Returning Home & Looking Over the Loot

“You two were gone for longer than I expected.” Inanna plainly states as both barbarian and Elf trudge into the living area.

“Yeah,” Krvavy tiredly sighs out, “we –”

“We’ve ‘ad quite the long day and’ll talk about it in the mornin’.” Beryl firmly states, giving her Draconic lover a stern look as she shrugs off the heavy backpack and begins to carelessly peel her wooden armour away. “We desperately need ta get cleaned up before ‘eadin’ ta bed.”

“Mm. Alright.” The Dwarf nods her head. “I can see that Krvavy has had... quite the day.”

The barbarian frowns a little as she feels Inanna’s intense copper-orange eyes pointedly staring at the bruise covering her torso. It isn’t quite as prominent as it was earlier in the day, the dark purple colour having dulled into a shade that is almost grey, but it is still incredibly obvious. Especially since it contrasts with her normal snowy white skin tone.

“Khalia, dear,” the tired Elf calls out as loudly as she can while still trying to remain rather hushed. Adeline is bundled up in her bedding near the fireplace, and Beryl doesn’t want to disturb her. “Would ya please come along as well?” She asks, seeing the Orc’s face pop up from the expansive moss bed across the room. “Ah might need yer ‘elp draggin’ our dearest love back up ‘ere once we’re done.”

“I am capable of walking on my on, thank you very much.” Krvavy plainly states, weakly glaring at Beryl with exhausted eyes.

“O’ course ya can, but ya are also quite stubborn. Ah’d rather not ‘ave ta argue against ya spendin’ the night down in the ‘ot spring.” The Elf drops the last bit of her bark armour to the ground just as Khalia plods over. “And yes yes, Ah know tha’ ya’ve done it before and tha’ ya’ll likely do it again. But it is still better ta sleep in a bed wit’ the women ya love rather than risk drownin’ like a foolish idiot.”

The Were-Beast’s shaggy tail slows down and stop wagging. “Rrrrgh...!” A rumbling growl emerges past her slightly parted lips as her paw-like hand reaches out and gently presses against the new scar on her Mate’s midsection.

“Now go on, let’s get a move on.” Beryl clears her throat and looks expectantly at the Drakling. “Or do Ah need ta get Khalia ta carry ya down there as well?”

“How interesting...”

“Really?” Thea incredulously stares at the Dwarf. “Is that all you have to say?!”

Inanna raises a thick eyebrow and meets the bratty girl’s gaze. “Do you disagree?

“Ugh...!”

The faintest smile plays at the Dwarf’s lips as she turns back towards Krvavy. “From your description, the construct that you fought is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of.”

“Oh?” Beryl voices her surprise in the Drakling’s place, as Krvavy can’t speak at the moment due to the fact that she is currently being hand fed her breakfast by the doting Elf. “Ah thought tha’ ya Dwarves were quite familiar wit’ golems? Or was tha’ just some sort o’ stereotype?”

“Mm... It is a bit of both, I suppose.” Inanna shrugs slightly as she gives her answer. “Magical constructs, or golems if you would prefer, have an odd place in my peoples’ society. Generally speaking, it is frowned upon for someone to have a construct perform a job or task that a Dwarf is capable of. It would do us no good, as a people, if we were to offload all of our difficult or laborious jobs in such a manner. We do not want to grow decadent and lazy.”

“Like those snooty High Elves~?” Beryl playfully wonders, speaking in a wry yet still rather joyful tone. “Or even those o’ the old Empire~?”

“Indeed.” The Dwarf plainly replies, her amused expression not quite matching her rather neutral tone. “Even the menial and less desirable jobs are important for maintaining a functioning society, and those who perform such crucial roles should not be looked down upon.”

“Aye.” The tomboyish Elf nods in agreement. “If someone isn’t willin’ ta do the ‘ard work themselves, they should at least be thankful tha’ it was done fer them.”

“I suppose that this belief is one of the few things our people have in common, and which separates your kind from the other Elves.”

“Ahem.” Thea loudly clears her throat, glaring back and forth between the Dwarf and the Wood Elf.

“Right.” Inanna calmly breathes out as she gets back on topic. “As I was saying... While magical constructs do not play a large role in Dwarven society, it is understandable that the other races may believe that they do. We are a rather isolationist people, hardly interacting with those on the surface. Thus the image that many other races have of us Dwarves was cultivated primarily by war, which is one of the very few situations where using ‘golems’ is accepted. It is better that a magical construct is destroyed than a Dwarven life is lost.”

“There weren’t any golems in the caravan that I, uh, found you in, were there?” Krvavy gets the chance to speak up as her Elf is momentarily distracted by Khalia’s attempts at cuddling the still-sore barbarian. “I didn’t see any.”

“No, there were none.” The grey-skinned shortstack responds with a slight shake of her head. “Just because it is acceptable to use ‘golems’ in potentially dangerous situations does not mean that they are always used in such circumstances. A well-trained and well-equipped Dwarf will always be more capable than an artificial construct.”

“And you didn’t really expect to be attacked so brazenly...” Krvavy idly nods, her words trailing out as the clingy Were-Beast cuddles up against her side and presses against her yellowed bruise.

“Indeed. Though, in all honesty, we likely wouldn’t have brought any constructs along even had that been an expected outcome. Realistically, we simply wouldn’t have bothered coming to the surface. But beyond that...” Inanna briefly pauses, taking a bite of her half-forgotten breakfast. “We Dwarves ensure that our artificial constructs only have a rudimentary level of intelligence. Typically no smarter than a well-trained beast of burden. They are not well suited to situations which may require tough judgment calls and snap decisions.”

“Oh?” Beryl tilts her head to the side. “Ah thought tha’ Dwarven golems were... more advanced than tha’.”

Inanna raises a thick eyebrow as she responds. “They are advanced. Incredibly so: the runic matrix’ that allow for these constructs to function require intensely specialized knowledge to even understand, and their complexity is far beyond my skill level. But, despite that, they still remain mere automatons. My people do not create constructs capable of independent thought. We may build them in the image of ourselves, but we have no intention of having them be anything that may even be considered a person.”

“Rather cautious. But Ah suppose it ‘as worked well enough so far...” The tomboyish Elf casually shrugs her shoulders. “So ya don’t really ‘ave explanation fer the crystal one we fought?”

“Nothing more than speculation.” The Dwarf confirms with a slow nod. “This isn’t my area of expertise, but nothing about that crystalline construct sounded familiar. For one, my people do not make constructs out of crystal. Stones and metals are the preferred materials. Ideally both done in layers, as to protect the runes and etched channels from damage. Which is another major difference, as your description didn’t include the mention of any method for energy to be distributed throughout the construct. Beyond the possibility that mana was being conducted through the medium that the construct was composed of, which only adds further complications...”

“There was that magical energy arm thing it did near the end.” Krvavy helpfully points out, accidentally pulling the Elf’s attention back to her and getting some food shoved into her face as a result.

“My Ushumgal, that does not make this any simpler.” A slight bit of frustration enters Inanna’s neutral voice before she slowly sighs out. “I have no concrete explanation on how it was capable of doing that. Just two ideas which could not even be considered theories. Perhaps that was merely a projection of solidified mana? At face value, that is not outside the realm of possibility. But for a construct to be capable of such a process it would require a specialized node. Which, from what you’ve described, was not the case. My other idea is far more worrying. Perhaps that ‘golem’ you fought contained an attempted recreation of the mana channels within our bodies? Channels which persisted even when the limbs they were inside were destroyed. That is incredibly atypical, to put it lightly, as that is a characteristic of what we would consider a soul. And, unless that ‘golem’ was in actuality some variety of elemental, that means it contained what I could only describe as an artificial replica of a soul.”

“Wha’ if it contained actual souls instead?” Beryl narrows her eyes as she asks that question, glaring sternly at the Orc trying to steal Krvavy’s breakfast. “Ah’ve no doubt tha’ plenty o’ people suffered and died in tha’ place, so souls wouldn’t’ve been in short supply when it was still occupied.”

“That... Is not something which I had considered...” Inanna slowly states, looking ever so slightly annoyed with herself. “I suppose that, with the crystalline construct and the entire ruin being decidedly non-Dwarven, that is a possibility. But that is even further beyond my area of expertise. Did it perhaps feel... necromantic? Or just unnatural?”

“Ach, not really...” The Wood Elf scowls slightly, even as she successfully fends off the hungry Were-Beast. “It definitely wasn’t natural, but it didn’t give me the impression o’ ****. It just felt like a rock filled wit’ far too much mana tha’ ‘ad been sittin’ in a dank and stagnant pond.”

“It was also very bright and colourful.” The Drakling points out, idly petting her pouting puppy on the head. “Which... doesn’t feel stereotypical for anything undead.”

“Mm... So it being an elemental is still a possibility, however unlikely... Such as shame that it left no remains to study...”

“Ugh!” Thea loudly groans out, drawing everyone’s attention towards her. “Enough of this already! Are you just going to just talk and talk all morning!? Get on with it! Show off those two supposed ‘treasures’ that you found!”

“Shh!” Beryl sternly shushes the bratty girl. “Don’t be so loud. Adeline is still sleepin’!”

The silver-blonde brat simply rolls her eyes and scowls.

“I am curious about the quartz that you brought back.” The Dwarf turns her gaze over to the backpack, which is resting nearby. “You said it looked ‘better’ than what you had previously collected?”

“Yeah, the crystals are pretty big and almost perfectly clear.” Krvavy briefly gestures for Inanna to go take a look herself, before her hand is grabbed by the Orc and **** to continue its headpatting.

Inanna reaches towards the backpack and drags it a little closer to herself, before opening it up and pulling out a chunk of quartz. “Mm...” She thoughtfully hums out and critically looks the crystal over, holding it up to the light. “It is almost certainly an improvement to the others, but not by a meaningful amount. Quartz has limitations, and removing a few imperfections does not change that.”

“How wonderful...” Thea grumpily grumbles out, crossing her arms as she impatiently waits for the actual treasures to be revealed.

“Do not get me wrong,” the Dwarf glances sideways at the brat. “These crystals are free of nearly all flaws and are more lustrous as well. I will have to perform some tests to determine how they compare to the crystals that we are currently using, but I do suspect that they will be an upgrade. Even if the increase in efficiency is marginal, their larger size will allow for greater capacity.”

The silver-blonde brat repeatedly taps her foot on the ground, the constant movement causing the hem of her sundress to flutter and dance as she sits on her moss-covered seat.

“I take it that all of the quartz you collected yesterday is of similar provenance?”

“Yup,” Krvavy nods her head, “got them all from the same room. And stairwell.”

“Ugh!” Thea groans out in frustration. “Stop wasting away the day! Just get on with it and show off those two ‘treasures’ already!”

“Ah’ll ‘andle this, my dearest love.” Beryl wags her finger in a playfully stern manner as she gives up her spot next to the barbarian. “The first o’ the treasures tha’ ya so impatiently want ta see is... the second one we found.” Her eyes twinkle teasingly as she quickly glances at the thoroughly annoyed brat.

“That is a ball of moss.” Thea dryly points out, glaring at the Elf.

“Sure looks like tha’.” The tanned tomboy simply holds the big mossy ball for a few long seconds before she begins delicately peeling back the protective layers to reveal the treasure within.

“Wow...!” Surprise and awe fill the spoiled girl’s face as she slowly breathes out, her bratty attitude washed away in an instant.

“That is a rather large pearl.” Inanna plainly points out, leaning forwards with a curious glint in her eyes. “I take it that you did not find that simply laying around?”

“Nope.” Krvavy nods her head again. “It was inside an old sack of slime that was hanging from the ceiling.”

The Dwarf turns her gaze back down to the large pearl, arching a thick eyebrow as she quite obviously uses Inspect on the thing. “A slime pearl...?” She curiously mutters out, furrowing her brows. “I can’t... I can’t say that I have ever heard of such a thing...”

“Really?” The barbarian incredulously asks, honestly surprised by that admission.

“My people treat slimes as nothing more than pests that must be exterminated. We would not suffer an infestation long enough for something like this to form.” Inanna bluntly states, looking a bit vexed as she nearly glares at the pearl. “Mm... Did this form in a similar manner as a stalactite would...? Minerals dripping or being leeched from the ceiling and amalgamating together inside of a slime unable to digest them...?” Her muttered voice grow less audible with each word, gradually trailing off into thought.

“This...!” Thea almost immediately breaks the silence, sputtering slightly as she struggles to put her thoughts into words. “This is fit to be a crown jewel...! It could be the centerpiece of an entire collection! It –!”

“Oh hush now.” Beryl shushes the brat, carefully moving the pearl out of Thea’s reach. “Remember, it’s still early and Adeline ‘asn’t woken up yet. So let’s at least try ta be quiet.”

“Hmph!” Thea crosses her arms and glares at the Elf, growing visibly annoyed as her protesting gaze gets completely ignored. “I –!”

“You said that this pearl was inside of a slime?” Inanna speaks over the bratty girl, her copper-orange eyes snapping up to inquisitively stare at the Drakling.

“No, not a slime. Just some goo.” Krvavy shrugs ever so slightly, trying to not disturb the cuddling Orc. “Not quite sure what that stuff was, but it was really sticky and a bit firm. Kind of like a... slightly wet raisin. Not the most pleasant stuff to walk over.”

“Mm... Sounds like slime residue.” The grey-skinned woman slowly nods her head. “Slimes, when in high enough concentrations, tend to coat surfaces with that particular excretion. Presumably to avoid losing moisture as they move around. But that does not help to explain how a pearl would form inside such residue, though I suppose that with enough centuries...”

“Ugh, enough of this...!” Thea groans as loudly as she can without getting scolded by Beryl. “What about that other treasure...?! Go on, take it out already...!”

The Wood Elf almost completely ignores the brat as she regrows the moss, ensuring that the slime pearl remains safe and undamaged. “It’s in tha’ pouch.” She idly tells the Dwarf, giving Thea a stern look to prevent the girl from lunging forwards.

Inanna pulls the other mossy treasure from the pouch, raising a thick eyebrow as she brushes away that soft packaging to reveal the prismatic prism.

“What.” The silver-blonde brat scowls and turns towards the barbarian, her glare quickly becoming more annoyed as she realizes that this is the actual treasure and Krvavy isn’t just messing with her. “Is that it?! Another quartz crystal?! We have piles of that stuff laying around!”

“It isn’t quartz.” The Drakling’s lips twist into a not so innocent smirk. “Don’t believe me? Go on, Inspect it.”

“Alright, I wi–ilhhh!” Thea immediately winces as her words shift into a slightly pained hiss. “Y-you! How dare –!”

“Shh!” Beryl forcibly shushes the brat, meeting Thea’s furious glare with her own firm gaze.

“It has anti-scrying properties?” Inanna wonders, tilting her head and briefly meeting the Drakling’s emerald eyes.

“As far as I can tell, yup.” Krvavy replies with a nod, reaching out to pat her angry brat on the head.

“Where did you find it?”

“Just laying around.” The barbarian cheekily answers, nimbly dodging Thea’s retaliating whack. “Really, it was being held up in the air by a few little metal arms atop of what was probably a workbench of some sort. The room it was in was absolutely covered in quartz crystals, those nice clear ones, so it kind of stood out amongst all that.”

“Mm... Perhaps that was the remains of a gem cutting station? This does seem too perfectly shaped for it to be natural...” The grey-skinned shortstack curiously holds the prism in front of her, slowly rotating it around to closely examine it from every angle. “I am not entirely certain that I have the proper equipment to fully determine what this crystal was enchanted to do. But... I can say that it easily accepts mana and is allowing the mana inside of it to be freely withdrawn.”

“So that is just a fancier version of what we already have?” Thea grumbles out angrily, glaring weakly at the smug barbarian.

“If you would like to look at it that way, sure.” Inanna idly nods her head. “There is undoubtedly more to it than that, of course. Though the anti-scrying capabilities could simply be there to prevent the unauthorized from viewing how much mana is contained within it...”

“Oh, I should probably also mention that trying to Inspect the golem also resulted in the same, well, pain.” Krvavy helpfully points out.

“Mm? How interesting...”

“Ugh... Is that all you found?” Thea narrows her eyes as she stares at the backpack. “Just a big pearl and a bunch of crystals?”

“I mean, we didn’t go back there looking for treasure.” Krvavy nonchalantly shrugs. “We were pretty much just there to test out my new spells and get some experience.”

“And how well did that work out for you?” The bratty girl asks with a bit of an attitude, turning her gaze back to the barbarian.

“Pretty well. Turns out that slimes don’t like getting frozen solid and then smashed to pieces, so Boreal Breath was very useful. Imbued Inferno was... less so. Having my axe covered in fire made it look amazing, but it didn’t really do much against some wet blobs and a living crystal.”

“And you levelled up, I presume?” Inanna interjects before Thea can continue being snarky. “Is your Soulbound Weaponry skill finally ready to be upgraded?”

“Yup, but there is also something a bit annoying about that: it got capped at level ten.” Krvavy grumbles slightly as she finishes off her stew, placing the bowl aside. “It probably should be around level twelve or thirteen by now...”

“Mm. And you did not want to risk being without a weapon in the case that upgrading it was not instantaneous, yes?”

“Yup again. Suppose I could do that now though...” Krvavy tiredly sighs as she brings up the Divine Favour points shop, quickly sifting through it to find for what she is looking for.

Soulbound Weaponry II: 10 Divine Favour. Upgrades your Soulbound weapon to make it capable of consuming up to three materials at a time to increase its power. Durability & repair speed increased. Requires skill level 10 to purchase. Upgradable.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Krvavy gently shakes her head and glances at the impatient brat. “Didn’t think that you’d be interested in this.”

“Ugh... It is better than just sitting around doing nothing.” Thea rolls her eyes. “Now stop wasting time! You are wasting away the day!”

The barbarian gently bites her bottom lip as she tries to resist the oh so tempting urge to tease her brat.