Chương 85: Restoration

Calian's expression shifted from anticipation to concern as we explained what we'd found in the vault.

"Dormant," he repeated, his voice heavy with disappointment.

"After all these years, the Trident's power has faded." He's really taking this to heart.

"The notification mentioned recharging it," I said.

"Something about the essence of Tidemark's ancient rulers." The knight was quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"I've heard of such things. Ancient weapons requiring ritual reawakening." He moved to his desk, pulling out a piece of parchment and scribbled a quick note.

"Take this to Court Mage Elindra. Her tower is in the Count's palace's eastern wing. If anyone in Tidemark knows how to recharge a legendary artifact, it's her."

"Will she help us?" Athos asked.

"She serves the Count, and this quest is sanctioned by his authority. She'll help." Calian handed me the note.

"Go quickly. The recoronation ceremony is Sunday, and we need the Trident restored before then." Court Mage Elindra was an elderly woman with sharp eyes and no patience for small talk.

"The Tidemark Trident," she said, examining Calian's note.

"I wasn't sure adventurers like you could find it. Come." We ignored her snarky comment as she led us through her cluttered tower, past shelves overflowing with scrolls and artifacts, until we reached a locked cabinet in her private study. From within, she produced a scroll sealed with blue wax.

"Essence of Tidemark," she explained, handing it to me.

"A ritual scroll, prepared generations ago for exactly this purpose. The Count's ancestors weren't fools; they knew the Trident might need reawakening someday." I examined the scroll. Scroll of Tidal Restoration Quest Item Use this scroll in the presence of the Tidemark Trident to begin the recharging process. Warning: The ritual takes approximately 3 hours to complete.

"Three hours," Kara noted.

"That's a long time to sit in a vault."

"The magic is delicate," Elindra said sharply.

"It cannot be rushed. Be grateful it doesn't take three days." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Now go. I have actual work to do." We left the tower in a hurry.

"That was fairly convenient?" Athos said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Yeah, way too easy," Lothras agreed.

"We could do easy every once in a while," Kara shrugged. We returned to the Sunken Sanctuary and descended once more into the vault. The Trident waited where we'd left it, dormant and dark on its dais beside the empty throne. Even powerless, it commanded attention. It was a weapon meant for rulers, after all. I broke the seal on the scroll and began reading the incantation inscribed within. The effect was immediate. Blue-green light erupted from the parchment, flowing toward the Trident like tides of water.

The weapon began to glow, faintly at first, then brighter as the ritual took hold. A progress bar appeared in my interface. Tidal Restoration: 0% Estimated time remaining: 2 hours, 58 minutes"Well," Athos said, settling down against one of the alcoves, "I guess we're waiting."

"I think one of us is enough for the ritual," I said carefully.

"If you guys want to—""Absolutely not." Lothras didn't wait for me to finish talking.

"We don't know what might happen. We're staying." The other two nodded in unison. Three hours was a long time to sit in a vault with nothing to do but talk. We started with practical matters: equipment upgrades we needed, skills we wanted to acquire, grinding spots that might be worth revisiting. But eventually, the conversation drifted to larger topics.

"What happens after Sunday?" Kara asked.

"After the ceremony, I mean. What are your plans?" Athos leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

"We'll work on Second Wind; recruit new members, set up the infrastructure. Get ready to hunt level 25 Field Bosses. Blue and Cyrus have been handling recruitment while I've been dungeon diving with you lot, but it's about time the leader did some actual work."

"How many members?" Lothras asked.

"Close to two hundred confirmed. Another hundred or so interested." Athos smiled slightly.

"We'll be one of the largest guilds in the county from day one."

"Crimson Court has similar numbers here," Lothras said.

"Though our recruitment strategy is... different."

"You mean threatening people who consider joining other guilds?" The tension between them flickered back to life, but Lothras just shrugged.

"Crimson Court doesn't want to limit itself to one county," he said.

"There are close to five hundred potential members across Silverwing."

"Doesn't mean much until your guild can house all of them," I pointed out.

"With a 100 members per guild level, it'll be quite a while before you can recruit them. By then, a lot of them will have moved on."

"That's not a bad thing. It filters the weak." That was one way of looking at it.

"Second Wind might grow slower," Athos replied, "but we will have the strongest base."

"Different philosophies that will inevitably clash."

"Probably." Athos didn't seem bothered by the prospect.

"But that's a problem for another day." Lothras nodded without saying a word. The conversation continued after a while. Lothras shared what he knew of Crimson Court's operations outside Tidemark County; apparently they had branches forming in three other regions, all following the same aggressive recruitment model. Athos talked about a couple other guilds he knew about, although the information was rather vague. Kara mostly listened, occasionally interjecting with questions or observations.

I did the same, content to let the future guild leaders map out their ambitions while I processed everything I'd heard. Guilds were going to be the biggest topic in a couple of days, and I wanted to be prepared, but I also had to process this week's events. Two dungeons cleared. A legendary weapon about to be restored. Political connections that would serve us well in the content to come. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Not bad for a couple days of playtime.

Tidal Restoration: 67%"What about you, Orion?" Kara asked eventually.

"Any guild plans?" I was not ready to commit to another team, even if I knew that being part of a guild would skyrocket my efficiency. Besides, if I ever wanted to join one, I would have told Ace already. I shook my head.

"I'll stick to being a lone wolf for now. We'll see what the future holds."

"You'd be wasted as a solo player," Athos said.

"With your skills—""There are plenty of skilled people out there for the guilds to vie for. And my skills will keep me ahead whether I play solo or not."

"Fair enough." He didn't push further. Tidal Restoration: 89% The Trident was blazing now, blue-green light filling the vault. The runes along its shaft pulsed with power, and I could feel the energy radiating from it. Tidal Restoration: 100% The Tidemark Trident has been restored! The light faded, and the weapon stood transformed. The three prongs crackled with energy, and the shaft seemed to amplify the ambient light even more, making it appear shinier and more dangerous than before. I reached out and touched it.

Tidemark Trident Legendary Level 70 Attack Power: Strength: Vitality: Agility: Water-based abilities deal 40% increased damage 892 85 60 70 Attack Speed: Weapon Skill: Wrath of the Depths +10% Restriction: Lancer"Level 70," Kara breathed.

"And it's Legendary tier."

"That weapon," Lothras noted, "is a force of nature. Wish I was a Lancer."

"It's not meant for us," I said.

"A man can dream," Athos chimed in. We stood there for a moment, looking at the weapon that could reshape the balance of power in the entire county. A legendary artifact, restored after centuries of dormancy. And there was nothing stopping us from taking it in the literal sense. The thought crossed my mind as well, and from the expressions on the others' faces, theirs too. We could walk out of here with the Trident. Sell it, use it as leverage, or simply keep it locked away. The vault had no guardians, no alarms.

Just four adventurers and a weapon worth more than anything we'd ever seen. But that would mean betraying the quest, becoming thieves and outlaws. Throwing away everything we'd built in Tidemark. According to the penalties for the other items here, taking it would ruin our gameplay.

"Let's bring it to Calian," I said. Nobody argued. Calian was waiting in the Knight's Tower strategy room when we arrived, standing before the same map we'd seen a couple of times already. Two knights flanked the door outside, their armor bearing the Vizgrad family crest.

"Did you do it?" he asked as we entered, his eyes fixed on us.

"I hope you bring good news."

"The ritual worked," I confirmed.

"The Trident is fully restored."

"Magnificent." Calian stepped forward, his hand extended.

"May I?" Lothras opened his inventory. Something's not right. I couldn't pinpoint what it was at first, but I had a nagging sensation at the back of my mind, like an itch I couldn't scratch. Then I realized. The Tidemark Trident You have successfully restored power to the Trident! Give the relic to Count Vizgrad to receive your rewards! The quest notification hadn't mentioned the knight-commander at all. Calian's expression was eager, almost hungry. And there was something in his eyes that I'd never noticed before.

Something calculating.

"Wait," I said. Lothras paused.

"What?"

"Something's off." I looked at Calian, really looked at him, and the pieces began falling into place.

"The quest hasn't completed yet. We were supposed to restore the Trident for the recoronation ceremony, to help legitimize Count Vizgrad's rule. The objective is to give it to him, not you. I completely ignored the fact that Calian didn't know about quest interfaces or game design.

"I will make sure that the Trident gets to the Count," Calian said smoothly.

"And reward you greatly for all your troubles."

"No. You won't," I stepped between Lothras and the knight.

"In all the quests we've done, the objectives were always clear. Always. Without exception." I told the last part to my party members instead of the knight. Calian's expression flickered. Just for a moment, the mask slipped. And I saw what was underneath.

"You're not working for the Count," I said slowly. The room went very still for a brief moment, everyone frozen mid-motion. Then Calian smiled. It wasn't the warm, encouraging smile of the mentor-figure who'd helped us through two dungeons. It was much colder. It was the smile of a predator who'd been playing with its food.

"Clever boy," he said.

"I didn't think you'd figure it out."

"Orion, what—" Kara started.

"The whole quest," I continued, the realization crystallizing.

"Finding the key fragments, clearing the dungeons, restoring the Trident; you needed adventurers to do it because only we could enter those spaces. It was you who convinced the Count that the Trident is the best way to ensure his legitimacy, right? But you were never going to give it to the Count."

"Of course not." Calian's voice dripped with contempt.

"Vizgrad is a fool. A weak man clinging to a throne he doesn't deserve. Darius understands what Tidemark needs: strength, ambition, the will to seize power when needed."

"And with the Trident—""With the Trident, Darius's claim becomes undeniable. A legendary weapon, symbol of Tidemark's ancient rulers, wielded by a true leader." Calian's smile widened.

"The ceremony on Sunday will proceed as planned. But it won't be the Count who receives the people's blessing." Lothras's grip tightened on his sword.

"You used us."

"I utilized resources that were available to me. There's a difference." Calian drew his sword, and for a moment, I was confused. He was supposed to be a ranger class, after all. Then I froze, because a nameplate appeared above the knight. The same type one would see above monsters. Sir Calian Greywood Level 70 Elite"Now," he said, "I'm going to need that Trident." Level 70. We couldn't fight him. We couldn't even scratch him.

Against a level 70 elite, our attacks would be meaningless; we'd be dead before we could blink.

"Run," I said quietly.

"What?"

"RUN!" We bolted for the door. Calian moved to intercept, but we had the element of surprise—he'd expected us to fight, not flee. If he grabbed his bow instead of a sword, we would have had no chance. Lothras barreled through the entrance, and the rest of us followed. The two knights outside turned in confusion.

"Stop them!" Calian commanded.

"They've stolen the—" He didn't finish the sentence. Instead, his sword flashed twice, faster than my eyes could follow. Both knights crumpled, blood spreading across the stone floor.

"No witnesses," Calian said calmly, stepping over their bodies.

"A shame. They were loyal men." We ran. Down corridors, through doorways, past startled servants and confused guards. Behind us, I could hear Calian's measured footsteps; not rushing, not panicked. As if he knew he'd catch us eventually. Then I heard a new sound, and I stopped for a moment. A crackling of energy, and a voice I didn't recognize.

"Patience, Sir Calian." I risked a glance over my shoulder. A portal had opened in the corridor behind us, and a figure in dark robes was stepping through. A mage, his face hidden in shadow, power radiating from him in waves.

"Let them run," the mage continued.

"They won't get far."

"They have the Trident," Calian growled.

"We have something better." The mage gestured toward the fallen knights.

"Two dead men, killed by adventurers. The guards saw them fleeing the scene. By morning, they'll be outlaws, hunted by every soldier in the county." Calian's expression shifted from anger to understanding. Then to amusement.

"Frame them for murder."

"Precisely. They can't get to the Count if they're being hunted. They can't hide forever. And when we catch them..." The mage's voice carried a smile.

"Well. Darius will already be sitting on the throne." I turned and kept running, my heart pounding in my chest. We'd been played from the very beginning. And now we were fugitives.