Chương 126: Arc 2 - Chapter 68

"I want to open one," Rosie declared, her strange, dark eyes glinting greedily as she stared at the bronze-banded chests set upon the scaled stone.

"I wouldn't mind the chance to open one either," Lauren said blandly, though her casual tone belied her eager avarice.

"Well, there are three of them. Who here hasn't had the honour of throwing open a chest?" Fritz asked.

"Me, me, me," Rosie said.

"I've opened two," George admitted.

"When did you open a second one?" Bert asked.

"Have you been Treasure hoarding?"

"No," George denied, frowning slightly.

"I had to open the silver chest when the raider was hunting us and Lauren was wounded."

"Ah. Right," Bert said, nodding along as he recalled the event.

"So it should be Cal, Lauren and Rosie," Fritz said.

"Why not me?" Bert cried.

"You can open the next one," Fritz reassured.

"We'll Climb far more than this Minor Spire. Taller, more rewarding ones."

"Are the chests in them better?" Bert inquired, raising one golden eyebrow.

"Yes. The Abilities, Awards, and Treasures that are granted are generally greater in power," Lauren provided.

"Are they?" Bert asked.

"Why did we bother climbing this one then?"

"The taller the Spire the more dangerous," George stated.

"And we don't have the badges required. I've heard that they're hard to attain," Fritz said.

"Even if you don't have to pry them from the cold, dead hands of a vicious raider. Though I can't say that was easy either."

"Oh, right," Bert said.

"I knew that, Therima said as much."

"Can we open the chests now?" Rosie asked impatiently.

"Go ahead," Fritz allowed. The three chests were opened at nearly the same time and their multicoloured light poured, pulsed then solidified into items within the wooden confines. Rosie reached into her chest excitedly, shouting and nearly crying again when she pulled out a hatchet. Cal pulled a bulging sack of something, likely triads, from his own chest, hands trembling with trepidation.

Lauren, however, was calm and collected in her retrieval of the objects, smiling serenely while placing down all she found into neat piles. Each chest contained at least one bag of triads and some potions, mostly those yellow stamina ones, though there was at least one vial that was filled with red fluid. There were also some articles of clothing, some odd jewellery and a book. Fritz couldn't follow all that was taken from the chests, though a sizeable pile was forming.

When all the chests were empty and had faded away into nothingness, Lauren searched for her magic lens, then shook her head, scoffing at herself.

"Don't need that anymore," she muttered under her breath as she stared out over the arrayed objects. Her eyes began to glow dimly in soft white vibrancy that highlighted the flitting, orange embers within her irises.

"Is that your new Trait, Lauren?" Fritz asked as she began to look over the chests' rewards.

"Is it some kind of mana sight?"

"A good guess," she replied proudly.

"Not much of a guess, seeing as you always use the lens," Fritz said.

"You were bound to be offered a similar ability, like you were by using the flame rod."

"You can see magic now?" Cal asked, intrigued.

"Is it better than the lens?"

"Much better," she said happily.

"I can see little differences in the way the magic moves within these items. I don't know what they mean yet, but as I learn I'll be able to tell apart their Alignments."

"That is potent," Fritz said.

"Would be great for a Scout. Not sure how effective it is for a Striker though."

"No need to worry about that. It has other uses as well," she said. Then as the team waited expectantly for more, she went on to explain, "As magic is undetectable to mundane senses, being able to see mana will let me guide, or 'shape', my Abilities better, even without the Advanced Attribute of Control."

"Oh, really?" Fritz asked.

"Mhm," she replied distractedly as she looked over everything they had piled.

"And once I do get Control it will work even better."

"What? How does that work?" Cal asked.

"I thought Advanced Attributes worked differently from the normal ones."

"They do. Though they are still just enhancements in the end, even if they are more potent and esoteric in their respective specialities," Lauren said.

"Now can I get some quiet while I catalogue these Treasures?" The team, though they still had some questions, left her to her devices and with sure hands she began to sort the items, into magical, Treasure and mundane. Among the many things they had pulled out were no fewer than six Know-notes.

"Could have used these all through the Climb," Bert grumbled and Fritz could only agree, their value had substantially declined now that they could simply leave and buy them in the thoroughfare market. Still, it was hard to be too mad as it would be gold they didn't have to pay to know what their Treasures did. Fritz picked up two of the white cards, one to be used on Jasper's pendant stone and another for his barrier ring. Rosie snatched one up for her eel-ring leaving three left to be used on the new Treasures.

Just enough it turned out. Of the nine non-potion and more interesting objects, only three were Imbued, a two-foot-long, dull, steel rod, a sleek belt of fine, grey scales, and a glossy ring cut of some pale blue stone. One from each of the chests if Fritz remembered right. The rest were mostly magical items, and those were of varying utility rather than weapons or armour, which was to be expected of a Bronze chest, or so Lauren espoused.

"Shame that none of the chests were silver or gold," Bert complained jovially.

"I'm not sure we're in any position to complain," Lauren chided politely.

"We found five chests this Climb, that's plenty."

"There's thirty gold in each of the bags," Cal said.

"If we split that it's... uh."

"Fifteen gold each, on top of our golden chests," Lauren stated. George let out an appreciative whistle, then said, "That's seventy-five gold each."

"And we haven't even sold any of the Treasures or Sirensilk," Rosie said, her mouth slightly agape as the realisation sunk in.

"We're so rich."

"Yes, we've done well," Lauren agreed, beaming.

"Oh, look. The second of the pair," she added picking up a dark glove and tossing it to Fritz. He caught it causally and went to put on the second of the black, velvety gloves on his free left hand, but found that it was right-handed. He frowned.

"There's one here as well," Cal said, grabbing and tossing another identical glove to Fritz. He caught this one without looking, and immediately discovered it was also right-handed.

"What's got you so gloomy?" Bert asked, having seen Fritz's scowl.

"They're all right-handed," he replied, somewhat bewildered. Bert laughed.

"Spire got you good," Cal said, joining in with a chuckle.

"It's not that funny," Fritz protested, even if he did find it rather humorous and there was a smile on his lips. He tucked the spare gloves into his belt, thinking they might come in handy later. His face twitched at the inadvertent pun, but he soon shrugged off his dismay and applied a Know-note to his ring, activating the card, then reading the lines as they burned into being.

Treasure Barrier Ring Alignment: Arcane, Force.

Capacity: 2/6 Abilities Imbued Barrier: Minor Block an arrow, and stymie steel, the blade's edge, is brought to heel. This Treasure shields its user with a skin of force. Alignment: Arcane, Force. Cost: Two. Duration: Thirty seconds. Refresh: None.

The description was about what he expected, though he was surprised to find it was merely a minor barrier. It was likely then, that there were more potent versions of the Ability Imbued into more powerful versions of the ring. He'd have to keep on look out for one. While his current ring had served him well, more than well really, saving his life on a couple of occasions at least, a better barrier wouldn't go amiss. Fritz used the other Know note on the small stone pendant on a length of twine.

When the white paper touched the cloudy-grey, glass-like oval, it vibrated, then he Activated the card and read what was written.

Treasure Contingency Charm Alignment: Body, Boon, Space.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Capacity: 0/9 Abilities Imbued Contingency: Liquid Predict the danger, or deadly deed, protect from peril, in dire need. Store a liquid within this Treasure. Stored liquid will be instantly absorbed via skin contact reactively when the conditions you outline when storing are met. Alignment: Body, Boon, Space. Cost: Nine. Duration: Thirty days. Refresh: None.

Fritz frowned, this wasn't an Ability effect he'd come across before. He thought he knew vaguely what it did but he wanted a second opinion. One he trusted almost as much as his own when it came to Treasures.

"Lauren, can you take a look at this?" Fritz asked.

"I'm not sure I grasp it completely." She looked up and he flicked the card to her. It spun through the air and fell into her lap. She took it up and read it swiftly. Her beautiful brows rose with appreciation.

"I can see why you'd be a little confused, these sorts of Treasures are rare," she stated.

"What's it do?" Bert asked.

"To be succinct, you can store a liquid in it. Most notably a potion or remedy, and command it to react when certain events occur. Such as telling it to Activate 'when I fall unconscious' or 'when I say heal me'."

"Or maybe delivering an antidote if you're poisoned?" Fritz asked, thinking back on the envenomed arrow that he had loosed at Jasper, and how the man hadn't been affected as badly as he should have been.

"Exactly," Lauren said, then turned back to a piece of paper which served as their team's ledger book.

"Very useful," Fritz said, tucking the charm into a pocket.

"You could store hard liquor in it," Bert said.

"Why?" Bert shrugged.

"Might be fun."

"Not at nine gold a use it won't be," Fritz remarked, rolling his eyes. Though Bert's suggestion was a terrible idea, it did give him some pause, perhaps the Treasure could be filled with less than beneficial substances and inflict some sort of harm. Fritz was moved from his musings when Cal said, "Hey, this is a cookbook. And I can read it! Twenty-seven Recipes for Sure Survival and Sumptuous Snacking."

"Must be a Technique then, lucky you," Fritz said.

"Lucky us, you mean," Bert stated.

"Having a proper cook on our Climbs will be great!" Cal looked a little nervous at the proposition, but held the book tight anyway. Perhaps the man didn't want to Climb anymore and didn't want to say so yet. Though maybe it was something else, Fritz couldn't see any rabid rejection in his face or in his emanations of emotion. Likely he was unsure of his place and what they would be doing after the Spire. Fritz himself didn't know entirely, but felt he wanted to keep the group together.

Without Toby and Jane, of course. Those two could figure their lives out on their own. He wanted nothing to do with them if he could help it. Fritz was distracted from his bitter thoughts by Rosie's muttering.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothin'," she said, but after Fritz waited a moment she continued, "I thought my ring might hide another power, but it just has the one."

"Can I see?" Fritz asked. Rosie shrugged and handed him the Know-note. It read: Treasure Ring of Allure Alignment: Primal, Mind.

Capacity: 0/3 Abilities Imbued Allure: Fish A compelling cry, a charming word, a curious call, and interest stirred. This Treasure attracts fish around you and calms their aggression. Alignment: Primal, Mind. Cost: One. Duration: None. Refresh: None.

Fritz could see why she was annoyed by the Treasure. It really was quite weak, unless you were fighting fish. And that last bit about calming aggression might have been helpful to know on the sand shark floor, perhaps it could have saved them some pain and exhaustion. Though remembering how blood-mad those beasts were, he supposed that it might have mattered little in the long run. Again Fritz was removed from his recollecting as Cal cried out, "I knew it!"

He stared at the man, he was reading a know-note, one that had presumably been used on the sleek belt in his hands.

"What did you know?" Bert asked.

"Just read this," Cal said smugly handing off the card. Fritz strode forward a couple of steps and peered over Bert's shoulder to glimpse whatever was written that had made Cal so self-assured.

Treasure Eelkin Belt Alignment: Boon, Primal, Water.

Capacity: 3/6 Abilities Imbued Aspect of the Eel Slick and toothy, hides in the lake, sly and bitey, is not a snake. Grants a minor increase to Agility, Speed and Reflex. Alignment: Boon, Primal. Cost: Two. Duration: One Minute. Refresh: None.

Grow Gills Breathe the ocean, brave the seas, swim down deeper, and be at ease. You grow gills, allowing you to breathe underwater. Alignment: Boon, Body, Primal, Water. Cost: One. Duration: One hour. Refresh: None.

"What?" Bert asked as he finished reading the Know-note.

"What were you right about?"

"Look at the rhyme," Cal said, pointing at the glyphs and quoting, "'Is not a snake!' See! Eels are fish." Bert laughed, then yelled, "Hear that, Toby!?"

"What?" Toby replied scowling.

"Come, look at this!" Bert said waving the know-note. Toby sighed and paced over to where they stood, obviously annoyed by his summons. He snatched the card and looked it over before glowering.

"Doesn't prove anything," Toby stated.

"What?" Cal said.

"It's right there.

'Is not a snake.'""Doesn't mean they're fish," Toby argued stubbornly.

"Might be unique, like skulg."

"They have gills and scales, they're fish," Cal protested.

"Rosie has gills and scales, is she a fish?" Toby asked sarcastically. Cal seemed taken aback by the question.

"I'm not a fish," Rosie said.

"I think." Her brows furrowed in intense thought.

"You're not a fish," Fritz said.

"Don't let him confuse you, he's just saying that because he hates being wrong."

"I'm not wrong," Toby said.

"Just cause they're not snakes doesn't mean they're fish."

"See," Fritz said.

"Who cares!?" Lauren blurted.

"We have all these Treasures and you two are still fighting over Eels? Can we focus on sorting the contents of these chests?" There was a pause in the argument and after some moments Cal apologised softly. Toby slunk away, and the team returned to the piled loot. The last two of the Treasures were noted, though they didn't produce quite the stir of some of the more powerful items. Fritz looked over the two know-notes.

Treasure Tide Rod Alignment: Water.

Capacity: 3/6 Abilities Imbued Water Bolt A ball of water, hurled at speeds, will match a stone, at deadly deeds. This Treasure releases a bolt of water. Alignment: Water. Cost: One. Duration: None. Refresh: None.

Treasure Ring of Echolocation Alignment: Sound, Sense.

Capacity: 3/6 Abilities Imbued Echolocate In the dark, or blackest night, a shrill cry, can act as sight. This Treasure releases a wave of sound that will map the space around you. Alignment: Sound, Sense. Cost: Two. Duration: Three Seconds. Refresh: None.

Fritz could see why no one was particularly excited about the rod, but he was surprised no one had anything to say about the ring. It seemed to be a useful Treasure, though maybe it only seemed that way because he was a Scout. Though really, Fritz only had eyes for the Eelkin Belt. If Aspect of the Eel was as potent as the Aspect of the Serpent it would make him a more deadly fighter and a far harder target. Soon all the items were laid out, sorted and set.

In the magical pile, there was a hatchet, a cooking pan, a patch of cloth, another refilling waterflask, two traveller's packs, a pewter cup that was cold to the touch and a stone that radiated a constant, comfortable warmth. The mundane items were a little more basic, there were belts and sheaths, sets of iron cutlery and plates. Some sturdy pants, dresses and shirts in varying sizes, and fish-styled belt buckles and broaches made of some kind of bone.

There was also jewellery, in the form of a scaled ring of silver, a necklace of pearls and a set of pearl earrings to match. The team spent some time merely looking over the items in quiet appreciation before Cal breached the subject they were desperate to ask.

"So, how do we split it all?"

"How indeed," Fritz said stroking his chin in thought.

"How about we keep what we already have on us and take turns picking from the piles? We keep going until it's all gone or no one wants anything else. Then we sell off what's left along with the sirensilk we're willing to part with."

"Sound's good, "Lauren said.

"Might be a little unfair. Depending on the order," George said.

"I think any method we use may have someone getting the slimy end of the skulg," Fritz mused.

"True as the rain," Lauren agreed.

"We'll just have to make do. If anyone has any grievances we'll have to talk it out once we're done. Maybe they can get a bigger share of the gold from the materials," Fritz said.

"Who should go first?" Cal asked.

"Paper, scissors, rock?" George suggested.

"No way, Fritz always wins that," Bert said.

"I do not," Fritz protested.

"He cheats!" Bert accused.

"Never!" Fritz lied.

"Perhaps the Captain should go first," George said before the bickering could break out in earnest.

"Sound's great," Fritz agreed, smiling wide.

"How about we draw cards, high card wins," Cal suggested.

"Another excellent idea," Fritz agreed. Everyone else quickly agreed on the card method, happy enough to leave the order to chance.

"Toby, we need those cards!" Bert yelled. They waited impatiently as Toby trudged over while shuffling the deck. Then they all took a turn pulling from the cards. Fritz himself pulled the king of clovers, which turned out to be the highest card drawn.

"Damn," Bert groused, revealing the jack of the same suit. He was only putting on his dismay, Fritz could see his hidden grin. The rest of the team organised themselves in order and soon they were picking through the piles. Fritz immediately grabbed the Eelkin belt, and as the team grumbled he bowed and stated, "Blame the cards, not I."

"I for one think you should have it," George stated, breaking through the jeers.

"It's because of you that we're all here. It's because of you that we made it to the very top. It's because of you that we're all Golden Climbers now. You've led us well and you deserve it." The impromptu speech lulled the team into sober musings, then nodding as they eventually all agreed with his statements, and to Fritz's great surprise and George's embarrassment they started to clap and cheer. Fritz almost cried a tear of pride.

He held it back and revelled in their adoration for a moment before cutting off their applause with a gesture and beginning to speak himself.

"Though I will claim this Treasure. I won't claim all the credit for our success."

"Just most of it," Bert interrupted, which got a laugh.

"That is to say," Fritz continued.

"You all played a part, an integral role in our Climb's great triumph. Yes, we struggled, but we survived, and in doing so we have gathered wealth we could only dream of. Through pain and peril, we persisted. We were hunted and hounded. We suffered far worse than we should have. The spite sought to stop us from doing the right thing, saving our fellow man."

"And woman," Rosie said, nodding along.

"But we, the heroes that we are, persevered, pushed through and proved our mettle. We have won, without cowardice and compromise. I'm proud to call you my team, and, most of all, my friends," Fritz finished, smiling wide without guile or grift. They smiled back at him, and he could see a cyclone of bright motes swirl around them. Genuine joy glittered and newly kindled pride shined. Between them all, Fritz felt the faint threads, saw the unseen bonds that were only just visible in those passionate lights.

They were all tied to each other, in a confusing skein of camaraderie, caring and belonging. The six were a team, Fritz could see it as plain as the rain. He knew he didn't have to order them to follow any further, he could simply ask and they would. He stood there basking in their respect. Before it was all ruined.

"I get to pick next. Out of the way, Fritz," Bert said, shouldering Fritz affectionately and grabbing the Tide Rod. He held it up for all to see what he claimed, though many, including Fritz himself seemed to wonder why he had chosen what he did.

"Why did you grab that?" Cal asked.

"Just wanted something that can strike from range. Just in case I can't punch it," Bert said.

"Who's next?"

"Me!" Rosie cried, stepping forward and immediately seizing the magic hatchet. George was next, and he sensibly chose one of the Traveller's packs, seeing as he had to sometimes store his armour away. Cal predictably picked up the pan, admiring the gleaming steel. Lauren was the last and also took one of the Traveller's packs. It was Fritz's turn and he took the ring of echolocation as his next prize.

He felt a little guilty for taking two of the three Treasures but no one seemed to begrudge him for doing so, either they had no use for the ring or perhaps they thought he deserved a larger share due to his high heroics and fearless leadership. From there, Bert grabbed the always-cool cup and Rosie took up the warm stone, holding it to her cheek and smiling. Cal grasped the cook book and Lauren collected the pearl necklace and earrings.

"That's two things," Rosie protested.

"They're obviously a set," Lauren said haughtily.

"You can't separate them, it would be like splitting you and Cal up. A tragedy."

"Huh. Okay then," Rosie said, smiling. Fritz was next and snatched up the small patch of magical fabric, stuffing it away in a pocket. Then he admired his new ring, and adjusted his slippery belt. Then it was just the mundane goods, there was little bickering and only a smattering of bargaining as things were swapped around and gifted to others. Soon the distribution of loot was settled, everyone getting something they desired, if not everything.

There were some things no one wanted, such as the articles of clothing that wouldn't fit or were "horrendously ugly" as Lauren described them, and they decided to sell them along with the sirensilk.

"Are we going to sell all of the sirensilk?" Fritz asked thoughtfully.

"I thought we were," Lauren said.

"Why shouldn't we?"

"Well, I know a tailor," Fritz stated.

"Actually one might say I owe a tailor. Colette, A lovely lady, she made my coat if you remember it."

"I do," Lauren said.

"It was nice."

"How could I forget," George mused.

"I could take some of this to her and have some things made for us," Fritz said, though he also meant to gift her some of the fabulous fabric as well.

"Is she any good?" Cal asked.

"She's worked for the nobility. So she'd have to be," Fritz stated surely.

"Does she do battle robes?" Lauren asked, seemingly interested in the prospect.

"Perhaps," Fritz said.

"I wouldn't mind having one nice shirt," George said thoughtfully.

"Something light and smooth to wear under my armour and padding."

"I want a dress," Rosie demanded.

"A pretty one that goes with my scales."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Fritz assured.

"In fact, she might be delighted. She made dresses for my mother, after all."

"I'm all for it," Cal said. They all agreed and split the sirensilk into two piles, one for personal use and one for sale. Although it would cut into their potential profits, none seemed to be upset about the prospect. In fact, many were more eager to wear such finery than he had expected. More and more materials were brought out of packs and bags, piled by the spare sirensilk. There were feathers and sharkskins, pearls and fruits. All the things they had gathered greedily on their Climb.

Lauren began to catalogue them in their 'ledger', making sure not a thing was missed.

"We'll be rich on the outside," Bert professed.

"Yeah, but what do we do after that?" Rosie asked.

"Are we going to Climb again? Together?"

"I don't see why not," Fritz said.

"The Mer Spire again?" Cal asked.

"Well, not if all goes to plan," Fritz stated slyly.

"You have a plan?"