23 Last Seed.

I woke up well rested, and ready to face whatever else might be in this place. I finally looked around at my surroundings, and noticed that I had ended up in what seemed to be the main storage and living space of the smugglers. There were crates and pillows all over the place, and a table in the corner with a key and some nautical charts on it. I pried the lids off the crates, and was rewarded with a second pauldron to match my first. I now had a more balanced armour. There were a couple of cheap potions, and other miscellaneous stuff. I grabbed it to sell, when I found a good trader. Besides, one never knew when a candlestick or a small set of silverware might come in handy!

I found something odd in the last crate. A few small stones, oblong and smooth, that almost seemed to glow with an inner light. They felt Magickal in my hands, almost like they were empty, trying to be filled. Then I realized what they were. They were soul gems! I figured that I ought to keep them, as they were the main part of the enchantment process, and Enchanting was a bit of a hobby of mine. Or, at least it would be, if I had ever had a chance to try. But now I could! As a Battlemage, I was expected to have at the very least a rudimentary knowledge of enchanted weaponry and armour, to keep it in good condition and the like, but I had the opportunity to learn so much more! First, though, I would need to figure out how to use the little things. I pocketed them, and continued looking around. There appeared to be a second passage leading out the back of this room, barred with a locked gate. I tried the key I'd gotten from the first smuggler, and unlocked it.

It was dark in the back passage. The floor dropped suddenly, and I almost slipped down. I felt around with my foot, and found a ramp, or a ledge leading to the other side. I followed it to the other side of the room, where the floor widened out again. Then, from out of the darkness, I heard a vicious "SQEEK!" and felt a sharp pain in my calf. I was being attacked by a rat! And it was Huge! Like, the size of a small dog, or large cat. But it was still just a rat, and my axe made quick work of it. Off to the side I spotted a couple glowing mushrooms, and went to take a look. There was something under them… A skeleton! Well, lucky day, it still had something on it. A couple of Netch leather pauldrons, and, upon closer inspection, a little glowing ring that I figured must be enchanted. Yup. There on the side was a tiny inscription that read 'Thief's Ring'. I slipped it on, but didn't feel anything. So I thought at it. I went through a few of the more common activations before succeeding with, of all things, 'activate'. Instantly I felt a little faster, and more agile, and I noticed my armor didn't clank quite as much. A useful thing, this.

"Hello? Is someone there?" I looked up as I heard the call. There was someone else here! I went back out into the main chamber, and up the set of stairs I had left alone before. There was an old gate at the top, and behind it were three slaves.

"Hold on," I said, "I'll get you out of there." I tried the old iron key and found it fit. So, I unlocked the gate, and then for good measure, I unlocked each of the slave's shackles; enchanted bracers too heavy to allow escape that blocked magicka use.

"Oh, thank you so much!" seemed to be all that they could say. I said it was nothing, pocketed the bracers and left the cave. I figured that the townsfolk might like to know that there had been a den of smugglers and slave dealers right on their doorstep, and that I had taken care of them.