~~~~
Finally, after several long, painful years
of searching, I found it, the Jewel of the Sea was mine. It cost a great deal
of money, required many long sleepless nights, but I finally reached the bottom
of the great sea palace it was kept in. Most gave up after they realized that
half the palace was underwater. There was also the fact that the jewel’s
chamber was buried beneath hundreds of thousands of gallons of seawater and
sand.
However, I wasn’t most people, I
didn’t chicken out and spend the rest of my life slaying monster in the upper
levels of the palace. I didn’t waste my time scrambling for what little
treasure remained in the corners of the palace. Only to sell it back to a
merchant so I could buy enough supplies to do it again. No, I didn’t stop until
I claimed the greatest prize of all. Not only would I be rich, but I would also
be remembered throughout all of history as the one who conquered this place.
Satisfied with my accomplishment, I
stepped towards the center of the chamber where the jewel sat on a stone podium
and reached out to claim my prize. My excitement peaked as my hand grasped
around the spherical gem. However, it gave way to bewilderment as my hand
passed right through it. Confused, I continued to reach for my prize, but no
matter what I tried, my hand simply fazed through the jewel. As though it were
nothing but an illusion.
“This is ridiculous,” I roared, all
that work for nothing. Had I been tricked? Was this not the jewel’s chamber?
No, that couldn’t be, there is nowhere else it could be. Unless there was
another layer to the palace, but after all the effort it took me just to get
this deep, there was no chance I could dig any deeper.
“Be gone you damn illusion,” I
knocked the podium over in frustration, which cracked into pieces like a cheap
piece of furniture. However, the fake jewel remained in place, as though it
were projected from an unknown source. This piqued my curiosity, and I began to
explore the rest of the room, which only created more question the deeper I
looked.
The whole room felt very different
from the ancient halls I had trudged through to reach it. This was no old
chamber, it was a funhouse dressed up to look as such. The podium wasn’t the
only cheap structure in the room, all the pillars in the room were of similar
craftsmanship. Despite their stone-like appearance, they were actually just
wood painted to look as such. I even found discarded oil lamps hidden around
corners and patches of fabric used to cover holes. Worst of all, the “Jewel of
the Sea” was nothing more than trick of the light, created with prisms and
mirrors.
I felt sick to my stomach, my goal,
my dream for the past several years of my life was built on lies and deception.
All that money went to nothing but lining a merchant’s pocket. Who even created
this fabrication? Was this some sick joke? I pondered the nature of this
twisted mockery as I began the long trek to the surface.
~--~
As I exited the palace and marched
towards the nearest town, I was assaulted by questions from of all my fellow
explorers and adventurers. They noticed my soured expression and wanted to know
what misfortune befell me down below. I refused to explain, they would never
believe me in the first place. I had a particular goal in mind. This whole
adventure may have been a bust, but there was a chance I could at least scrape
back some of the money I lost. I found my way to a merchant’s store. I had
frequented for the past several years. The store was empty at the moment aside
from the shopkeeper, most where out exploring the palace at this hour.
“Welcome,” the shopkeeper greeted
me, he knew me well as I had always spent a great deal of money at his shop.
That was precisely the reason I was here.
“I want my money back,” I cut to the
chase.
“Oh, did one of my tools fail you,”
the shopkeeper was surprised, “let me guess, shovel with a bad handle?”
“No, this whole journey was
pointless,” I explained. “I found the supposed Jewel of the Sea, and it was
nothing more than an illusion. A fabricated treasure, in a fabricated room at
the bottom of a death trap palace.”
“I see,” all the color drained from
the shopkeeper’s face, “you found it didn’t you.” Suddenly the shopkeeper
hurried over to the door and put a closed sign in the window, then closed all
of his shutters.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“If you truly found the jewel, then
I can’t have you mouthing off about it in front of customers,” he revealed,
“please follow me.” He lead me into the back room of his shop and then down a
set of stairs into the basement. It was much larger than I expected,
practically a maze in and of itself. It was wide an open and seemed to stretch
endlessly in every direction, it must overlap with at least the neighboring
stores.
“How could you possibly afford-” I
began, but the shopkeeper shushed me and pulled a bell on the wall. I heard the
ring echo throughout the entire basement, and shortly after I heard dozens of
doors open one after the other. Suddenly a whole host of familiar faces from
the town shuffled into the basement. The bakers, the butcher, a few bankers,
the innkeeper, a half dozen merchants of various trades and even the mayor of the
town.
“My fellows, this adventurer here
knows the secret, what shall we do?” The shopkeeper stated to the crowd.
“Well if they know they certainly
can’t stay in town,” the butcher replied. “I say we give them the usual and
send them on their way.”
“How much do they know?” The mayor
inquired.
“They’re pretty smart, I’m sure
they’ve picked up on all the import aspects by know,” the shopkeeper answered.
“Wait, are you telling me,” I
realized. A secret basement connecting the whole town, a fake treasure, talk of
sending me out of town. This isn’t some secret society, this is the con of the
century. “How long have you run this rigged game?”
“Well how old is the legend of the
Jewel of the Sea?” A banker answered my question with another question.
“It has to be at least a century or
so old,” I guessed.
“Well then there’s your answer,” the
mayor laughed. “Why my grandpappy had stories of when he was a boy helping
string along adventurers like yourself.”
“Ridiculous, this town, the palace,
everything was just an elaborate illusion?” I exclaimed, “and for what?”
“Money, economic growth, frequent
visitors, recovery of ancient relics,” a baker stated, “take your pick. An
ancient palace is nice for tourism, but stories of a lost treasure keep your
type coming in for decades. And if there’s anything adventurers bring to a
town, its money.”
“Of course,” I sighed, “so what
happens to me?”
“We give you a nice gift basket,
some money, and a free trip out of town as long as you promise to keep your
lips sealed,” the mayor revealed. “And if not, we’ll run you out of town
regardless.”
“I don’t think I have much of a
choice,” I rubbed my forehead, “fine, I’ll take your offer, just answer one
question.”
“Depends on the question,” the mayor
replied, “what do you want to know?”
“How did you build the fake chamber
at the bottom of the palace?” I asked it was the only aspect that bugged me
about this story. “You claim the con has existed for at least a century, but
that room was clearly built a decade, at best.”
“Ah, can’t tell you trade secret,”
the mayor shook his head, “let’s just say there’s more than one way down there.
Besides, you’re not the first to discover our secret, and whenever that occurs,
we need to do some touching up.”
“Okay, I get,” I accepted his
answer, “I guess I’ll get out of town then.” After I left the basement, the
next several hours went by in a flash. Before I knew it, I was on a fancy
carriage a mile out from town with a big gift basket and a heavy sack of money.
Thankfully no one noticed my departure, so I never had to explain myself to the
other adventurers. In the end, I’ll be known as the one who gave up, maybe the
money will be enough to soften that blow to my pride. However, it was still a
bitter pill to swallow.
~~~~
In the end, money (or anything of value really) is the root, or at least a major influence, in almost everything. Sure some people will do almost anything to make a quick buck, but almost everyone will do anything to ensure long term prosperity (even an elaborate con). Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
~~~~
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