as Oaken. Did this mean the Jade Goddess had talked to Zif last night or whenever he had leveled up. Had he seen her? Franco wanted to ask but it was clearly something he did not want to speak about.
“How will you be paying for these adventures?” Frazier asked from where she sat. She sipped from a canteen and looked in much better health than she had yesterday but that was true for all of them. She was the only one of them in armor as the rest of the team’s had been destroyed beyond repair from yesterday's fighting.
“Mostly with gear from these outer rooms but also with gold and silver and at times knowledge” the golem said.
Frazier nodded in understanding and went back to sipping her tea. Franco thought she had been unusually quiet since she woke up but she was working through the fallout of the fight like the rest of them.
“That brings me to rewards and what was promised.” Zif said, pointing with both his right arms to the doors that led into the actual armory.
Six golems walked into the room each one carrying a solid wood chest of different design and size. Some with strong metal bands throughout the chest while others were just solid wood. Each one had a different type of lock on it. The six golems formed a line, shoulder to shoulder with each other in front of Zif and put the chests down before stepping back. Franco and his team all leaned forward with anticipation. He could almost feel the weight of Fate in the room now.
“I have thought hard these last hours while you all slept, how best to reward you. I have options for some, as the choices will gravely affect you, and if what I have chosen is not acceptable, let me know but all are for reasons I thought fit.” Zif said as he knelt and opened the chest closes to him
“Honored Senior, I have chosen a Longevity Artifact, a necklace as was common in Desanigh, for you. During the height of Desanigh these items were of great worth but not Legendary or Masterwork items, most of the wealthy of the city had one of this quality or better.” Zif said as he pulled out a thick silver necklace that had an oval pendant the size of a chicken egg with a flat back and a half red, half black stone with a sinuous line between them in the pendant. Zif continued after he showed Finn the necklace without giving it to him yet.
“What this artifact does is simple. It will extend the life of the one that wears it, but like all things the details matter. This item must charge at least a decade before switching users. Mana gatherers will of course cut that time down as well as the density of mana. Once worn It must remain in contact with the fur or skin at least 390 days out of the year to get its full effect. While one wears it they become mana void as it draws in all your local mana. So it is not something Wizards or Mages use. All that cost and for you Finn at your age you will gain an additional 20 years of life at just a slightly better version of your current health. If you wore it at twenty, you would gain maybe a year, and at forty maybe eight, but now this gives you time with that family you told me about. Is this reward enough for an Honored friend?” Zif asked with real doubt in his voice.
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Everyone looked at Finn who had gone still, he shook a little, his greying fur and scared bill showing his years and his adventuring. Finally after nearly a minute Okaen reached out and pinched the older Kimber causing him to trill in anger before he looked around and saw everyone's eyes on him. He stood up and with all three arms out, hugged the golem before taking the necklace from its hand.
“Thank you Brother Zif, this is beyond what I deserve but I will accept it with much thanks.” Finn said as he laughed and put the necklace on right then before sitting back down.
“Good, I am glad you are pleased. In this chest is 500 Desanigh gold coins for you. What their current value is I do not know but there is also another 1000 that I would ask you to give to Honored Gull’s family "
"Of course.” Finn agreed.
“Next we have you young elf, but to you I ask, would you have a sword as your reword or armor. Not a full armor set but a chest piece.” Ziff asked
Maph rubbed his chest where Longhorn Faust’s staff had punched through his armor and almost killed him. Maph’s armor was ruined but he still had his sword.
“Armor, Brother Zif.” Maph said after only a few seconds of thought. Zif opened the second chest and pulled out a polished bronze colored breastplate. Simple in its design it would leave the shoulders and neck exposed and would reach Maphs’s waist. It had a small vine design around the bottom while an embossed design of a rearing unicorn with a large oak tree behind it, its branches full of leaves covered the front of it. Ziff also pulled out a dark silvering chain mail.
“I don't know the history of how the Temple got this elf armor, but I thought of it immediately for you young elf. It is a mithial alloy, thus its color and several times stronger than your last piece. It has on it four Superior enchantments. Lightweight, so it will only be ? the weight when worn. Magic Resistance, Impact Absorption, so a blow from a heavy mace or that hit from the staff yesterday would be cut in half and the last is Repair. It will repair itself over time with just Mana. Keep good bars of metal on it when it's repairing and it will do so faster consuming the other metal without weakening itself. The chainmail is not part of it, but also given so you can have better protection. It is a mithial alloy that weakens it but makes it very light. It is as strong as your last armor and has a common enchantments of Rust Resistance and Durability." Zif said.
Before Zif could ask if Maph wanted it the elf was on his feet taking the armor out of his hands which was clearly very heavy when just being held by the way Maph held it. Maph had no gambion to put underneath it to make the armor really comfortable but he put on the ancient chainmail and then the breastplate with Frazier's help. Once it was fully on, Maph jumped around and spun as if he was wielding a weapon. Moving easily and with a smile.
“Oh you look like a proper warrior elf now.” Frazier said with a small smile on her face.
“I do and just for its history and what it represents I thank you Brother Zif. It is a most fitting reward and with this team I think I will see it used well.” Maph said, shaking one of Zifs hands.
“I can have a golem carry it up in the chest if you need the help while you recover.” Zif offered but Maph just waved him off so the golem reached into the mostly empty chest and handed him a small pouch. “100 gold, the same as Honored Finn, but its true worth is unknown to me”. Maph thanked him again and readjusted his new armor and adventurer’s belt so it all sat well.
“For you Oaken a True Kimber I give you this Grimoire of Basic Wizardry. This is a Legendary Masterwork by an Archwizard and befitting for a True Kimber Wizard in training. This Grimoire holds only 10 basic spells but through its own magic it will within one month teach you how to Free Cast the spell as well, and as fast as you could with an Ability. Part of its magic is consumed when you learn the spell to that level and it is destroyed. So each spell can only be learned by one person is all it can do and only 5 of the spells can be learned before the Grimoire is destroyed but anyone can learn to Free Cast from it.”
Franco wasn't thinking highly of this so-called Legendary Masterwork until that last part from Zif. A consumable item that taught anyone how to free cast a spell as well as an Ability and did it within a month was, was truly Legendary. Learning just one of the five spells before hitting level 10 would surely guarantee you the Wizard class as a choice or give him the chance for Spellblade. Oaken stood and with a deep bow thanked Zif. He cradled the book in his arms, almost afraid of it. Franco wondered if Oaken noticed he wasn't offered any gold. The Grimoire was that valuable.
Zif opened the 4th chest which was much smaller and pulled out a black sleek gauntlet of little overlapping plates. Designed for the right hand, it had copper lines running from a large oval piece of clear glass like stone or a different kind of crystal than Franco knew that sat high on the forearm. The copper lines ran to three stones on the back of the hand, each about thumbnail size and also embedded into the gauntlet paced evenly out but just below the knuckles, one was a milky white color, another a light yellow and the third was an orangey red.
“This is the Masterwork I had in mind since I saw your crossbow Captain Frazier, it’s called a Projectile Infuser but was commonly known as a Shooters Companion. This one is very special because it uses a mana collector to keep three interchangeable Adder Stones powered. The stones here are Force, Lightning and Fire. Select which one you want when you release a normal bolt from your crossbow and it will infuse that property onto the bolt as it leaves the crossbow. Now you can with practice Captain Frazier add more of that property to the bolt if it can handle the magic. In its notes it stated that the Force Adder stone could add as much as three times the force to the bolt but that would drain the stone in a few shots. Unfortunately the Temple has no spare Adder Stones.”
Frazier took the gauntlet and thanked Zif and then put it on immediately. She stepped away from the group and with some instructions from Zif tightened it to fit her right forearm better and learned how to switch between stones with a clever but unnatural movement of her fingers. She switched between them and then pulling out her auto crossbow pointed it at the far stone walls of a work counter and loosed a bolt. Franco saw just in that instant of release, magic envelop the bolt as it shot out now looking like a Shock Bolt spell as it hit the stone counter popping as the electricity released on impact. Then just two seconds later a fiery bolt hit the same spot. It was an incredible display of the artifacts' power.
Oaken trilled in jealousy “Well you don’t need me me anymore. Frazier is now a better spell threat than most Level 10 Mages.”
That got Frazier to smile again as she put away her crossbow and looked over the gauntlet again. She went over to Zif who was still on one knee in front of the chests watching her. She hugged the four arm golem.
“Thank you Zif, this is truly an artifact of legend. One I am not worthy of, especially after getting Sarah killed, but now….” She trailed off as she hugged him as she choked up in emotion.
Maph in his new armor moved over to her and held her as she let go of Zif, tears in her eyes as Maph led her back to the pile of blankets they had been sitting on. Zif looked physically uncomfortable for the first time Franco could think of in their days together. With one knee on the ground he knelt there for a few seconds before Oaken coughed.
“Brother Zif what are Adder Stones they sound incredible.” Oaken asked to move past Zif’s discomfort. He spun his upper body slightly to face Oaken, now happy to talk about something.
“Oh it does not surprise me you do not know of them. They were a thing long old when I was born. Their history, as was taught to me, was when the world was young, that for nearly two thousand years they were the bases of almost all magical items. What or where they came from was a matter of great historical debate still when Desanigh sunk into the ground. They apparently came in every variety of magic with some more rare than others and most items could switch them out like that Shooters Companion can. If they came from a mine or a beast no one knows but their source dried up over a century which caused huge wars across the world which of course used or destroyed most of the remaining ones. They will break with regular use over time but the ones on Captain Frazier's gauntlet should last 10’s of thousands of uses each.”
“So they give an attribute to something? A wind stone would make it go faster? Or a rock aspected stone would have made armor harder or the bolts harder?” Oaken asked, thinking allowed as his tail twitched in thought.
“Many things like that but how it manifested in an item was largely dependent on the item, but you must understand that Adder Stones magic is often a magical representation of the element or thing vs the real thing. That fire stone will spread magical fire on any surface without the need for air for a few seconds but now magical resistance will work against such bolts.” Zif said. He turned to see that Frazier had stopped crying and was sitting holding hands with Maph listening to their conversation.
“Ah then to you Honored Friend.” Zif said as he turned to Franco.
“Me.” Franco said, pointing to himself.
“Yes, to you we owe much. Deeds worthy of a Relic but I have a choice for you Son of Abigail . A full Relic will see you become truly dangerous in a fight or make you almost unkillable for most but the highest level foes. It will also see your leveling almost stop. There are others that offer great benefits but not to an adventurer. No, what I suggest is this.” Zif said as he opened the final chest.
He withdrew a sheathed sword and held it across his body with his two lower arms. It looked to be nearly 40” inches long. A Dusack style saber with a silvery Quillion and guard that swept back to the pommel that was capped by a large round foggy jade stone that gleamed with magic. The grip was a black leather still looking soft after all these years with fine silver wire work holding it tightly.
The sheath itself was black leather with wide silver bands and showed the slight curve of the blade with its upswept tip.
“This is a Jade Saber of great fame from the history of my Temple. It is a Leveling Relic or a Training Blade and in this case a Spellsaber. This saber has five levels and once the wielder bonds with the weapon it will unlock the highest level it can be and their powers without hurting the wielder's leveling, and then continues to unlock its levels as its wielder grows. Its past owners when they reached great heights of power in their late 30s or early 40s passed on the blade then as its power was not that of a full Relic at that level but until then it was more famous than they in many cases.” Zif said as he held the blade reverently.
Franco just inspected the sword in its sheath while Zif spoke. When he had paused in his explanation Franco didn't hesitate and reached for it. Zif handed it to him and Franco felt the weight in his hands. Slightly heavy for a saber its size but it felt well balanced.
“May I draw it?” Franco asked in a low tone. Zif nodded and Franco slowly drew the blade so everyone in the room could see.
The spine of the blade was made up of the same silvery metal as the Guard, but it was only half the blade while the other half was a magical shimming green jade that came to a fine edge. The jade followed the spine in its slight curve and upswept tip to the sharp point of the blade and Franco noticed that the spine had an edge also, for two inches before it met the upswept tip. He held it like he was about to lunge forward and dance on his feet. It was heavy and long with a 34” blade but it felt right to him and it was perfect. He could sense the powerful magic in it and he did not want the weight of responsibility from a relic that could level cities, not at his current level. No, some Silver rank adventurer could probably take it from him, let alone the kind of powers a Kingdom would send if they thought they could kill him for such a thing.
This saber was strength and power unlike anything he had before, but it was also safer. He went to attention and formally saluted the golem with the saber.
“Thank you Brother Zif, this will do nicely.” Zif stood and bowed to him again.
“I am pleased you like it. Let us bond it to you now then, so we can be on our way. It's beyond time for me to get you to your father Oaken and the surface.”
