GIFTS OR EXCHANGE?
“Now what was so important you wanted to get me alone.”
“Is this carriage warded?” Tanner asks.
“It is, wards activate as soon as someone enters. I also warded it when I jumped in. If this is about your new discovered family, I recommend you talk to a more qualified councilor.”
Connie, taking the lead, says, “Tanner may want to talk about that, but we wanted to know about Summoned. You seemed to have knowledge that the rest of the imps do not.”
Claire says, “We want to know about the Eldritch.”
Eunice nods her head, “I can tell you what I know, it is not much. I deal with other types. Eldritch beings have no sex they do not reproduce the way many others do. They are collectors of knowledge, that seems to be their primary motivation. They have trouble relating to humans as they do not think the way we do. That goes for almost all Summoned.”
Tanner asks, “Can they be trusted?”
“I have never heard of them causing actual harm. You have to judge that sort of thing the same way you do for anyone else. Some beings are untrustworthy, others always tell the truth and can be reliable. Others never lie but they never tell the entire truth. Then some are in between just like the rest of us. Why?”
Tanner sighs, “When it touched my head it knew my Affinity.”
“That is when we all attacked.”
“Yes, they warned us to stop you. They seemed concerned about the potential damage. I think they knew or suspected Connie and I’s Affinities, they asked us if they could scan us. Tanner said it did not hurt so we let it.”
“That was very foolish,” Eunice scolds.
Tanner scoffs, “Like we could stop them? You have no idea how powerful that thing was. We just want to know if we can trust them.”
“Tanner it is just like anyone else you need to judge on how they interacted with you.”
Tanner leans back and looks at the three women, “I’m inclined to trust them.” Pulling out the bag he was given, he shows it to Eunice.
“I do not see any harmful effects associated with that. What is it?”
Tanner stabs a slight wound in his thumb and presses the bloody drop into the bag. The bag dissipates into sparkles and is pulled into his abdomen. Shaking his head a little, Tanner looks at his status sheets, “No defects showing, my Body Stats went up by 28 points, Mind is up by 27. Oh I have a new category showing under Talent. It reads Abilities? Never heard of that.”
Eunice says, “Me either can I see your Status Sheet?”
“My party is full.”
“Oh that is not a problem you can show your sheets to anyone you don’t need a party. It is just more private in a party. When showing to a non-party member others around you can see it. We wanted you guys to get in the habit of keeping things secret. Since there is no one in here but us, it is okay. Just think show public status.”
Tanner shows his full sheet to everyone in the carriage. Connie gasps, “How are your stats so high? I don’t see Abilities.” Claire and Eunice shake their heads and both agree with Connie it is not showing.
“Intense training Connie. None of you can see it?” Tanner asks. “It is right under Talent, It reads Abilities: Inventory, and Eldritch language. When I select it I have a window with several boxes showing. Claire, Connie why don’t you two bond yours. Let’s see what happens.” Tanner says as he hands his cleaned knife to the girls.
“Wait all three of you have one?”
The girls nod as they prick their thumbs and bond the bags. After watching the bags bind to the girls, she observes, “And they are soul bound.”
“They apparently are an internal storage item, at least that is what it feels like. Girls can you show your status sheets so we can compare.”
As Connie and Claire show their sheets Eunice states, “I see nothing about Abilities on any of your sheets.” Tanner, Claire, and Connie can see Abilities showing.
Claire shakes her head. “I do not understand I can see Connie and Tanner's sheet and Abilities are showing plain as daylight.”
“It maybe you can’t see it if you don’t have it?” Connie asks.
“That is my thinking also.” Eunice says, “We will have to investigate more tomorrow. Anything else to share?”
“It said it was going to give us books on our Affinities, but I just see a stack of odd crystals and a tab that says money.”
Eunice takes a deep breath. “Okay back up a bit. The creature gave each of you soul bound storage bags?”
“Tanner nods his head and says, “Yes and we saw it put items into each bag then it handed them to us.”
Eunice holds out her hand. “Let us take things one step at time. The item it gave you is a soul bound storage, you bound it. You have a new entry on your status sheets that no one else can see but you three. It is listed as inventory under the heading of Abilities. What do you see when you select inventory?”
Tanner answers, “A window filled with a grid of ten by twenty boxes. And another widow tab that reads money.”
Eunice frowns, “With a normal storage item you mentally reach in and feel what you want to draw out, there is no visual component.”
Connie asks, “Is this because what we have is internal and the others are external?”
“That is the second time one of you has said it is internal, why do you feel that way?”
Claire says, “It feels like it is inside some way or maybe right beside?”
The other two nod in agreement.
“Normal storage items do not feel anything like that they just feel like a piece of jewelry on your person. That you mentally grasp to use. Are any of these boxes occupied?”
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Tanner speaks up. “Yes I have one box out of two hundred with some kind of odd looking crystals, but it told us it was giving us books about our Affinities.” Tanner suddenly has his hands full of several square glowing objects. Counting them out, he finds twenty-two. As he shuffles through them, he gets a distant look.
Eunice gasps and says in a strangled voice, “Tanner those are memory crystals, Rare grade memory crystals.”
“I guess these are the books he promised us.” Tanner says with a grin, as they disappear, “They cover my Arcane Affinity, everything. There is one on Arcane, and one on each Prime, Sub-Prime, and Basic. Goddess, no wonder it told us to keep them secret. Huh? Once I read the titles and stored them, they went into separate boxes.”
Claire and Connie, hands full of memory crystals laugh, sorting the crystals and replacing them back into storage. The three Origin holders lean back and gaze at a speechless Eunice. With vacant eyes, Connie asks if anyone has checked the money tab. “Oh we are rich,” she exclaims.
Tanner and Claire look at the money screen. Tanner says, “I’m not sure what I am looking at. One box has copper, one silver, one gold, and one platinum? What is the next three? And what are those colored crystals?”
Claire tells the other two, “That is platinum the next two are mythria and adumantitum. The last coin stack is dagmotium I think, I have never seen it. The last three are used by banks to transfer enormous sums. I think the crystals are mana crystals. Wow do you see the number in each box?”
“Wait each stack is 999 except for the last three coins wonder why only three each of those? The different colored mana crystals are all 999?” Connie asks.
Eunice says, “Let’s take a look at these. Coins first.” Connie hands her a coin of each denomination. After looking them over, Eunice sighs and tells the younger passengers that Claire is correct. “100 coppers equals one silver, 100 silver equals one gold. 100 gold equals one platinum. This is just regular spending coin. 1,000 platinum equals one mythria, 1,000 myth equals one adumantium, 1,000 adum equals one dagonthril. You have more wealth here than some districts. Let’s see the crystals please.” Claire hands her one each of the crystal stacks. “Okay, the gray ones are worth around five silver each, used for crafting. The white mana crystals are around ten silver same use. You can sell the green for around 50 silver, and the blue for ten gold each. The purple 100 gold each. You do not have any other colors, do you?”
“No just those. Why are there other colors?” Tanner asks.
“Yes orange, gold, red, and cyan. Thankfully you don’t have any of those, it is bad enough you have 999 of the green, blue, and purple. I have a stress headache, several of them all at once.”
Connie, recovering from her shock, asks, “What do we do with all of this, it is too much.”
“The money we will deposit in the Church bank and the Imperial Bank. The gray mana crystals we will crush to powder we can get more per pound than we can get per crystal, and white mana crystals half to powder and sell the other half, a few at a time. Otherwise we will tank the market. The other colored crystals are used whole for enchanted items. You can only sell a few at a time of each color. Only three each of the green at one time. The other two colors will look suspicious if you sell them at all. You will need to let one of us sell them. It may not be a bad idea for the imps to sell all the crystals, come to think of it. We would be more likely to have them for drops than you three.”
Claire says, “No I get the impression Barty thinks we may need all of this. If you remember it said we must survive. This would give us some pretty good gear.”
Eunice frowns in thought, then says, “You can only use gear made with gray and white right now. The green at Tier One, the blue at Tier Two and the purple at Tier Three. You will have more than enough to outfit your entire party at each Tier up to three and in to Tier Four. That maybe what it planned on, if it wants you to survive.”
Claire asks, “Does that count as too much help? I know the dungeon's will react to some things it considers unfair.”
Eunice shakes her head, “No equipment is self limiting, you can only equip so much enchanted gear. Once you go beyond that limit the gear will kill you. It is not fast nor is it pretty. The rich and powerful equip their sons and daughter’s with the best gear their money can buy so it would not be unprecedented. Although the gear you can obtain is beyond what most can afford.”
Connie asks, “just how much money did Barty give us?” “In spending coin alone just over 500,000 thousand gold. Add in the bank transfer coins and you are looking at millions of gold. Each.” Connie, getting over her shock says, “That’s too much, we can’t except that. Can we give it back?”
Eunice smiles at her, “That is your first thought? Too much and give it back? You dear, are a very rare young woman, Tanner, Claire. I approve she is a keeper.” Eunice leans back and studies the trio of teenagers.
Tanner, still looking pale and shockey, says, “We can offer it back if we ever meet Barty again. I really don’t think they will take it back though. I believe money means nothing to them. Also I don’t think they understand the valve of money.”
Claire nods her head. “Or the knowledge we gave it was worth all of this to Barty.”
“I don’t see how I am worth this much.”
Tanner and Claire exchange looks, and Claire nods at him. Tanner looks Connie in the eyes and says, “You are worth that and much more.”
Claire smiles, also looking her in the eyes, takes her hand and says. “You are.”
After a few moments of silence Eunice says, “Tanner can ask his aunt on Fourthday about giving anything back to Barty. Just give general information. Do not give specific amounts. It may be an insult to even try to give it back. So keep this in mind you three may be stuck with the horror of being some of the wealthiest first year delvers in the world.”
Connie says, “I don’t have the first idea of what to do with all this.” Eunice reaches across the carriage and pats her hand, “You will take wealth management classes along with Claire and Tanner this year. It is taught in second year as delvers tend to be wealthy, when we combine long lives and compound interest. Tanner and Claire were scheduled because they are going to inherit the Alexander and Contigo fortunes.” “Well my parents aren’t rich how do I justify taking the course in first year?” Claire and Tanner nod their heads, agreeing with Connie.
Eunice laughs hard at them. Gasping for breath she says “Sorry, sorry, I do not mean to laugh at you three but everyone with eyes to see can look at the three of you and know you will be together. Connie, you will need to take the course when you three become a trio, so we put you in now. That will cover questions.”
Claire sits straighter. “We have not talked about any of that. Tanner and I haven’t professed our love for one another.” Claire’s blush travels from her hair into the neckline of her dress, while Tanner and Connie both red faced look at Eunice, speechless.
Eunice subsides into a gentle smile, “Now that the ice is broken, I want the three of you to schedule a standing appointment with a relationship councilor, find one that works for the three of you. You will do this tomorrow after we register your Status Sheets. Okay?”
Claire says, “We are taking everything slow, uh, Tanner and I. We have not talked to Connie about anything. We just met today.”
“Okay lets try this then, Claire how do you feel about Tanner? Be honest.”
“I love him.”
“And how do you feel about Connie?”
“It is too soon, but I want her in my, our lives in the same way as Tanner.”
“Connie your turn. How do you feel about Tanner?”
Connie sighs. Her face has a look of longing. “I fell in love with them both the first time a saw them.”
Eunice chuckles, “You skipped a step, but that is okay. Tanner your turn, How do you feel about.”
Tanner holds up his hand and kneels in front of the two. “Claire, I have loved you from the first moment I saw you at Volks Harbor. Your warm brown eyes met mine, and I noticed how the red highlights in your lustrous brown hair shined in that instance. How your lips formed the smile that lit up your face. It seemed like it was meant for me alone. I wanted to lose myself in that smile. Connie, I have loved you from the moment you walked into the auditorium. The light from the door back lit your form. The sun reflecting off of your hair made you seem like a goddess of fire. As you got closer, I saw your green eyes gleam from the shadows covering your face, like some exotic creature sent to entice me into a life of happiness.”
Connie breaks the quiet. “You felt all that?”
Tanner nods and says, “I did and still do. I love you both in all ways.”
The two women slide off the bench seat, embracing Tanner and each other. Embracing, the three enjoy their love as the coach stops.
Eunice, blotting tears from her eyes, says, “Tanner that was so beautifully said, I almost fell in love myself.” Claire and Connie laugh and say, “Hands off our man.”
“The reason I pushed this is unresolved things like this can become a serious issue in the dungeon. Anything from a distraction at a key moment to party members fighting amongst themselves. You don’t have to get married or fall into bed with each other. Take your relationship at your pace, just know powerful feelings need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Okay?” As Eunice gives her last bit of advice, the carriage stops at the palace,
The trio Chorus, “Yes ma’am.” as they climb out.
“Stop calling me ma’am.” The four friends laugh as they join the other Imps.
