Part 17: Treasure Hunting

This update was ridiculously long so I cut it in half. Next half should be more exciting.

Chapter 17 - Treasure Hunting



The following morning I ventured out into the market looking for a better weapon.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any. I did notice that I'd collected a large amount of skins, however.



I wasn't exactly hurting for coin, but I figured it would be nice to finally off load the skins. I headed on over to Bosper's shop and showed him what I'd found. For the 18 wolf skins, 4 boar skins, 2 warg skins, and shadowbeast skin, which I found alongside the warg skins in the bandit camp, I made a tidy profit of 540 gold.



After the sale of my skins was completed, I returned to the marketplace, this time to speak with Zuris. Magic scrolls have been serving me well in my fights with the bandits so I decided to stock up on some more. In all, I purchased out his stock of Summon Goblin Skeleton scrolls and also purchased a Summon Demon scroll for an emergency. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of summoning demons, but I'd faced them before and knew what they were capable of. Among his potions I also saw a rather useful item: an elixir of strength. I paid the 800 coins with little thought and tucked it safely away.



I'd managed to find my pickaxe so I decided that today I would go about digging up Greg's treasures. I set out back over to the Mercenary camp, making a quick stop by a roadside shrine to leave an offering.



Greg had previously told me where he'd hidden all of his treasures. I knew that one was on the small island in the pond outside of Onar's farm, and it also happened to be the closest.



I cleared the island of lurkers and began to excavate.

Just a few feet under the dirt I came across the treasure, a leather pouch heavy with coin.



On the other side of the pond I could see what appeared to be a familiar face. I waded through the murky waters to hut.

It was Erol, the merchant I'd rescued. When he'd said he was trading I simply assumed he was a citizen of Khorinis.

"This here is YOUR hut?" I said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes. Why? Anything wrong with it?"

"Don't you have any problems with the mercenaries?"

"As long as I don't interfere with their business, they'll leave me alone, too. Moreover, they're good customers, and I pay them to keep an eye on my house when I'm not home." That explained the Mercenaries guarding the road.

I hadn't any other business with Erol. His place of residence simply took me by surprise.



Before I left, I decided to beat up Buster. He was one of the couple of mercenaries that Erol had protecting his land. In the past, he'd disrespected me.

"What do you want, you wimp?" he demanded.

"I challenge you to a duel!"

My threat was laughed off. "Ah-ha! You won't take this sitting down, huh?" In what seemed to be almost an act of pity, he decided to oblige. "All right - come here!"

I quickly drew my stick and beat him about the face and neck. He didn't last very long.

A few minutes later Buster regained consciousness and stood back up. "All right, all right, you're the better fighter. What do you want?"

I'd just wanted to do that.



After relieving Buster of one of his coin purses, I made my way back to the bandit valley to recover the treasure there.



A couple of feet under the grass I came across the next item. A mundane, though apparently valuable, amulet.



Two down, two to go. The second to last treasure spot was located behind Bengar's farm. A gold chalice was found here.



Finally, I needed to venture over to the road to the valley of mines. According to Greg, I'd find the last treasure near the two waterfalls.


A few Lurkers guarded the spot but didn't pose any trouble after I separated them. A silver dish was what Greg had buried here.



On my way back to the Mercenary's camp to meet with Greg, I came across a man standing with a herd of sheep on the path to the penal colony.

"How's the hunting?" I asked.

"The last animal I could bring down was a large rat. Not very encouraging, and bad for business. For several days now, some kind of snorting beast has been roaming the area. It not only kills everything that moves, it also interferes with my work. "

"What does this dangerous beast look like?"

"I don't know exactly. Up to now, I've mostly heard grunting and scratching. But I've seen what it can do. Even wolves aren't safe from it. The beast even bit the head off of one."

That sounded like it could earn me some spending money. "How much would you pay me if I killed that beast for you?"

"I'd give the person who killed it everything I could spare: 30 gold pieces"

"Where does this scummy beast come from?"

"Somewhere from outside the woods. Maybe from the Valley of Mines. But I don't know for sure. I've never been to the Valley of Mines."

During various points in the conversation I'd noticed him looking strangely at my hand. "Why are you looking so solemn?" I asked.

"You're wearing our aquamarine ring."

"You belong to the 'Ring of Water'?"

"I certainly do. Good to see a new face in our ranks."

"What's your task within the 'Ring of Water'?"

"I keep an eye on the entrance to the pass, to see who goes in and out. Since the paladins have closed the gate to the pass, however, there hasn't been much coming and going."

"Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Gaan. I'm a hunter and work for Bengar, the farmer here on the high pastures. I spend most of my time here outside, basking in the sun."

I didn't feel like hunting down what was, in all likely hood, a deadly beast. I needed to get these things to Greg, anyway.



I found Greg over by the crossroads in the middle of Onar's land. Right where he said he'd be.

I approached him with his buried treasure in tow.

"I found your buried things." I told him.

"Then you should be carrying about 100 gold coins, a golden chalice, a silver dish, and an amulet, and they're all mine. Give them here."

As he listed the items off, I handed them to him. "Here's your stuff. A bag with 100 gold coins, a golden chalice, a silver dish, and an amulet. "

"Very good. You're lucky that you weren't dumb enough to simply take the stuff and run." Greg tossed a small purse of coins my way. "Here's your share of the booty."

"How are things?"

"So-so. Those mercenaries aren't much help, really. I had expected them to have a little more guts at least. But they're just a bunch of braggarts and loudmouths, if you ask me. "

"What was your business with the mercenaries?"

"I already told you. I'm looking for this fellow in red armor. But the idiots here have no idea what I'm talking about."

"I take it you're looking for someone named Dexter."

"Damnit. How would I know the fellow's name?"

"I know where you can find him."

Greg looked surprised. "Really? Tell me!"

I shrugged. "Not far from here. He seems to be the leader of an evil gang of bandits."

"HAH! Yep. That's him. I knew the old landlubber had holed up here somewhere. Now all I need to do is scour all the hideouts and rat holes around here."

I offered up my assistance as I was also looking for him. "I'll help you find him."

"I'll find that bastard - don't need your help for that." He said as he walked away.



I strolled into the mercenary camp and was stopped by Raoul.

"Will you look at that?" he said between tokes.

"What do you want?" I said, eager to get moving. I was just here for some last minute supplies before searching for the bandits.

"Have you joined the city beggars? Looks like it. I'll tell you something. No matter what you're wearing, I can see right through you. To me, you're just a greasy little idler, nothing more."

"What's your problem?"

"I know people of your sort. All talk, no guts. I detest somebody who dresses up all important and brags about his heroic deeds. Just yesterday, I slugged one of the boys here in the mouth, because he claimed he could bring down a black troll with one hand tied behind his back."

"So what?"

"What's that supposed to mean 'So what'? Have you ever even seen a black troll, big mouth? Do you have any idea how big those monsters are, man?" If you get one step too close to them, they'll tear you to pieces."

"Black troll? No problem."

"You're asking for it, huh? I ought to rip your head off. But I've got a better idea. If you're such a great fighter, then prove it."

"What's in it for me?"

"Stupid question. Your honor and your jaw in one piece?"

"That's not a whole lot, is it?"

"Mmh. Shall we say, I'll pay you a ton of money if you bring me the hide of a black troll. How's that sound?"

I shrugged. "All right." If the way things were going right now were of any indication, I'd probably find my way near one eventually.



I spoke with the smiths but neither had anything of any use. No potions or scrolls. I hadn't expected them to have any, but it was worth a shot. While I was here, I decided it would be nice to pay my friend Lee another visit and to inform him of my decision to join the Militia. I hoped he would understand.



On my way inside the main building, I saw the farmhand Bodo. On my last visit here, Cipher the weed distributor had told me that he suspected Bodo of thieving his swampweed. I decided to confront him.

"Cipher told me somebody stole a package of weed from him. He thinks you're the one who took it."

A look of relief appeared on his face. "Oh, THAT's why the guy is always gaping at me so stupidly. I've been extra friendly to him lately, because he seems to have hit a rough spot. But there was nothing I could do. I'd look at him friendly like and he'd stare at me like he wanted to kill me."

I'd have to relay this information to Cipher. But first, I was going to find Lee.



As soon as I entered the building, I'd forgotten where Lee's chambers was located. On a hunch, I went left and found myself in Onar's chambers.

"Who let in you in here?!" he demanded. "What are you doing here on my farm?"

"Everything all right here on the farm?" I asked nervously.

He continued glaring at me. "Our hospitality does not extend to the troops of the king."

"I want to work for you!" I said.

He quickly dismissed my offer. "I don't need a farmhand now. My people see to everything else. You have no business here in the house, so get out!"

The guard behind Onar reached for his weapon so I made my way out. On the way, I came across a man guarding several boxes of junk.




"There's a whole bunch of junk here." I observed.

"That's right." The man spit some tobacco into a nearby bowl. "And most of it is extremely valuable. Onar collects valuable objects. A simple man like me can hardly afford some luxury. I stick to other things."

"And that would be?"

"I collect old coins."

I reached into a pocket and removed an aged coin. "I've got an old coin here."

"Mmh. Show me." I handed it to him. He held it up close to his face and gave it a look. "Oh, yeah. That won't bring much on the open market. I'll pay you a gold piece for it. Exactly as much as it used to be worth."

I rubbed my chin. "Not quite enough. What about 2?"

"Not doing! I'm not a loony! You know what I'm prepared to pay for it, you dog. One gold piece. No more."

With a sigh, I agreed to the price. "It's a deal."



On the way out of the building, I took a wrong turn somewhere. As a result, I ended up in what I can only assume is Onar's master bedroom. A middle aged woman sat in a nearby armchair and regarded me with suspicion.

"Who are you?" I said warily.

"I am Onar's wife, Maria. What do you want here?"

"I just wanted to have a look around here..."

"With all these men on the farm now, there's no peace to be had inside the house. They just keep barging in here."

"Do the mercenaries bother you?"

"Oh, well, at least the farm has been a lot safer since the mercenaries came. Back when we were still on our own, the militia came from town all the time to plunder our provisions. They dragged off the better part of the harvest. And they took some sheep, too. They did nothing for us in return. A few of those scoundrels even stole from us. Don't get me wrong now, soldier. I know that not all of you are like that."

"So what did they steal from you?"

"Mostly gold and silver. They even took ,my wedding present. A golden plate."

I remembered about the item I'd found in the sewers beneath Khorinis. "I have a golden plate here. Would this be yours?" .

She grabbed the plate out of my hands and caressed it with her fingers."Yes! That it is! Thanks a million!"

I stood in front of her awkwardly. It seemed apparent she wasn't going to say anything more and that I'd have to bring it up. "So.. what about my reward?"

She looked up from the plate and mumbled something barely audible. "Here, take this. You deserve it." She then tossed me a pouch of about fifty gold coins. I gathered up the pouch and tried to find the way out.



I finally found Lee in his chambers. He didn't look too upset.

"I see you've placed yourself in the service of the paladins. Well, you can't become a mercenary any more now. But who knows, maybe you can do one or two things for me - or me for you." Lee waved me off. "We'll see. In any case, I wish you all the best."

He didn't have much to say as he appeared to be in some sort of meeting. I went back outside.



I walked around the camp for a few minutes, taking it all in. It may well have been the last time I came here, after all. The work that the Water Mages had me doing was very risky, and on top of it I was expected to venture into the Valley of the Mines, alone, for Lord Andre.

During my stroll, I heard whispers of schism occurring between the mercenaries, with followers of a man named Sylvio saying that Lee and his followers were not doing enough to combat the militia.

Later, while on the north side of the camp I noticed a shady looking man behind the common building, smoking some swamp weed. I knew that Cipher was the primary supplier of Swampweed in the area so I approached him.

"Cipher told me that someone stole a package from swampweed from him."

Dar giggled like a moron.

"Would you know anything about that?"

He shook his head, still giggling.

"I'll knock it out of you!" I threatened.

"Relax. I'm way too stoned to fight with you!" He handed me his weed. "Here, first take a big toke!"



I wasn't one to turn down anything free. So I did.



The FANTASTIC swampweed that Dar had was proof enough to me. I strolled back on over to Cipher to tell him about it.

"I know who took your weed."

"Who? Was it that Bodo?"

I shook my head. "No - one of the mercenaries did it - Dar."

"That bastard - where is he?"

"Finding him won't help you." I remembered what I'd learned in Kardif's tavern. "He doesn't have the package any more. He sold it in Khorinis."

"WHERE IS HE?" Cipher impatiently demanded.

I gestured behind me. "Behind the kitchen building, on the corner..."

Cipher withdrew his axe and ran toward Dar. "I'll FLATTEN HIM."



By the time I caught up with Cipher, Dar was bleeding on the ground. He was heavily wounded but he'd survive. Cipher really wasn't kidding. "You really gave Dar what for... are you feeling better now?"

Cipher nodded, satisfied. "Yeah, that felt good."

"Not to him, I suppose..."

"The little beggar has no business going through my chest!"

I made a note to find the package when I was back in town, but I had more immediate concerns. Greg was off looking for Dexter, and I also needed to find him, preferably first since I wasn't sure what Greg had in store for him.

I left the Mercenary camp and ventured toward the bandit fort.