SRO-04. Greenfire, page 38
part #4 of Sky Realms Online Series
“I will do right by you, small one,” she intoned formally.
Tulla smiled.
Sharra is grateful for rescuing her enslaved people as well as the trust you have shown in giving her Tulla’s Staff. You have gained +1000 Alliance Reputation with Sharra of the Jaden Empire.
Tulla of the Purple Lotus is thankful that you released her from bondage to Borsark, Blackgrowl Caste Runespeaker of the Desmarik Republic. Even though she cannot be freed of the cage, she is glad that you have given the staff to Sharra of the Jaden Empire. You have gained +1000 Alliance Reputation with Tulla of the Purple Lotus. You are now Known and Friendly to Tulla of the Purple Lotus.
Hall smiled. He silently vowed to find a way to free the fairy from her imprisonment.
You have made a vow to release Tulla of the Purple Lotus from the runed cage that is her prison. She has said that none present at her rescue can free her. Learn more about the runes of the cage. Seek out someone knowledgeable about runes.
THE TRAPPED FAIRY I
Learn about the runes etched on Tulla’s cage 0/1
Rewards: +200 Experience, +200 Alliance Reputation with Tulla of the Purple Lotus.
Accept Quest?
He quickly accepted it. Sharra’s eyes looked up in surprise, questioningly. Hall was surprised she had apparently gotten the quest as well. She smiled, nodding.
A grunt drew his attention.
Akun and Marito were helping Tobias up. They ran over to the man, Seo already there. Tobias was weak, groggy, his left arm hanging loose.
“He’s stable.” Seo said in response to Hall’s unspoken question. “The wound cauterized, so no loss of blood. He’s just in shock.”
“Can we move him?”
“Yeah,” Seo replied. “Just carefully. He’s in pain from the wound and will be for a while.”
“Then let’s take—” He stopped as Roxhard’s loud voice drew all attention.
“It’s not here,” the Dwarf said. “I’ve looked everywhere, searched the other rooms, and don’t think there’s a hidden panel.”
“What isn’t here?” Jackoby growled. He was busy examining his shield, which had faint scorch marks in the magical ironwood.
“The treasure,” Roxhard replied.
Hall had forgotten about the reason they had come to Greenfire Depths in the first place. It had to be in this room somewhere, hidden behind a secret door. There was nowhere else. The treasure was always where the boss fight was. It was the most logical place.
“Treasure,” Marito asked, sounding out the strange word. She spoke the common language with a little difficulty. “I do not know of any treasure, but the Desmari did talk of a strange door they could not get through.”
Hall’s head whipped around, surprised. Marito shrank back as all heads turned to her.
“Where?” he asked.
Chapter 40
They spent another half hour in the large room, quickly double-checking the empty rooms. Finding nothing, they gathered what little loot there was. Only Borsark had anything on his person; no one wanted to cut into or carve up the demons. The Desmari’s robe was ruined, no way to repair it. They had managed to get a couple of items, aside from Tulla and the staff, but without a Witch to scry, they didn’t know what they had.
Two rings, a dagger and the book on a chain, along with the potions and scrolls. They took the belt, handing it to Seo. The belt itself didn’t seem to be magical, but the ability to hold scrolls and potions made it useful.
They retraced their steps through the clan leader’s dwelling, back out to the terraces and overlooking the large cavern. Below and across the river, in a tight group, were Mulah and the other prisoners. They looked up, too far away to see expressions, but their body language showed joy at seeing Hall and the others. Sharra and the other Jadens were waving, smiling. Tobias tried but was still too weak.
Standing on the upper tier, looking down at the lower, Hall wondered if it would be worth searching all the dwellings. It could take hours, maybe even another day. If they decided to, someone would have to go out to the airship landing area and inform the other freed prisoners as well as the crew of the Ridgerunner.
Maybe get Mulah and the others to help? He quickly dismissed that idea. That could put them at risk, and he refused to do that. Leave some of his people here to search? Split the party? He dismissed that just as quickly. There was no telling what was behind the door or guarding the treasure.
In the end it wasn’t that hard to make a choice.
The pull of the treasure was too much.
As it would be for any Adventurer.
He could make the decision about the rest of the rooms after.
Hall shook his head as they stood at the intersection. He should have known. The one corridor they had not gone down. The bodies of the first Skiterks they had encountered lay on the ground, the blood dried and dark against the sandstone. When they had first come down here, following the passage leading away from the domed audience chamber, they had gone left and to the main entrance to the Dwarven outpost.
Now Hall looked down the right side passage, which extended a hundred feet or so before turning. Pillars lined the walls at set intervals; the familiar green glowed from the crystal globes.
“I have not been down there,” Marito said. She still held the Desmari sword, heavy blade held down by her side. “I was brought here with two others. We were made to wait, a Desmari holding the chain bound to our shackles. Others led one of our countrymen down the passage.” She fell silent, shaking her head, anger in her eyes. “He did not return.”
“And they brought nothing back with them?” Hall asked, angry at himself for thinking of just the treasure.
Marito didn’t seem to notice or care.
“Nothing. They collected us and left, complaining about a door they could not open and saying they would investigate further. That was yesterday.”
Hall nodded, taking a couple of steps down the passage. Pike shifted on his shoulders. He turned back to look at the others. His friends, the Breakridge Irregulars, Sharra and Marito.
“You aren’t coming,” he told Marito. Relief flashed across her face, replaced by a look of guilt at feeling that way. “You did well in the fights, but your people need you now.” He turned to Sharra, hoping the last would ease Marito’s guilt. “I would like you to come with us. If there is anything down there, we could use your magic. I know this isn’t your—”
Sharra held up a hand, stopping him. “I will come with you.”
Marito walked away, back up the passage to the airships. Hall waited until she was gone, and led the rest down the corridor.
They moved quickly down the first part of the corridor, confident that any traps would have been sprung by the Desmari. They were right. Turning the corner, they stopped.
Fifty feet down the corridor, with pillars and green light the same as the first, was the door. A wide and high arched door made of sandstone, intricately carved, though they were too far away to see details. There were scratch marks across the surface. Midway between them and the door were stone spears crisscrossing the corridor. Three from below, three from above. Trapped in the net of spears was a body.
Slowly approaching the trap, they saw the man was dead, weightless body sagging but held by the thin stone spears. Blood stained the ground. Two of the spears were shattered, broken, leaving a gap in the net that they could pass through.
Sharra approached the man. He was Jaden, dressed in stained and soiled clothing. Bowing her head, Sharra silently said some words. A prayer to a God or a saying for the dead, Hall didn’t know. They let her have the quiet. Reaching up, she gently closed the man’s eyes. She stepped back, indicating she was done.
Hall stepped through the spear net, making sure not to disturb the body. The others followed; Jackoby had to squeeze through but made it. Pike flew off Hall’s shoulder, taking a perch on one of the stone spears. They quickly walked to the door, not concerned with any more traps.
A lighter color than the sandstone, the door was held in the frame tightly. No bolts or handles. Just the seamless door fit into the stone block jamb. Hall could see marks where the Desmari had tried jamming something, most likely their swords, into the thin space between the door and wall, trying to wedge it open. He recognized the now familiar clan symbol in the middle of the door, the shield with flames around a globe. Other symbols surrounded it. Runes in the Dwarven language, scenes of fighting and crafting.
Some of the carvings were destroyed, deep gouges cut into them. The Desmari, trying to hack at the door. Seeing what they had done, first to the prisoner and now the door, made Hall hate them even more. The Desmari were a cruel race.
There were no obvious ways to open the door. Hall and Caryn examined every inch, using their perception-related skills. Nothing was revealed. Even Tulla, offering to use what she called True Sight, couldn’t see a way to open the door.
Sharra held the fairy’s cage in front of the door. A soft pink glow radiated outward from the small figure as she stood near the bars. Her eyes took on a shine. Tulla said the ability allowed her to see the lines of magic, good for deciphering runes and seeing wards. Nothing was revealed.
Everyone stepped back except Hall. He stared at the door, frustrated. There had to be a way past it. They had rescued the prisoners, killed the Desmari, learned the Desmarik Republic was invading Hankarth, so the trip all the way from Skara Brae was worth it, but Hall wanted that treasure.
There had to be a way in.
He pulled out the map, wondering if there had been something he had missed in the notations. Holding it up, there wasn’t anything he could see. Grumbling, he set the map against the door to hold it in place as he ran his fingers along the notes. He kept reading the notes, trying to find anything he could have missed.
“Hall,” Roxhard said from behind him.
“What?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.
Roxhard just pointed at the door.
Confused, Hall stepped back, almost dropping the map in shock.
He hadn’t seen it as close to the door as he had been, but a line of light was slowly climbing up the joint between the jamb and door. It started from the floor on both sides, filling the thin gap.
Stepping further back, Hall watched as the twin streams of light met in the middle precisely at the top of the arched door. There was a flash of light followed by a grinding noise. The door slid back, stone against stone. As it moved, Hall could see rails in the floor and along the curved parts of the arch, set flush with the stone floor.
Skill Gain!
Cartography Rank Two +.5
The door slid in about five feet and stopped, dust falling to the floor.
Stepping closer, Hall saw that the room beyond was wider, with openings to either side. Caryn moved quickly up, the two looking at the now exposed jamb and the floor and walls, looking for traps. The door had slid into a space with a higher ceiling, tight fitting around the arch, the sides lower, just barely above Hall’s height. A green glow came from the room beyond.
Skill Gain!
Increased Perception Rank Two +.1
“Clear,” Hall said.
“Clear,” Caryn agreed.
Together they stepped forward, each taking a side and stepping around the door.
The room wasn’t large, but it was full.
Stone shelves lined three walls of the plain stone room. Tables, made of stone, filled the open space in the middle. The light came from one large and two small glowing chandeliers hanging by chains from the ceilings. Crystal globes, the inside glowing with the green flame, sat in metal brackets attached to the chains. They provided plenty of light to show everything in the room.
Hall stepped further into the room, allowing the others to enter. They spread out, each examining what they found. The shelves were filled with ingots. Hundreds of them. Not just common metals, but more exotic ones. Iron, bronze, darkiron, malachite, agaptite. And not just crafting metals but those used in coins. Hall couldn’t count all the gold, silver and copper bars he saw. There were stacks of minted coins as well. And jewels.
He turned to see what was spread out over the tables.
Weapons and armor.
Hammers, one and two handed. Axes, double headed or single, one and two handed. Smaller hand axes. Shields. An assortment of armor pieces. All of it sized for Dwarves, all of it well made. Even if they couldn’t use it, Dyson would be able to sell it for good coin. Hall was a little disappointed that none of it seemed magical.
It was an immense treasure. The coins and ingots alone would make it worth the trip. But the Adventurer in him wanted more.
How to get all this out and aboard the Ridgerunner?
“Hall,” Caryn called out.
She was against the far wall in the middle, crouched down. Hall saw large chests. Three of them, side by side. Simple boxes of sandstone. No locks visible.
“No traps,” Caryn said.
Hall crouched down next to her, Seo on the other side. They looked at each and Hall nodded. At the same time they lifted the lids. A bright green glow came out of each chest.
Caryn whistled.
Hall smiled.
Each of the large chests contained dozens of the glowing green orbs that contained their own inner fire. All different sizes. Some the size of a baseball, others the size of a golf ball. So many, the green glow was bright, but Hall couldn’t take his eyes away from them.
Even though it was green, the light given off was very bright, and there was no shadow. The way the globes had been mounted to the iron rods, like torches, Hall wondered if they could be mounted to other things. Gloves? Armor? A way to light a dungeon or cave without having to hold a torch?
That would make these worth a small fortune.
He reached down and picked up one of the smaller globes. There was no heat given off by the gem, the fire burning merrily within. A small fire, the light amplified by the facets of the crystal.
Quest complete!
THE GREENFIRE HOARD
You have found and claimed the treasure hoard of the Greenfire Dwarves.
Recover the treasure of Greenfire Depths 1/1
Reward: +300 Experience, half of the recovered treasure
Hall dismissed the notification. The quest completing as he touched the globe confirmed that the glowing orbs were the ultimate treasure of Greenfire Depths.
“Hall,” Seo said, very excited.
The Druid had moved further down the shelves, stopping a couple of feet away. Large books, thin stone sheets held together by rotting leather cord, were stacked haphazardly on the shelves in front of him. A half dozen, maybe more. Carefully, slowly, Seo picked one off the top. Almost two feet in height, over a foot in width, Seo struggled to hold up the weight. Hall quickly cleared a spot on the nearest table, reaching over to help Seo lower the book so it wouldn’t drop.
“Roxhard,” Hall called to the Dwarf.
The first stone sheet bore the familiar sigil of the Greenfires, the Dwarven clan that lived in the outpost. Around it were various other symbols, four, one in each corner. A hammer, sword, axe and pair of tongs. Runes were carved along the top and bottom.
Hall stepped aside so Roxhard could read the book. The Dwarf ran his fingers lightly over the runes.
“I’m not sure what it says,” he admitted after a couple of minutes, looking up at Hall in embarrassment. “Not the language I recognize. I think this rune”—he pointed at one on the top—“means craft.” He shrugged.
“No problem,” Hall replied, clapping him on the shoulder, knowing how fragile the ego of a teenage boy could be. “This place has been abandoned for hundreds of years. It’s probably an old dialect.”
The book was heavy, at least a dozen thin stone sheets. Moving it, and the others, was going to be difficult. There was a chance that one of the other Dwarves in Skara Brae could read the language, but an equal chance that he was right. Which meant they’d have to find someone to decipher the rune lettering.
He had a feeling it would be worth it.
“So, boss,” Caryn said from where she stood in the middle of the room, tables of weapons and armor around her, arms spread to indicate the shelves, “how do we get all this out of here?”
It was a good question and Hall had no idea.
“Why should we help you load up this treasure when we can have none of it?” Ahmed asked.
The man had a point, Hall had to admit, but the way he said it was annoying. One of the first prisoners freed, Ahmed had been waiting out with the airships. Safe and fed. None of the other prisoners had joined them until an hour ago, after Hall had led them all out of the depths of the outpost, all carrying just some of the treasure.
Breaking into the stores the Desmari had on the two ships, Mulah took charge of everything. The old woman organized the making of food to feed the famished former prisoners, ordering Seo to treat wounds. The Druid hadn’t even questioned, immediately jumping to obey. Lines were formed, the most seriously wounded moved to one side, the ones that were healthiest drafted to help bring the stores of food and water out of the ship.
The Ridgerunner had landed as soon as the first prisoners had exited the outpost. Now the three airships bobbed in the air, gently swaying with the wind. Hall had brought one of the stone books out with him. He was happy to discover none of the other Dwarves could read the full runes, agreeing with Roxhard on the few they could understand. It made it harder on Hall, and Dyson when they returned, though. They would need to find someone who could read the language. Hall was just glad that it wasn’t just Roxhard who was unable to read them. Not a true Dwarf, only a teenager, Roxhard was starting to find a way to fit in with the true Dwarves. Not being able to read a language they could, that might have cut Roxhard’s confidence deep. Ever since the voyage to Axestorm Hall and finding out he really was a Stonefire, Roxhard was trying to fit into the post-Glitch world as a true Dwarf. Hall didn’t want anything to upset that.
