D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad - Chapter 1352: Four Treasures for the Kitty

?— Lily —

After leaving the pontoon Lily had flown back over towards the coral spires she’d started at. Or at least, some coral spires that looked roughly correct. Lily wasn’t certain if they were the ones she started at or not, and it didn’t really matter. From there, she explored the nearest one in a slow spiral downwards, much like she did before.

It helped her answer a question she didn’t even know she had. Lily had found a suspiciously similar chest hidden in a different area. When she opened it inside was a nearly identical bracelet with slightly different carvings on the beads. Just to confirm it, Lily pulled off the coral and found a note that read ‘Bracelet of Comfort’.

*So you CAN find duplicate treasures. It’s a shame I figured it out with a second bracelet of comfort. As nice as it is to have, getting a second does literally nothing. If I could trade it away I might be happier, but if someone else has spotted me then I’m already in trouble. Aw well. At least it’s still easy to carry.*

After that one treasure chest Lily swam the length of the spire without finding anything else until she reached the bottom. It was really quite dark down there. The glow from the coral spires only extended a short ways from the spire, and it looked almost like nothing existed outside of that small bubble. Lily felt the desire to poke at the boundary a bit, despite the fact she knew it was just a difference in the amount of light. The line looked oddly clean.

Then Lily got to the very base of the spire, and found something much more interesting. Another treasure chest!?The only problem was this one happened to be surrounded be massive amounts of fire. Burning fiercely despite the fact she was under water. As Lily swam closer she could feel the difference. The water warmed significantly… for a few steps. After swimming a bit closer towards the raging inferno Lily found that she wasn’t getting any warmer.

*Why? It looks really hot but I feel surprisingly comfortable here… oh. Oh right. Duh. Though… I didn’t think they’d be that strong. Will it actually be enough to get through the fire?* Lily didn’t want to find out. Even as she edged closer to the flames, sitting just outside of their range. It was still a comfortable temperature… but she did not dare take a step forward.

Instead, she was more interested in using her mind. And by mind, she meant magic. Lily reached out towards the fire with her shadow and found it was perfectly capable of moving along the ground through the flames. With this confirmed Lily simply extended the shadow all the way up to the chest and then pulled it out of the flames towards her.

A mistake as it turned out. See, the nearby fire wasn’t tied to the area. It was tied to the chest. Soon flames engulfed Lily and she started to panic. Dropping the chest in place and swimming as fast as she could back to safety. Her wings beating hard while her legs treaded water.

As she started escaping the fire and calming down… she noticed that she wasn’t burnt. In fact, looking back on things she wasn’t hurt at ALL. She’d just panicked once the fire had touched her and then tried to run away. *That… did I just do something that was actually super embarrassing? Oh I hope Thyme isn’t focusing on that moment.*

Lily slowly swam her way back towards the fire, heart beating heavily in her chest. Even though she KNEW that it would be safe after that round of accidental testing… the panic was still there at the edge of her mind. Her instincts were telling her this was a bad idea. That touching fire was BAD… but there was a chest in the centre and Lily knew it was safe so she pushed the worries down…

As best she could anyway. Her attempts at pushing them aside didn’t stop her from freezing up completely right as she reached the edge of the fire. The flames almost seemed to sway towards her as she sat there glaring at them. Gritting her teeth, Lily transformed, hoping that would give her a bit of courage. It really didn’t. If anything Lily found she was even more uncomfortable with the idea.

Despite that, she needed the hands to open the damned box. So she looked down at the bracelets on her wrist. Running her fingers along the beads to help fight down this terror… and it worked. The beads were smooth and solid under her hands. They felt like protection. So Lily moved forward carefully wincing as a lick of flame caressed her face… but she didn’t burn. Swallowing deeply Lily continued on, her confidence growing as she got deeper into the flames. Every step she took and remained fine was further proof that she was safe. That the bracelets would hold.

Lily threw the chest open as soon as she reached it and the flames died in the same moment. Sitting innocently in the bottom of the chest was a glowing red gemstone that seemed to have a piece of fire burning within it. Lily went to pick it up, only to flinch back in surprise. It was HOT. Despite walking through flames just fine, apparently those bracelets of hers did have a limit. Unless…

Lily sent a bit of mana into the second bracelet and reached out again. This time, while still hot. The temperature was quite bearable. Lily wasted no time in throwing it into pouch she’d acquired and transforming back. *I don’t give a SHIT what this stupid rock is called. It’s scary, and it’s hot, and frankly? I just don’t want to know. It could be the rarest gem in existence worth a king’s ransom and I still would not pick it over anything. Though… admittedly perhaps throwing it in the bag was a bad idea. I put my old sack in there and it might catch on fire…*

*Actually my fancy new pouch might as well.* Lily glanced down at the pouch and gently touched the edges of the bag but it remained cool to the touch. Lily opened it and waved a hand over the opening… still cool. Frowning Lily reached in, and as soon as her fingers made contact with the stone she felt the heat travelling up her arm. *Ok so it’s a very magical hot rock. It only seems to transfer heat to living things? Or perhaps there’s some other limitation. Still, at least he bag is fine. Shoving the rock in their was probably a terrible decision now I’m thinking about it. Aw well. Live and learn I suppose.*

Lily swam out of the cavern she’d been in. With the fire gone there really wasn’t much of a point sticking around that area. Perhaps there was a very well hidden chest somewhere, but Lily considered it unlikely, especially after giving the cavern a quick once over on the way out. If there was something there, it was too well hidden to waste time searching for.

*Now the question is where to go. I could keep going up and down the coral spires and perhaps even find more bracelets… but that was really slow. I could check out the other bases? Perhaps there’s another fire trap with a chest I can find… but even though I know I’ll be safe I can’t say I particularly want to. Though… at the same time, if I’m trying to win now is the time to take risks. Nobody else seems to be around and if I just return to my old position after Thyme saves me then I can get all my stuff back. Hopefully.

Of course, on the other hand, I don’t NEED to take risks. I can just keep searching for chests wherever I want. There doesn’t seem to be a great shortage of them. A bit spread out perhaps, but no great shortage. What I really need is unique treasures. Either ones that give me an edge in a fight. A greater degree of stealth, or if I’m really lucky, a way to find more treasures… and as I’ve seen with the second bracelet duplicates exist. Searching for another fire filled cavern will likely just get me another shiny rock, and the spires might only have bracelets in them. I highly doubt it… but they might only have bracelets RIGHT NOW. Thyme did say some chests were time locked. Yeah. Ok, that decides it. Let’s head over to that kelp forest and see what’s over there.*