Chapter 275: Cabin in the Woods (1/2)
The administrative paperwork took the better part of an hour, but by the time they left the palace, Mike had access to a literal fortune. Combined with the large pile of gold coins that Tal earned through her own contributions, the party was now in an excellent financial situation.
On their way back to the dorm, Mike swung by the adventurer's guild and withdrew a few thousand gold to cover their travelling expenses for the next few months. Tal also took the opportunity to deposit the majority of her reward, only keeping a little pocket money for herself.
While she was talking to the finance portion of the guild office, a lengthy process given her communication problems, Mike informed the guild of his intentions to leave the country and head to the Riverlands. While it would probably be a few days before they left, he knew that this process had to be completed at some point, and this would save him a trip.
He ended up speaking with the same gruff and taciturn male receptionist that had been working every other time he'd come to this branch. It had become so much of a common occurrence, that he was starting to wonder if anyone else actually worked this desk.
Changing his base of operations was a pretty straightforward process that only required him to fill out a few forms listing his possible destinations. Although it wasn't expressly stated by the receptionist, the language of the forms themselves indicated that the information provided would be considered confidential and handled with care. Just to be on the safe side, though, he avoided any specifics about timelines, and kept everything else vague.
Once he'd finished, he handed the form back. ”Anything else I need to do?”
”That's it, but there is one other thing that I'm supposed to ask.” The man answered blandly, as if he wasn't interested in this business at all.
”Alright, what's that?”
”Do you want your guild rank elevated? Based on your deeds over the last few months, I've been authorized to bring you as high as Rank 7, assuming you are interested. The Guild Master here can't do any more than that without approval from headquarters, and that would take a few weeks at least.”
”That's fine.” Mike replied quickly, wanting to avoid another lengthy explanation.
After getting his guild card updated, he rejoined the others and headed back to the dorms. He had a number of errands he needed to run, to start getting ready for their departure, but first he wanted to investigate the items they picked up from the vault.
While Sera went out to the archery range practicing with her new weapon, Mike used Appraise on Tal's reward, which turned out to be a pendant with a thinly cut, green gemstone sitting at the center of a complex golden latticework that looked a bit like a cage.
--------------------------
The Eye of Ashae
Magic Item (Tier 3, Rank 2)
Said to have belonged to the Ashae, a sage of great renown who came to prominence during the height of the Second Pyrathien Empire, this pendant grants the wearer the ability to see through deception and perceive that which is normally hidden. Allows the user to ignore the effects of any Illusion Magic of Tier 3 or lower (of limited use on Tier 4 or higher effects), and enhances their visual perception and judgement, allowing them to pick up on otherwise overlooked details more easily.
----------------------------
After Mike explained the necklace's functions, Tal replied in her ancient tongue. ”Makes sense. The Ashae was supposed to have been gifted with preternatural wisdom and insight. So much so that people came from all over the Inland Sea Region to ask for her advice. Perhaps this item was one of the reasons for that insight.”
”Based on what I've heard about the Sable Enchantress, we could certainly use something like this when we visit her.” Mike commented while pulling out the doorknob he intended on using next.
It looked fairly simple in structure, but at the juncture where it was supposed to attach to a door, there was a small sliding plate. Underneath it was a tiny depression, only a couple of centimeters wide, that bore a large number of intricately carved arcane runes. Based on the loose translation he gathered with Communication Magic, this was where he was supposed to deposit his blood.
Nicking his finger with a bit of hardened shadow via Dark Magic, he allowed a drop of his blood to fall into the depression, and noted a momentary flash of energy pass through the knob. He examined it with Appraise again, and saw that the section about not having an owner had disappeared.
”Alright, I guess the only thing left to do is try it out.”
He stood and walked over to the common area's wall. Unsure of exactly how this process worked, he tried just pressing the knob against it, and was rewarded for his efforts when the outline of a door appeared on the wood paneling. Based on the lack of hinges, he assumed it opened inwards.
Glancing back at Tal, who was standing with the obvious intention of following after him, he motioned for her to stay back. ”I'm not sure what's on the other side of this door. For all we know, the demi-realm could be filled with poison gas or molten lava or something to that effect. I'd be surprised if it was, but I can't rule out the possibility. So, I'm going to make a shield around the entrance and open it with magic. Assuming that everything goes alright, we can move on from there.”
Shield in place, he used a bit of Dark Magic to turn the knob and push, making sure to select his party members as permitted travelers when he felt the mental prompt. The door moved with surprising ease, almost as if it were on oiled hinges. He was expecting to see...something, once it had opened fully, but he was left staring at an opaque, black plane.
[Maybe light doesn't travel through the portal? Or perhaps this is meant as a privacy feature?]
When nothing horrifying had emerged from the doorway after a few moments, he cautiously lowered the shield and took a brief sniff of the air. Besides the distinct smell of dry, stale air, he didn't detect any odors.