Mythical Artifacts

Chapter 11: Refused Reward

I felt uneasy as Codename_B and RobityBobity stood in front of me. Two high-commanding staff members were at my door, after all — and if I was right about why, then their smiles were fake.

"Hi," I said, trying to sound casual. I felt like adding something like, "You're both admins," but nothing sounded right in my head, so I just kept silent.

Codename cleared his throat."Hello, TheFlawed," he said cordially. "May we come in for a moment?"

"Sure," I said, moving out of the way for them to enter.

Codename entered first, followed by Robity. They looked around. "Lovely home," said Robity as we made our way to the living room.

"Thanks," I said. We sat down across from each other. "So . . . what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, we'd like to congratulate you," said Codename. It was hard to know if the broad smile he gave was genuine or forced, but considering how uncomfortably straight they were sitting, it seemed as if it was the latter.

I looked behind me toward the stairs, listening closely for my teammates. I hope they don't come down, I thought. If they did, it could possibly be used against me. I quickly turned back to look at my guests, both of which were staring up at the stairs like I had. "Congratulate me for what?"

"Why, for attaining 'The Sword,' of course," said Codename, averting his eyes from the staircase to look at me. "You did get it, correct?"

"Yeah, of course I did," I answered, chuckling. I stared into his bright, brown eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Then again, congratulations!" he said. "You've just earned yourself some great, exclusive rewards."

"Well, actually, uh . . . what if I don't want the reward?" I asked, choosing my words cautiously. "What if I want to um . . . keep The Sword instead?"

He kept himself composed, but I knew it was just a disguise. He looked at Robity, who sat beside him; meanwhile, I simply looked innocent. "Well, I suppose you . . . could," he said after a long pause. "But might I ask why? Indeed, you could lose The Sword."

"I'll just keep it in my house where nobody can get it," I said. "That way, it can be mine forever."

He frowned. "I-interesting choice," he said slowly. "What would that do for you?"

"Not much, but I have doubts that the staff should have it back, so I'm gonna keep it," I said. I wanted to get to the point, rather than beating around the bush, so I was being blunt.

"I-I'm not sure I heard you correctly?" he said. He was doing a fair job of remaining calm.

"I don't know for sure if I should be giving The Sword to you," I said casually. "I mean, for all I know, you're just going to throw it back into a new game for someone else to find — making the reward less 'exclusive.' Or maybe you're hiding something about the artifact. I can't really know for sure, so I'll be playing it safe."

It took Codename a while to process my words. He was clearly stunned. Then, he leaned forward, his eyes wild. He opened his mouth, but said nothing for a long time. "I can assure you," he said finally, giving an odd smile, "that The Sword will never be seen again after this . . . and that there is nothing deeper than what has clearly been said."

"I really just can't know, though," I said, laying back on the couch. I almost felt superior — like I had the upper hand — even though I was, in fact, powerless against them. "All I'm sayin' is that some things don't seem quite right for me."

"But keeping it won't do anything," said Codename. "Let's say you're correct: then why wouldn't we just take it?"

"Then take it," I said. "But I'm not handing it in willingly."