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Marcus awoke, still sore, his arm sending sharp twinges through his whole body. He blinked blearily. So it certainly wasn't a dream, as Astari was alert as he sat on his podium. "Good morning," groaned Marcus, rolling his left shoulder to coax the stiffness out his body. Coins were a terrible bed.

"If it is indeed morning," said Astari, speaking in his deep, slow rumble. "It is hard to tell down here. But either way, it seems to me that your sleep was fitful."

"It was," grunted the wolf, refilling his waterskin in the tiny stream and drinking deeply. There was a pause before either spoke again. "So... about the deal we spoke of yesterday..."

Astari's white face furrowed with worry. "What about it? Are you having second thoughts?"

"No," said the wolf, shaking his head. "But I'm curious about how we're going to go about this. How am I supposed to search this whole damn dungeon for nine bronze seals without getting myself killed? There would be an infinite number of hiding places for something as small as those little disks. I could live to be two hundred and never find any or all of them! Do you have any sort of plan?"

"Well, I have a ghost of a plan," said Astari ruefully.

"That's not much, but it's something," growled Marcus. "Go on."

"I have formulated said ghost of a plan while you slept. It seems to me that my captor exhibited a rather large lapse of judgment to leave a seal in the same room with me. Even with my lowest level of magic, I can probe around to find more."

"So you can find more of the seals?"

"I think so. With the other nine chains around me I cannot probe far, but I can still search for ambient magic. I don't know what I will find, but it might give us a direction to go."

"So you want to try and probe for another seal?"

"Indeed. But as for what to look for, I am not sure. This whole place is permeated with magic. Mostly necromancy."

"It makes sense," said Marcus, sitting fully up now, wary of his arm. "You probably know better than I that the top floor was nothing but undead."

"Indeed. It's irritating, honestly. All the death in the air is stopping me from focusing on anything. But like said, I'm still not sure what to look for."

"Have you examined the first seal? The one I placed on your back?"

There was a great clanking of chains as Astari attempted to slap his great, pointed head, although the chains prevented him from lifting his claws more than a foot or two. "Idiocy! How could I have not thought of that?"

"Really? That seems basic to me, even though I'm not a magician," said Marcus, slightly bemused now. "What were you doing while I was out?"

Astari looked rather embarrassed. "I was actually spending time testing my magic. I'm not sure which is worse, to be honest." Marcus raised an eyebrow in confusion. Astari continued, now looking thoroughly vexed. "The first seal... the amount of magic it released was pitifully small. An apprentice wizard would be able to cast more spells than I can now. It's almost worse than having nothing, as I have but a tiny morsel of the vast powers I could normally wield. It would be like giving a starving person a single crumb to eat."

Marcus nodded, getting the gist of the dragon's frustration despite the foreign subject matter. "So... how much power has returned to you while I was asleep? Besides the ability to seek magic, I mean?"

"Well, like I said, nothing much. Although I did manage to return your favor of breaking the first seal."

Marcus was for a brief moment confused by Astari's words, but understanding dawned on his face. He stood up, a bit too fast for his battered body. Wincing, he rushed to the stone podium. "You mean, Lily... you fixed-" His speech was cut off as he saw, beneath one of Astari's claws, his precious black bow and quiver, restored to pristine quality. Even some of the ancient scratches and blemishes were erased.

"I discovered that I have regained the ability to fix small objects," said the dragon, smiling now, displaying brilliant white teeth the size of daggers.. "I was able to restore your bow to her former glory."

A single tear trickled from one of Marcus's green eyes. "I... thank you. This bow contains too many memories to remain broken. Although in my current state I will not be able to use her for some time."

"And unfortunately you must remain in that state for much longer," sighed Astari, sitting down as Marcus gently picked up his bow and quiver. "I have attempted multiple times to heal even the minor bruise on my wing, and each time I have failed quite miserably. It would be prudent to construct yourself some sort of splint to keep your arm straight. I have no idea when I'll be able to fix that arm of yours."

"I've dealt with worse," grunted Marcus. "Will you keep Lily safe for me? If I must dive into the Coffin once again, I would rather not bring a precious object that I cannot put to use in danger."

"Indeed I can do that," rumbled Astari. "The cretins that occupy this pit have learned long ago that disturbing me is a poor unlife decision. I shall keep her safe. It is the least I can do, considering what you have promised to do for me."

"You have my gratitude," nodded Marcus. "But I'm distracting you. Have you tried probing the seal on your back? What can you learn from that?"

Astari nodded, his purple eyes acquiring an otherworldly glow. The great pale dragon began muttering words, mostly to himself. "Hrmmm... yes... Recantation... yes that makes sense... but something else... is it Invocation? Or perhaps Metamagic... Or something else still... it cannot be Divination?" The glow left Astari's eyes, although he was still left in contemplation.

Marcus frowned, not liking being left in the dark. "So... what did you find?"

"The seal definitely rings with Recantation- the school that interacts and inhibits the other schools of magic." Astari added the last bit as he noticed Marcus cock his head in confusion. "But there are traces of other schools too. I don't know what they mean right now, but it gives me something to work with. I should look around for something similar. Will you give me a minute?" The dragon stood again, his eyes glowing again.

Marcus nodded. Unsure how long he would be waiting for the dragon's spell work, the wolf meandered through the piles of what he considered worthless riches. Astari was right: he needed a splint if he was to explore the coffin with his broken arm. He found numerous gold scepters, although the intricate heads and butts of the rods were unwieldy. He still needed some sort of fabric to keep it together, and he really didn't want to blemish his old coat unless he absolutely had to.

A few minutes of searching produced a great tapestry, buried under a mound of silver coins. It depicted the image of numerous Saints of the Bright Moon. The wolf thought it was ugly, but he was sure that if he returned to the surface with it some foppish and faith-blinded noble would have paid a small fortune for it. Scoffing, Marcus drew Priscilla so that he could cut the silk into strips.

He returned to Astari, the dragon again sitting on the stone, his eyes closed in contemplation. "What have you found?"

"I found something two floors below us, but I don't know anything more."

"It's a start," grunted Marcus. He dropped the scepters under his arms in front of Astari. "Can you break the ends of these gilded sticks? They're too bulky otherwise." The white dragon nodded, working wordlessly with his claws, scything through the gold as if it were butter. Marcus was amazed at the raw power of those talons, even when they were restricted by those magical bonds. "Thank you. If I can get this arm in the splint I'll be able to take the dive soon."

"Don't push yourself," Said Astari, legitimate concern detectable through his rumbling speech. "No point rushing just in just to get killed."

"Perhaps," muttered the wolf dryly.Not yet. Marcus steeled himself. This was the worst part of a broken limb. No point splinting it if the bones weren't straight. Putting the edge of his black hood in his muzzle, he firmly snapped the shattered bones back into a straight line. Each time he let out a howl of pain, muffled by the black leather in his mouth. The pain was intense, enough to make his stomach churn and bring stars to his eyes.

After five agonizing minutes, Marcus felt satisfied with his harrowing first aid. He panted as vicious throbs, beginning in his upper arm and swiftly moving outward, rocked his whole body.In contrast, constructing the splint was easy, using the golden rods and silk strips to keep his broken arm in place. It was passable work. With any luck he could get magical help later. The wolf panted after his ordeal. His arm still felt terrible, but the splint was providing some measure of comfort now. "I think... I think it would be prudent for me to wait before leaving. I hope you don't mind."

Astari shook his head with a deep clank of crystal on scales. "I've been here for hundreds of years. A few hours means very little to me now. Rest, and eat if you still have food." Marcus nodded, fishing through his bag for another apple and a bit of hardtack. It was a meager meal, but he needed to ration what little food he had. With a swig of water, Marcus laid down again, using the remaining parts of the tapestry as a thin mattress to mitigate the hardness of the gold underneath. The wolf's eyes closed, but sleep didn't come easy. Vague visions of the horrors within The Coffin danced in and out of Marcus' consciousness. There was a rustle of coins as Marcus shivered.