The warrior-caste and elder Vehenna arrived with Vael guiding them through the traps. "Good. I want a full catalogue of what is here before we take it back."
The elder nodded and pulled out a scroll, "Of course, my Lady."
Lyn stood next to the elder as the warrior-caste removed the various items from the room. But one of the pieces caught her eye – an ornate choker that seemed to match the armor. "Let me see that," she instructed the man who had picked it up to place into a satchel. He handed it to her reverently, and she looked over it with a critical eye. Ah, a storage inscription. A fairly advanced type of inscription to create, and this one was extremely intricate, because it combined math using Elenthir numbers. I hated math. "Vehenna, your parchment and quill for a moment."
The woman handed them to Lyn, and she did some quick math on the back. Whoever decided storage spells used algebra was a real asshole. First, she had to translate the inscription from Elenthir to English, and then do a complex formula. But, after five minutes of putting her answer back into the equation, she came out with the maximum storage capacity. 125 cubic feet. She handed the parchment back to the elder and put the choker on. The armor seemingly melted away to allow her to affix it.
Let's see what's in here. She diverted the roiling, calm, bubbling mana in her chest into the choker, and felt it respond. Storage external spells created pocket dimensions tied in relative space to the item that activated them – and only the person using the spell could see and interact with the extradimensional space. This one was empty. Disappointing. She let the mana dissipate and the aperture shut.
The remaining fifteen minutes passed and the elder bowed. "My Lady, the coins will require re-counting, but I estimated the total at 15,000 Gold Eagles, and an equal amount of the other currencies."
"Thank you. I want the body enhancing tinctures brought to my chambers. Then, elder, I want you to attend me."
"My Lady?"
"You are the one who treated my wrist injury, correct?"
"Yes, my Lady."
"Good. I plan on utilizing all the body enhancing items as soon as possible. The pain will be excruciating, and I need you to ensure I do not die again. We're doing this as fast as possible."
Vehenna's eyes went wide, but she nodded firmly, "Yes, my Lady. Whatever you decree."
Lyn left the chamber, flanked by Gael and Vael. "You two will guard my chambers. One inside, one outside, until it is done."
"Sir!" the recruit rode up to Kory.
He turned to the young man. No older than fifteen. His mercenary outfit used recruits to scout the mountains surrounding valley. Kory and fighters mostly stuck to the pass leading into the dark forest surrounding the dread fortress. "Report!" He shouted, channeling years of leading armies and his father's military-household upbringing into his tone.
"Sir! I spotted a man scaling the mountains. Entering the forbidden territory!"
Kory narrowed his eyes, "Describe them."
Almost all monsters' bodies flowed with mana naturally, and would be able to harm her. Still, despite all the other qualifiers, it was an excellent addition to her body. And, she thought, looking at Gael as she handed back his knife, letting her gaze linger on his muscles. Ironhide does nothing to your sensitivity. She would be able to enjoy her body just as much as she had before, and that brought a salacious smile to her lips.
Gael utilized a simple verse to put water into the tub, and after rinsing the excess from her body, Lyn drained the tub before drying it by simply letting her mana flow into her mana channels, heating the air around her. The roiling in her core was still present, however, and she ordered Gael to pull up another huge bucket as she ejected a stream of lava into it. He immediately quenched it, and she felt the bubbling resume its low simmer. It didn't do this in the armor, she thought as Vehenna prepared the next tincture. Maybe the armor and weapon sort of...tame the core? She glanced at the next one and felt a chill go down her spine. Fuck. That one is going to suck. Or it would, if not for Trisha's work. The liquid was poured over her, and she repeated the process – inside and outside of her body. Why does this one have to be sticky like syrup?
"What brings you by?" Ben shouted as Thomas landed his wyvern in the empty, just-fertilized pasture that was being prepared for planting. Several of the healing trainees cleared the field and ran past Ben, and the warrior trainees took up boxer stances. "Oh, calm down, it's just the Knowledge hero," he said as the healers passed by. "You're perfectly safe." They slowed slightly but kept walking away. The warriors lowered their stance and slowly resumed their labor, keeping an eye on the two heroes.
Thomas dismounted and went around the front of the massive, winged creature, pulling out a strip of jerky and feeding it to him. "Who's a good Hector? You are!" The creature purred – a mix between a draconic growl and a jungle cat purring. "Alright, you can go hunt the wild animals, none of them with brands or collars. Understood?" The wyvern nodded and launched itself into the sky, circling off to the North. Thomas turned and gasped as Ben gave him a bear hug.
"How have you been?!" Ben asked with a chortle as he cracked Thomas' back from the force of his gesture. Setting the thinner man down he waved his hand in front of his face, "You stink."
Thomas chuckled and took a sip from his hip flask, "And you got fat."
Ben laughed, "Hey, a boxer's body isn't always cut lean. I'm in my bulk phase right now."
Lyndra and Lawry ran up to the Knowledge hero, "Uncle Thomas!" Lyndra shouted as she raised her hands to be lifted.
Thomas laughed and lifted the kid up, "How are you doing kiddo?"
"You're smelly," she giggled. "I got to ride the pony again!"
Thomas nodded, "Wow! You're getting big. And how are you getting along with your brothers?"
She pouted, "Eli is spending for-e-ver on Epona."
Thomas gave Ben a look, "Really? You named the pony after a video game horse?"
Ben picked Lawry up with a chuckle, "Do you remember Uncle Thomas?" Lawry nodded shyly before burying his face in his dad's shoulder. "It's always good to see you, Thomas. But this is an out-of-the-blue visit. What brings you by?"
Thomas' face darkened and he set Lyndra down. "We need to talk. All three of us."
Ben picked up the tonal shift immediately and nodded, setting Lawry down. "Hey, buddy. I need you to go with your sister, go get Eli, and do a big, important errand. Can you do that? Can you be my big man?" Lawry nodded and Ben reached into his pocket, pulling out 20 Silver Kestrels. "Go and get Jeremy." Lawry nodded again at the reference to one of the oldest trainees at Ben's boxer-fighting school, a man who Ben loved like a brother and the kids treated like family. "You give him five of these, and he'll take you three into town. Go get some honey bread."
Both children's eyes lit up and they ran off to get their brother. Ben chuckled at their enthusiasm, but his demeanor darkened as his eyes met Thomas'. "Is it bad?"
Thomas squinted and looked to the South, "It might be."