Pandora Unchained - B1C32: Archeology

Sorin woke the next morning to the ticking of an old clock. It was at least a hundred years old, judging by the wear, and was built of the same bloodwood as the outpost walls. The room smelled of must, and the bed he’d slept on had squeaked all night. Though alcohol was forbidden in the Adventurers Guild’s dorm, the few guests sleeping there were mostly adventurers too drunk to stagger back to their hotels.

He groaned as he picked himself up and felt at the wound on his torso. Only a thin scar remained of the stab wound he’d taken to the liver a half day prior. I killed five people yesterday, thought Sorin as he traced the wound and pieced together his memories from the night before. There was no going back from this. He was no longer just a physician, but a killer as well.

Though his heart was in turmoil, Sorin’s practiced mind slipped back into his usual thought patterns. No matter what the Medical Association said, no matter how much blood he had on his hands, he was a physician. Physicians had to be cold and objective when assessing patients.

Internal organs are completely healed and in good repair,thought Sorin as he worked through a mental list. Mana circulation is unimpeded. All sixteen unblocked meridians are functioning as normal. Muscle tissue is slightly stiff and in need of stretching and exercise. Skin is scarred over, but interference with day-to-day movements will be minimal. Recommendations: soft tissue massage hourly for the next half day and moderate exercise until full function is restored.

Sorin performed said massage, then got out of bed to perform a series of movements designed to limber up old and atrophied patients. Multiple cycles of stretching and compression released any residual stiffness from his injuries, restored his strength, and loosened up his internal organs so that they could resume normal functioning.

By the time he was done exercising, it was 8:21 in the morning. According to Haley, they guild announcement was at nine, giving him plenty of time to meet up with his companions and have a quick breakfast.

The Adventurers Pub was packed full of people when Sorin arrived. The bartender was off duty, but the cooks were busy in the back preparing a generous breakfast for the many adventurers awaiting the announcement. Stephan, Lawrence, Gareth, and Daphne were all munching on their respective breakfasts when Sorin arrived.

“I heard about what happened last night,” said Stephan as Sorin pulled up a chair. “Getting mugged isn’t pleasant. Clashing with the guard afterward isn’t great either.”

“It sounds like you have experience with this sort of thing,” said Sorin, grabbing a menu.

“All the factions like throwing around their weight in my hometown,” said Stephan. “Brawls aren’t uncommon, and many of them are instigated. There’s sham adventurers, crooked magistrates, and assassins aplenty.”

“Where’s Lorimer?” asked Lawrence, shoving a piece of ham into his mouth. “I hear he’s the rat of the hour. Took out two muggers by himself.”

“Unfortunately, rats are not welcome inside the Adventurers Guild,” said Sorin. “I told him to go scrounging if he wanted something to eat. Speaking of which, I’ll have the Super Adventurers Breakfast. Tripple Hungry Edition.”

“You sure?” asked the waitress accepting his menu. “No offense, Mr. Kepler, but you don’t quite look like you can put it away.”

“I’m sure,” said Sorin, slapping fifteen silvers on the table. “A coffee too, if you don’t mind. From the bottom of the pot if possible.”

Several minutes later, Sorin’s pale complexion had recovered its original rosiness. His digestive system was working full bore, and Sorin could literally feel extra blood being generated inside his body to replenish what had been lost before.

“That hit the spot,” said Sorin, looking up to find four adventurers watching him with concern in their eyes. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

“I mean… physically, it should be impossible for you to put away that much food even with two hours,” said Gareth. “And it’s only been about 8 minutes. Also, I think we saw your jaw dislocate and your throat bulge as you ate nearly an entire ham without chewing it. Tell me, should we be relieved or have the guild confirm that you’re still human?”

“Huh,” said Sorin. “Must be my snake aspect. Looks like there are more benefits than I expected. Daphne, are you writing down story ideas again?”

“You can ignore what doesn’t hurt you,” said Daphne, putting away a pen and notepad. “Also, that display was horrendous. Half the bar was looking at you when it happened.”

Sorin looked around to see that many people were indeed giving him strange looks. But Sorin was used to that kind of thing, so he put it out of mind and sipped on his coffee, still piping hot. His mind sharpened, and what remained of the pain in his body faded into the background.

“Now that Sorin’s done frightening our breakfasts out of our stomachs, let’s get back on topic,” said Stephan. “I don’t know much about the announcement, but rumor has it that a new ruin has been discovered.”

“A ruin?” asked Daphne, looking up from her scribbling. “Pre-Emergence or Post-Emergence?”

“Pre-Emergence,” said Stephan. “Which means that most of what we find will be useless, time-rotted garbage. That being said, the good things we do manage to find have a good chance at being priceless artifacts.”

“I didn’t expect wishful thinking from you of all people,” said Lawrence. Stephan scowled, but Lawrence didn’t back down. “What? Do you really think they’d release something with priceless treasures to one-star adventurers? New ruins always get assessed by the Temple of Hope before the Adventurers Guild gets called in. They’ll assess the treasure level and difficulty level. You of all people should know that.”

“You know what I meant,” snapped Stephan. “By priceless treasures, I meant things that are currently not for sale. I meant relics from the time before the Seven Evils almost destroyed humanity. There could even be spells that have long since been lost to mankind.” Daphne’s eyes brightened at that. “According to my teachers, not even ninety percent of humanity’s cultivation methods survived the Cataclysmic Emergence. The only reason we managed to keep so many of these inheritances is because the Temple of Hope occasionally churns them out as prizes for adventurers. There’s also the ruins that we occasional discover and raid, such as the one they’ll be announcing.”

“If you’re saying it’ll be lucrative, I’m in,” said Sorin. “I’m broke, and have no better way to make money.”

“If there’s fun to be had, I’m game too,” said Lawrence. “I’m a fan of grave robbing – I mean, archeology.”

“Graverobbing is actually pretty accurate,” said a voice, interrupting their conversation. It was a rough voice filled with authority that instantly hushed the handful of adventurers. A middle-aged man in light snake-skin leathers walked into the room. At his side was Haley and a sharp-nosed man with golden eyes.

“They’re all bone forging experts,” whispered Sorin.

“Two of them are, at least,” muttered Stephan. Sorin’s eyes narrowed as he realized that the one at the center, Guild Master Roy, had a much more subdued aura than the others. Sorin hadn’t managed to sense this the last time he’d met the guild master, but now that his extraordinary meridians had fully recovered, he could sense a faint pressure coming off the man that could crush even bone forging cultivators with barely any effort.

“I normally don’t come out for these sorts of announcements,” said the guild master. “But graverobbing – or archeology, as our young friend Lawrence put it, is something our guild hasn’t gotten to do in quite some time. I’m here to tell you that it’s true. Ruins were discovered by a one-star adventuring team two weeks back; only one person returned alive, so Vice-Guild Master Victor was dispatched to investigate along with a priest from the Temple of Hope.

“I’m pleased to announce that this ruin has been classified as a one-star ruin, a good level considering the level of cultivators our outpost produces. The coordinates are available for purchase for a 500-gold fee per team, payable upon return of the expedition, a small price compared to each group’s potential findings. Yes, Silphia?”

“Will the ruin be protected by spell formations or trapped in any way?” asked a mage in bright green robes.

Guild Master Roy chuckled. “I actually have no idea. This is an unspoiled ruin, you see. Vice Guild Master Victor was only responsible for escorting the Priest of Hope. Only its difficulty level and treasure levels were determined. Yes, Mr. Wexler?”

A tall, brawny man with a shield strapped to his back stood up. “Pardon, Guild Master, but I wanted to clarify: is the difficulty upper one star or lower one star?”

“Definitely upper,” said the guild master. “Almost pushing on the two-star level, which is why we recommend it be raided by a large team. Any other questions? Excellent. Then let the –”

The guild master’s voice trailed off as he looked towards the entrance of the Adventurers Guild. The door creaked open, revealing a pleasant-looking man in physician robes. Sorin immediately recognized the man as Physician Marcus. What’s he doing here? thought Sorin.

“Physician Marcus,” said Guild Master Roy with an obviously fake smile. “I don’t recall inviting you to this announcement. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?”

“It’s me who is honored by your presence, guild master,” said Physician Marcus, looking about the room with a smile. His gaze lingered on Sorin for a few seconds before moving over the rest of the crowd and settling back on the guild master. “I just thought I’d pay a visit given the recent misunderstanding between the Medical Association and the Adventurers Guild.”

“I’m not sure exactly what you mean,” said Guild Master Roy. “The Adventurers Guild and the Medical Association has always had a positive and cooperative relationship.”

“And that is exactly what I wish to re-iterate,” said Physician Marcus. “You all have my personal assurance that regardless of the injuries or setbacks anyone suffers, the Growing Branches Clinic will not turn anyway anyone. Adventurers are the lifeblood of this outpost and the brave heroes that defend our growing civilization. If the clinic is full, we’ll extend our hours well into the night to make sure each every person receives the care they deserve.”

Guild Master Roy’s smile slipped for a moment but recovered quickly. “I’m happy to hear you make such a guarantee. But I also hope that our adventurers will be more cautious and remember that while fighting demons is allowed, fighting amongst themselves is strictly prohibited.”

“I meant no harm with my words,” said Physician Marcus. “It is my humble wish that all our adventurers return in good health and good spirits.”

“I have no doubt, Physician Marcus,” said Guild Master Roy. “Will that be everything, or will you be taking a seat?”

“I won’t take up your valuable time, Guild Master Roy,” said Marcus. “If you or your adventurers require anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. He set his gaze on Sorin one last time before turning around and leaving the guild.

Guild Master Roy said a few more words before announcing the official release of the ‘archeological mission’. All loot from the raid would need to be assessed before rewards were given out, but some example rewards were posted for lost techniques, medicinal seeds, alchemical potions, and spell books, among other things.

“What a snake,” said Sorin as the guild master left.

“Who? The Guild Master?” asked Lawrence.

“Physician Marcus, obviously,” said Sorin. “The man basically begged everyone here to be reckless on this expedition.”

“That’s the Kepler Clan for you,” said Stephan. “And most of the big clans for that matter. Scheming and intraguild conflicts aside, is everyone for?” No one dissented, so Stephan went to register their team and obtained a map of the ruins location.

“That’s a long ways out,” said Gareth, inspecting the map. “We’ll need to carry weeks of provisions with us. Actually, fasting potions are probably the better option, considering weigh limitations.”

“I’m of the same mind,” said Stephan. “Thoughts, anyone?”

“I’m fine with going directly to the ruin, but I was wondering if we could make a small detour,” said Sorin. “There are poisons I’m looking to acquire, and looking for them wouldn’t be a huge detour, assuming we go by boat. I’m sure that we’d find demon cores and other medicinal ingredients aplenty.”

“I’m pro not putting all our eggs in one basket,” said Gareth. Out of all the team members, he was most risk averse. “But it really depends on location.”

Sorin placed a finger on the map, and Daphne groaned. “Really? Manabane swamp? You want to go there of all places?”

“It’s the most likely place for me to find the poison I’m looking for,” said Sorin. “Though I understand if you all wouldn’t want to go. Daphne’s abilities would be of limited use out there.”

“Who needs to blow things up when we can just sneak around and steal things?” said Lawrence. “I’m sure Sorin isn’t suggesting we exterminate everything in the swamp for bounties. In and out, then onto the dungeon, right Sorin?”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Sorin.

“Manabane swamp…” said Stephan, wincing. “It’s not the best place to go, but that’s where there’s money to be made, I suppose. All in favor?” Sorin, Stephan, and Lawrence raised their hands, but Gareth and Daphne did not. “Looks like the motion passes. But I agree with Lawrence. We’re not going in there to fight. There’s no winning a war of attrition out there.”

“That’s not a problem,” said Sorin. “We can poke our nose in, and if we don’t like what we’re seeing, we’ll turn the boat around.”

“Then it’s settled,” said Stephan. “We’ll spend a day making preparations. Gareth and Daphne, sort the boat out. Lawrence, you’re with me on supply-gathering duty.”

“What about me?” asked Sorin.

“You?” said Stephan. “You’re wounded, Sorin, and there’s people out there that want your life. And don’t think I didn’t see you wince when you sat down. You’re on bed rest for the entire day, and if I hear anything about you causing trouble, I’m kicking you out of the group and finding someone else to fill your shoes.”

Sorin groaned. “This is place is terrible. Why don’t I just go back to my place to rest?”

“If you’re sure your butler and maid can keep you safe, then go right ahead,” said Stephan. “Now – Lawrence? Where did Lawrence go?”

“He slipped out back,” said Gareth. “Said something about having better things to do than following a bear around the outpost.”

Stephan didn’t seem surprised by the revelation. In fact, he seemed quite pleased by this result. “And here I thought he wouldn’t give me a chance to retaliate. Know any trustworthy alchemists, Gareth?”

“I happen to know a few female alchemists who have it out for Lawrence,” said Gareth. “I’ll ask around to see what kind of ideas they have.”