A Souvenir from the Glades

The question put Riniock in an awkward spot, so he cloaked his hesitation in a veil of mystery.

 'The ring is a reward from Professor Bhallen,' he said smoothly. 'As for the card…well…'

 Lazrus held up a hand, his expression placid. 'If it's inconvenient to explain, let's pretend I didn't ask.'

 Riniock inclined his head. 'I appreciate that.'

 Lazrus didn't seem the type to pry, a quality Riniock found reassuring.

 'So,' Riniock pressed eagerly, 'what do they do?'

 Lazrus examined the ring more closely, a confident glint in his eyes. 'This ring is undoubtedly a Ring of Odh Storing. Judging by its rough craftsmanship, I'd say it was something Professor Bhallen relied on in his younger days.'

 Riniock's eyes widened, amazed by his deduction. 'That's exactly right! And what's its function?'

 'It's straightforward,' Lazrus explained. 'The ring holds a reserve of odh you can tap into when your own supply runs dry. Think of it as an emergency reservoir.'

 'How does it recharge?' Riniock asked.

 'Just wear it while you harness odh,' Lazrus said, 'and it will absorb some of the energy passively.'

 'That's incredibly useful,' Riniock noted, a grin spreading across his face.

 Lazrus's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his attention from the ring to the card. His gaze brimmed with unspoken questions, clearly wondering how Riniock had come to possess such a rare item.

 'This card,' Lazrus began slowly, his fingers tracing its cryptic design, 'is a type of storage artefact. I'm not sure of its exact name, but I do know its purpose. It allows you to store objects – or even living creatures – within it.'

 He paused, considering his words carefully. 'However, it does come with limitations. It can only hold one category of item at a time. If you store weapons, for example, it can't hold anything else. Still, its portability and the ease with which you can summon the contents make it exceptionally practical.'

 A faint smile curled at the edge of Riniock's lips. Convenient indeed.

 'If it's as useful as you say, why isn't it a common storage item? Is it too expensive?' Riniock asked.

 'It is expensive,' Lazrus admitted, 'but that's not the main reason it's rare.'

 'Oh?'

 'These artifacts are relics from a bygone era. We no longer have the knowledge to reproduce them. Most of these cards are discovered by adventurers exploring ancient ruins or forgotten dungeons.'

 Riniock's eyes widened in fascination. Despite being a gatekeeper, Lazrus's depth of knowledge was astonishing. If his strength matched his intellect, he was someone to be reckoned with.

 'How do I use the card?' Riniock asked, eager to put it to the test.

 'Well,' Lazrus said, his gaze sharpening, 'both the ring and the card are still attuned to their previous owners.'

 'Wait, how can you tell?'

 'By their aura,' Lazrus explained. 'Your odh signature doesn't match the ones bound to these items.'

 'So, what do I need to do?'

 'Normally, this is something you'd learn in Professor Rhetrick's class,' Lazrus said, a hint of leniency in his tone, 'but given the circumstances, I'll explain.'

 'Thank you, sir. That's generous of you.'

 'To make these items yours, you need to overwrite their previous owner's odh signature. You do this by consistently channelling your own odh into them until they fully attune to you. Only then can you use them without risking any backlash.'

 Riniock nodded thoughtfully. 'I see. I'll have to get started then. Thank you for your hospitality, Sir Lazrus.'

 'Do you have a place to go?' Lazrus asked, his tone suggesting he already had an idea. 'If not, you can use my training room over there. I'll be stepping out for a while, so once you're done, just head back to your dorm.'

 'Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose.'

 Lazrus waved his hand dismissively. 'Nonsense.'

 Without further delay, Lazrus left his quarters, and Riniock settled into the training room, ready to attune himself to the items.

 He started with the ring. Focusing intently, he channelled the odh he had absorbed from the stone. Gradually, he felt a shift – a subtle transformation in the ring's aura. A connection bloomed, an unmistakable link between him and the trinket. He slid the ring onto his index finger and moved on to the card.

 The attunement process for the card took about an hour. When the bond finally clicked into place, Riniock's excitement flared. He held the card up, eager to test it.

 Let's see if this works. He pulled out a lunari – a silver coin – and attempted to store it in the card. Nothing happened – the coin stayed firmly in his fingers.

 Am I doing this wrong? He tried different techniques, altering his grip and concentration, but the result remained the same. Frowning, he experimented with other items, thinking the coins might be the issue. Still, no success.

 Strange, he thought, puzzled as he studied the card. A realisation struck him. Could something already be stored inside? Maybe Odrean used it before.

 True enough, there was something inside the card.

 Riniock ran his fingers across its surface, and a soft glow emanated from it. Moments later, a strange entity emerged, hovering in the air. It looked like a tiny, cotton ball.

 'A celseed?' Riniock gasped, instinctively stepping back. Memories of the test flashed through his mind – the hallucinations, the confusion – all brought on by celseed spores.

 The creature floated closer, its movements deliberate yet unhurried, a spark of curiosity evident in its approach. Celseeds were known for their inquisitive nature, and this one was no different. It pursued him gently, until it came to a stop, hovering just a breath away from his face.

 Riniock's heart raced, uncertainty creeping in. Yet, oddly enough, the celseed made no attempt to release its spores. It simply…observed.

 'You're not trying to harm me?' he murmured, half to himself, knowing full well the creature couldn't understand him.

 He studied it carefully. How had the card contained a living celseed? And why wasn't it reacting defensively, as its kind usually did? The mystery deepened, but for now, he held his ground, intrigued rather than afraid.

 The celseed was so complacent that when Riniock approached the card to it, the former simply slipped into it, of its own volition.

 'This is certainly strange…I'll have to research it further,' Riniock muttered, his eyes lingering on the curious celseed.

 With a resigned sigh, he rose to his feet, carefully tucking the card away.

 Riniock left Lazrus' house, stepping into the crisp evening air. His thoughts buzzed with questions, the strange encounter adding another layer to the mysteries he needed to unravel.

 'Back to the dorm for now,' he murmured, setting off down the winding path, the weight of new discoveries pressing lightly on his mind.