[Bloodstones: 7,530]

Daiden felt a burden lift from his chest at the sight of his current capital. He folded his arms with a satisfied expression and dispersed his Mioveroldian Page. After some thought, he removed his spatial ring and trusted it to an employee at the GCQI. He then turned to Amora and requested the ring’s delivery to the Ironside family.

“That should be fine,” said Amora, with a nod. She shifted to Daiden and eyed the item in his hand. “Is that what you were talking about?”

Briefly after Amora offered free access to one of GCQI’s many services, Daiden unveiled the key he had obtained from the raid against King Erlendur. He scratched at the rusted exterior and cautiously handed it over to Amora. She examined it with her thumb, pressing against an edge, and flipped it back over to her visitor.

“Follow me,” said Amora. She walked across several tables, towards a smaller room. On the inside, a short man hurried over to their side. He tossed and turned, with a weird expression on his face, rolling on the floor even, and smelling Daiden on occasion. Finally, he retreated to a corner and snickered. He curled into a ball and rocked back and forth, repeatedly, at a gentle pace.

“Why are you here…why are you here?” the man asked, incoherently. “Do you have any treasures?”

“Ah, this is Rik,” introduced Amora, nervously. “As you can see, he’s a little…different.”

“I can see that…” said Daiden, forcing a laugh to ease his discomfort.

“You’ll get used to it,” said Amora. “Rik is an appraiser. He works with a lot of items, and in his own time, he tinkers with a lot of raw products and ores. It changed him, to say the least.”

“Changed? No, no,” said Rik, immediately. “Rik doesn’t change. The fumes change Rik. Would you like to learn how to inhale fumes?”

Daiden shivered when Rik wrapped around the former’s waist. “You smell nice. You have potential, with…clothes! Clothes!”

“What?” asked Daiden, interested now. “What do you mean?”

“Amora is good with hammer, not so much with crafts,” said Rik, bluntly. He scratched his stubble, his features on display – square-jawed, with short, white hair, and fiercely passionate, green eyes. Daiden noticed his unusually thick fingers the most. Rik leaned to one side, then the other, in a sway and scurried behind his table. “You, you are Takshaka’s Descendant! I can smell the story on you, of the being purged from history!”

Daiden pursed his lips, taken aback by the revelation. He gauged Amora’s reaction as well. He painfully swallowed back on dry saliva, frozen as the latter formed an expression. Puzzlement. Daiden sighed with relief in that moment. He massaged his neck and rested into easy breaths. “You can smell the story? Purged from history…I do not understand…”

“You won’t!” declared Rik, simply. “Not yet. Takshaka, Takshaka will reveal it when you’re ready. In the chapters to come. Isn’t that why you hold onto the book, the verses?”

Daiden turned to Amora and checked, “You called him an appraiser. But is there more to his profession than just that?”

“Um, more to his profession?” repeated Amora, cocking her head to one side. “Are you referring to his manner of speech?”

“No, no,” said Daiden, shaking his head. “Are appraisers also historians perhaps?”

“Ah!” said Amora, in sudden realization. She nodded excitedly and added, “It’s different for different appraisers, some specialize in a field or two, while others expand on their knowledge across multiple domains.

“They’re the oldest among us, usually.”

Daiden nodded along to the explanation. He eyed Amora cautiously, and then Rik. His chest hollowed from a little tension. He spat a sigh and risked a question aimed at the appraiser. “Why was this Takshaka purged from history?”

Rik placed his hands on his hips and hummed. He hummed more. “No. No! Rik cannot say. It’s too early… Read your book.”

Daiden frowned at the response but decided against pursuing the matter. He placed the key on the table and slid it over to Rik. “I need an appraisal of this item.”

“Rik will oblige!” said the appraiser, snatching the key from the table. He used his loupe to stare into the details, examine the material, and burst into a laugh soon after. He pulled a mixer from the corner of his table and then a kit with several vials of coloured liquids and powders. His fingers tapped on the corks in a sequence and settled once atop the seventeenth, a strangely pink liquid. He grinded it against a white powder and poured the mixture into a solvent. In a swirl, the liquid slowly lost colour. Rik dipped the key into the container next, from both sides, clearing away the rust without issue. He dried the item on a soft cloth and removed the blemishes with sandpaper.

The key shone against the light now, a brilliant brown. On closer observation, Daiden noticed a complex design, carved with a delicate, needle-like precision. He felt the cuts again, across his fingers, only sharper and more defined. It pulled his attention with an unnatural radiance.

“This is unprecedented!” exclaimed Amora, agape. She turned to Rik in a hurry and noticed him smile in agreement. “It’s a key to King Erlendur’s vault, a dungeon. Daiden Lost, I don’t know what to say. This is extremely rare loot!”

“How do I access it?” asked Daiden, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of information.

“You’ll need to follow its aeter mark to a door,” explained Amora. “It’s likely to be in Multana Desert, given the Sand King’s territorial presence there.”

Amora paused for a moment. She rested her excitement and added, “I would recommend holding onto it for now. Monarchical Domains are often unidirectional. You’ll be unable to exit until clearing the dungeon once inside, and the stories…well, they’re hardly peaceful.

“High risk, high reward. This is your reward for beating the Sand King, Daiden Lost! Cherish it, but also plan it well. I doubt you’ll be commissioning someone else to the task.”

Daiden shook his head slowly. “Right. Maybe after I’m made Captain.”

“Yes, the Empire is usually eager to approve such expeditions,” revealed Amora. “You’ll be taxed on the treasures inside, but there’s no denying that it’s a safer option. I forgot that you’re a High Ranker!”