Chapter 77: The Wall’s Vault (2)
Encrid and Vess continued their conversation as they descended deeper beneath the Wall, through the stairs that probably very few in the Wall had ever seen.
What exactly Vess asked for, and what Encrid promised in return, remained between the two of them.
But by the time they reached the bottom of the passage, one thing was certain.
Encrid had secured Vess’s vote.
Counting the Lord Commander’s three votes - now Encrid had four - to gain a majority, he still needed six more.
’I told the Lord Commander that I would take care of it - but I have no idea how.’
Nevertheless, they finally stopped before a massive metal door built directly into the stone.
Encrid looked at it with interest. It didn’t seem like an ordinary wall at all.
"Cold Iron," Vess said. "The whole structure including the door is made of thick cold iron bars. Even Grandmasters won’t be able to cut through it."
Encrid took that information as he looked at the door.
There was no ordinary lock.
Instead, an intricate mechanism had been installed at the center of the door, its surface covered with strange grooves and symbols that seemed far too sophisticated for a fortress built on the edge of the Great Green.
Vess reached into his robes and pulled out a small insignia.
He held it up for Encrid to see.
"This is the only thing that can open it."
He stepped toward the mechanism and placed the insignia into a narrow slot.
"The insignia is kept by the strongest man on the Wall."
He glanced at Encrid.
"The Lord Commander."
There was a faint metallic click.
Something deep within the door moved.
A series of mechanisms engaged one after another, the sound echoing through the underground passage before the massive door finally began to open.
Encrid watched with genuine interest.
He had expected the Vault to be protected, but he had not expected something like this.
The mechanism alone was impressive.
For a place as remote as the Wall, something of this sophistication felt almost out of place.
"Quite something," Encrid murmured.
Vess chuckled.
"You haven’t seen the inside yet."
The door opened fully.
Encrid stepped through.
And immediately felt disappointed.
He stopped.
This was the Wall’s Vault?
He had expected something different.
Rows of carefully preserved artifacts.
Weapons displayed behind protective barriers.
Ancient relics were arranged according to their origins and value.
Perhaps even some sort of grand chamber befitting the name.
Instead, what greeted him was chaos.
There was no order.
No display.
No grand arrangement.
The Vault was enormous, but its contents had seemingly been thrown wherever there was space.
Swords had been piled together in one enormous heap.
Axes, spears, and other weapons were stacked in separate piles nearby.
Anything that vaguely resembled an accessory-rings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, and other strange objects-had been gathered into another section.
Armor had been left in heaps.
Strange stones and crystals were stored together in wooden crates.
There were boxes whose contents Encrid could not even identify.
Some objects had labels.
Many did not.
Encrid stared at the mess.
"This is the Vault?"
Vess looked completely unbothered.
"Yes."
"You keep everything like this?"
"We keep everything safely."
"That wasn’t my question."
Vess laughed.
"You were expecting shelves?"
"At least something resembling organization."
"This is organization."
Encrid looked at the sword pile.
Then at the accessory pile.
Then at another mound containing objects that appeared to have no relation to one another whatsoever.
Vess continued walking.
"The weapons are separated by type. The cores are kept farther inside. Anything dangerous is isolated. Items recovered by the Far-Watch are kept according to where they were found whenever that information is useful."
He pointed toward another section.
"Things that require special handling are kept separately."
Encrid followed him, still looking around.
"So you do have a system."
"Of course."
Vess gave him an offended look.
"We aren’t barbarians."
Encrid decided to say nothing, even when he highly doubted that statement.
He was not convinced.
There were simply too many things here.
Weapons whose origins were unknown. Strange stones and crystals. Objects recovered from places no ordinary person had ever reached. Relics that had been sitting untouched for decades because no one had been able to determine what they were or what they could do.
His thoughts naturally turned to his skill - Appraisal.
He had tried using the skill on objects before.
Unfortunately, it had never worked on the items.
When he used it on people, even if they were strong, he would still receive fragments of information. Even if that wasn’t comprehensive, it was still useful to him in many ways.
But the skill didn’t trigger at all for items.
He had a few guesses as to why.
Perhaps the proficiency was simply too low.
Or perhaps Appraisal had never been meant to be used on non-living things in the first place.
He still did not know.
Whatever the reason, Encrid could not help but feel that this was exactly the sort of place where the skill would have been invaluable.
If Appraisal worked properly, he could simply walk through the Vault and learn what each of these objects was, where they came from, and perhaps even what they were capable of.
Instead, he was left staring at piles of unknown objects and wondering what treasures-or dangers-were buried among them.
’A pity,’ he thought.
Vess continued explaining the contents of the Vault as they moved deeper inside, occasionally pointing out things that Encrid would never have guessed were considered valuable.
Then Encrid’s attention shifted.
He stopped walking.
His eyes had settled on one particular pile.
Unlike the others, there was something about it that immediately caught his attention.
He stared at it for several seconds.
"What’s that?"
Vess followed his gaze.
His expression changed slightly.
"Oh."
He looked back at Encrid.
"That pile?"
"Yes."
Vess nodded.
"Those are the things the Far-Watch couldn’t identify."
Encrid’s interest sharpened immediately as he kept looking at a particular item that somehow demanded all his attention.
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