Ch165: Returning Home & Looking Over the Loot

Inanna pauses partway through combing her voluminous mass of coal-black hair, her gaze following both Drakling and Wood Elf as they trudge into the living area. “The two of you were gone for longer than I expected.”

“Yeah,” Krvavy tiredly sighs, “we –”

“We’ve ‘ad quite the long day and’ll talk about it in the mornin’.” Beryl firmly states, giving her Draconic lover a stern look as she shrugs off the heavy backpack, carefully placing that crystal filled thing onto the ground. Her wooden armour isn’t treated as gently, bark plates peeled away and carelessly discarded. “We desperately need ta get cleaned up before ‘eadin’ ta bed.”

“Mm. Alright.” The Dwarf simply nods. “I can see that Krvavy has had... quite the day.”

A faint frown finds its way onto Krvavy’s face. She can feel that shortstack’s intense copper-orange eyes drilling into the bruise that covers her torso. It isn’t quite as prominent as it was earlier, the dark purple colour having dulled into a shade that is almost grey, but it is still incredibly obvious.

“Khalia, dear,” the tired tomboy calls out in as loud a voice as she can while still remaining rather hushed. Adeline is bundled up in her bedding near the fireplace, and Beryl doesn’t want to disturb the girl. “Would ya please come along as well?” She asks, seeing that Greenskin’s face pop up from the expansive moss bed across the room. “Ah might need yer ‘elp draggin’ our dearest love back up ‘ere once we’re done.”

“I am capable of walking on my own, thank you very much.” Krvavy plainly states, weakly glaring at her sweet berry with exhausted eyes.

“O’ course ya can, but ya are also quite stubborn. Ah’d rather not ‘ave ta argue against ya spendin’ the night down in the ‘ot spring.” Beryl drops the last bit of her bark armour to the ground just as Khalia plods over. “And yes yes, Ah know tha’ ya’ve done it before and tha’ ya’ll likely do it again. But it is still better ta sleep in a bed wit’ the women ya love rather than risk drownin’ in our bath.”

The Were-Beast’s shaggy tail slows down and stop wagging. “Rrrrgh...!” A rumbling growl emerges past her slightly parted lips as she reaches over and gently presses her paw-like hand against the new scar on her Mate’s midsection.

“Now go on, let’s get a move on.” Beryl clears her throat and gives the Drakling a glance. “Or do Ah need ta get Khalia ta carry ya down there as well?”

“How interesting...”

“Really? Is that all you have to say?!”

Inanna raises a single thick eyebrow as she meets that bratty girl’s gaze. “Do you disagree?

Thea opens her mouth... and then closes it again. “Ugh...!” She wordlessly groans, voicing her frustration in her usual way.

The faintest smile plays at the Dwarf’s lips as she turns back towards Krvavy. “From your description, the construct that you fought is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of.”

“Oh?” Beryl’s long and pointed ears perk up. She tilts her head and, very briefly, stops hand-feeding her Draconic lover. Mostly because Krvavy’s mouth is currently full. “Ah thought tha’ ya Dwarves were quite familiar wit’ golems? Or was tha’ just some sort o’ stereotype?”

“Mm... It is a bit of both, I suppose.” Inanna accompanies her answer with a subtle shrug. “Magical constructs, or golems if you would prefer, have an odd place in my peoples’ society. Generally speaking, it is frowned upon for someone to have a construct perform a task that a Dwarf is capable of. It would do us no good, as a people, if we were to offload all of our difficult or laborious jobs in such a manner. We do not want to grow decadent and lazy.”

“Like those snooty High Elves~?” Beryl playfully wonders, blue-green eyes twinkling with a rather wry joy. “Or even those o’ the old Empire~?”

“Indeed.” The Dwarf plainly replies, her amused expression not quite matching her rather neutral tone. “Even the menial and less desirable jobs are important for maintaining a functioning society, and those who perform such crucial roles should not be looked looked down upon because of it.”

“Aye.” That tanned tomboy of an Elf nods in agreement. “If someone isn’t willin’ ta do the ‘ard work themselves, they should at least be thankful tha’ it was done fer them.”

“I suppose that this belief is one of the few things our people have in common, and which separates your kind from the other Elves.”

“Ahem.” Thea loudly clears her throat, glaring back and forth between Dwarf and Wood Elf.

“Right.” That little ‘interruption’ is all it takes to get Inanna back on topic. “As I was saying... While magical constructs do not play a large role in Dwarven society, it is understandable that the other races may believe that they do. We are a rather insular people, hardly interacting with those on the surface. Thus the image that many other races have of us Dwarves was cultivated primarily by war, which is one of the very few situations where using ‘golems’ is accepted. It is better that a magical construct is destroyed than a Dwarven life lost.”

Taking advantage of the distraction that this conversation brings, Khalia slips off her moss-covered stool and begins to not so stealthily slink towards her prey.

“There weren’t any golems in the caravan that I, uh, found you in, were there?” Krvavy glances sideways at that incredibly suspicious Were-Beast, who continues to creep closer in that far from innocent way. “I didn’t see any.”

The grey-skinned shortstack ever so slightly shakes her head. “No, there were none. Just because it is acceptable to use ‘golems’ in potentially dangerous situations does not mean that they are always used in such circumstances. A well-trained and well-equipped Dwarf will always be more capable than an artificial construct.”

“And you didn’t really expect to be attacked so brazenly...” Krvavy’s words trail off into an echo of a wince as her clingy puppy quite gently claims her side – the one not occupied by a certain doting Elf – and ends up pressing right against her yellowed bruise in the process.

“Indeed. Though, in all honesty, we likely wouldn’t have brought any constructs along even had that been an expected outcome. Realistically, we simply wouldn’t have bothered coming to the surface in the first place. But beyond that...” Inanna briefly pauses, taking a bite of her half-forgotten breakfast. “We Dwarves ensure that our artificial constructs only have a rudimentary level of intelligence. Typically no smarter than a well-trained beast of burden. They are not suited to situations which may require tough judgment calls and snap decisions.”

“Oh?” Beryl curiously tilts her head to the side, caramel coloured cheek squishing into Krvavy’s shoulder. “Ah thought tha’ Dwarven golems were... more advanced than tha’.”

A single black bushy eyebrow is raised as Inanna returns that tomboy’s gaze. “They are advanced. Incredibly so: the runic matrix’ that allow for these constructs to function require intensely specialized knowledge to even understand. Their complexity is far beyond my own skill level. But, despite that, they still remain mere automatons. My people do not create constructs capable of independent thought. We may build them in the image of ourselves, but we have no intention of having them be anything that may even be considered a person.”

“Rather cautious. But Ah suppose it ‘as worked well enough so far...” The tomboyish Elf casually shrugs. “So ya don’t really ‘ave explanation fer the crystal one we fought?”

The Dwarf shakes her head. “Only speculation. This isn’t my area of expertise, but even so... nothing about that crystalline construct sounded familiar. For one, my people do not make constructs composed of crystal. Stones and metals are the preferred materials. Ideally both done in layers, as to protect the runes and etched channels from damage. Which is another major difference. Your description didn’t include the mention of any method for energy to be distributed throughout the construct...beyond the possibility that mana was being conducted through the medium that the construct was composed of. Which only adds further complications...”

“There was that magical energy arm thing it did near the end.” Krvavy helpfully points out, accidentally catching her sweet berry’s attention and getting some food shoved into her mouth as a result.

“My Ushumgal, that does not make this any simpler.” A slight bit of frustration enters Inanna’s neutral voice. She takes a deep breath and lets out a slow sigh. “I have no concrete explanation on how it was capable of doing that. Just two ideas which couldn’t even be considered theories. Perhaps that was merely a projection of solidified mana? At face value, that is not outside the realm of possibility. But a specialized node would be required for such a process. Which, from what you’ve described, was not the case.”

Thea purses her kissable lips into an adorable pout, her soft-blue eyes watching on as her Dragon is smothered between Khalia’s cuddling body and Beryl’s fussing affections.

“My other idea is far more worrying.” The shortstack states, her intense and unwavering gaze staring straight at that immobilized Drakling. “Perhaps the ‘golem’ that you fought contained an attempted recreation of the mana channels within our bodies? Channels which persisted even when the limbs that they were inside were destroyed. Such a thing would be incredibly atypical, to put it lightly, as that is characteristic of what we would consider a soul. And, unless that ‘golem’ was in actuality some variety of elemental, that means it contained what I could only describe as an artificial replica of a soul.”

A scowl swiftly fills Beryl’s face. “Wha’ if it contained actual souls instead?” The Elf hesitantly asks, her long ears no longer wiggling with joy. “Ah’ve no doubt tha’ plenty o’ people suffered and died in tha’ place, so those wouldn’t’ve been in short supply when it was still occupied.”

“That... Is not something I had considered...” Inanna slowly states, looking ever so slightly annoyed with herself. “I suppose that, with the crystalline construct and the entire ruin being decidedly non-Dwarven, that is a possibility. But that is even further beyond my area of expertise. Did it perhaps feel... necromantic? Or just unnatural?”

“Ach, not really...” With practiced ease, the tanned tomboy swats away a paw-like hand that so nearly stole a bit of the food destined for her Draconic lover’s stomach. “It definitely wasn’t natural, but it didn’t give me the impression o’ death. It just felt like a rock filled wit’ far too much mana. One tha’ ‘ad been sittin’ in a dank and stagnant pond fer a very long time.”

“It was also very bright and colourful.” The Drakling adds, idly petting her pouting puppy on the head. “Which... doesn’t feel stereotypical for anything undead.”

“Mm... So it being an elemental is still a possibility, however unlikely... Such as shame that it left no remains to study...”

“Ugh!” Thea loudly groans, drawing everyone’s attention. “Enough of this already! Are you just going to just talk and talk all morning!? Get on with it! Show off those two supposed ‘treasures’ that you found!”

“Shh!” Beryl sternly shushes the bratty girl. “Don’t be so loud. Adeline is still sleepin’!”

The silver-blonde brat simply rolls her eyes and scowls at that.

“I am curious about the quartz that you brought back.” The Dwarf turns her gaze over to the backpack, which is resting nearby. “You said it looked ‘better’ than what you had previously collected?”

“Yeah, the crystals are pretty big and almost perfectly clear.” Krvavy gestures for Inanna to go take a look herself, only for the Were-Beast to grab that hand and force it to continue its headpatting.

Inanna reaches towards the backpack and drags it a little closer to herself, before opening it up and pulling free a chunk of quartz. “Mm...” She brushes off some lingering moss and holds that crystal up to the light, critically looking it over. “It is almost certainly an improvement to the others, but not by a meaningful amount. Quartz has limitations, and removing a few imperfections does not change that.”

“How wonderful...” Thea grumpily grumbles, crossing her arms as she impatiently waits for the actual treasures to be revealed.

“Don’t get me wrong,” the Dwarf glances sideways at that brat. “These crystals are free of nearly all flaws and are more lustrous as well. I will have to perform some tests to determine how they compare to the crystals that we are currently using, but I do suspect that they will be an upgrade. Even if the increase in efficiency is marginal, their larger size will allow for greater capacity.”

The silver-blonde noble girl repeatedly taps her foot into the floor, that constant movement causing the hem of her sundress to flutter and dance.

Inanna’s attention returns to the transparent gem in her hand. She stares at it for a couple more seconds before looking to the Drakling. “I take it that all of the quartz you collected yesterday is of similar provenance?”

“Yup,” Krvavy replies with a nod, “got them all from the same room. And stairwell.”

“Ugh!” Thea makes her already rather obvious frustration even more known. “Stop wasting away the day! Just get on with it and show off those two ‘treasures’ already!”

“Ah’ll ‘andle this, my dearest love.” Placing aside a pretty much empty plate, Beryl gives up her spot next to the barbarian and steps forward. Her eyes twinkle with a teasing light, her lips spread into a mischievous smirk directed towards a certain bratty blonde, as she so slowly reaches into the bag. “The first o’ the treasures tha’ ya so impatiently want ta see is... this!”

Thea’s face scrunches into a scowl. “That is a ball of moss.” She dryly states, glaring at the Elf.

“Sure looks like it, aye.” That tanned tomboy simply holds the big mossy ball for a good long moment before those protective layers all peel back at once, guided by her magic.

“Wow...!” Surprise and awe fill the spoiled girl’s face, her bratty attitude washing away in an instant.

“That is a rather large pearl.” Inanna plainly points out, a curious glint in her eyes as she leans far enough forward for her titanic tits to squish right up against her thick thighs.. “I take it that you did not find that simply laying around?”

“Nope.” Krvavy confirms, smiling widely as she takes in the sight of Thea’s stunned and slackened expression. “It was inside an old sack of slime that was hanging from the ceiling.”

The Dwarf cocks her head to the side and quite obviously uses Inspect on the thing. “A slime pearl...?” She curiously mutters, furrowing her brow. “I... I can’t say that I have ever heard of such a thing...”

“Really?” The barbarian incredulously asks, honestly surprised by that admission.

“My people treat slimes as nothing more than pests that must be exterminated. We would not suffer an infestation long enough for something like this to form.” Inanna bluntly states, looking a bit vexed as she nearly glares at the pearl. “Mm... Did this form in a similar manner as a stalactite would...? Minerals dripping or being leeched from the ceiling and amalgamating together inside of a slime unable to digest them...?” Her muttered voice grow less audible with each word, gradually trailing off into thought.

“This...!” Thea almost immediately breaks the silence, sputtering slightly as she struggles to put her thoughts into words. “This is fit to be a crown jewel...! It could be the centerpiece of an entire collection! It –!”

“Oh hush now.” Beryl shushes the brat, carefully moving the pearl out of Thea’s reach. “Remember, it’s still early and Adeline ‘asn’t woken up yet. So let’s at least try ta be quiet.”

“Hmph!” Thea crosses her arms and glares at the Elf, growing visibly annoyed as her protesting gaze gets completely ignored. “I –!”

“You said that this pearl was inside of a slime?” Inanna speaks over the bratty girl, her copper-orange eyes snapping up to inquisitively stare at the Drakling.

“No, not a slime. Just some goo.” Krvavy shrugs ever so slightly, trying to not disturb her cuddling puppy. “Not quite sure what that stuff was, but it was really sticky and a bit firm. Kind of like a... slightly wet raisin. Not the most pleasant stuff to walk over.”

“Mm... Sounds like slime residue.” The grey-skinned woman slowly nods her head. “Slimes, when in high enough concentrations, tend to coat surfaces with that particular excretion. Presumably to avoid losing moisture as they move around. But that does not help to explain how a pearl would form inside such residue, though I suppose that with enough centuries...”

“Ugh, enough of this...!” Thea groans as loudly as she can without getting scolded by Beryl. “What about that other treasure...?! Go on, take it out already...!”

The Wood Elf almost completely ignores the brat as she regrows that moss, ensuring that the slime pearl remains safe and undamaged. “It’s in tha’ pouch.” She idly tells the Dwarf, giving Thea a stern look to prevent the girl from lunging forwards.

Inanna retrieves the other mossy treasure, her expression unreadable as she brushes away its soft packaging to reveal... a white, prismatic prism.

“What.” The silver-blonde brat scowls and turns towards the Drakling, her glare quickly becoming more annoyed as she realizes that this is the actual treasure and Krvavy isn’t just messing with her. “Is that it?! Another piece of quartz?! We have piles of that stuff laying around!”

“It isn’t just quartz.” The Drakling’s lips twist into a not so innocent smirk. “Don’t believe me? Go on, Inspect it.”

“Alright, I wi–ilhhh!” Thea immediately winces as her words shift into a slightly pained hiss. “Y-you! How dare –!”

“Shh!” Beryl forcibly shushes the brat, meeting Thea’s furious glare with her own firm gaze.

Inanna’s copper-orange eyes peer deep into the Drakling’s emerald pair. “It has anti-scrying properties?” She asks, electing to not test that herself.

“As far as I can tell, yup.” The barbarian replies with a nod, reaching out to pat her angry brat on the head.

“Where did you find it?”

“Just laying around.” Krvavy cheekily answers, nimbly dodging Thea’s retaliating whack. “Really, it was being held up in the air by a few little metal arms atop of what was probably a workbench of some sort. The room it was in was absolutely covered in quartz crystals, those nice clear ones, so it kind of stood out amongst all that.”

“Mm... Perhaps that was the remains of a gem cutting station? This does seem too perfectly shaped for it to be natural...” The grey-skinned shortstack curiously holds the prism in front of her, slowly rotating it around to closely examine it from every angle. “I am not entirely certain that I have the proper equipment to fully determine what this crystal was enchanted to do. But...” She pauses for just a moment, before nodding to herself. “I can say that it easily accepts mana and is allowing the mana inside of it to be freely withdrawn.”

“So that is just a fancier version of what we already have?” Thea sneers, more than a little annoyed that this treasure isn’t as breathtakingly beautiful as the previous one.

“If you would like to look at it that way, sure.” Inanna idly shrugs, her bountiful breasts bouncing a bit. “There is undoubtedly more to it than that, of course. Though the anti-scrying capabilities could simply be there to prevent the unauthorized from viewing how much mana is contained within it...”

“Oh, I should probably also mention that trying to Inspect the golem also resulted in the same, well, pain.” Krvavy helpfully points out.

“Mm? How interesting...”

“Ugh... Is that all you found?” Thea narrows her eyes as she stares at the backpack. “Just a big pearl and a bunch of crystals?”

Krvavy nonchalantly, dismissively, waves her hand. “I mean, we didn’t go back there looking for treasure. We were pretty much just there to test my new spells and get some experience.”

“And how well did that work out for you?” The bratty girl asks with a bit of an attitude, turning her gaze back to the barbarian.

“Pretty well. Turns out that slimes don’t like getting frozen solid and then smashed to pieces, so Boreal Breath was very useful. Imbued Inferno was... less so. Having my axe covered in fire made it look amazing, but it didn’t really do much against some wet blobs and a living crystal.”

“And you levelled up, I presume?” Inanna interjects before Thea can continue being snarky. “Is Soulbound Weaponry finally ready to be upgraded?”

“Yup and yup. But there is also something a bit annoying about that: the skill got capped at level ten. If not for that, it would probably be around level twelve or thirteen by now...” Krvavy shakes her head and stifles a sigh.

Inanna slowly nods. “Mm. And you did not want to risk being without a weapon in the case that upgrading it was not instantaneous, yes?”

“Yup again. Suppose I could do that now though...” With hardly a thought, Krvavy brings up her Divine Favour points shop and quickly sifts through it, soon finding for what she is looking for.

Soulbound Weaponry II: 10 Divine Favour. Upgrades your Soulbound weapon to make it capable of consuming up to three materials at a time to increase its power. Durability & repair speed increased. Requires skill level 10 to purchase. Upgradable.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Krvavy glances at that impatient brat. “Didn’t think that you’d be interested in this.” She honestly states.

“Ugh... It is better than just sitting around doing nothing.” Thea rolls her eyes, the faintest bit of pink creeping into her cheeks. “Now stop wasting away the day!”

The barbarian gently bites her bottom lip as she tries to resist the oh so tempting urge to tease her brat.

Ultimately, her curiosity wins out and she spends her favour.