The Keepers of Chaos: A Vault of Hell

Riu Astrial: CXXV

"His?" Laeral whispered. The lady frowned and Markos's left eyes twitched realizing what Laeral was only now noticing. "What seems to be wrong with that room?" Laeral got closer, curious it seemed.

"Whole bullshit of psychic crap," Adleth responded

"It seems meant to distract you. We don't really know, but better to avoid it." Herod finished.

"Yeah so we just use Cerdest here.." Markos paused looking up at his familiar. "Dammit you are horrifying.." He whispered Riu was taken aback. Hold on.. Shed never heard him describe his familiar with anything but love.

"Aww but I think she's cute." Riu piped up, she reached out and petted the little flying squid. However while the guard followed Cerdest into the room and down the hallway, Laeral stopped and walked over to the mural on the wall. Riu averted her eyes and stared at the ground wishing Kuro could be resistant to psychic attacks like Cerdest in that moment. However, it seemed the mural didn't affect her. The lady touched its surface oddly, while a compulsion seemed to talk in the root of Riu's brain, like a nagging feeling to stare at the mural. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Herod clasped her while he looked outside of the room.

"That's kind of a flex." Herod joked pointing at Laeral.

"That is kinda a flex." Markos agreed.

"Weird flex but ok." Herod pulled Riu aside so as to not make her look at the portrait.

"It's a charm person.." Laeral explained. "It seems to just want you to gaze at it.. Forever. A strange bit of magic. Interesting for my first time down here.."

"Oh yes, very gorgeous.." Markos agreed. "Er- please pay no attention to the dead cultist bodies- or why they're all missing their cloaks god dammit.. That's really.. Why?"

"Didn't you do that?" Herod criticized. Riu held up her hands in agreement.

"Listen, you think my adventuring group didn't do similar things to cultists?" Laeral laughed.

"Oh that's fantastic, wow this is already smoking." Riu watched a piece of metal begin to ignite around Markos's neck. "Jesus christ.. Alright well, can I borrow someones.. Or.. Nah it'll be ok.." Laeral seemed to perk up at Markos's words. Mouthing a few of them to herself before she shook her head.

"Anyway my lady.. If you would follow the path there.. We could easily lead you to the vault and-" Laeral approached her, giving a soft smile.

"Thank you.. Lady Astrial right? I have heard a great deal about you." Riu led the way down the stairs now as she came across the guards setting up bridging supplies across the gap. An advantage they did not have. The men crossed the narrow gap and they all entered the vault itself, Riu wasn't sure what to do as she stood around for a good deal of it. She wasn't exactly able to aid in the guard's collection as they scattered around the room shoveling gold into chests and bins before running up the stairs and back across the bridge. Laeral seemed to get along with Aurinax the dragon dwarf but she seemed a tad bit upset with his guarding of the money. Eventually, after a while of collection Laeral pointed to a large chest of gold.

"Give it to them," Laeral ordered. Riu took a step back. There was a grand total of ten chests, containing the half a million gold dragons which were contained in the vault. Just one meant.. Fifty thousand gold dragons. "It's their reward for this." Laeral smiled.

"Damn, I thought she was hot before. Now we're getting money?" Adleth chuckled. At this point, they were all there, with Vestus helping to lift up a crate, and more aid Riu approached Laeral.

"While the gold is amazing and all.. We would hope that you, you believe us on some uh.. Other matters.." Markos sounded more like his normal self but even now he was stumbling through his words. She gazed over, was he.. Blushing?