As Garrett and his companions rounded the next corner, they slowed down as the pathway split in two. One direction lead down the hallway and continued on. None of them were able to see what was down that pathway. The other had a metal door covered in patches of rust. There weren't any sounds coming out of either path.

"So, which way are we supposed to take, Zerat?" Garrett asked, switching his gaze between the two pathways.

"I don't know what is behind the door. It wasn't there when I had come through," Zerat said, eyeing up the door. "Course, it's been a few years. They mighta changed things."

"It's sounding like then we should continue down the hallway," Vanessa said, turning to Garrett and Jerten. "But, I shall follow you, whichever path you decide to follow, Sir Bates." She smiled her large, toothy grin at Garrett. Jerten looked at the paths ahead, then at Garrett for the deciding factor.

"Alright then," Garrett said, bending down and picking up a smooth rock. He carefully marked one side by etching it with his sword. "Time for the usual deciding factor." He flicked the rock into the air. "Heads, we go through the door, tails, we go down the hallway," Garrett said as the rock spun in midair. Everyone watched as the rock danced in the air before clattering on the ground. "Heads. We're going in through the door."

Vanessa translated what occurred to Jerten, who nodded in understanding and readied his crossbow, arms shaking. Vanessa pulled out her sketchbook and was prepared to record down whatever might happen. Garrett slowly opened the door and peered inside.

From the small sliver, he could see swords hanging along the wall. There weren't any sounds of anyone inside, so he slowly pushed the door open further. The room was brightly lit up from a large crystal in the ceiling. Various weapons, ranging from lances to axes to crossbows were scattered around the room, along with some armor. Besides the equipment, there was a door on the other side of the room and no one else in the room at all.

"It's clear," Garrett said, relaxing his grip. As he was about to head in, Jerten stopped him and said something to him.

"The room might be trapped," Vanessa translated. "Correct! We can't deny the possibility." The three of them looked at each other, then looked at Zerat. With a sly smile, Vanessa tossed Zerat into the room. "Let us know if you die!" Garrett, upon seeing Zerat being tossed in, immediately held up his shield.

"I'm just a hat!" Zerat shouted back, landing near some armor. "How am I supposta trigger any traps that might be here?"

"Well, do you see any traps?" Vanessa asked, hiding behind Jerten, who was hiding behind Garrett.

Zerat looked around at the room. "Looks clear."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Vanessa asked, still keeping her distance from the door entrance.

"Cause if I were lying, and y'all died on me, then I'd be stuck in here!" Zerat said, looking around again. "Look, as far as I can tell, it's all clear."

Garrett slowly began to walk into the room, shield still up. Jerten and Vanessa followed quickly after, looking around the room for any signs of traps. "Okay, looks like we're all clear," Jerten had said, which Vanessa translated.

"Well, if Jerten says there aren't any traps, then I'm certain this room is safe," Garrett said, shutting the door behind them. "So, this is an armory?" He began looking at the various swords and armor that were littered around the room. "None of this stuff looks like things goblins would use."

"They look like they were stolen from other adventures," Vanessa said, looking through some old books she found in a bag. "These goblins must have been collecting for a while. I heard tales of young adventurers trying their luck and dying to the Darge, but I didn't think it was this bad."

"There's gotta be at least the junk of 25 adventurers in here," Zerat said, observing everything.

"I wonder if anything here is better than what I'm already wearing," Garrett said, looking down at his armor and weapons. Sure, they were technically crafted by Otris, but he doubted that they were the best, especially given how weak of a Duken Otris is. Slowly, he began to take off his armor and replace it with a sturdier set that he found. Next, he replaced the shield, and finally the sword. He also grabbed a few of the throwing axes that were around and a whip. As he looked at the pile of stuff and began to slowly put it in his backpack, he was surprised to find that the backpack adjusted to fit everything neatly. "Figures Otris would give me a magical bag," he said to himself. As he finished packing, he turned to his companions.

Jerten had picked up a second crossbow, as well as suiting up in some chainmail, including a helmet that obscured his face. Vanessa, on the other hand, had equipped some light armor that she wore under her apron. Meanwhile, Zerat sat on the ground, looking longingly at a set of armor that was nearby.

"Something wrong, Zerat?" Garrett asked, approaching the talking hat.

"Yeah, having to be carried around is frankly embarrassing and humiliating," Zerat said. "Look, just set me on the armor, and I'll less of a burden on y'all."

Garrett looked up to Vanessa, who was busy posing and showing off her armor to Jerten to notice Zerat. "Alright, but don't make me regret doing this," Garrett said as he picked up Zerat and placed him on the set of armor.

"Whew! Finally!" A magical blue glow came from Zerat, which slowly trickled down and enveloped the armor. As it reached the feet, the armor began to clatter wildly, drawing the attention of Vanessa and Jerten.

"Sir Bates! What did you do with the hat?" Vanessa asked, hiding behind Jerten.

"What he did was finally give me something I can use," Zerat said, his voice no longer coming from the hat, but from the armor the hat was on. It slowly rose up on its own, like it was possessed and pulled together as if someone invisible had put it on. "Ah, feels good to be able to stretch again." The set of armor stretched and did some small gestures to get accustomed to the new body. "Thanks Garrett. I knew you were a good one."

"So, now the hat is a set of armor?" Vanessa asked, slowly coming out from behind Jerten. Slowly, she pulled out her notebook and began to sketch the scene down. "Picturesque! Sir Bates meeting a hat who can possess whatever wears it!"

"Now, let's see if I still remember how to do this." Zerat focused, the hands of the armor glowing brightly before Zerat pointed them forward, unleashing a small blast of energy from them against the wall. It knocked a few rocks loose and a couple of weapons off the wall, leaving behind a small scorch mark. "Imma little rusty, but I still got it."

"You can shoot energy?" Garrett asked, both amazed and terrified.

"A minor amount of Xir for now," Zerat said, slowly opening and closing the fingers, "I'm sure with time and practice, I'll be able to tap into my real power and unleash some fireworks."

"Well, it seems we've gotten all we can out of this room," Garrett said, looking towards the door at the other end of the room. He slowly walked towards it and the others followed. "Let's continue on. The treasure awaits us."