Before Kopius could even open his eyes to the morning light, his body reminded him of his extracurriculars from the day prior. His legs had a tightness that only rigor mortis aspired to. It took a herculean effort to stand up and, eventually, move around. No amount of light stretching eased the tension and he ended up hobbling around the open area until his gait resembled a walk.

It took some heavier stretching and a Night Owl to elevate Kopius to his default morning jovialness. He didn't bother to sit for breakfast. Instead he just grinded the dry, granola-like food and flushed it down with his remaining water.

He was actually surprised that he had as much left as he did. It was gone now; information that sat in the back of his mind. They were supposed to make the Dinoson river by midday–granted that there were no more dangerous shenanigans–so it was a light weight.

"How'd the training go, lad?" Cici finally asked, after Kopius looked somewhat approachable.

"It was interesting," Kopius replied with a big yawn. "He was drunk, finally."

"Finally?" Cici asked with a questioning laugh. "How?"

"I have no idea. Oh-jin said he was a drunk but I hadn't seen it yet."

"So what then, no training?"

"Ohhhh, we trained." Kopius replied with a grunt of his own. "He puked in between kicking my ass."

Cici listened patiently as Kopius explained what had all transpired the previous evening. About the drunkenness and the misunderstanding of Drills; how Quinn couldn't control his dash move but had no problems beating him down old-school style. The big man laughed at the weapons master's sudden realization and exit but almost picked Kopius off his feet when he heard about the leveling up. A few of his vertebrae popped during the tight embrace, a relief he didn't know he needed.

"That's fantastic Kopius," Cici beamed like some proud big brother.

"Yea, it's great," Kopius smiled back, unsure by the enthusiasm but a little caught up in it too.

"What do you mean great?" Cici practically shouted. "Your Branch magic lad, you can learn it now."

"What–no" Kopius said, waving his hands and shaking his head. "I'm not at 15 yet."

"Well sure, you're at what, 14?"

"Yea."

"What's your Intelligence at?"

"13"

"Did you spend your Attribute points yet?"

"No."

"There it is." Cici said with a wide grin and flair of his hand.

Instead of keeping up the running banter, Kopius ducked back into his memory banks to see if he was overlooking something. He knew level 15 was significant but was under the impression that he needed to have a personal level of 15 in order to wield his Branch magic. He was planning to raise his Intelligence to 15 this time anyways, so if that was the threshold–then he was ahead of the game. He gave up trying to remember what Julz had said.

"I should bring my Intelligence to 15." Kopius said but asked–but said.

Cici nodded in agreement.

"Then I can use Branch magic… " Kopius let it hang out there with no obvious punctuation.

"Well," Cici pulled up in his excitement, "You've read the book then?"

"No."

"Nah?"

Kopius shook his head.

"Well, there's that then." Cici said with a wink.

***

Inside Dashwrath's cave, where they had slept the first night here, had been reduced to ruins–less than that. As Kopius surveyed the damage for the first time he was in awe of the destruction. With the only exception being the ceiling tapestry, presumably due to a lack of reach, the space had been pulverized. No inch of decorative excellence remained. Broken shards and stones covered the smooth floor and dust still floated about giving the rays of sunlight a divine appearance.

Cici moved inside and once his big body was out of the way, Kopius saw the one other thing that remained untouched by the golems' rage: the headless statue. He wandered over to it only to find that it looked much, if not exactly, the way it had when he first saw it. The cracks and missing pieces had been rendered that way well before yesterday's soiree. Why it had been spared was a mystery he really didn't want to give much thought to.

"How far to the other side?" Kopius asked, turning away from the statue.

"Oh, I don't know," Cici said with his accent in tow. "Before dark, that much I can say."

"Are we ready?"

"That we are. Not for nothing, I am excited to see if our spirit friend left anything behind."

"Left behind? Like what?" Kopius replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I haven't a clue! That's what's exciting."

"Alright, I guess we'll see," Kopius said with little mirth. Though he hadn't seen the entire space, what he had witnessed were sparse shelves on barren walls. The items he did see looked to be more rock carvings for show rather than the real deal. Inside the hidden chamber looked like a private altar; nothing more.

***

Kopius hesitated to cross the threshold to enter the hidden chamber. Cici had wandered in without a second thought but Kopius knew better. He wasn't going to be lured in under the guise of treasure only to be trapped alive in a stone box for all eternity. No, his feet remained in the long hall with the statues, awaiting his friend's exit.

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As Cici inspected the inside, Kopius used his Night Vision skill to examine the chamber door more closely. He wasn't looking for anything; just killing time. It was equivalent to an author adding a fluff paragraph so that whatever chapter they were working on would surpass a certain work count. The action had no bearing on the story, yet there you are–the reader–slugging through it wondering the whole time: is this important to the story; should I remember this?

Several minutes into his pointless inspection, Cici made a 'hey there beautiful' whistle that danced inside the chamber and marched past Kopius's ears. The sound had wonder and awe built into it such that Kopius almost took a step in the big man's direction.

"Find something?" Kopius shouted instead. His echo was loud and intrusive.

"No need to yell," Cici answered.

"My bad."

"I'm going to need a bit of your strength here lad."

"What about the getting trapped thing?"

An audible sigh came from inside.

"Is that why you're still out there?" Cici asked in polite annoyance.

"Just being safe."

"We've talked this over," Cici mulled. "You needed the lever to open it, you'll likely need another lever to close it."

"I don't disagree with you man. I'm just," Kopius let out his own long sigh. "Paranoid?"

"Indeed," Cici's voice came out flat. "I've groped and fondled everything I can find in this room. It's safe. Now come give me a hand."

"Fine," Kopius said through gritted teeth.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, shook off his lingering paranoia, lifted his foot and took a heavy step inside. Nothing happened.

Once a few paces inside he chuckled at himself; he needed to lighten up. Cici was back in a small walk-in closet space–where the golem must have been hiding, Kopius surmised. The big man stood with his torch looking down at a knee high stone square box.

The closer Kopius got to the object, the more details he could make out. Once he was directly in front of the block he could see the top was adorned with a carving style reminiscent of an Irish knot. The sides had squares and other straight lines wandering about with no particular design.

Maybe if Kopius had not seen every other piece of art carved from the stone over the past day and a half, he might have mistaken it for a chest; a container at the minimum. The art was simple but precise; besides that it looked more like a place to sit down.

"That thing looks heavy," Kopius said after his brief examination and a glance back to double check the entrance. "You want to pick this up?"

Cici chuckled and used the torch to gesture at it. "I was thinking we should open it."

"It's solid stone," Kopius replied.

"I thought that too. Then I peeked at its backside. Have a look."

Kopius stepped inside the small space and looked behind the stone block. A metallic sheen reflected the fire light. Instead of stone hinges, two metal brackets were attached like a joint for a lid. With a nod he got closer and traced the line that would, theoretically, be a crease for a lid. A slight chill of excitement ran across the surface of his skin as he considered the information.

"Is this a treasure chest?" Kopius asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Of sorts," Cici answered, scratching his beard. "That art on the top there; this is a dowry or the like."

"Dowry? Like marriage?"

"Like marriage," Cici agreed with a nod.

"So you've seen one before?"

"I've given one," Cici replied in the most distant, thousand yard stare Kopius had ever heard from the big man.

"Doesn't sound like it had a happy ending," Kopius did his best to sound empathetic.

"It did not," Cici confided.

"Story for another time?"

"Unlikely."

Kopius nodded in understanding

"I think if we both take a corner," Cici said, jerking the conversation back to the now. He finished the sentence with a hand motion of the lid opening.

Kopius threw a thumb back towards the entrance and was about to reiterate the possible dangers when Cici gave him a look. That look said 'I will punch you in the face if you say one more word about being trapped.' There was no anger, just a stern warning; Kopius obliged.

"On three then?" Kopius asked, getting in position.

Cici nodded, already ready.

"One, two, threeeeee," Kopius strained and the two pushed in unison.

{NX: Duos II- In sync. Higher likelihood of coordination with companions.}

It took a few tries; several 'heave's' and a couple 'ho's.' At the first sound of an opening, the two redoubled their effort. The lid lifted like they were trying to pry open a clam; it creaked and cracked as it did. Once past the initial stickiness, the top opened with relative ease. The heavy lid still required both sets of muscles but it was manageable. With the container fully open, somehow not bending the metal hinges, the two companions got their first look at treasure.

Four items rested in individual, custom slots. Three of the items were equal in size and the shape of a metal ingot or a gold brick. They were evenly spaced out from side to side. Each brick had a symbol embossed at their midpoints; a segmented outline of a rhombus with four horizontal lines stacked inside.

Only two of the ingots gave off the familiar reflection of metal; one looked like silver while the other had a rose-gold sheen to it. The last one on the right had a dense crimson hue and looked like glass or crystal; it reminded him of an amethyst. Finally, the fourth item, resting in a circular divot, was a black ring with yellow fissures scarring the otherwise smooth surface.

Before Kopius could ask about any of it, the heavy hand of Cici came down on his shoulder and took a firm grasp. The suddenness made him flinch away but the big man held firm. He shot a look at Cici to see the Bard was wide-eyed, his other hand covering his mouth, gazing at the loot. Kopius shook off the feeling that he was about to get mugged–and then Cici's hand.

"Silver?" Kopius eventually asked, pointing at the ingot.

"Indeed," Cici answered, keeping his gaze locked on the purple gem.

"Bout this one?" He pointed at the rose gold brick, its color nagging the back of his mind.

"Use your ring," the big man replied with an absent waive of his hand.

Kopius shrugged. He reached out and touched the cold ingot, running his thumb across the embossment. His fingers left oily smudges and when he tried to lift the brick, found he would need both hands. Instead of removing it, he placed a flat hand down and invoked his Glimpse ring.

{NX: Santerium(Legendary)– Conductive in nature; this metal has the ability store energies among other unique qualities.}

"What's Santerium?" Kopius spoke the word as if he were sounding it out.

"Eh?" Cici slightly flinched.

"Santerium," Kopius repeated, sounding the word out like Santeria this time.

Cici physically shook from his gaze, "Santerium? That's rare, lad; practically myth" He chuckled with a bewildered look about him.

"That's what my ring says." Kopius gave a 'I don't know what to tell you' shrug.

The Bard looked back and forth between the two pieces. While Cici decided which item to be in awe of, Kopius reached down and grabbed the black ring. He tussled the item in his hand, getting a feel for its surface and a look at the yellow adornments. He used his Glimpse ring.

{NX: Stamina purification ring. Get more for less +25% efficiency}

Impressed with the descriptions, he slid the ring on after making sure Cici didn't want it. With the growing feeling that they were pressing their luck every second they stayed in the chamber, Kopius decided to forego any detailed questions. Cici obviously wanted the crystal and Kopius was drawn to the unique metal; they would split the silver when they had the chance. Kopius was going to carry it all for the time being anyways, he just needed to rearrange his inventory ring and backpack again.

Before they set out, Kopius replaced the head of the statue back at the center of the altar.

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