Chapter 176: Ch174. Traces of the past
The forge still pulsed with a residual warmth when Mara finally turned back to Cass.
The girl hadn’t moved from her place by the wall, arms crossed, brow furrowed in a way that didn’t match her usual flippant confidence. She was staring at the glowing glyphs on the floor of the shop like they might spell out an answer if she looked long enough.
Mara leaned against her bench, tossing a cloth down beside some reforged gear.
"Alright, kid. Spit it out."
Cass glanced toward the door, making sure the others were gone. Then she stepped forward and reached into her inventory.
"There were too many [Grass Crawlers] there." She said, her voice low. "The dungeon was tagged as [Forest-Type: Tier 2], so we expected the usual. A couple of weird flora mobs, some Crawlers, maybe a vine-beast or two. But when we got to the center..."
She paused and dropped a glass vial onto Mara’s workbench.
It didn’t clink.
It thudded, like something inside of it resisted being moved.
The vial was dark, sealed with arcane bindings and reinforced stoppers. Inside of it swirled a sluggish liquid the color of oil mixed with spoiled blood. It didn’t shimmer with the light of an artifact or anything like that. It shifted, like something Mara had seen before.
Mara narrowed her eyes.