B2 Chapter 271: Ill Gotten Gains, Finale

Strapping his greaves onto his trusty leather boots, Kaius breathed a sigh of relief and comfort.

Spending so long without his equipment had left him feeling vulnerable and naked. Now, draped in shining scale, with his sword back on his hip, he felt whole once more.

Though, it was still a little strange to feel the dense layered fabric that covered him from neck to his mid thigh under his cuirass. His new gambeson had proven to be a much welcome addition. Made from innately magical cloth, it would help to significantly blunt any impacts to his chest—one of the major weaknesses of his flexible scale armour.

Tugging at its hem, he pulled up its description once more.

Ithrian Standard Issue Gamberson:

Rare – Tier I

Our wealth is seen in our armies, and the equipment they field. Where they tread, light and prosperity follows.

Made from layered and quilted canvas that has been woven from force attuned cotton, this gamberson is designed to sit under an outer layer of armour and blunt impacts. A variety of simple inscriptions ensure the comfort of its wearer.

Depths-wrought Artefact.

Padded Under-armour

Durability I, Impact Negation II, Temperature Control I, Self Cleaning I, Self Repair I

The fact it was also self cleaning, and would aid in regulating his temperature was an unneeded, but much welcome addition. While he was more than used to the sticky layer of viscera that came with all good battles, it didn’t mean he enjoyed needing to hose himself off after every fight.

Turning his attention back to his collection of spatial rings, Kaius dipped his awareness into the one holding the stash of tonics.

Most of them were unknown to him, but after searching them by scent while he had gotten changed, he’d managed to ferret out the distinctive reek of various restoratives. Not many, just a bare few for each resource, but enough to give them a sizable edge.

He’d already downed a healing one to top himself off, and passed a mana potion over to Ianmus for him to do the same.

He took a moment to shuffle a few of each tonic into three other rings—where they would be far easier to pick out than from a legion of similar looking bottles. Even if most spatial artifacts gave an awareness of what lay inside, it helped little when the contents were already unfamiliar.

Whistling sharply, Kaius grabbed his team’s attention.

He pulled off two rings—one mostly filled with reagents, the other plain valuables—and flicked the glistening bands towards Ianmus and Kenva.

Catching the rings, Ianmus gave him a simple nod, while Kenva looked at him in surprise.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I did little to assist with opening the vault—returning my family’s gifts was more than enough.”

Kaius nodded. “I put some tonics inside it—a ring will make them far easier to use in battle. If we end up going our separate ways after we fully escape, you can always return it.”

“Though, I will ask that you at least come with us to Deadacre. No doubt, a significant chunk of these valuables are stolen goods—probably from this very region. I’d like to return them, if we can. I’ll not give up the rings, or the platinum, but anything else I have no strong attachment to. We can do a proper accounting and split our earnings after—I’m not going to stiff someone who’s helping us escape out of their earned cut.”

Kenva paused, before she slowly nodded and slipped the ring on her finger. “An uncommon show of trust, and a rare display of honour, I will not forget this.”

Kaius gave her a nod, before he took in his team in full.

Their newest, and perhaps temporary, member stood draped in heavy leathers—her vitals covered by fine metal plates that did little to hamper her mobility. Her clan’s bow was in her hands, and two short blades were at her hips—one almost ceremonially ornate, while the other had the militaristic austerity of plain steel. Mana flowed through her—a bright trail that connected to the quiver on her back, quickly repopulating with needle-point bodkin arrows.

Ianmus stood not far from her, cloaked in his cream coloured robes, staff in hand, with his still-charged eon stone drifting over his shoulder. Between his pale garb, alabaster skin, and platinum hair he looked every bit the high-minded mage untouched by mortal concerns. He even had a new wand at his hip—the one Kaius had passed to him—sealing the look even further.

The new wand was a nice addition. Ianmus had said he could use it to create decently sized force barriers—a fantastic find, considering that more physical defenses were usually far outside of the wheelhouse of his Solar affinity.

Finally, Porkchop stood waiting by the door—rearing and ready to go as he needled the ground restlessly with his claws. His brother had retracted his shield from baring the door, the telekinetic slab hovering close to his spine.

Watching them, Kaius saw his burning need to move echoed in the shifting of their feet, and their restless glances to the door. They’d all spent far too much time here in the dark, and as much as plundering their captors’ wealth had been a much needed release of frustration it could only quell them so much.

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They were ready. The first stage of their escape was finished, and now they only needed to burn a path to freedom.

He clenched his fist, feeling his gauntlet creak underneath the pressure as he stared at the cold stone beneath his feet. Retribution would come, but they had to escape first.

“We’ve all suffered,” Kaius started, drawing his companions eyes. “We all know that. We’re all angry and vengeful, we know that too.”

He looked up, seeing the fire in their eyes. “There will be blood tonight, but we must control ourselves—I know I didn’t set the best example when I battered that guard’s head in, and for that I apologise, but we can’t afford to lose sight of what’s at stake. Freedom.”