Dungeons and Dalliances

7.96 – Vault II

Natalie grabbed the prismatic potion sitting on the pedestal. Bringing the flask closer to her face, she studied the swirling multi-colored liquid inside. A tingling sensation went through her, probably a side effect of the item binding to her. Now that she had touched it, the item belonged to her and her alone; it couldn't be traded no matter what she did.

Presumably, she would still be able to give doses of the potion to others. It was hers to use; she just couldn't give it away. Bound items behaved strangely at times, especially edge cases like this one, a potion obviously meant to be shared within a team.

Turning, she watched Vanetta pick up her own item. A little jolt of excitement went through her as she laid eyes on the naked girl; her state of undress had briefly passed out of mind. Vanetta's hand faltered an inch away from the black orb before she steeled herself and sank her fingers into the dark liquid.

The fluid responded, surging forward to wrap around Vanetta's hand. She jerked back by reflex, and Natalie took a concerned step forward. The black liquid followed Vanetta's retreat. The [Mercurial Heart] wasn't hostile though; its movement had simply startled them.

In less than a second it had appropriated the shape of a wicked dagger, blade fourteen inches long and serrated, hilt forming inside Vanetta's palm. Also catching Vanetta by surprise was how a second black weapon formed in her other hand too, creating a pair of the vicious-looking daggers. The [Mercurial Heart] wasn't limited to a single object, apparently. It could create sets of weapons too, if it deemed it appropriate.

Vanetta held both long, dangerous daggers up to inspect them. Clearly liking what she saw, she tentatively swiped one, then the other. She began slashing with more eagerness, crouching into a combat stance as she fluidly weaved attacks, getting a feel for her new weapons.

"Huh," she said, sounding satisfied. "Nice."

Seeing Vanetta appreciate her new weapon made a pang go through Natalie. It had hurt to give up [Valentine], even if she knew her warhammer wouldn't last through the higher levels, much less her entire career.

Vanetta, on the other hand, really could take comfort in how these new daggers might last the rest of her life.

The rest of her life? Well, probably not that long. Level fifteen was higher than the vast majority of delvers would reach. It was a tier limited to generational talents. Yet Natalie suspected she would reach that rank. More than suspected it. It felt like a given.

Regardless, she wouldn't be surprised if Vanetta found an even better item to replace the [Mercurial Heart] through her adventures. And barring that, she would out-level it eventually.

With both of them having claimed their loot, the pedestals shuddered and sank into the ground. The number '4' engraved on the wall shimmered, briefly leaving a blank spot behind, and a '3' emerged to replace it.

Remaining distributions: 3

Confirmed, then. The vault was doling out pairs of loot, shown one set at a time.

The next appeared, two pedestals shuddering upward, holding new items. The first, on the left, was surprisingly simple, two rectangular tan cloths with a leather string attaching them.

***

Champion's Loincloth

Epic

Lv. 4

Binds on Pickup

Effects

- Major increase to physical Furor

- Major increase to physical Tenacity

- Smash. Blunt weapons deal additional damage.

Description

Made from sturdy, tightly woven tan cloth. Its surface is well-worn from years of use, a number of discolored repair-patches present.

***

"A loincloth," Natalie said flatly. "You're kidding."

"Good stats, though," Vanetta said, sounding mildly amused. "And two major stat upgrades. That's better than most Epics we see in town. Great effect too, if you can make use of it."

A large boost to blunt weapons—yeah, that was a solid effect, especially stacked onto two large stat upgrades. It was a straightforward and powerful piece of loot. And as perfectly tuned to her class as she could ask for.

"Still," she muttered. "A loincloth."

"Hardly worse than what you had on earlier."

"Hey. At least my armor was stylish. Look at that thing."

She put further complaints aside; there was a second item to inspect. With how perfect the loincloth was for her, it was unlikely the second would be a better fit, but she was curious.

***

Twilight Shroud

Epic

Lv. 4

Binds on Pickup

Effects

- Major increase to Prowess.

- Penumbral. Grants a significant bonus to stealth-based skills and modifiers. Requirement to activate: once a month, locate a target and begin a sexual encounter before presence is noticed.

Description

A midnight blue veil, slightly transparent and covered with star-like white flecks.

***

"There it is," Natalie said. "I was waiting. Was honestly surprised by how normal the first three were."

Vanetta screwed her face up. The distribution of these two items was obvious: one was strength-focused and one was agility-focused, and both were roughly equivalent in objective strength. So, obviously, Natalie would be getting the loincloth and Vanetta the veil.

And the veil had that requirement attached.

"And you complained about yours," Vanetta groaned. "That's bizarre even by the City's standards."

Natalie wasn't sure about that. She'd seen some crazy effects in the City's shops. But it was on the higher end of creative, without a doubt.

"At least it's only once a month," she snickered. "You can chalk it up to extra practice, sneaking up on people."

"Don't find it so funny," Vanetta growled. "You're just happy because you're the one benefiting from it."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "I am, am I?"

Behind the calm facade, the words affected her more than Vanetta had probably intended. Because it implied she was the only person Vanetta would use as a 'target'. They hadn't had an exclusivity talk, because their relationship, while growing friendlier, was more sexually focused than romantic—and she didn't know whether their dynamic would change when they left the City and returned to their usual routines.

But apparently Vanetta had assumed it would only be her she would hunt down once a month.

"I might be looking forward to how you make that happen, sure," Natalie teased. "I'll start leaving my dorm window unlocked. It might be a secret fantasy of mine, to get woken up in the middle of the night like that."

Vanetta made an indignant noise, and Natalie laughed.

"You'll have to be careful, though, to not wake Jordan up. Unless you want her to join in, at least. She'd definitely be down for that."

That finally turned Vanetta's face a proper deep red. Surprisingly, though, her response wasn't more sputtering. "I have been wondering what those girls are like," she muttered, looking away. "Have to be saints, to put up with you."

Natalie paused, then sighed. Even just touching on the topic made a pang of loneliness hit her. She missed her teammates—all of them, but maybe Jordan most. Because she and Jordan had been inseparable since as far back as she could remember. Childhood best friends. A week was hardly that long to be separated, and she'd kept a busy schedule, not giving her much time to dwell. But she wasn't looking forward to another week without her. It had been her own fault for bringing her up.

"So, loincloth for me, veil for you?" Natalie asked.

Vanetta pursed her lips, probably sensing Natalie's shift in mood. "I think that's a given. Unless you object?"

Natalie shook her head, so the two of them stepped forward to grab their respective items.