Kaelen grinned. "After you, Markus."
The mine was old.
Not the old of ancient artifacts and preserved murals. The old of darkness that had never known light. The old of air so still and cold it felt like breathing water. Their footsteps echoed off walls that had been carved by pick and chisel generations ago, the tool marks still visible in the dim glow of Markus's lantern.
The shaft sloped gently downward, then leveled out into a chamber. The ceiling was low enough that Markus had to bend while walking. The floor was uneven, scattered with rubble and the bones of old support beams. Water dripped somewhere in the distance, a steady plink-plink-plink that seemed to come from all directions at once.
And there, against the far wall, were the trunks.
Three of them. Iron-banded oak, their lids slightly askew. Kaelen crossed the chamber, his boots crunching on something that might have been crushed ore, and pushed the first lid open.
Light spilled out.
Raw mana stones, uncut and unpolished, filled the trunk to the brim. They glowed with a soft, internal luminescence pale blue, deep green, the occasional flash of violet. The light reflected off Kaelen's face, off Markus's armour, off the dripping walls. The chamber seemed to breathe with them.
The system flickered again:
[System Notification: Relationship Update]
[Markus – Trust: Increased 98/100]
[Markus – Combat Potential: Increased by 1%]
[Note: Guard's loyalty deepens. He now believes you have foresight he does not understand.]
Kaelen looked over his shoulder. Markus stood frozen at the entrance, his lantern dangling forgotten, his face lit by the mana glow. His expression was not greed. It was awe.
"My lord," Markus whispered. "This is… a fortune."
"A fortune," Kaelen repeated.
He turned back to the trunks, his mind already calculating. The original protagonist had used these stones to buy influence.
"Markus," he said. "Listen carefully."
The big man straightened.
"In three days, when the snow stops, you will return here alone. You will take enough stones to fill a saddlebag no more. You will find a broker, someone who deals in raw mana without asking questions. You will convert half the stones into gold, and you will open a new bank account under a name that does not exist. Not anything connected to me."
Markus nodded slowly. "And the other half?"
"You keep them. For practice, I know you have army brothers you care for and your mana channels are underdeveloped. With these, you can train and also help them."
Kaelen reached into the trunk and selected a single stone smaller than the others, but dense, heavy for its size, pulsing with a deep amber light. He held it out to Markus.
It was of course the mana dense stone from the system.
"For you. Personal."
Markus stared at the stone. Then at Kaelen. His jaw worked silently. His eyes, which Kaelen had never seen show anything but calm professionalism, began to glisten.
Before Kaelen could react, Markus dropped to one knee. The stone was cradled in both hands like a holy offering. His head bowed.
"My lord," Markus said, his voice rough. He stopped. Swallowed. "No one has ever trusted me with something so valuable, I promise to follow you to my last."
Kaelen felt his face go hot.
"Stand up," he said, and his voice came out softer than he intended. "Please, Markus. Stand up."
Markus rose. His eyes were still wet, but his jaw was set. He tucked the mana dense stone into a pouch at his belt, close to his heart.
"As you command, my lord."
Kaelen turned back to the trunks to hide his reddening cheeks, he was easily embarrassed. Sprite poked its head out of his pocket, sniffed the mana glow, and sneezed, then licked the stone.
Kaelen smiled.