“Good luck, knight. I’m a part of you now. Until eternity,” it mocked.
Fucking perfect.
“Let’s ransack what we can and get the hell out of here,” I said.
The bodies of the guards had long since vanished, and Liam's corpse was gone as well, leaving behind a paltry few items from his inventory. I took his gear and the cane-sword since it seemed to be hero-tier.
I had no idea on the patrol schedule of the guards, and people could still come looking for their dead comrades, only to find us instead. A prospect I didn't relish coming to pass.
Eris nodded, finding the logic in what I was saying. She took the few potions and coins on the table while I looked past the cages and tried to find anything.
Liam worked for Magnus; there has to be something. Some lead to follow or clue as to his whereabouts.
I quickly searched the contents of the room, took the vials of health and mana potions Eris handed me, as well as a bottle labeled “sleeping draught.” It bore the same bright green liquid as the syringe. There was nothing more evident in the room, though my gut told me I was missing something.
This place was built more like a vault than a mere holding room for valuable slaves.
A second, more thorough run through the room led me to a secreted safe hidden in a false wall panel. The slight discoloration in the wood was my only tip-off, and if I hadn't been listening to my gut, I'd have missed it.
Using a metal crowbar I found next to an empty crate, I forced the handle open. I put all my weight into it, shearing the metal and making a lot of noise. I shattered through the lock and tore the door off the safe. It swung open, only to fall off its hinges, nearly crushing my foot as it tumbled to the ground.
Sitting inside the rather large safe were several boxes of papers and a wooden chest with an intricate lock built into it. A glance through the documents told me they were bills of sale. It seemed Liam kept detailed records of all his dealings. I noticed the names of a few high nobles and aristocrats, and I even saw William Curran's name a few times. It seems the Northern King likes his slave girls. I wonder how his queen feels about that?
I tucked those sheaves into my inventory, never knowing when I'd need to blackmail a monarch.
I kept looking through the papers, hoping for a lead on Magnus, but there was nothing. Not a single scrap to indicate the man even existed. For how many slaves Phineas said he was buying, and how detailed Liam was, the documents were missing for a reason.
I couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. What was I expecting to find, a bill of sale with Magnus's name and his exact location and weaknesses? Life doesn't work that way.
I'd have to find him the hard way. The way that would demand a much higher price.
I had his name, and that was a valuable piece of information. There were powerful beings I could call upon to ask for help, though it would cost me dearly. If I have to resort to calling upon them, it'll make the deal I made with the Aspect look favorable in comparison. But I'll do whatever I have to if it means seeing that bastard brought to heel for what he's done to me.
With the documents out of the way, I picked up the chest. It was heavy, incredibly so. I struggled to heft it out of the safe and down to the ground. Once it was on the ground, I was able to get a better look at the lock.
It was a complex number with two keyholes and looked to have a few built-in fail-safes. You needed two keys turned in tandem to open this chest. One glance at the lock told me I had no chance in hell of picking it. I imagine this lock would even give Wilson trouble.
So, I broke the wooden lid of the chest, bypassing the lock entirely. Sitting inside the chest was gold. It was filled to the brim with gold coins, thousands of them. A small fortune, at least.
One look at the money, and I was already thinking of ways I could spend it. I would sort out exactly how much gold it was later when we were away from the slave house, but I tried and failed to store the entirety of the chest in my inventory…of course.
With the destruction of the lid, the chest no longer functioned as a storage container. Which meant I couldn't carry it with me. I could take as much as I could carry. Around five thousand gold was the most I could hold at once since I had no stat points in Carrying Capacity, and that wouldn’t even dent the pile.
I hated to leave that much wealth on the table and walk, but I didn't have any other options. Eris didn't have anything to store it in, and it would only slow us down if we tried.
I scooped as many coins into my purse as I could. It ended up being three thousand two hundred and fifty-three coins added to my wallet. Not even a fourth of the coins still in the chest. Oh, well. I still made a profit on this trip.
With one last covetous glance at the chest of gold, I wound my arm through Eris's and unlocked the heavy door to leave this wretched place.
Chapter 26 - Escape
The heavy iron door groaned as I forced it open, scraping against the metal frame in protest and echoing throughout the massive warehouse,
