Eternal Rest

Bones didn't get sidetracked on his way back to Stonefalls. Delivering the Skeleton Key was crucial to the heist, so he went straight to find Darsumi. He stopped by the store, which was as busy as usual, and continued to the smithy where he found Hemdus in the workshop. Hemdus directed him to Darsumi's place, mentioning that Darsumi had been holed up in his house for the past few days, working out the details of the heist.

Bones had never been to Darsumi's house before. In fact, he hadn't been to many places other than the smithy. Darsumi's house was down the mountain, about a ten-minute walk from the smithy. Bones followed directions through numerous alleys until he stopped in front of a small house nestled between two apartment buildings. He knocked on the door and waited. Shortly after, he heard footsteps and the grumbling of a dwarf. The door snapped open, revealing an aggravated dwarf.

"What?"

"Uh, i-it's me, Bones!" Startled, Bones stuttered as he pulled his hood up, revealing his bony face.

"Oh! Sorry, Bones! Come on in," Darsumi said, stepping aside to let Bones inside. Once Bones entered, Darsumi glanced around quickly before closing the door. As a proper host, he offered Bones something to drink and then led him down into the basement.

Bones descended the stairs and found the basement transformed into a base of operations. Papers covered the walls, and in the middle of the room stood an enormous table with seven miniature models of mansions on it. Two dwarves were at the table, engrossed in a discussion and pointing at one of the models.

"Don't mind them, they've been at it since morning," Darsumi said. "Now then, do you have the key?"

Bones tore his gaze from the table and focused on Darsumi. He summoned the Incomplete Skeleton Key from his inventory and handed it over. Darsumi inspected the key and nodded in satisfaction.

"That's great, Bones! I was counting on you. One less thing to worry about."

"About that..." Bones began hesitantly.

Darsumi sighed, then offered an apology. "I take it you realized you'd have to be the one to use the Skeleton Key?" he asked. Bones nodded, questioning if that had been the plan all along.

"It was. I didn't say anything in case you failed to make the key. Regardless, you're the only one who can use it and make the necessary adjustments when needed," Darsumi explained. He motioned for Bones to come to the table and take a look. Bones circled the table, examining the models. He noted that they were all two-story mansions, though not as grand as the ones he had seen at the lakefront before reaching the capital.

"These are the miniature models of the mansions on our list to rob. There are seven of them, but unfortunately, we'll have to remove two from the list. Something came up, and the residents won't be leaving for the festival. That leaves us with five, two of which concern you."

"One of the two has a mana core in the vault, right?" Bones asked to confirm.

Darsumi grinned. "Both houses might have intact mana cores. One definitely does. It's the last mansion on our list and the most difficult to rob," he said, pointing at a model slightly bigger than the rest.

"We should at least be able to get you one mana core, if not both! Now then, we still have some quirks to work out. You can leave and wait at the smithy if you don't want to join us here. I'll stop by the smithy in the evening!"

Bones thought for a moment and decided he would wait for Darsumi at the smithy. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in the plans; he still had some polishing to do on his newly engraved left arm. Bones left the house and returned to the quarries and ore processing site but didn't go up the mountain to the smithy. Instead, he continued walking along the base of the mountain until he reached a remote spot surrounded by trees and devoid of people.

The location near the city walls seemed adequate for his business. He sat cross-legged and pulled up the sleeves of his robe, revealing his left arm. Inspecting the deep and rough lines engraved on his bone armor, he noted the rushed quality of his work—a result of his haste to finish quickly. Bones took out his engraving tools and, after another glance around to ensure no one was nearby, began working.

Bones finished before midnight, but not without difficulties. He struggled to control the mana flow and output through his engraved arm, which he used to polish the incisions. The flow was smoother, and the mana output was much higher now than before, and Bones wasn’t used to it. Once he finished polishing the engraving on his left hand, he switched to the engravings on his right arm and rectified his previous work. Satisfied with the result, he stood up and made his way back to the smithy. He was a little late, having gotten lost in his work.

As Bones reached the smithy, the burglar dwarf Mirami was just leaving.

"Greetings, Bones! Yer just in time! We finished our business, so ye can join the merry folk in the kitchen," Mirami exclaimed.

"Greetings... Mirami, was it? Hope everything is going as planned," Bones replied.

"You and me both! Later!" Mirami shouted back as she walked away.

Bones nodded in acknowledgment and waved a hand in farewell, then entered the smithy. Inside, Darsumi and Hemdus were already in the kitchen, drinks poured and a blue-colored drink set aside for him.

"Gentlemen!" Bones announced, drawing their attention.

"Heya Boney! Yer just in time! Come, come! 'ere..." Hemdus gestured toward the blue drink. Darsumi nodded in greeting, waiting for Bones to take a seat before speaking.

"Sorry about earlier today. It's been a busy few days, but I think we covered most of the plan, so... what have you been up to for the past month? I can't imagine you spent all your time working on the key?"

Bones chuckled and pulled up his left sleeve, revealing the engravings on his arm. Hemdus spat out his drink, startled, while Darsumi sucked in a breath.

"Boney, ye..." Hemdus was left speechless. Bones continued, explaining the difficulties he faced, and concluded that it was worth the effort due to the significant effect.

"What do you plan to do about your... problem back in the capital?" Darsumi inquired.

Bones took a swig, emptying his glass, before answering.

"I thought about that while I was away and concluded that perhaps it would be best if I continued my journey beyond the Wezar Kingdom."

There was a moment of silence before Darsumi responded, stating that they kind of expected that.

"How did you plan to go about it? Bones, while you were away, some thugs came to the shop asking for you. They've been snooping around for a week before giving up and leaving. They seemed like the type that hung out in the Underground City in Hagos."

Bones sighed, leaning back in his chair and gazing up at the ceiling. After a brief pause, he responded that he planned to join the frontlines immediately after the festival, and then continue his journey across the continent. As for his destination, he admitted he hadn't decided yet.

"Darsumi, given your expertise, I'd like to enlist your services," Bones said.

"Given my expertise, you say? Alright, what can I do for you?" Darsumi stroked his beard, intrigued.

Bones explained that he wished to continue traveling as an adventurer, as it had proven beneficial, but he wanted to acquire a new identity. He didn't want the Hounds following him around like dogs.

"Difficult, but manageable with enough resources, of course," Darsumi mused.

"What sort of resources? Gold? Mana stones? Something else?" Bones inquired.

Darsumi shook his head before responding. "To tell you the truth, Hemdus and I already discussed what we should do in case you decided to leave."

Bones glanced at Hemdus, who nodded in agreement while sipping his drink.

Darsumi extended his arm and summoned a spatial ring in his hand, which he then handed to Bones.

Bones eyed the ring for a moment before swiping it into his hand, giving Darsumi a puzzled look. Darsumi smirked and motioned for him to look inside. Bones took a peek, then glanced at Darsumi and Hemdus before taking another look inside. The spatial ring contained only one item: gold coins, five thousand of them to be exact.

"What is-" Bones began.

"It's a downtime payment for the rights to the dungeon. The amount of gold in the ring is nowhere near the actual value of the dungeon, but it's all we could gather at the moment. Do you... agree to leave the rights to the dungeon with us?" Darsumi asked, attempting to conceal his discomfort at broaching the subject.

Bones tapped his finger against the table as he pondered, genuinely surprised that the dwarves had thought so far ahead. He had already intended to leave the dungeon to them and negotiate some sort of deal, but the dwarves had already planned ahead.

A wide smile spread across Bones' face, the layer of bone armor covering his face giving him a rather menacing appearance.

"It's not like we had an official contract regarding the rights to the dungeon. I don't mind, but that's quite an amount you've gathered."

Both dwarves chuckled and clinked their drinks in agreement, relieved that Bones was understanding about the dungeon. "You see, Bones, while mana stones would be more useful for travel, having too many would draw attention, signaling that you possess something valuable! Besides, a basic spatial ring couldn't handle that many mana stones," Darusmi explained.

Before Bones could interject, Darusmi raised his hand and continued. "You could store the mana stones in your inventory, of course, but that would strain your soul. Don't do that to yourself if you can avoid it! That’s why we're paying you with gold instead, for now. Speaking of which, on the topic of acquiring you a new adventurer ID... Gold will suffice, but it'll cost you quite a sum!"

"Ahem," Hemdus interjected, drawing Bones’ attention. "Err, I'm afraid we'll have to take some of it back. Sorry, Boney, we didn't account fer ye wanting a new adventurer ID."

"Hem is right, Bones. I'll make inquiries and after some rough calculations, I'll get back to you on the cost. Regardless of the price, you'll have enough for your journey, and if you ever run short, you'll always be welcome back here!" Darusmi assured him.

"Thank you for everything, truly," Bones said sincerely, starting to rise. "It's late, and you probably want to get some rest. Shall we continue in the morning?"

"Nonsense, my boy!" Hemdus exclaimed, making Bones pause. "Sit. Sit!" He ushered, and Bones slowly settled back into his seat.

"What he meant to say was that we'll be staying up all night. We have no trouble staying up for a night or two. Hell, we stayed up for a whole week before when it was necessary, so don't worry about us," Darsumi explained.

"If you're sure, then..."

"Boney, this be our third night awake," Hem ensured.

"Alright, alright then... pour me another drink!" Bones said, grinning and noting Hem's more than usual slurred speech.

Hem guffawed and slammed a whole bottle of mana potion on the table. "Here! Pour yerself a drink!"

After a round of drinking, Hem headed to the kitchen while Darsumi began speaking.

"While we're on the subject of leaving, do you at least have a direction you're heading? Since you mentioned the frontlines, I take it east?"

"That's right. I think I'll head east, over the Aphiton Kingdom, and then north, northeast."

Darsumi nodded and mentioned he'd bring a larger map so Bones could have a proper look. Meanwhile, Hemdus returned with bread, cheese, and spotted sausages. While the dwarves indulged in food, Bones further explained and instructed Darsumi on what he wanted his new ID to be.

As the hours passed, a new day dawned bright and sunny.

"Alright, Bones, so your new ID would be under the name of Muriel Jones with the golemancer class?" Darsumi confirmed.

"Yes, that's correct. Do you think it sounds plausible?" Bones inquired.

“Didn’t you use that name the first time you came to us? Did you use it anywhere else?” Darsumi asked, vaguely recalling the name.

Bones paused, trying to recall when and how many times he had presented himself as Jones. "I think it was once before Westbrook and at the smithy. For the life of me, I can’t remember anywhere else."

“Should be fine, I think. Let's stick with Jones,” Bones settled.

“Sure, sounds good. Look, I’ll be going to the capital tomorrow for an errand and I’ll make an inquiry. I should get an answer by the end of the week, but I'd like to make arrangements as soon as possible rather than going back and forth, making a deal.”

“Do what you feel is best. How long do you plan to stay there?” Bones inquired.

“A day or two, depends. Why? Do you need anything from the capital?”

“Actually, yes. Before I left, I visited an auction house and made a deal with a merchant named Sagard to acquire something for me. I've been away for a month and I'm beginning to worry.”

“Sagard? Big guy? Dressed like he owns the place?” Darsumi recalled.

Bones nodded. “So you know the man?”

“I had dealings with him before. Sagard is an antique dealer. Last time I saw him, he was smuggling goods. I didn’t know he was back in Hagos. Whatever deal you made, you don’t have to worry about him not delivering!” Darsumi reassured.