Apriltober 18 Ka-ching
a/n: Tobias and company find whatever it is they were looking for. End of 14-18.
All the good things belong to Monolith Soft.
Tobias tapped around the edge of the flagstone that Veven had declared was the correct one. The blade of the entrenching tool sliced the packed dirt that held the stone in place. Once the entire circumference was loosened, he carefully pried the slab up and twisted it away from the ground below.
"Nothing! There's nothing," Graham choked out. He was still lying on the ground, but he'd dragged himself closer while Tobias had been busy.
Tobias wasn't too irked by Graham's pessimism. Any complaint proved that the man wasn't dead; Tobias had to admit he'd been a little worried about the extended use of Ma-non googles on the unwilling map bearer. He didn't mention that point. Instead he snorted and said, "If there was a hole, we'd know we were too late. Dirt is something."
"Careful!" squealed Veven as Tobias lifted the first scoop of dirt.
"Pfft, I'm part Prospector. I know enough not to stab when I need to tickle."
He lifted the dirt in layers, centimeter by careful centimeter. He had to squash the urge to hurry. Part of his mind was screaming the seconds until the next guard patrol would arrive, when it wasn't whispering the dangers of surprise inspections or unscheduled transports. Graham's ragged discouragement and Veven's shrill caution were a nice distraction. It gave him a reason to show off his veneer of patience, even nonchalance, in the face of yet more empty dirt.
By the third layer, he had the first hint that he needn't be patient for long. Something tugged at the tip of the shovel. A fiber that was less root and more cord waved in the fresh scrape. Tobias stretched his arms quickly to the sky, dropped the tool, and knelt and started scooping with his fingers.
The dirt was definitely less solidly packed in this area. A little scratching revealed a small pouch, about the size of his fist. The fabric was crinkly, a weatherproof sheet made from compressed feathers (usually Saltat but at times Nopon in origin). Graham shook it, but there wasn't a sound. He didn't feel anything shift.
"It looks kind of of of disappointing, if you ask me?" Veven provided the fear what Tobias was trying to ignore.
"I didn't ask."
"That won't hold more than a few hundred credits worth of miranium," said Graham.
"I didn't ask you either," Tobias said. He was tempted to pull the cord loose with exaggerated slowness, just to annoy these two whiners, but he was dying of curiosity himself. He untied it quickly, revealing a second pouch, this one made from the bark cloth most commonly used by Nopon.
Graham and Veven continued to complain, but Tobias' fingers had already given him a hint. Whatever lay inside was heavy, round and toothed like a gear, detailed. He untied the second pouch and there it was, shining golden in the hard Oblivia sun.
"A dream catcher?" asked Graham.
"Nope. The certification coin for the Nopon Merchant Guild," Tobias said smugly.
"Can you sell it?" asked Veven.
"You can sell anything given the right conditions. But we gotta do it quickly before they make a new version and declare this one counterfeit."
Tobias raked the dirt roughly one more time, but nothing snagged or twinkled under the shovel. Then the three adventurers quickly retreated to the skell.
"You know, I should get most of of of of the profits, since who was it that found the location? Me, right?" Veven declared.
"I'm the one that suffered, and besides I need that money the most," Graham responded quickly.
"I'm the one with the coin, the contacts, and most importantly, the skell keys. You boys want to walk home?" Tobias wasn't 100% happy with today's haul, given the amount of time, effort and whining it had required, but every credit lifted him closer to his goal.
"Why do you need all those credits anyway?"
"None of your business. Now get in the skell and let's get home."
a/n: A similar coin is seen in the quest "Mia grows up", and I can't tell you how much I want one for myself.
Next up: Hope and Celica and the most important meal of the day, or so I hope. Prompt by Subspace Warrior, thank you! Wish me luck.