Thorn glances around at the others, wondering if they saw in this what she saw.
The last person to try this...a 'third level master'...wound up ditching the job. Now they wanted a gang of fresh newbies to try. They were willing to offer a really sweet deal for it.
Call her cynical, but Thorn had this idea that they weren't really expected to find the artifacts, nor use the sanctum and Hallow for very long. It was more like...they were expected not to have the sense to quit that the experienced mage had. They'd keep digging, trigger some kind of response, and the Nemean and his gang would learn what to expect. Then they'd round up another bunch of kids, give them the same offer, and tell them how to avoid that first problem. Then they'd see how far those new kids got.
Like sending monkeys into a minefield.
Then, when the last set of monkeys got across safely, they'd come in, grab all the goods, say thank you... Well, they might let that last bunch keep the sanctum and hallow. What were those things compared to limitless wealth of magic power from an earlier age?
So, the way Thorn saw it, they really only had one way to 'win' this. They had to make sure that THEY were the monkeys that got to the end. Or they could cut their losses and bow out of the game.
Or...if they were really good...maybe they could secure a piece of that pie at the end for themselves. Hm?
Thorn nodded to herself, then repeated that gesture at the Nemean.
"Count me in."
The last person to try this...a 'third level master'...wound up ditching the job. Now they wanted a gang of fresh newbies to try. They were willing to offer a really sweet deal for it.
Call her cynical, but Thorn had this idea that they weren't really expected to find the artifacts, nor use the sanctum and Hallow for very long. It was more like...they were expected not to have the sense to quit that the experienced mage had. They'd keep digging, trigger some kind of response, and the Nemean and his gang would learn what to expect. Then they'd round up another bunch of kids, give them the same offer, and tell them how to avoid that first problem. Then they'd see how far those new kids got.
Like sending monkeys into a minefield.
Then, when the last set of monkeys got across safely, they'd come in, grab all the goods, say thank you... Well, they might let that last bunch keep the sanctum and hallow. What were those things compared to limitless wealth of magic power from an earlier age?
So, the way Thorn saw it, they really only had one way to 'win' this. They had to make sure that THEY were the monkeys that got to the end. Or they could cut their losses and bow out of the game.
Or...if they were really good...maybe they could secure a piece of that pie at the end for themselves. Hm?
Thorn nodded to herself, then repeated that gesture at the Nemean.
"Count me in."