We were back at the camp; people were asking us what happened and what kind of treasure we got our hands on, especially after seeing the few swords and pieces of armour we brought back.

  We got to answer a lot of questions I would have gladly avoided. One thing we didn’t share, Mary’s possession wasn’t something they needed to know; the woman was already rattled enough by herself, and it would bring not only trouble for her, but it would destabilise the frail trust and cohesion we had even between ourselves. The spirit in the mask died; there was nothing in Mary anymore, and the mask I brought back didn’t contain anything except some kind of mutated curse. I wasn’t going to wear it, probably ever, but that thing will stay with me and hidden before coming back if we talked about it and decided it shouldn’t just be left there for anyone to find, especially with the door now open and the plan we had to return with more people to harvest the pool and the remaining loot. Speaking of that…

  “Gilbert, I need to ask for your opinion.” I told the old woodworker; he grew in levels from the fighting of the day and looked pretty tired all considered, but there was always this nervous energy in him; his hands couldn’t stay still for a moment.

  He sighed as he turned to regard me. “I’m sure it doesn’t concern my idea on how to proceed, but of course, ask away.”

  “Actually in a way it concerns exactly that. You saw the armour and weapons we brought back, right? There are approximately fifty sets of armour and nearly a hundred swords, eighty-eight if we want to be precise. Not only that, but we found a literal pool of health potion, or its equivalent. I already tested it on myself, and it worked wonders, much better than the ones we got the first day. We can use it for ourselves, and the extras we can sell to the system shop; we will divide the earnings between the group. Now… I want to bring as much of the loot we gained with us as possible. And the question is, how much time would it take for making another cart and some barrels?”

  He stared at me with a twinkle in his eyes. I don’t know if it is the prospect of working with something he was familiar with, the talk about money or something else, but he was clearly hooked. “Everyone can carry a sword or two, so we can halve the weight of those; the armour too. I’m sure it will be worn by everyone, not that it will be the greatest of protection anyway… the real question is, how much is a small pond to you? Without knowing that it will be difficult to get an idea.”

  I took a stick from the pile for the fire nearby, then I started tracing the outline of the pond on the ground. It was the best I could think of. “This is the size, more or less five or six feet deep and concave; that’s it, more or less, so?”

  He started smoothing his grey beard while thinking, I should shave too; the stubble was starting to annoy me, or maybe I should let mine grow too?

  “It will take too many carts and too many barrels to bring all of that outside; even with a low estimate, we are talking about a thousand and spare to more than two thousand gallons. As we are now, it will be impossible to bring everything with us, but. We can make a cart that contains only the liquid; we can waterproof it and make it sturdy. It will take at least all the morning if we plan it tonight. Don’t make that face, boy; even with magic, something like this requires time, especially if you don’t want it to break and spill all of the potion around. Then you’ll come to nag me because it wasn’t sturdy enough!”

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  After his response I was conflicted; we needed to proceed, but the potential worth of the potion was absurd. We paid a hundred points a potion at the store; it was clearly inferior compared to this, and the quantity was a vial. How much would it be if we managed to sell a thousand gallons of the stuff? We could really equip ourself with something good, something that will make the journey easier too…

  “Do it; the potential is too great. Plan the whole thing tonight and build it as soon as you can, with regard to the quality, of course. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to talk with Tom and organise the whole thing.”

  He reached for my arm, stopping me. My first instinct was to swot him away, but I held back. “Yes?” I asked him in the most polite way possible.

  With a grin on his face, he said, “Hold there for a second, son; we need to talk business first… you know, we are doing all the work here. Without us, you wouldn’t be able to bring the thing away, so it will not net you anything, right? Right, so I want half – half for me and my people.” The self-satisfied look he was giving me was really making me want to crush the little gnat right here and now; it would be so easy… he was so weak, I could just use my aura to pressure him a little; he would fold like a sheet of paper.

  No, why use force and destabilise the whole group when I had the perfect tool at my disposal? But I’d have to play this smart; his friends were watching him. No, most of the people around us were watching…

  I raised a hand. “Wait, so you are telling me that you and what? Five others want to take half of the resources for themselves? I understand that your role of building the means of transportation is valuable, don’t get me wrong… but we killed forty-four monsters higher than level sixty and a level eighty champion, all backed up by the spirit of some ancient priest or something. What kind of percentage do you think we are entitled to? After all, we risked our lives for that loot… are you risking your life too in this endeavour? Or maybe… given that we all will play a role in this, getting the loot, building the transportation and bringing the cart to the next safe zone to sell it. Maybe we all should get a cut, evenly, so that we keep things equal; after all, it will be a lot of points, and we are all in the same boat. Let’s not be too greedy; what do you say?”

  Everyone around us started to murmur; some were agreeing with me, others were even saying that we should take a bigger cut, and some were conflicted, saying that the crafters had a big role too. I wasn’t doing this for the points; Gilbert was right; without him I could get very little, but without me he would have got nothing, and the next safe zone was still far away, probably, so it was in his best interests to remain in the fighters' good graces.

  While waiting for his answer, I started to prime Marionette of Regret; I was a moment away from using it.

  As his face took on an uncomfortable look, he backed down. “Aye… you are right. I got a bit weepy excited. You know, in my field you always have to haggle a bit on the price, but this is not the right situation. I was thinking you wanted to keep most for yourself, if I had to be honest… but we can work together in this and more if you need us.”

  I let the curse rest again; in the end it wasn’t needed. I looked at the man; he got a more eager look on his face, like a child trying to convince his crying brother that the slap was not that painful before his mother realised what happened.

  I extended my hand for a handshake. “Of course we can, no hard feelings. Being in this hellhole together, we should support each other, don’t you think?”

  He gripped my hand with his own calloused one, a strong grip, from a man who probably worked hard his entire life, but mine was unmoving. I wasn’t a sloucher either, and the stats made me superhuman. He realised the difference in strength too, without me having to squeeze or anything. He nodded and said, “Yes, that will be for the best.”

  As he turned around towards the crafters, trying to come up with the best design for the cart, I went nearby to the firepit where most of my team and Tom were looking at us; I sat down with them.

  “That went about as I was expecting, no?”

  20 chapters ahead!