Eternal Rest

Behind the doors, a set of stone stairs adorned with a red carpet led down to the basement. Bones and Hem descended slowly, and upon reaching the bottom, Bones was taken aback by the sight of a well-decorated hall. It featured a carpet, sofa, lounge chairs, and two crafting stations—one for alchemy and the other for enchanting.

"Wipe ye drool! chuckle Surprised? Were ye expecting cobwebs, dust, and wooden boxes?" Hem teased. Bones admitted that was exactly what he had expected to find in the basement.

"Me and ye, lad, we've got very different ideas of what a basement ought to be," Hem commented with a chuckle.

"Come," Hem motioned for Bones to follow him through a nearby door. Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the crafting stations, Bones followed Hem into a corridor lined with rooms similar to the first. At the end of the corridor, a wrought iron fence and large iron gates came into view, revealing massive steel doors leading to the vault.

"This is where I part ways, Hem. You enjoy your exploring. I'll call you when I'm done," Bones said.

"Aye. Good luck and have fun!" Hem replied cheerfully.

Bones nodded and walked up to the iron gates. As he prepared to use the Skeleton Key on the vault doors, he noticed the narrow gaps between the bars. Straightening his body, he turned sideways and squeezed through the bars. It was a tight fit, but he managed to maneuver through. He snorted at the challenge and focused his attention on the vault doors, noticing the intricate runes surrounding the circular entryway.

"Well, damn," Bones muttered, almost sounding amused. In addition to the runes, the vault doors were secured by three key locks. Realizing it would be a lengthy process, Bones wasted no time and began working on the locks immediately.

On the ground and upper floors of the mansion, the dwarves meticulously selected and stored valuable items like precious stones, mana stones, and gold—items that were practical or easily marketable. Each dwarf made their own decisions about what to take among paintings, clothing pieces, and jewelry.

Meanwhile, Mirami darted around, rummaging through every closet she could find with a mixture of excitement and mild disappointment at the lack of gadgets or technological devices. The nobles had favored ornate and highly decorative interiors, and each room adhered to this opulent design.

After thirty minutes, Hemdus rejoined the group on the ground floor, and they made their way upstairs to meet with Darsumi. Upon gathering, Hem briefed them on the situation with the vault and explained the unexpected challenge of three locks.

"Three locks? Bloody hell…" Darsumi muttered, clearly displeased. "That wasn't in the intel."

"Aye, I know, but we knew not everything would go as planned! Besides, Boney unlocked the first two locks and is working on the third!" Hem reassured, attempting to lighten the tension.

"Shall we head downstairs then?" Thaddeus suggested, prompting nods of agreement from everyone. They proceeded downstairs to join Bones and assist with the vault.

Bones was so focused on the task of opening the last lock that he didn't notice the others approaching. Darsumi called out to him, but Bones remained absorbed in his task. Hem shook his head as he explained to Darsumi that Bones had been like that for the past fifteen minutes. Darsumi nodded silently, and they all waited patiently for Bones to finish.

Meanwhile, Bones was deep in concentration, gaining insights into shaping as he worked on the key. He realized the bones his key was made off needed to be pliant and easily shapeable, rather than modifying the key bit by bit each time he inserted it. With great effort, he managed to achieve this understanding and applied it swiftly.

"I was right! This is the easier way!" Bones thought triumphantly just before he fully inserted the key into the lock and turned it. With a satisfying click, the third lock on the vault doors released, and they swung open.

The sound of applause brought Bones back to the present. He turned around to see everyone watching him expectantly.

"How long was I at it? Have you been waiting long?" Bones asked, feeling slightly disoriented from his intense focus.

"Took you about forty minutes. We only arrived here five minutes ago," Darsumi replied, reassuring him.

Bones recalled that he had bypassed the iron bars earlier but before he could proceed to the iron doors, Hem interrupted him.

"Forget about them. Step back!" Hem instructed firmly, taking out his hammer. With a determined grip, Hem swung the hammer at the iron gates. The gates bent but held firm. Hem muttered under his breath and promised the next strike would break them open. Stepping back for better leverage, he swung the hammer again at the gates.

The iron gates crashed down with a thunderous sound, shaking the mansion's foundation. Hem stood still, hand extended, his face frozen in surprise.

"I uh... I dunno my own strength!" Hem muttered sheepishly.

"That wasn't you, Hem! It came from outside!" Dar exclaimed, already turning to run out of the basement. The others exchanged bewildered glances before hurrying after Darsumi. Bones and Hem shared a look of confusion, then shrugged and followed suit.

On the ground floor, Bones found everyone gathered around a large window on the upper floor, their faces bathed in an ominous red glow from outside. Curious, Bones ascended the stairs slowly, step by step, until he could see for himself. Peering over their shoulders, he glimpsed a fiery cloud in the distance, casting the sky in fiery hues.

"They pulled it off... So this is what Silva had planned? How primitive..." Bones mused to himself, piecing together the cause of the chaos.

Before he could ponder further, another deafening explosion ripped through the air. Everyone flinched as the sky ignited, filling them with dread. Darsumi reacted swiftly, shouting for everyone to take cover. A shockwave from the blast shattered the window, sending glass shards flying. Dar shielded the group with his body, sustaining minor injuries from the shards.

Mirami gasped in alarm, calling out to Darsumi in concern. He reassured her quickly, waving off her worry as he turned his attention back to the chaos outside. Below, the guards were in disarray, arguing amongst themselves before abandoning their posts. Only two guards remained at the gates, their attention divided by the unfolding turmoil.

Darsumi swiftly turned his head to the side window and approached it. From there, far in the distance where the Covingster mansion stood, he observed most of the guards also abandoning their posts in haste. It was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss.

"We're rushing the House of Covingster!" Darsumi yelled, urgency in his voice. He urged everyone to quickly return to the vault, gather as much as they could carry, and rendezvous with him within a minute.

Erhan, the head of security at the House of Covingster and a gold-ranked officer, found his current role mundane but necessary. Three months ago, during a dungeon expedition with his guild, he sustained severe injuries. A healer in the party had managed to stabilize him, but he required time away from combat to fully recover. Hence, he took on this quiet, uneventful job.

Surely, no one would be foolish enough to risk attacking the only nearby house guarded by a gold-ranked officer, Erhan reasoned. Or so he thought...

The distant sound of an explosion startled him, causing him to jump to his feet. He swiftly crossed the room to a window and peered out, seeing flames rising above the rooftops. The thought of his mansion under attack flitted through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it upon realizing the fire was directed towards a festival.

An accident? His mind questioned, but another explosion soon followed, shattering his doubts. The doors to his room burst open, and a guard rushed in, his face etched with fear and urgency.

"Sir?!" The guard's voice rang out, filled with dread.

Erhan wasted no time. He instructed the guard to follow him as he rushed out of his room, his booming voice echoing through the mansion. He swiftly directed one group of guards to escort the house staff to safety through an escape route, and another group to leave the estate and join the city guards in protecting the surroundings. Finally, he turned to the last guard remaining and ordered him to stay by his side within the mansion's confines.

Erhan looked composed and in control, but he was troubled. He wanted to go and see what the situation was, to help, but he had his duties. If anyone needed to stay, it was him. He watched the guards abandon their posts and locked the mansion door. Now it was just the two of them. From the window, he watched the fire spreading to nearby buildings. As he climbed the stairs to his room, screams echoed in the distance. Closing his door, he leaned against it, fists clenched and teeth gritted as the cries continued unabated.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't just stay here and protect… who? An empty house? To hell with this!"

Erhan made a firm decision to abandon his duties as head of security and assist those in dire need. He pushed open the doors and was met with Darsumi's brown eyes peering through a clown's mask. Before Erhan could speak, the clown swiftly ducked, another popping up behind with a hammer poised overhead.

"'Ello, mate!" Hem greeted cheerfully, hammer already swinging towards Erhan's head. Despite the surprise, Erhan managed to react in time, blocking the crushing blow with a cross-arm guard. The sickening crunch of bone followed, but Erhan held his ground, pushed back only slightly by the impact.

He was experienced, retaliating with a front kick to Darsumi's clown mask while blocking the hammer. The force of the blow pushed the two dwarves away from the room's entrance. Dar immediately sprang to his feet upon landing. His mask crumbled, blood droplets trickling from his mouth. The Gold Ranker packed quite a kick!

Erhan stormed out of his room, furious. "A dwarf? Is this a joke?" he spat derisively.

"If a dwarf surprises you, I might just give you a heart attack!" Bones said, approaching and drawing attention. He removed his clown mask and lowered his hood, hoping to unsettle Erhan, which partially succeeded. Erhan was not easily shaken, but facing an unidentified undead gave him pause.

In that brief moment, Darsumi threw a bomb that exploded in the Gold Ranker's face, and Bones seized the opportunity with an empowered Bone Lance. Erhan reacted swiftly, jerking his head to avoid the bomb and catching Bones' lance without looking.

Unseen by Erhan, Bones cunningly threw the golem core over his head while casting Bone Lance. Before the core hit the floor, Skully appeared with a spear, launching a surprise attack from behind.

Erhan sensed the incoming thrust of a spear at the last moment but couldn't fully avoid its tip, which lodged itself between his ribs. He seized the shaft and forcefully yanked it out, twisting in the process and pulling Skully, who still gripped the spear, over the rail to the ground floor.

slash x2

Two swift slashes later, Erhan suddenly dropped to his knees. Darsumi had used the Dual Slash skill to sever tendons behind Erhan's knee.

"Don't give me that look. You'll live, and your wounds will heal in time," Darsumi retorted to Erhan's glare. "Bones, the vault is yours." Bones nodded and departed.

"The vault? scoff What about Bern… the other guard with me?" Erhan questioned.

"He's fine. Unconscious but unharmed, as long as you cooperate and let us do our thing!"

Erhan didn't reply, simply turning his head away in defeat. He felt humiliated, but above all, he felt hopeless. Darsumi and Hemdus remained with the Gold Ranker, observing through the nearest window as the blazing sky dimmed and the chilly night descended. Soon, a thin layer of frost formed on the window glass.