Liara didn't exactly take my hand, but she didn't ignore me either. Instead, I got a side slap that might as well be her awkward way of giving me a high-five.
"We could have died," Liara whispered.
"We would have died," I corrected her. "Once we were both under the curse of gold fever, we'd have picked up one of these grimoires unprepared and died from whatever magical protection they've got on them."
"Subtle."
"Brilliant."
She raised an eyebrow at me. Then she sighed. "Okay. Yes, it is godsdamn brilliant, isn't it?"
"Dwalinn's making?"
"Probably. Who else would be so conniving?"
With a promise to keep both our eyes away from the shiny objects and their pedestals, Liara and I resumed our trek across the Vault of Glass.
"Wisdom…"
"Yeah?"
"The history books talk of ancient grimoires being made from stuff other than paper… I'm assuming these relics around us now are exactly what the books were describing?"
"If you mean they're stored with the knowledge and experience of those who came before us then yeah. Pretty much."
"Over on the right… do you see it?"
I glanced ever so briefly to my right and noticed the polished golden sword hanging from its jeweled weapon rack about two rows down from us. I'd browsed the vault's section of Divah's journal enough times that I knew most of its special grimoires and their descriptions by heart, and this particular sword was on Divah's do-not-touch list.
"I see it… Is it… calling to you?"
"Yes…"
I figured something as powerful as the 'Sword of Damocles' would be the kind of pervert to whisper sweet nothings into a budding blade enchanter's ear. It was also the perfect grimoire to help Liara in her training too. If only the sword wasn't cursed with forcing its wielder into a state of perpetual paranoia for their impending doom after every swing of the blade.
"You're familiar with the story of Damocles, right?"
"Oh."
"Yeah, I don't think you want the 'Grimoire of Impending Disaster' to be your pick."
"All right, let's move on then…"
I could hear the longing in Liara's voice—that sword must have been trying its best to woo her—and promised her a grimoire more worthy of her talent.
"I've trusted you so far."
A few steps later and it was my turn to stop suddenly.
"What is it?" Liara asked.
I could hear the whispers in my mind; the promises of power over death and all that usual drivel—and I almost smiled.
"On your left," I said. "See that ring…"
A glance to her left would have shown Liara the simple golden ring lying on its glass pedestal.
"What's wrong with it?"
Ah, she was getting it now. Yes, there was certainly something wrong with this grimoire, a fact anyone would realize just by looking closely at how its glass pedestal was stained with black spots.
"It's called the 'One Ring of Wraiths' and it used to belong to a long-dead dark lord who'd terrorized the realmsverse a long time ago."
Honestly, I would have found the One Ring's whispered promises very enticing if it weren't for the fact that I already had power over death. Or rather, death had no power over me anymore.
"Okay, is everything in this vault cursed?" Liara complained.
"Not everything… We just have to know which is which." I patted the journal clipped to my belt. "And I've got a list of who's being naughty and which ones are nice."
I led Liara past more sparkly treasures—one or two actual Norn Stones, the Eternity Glove, Staff of Moses, Eye of Myrdinn, and the Golden Fleece, to name a few—and over to the very back of the vault where seven pedestals were lined together on a glass dais.
"Here we are," I grinned excitedly.
On a quick inspection, I noticed that two of the seven pedestals were empty, which sucked because I was hoping to nab the 'Wheel of Time' for myself. However, I couldn't find the wheel-shaped grimoire on its pedestal and figured it was probably in Grandmaster Dwalinn's hands. He was the only practitioner of Chronomancy I knew of after all.
"The pedestal on the right that's missing its grimoire has the alchemical symbol for air carved on its glass…" Liara's brow creased slightly. "Also… I can sense the elements from these grimoires. There's so much of it… It couldn't be…"
That was an understatement. There was so much power gathered around this dais that just standing close to its bottom step gave me shivers, and I wasn't one to shiver lightly. As for that empty pedestal, well, Divah hadn't left this place emptyhanded when she'd visited it, you know.
"These are the grimoires of the elemental kings, aren't they?" Liara asked.
"Good guess," I answered.
Of the many stories of creation scattered throughout the realmsverse, the one I liked best was the tale of how the 'Maker of Old' awakened the elements within the 'Everlasting Darkness' and then used their collective powers to give birth to life, Yggdrasil, and the Realm Ethereal. These first elements of earth, air, water, fire, light, dark, and time would later become the kings of Yggdrasil's springtime days, which according to ancient history, was the most bountiful time of the realmsverse.
"When the 'Maker of Old' called the kings back to his side in his heavenly palace, they made sure to leave their teachings behind for their successors, the custodians who would lead the Realm Ethereal into more prosperous days… Within their symbols of power, the kings stored their knowledge, their strength, and their shared wish so that those worthy of their grimoires could fulfill the duty that cannot be forsworn," I recited the tale just like Divah had taught me. Then I shrugged. "Basically, with great power comes—"
"Don't say it," Liara sighed. Then she elbowed me in the gut. "You've been here all of two days and you're already on the verge of upending the novice ecosystem, aren't you?"
"What makes you think I haven't yet?" I began walking up the dais steps, which wasn't easy to do when one was also bombarded by a bunch of leaking unstable elemental energy. "I did make that bell ring already, right?"
"A challenge to everyone in the Academy then?" Liara asked as she followed me up the steps like she was showing me she could do it too. It made me smile inside because I was beginning to think I had found the right partner for my future adventures.
"A promise," I replied. "I'm going to be the number one adventurer in all the realmsverse."
'And figure out why the Hel I was given Extra Life too…'
I was already at the top step when Liara slid to my right and basked in the same energy storm that was making the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
"You'll make a fine number two, Wisdom," she stated. "That number one spot is mine."
"Challenge accepted."
Liara stepped toward the pedestal that was third from the right almost as if on instinct. Interestingly, the grimoire sitting on it was the same one I would have recommended to her even though it wasn't exactly a match for her chosen class.
"It's calling to you, huh?"
I asked a question I already knew the answer to because the pedestal to the right of hers had been calling out to me too. Not by name or half-baked promises, but by the feeling of sunshine on my face and the sand beneath my feet. I could hear the rumble of a volcano and smell the scent of chestnuts roasting on an open fire. More importantly, I tasted the chili mead on my tongue, and that was all I needed to know this grimoire was my kind of lady.
The ring of my status bar's alarm awakened me from that very nice dream. However, by the time sense came back to me the trinket that had been nestled on the pedestal was already in my hands. It was an orange gemstone shaped to resemble a burning hearth. A soft, golden glow emanated from it, bringing heat and warmth to my palms.
"Oh, frigid Hel," I gasped. "I shouldn't have done that…"
"Done what?" Liara asked.
I glanced sideways at her and noticed that she'd committed the same error I did. A glowing white tiara was wrapped in her hands. No, this wasn't gold fever. It was something more primal than that. This was us making the mistake of answering the call to adventure before we were properly ready for it.
"Picked up the damn grimoire without preparing to attune to it…"
It was an explanation that came too late, however, because the elemental energies that had been locked away within the grimoires spread out to greet us in full and overwhelmed us entirely, forcing us both to scream in unbearable pain.