《The Capricious Coinpurse》 The Charitable Fridge Jeremy settled his bony backside on the dirty brown couch, the color masking most of the stains. His brain didn¡¯t register the smell either, a small blessing. The couch was the only one he¡¯d ever owned, lopsided and uncomfortable except for one spot in the middle. Like the house he owned, it had once belonged to his Grandpa. The sofa had been a point of contention in a previous relationship, but Jeremy didn¡¯t care what anyone thought, he loved it. Nestled in and comfortable, he was ready to binge watch something on Neetflax when a series of sharp, clanging noises came from the kitchen. He stood and headed out of the small living room to investigate. His bare feet were silent on the carpeting until they slapped onto the wooden flooring of his destination. It sounded like something inside the fridge. Jeremy walked up and opened the larger section, glowing light spilling out as the door squealed on its hinges. He peered inside, seeing nothing at first. There wasn¡¯t much to look at: condiment bottles and half empty tubblerware greeted him from the top shelf. Nothing on the door except for butter and three empty pickle jars, he liked to save the brine for marinating wings. Bending to search the middle shelf, something glinted in the harsh light. Jeremy reached in and pulled out a metal disk. What is this, a silver dollar? He turned the coin over in his hand, the markings were unfamiliar. A man wearing a tight shirt was casually holding a sword. Jeremy flipped it to view the other side. The same character stood with hands on hips in front of a creature¡¯s massive head. Okay, that is un¡ª ¡°Ah!¡± he screeched as more coins pinged loudly onto the shelves. His heart raced from the sudden shock. ¡°Good gravy,¡± he said, clutching his chest. Taking several deep breaths, he slowly regained his composure as the high-pitched metallic ringing dissipated. Almost gave me a heart attack. His attention returned to the top rack, eyes widening. Four gold coins sat on the highest level. He shook his head, bewildered, but quickly snatched one up to examine. The same design adorned its surface, but the coin was quite a bit smaller. This one feels a little heavier for its size. He hefted it in his palm and looked back at the middle shelf, where more silver coins rested in a modest pile. Jeremy grinned and gathered up the other three gold pieces and several silvers. Well, I¡¯m either going nutty or this is some Alice in Wonderland nonsense. He closed the door and pocketed the small fortune. He vehemently hoped they were real; his job as a cook in a three-star hotel barely covered his mortgage. A few thousand dollars could help him a great deal. He swiftly moved towards his bedroom for a pair of socks, his pocket clinking with each step. That¡¯s kind of obnoxious. He breezed through the doorway and stopped in front of the dresser across from his bed. He extracted the coins and set them on the wood. Selecting one of each, he dropped them into separate pockets. That done, he slid open the top drawer and took some socks. He hurriedly put them on and ran a hand over his black buzzcut. Time to visit a pawn shop. He practically flew to the front door, tore it open, slammed it hastily behind himself, and quickly locked up. My luck, I¡¯ll get back, and the whole place will be toast. A few long strides later, and he was in his beat up Chivic. Realizing how on edge he felt, he paused, drew in a long breath, and let it out slowly. He felt his pockets to make sure the coins hadn¡¯t fallen out. Reassured by the stiff feeling of metal underneath denim, he put the car in reverse. There were pawn shops all over the place; he knew of at least two nearby. Jeremy decided to visit the closer one, it would take him less than ten minutes to get there. He lived in a medium sized city; assuming one used the highway, the entire length of it could be traversed in about 30 minutes. As the time ticked away, he grew less tense; the silent drive calmed his nerves. The building came into view, and he pulled into the parking lot. He chose a spot right out front and stepped into the sunlight. The pawn shop was in a little strip mall of connected stores, a tan fa?ade and red signage. He made his way to the glass double doors and let himself in. Jeremy strode towards the occupied counter, where a customer was holding a gray laptop. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. He overheard the stooping man grumble, ¡°That¡¯s all you¡¯ll gimmie? 75 bucks?¡± The chubby-cheeked woman with a ponytail replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all we offer for that model, unfortunately.¡± ¡°It cost me six hundred just a few years ago,¡± he said. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just keep it then,¡± and at a snail¡¯s pace, headed for the door. The woman¡¯s hair swished as she looked up at the approaching Jeremy. ¡°May I help you?¡± He reached into his pockets and awkwardly pulled the coins free. ¡°Can you check if these are real?¡± he said, holding them out to her. She took the proffered coins, fascinated, ¡°Oh, neat, Medieval style bullion. We have a gizmo just for that, gimmie a few minutes to get them analyzed.¡± Jeremy gave her a grateful smile, ¡°That must make your job easier. I¡¯m glad I came here.¡± ¡°So much simpler, it used to be a whole ordeal with boring a hole and testing the shavings. Not to mention all the dental work,¡± she said, before strolling into the back. Chuckling, he looked around, starting with the display in front of him. It was mostly class-type rings, chunky and bulbous, so he moved on to the next pane of glass. Cheap cutlery was in there. Jeremy stepped over to the wall of extension cords, not exactly interesting. After a few minutes, he was saved from having to examine the leaf blowers by a bubbly voice. ¡°Good news: both of these,¡± she said, waving the coins in front of her. Her plump arms wobbled as she did. ¡°Are the real deal.¡± She pulled out what looked like a small cutting board covered in felt, and placed the items on it. ¡°That¡¯s a relief, I was worried they¡¯d be counterfeits.¡± His thoughts drifted back to the fridge; I wonder if anything else dropped in. He stopped himself from daydreaming any further and turned his attention back to the woman. Meeting her dark blue eyes, he asked, ¡°How much can I get for them?¡± ¡°Well, that depends. Some bullion is considered limited edition and sells for way more than the price of the metal. Where did you get them? Or what is this set called? I can look it up in a jiffy,¡± she said. Jeremy winced, ¡°They were part of my grandpa¡¯s collection, I don¡¯t know anything other than that.¡± ¡°They¡¯re interesting; for coins this well-crafted, their sizing is bizarre.¡± ¡°How bizarre?¡± he said. Her lips tugged up at the edges. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a mint that produces gold coins in funky weights like this. They fool around with cheaper metals all the time but never gold. They both weigh 1.6 ounces¡ªgold coins are always 1 ounce or less.¡± ¡°That is strange, and the point six seems like a weird choice.¡± ¡°That quirk adds to their value considerably. We can offer you $3,600 for the gold and $40 for the silver,¡± she said. Jeremy blinked at her. Initially, he thought the gold coin could be worth around $2,000. The fact that it was worth significantly more made him positively giddy. ¡°I¡¯m in the gravy now,¡± he grinned. ¡°That must make you¡­ mashed potatoes?¡± her pale cheeks tinged pink as she laughed. ¡°I like to think of myself as more of a Salisbury steak,¡± he said. She looked him over; his body reminded her of a kite without any fabric. ¡°A bit tough, are ya?¡± ¡°I probably would have phrased it differently,¡± he said. ¡°Rough around the edges?¡± she teased. ¡°Ouch, us Sals get no appreciation.¡± She leaned closer, clicking her tongue as if haggling over price. ¡°I did offer you the beloved mashed potato spot.¡± ¡°That was very generous, clearly making you the gravy boat,¡± he said. She giggled, ¡°You figured me out. Now, the cross us gravy boats must bear-¡ªcash or check?¡± Jeremy laughed, ¡°I¡¯ll take the cash.¡± Pondering the nicer meals that were in his near future. He had been slurping down homemade ramen for three weeks straight; it was tasty, but eating the same thing every night was tedious. ¡°Sounds good. Hold tight and I¡¯ll be right back with your gravy.¡± She grabbed the coins before disappearing again. Making it into the back, she placed the bullion on her manager¡¯s desk before hustling over to the safe. ¡°Ahh, great. He wanted to sell them,¡± her manager noticed. ¡°Yep, I¡¯m grabbing his cash,¡± she replied, kneeling in front of the combination pad. He looked over appreciatively, ¡°Thanks, Clare, I¡¯ll be out front as soon as I get everything signed.¡± ¡°No problem, we haven¡¯t been too busy,¡± Clare said. The safe emitted a confirming beep as she entered the correct password, and she yanked it open. Reaching inside, she retrieved a blue deposit bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills. Clare carefully counted out thirty-six, sliding them into an envelope before selecting two twenty-dollar bills and placing them alongside the other notes. She walked back into the customer area, where two other people had come in and were milling around. Sal was leaning against the counter, drumming his fingers. He looked up at her arrival, she gave him a small smile, ¡°Here¡¯s your cash, let me count it out and get you a receipt.¡± Jeremy bobbed his head in affirmation. Clare quickly made three piles of ten, one of six, and one with the twenties. ¡°$3,640¡±, she finished, tallying it as she made each stack. ¡°Here you go,¡± she handed him the envelope after filling it. Taking the wad of cash, Jeremy said, ¡°I don¡¯t need a receipt.¡± He was eager to return home. Clare gave him a sly smile, ¡°Okay, have a nice day.¡± He returned the gesture, "You too." Pivoting on his heel, Jeremy aimed for the exit. The Twins Hugo sat across from Anna, his sister, in a tavern named ¡®Carts Wobble¡¯. Both were working on pint number three for the evening. Spirits were high between them, having completed their first job as Hunters earlier that day. The duo had been tasked with slaying a lone Venomlock, a wolf-like beast with serpentine appendages sprouting from its head. These muscle-bound tendrils ended in a sharp, hollow point and would curl up and spring at their foes with lethal precision. Once plunged into a victim, the paralyzing toxin was released into the bloodstream. The deadly, thumb-length tips were highly durable and coveted by blacksmiths. Once fashioned into spearheads, the sharp barbs outlasted most metals. While the venom was less prized, it was still valuable, and alchemists always paid good coin for the liquid. A whole Venomlock corpse could fetch upwards of ninety silver pieces. One beast wasn¡¯t difficult to defeat, they ordinarily ran in packs of forty or fifty. It would take at least a 4th Revolution Hunter to survive such an encounter. Fortunately for the 1st Revs, Hugo and Anna faced a single creature. Hugo kept it at bay with his spear, rendering its arm length strikes ineffective. Anna promptly finished it off with her bow, an arrow through the neck and another piercing its heart. Anna accumulated more of its Echo than Hugo, elevating her saturation from four to twelve percent. The glowing amber orb shot into her as the dead beast fell. Their father had mentioned that Echo felt good, an understatement she would grumble about later. She dropped to the ground as it circulated through her body. A wave of warmth and euphoria enveloped her, but luckily, it was fleeting, fading almost as swiftly as it had arrived. The animal delivered in more ways than one, it dropped five silvers; add that to the ten they had been paid after drop-off and the siblings were flush with money. As they sat in the tavern, savoring their victory and newfound strength, they couldn¡¯t help but overhear a heated conversation from a nearby table. A stocky man was explaining himself as three others glared at him. ¡°It¡¯s this fuckin storage necklace,¡± he said and took it off, slamming it on the table. He continued, ¡°It¡¯s cursed. Everything just disappeared, I swear it.¡± A balding man scratched his similarly patchy beard. ¡°What I can¡¯t get over, is the fact that everything goes missing now. Like a harlot, you¡¯ve been flashing teeth and pulling shit in and out of your ass all month,¡± he said. The soft muttering of patrons ceased at the man¡¯s words. ¡°I unbound it, check for yourself,¡± the stocky man said, gesturing at the black necklace. The short man donned the necklace with deliberate calmness, only to stiffen as an unmistakable sense of malice spread through him. Gritting his teeth, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you think this will prove.¡± He looked at his silent companions in turn, ¡°He was telling the truth about it being devoid of our gold at least.¡± He shivered, and hastily set it back on the table. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll finish this talk in private,¡± he said. They couldn¡¯t press him for answers in public. ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll stay here.¡± The stocky man said. Raving internally at the chain, but cool fear was beginning to win the day. The last thing he wanted was to face Jonn and his associates alone. He regretted not heeding his instincts and declining their offer of a job. The short man eyed him, and in an icy tone said, ¡°We¡¯ll be at the Whispering Lady.¡± Still listening in, the siblings exchanged glances as the three men strode out the front door, leaving their flustered companion behind. Anna raised a blonde eyebrow at Hugo and took a gulp of her ale. He did the same, finishing off his tankard and waved down the barmaid. The petite woman nodded and came over to their table. ¡°Two more¡ª¡± The man accused of theft stood, his chair crashing loudly to the floor. He snatched up the necklace and hurled it at the wall behind Anna. ¡°Vile snake,¡± he hissed in her direction as it plummeted to the floor. Anna jumped, and Hugo got to his feet. ¡°Hey, you nearly hit the lady!¡± he said, readying himself for a fist fight. The Hunter just stood there, breath heaving as he leveled a hateful stare at the storage device. It lay in a dark heap after bouncing off the wall. ¡°Take the blighted thing,¡± he muttered, still glaring at it in disgust. After a breath, he turned and noisily righted the chair he had toppled. With the tension easing, the barmaid said, ¡°I¡¯ll get you two another round.¡± Hugo thanked her absently and studied the burley Hunter in confusion, storage items were prohibitively expensive. Depending on their features, the best ones could cost hundreds of gold. Hugo sat back down facing Anna, and in a low voice said, ¡°What do you think? Should we take it? I¡¯ve never heard of a bewitched storage necklace before.¡± Anna nodded, rolling her eyes. ¡°Neither have I,¡± she leaned down and picked up the necklace, which felt surprisingly light in her hand, like a trinket made for children. It consisted of twisted, interconnected links, reminiscent of a rope. She admired its spiral pattern, her pale brown eyes twinkled. ¡°How beautiful.¡± ¡°It looks like the junk that street urchins peddle,¡± Hugo said, running a finger over a gauge in the dark wood of the table. ¡°Didn¡¯t you try to woo Wendy with urchin junk?¡± Anna said. ¡°I thought one of them lifted it off of a noble or something.¡± Anna snorted, ¡°You thought that a greasy, poorly carved wooden rose was once a noblewomen¡¯s treasure?¡± ¡°I learned my lesson, to ignore them,¡± Hugo said. Wendy pretended to like the gift, her father on the other hand, had been actively displeased. He shuddered at the memory of the raging shopkeeper. Anna chuckled and caressed the necklace, ¡°This is exceptionally well made.¡± She held the item out for him to study. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Hugo waived it away, ¡°I¡¯ll trust your judgement, now put the damn thing on before you grind it to dust.¡± Anna gave him a dirty look but stopped fondling the chain. She leaned back and hung it around her neck. ¡°Oh¡±, she said, as an awareness blossomed in her mind. The knowledge of nine spaces, their purposes, and contents came into being. There was a total of fifteen, but six were dark and incomprehensible to her. She knew of areas for coin, meats, herbs and alchemical items, weapons, scrolls, prepared foods, and a place for general things. It must be worth a fortune, every low Rev team in the city will want to work with us. Hugo noted the strange look on her face. ¡°Ann, is something wrong?¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s fine,¡± she assured him, then mentally stated; I wish to bind. Holding a firm image of the necklace in her mind. Glowing text appeared in Anna¡¯s vision: Option 1, Binding: Gain access to nine spatial regions, and lose future access to the unknown zones. You may unbind at any time and the storage necklace cannot be stolen. Upon your death, the necklace will materialize around your neck. (Choosing Binding is akin to the necklace rejecting Option 2. See note for more information.) Option 2, Greater Binding: Gain access to nine spatial regions, and possible access to all unknown zones. While you live, the binding is permanent, and the storage necklace cannot be stolen. Upon your death, the necklace will materialize around your neck. Note: The storage necklace reserves the right to reject option 2 at any time prior to the unlocking of the first unknown zone. Should such a rejection occur, all knowledge pertaining to Option 2 and the unknown zones will be irrevocably expunged from the binder''s memory, and the binding will revert to option 1. Furthermore, any awareness of the necklace¡¯s operational capacities or its ability to influence events will be permanently obliterated from the binder''s consciousness. If no binding is chosen, or if the necklace is removed, all memories of its potential capabilities will fade from the individual''s mind. Anna¡¯s eyes bulged after reading the final lines of text. The necklace is intelligent, alive? Something tickled her memory but didn¡¯t surface. She looked over at the lone Hunter who drank straight from a bottle now. He must have been rejected for some reason, could that be why items went missing? Anna decided that she had to inquire further. ¡°I want to ask the Hunter some questions¡±, she nodded in the man¡¯s direction, who seemed to have calmed some. Hugo stared at her in confusion, ¡°Why?¡± Anna paused to think, then said, ¡°I¡¯m curious about a few things.¡± ¡°Are you worried that it¡¯s cursed?¡± He said, a hint of mockery in his tone. She stood, ignoring him and strode over to the sullen Hunter¡¯s table¡ªHugo followed. He didn¡¯t acknowledge their approach, just took a swig of whatever was in the bottle. Anna cleared her throat, and his eyes flicked to hers, then down to the necklace. The stocky Hunter gave her a pained, half-smile and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t bound it?¡± He regretted giving it to them immediately. I¡¯m a fool, always proven to be the fool. He was no thief however, and wondered why they didn¡¯t run the moment it hit the floor. No one would take his claims seriously. Anna¡¯s expression showed a hint of irritation. He believes it cursed and still passes it along without a care, bastard. ¡°I have some concerns, why do you think it¡¯s cursed?¡± He sighed, ¡°Because it is, everything disappeared; gold, potions, weapons, silver, and everything else we found. It all vanished.¡± He finished by throwing his hands up, baffled by the whole thing. Anna nodded along before saying, ¡°Forgive me, but I overheard your friend mention that everything went missing only after getting back to town. So, it worked normally for a time?¡± She was trying to correlate the missing goods with an event, something that might warrant its rejection. The stocky Hunter answered immediately, as if convincing her would exonerate him, ¡°Yeah, all was good for years. Me and my brother found it on a job a while ago.¡± He twisted a portion of his reddish beard and muttered, ¡°He¡¯d be indignant if he knew I joined Jonn¡¯s team.¡± Then, in a louder tone, ¡°Things started going missing a short while after I partnered with them. I think, I didn¡¯t exactly keep track of everything.¡± Anna wore a curious expression, ¡°If you don¡¯t keep track, how do you know what everyone¡¯s share will be?¡± He furrowed his brow, ¡°What Revolution are you?¡± Hugo chimed in at that, puffing his chest out unconsciously, ¡°We can handle ourselves, that¡¯s all you need to know.¡± The Hunter chuckled; it was refreshing to talk to a couple na?ve, low Rev young people. He had been stuck with Jonn and company for the last month. ¡°Someone in the group, other than the storage holder records everything that goes in,¡± he informed them. ¡°I see, we just completed our first job,¡± Anna told him. Hugo stared daggers at her, but she didn¡¯t acknowledge his gaze. He can obviously tell we¡¯re green, no sense trying to hide it now. Looking expectantly at the older Hunter, she asked, ¡°When did you first notice something was missing?¡± The man tightened his grip on the bottle. "A week ago¡­ Four gold pieces were gone,¡± he said. Anna noted something in his tone. Mad about a failed task, or the missing gold? She tried getting him to elaborate, ¡°What? You got drunk and aren¡¯t certain?¡± She questioned in a deliberately puzzled voice. The Hunter glared at her, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t drunk. There was five hundred gold in storage, I remembered because it was a nice round number, okay? Then Jonn, our leader, acquired four more and some silvers. I put everything in, and when I checked again, we still had five hundred.¡± The twins gaped, stunned at his casual mention of that much wealth. Hugo spoke first, ¡°You made 500 gold, from a single job? You must have killed an Onyx Mammoth or wiped out an entire cavern of Velvet Hornets to earn that sum,¡± he said. ¡°What are you? 7th Rev? 8th even?¡± The Hunter chuckled bitterly, ¡°Most of it was my own savings from before. No, we made fifty gold roughly, not counting everything else we found.¡± Anna was still impressed, ¡°A Venomlock only dropped five silvers for us.¡± The Hunter smiled wanly, ¡°That makes you a fair bit richer than me, it seems.¡± She winced, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to throttle the break.¡± It irked her that he gifted them a gold destroying item, but she felt slightly warmer toward the man now, considering he had hit rock bottom. ¡°Not to worry,¡± the stocky man said. Ever since Jonn left, his mood had improved considerably, helped along by the two young people. He recalled being on his first Revolution alongside his righteous brother. He smiled at the thought and said, ¡°Did that answer your questions? What will you do with it?¡± Anna pondered, she wanted to know what caused their entire haul to go missing. Was it a coincidence that four gold went missing? The gold that Jonn earned. She also had a nagging fear that he would take the necklace back. He had tossed it aside in anger; she was uncertain how he would respond now that he had regained his composure. I should have bound it. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she said, ¡°I think I¡¯ll still bind it. When did the rest of your things disappear?¡± The Hunter tensed as he thought back, ¡°I noticed when we were an hour outside of town.¡± The barmaid walked over, their tankards of ale in hand. She looked at Hugo questioningly, ¡°Are you changing tables?¡± The Hunter intervened, ¡°Yes, please join me for some drinks. Keep an old man company. I¡¯m Charley, by the way.¡± He was enjoying their company, and frankly didn¡¯t want to be alone at the moment. The twins introduced themselves and took seats opposite him. The barmaid sat their drinks down and moved towards another set of occupied tables. Anna fiddled with the necklace, it felt reassuring between her fingers. She sighed internally. Although she wasn¡¯t entirely satisfied with Charley¡¯s answers, she decided not to press further. The information she sought might involve matters best left unexplored.