Chapter 68: The Divine Right Sword - Org
Mountains of weapons and armor glittered in the dim light. The most conspicuous was a pile of multi-colored gems, each one as magnificent as the ones they had found in the dragon's lair. The lumina-stones embedded in the walls were clearly of the highest quality, still emitting a soft glow even after hundreds of years. They were on a completely different level from the faintly glowing stones outside.
"I thought there would be more precious metals, like gold."
Rhodes walked over to a shimmering pile of gold coins of various designs. He had imagined the dwarven treasury would be like something out of The Hobbit, a room overflowing with gold, a veritable sea of coins. In that story, Smaug had been buried in the gold, and the main character hadn't even noticed him at first. That's how much there had been. But the pile before him was a little disappointing.
"It is a bit small. It clearly doesn't match the legends," Serie said. As an elf who had lived through the golden age and subsequent fall of the first Dwarven Kingdom, she knew the truth behind the legends. And for the dwarves, the reality was often even more incredible than the legend.
"Did we go the wrong way? Or is there more than one treasury like this?" Norne asked, having joined them at some point.
"I'm not sure. Let's look for clues."
Rhodes's gaze swept across the treasury and finally landed on an inconspicuous stone pedestal in a corner. On it were a dozen or so thick books, and the pedestal itself was inlaid with star-like minerals that glowed with a faint blue light. "Wait, these books are..." He walked over and picked one up, but didn't open it right away. He didn't know what they were made of. If it was ordinary paper, after centuries, it would be extremely fragile and could easily be damaged. He had to be careful, like an archaeologist excavating a tomb.
Serie followed him over, a look of surprise on her face. "These must be the grimoires of other races. And they're made of a special material, to be able to withstand the ravages of time for hundreds of years."
Hearing her say that, Rhodes relaxed.
"These races are so stingy. Why didn't they just use dragon-hide paper?"
Serie rolled her eyes at him. "Do you think every race can just go out and slay a dragon? And to go to all that trouble just for some paper... it's pointless."
A dragon's body was a treasure trove in itself, and they also had a penchant for shiny gems and minerals. All of that was a far better reward for a dragon-slayer. It was a pity that they hadn't taken more gems and minerals from the dragon's lair. They had left most of it behind for some lucky adventurer to find. In this era, those things weren't very useful anyway, only for trading with the dwarves. If this were a later age, he might have tried to take it all.
Hearing her say that, Rhodes didn't respond, but Norne looked a little uncomfortable. After all, the main reason they had slain the dragon was for its hide to make their grimoire. The treasure had just been a bonus.
But they didn't dwell on it.
Rhodes took a grimoire and opened it to the first page. Words, written in a shimmering silver ink, immediately appeared. It was a complete magical tutorial. He felt that if he just studied it for a little while, he would be able to grasp the basics of the spell. But that was just because of his own talent. For Norne and Eirik, it would probably take several days.
"These must have been the payment from other races when they traded with the dwarves. Looks like we got lucky," he said. He remembered Serie telling him before that every spell in this world was precious. Except for the demons, who were born with magic, all the other races had to learn it. And every demon was born with a different kind of magic, which meant that, in theory, the demons were the most magically diverse and talented race in the world. It was just a fact that the other races were unwilling to admit. And so far, no other race had been able to learn their magic, unlike the spells in these books, which could be taught to others.
"Yes. This will save us a lot of trouble," Serie said.
There were at least a dozen grimoires on the stone pedestal, representing a dozen or so spells she had never seen before. The weight of the books in her hands made her smile. She couldn't wait to see what kind of magic they contained.
"Look at this," Somme said, handing a book he had found on another pedestal to Rhodes.
"Let's see," he said, and read the words aloud: "This is the inner vault of the Dwarven Kingdom, which holds the secrets of the stars and the brilliance of the silver moon."
"The inner vault?" Norne came over. "So this is just a part of the treasury?"
"I get it!" Rhodes exclaimed. "The treasury is divided into an inner and outer vault! The outer vault holds the legendary treasures, while the true treasures are in the inner vault, which only the king and a few others can enter." No wonder the treasury they had entered was so small. This place held the dwarves' most precious treasures. It all made sense now. The dwarves were quite considerate, to leave a book here to explain things to any intruders. The book even listed all the treasures in the inner vault. Though he suspected it was just for inventory purposes.
Eirik rubbed his hands together excitedly. "So that means the things in here are even more valuable than what's outside?"
"Of course," Serie nodded. "The treasures of the outer vault, no matter how numerous, are just useless trinkets. But here..." Her finger traced a line on the page. "...are the most precious magical knowledge of all the races..."
Her voice trailed off. Rhodes followed her gaze. On the page was a startling entry:
[The Divine Right Sword - Org. Forged by a hundred master smiths of the Dwarven Kingdom, it possesses the power to strike down the true body of a god.]
[Forging Materials: Eternal Ore, Star Gold, Particulate Stone...]
Wow! So it's real!? Rhodes was in disbelief. You dwarves are really something else! To have actually created a holy sword that can kill a god in the Age of Myth. Weren't you afraid that the gods would find out and smite you?
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