Chapter 165: Marquessian Thieves
Clovis held the heavy door open for Balthazar and Suze as they stepped inside the circular underground chamber. The windowless room was a vault. Not only because of its underground nature, shape, or reinforced door, but because of its contents.
The merchant marveled with shiny eyes at the even shinier wonders around him as he walked in. Shelves full of gold statuettes and other pieces of art lined the walls alongside large paintings. Large hardcover tomes filled a bookshelf by the opposite side of the room, near a glass cube containing a crown-like helmet. There was even a display case with dozens of flawless precious gems sitting on a velvety pillow.
But despite all those riches and eye-catching treasures, nothing quite widened the crab’s eyes as much as the desk near the center of the room.
Several columns of golden coins sat on the wooden surface, neatly arranged in stacks on one side, and disorganized piles on the other. Barely visible behind the wall of money, a woman in thick glasses sat at the desk, counting and sorting them under the light of a lamp.
As convenient as his Bag of Holding Money was, Balthazar missed the pleasure of marveling at his own coins out in full view in front of him like he used to back at his pond. Seeing those stacks of money like that filled his stomach with butterflies and plastered a big smile on his face. They were almost as impressive as his own money hoard. Almost.
“Woooah…” the young Marquessian girl accompanying the crab marveled as she looked around the vault of treasures.
With her nose nearly touching the glass, Suze eyed a display full of delicate necklaces and rings, her jaw half-dropped at the sight of how big the jewels on some of the pieces were.
“Trust me, I understand the temptation,” Clovis said, walking to the girl’s side. “But I really wouldn’t if I were you.”
He picked up a quill from a nearby table and brushed it lightly against the surface of the glass. A small spark crackled on the feather, setting it ablaze instantly.