Street Freaks Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals

The boxes sit upon a thick floating shelf, its stone carved with glowing white runes, put in place centuries earlier by the Mistress Wizard Kath the Light. The cavern held many secrets of temptation–gold, silver, jewels, and implements of magic. Any king would have envied it.

But he pays no mind to the treasures of the room. They mattered to others but not he. The Loeclos Box of Wonder. The Stasis Box of Mystery. And the Tangle Box of Intrigue. He is there for them. The boxes are made of black marble, shiny titanium veins running through stone, capturing the red light of his torch. All boxes hold signed or rare books. All possess power within their pages. And even as he looks them over–reveling that he had reached this moment–he feels the magic emanating from them, their unknown contents enticing him, drawing him like steel to a lodestone.

The man breathes in the cold air of the cavern, thinking. He has spent his morning making his way through numerous wizard traps beneath the Dragonspell Mountains. The mistress wizard had more than most. He made his way through them but others had been less fortunate in the past. The remains of other treasure hunters littered his way.

None of them had made it as far as he had. He should feel some form of pride. If anything, it leaves him feeling more worried than ever before.

“Don’t get cocky, Shaw,” he says. “Danger is a soft breath that kills.”

His cat stabs him in the leg with her claws, his constant warning in dangerous situations.

“Auri, stop,” the man replies, kneeling to scratch her ears. “I know what I’m doing. This is not the first wizard horde we’ve entered.”

The cat stops purring and glares up at him, yellow eyes narrowed. She does not believe him. He sighs, returning his attention to the dilemma before him. “Well, sweetheart, there is only one thing I can do. I cannot pick which one to open first.” Auri growls low. He ignores her. “Therefore, I shall open them all.”

The man spreads his arms wide and gathers his will, bringing his blood magic to bear, warmth spreading through his body. Tendrils of his thoughts spread out–over the shelf and their protected boxes. Magic thrums through the cavern. The runes brighten, responding to his unwanted advance. He works on them, breaking down the symbols, funneling their magic away. Kath the Light had placed great protective measures over her horde. But his patience and diligence will pay off; they have done so countless times in the past.

The first box opens, a release of power undreamt. Then the second. And the third.

When done, he takes a deep breath. The effort has sapped him. But he picks Auri up so they both can gaze at their prizes. She meows, pleased.