Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 23

There was a treasure box sitting in the spot where the marble golem had fallen. It was made out of dark wood that had been smoothed and oiled, and if that wasn't fancy enough, each of the box's corners had been gilded and engraved.

The men in black wasted no time in cracking the treasure box open. Dhin was the first to eagerly reach in.

"There's four of them!" He showed them his palm, on which rested four little crystals. They sparkled a beautiful sky blue.

Rasin smiled broadly. "Then our efforts today have been rewarded."

"What are those?" Severance asked. He'd stayed back to let the others check out the box first, but now his curiosity drove him closer.

"Amaurite crystals," Rasin answered. He reached out and took two of them from his son's palm. Not even a second later, Maun swiped another, leaving Dhin with a single crystal.

Immediately, the joy on Dhin's face contorted into a scowl. "Why do you get two?"

"Because I'm the oldest," Rasin said.

Dhin scoffed, not impressed. "Whatever, old man."

Severance hid a smile. These two acted nothing like what he'd first expected. Instead, they were simply a father and son that got along well. A family.

His amusement snuffed out in an instant. Family. His own father was nothing like Rasin. He hardly could even be considered a father at all. On most days, the man couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge the existence of a son.

Severance turned away. There was a bitter taste on his tongue and loneliness yawned into a pit of emptiness. Why couldn't he have something like that?

"Here."

A hand stretched out beside him, offering a bundle of gray material. It was Maun. The man didn't smile this time. Instead, there was an unfathomable deepness to his cobalt eyes.

"What's that?" Severance's gaze dropped to the item in Maun's hand. He made no move to take it.

"Your portion. We have no use for it, and I think it'll suit you better."

"That was in the box, too?"

"Yes."

"Does a box always show up at the end of a dungeon?"

"Yes." Maun's lips twitched. He still held out the gray material.

"Huh. That's why you guys come here? To get the stuff?" They had been pretty excited over the blue crystals. It was like they'd found a handful of gold, which led Severance to believe it must be something similar in value.

"That, and it's good exercise."

You're kidding. Most people went for a jog, not fight their way through a dungeon full of ferocious monsters. Severance couldn't tell if Maun was being serious or not. The man wore a perfect poker face, although now he raised his eyebrows and looked very pointedly at the bundle in his hand.

Getting the message, Severance finally accepted it. "Thanks."

He let the material unfold, and found it was a pair of white pants. The gray part of the material actually came from the scaly leather that had been sewn over the areas that would wear first, like the thighs, knees and seat.

Severance tilted his head. It wasn't exactly the style he'd go for, but they looked well crafted. And frankly, they'd probably last a lot longer than his current pair, which would tear if they so much as caught on a branch.

"Those would look better in black," came Dhin's voice. He wandered over, eyed the pants, and gave a disappointed sigh. "You should consider dying them."