48 – Dungeon Loot

  As Andy finished reading the message, he saw that Bella and Omar were similarly distracted. Bella blinked and looked at Andy, but then the banquet hall doors creaked open and Jilly poked her head through. “Are—is everyone okay?” Before anyone could answer, she ran over to Rundle, who was still sitting against the wall, his fur matted with blood, his snout swollen from the puncture wounds of the zerker-rat’s teeth. Andy watched her as they conversed in low tones for a moment, then an exclamation of pain from Bea drew his attention to the other corner.

  Andy hurried toward her, watching as Lucy tended to their healer—kneeling before the older woman, holding her head, and looking into her eyes. When Andy got close, he asked, “You okay, Bea?”

  She blinked, cleared her throat, and nodded. “I will be. I just need to bless some more water. Stop fussing, sweetie.” She brushed Lucy’s hands away. “If you want to help, fill up some of my vials with Andy’s waterskin.” Her hand fumbled in her coat pocket, but Lucy took over, gathering up the supplies and getting to work.

  Andy was going to offer to help, but then Jilly came jogging over from the other side of the room. “Rundle and I don’t have much time. He wants to thank you all. I mean, we both do.”

  Before Andy could ask, Bella, who’d come running to check on Bea, grabbed the small, furry woman by the arm. “What do you mean? Are you hurt?”

  “No!” Jilly laughed, but then she glanced at the battered battle-bear and shook her head. “Not me, anyway. No, the System told us we’d be removed from this pocket dimension soon.” She shrugged. “I hope that means that this is a copy—that our actual home is safe.”

  “Damn,” Andy said, and then, before he could think, gave voice to half-formed thoughts, “I kind of wanted to invite you and Rundle to come back with us. I mean, anyone else, too. We could use the help with our community and—”

  “Oh, no, Andy! That’s so kind, but I have family back home, and Rundle…” She trailed off, again looking toward the big battle-bear where he sat slumped against the wall, licking one of his forearms. “His order is back on our homeworld. I don’t think he’d want to go off alone. I’d ask him, but it doesn’t seem the System is going to give us a chance.” Her eyes unfocused as she stared into the space between them.

  “Did it give you another message?” Lucy asked, still kneeling beside Bea.

  “Yes, it’s congratulating us on the defeat of the vermin. It says that Scarag Heights has earned some Boon Points.” She shrugged. “I don’t live there, so I’m not very invested; I don’t even know what Boons my home village has.”

  Andy glanced at the others as he said, “I guess it’s kind of cool that the System brought you all into this pocket dimension and got us to help you. I mean, rather than letting the vermin run wild in the real version of this town.”

  “Cool?” Omar shook his head. “Maybe, but I think it’s more like a mutual benefit. The System got to play one of its games here—another opportunity to challenge people.”

  “The System doesn’t always intervene,” Jilly said, her fuzzy lips turning down as she shook her head. “But when it does, we don’t question our good fortune.”

  To Andy’s surprise, Bella stepped close to the little laukin and grabbed her into a hug. “I’m glad we met you, Jilly.”

  Jilly smiled, her almost canine-like face looking truly pleased, as she hugged Bella back. “Me too! And as for Rundle, he wanted me to tell you all that he thinks you’re all very brave. He was proud to fight beside you.”

  As Bella released her, the smaller woman reached up to her neck, her delicate little fingers grasping the silver chain there. She pulled it from under her shirt, revealing a star-shaped silver pendant about the size of a quarter. “I want to give this to you all. It’s valuable, but not as valuable as our lives or our freedom from the vermin invasion. My mother will be proud to know I gifted it to such brave people.” With that, she pulled it over her twitching, fuzzy ears and handed it to Bella.

  “Tre lanwith vo lash do laukin!” she said, her voice musical and, for the first time, syncing with the movements of her lips.

  Bella hurriedly put the chain over her dark hair and said, “Thank you, Jilly!”

  The little laukin smiled and opened her mouth, but then, with a faint crackle and a soft rush of air, she was gone.

  “That was pretty nice of her,” Andy said.

  “I hope she’s okay!” Lucy replied, though her focus was on her task—carefully drizzling water out of Andy’s waterskin into the mouth of a tiny vial.

  Just to be sure, Andy glanced over to the far wall, and, sure enough, only bloodstains remained on the gray stones where Rundle had sat. He turned to look around the banquet hall and wrinkled his nose when he saw the ratmen corpses were still there. “Guess there’s no sense in wasting mana to transport a bunch of corpses.”

  “The System seems efficient, yeah,” Omar replied, setting his shield down with a sigh. “Damn thing got heavy.”

  Andy nodded, noting that Bella had dropped hers a while ago. A rush of mana brought his attention back to Bea, and he saw her waving a hand limned in blue mana over one of the vials Lucy had filled. As soon as the spell faded, she tipped it to her lips and drank it down. “Is that gonna do it, Bea?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed heavily, but then she nodded. “Yes. All you worrywarts can relax—I’ll be fine.” She held up one of her hands. “Come on now, get me on my feet. I’m curious what sorts of rewards the System has for us.”

  Lucy hopped up, and Andy grasped Bea’s hand, surprised by the strength of her grip as he tugged her to her feet. While she brushed her pants off and looked around at them all, she asked, “Anyone else hurt?”

  “Just a few cuts and bruises for me,” Bella replied, gently stroking Chani’s furry head. Her little companion seemed to have climbed out of her satchel, and Andy gave it a double-take; it seemed significantly larger.

  “Same for me,” Lucy replied.

  Omar stepped closer and clapped a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “Thanks to Andy. We were close to getting overrun, there.”

  “I know,” Bella replied. “We need more crowd control—hopefully Chani will start learning spells soon.”

  Andy tilted his head, arching an eyebrow as he continued to stare at the little robe-wearing rat. “You really think your pet rat is going to be a sorceress, don’t you?”

  Bella shook her head, clicking her tongue. “You’ll see.”

  Lucy pointed toward the tumbled chairs and piles of corpses near the table. “Is there another exit? Didn’t the System say an adjacent room?”

  Andy nodded. “Yeah, it did.” He joined her in scanning the dim hall, and, sure enough, beyond the table, nestled in the shadows of the rear right-hand corner, he saw a small wooden door. “You guys see that door?”

  Omar nodded. “Yeah.”

  “No, but I believe you,” Bella said, taking Bea’s arm. “Ready, Mom?”

  “Stop—”

  “Calling you that. I know, I know.” Bella smiled sweetly and kissed the older woman’s cheek.

  Lucy locked eyes with Andy and giggled. Andy couldn’t help laughing too, especially as Bea scrubbed her cheek with the back of her hand, scowling.

  “Come on,” he said, leading the way. When he reached the table, he paused to examine the Baron’s pustule-ridden, smoldering corpse. He’d fallen onto his back, so the bulk of his girth was spilled out over his robe, obscuring much of the likely-magical garment.

  “What?” Bella asked.

  “I think that robe is magical, but…” Andy trailed off, trusting the others would understand his reluctance to investigate further.

  “I say forget it,” Lucy said.

  “I can help you roll him,” Omar said, taking a step closer to the corpse, holding a sleeve up to his nose.

  “Boys, that robe is soaked through with his rot. You really think it’s worth it?” Bea asked.

  “Hang on,” Andy said, squatting beside the body. He took hold of the maroon garment’s exposed edge and tugged on it. To his dismay, the fabric came apart as if it were paper. “Maybe we’re not meant to loot it.”

  “Maybe it was tied to him somehow,” Bella suggested. “I mean, maybe the magic was his.”

  “Well, we checked. Good enough for me.” Andy stood, thumped his broken spear against his shoulder, and continued toward the back door.

  Lucy hurried to his side and pointed to the broken spear he still gripped. “Too bad about your spear.”

  “Yeah.” Andy frowned, lifting the weapon to peer at the notched blade. “It did a lot of good work.”

  “Where’s your dagger?”

  “In the Baron’s eye. I’ll leave it. The thing was heavy, and I don’t think iron is the best blade material—”

  “It’s not,” Omar agreed. “Heavy and brittle.” He hefted his shield—Andy hadn’t even seen him pick it back up. “Hoping someone back home can craft us something better, ’cause I really found having a shield valuable in here.”

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  Andy nodded. “James or Lydia can, for sure.”

  “I can walk,” Bea groused, and Andy turned to see Bella supporting her as they followed along. Despite her protestations, the older woman draped her arm over Bella’s shoulders.

  When they reached the wooden door, Andy could hear a humming sound coming from beyond it. He also felt a definite tingle in the air—mana. Before opening it, he looked at the others. “Do you all feel that?”

  Lucy nodded, but Bella shook her head, and Omar wrinkled his brow. Bea said, “Mana.”

  Andy grinned. “Yeah, I was wondering if perception had anything to do with why I notice it. Mine’s eight.”

  “Seven,” Bea replied, gently shifting her weight off Bella’s shoulders.

  “Five,” Bella said, shrugging.

  Omar nodded. “Same.”

  “Six,” Lucy said.

  Andy looked at Bella and Omar. “So, you guys don’t feel a tingling in the air?”

  “Well…” Bella frowned, holding her free hand up, turning it this way and that. “Now that you mention it, I might feel something…”

  “Maybe?” Omar shrugged.

  “Okay, kids, we can theorize later,” Bea said, thumping the door with her staff. “Let’s see what it is!”

  Andy laughed and pulled the door open, revealing a relatively small, square room. It was brightly illuminated by a shimmering portal in the back wall. It was just like the one that brought them into the dungeon, but where the one leading into Scarag Heights had been green, this one was pale blue—far more inviting.

  “Look!” Lucy gasped, pointing to a large, ornate chest in the center of the room. To Andy, it looked like something out of a movie, like something Vikings would loot from a king’s treasury. The dark-stained wood was polished to a glossy sheen, and the corners and clasp shone with a brassy finish. He figured it was about two feet high and deep, and about twice as wide.

  Andy moved further into the room so everyone else could see clearly, and when they were all arrayed before the chest, he shrugged and said, “I’ll open it, I guess.”

  “What? Why you?” Bella asked.

  “I’m the fastest. If it’s a trap—”

  “I don’t think it will be,” she interrupted. “We’re in a dungeon, and it’s the end-reward. The System wouldn’t trap a reward.”

  Lucy arched an eyebrow at her. “You sure?”

  “Oh, must we debate everything?” Bea asked, leaning heavily on her staff. Andy could see she was still hurting, and he could guess she was probably exhausted; after all, so was he.

  “Just stand back, you guys.” He looked into Bella’s dark eyes. “I promise I won’t touch anything inside.”

  “Oh, forget it. It’s fine. I mean, I trust you, Andy.” She moved back to stand between Omar and Lucy as Andy approached the chest.

  He set his broken spear on the ground and then, putting his weight on his toes, ready to spring back, he unclasped the chest and threw it open. As he leaped back, some colorful steam escaped the chest, startling him enough to wonder if it really had been trapped. The cloud dissipated, though, and nothing seemed amiss.

  “Let’s check it out!” Omar said, letting his shield clatter to the floor.

  Nobody seemed interested in speculating any further about traps as they all rushed forward to peer into the open container. Andy was the tallest and the closest, so he got a good view of the contents before everyone else. The first thing he noticed was a recurve bow that resembled the one Lucy was already using, though it was smaller and seemed to be made of a solid piece of pale, almost white wood. It was elegant and beautiful, and he didn’t envy her having to choose between using it and the other one she’d already been awarded.

  Besides the pale, strung bow, he saw a thick black cudgel of some sort—maybe a mace was the right word for it, but the heavy, metal end was shaped more like a star than a ball. A folded leather garment caught his eye, gleaming with tiny, dark scales. To him, it looked like a coat because he could clearly see a collar, and it was too heavy to be a shirt. Beside it was a small wooden box that looked utterly mundane. At the other end of the chest, beneath the bow, was a gleaming, silvery, round shield, only about twenty inches in diameter.

  By then, everyone was jostling close, trying to peer into the box. Lucy gasped when she saw the bow—everyone was making similar noises. When Omar reached for the bow, Bella surprised Andy by slapping his hand away.

  “Wait!”

  He scowled at her. “I was just going to move it aside!”

  “I know; I’m not accusing you of anything, but we have to be careful. What if the System tries to bind the treasures to us?”

  “Bind?” Bea asked, her scowl deepening.

  “I don’t know if anything like this exists in the System,” Bella replied, “but in some games, when you pick up loot, it binds it magically to the character—the, uh, person—who picked it up.”

  Andy nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I doubt that would happen, but let’s be careful. We can see enough right now to determine who wants the items in view, right? I mean, at least most of them.”

  Omar shrugged. “I’m interested in that mace.”

  Andy nodded, then looked at Lucy. “What about the bow?”

  “I mean…” She trailed off, fingering the string of her bow where it hung over her shoulder. “I love this bow, but—”

  “Well, the one you have isn’t bound, right?” Bella asked.

  “Right—”

  “So you could give it away if you like the new one better.”

  “Or maybe it won’t bind, but if it does…” Andy shrugged.

  Lucy nodded. “It surely is beautiful—compact, but so beautiful…”

  “It’s strung already, too,” Omar observed, “so it’s not as small as it seems.”

  “Who wants that shield?” Andy asked.

  Omar shook his head. “I had something bigger in mind.”

  “I think it’s perfect,” Bella said.

  Andy gave Lucy’s shoulder a gentle nudge. “So, Lucy picks up the bow, and Bella picks up the shield. Then we can see everything else better.”

  Lucy hesitated for a moment, but everyone just stared, and she hurriedly reached into the chest to grasp the delicately carved, pale-wood bow. When she lifted it out, her eyes widened. “The System sent me a message!”

  “What’s it say?” Bella asked breathlessly.

  “It says it’s a Fire Bow! It can shoot normal arrows, but the string is an enchanted Salamander intestine, and if I draw it back without an arrow, it will use my mana to create a fire arrow!”

  Omar chuckled. “That must have been a big-ass salamander.”

  Lucy giggled, turning to point the bow at the doorway. “The System capitalized Salamander, whatever that means.” She drew the string back and, sure enough, a flickering fiery arrow appeared on the string. It looked entirely constructed of fire; Andy could see no sign of any wood or feathers. Even the arrowhead was like a wedge-shaped glowing ember.

  “Shoot it!” Bella cried.

  Lucy grinned and released the string. The fiery missile hissed through the doorway, throwing orange, flickering light on the shadowy stone floor as it flew into the hall. Everyone craned their necks to see through and watch as the arrow streaked all the way to the far wall of the banquet hall, where it burst in a shower of fiery cinders.

  “So damn cool!” Andy said, laughing.

  “That was impressive,” Omar agreed. “Did it bind to you?”

  Lucy shook her head. “No, and the arrow only took five mana.”

  “Congrats, Luce,” Bella said, reaching into the chest to grab the shiny shield. When she lifted it out, she stared into space for a second and then laughed, sliding it onto her arm. “This is a Shield of Deflection. It says that, in addition to having enhanced durability, it will have a chance to nullify minor magical attacks.” She smiled at everyone. “I’m happy.”

  “Nice!” Andy threw her a thumbs-up, feeling a little goofy. Smirking—more at himself than anyone else—he peered into the chest again. The absence of the bow and shield revealed two more objects: a leather-lined, silvery metal headband and a plump leather bag about the size of a grapefruit. He shrugged. “Anyone object to Omar taking the mace?”

  Bella shook her head. “No, he’s the one with skill with bludgeons.”

  Andy gave the other man a nudge. “Go for it.”

  Omar nodded and picked up the mace, grinning as his hand closed over the haft. He obviously read a System message and then said, “A Mace of Minor Force.” He shrugged. “I think it just amplifies the damage. It’s a damn-sight better balanced than this blitz-rat weapon, though.” He unhooked the rough iron mace from his belt and tossed it to the stone-tile floor with a clatter.

  “Congrats, Omar,” Bella said, but she was distracted, both hands inside the satchel where she kept Chani, no doubt feeding the little creature a treat.

  Andy turned back to the chest. “Okay, that leaves the leather coat and a metal, uh, headband or something, along with a box and a leather bag.”

  Bea nudged her way past Bella to stand closer to Andy. She stared into the container for a long few seconds, then said, “I think I’d like to try that headband—circlet, I think.”

  “Good idea!” Bella said, moving closer. “It looks like it could offer some protection.”

  When no one objected, Bea reached into the chest and picked up the leather and metal loop. She turned it this way and that, then stared into space for a moment, nodding as she lifted it onto her head. It seemed perfect; the leather lining fit snugly just above her brow.

  “You look cool,” Andy said. “Is it heavy?”

  “You look like a warrior princess, Bea!” Bella said, and Lucy was quick to nod, offering more praise.

  “I like how it will hold your hair out of your face.”

  Bea smiled, reaching up to adjust the headband a little. “It’s very comfortable. The System said it’s called a Crown of Minor Deflection—seems to work a lot like Bella’s shield, just as I’d hoped! I don’t want to feel like my brains are leaking out a crack in my skull ever again—not if I can help it.”

  Bella frowned, reaching up to gently probe the side of her head through her dark hair. “Same. Hopefully, Lydia can make me something.”

  Omar grunted in agreement. “All of us.” He nodded towards the chest. “Go on, Andy.”

  Andy nodded and lifted the leather coat from the chest. It was heavy, and the material was supple but thick under his fingers. As soon as he opened it up, revealing a dark, high-collared coat with black buttons that reminded him of rough wood or maybe horn, the System sent him a message:

  ***Congratulations! You’ve discovered a Drake Hide Coat. This garment will provide superior protection against piercing and slashing damage. Skillfully crafted, it’s resistant to the elements and exceedingly durable.***

  “Huh, cool.” Andy repeated the message to his friends, then he shrugged out of his filthy, well-worn plastic-armored coat. “Hope it fits…”

  “I bet it will,” Lucy replied, sizing him and the coat up with her eyes.

  Andy stuck his arms into the sleeves, smiling at the smooth feel of the black, silky lining. As he shrugged it up onto his shoulder and pulled the flaps closed over his torso, he nodded. “Hell of a lot more comfortable than that other coat.”

  “That thing is badass!” Bella said, eyeing him with something like envy in her eyes. She laughed, dispelling the expression. “I like the scales. Reminds me of snakeskin, almost. Anyways, grats!”

  Lucy put her palm on his chest, gently squeezing the material. “It’s really nice, Andy.”

  Feeling some heat on the back of his neck under their scrutiny, Andy cleared his throat and looked into the chest. “Uh, thanks, everyone, but there’re two more things.”

  “I bet the bag has money in it,” Lucy said. “It looks like it’s full of coins.”

  Andy nudged her. “Pick it up.”

  Lucy looked around, but no one argued, so she hefted the bag out of the chest. “Gosh! It’s heavy.” Everyone watched as she untied the drawstring and opened the mouth of the bag. Glittering silver coins caught the light of the portal.

  “Damn!” Omar said, whistling. “That’s a lot of silver.”

  “Easy to divvy up,” Bella added.

  Bea shook her head. “Let’s do that later, please. I need a rest.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Andy reached into the chest. “Let’s just see what’s in this box.” He lifted the small box out of the chest. It reminded him of one of the pencil boxes his elementary school teachers used to have in the classroom. Everyone gathered close as he fumbled with the little brass clasp. When he opened the top, he was more than a little surprised to see the unmistakable shapes of six hand-wrapped cigars packed in wood shavings. “What the hell?”

  Bella snorted, chuckling.

  Omar, on the other hand, pumped a fist and said, “Hell yes!”

  Lucy looked at him, arching her eyebrow. “You smoke?”

  “Only occasionally, but man, I’ve been craving a good cigar!”

  Andy took one out of the box, turning it in his fingers, but he couldn’t find any sort of marking, nor did the System make any sort of proclamation. “Well, maybe they’re just, like, a bonus for doing a good job.” He closed the box and handed it to Omar. “You can hang onto ’em.”

  “But don’t smoke them all!” Bella said. “I want to try one.”

  “Yeah, okay. No problem.” Omar grinned as he tucked the box into his pack.

  “Well, folks,” Bea said, stepping past the chest and focusing on the portal. “We all got a special item, and some levels—not bad.”

  “And we helped the laukin,” Bella added.

  Andy tried to savor the moment as he watched the others gather before the portal. The dungeon had been a good experience, and knowing how close it had come to being truly disastrous, he felt lucky. He felt closer to his friends, too, and he felt a lot better about their chances with regard to defending their settlement. Some stress he hadn’t realized he was carrying melted away at that thought.

  He liked his new armored coat a lot, but he stooped to pick up the old one. Maybe someone else could use it. While he was at it, he picked up Omar’s discarded mace. He was sure Lydia and James could use the iron if nothing else. Lucy was watching him, and she smiled when he caught up to the others, stepping close to hold on to his arm.

  “We ready, then?” Andy asked.

  “Yep,” Bea replied, “let’s go home.” Then she stepped into the portal.