Lucian knew he had returned from the Two Fingers with more than just words.
When he stepped back into the Table of Lost Grace, he carried the weight of the Two Fingers' gift—both in his satchel and in the subtle shift of fate that clung to him.
The tools and trinkets he had co to buy could wait. What mattered now was counting just how many runes the Two Fingers had poured into his hands.
Inside the Grace-space, lina sat upon the Roundtable, turning several black feathers over in her hands. They were the sa feathers she had taken from the headless soldiers they'd faced before. She had never seen their like, and in the tatters of her mory, there was nothing to match them. But there was an ancient aura upon them—sothing that told her these were no common plus.
Lucian's voice broke her thoughts.
"lina, we're rich!"
She looked up at him, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. He had gone to the Roundtable Hold to repair armor and buy supplies—what did he an, rich?
"Look!"
Lucian pulled off the Exile Soldier's hood and began setting the Two Fingers' gifts out on the table, one by one. First the Flask of Wondrous Physick, then the Crimson and Cerulean Tear Flasks, then two talisman pouches. lina's brows rose. Each of these was a treasure in its own right—precious tools that could an the difference between death and survival.
She opened her mouth to ask where they had co from, but stopped when she realized Lucian wasn't finished.
One by one, large golden runes clinked softly onto the table, their warm light pooling across the wood. Among them were several perfectly round, unmarred Hero's Runes—the crystallized blessing of champions who had once been touched by the Erdtree itself.
lina's eyes widened. She hadn't counted them yet, but she could already tell there were more than a dozen. A quick estimation put the total value at least two hundred thousand runes.
When Lucian finally emptied his stores, he sat back, gazing at the glittering pile with deep satisfaction. It was one thing to see such wealth in another's hands; it was sothing else entirely to have it before you.
"Where did all this co from?" lina asked. "You left to buy a few things. How did you co back with this?"
Lucian understood her disbelief. It was like soone saying they were going out to buy vegetables, then returning to announce they had bought a lottery ticket and won a fortune.
Clearing his throat, he began his tale.
"Well, rember when I got Radagon's Scarseal from Elyssa? The Two Fingers sensed it on . Had one of their envoys lead through a hidden passage for an audience. They said I have the makings of a lord."
"It seems they're unhappy with the state of the Roundtable Hold. They want to kill Godrick, to stand as a symbol—a model Tarnished others will follow."
"So I said, '? Fight Godrick? Really? Maybe if I had so funding, Lord Two Fingers.' And… they actually gave this pile of good stuff."
He grinned at the heap of golden runes.
lina was glad for him, but unease flickered in her expression. "Is it truly that simple? For the Two Fingers to be so generous—might they have… other intentions?"
Lucian thought back to the conversation.
"They didn't set any strange conditions. If anything, their only request was to bring down the demigods. Which, to be fair, I was going to do anyway. My guess? They're desperate. The Hold's been stagnant for too long."
"These resources aren't really theirs—they just decided to hand them to ."
From the envoy, Lucian had learned more. "The one who guided said these are from the Roundtable's public stockpile, ant for rewarding Tarnished who achieve great deeds. But no one's been worthy in ages. They used my retrieval of the king-consort's seal as an excuse to hand them over."
It made sense, but lina still felt sothing amiss.
She pieced together the fragnts Lucian had told her about the Hold's politics, and the picture beca clearer.
"Lucian… I think the Two Fingers want you to challenge this 'All-Knowing' you ntioned. Many of these items were collected under his orders. As the public leader of the Hold, even the Two Fingers should not bypass him to reward soone. And if these were truly gifts for a hero, they should be given openly. Unless… relations between him and the Two Fingers have already soured. They might be investing in you now to oppose him later."
Lucian paused, then nodded slowly. "You're right. If they truly wanted to honor , they could've opened their gates for all to see. Unless they want hidden until I've claid a Great Rune."
lina's gaze was steady. "Then you must be careful of him. If the resources you see here are this much, what he's hoarded for himself must be far greater. His strength, built on that foundation, will be formidable."
Lucian frowned slightly. All-Knowing was a deep and dangerous unknown. But there was nothing to be done about it now. For the mont, there were runes to claim.
He crushed the golden runes one by one, feeling their light pour into his veins.
—
Far away, in a chamber lined with books and scrolls, Sir Gideon sat reading. A shadow slipped from a hidden passage and whispered in his ear. He listened without looking up, his mind splitting between study and intelligence. When the ssenger left, he muttered to himself:
"So… the Two Fingers finally move. Have I been too obvious?"
"That Tarnished… his gear's different, he's no Banished Knight. But I felt it—the faint breath of Marika herself. Could it be him?"
He shook his head.
"I'd like to think he's soone I could speak to. A comrade in thought. But if he's just another fool who lets the Two Fingers fill his head with golden dreams… then I'll hope he stays out of my way."
Long ago, when Gideon Ofnir first stood before the Two Fingers, he had already known.
They had long since been… corrupted.
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