<25 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER, A+> [Theo and Julia] Theo smiled and held up the box. "This is something that we were advised by Argo to show you, Patriarch Karzun."

"Its a strange box..." Gurndin said, looking, "May I lad?"

Theo nodded and handed him the box and, in the same motion, put the Ring of Eternal Mourning back on. The Dwarf looked at it, his eyes shimmered for a moment, and then he began to laugh. Not a calm, collected laugh. He laughed a laugh that border lined on crazy. He handed the box to Patriarch Karzun. "Go ahead an' try to Identify that."

"What in the..." Patriarch Karzun said with a tone of shock. "What in the System is this?"

"It's a box that was made as an effect of our System pact with System Construct D-0. We need to show you what is inside, but we thought that you should hear the description." Julia said as she Identified the box and read the description. "This is the Box of Sorrin. The will of the long-dead God-Wyrm created this out of honor to the new family. Let this be a permanent reminder that Primordial Flight is not always a bad thing. A Contract Between System Users Theo Sorrin, Julia Sorrin, and System Construct D-0 has brought this box into creation. A Contract Between System Users Theo Sorrin, Julia Sorrin, and System Construct D-0 prevents any who are not Users Theo Sorrin and Julia Sorrin from accessing or interfacing with the box. The box is considered indestructible by The System."

Patriarch Karzun's eyes had grown wider and wider, a truly shocked look on his face. He said the next words carefully. "Theo, Julia... Please tell me what is in the box?"

Theo reached forward and opened the box, letting them look in. Patriarch Karzun took in a sharp breath, a strange look washing over his face. Fear, awe, greed, and sheer disbelief mixed on the ancient dragon's face. Then, the power flooded over Patriarch Karzun and Lord Gurndin. Gurndin spoke with sheer disbelief. "By the deep stone! What is that? The power that this thing contains...."

Gurndin trailed off and then turned to his men. "This never leaves here. Maintain this barrier; the rest of you make sure no one else enters. Now then, what is it?"

Theo shrugged. "Argo did not say when he saw it; he just said that we should show you."

"This is divinity." Patriarch Karzun said, his voice filled with awe. "Or a piece of it. This is a scale from the heart of the God-Wyrm. If you try and Identify it, nothing will happen as it is from long before the System, and it has protections that the System dare not toy with."

"This is..." Patriarch Karzun looked conflicted. "Theo, Julia, I could give you everything that I possess and send all of my progeny to serve you for eons, and it would not compare to the value that this holds. But as it is something that might well be considered a divine relic for all dragon kind, I must ask what will it take for you to give this to me. And before you assume the worst, I, Amadylaren Karzun, Patriarch of the Karzun family, hereby swear upon the System that I, nor any member of my Family will harm any member of the Family Sorrin in an effort to get this item from them. I also swear to keep the contents of this box a secret unless allowed to speak of it by Family Sorrin."

After a massive thrum of power, Patriarch Karzun carefully closed the box and then handed it back to Julia, even though it looked like it pained him to do so. Gurndin nodded, "I think that's the right move. I Gurndin the Darksmasher, Head of Clan Stonewrend swear on the System that neither I nor my clan will harm the Family Sorrin an' we promise to keep this secret all the way to the Origin Stone."

Another thrum of power, and everyone seemed to be more at ease. Theo looked at Julia, who had conflicting emotions on her face. Theo looked at Patriarch Karzun. "Patriarch Karzun, we don't know what that means. I can make inferences that this is important based on what you said, but we don't actually have any frame of reference for what you are trying to get from us."

Julia nodded. "I think that we are willing to come to an agreement, but you would need to explain to us why this is so valuable."

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Gurndin looked at Patriarch Karzun with raised eyebrows. Patriarch Karzun looks thoughtful. "That is... That is difficult. The System does not like people who have not met certain requirements knowing certain things."

"I have a proposal," Theo said, taking the box from Julia and handing it to Patriarch Karzun. "We will leave this in your hands. Your reaction to it has already told me that it would bring more trouble than it's worth. We will leave it in the Box of Sorrin, but you will keep the box. This way, it is still technically ours, but you get to ensure its safety and that it does not fall into the hands of an enemy as I imagine that a piece of the God-Wyrm would be bad in enemy hands."

Patriarch Karzun nodded. "It would. But Theo, why would you give this up? What do you expect in return?"

"Honestly," Theo said, "nothing. If at a later date you want to help us or you need the scale, please feel free to reach out, and we would love to discuss it. But at the end of the day, we are just starting on our path; the scale and even the box that contains it are things that we have little reason to worry about right now. Especially since the scale seems to be so important to you. So please, hold this for us, and at a later date, if we are able to learn what we might use the scale for, or if you have a use for it, we can revisit this."

Patriarch Karzun nodded. "Very well."

The box disappeared. Patriarch Karzun nodded to Theo and Julia. "I look forward to working with your Family for a long time to come."

With that, Gurndin nodded to the Dwarf standing behind him, and the dark energy that they had been shrouding them from the others fell away. Gurndin nodded. "Lord Sorrin, Lady Sorrin, as always, it's a pleasure."

Lord Gurndin turned and called out for Clan Stonewrend to gather. He took a tiny anvil from somewhere and an equally tiny hammer and then tapped the hammer on the anvil, and a peeling sound like a bell ripped a hole in space, and the dwarves left through it.

>Local Message: Universal Translation Deactivated

"Very well, we shall leave as well. And the Joolnar girls will be following as well." Patriarch Karzun said, nodding to Agara, who began channeling a skill. "Thank you, Lord Sorrin, Lady Sorrin."

Agara opened the blue door that he had summoned, and Patriarch Karzun walked through, followed by everyone else. Finally, it was only Sylvi and her mother.

"Lord Sorrin, Lady Sorrin, I just wanted to say thank you for sticking up for Sylvi," Dentalia said. "I will be straightening some things out when I get home."

The tone that she used when she said that made Theo wonder if Sylvi's siblings had any idea what they were in for. He smiled at the woman. "We loved having her here, and she is more than welcome any time. As are you or your family as long as they can respect their siblings."

"Fair enough," Dentalia said with a nod to them both, "I will go ahead and tell Agara to hold the door as long as you need Sylvi."

Sylvi nodded, and Dentalia walked towards the doorway. She looked up at Theo and Julia, sadness on her face. "Thank you."

Julia smiled at her, "You don't need to thank us, Sylvi. We really did enjoy having you here, and you helped us a lot."

Theo nodded, "And I meant what I said; you are welcome any time. I'm sure Julia would love having you around to talk about runes."

Julia nodded, "Next time we find a Sigil Lexicon, we will send you a message so that you can come and study it with me."

Sylvi smiled and hugged Julia. "Thanks, Julia."

She looked at Theo and smiled before turning to leave. She walked through the door, and Agara nodded to them both before pulling the door closed.

A couple of hours later, Nyzzara Yellkyn, the elder of the village, approached them as they sat on the bench that Theo had constructed on the cliffside. "Lord and Lady Sorrin."

"Nyzzara," Julia said with a smile and a nod to her. "What can we do for you?"

"We are ready to depart, and I wanted to say thank you," Nyzzara said, looking awkward, "we are not a gentle people, and I heard that you had already received a warning about us. When we reached out to find out what our options were, we were fairly resigned to the outcome. But you helped us, so thank you."

"Not a problem," Theo said, "we are neighbors, and I think that I can speak for us all when I say that it would be better to be allies than enemies."

"I can agree to that." Nyzzara Yellkyn nodded. "But I digress; I must depart. I was told that you should let Lamalla know when you are next going to the Deep Mirror Retreat; she will provide a sufficient reward for you there. Thank you, and goodbye."

With that, the demon-looking woman sprinted away and vanished into the tree line.

Theo and Julia walked back and found Ordus, Kreldar, Harbek, and the five other dwarves who had not been sent away with Yordo and his mother. They all looked tired. Theo nodded at them, "No work today; let's all take the rest of the day off, and that way, we can start fresh tomorrow. That sounds like a good idea?"

Kreldar translated, and the dwarves all smiled.

Theo and Julia immediately went to their small camp and fell asleep, the weight of the past few days finally lifting off of their shoulders.

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