“Whooo, that was fun!” Cowen whooped.

“That was terrifying,” Jonas said, slowly approaching the enormous carcass. The Legend did not seem to decompose – yet.

“Welcome to your first Legendary combat,” she replied lightly, sheathing her sword. “That’s the kind of fights you only start in late tier four zones, early tier five. Around thirty high tier people gathering for the most challenging encounters. There’s a grand total of eight major lairs with a Legend at their end. The British Scouts regularly do three of them, two with my team. And now, we’ve done one solo!”

She contemplated the corpse.

“And now, there’s a ninth, two tiers early.”

“Just like we found an Ancient in the tier one trunk zone,” Jonas said.

“An Ancient two tiers early, a Legend two tiers early. Well, at least we will be forewarned if there is a type of creature above Legend,” she speculated.

Ira was eyeing the enormous axe in the “hand” of the bull-like creature, and Cowen had to warn him.

“Don’t bother. It will start to rust and fall apart at the same time as its owner. There’s not even a descriptor on it. But, if you are lucky, you’ll find its twin in the treasure. That’s how I got my sword. The Keeper in Biskanta uses its likeness all the time, and on our second slaying, it was there.”

“The treasure should be at the centre of the Plaza,” he immediately said.

“If that’s where you found it on tier one, yes. Makes sense after all.”

Cowen was right, Jonathan noted. The chest was looking positively barbaric, with iron reinforcements everywhere. And sitting in the exact centre of the Plaza.

Donerkal Plaza

Legendary Treasure

Artefact weapon

Requires: Level 65

Artefact equipment

Requires: Level 61

Common container

Requires: Level 50

Artefact equipment

Requires: Level 48

Cowen strode toward the chest, but she stopped just before reaching it and then swore.

“Something wrong?” Jonas asked.

“No. It’s just… well, this zone breaks rules, it might as well break them all. The Plaza descriptor has all twenty tier-two Professions.”

The robed figure of the Imposing Physics strode to the centre of the Plaza, examining the descriptor in turn.

“The Plaza is now complete,” he simply said.

“We did not notice anything in Szinkal… but then, tier one Plazas always had all tier-one Professions,” Jonas said.

“Having access to every Profession at the same Plaza is sure to come handy if you want to pick your next one,” Ira noted.

“Well, it would be kinda hard to get to at tier two if it’s guarded by a Legend,” Alton replied.

“True,” Cowen acknowledged, before opening the trunk and pulling out a huge weapon.

Claymore of the Doneri Bull

Two-Handed

Artefact

Requires: Level 65

Provides: 79 fire damage (+8% AGI +8% DEX), 163 defence rating, +1 Flat Blade rank, +1 Protect rank, CON+23, AGI+20, FOR+19, +156 health, +138 endurance, +98 aether, +2% armour, +1% defence economy

The sword looked simple, elegant. And yet, somehow, it seemed to reflect the fires of a forge, or the light of a sunset, rather than the full light of the perpetual noon of Donerkal. Jonas could remember that the axe wielded by the bovine legend had the same type of look.

“Well, well. Not an axe, but still. I think there’s going to be a defender very happy today,” she said, before turning toward Ira and proffering the weapon with a flourish and small bow.

“That is… insane. There are some many bonuses on this…”

“Welcome to Artefacts. The best equipment the Labyrinth has to offer. You’ll keep it for quite some time, even at the speed you are all levelling.”

She turned to contemplate the chest.

“And that’s going to be a major thing.”

“Why? Although, I can understand…”

“As you can see, the loot is worth it. Nobody would bother with Othary, ordinarily. The loot is something you can find an equivalent of in any tier two. But if it is the gateway to this… I can see level 150, or maybe even high tier three launching an expedition across the Great Line, just to be able to come here and kill that bull at least once. It would require careful planning and a long trek on your own. But in the end,” she said, bending into the chest and fishing a second item, “you get two of these.”

“And congratulations, Sims. Your lucky time has arrived,” she said, holding the garment in front of her.

The robe was bright red, without being garish or anything. A rich but simple red. Orange trimmings adorned the necklace, bottom and sleeves, making square spirals. And, like the sword, it seemed to be lit from some cosy fire in a dark room rather than daylight.

Adept Robe of the Doneri Bull

Torso

Artefact

Requires: Level 61

Provides: +86 defence rating, +1 Everburn rank, +1 Firefall rank, INT+13, PRE+11, CON+11, AGI+9, +150 mind, +116 aether, +2% fire damage, +1% regeneration

“It is… otherworldly,” Laura said.

“Artefacts usually are. Heroic gear has its own elegance. But an artefact is truly of the Labyrinth. It is visibly beyond the world,” Cowen said.

“But anyway, you seem to be lucky, of course,” she added, pulling out a small wooden figure.

Wooden Puppet

Container

Common equipment

Requires: Level 50

Provides: 4 equipment slots

“Of course, you normally find those in higher tiers, but since this seems to be a zone where stuff happens early… Is that your second one? Who wants it?” she asked.

The team looked at each other, surprised.

“Well, I’d say either of our robe-wearing men,” Laura said, somewhat mischievously. “But Jonas seems to have a robe he’ll want to keep…”

Cowen smothered a snort of laughter, before throwing the puppet toward Guss, who caught it reflexively.

“And of course, the little memento for the fight,” she finished, fishing a last item from the chest. She twirled it in her hand, looking at the marbled surface with red lines snaking across the six-inch globe.

“Anyone wants a souvenir?”

Jonathan was surprised by the appearance of the sphere and blurted, “Uh? What’s that?”

“A trophy for the fight. An orb that shows you killed a legend. If you’ve got a mantlepiece somewhere, it’s nice-looking, I guess. There’s a different one for every kill. I don’t care much about that kind of trinket.”

“But… It’s supposed to be a piece of equipment.”

“What do you mean, a piece of equipment? I know, it says artefact on the descriptor with a level. But there’s no equipment location or bonus anyway. There are only two Artefacts per Legend kill in their chests.”

“Well, it said so on the chest?”

“What do you mean it said so on the…” Cowen replied before stopping herself, raising reflexively her hand.

“I know. I should know better. Another Adjustment special thing?”

“Yes. Adjustment VI. It lets me see the descriptor of the chests, just like IV let us see the Gates.”

“And what does that… specific sight gets you?”

“Lair name, guardian type, and everything inside: the quality, type – whether it’s a weapon, a piece of equipment… container, even food – and level required.”

“You can see the type of anything before we even open the chest?”

“Before we even kill the guardian. Well, not in this case, since I never got close enough. But otherwise, the type? Yes. I could even see there was a common container with level 50 required. I didn’t guess it was a puppet. But the chest said it was a piece of artefact equipment of level 48, and it was specific about it.”

“Well, see for yourself,” she replied, throwing the orb at Jonathan, who caught it reflexively.

Red-Speckled Marble Orb

-

Artefact

Requires: Level 48

“Uh?”

“Yes, I thought so. That ability of yours… is it reliable?”

“Enough that I could even notice when there’s a chest hidden with a guardian that isn’t around.”

Jonathan moved toward the chest.

“Can you put stuff back in the chest? Safely, I mean.”

“The chest doesn’t relock itself for a day. Of course, if what you pulled out doesn’t fit back, you can’t close it, but otherwise, it is safe.”

Jonathan bent, dropping the orb inside the chest before pulling out. Then, in afterthought, he dropped one of his swords.

Donerkal Plaza

Legendary Treasure

Quality weapon

Requires: Level 57

Artefact equipment

Requires: Level 48

“So… Now says it has a quality weapon 57 – mine – and one artefact equipment of 48. So the Orb is definitively considered to be some piece of equipment like any other.”

Guss snapped his fingers and moved to the chest.

“Let me see it,” he simply said, fishing the orb from the chest.

The orb vanished from his hands.

“WHAT?” Cowen exclaimed.

Guss shook his head.

“Moved it into the puppet. I reasoned, if it is a piece of equipment, then it can go into a puppet normally, right?”

He half-closed his eyes, mentally checking the puppet’s descriptor.

“Nope, still says nothing on it, but if it…”

His voice trailed. Then he said slowly, “Okay. It is a piece of equipment. For real.”

“Where do you put it? There’s no place for you to wear a sphere?” Cowen enquired.

“It feels… like it sits inside you. At the centre of yourself. As if you wear it… maybe on your soul? If that makes sense.”

The orb suddenly popped in Guss’ hand, and he presented it to Cowen.

“You can check for yourself. I guess there is no way to use it without going through a puppet.”

The orb instantly vanished from Cowen’s hand. Then she swore loudly.

“Balls. It IS an artefact level item.”

Now that she had it “equipped”, she could see the entire descriptor.

Red-Speckled Marble Orb

Core

Artefact

Requires: Level 48

Provides: +1 Jab rank, +1 Disembowel rank, PRE+13, DEX+10, FOC+9, +142 health, +106 endurance, +99 mind, +2% physical damage, +1% regeneration

“And a good one for the level…”

The orb manifested itself in her hand, and she threw it at Guss, who was surprised and barely managed to catch it.

“Figure out who among yourselves should get it. As for us… scouting is out for the moment. We have the Gate back in Markandon/Othary anyway. This is as huge, if not more, than a tier two Legend, I think.”

She turned toward Jonas, saying, “We’ll run back to Grailburg and Gatepost. We have to check exactly what we have at headquarters…”

“We can come…”

“Well, not to be rude, Sims, but you guys have an Agility and endurance of a low tier three. You’ll simply slow us down across such a clear terrain. We can be at the Gate in probably two hours, maybe a bit more.”

“We can Recall.”

“Ah, you’re set up that way? Makes sense, after all, since you don’t have a Recall stone available in your zones. Okay, if you want to come, we’ll be back in Grailburg in about two. See you, Sims,” she said, before turning.

Before Jonas had even time to answer, the five-person team started to run straight toward the Othary Gate.

The six looked at each other, bewildered.

The team was waiting in the clearing. A handful of passing Professionals had thrown curious looks at them. The look of Jonas’ robe and the sword at Ira’s side marked those as Artefacts, but some of the Professionals knew the Adapted team by sight, and seeing them thus equipped was definitively out of the ordinary. Still, no one stopped to ask questions.

Of course, nobody noticed Alton’s new equipment.

“They said in about two hours.”

As if on cue, the figure of Habborlain came out of the Gate, followed in short order by Aubert, Cowen and the other two.

“Okay, Sims. Follow me. The rest of you as well, I guess. We’re headed to the scout’s headquarters,” she explained, starting to walk briskly toward one of the side streets leading into the Gate clearing.

“Margie? Do we have any orbs left around?”

“Hey, Augusta, quiet. I’m trying to read,” the Weighty Spellthrower replied. She was sitting at a small table, with a tea set infusing, and a thick heavy book on her lap.

“I’m serious.”

“Orbs? What are you talking about? Trophies?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I think Angus has put a few on display in the dining room… hey, what the?” she said, as the Imposing Knight immediately turned and headed toward the mentioned direction.

“What’s taken her?” she asked Jonas.

“I think she wants to check your orbs,” he answered.

“I’ve heard that. But what about them?”

She stopped as she saw all the Professionals filing out after Cowen without bothering to answer. Shaking her head, she put down her book next to the teapot and followed.

Once in the dining room, Cowen spotted easily the orbs. The Professional – Angus – had placed a trio of them on small decorative pedestals, obviously for aesthetic contrast: one crystalline, one metallic and one stone.

“There they are,” Margie Rutter said, waving toward the mantlepiece. Cowen beeline toward the display and grabbed one of the orbs.

The orb vanished from her hand.

“What? Happened? Where did the…”

“Sush,” Habborlain said, to everyone’s surprise.

Cowen grabbed a second orb, who immediately disappeared like the first.

“What’s happening with those orbs?” Rutter whispered to Jonas.

“She’s trying to equip them,” Jonas replied.

“What do you mean, equip…” she stopped as Cowen swore.

“Balls. Only one. It swaps them,” she said.

“Okay, Augusta, stop. What are you doing? How do you make the orbs vanish?” asked the spellcaster.

“I’m moving them into my puppet.”

“Puppet? But only gear can go into a puppet…” her voice trailed as she realized suddenly what the implication of that was.

“Yes. And we missed that for all these years. Legends don’t guard two pieces of gear. They guard three.”

“But… it doesn’t have a descriptor. I mean, it does have one, but… how do you equip an Orb? For Lord’s sake.”

“By using a puppet. It looks like the only way to move one in or out.”

The crystalline orb popped back in Cowen’s hand.

“The filigreed iron one is a defender-type one. That one’s more of a healer. Anyone remember where it came from?”

“Don’t know. Either Vokunir or Biskanta. I think. That’s the ones we’ve run for the last three years.”

“Vokunir probably then. Upper-tier four feels right for the bonus.”

“Augusta. Can you please explain to me what is going on? Please.”

“Were you around back in… 1804? 1805? No, early 1804. Back when we found out the first ring in that tier four zone? What was the name?”

“Nicamore.”

“Yea. That’s it. How huge a deal it was.”

“Yes. That was your team, I remember. Back when you were teamed with Jack Millard still. But what have rings got to do with orbs?”

Jonas raised his hand to interrupt. As both women turned toward him, he asked, “Ring?”

“Yea. Up to tier four, all everyone had found was the eight classics of equipment. One weapon or similar in each hand, boots, leggings, belt, torso, gloves, head. And then, suddenly, we started finding rings and necklaces. Once we started to open up 300+ chests, plop. Rings of all qualities. And more than a year later, necklaces at 400+ and over. Suddenly, everyone’s potential and vital totals shot up by a not-insignificant margin, because you got three new equipment slots, one ring on each hand, and a necklace, where you got an additional bonus in addition to the eight normal ones.”

“Oh.”

“Yea. I almost expected to get a ring from the Legend’s chest. Because why not.”

“What Legend chest? Where did you get a Legend chest? The last raid was a month ago?”

“In tier two. Don’t ask, I’ll explain later.”

“A Legend in tier two? Augusta, are you okay? I know Professionals don’t catch stuff, but you don’t seem to be okay. You go off on a secret mission again, you now spout nonsense about legends in tier two and rings…”

“No, I’m not okay. I’ve already had my world shaken up three times just today, so I’m a bit excitable. Okay.”

She threw off the crystalline-looking orb to Margie Rutter, who caught it without a hitch.

“Move it into your puppet, like any piece of gear, then try to equip it. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”

“What insanity is this…”

The Spellthrower’s voice stopped.

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yes. Wow. There is a twelfth equipment location. Right under our noses.”

“But what is it?”

“That guy over here,” she said, pointing out Guss, “said it was maybe like you equipped it onto your own soul. I guess that’s a good location as any. It really goes inside… yourself. That’s why you need a Labyrinth intermediary, like a puppet, to put it on.”

“That’s… exactly like an artefact.”

“It is an artefact level item. You just can’t see it because it goes inside your self, not anywhere… visible.”

Bronze-Inlaid Iron Orb

Core

Artefact

Requires: Level 438

Provides: +4 Block ranks, +2 Parry ranks, AGI+98, STA+94, CON+80, PRE+80, +1226 mind, +884 aether, +5% armour, +3% endurance economy